Compare The Best International Payroll Services

Want to jump straight to the answer? The best international payroll service for most people is Papaya Global or Remote.

Not every payroll solution supports cross-border payments. Companies with employees in different countries must also understand payroll compliance and tax laws in multiple jurisdictions. 

The best international payroll services make it easy for any business to pay employees and remain compliant with legal regulations regardless of their location.

The Top 9 Best International Payroll Services

• Papaya Global — Best global HR solution with built-in payroll
• Remote — Best for startups
• Rippling — Best for fast international payroll runs
• Lano — Best for hiring in Europe
• Multiplier — Best for hiring in Asia
• ADP Global Payroll — Best for international payroll compliance
• Oyster — Best for businesses expanding internationally
• Immedis — Best for administrative payroll tasks
• Payoneer — Best for paying international contractors

After extensive research, we’ve narrowed down the top seven international payroll providers on the market. The in-depth reviews below will help you find the best international payroll service for your specific business.

Papaya Global — Best Global HR Solution With Built-In Payroll

Papaya Global is an all-in-one solution for international hiring, onboarding, and cross-border payroll. This award-winning payroll provider is trusted by global brands like Microsoft, Toyota, Johnson & Johnson, Intel, Wix, and more.

The fully integrated HRIS platform has everything you need to manage your global workforce.

Papaya Global doubles as an Employer of Record (EOR). This means you can hire employees internationally without establishing a local entity and still remain compliant. 

The platform makes it easy for you to streamline the hiring process and standardize international onboarding procedures. Papaya Global even has the tools you need for employee relocation, work permits, residence permits, and other immigration solutions. 

In addition to international payroll, Papaya Global supports HR and benefits administration in 160+ countries as well. 

The payroll solution ensures that employees will be paid in their local currencies and receive pay stubs in their native languages. Papaya Global takes the stress out of cross-border payments with automation, built-in compliance, and payroll reports from a single source of truth.

Payroll plans start as low as $20 per employee per month, and contractor payments start at $25 per pay cycle. 

To get the most out of Papaya Global, I recommend the payroll intelligence suite, starting at $250 with an annual billing cycle. Your plan is backed by a 60-day money-back guarantee. 

Remote — Best for Startups

Remote is a global employment service that allows businesses to hire internationally with minimal risk. It offers all-inclusive employer of record (EOR) services in 68 countries and the ability to pay contractors in 93 countries.

This is a very strong all-around option for people in need of an international payroll service. We like it especially for startups for a few reasons. 

First, startups can get 25% off EOR services for up to 10 employees for 12 months. That represents a fairly significant savings for startups where every dollar counts.

The other main reason is that Remote gives you a lot more control over compensation and benefits than many other international payroll services.

You’ll be able to offer health, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance, as well as Mental health support, retirement plans, remote relocation, and stock options.

Creating a benefits package that stands out from the crowd is a critical part of attracting or retaining the A-level talent around the world. 

For example, you could use Remote to offer equity incentives to employees. This could include restricted stock units, non-qualified share options, and more. 

Remote helps make sure that any stock options you offer are compliant with all local regulations and tax law.

Although we recommend Remote as the top choice for startups, its a fine choice for businesses of any size or maturity. They have a full range of services for startups, small businesses, and enterprise organizations.

Contractor pricing starts at $29/month per contractor. Both you and your contract employees will love how easy it is to set up localized contracts and run international payroll.

Global EOR services start at $599/month per employee with an annual subscription. This is a 14% savings over monthly plans for EOR, which start at $699/month per employee. 

The price is safely within the average range of international payroll services–but it’s an excellent value, considering that Remote provides a much deeper suite of services than many of its competitors.

No matter where they live, you can start hiring the best people for your business today with Remote.

Rippling — Best for Fast International Payroll Runs

Rippling is one of the top payroll brands in the US, and now they offer the same secure services for companies with international employees.

That means you will be able to run payroll in a single click with each employee paid in their local currency. It’s that easy.

Rippling handles everything in-house. Unlike other global payroll firms that are more like a network of different vendors, Rippling offers companies full-service HR and payroll for international employees.

It’s more secure, and much more efficient. You can manage payroll, benefits, time-tracking, and reporting for all of your employees in a single place.

In fact, Rippling’s platform lets you run international payroll in just 90 seconds.

Rippling’s pay runs are so quick because you never need to manually enter data or make calculations on your own. The platform syncs all of your HR data with the payroll system, so all of this gets handled automatically.

It’s just a matter of setting your pay periods, reviewing the payroll, and approving it. 

The platform comes with built-in compliance tools, automatic tax filings, time tracking, reporting tools, and so much more. 

Rippling’s only major drawback is its scalability. It’s designed for businesses with up to 1,000 employees. So if your company currently has more people on the payroll or you’re planning to grow beyond the 1,000-employee mark, Rippling probably won’t work for you.

Rippling’s global payroll service works in 50 countries, which is fewer than some of the other services on our list, but the flexibility of the platform is fantastic.

You’ll be able to pay hourly and salaried employees, bonuses and commissions, and correct historical payroll runs.

Contact Rippling for a free custom quote to learn more about the company’s international payroll services. 

Lano — Best for Hiring in Europe

Lano is an international payroll solution that consolidates all of your payments and people into a single platform. 

For businesses looking to expand to the European Union without establishing an entity there, Berlin-based Lano is an excellent choice for payroll and EOR services. 

The company understands the region, which lets you focus on finding talent. With support from Lano, you won’t have to worry about staying compliant with local regulations. Tap into their global network and lean on their expertise to expand with confidence.

You’ll be able to make secure payments quickly, transfer funds between international entities, and save up to 3% on foreign exchange fees when paying in local currencies.

The ease of use for administrators is as good as we have seen for international payroll. You can log into a single dashboard to hire and pay employees in more than 150 countries with Lano’s network of partners.

Lano’s volume discounts for international payroll are notable. The first five employees start at 300€/month per employee, but drop to 30€/month per employee for six employees or more.

There is a one-time setup fee of 1,000€ for each payroll provider you connect to Lano international payroll. You can certainly avoid setup fees with other options, but Lano gives you more opportunities for payroll consolidation, integration, and automation.

Other services we recommend make sense for companies with a very small international footprint, as they won’t be able to access the volume discount or justify the setup fees.

For larger and fast-growth companies, the opportunity for true global payroll automation with Lano is very appealing. You’ll be able to save time, minimize mistakes, and better support your employees abroad

If you are looking to hire teams in Europe, partnering with Lano can be the most cost-effective solution by far. Take advantage of their regional expertise and book a demo with Lano today.

Multiplier — Best for Hiring in Asia

Multiplier is a global employment services solution that allows business owners to hire anyone, anywhere, in 30 seconds or less. 

The simple, streamlined, self-service platform is a breath of fresh air for anyone who has ever tried to hire in other countries. 

Once you create an account, you will have access to the infrastructure required to discover, hire, onboard, and pay the very best talent anywhere in the world. Multiplier supports 120 currencies and payments in 150 countries.

Manage everything in a single platform.Provide benefits, manage requests for PTO, ship laptops, offer stock to employees, and more. At the end of the month, all of your global employment expenses are consolidated in a single invoice.

Multiplier, a Singapore based organization with 300 employees world wide, is quickly becoming the go-to HR and payroll solution for companies looking to expand in Asia.

Sagar Khatri, Co-founder and CEO of Multiplier, was inspired to build his current company after it took him 4 months just to set up a bank account in another country. He lost out on talented candidates due to the slowdown, but realized the market for a turnkey international hiring platform.

With Multiplier, you get instant access to the infrastructure you need to start hiring right away. No need to open a bank account or a business in another country simply to get the right people onboard.

Hiring full-time employees starts at $300 per month, and includes payroll, benefits administration, and 24/7 support from global HR specialists. Freelancer and contractor hiring starts at $40 per month.

If you want the capability to hire a remote team anywhere in the world, Multiplier is a very cost-effective option. Get started with Multiplier today.

ADP Global Payroll — Best for International Payroll Compliance

As previously mentioned, maintaining compliance with international employees must be a top priority for all businesses.

ADP is one of the most trusted names in the payroll industry. They’ve been an innovation leader in this category for 70+ years. So it should come as no surprise to see that ADP Global Payroll lives up to the standards for maintaining compliance. 

Every global payroll solution comes with built-in compliance expertise. The team at ADP understands all of the government regulations and local laws that must be followed when you’re hiring and paying employees in different countries. 

These compliance experts are available in 140+ countries across the globe. You’ll also benefit from built-in security provisions and data privacy for your payroll system. 

There are actually two different ADP Global Payroll solutions to consider—ADP Celegro and ADP GlobalView Payroll.

ADP Celergo is built for companies with employees in at least three countries, with up to 1,000 employees per country. ADP GlobalView Payroll is designed for multinational businesses in up to 42 countries. You need to have at least 1,000 employees in a single country to be eligible for ADP GlobalView Payroll. 

Request a demo and free quote to learn more.

Oyster – Best for Businesses Expanding Internationally

Oyster is a simple platform that reduces the risk and complication of hiring internationally. With Oyster as your employer of record, you can grow quickly and with confidence.

Since employment law varies from country to country, things can get complicated quickly when you’re expanding your business internationally. However, Oyster simplifies international hiring for you since they’re well-versed in employment law in more than 180 different countries. If you’re a company with a lot of open roles that you’re looking to fill with international candidates, then Oyster may be the right payroll service for you. 

With Oyster you can draw up contracts quickly, knowing that they comply with local HR and tax regulations. In addition to that, Oyster allows you to offer country-specific salaries that align with employee expectations while also providing you with tools to instantly forecast the total cost of the hire for your company.

With zero stress or confusion, you can say yes to talent and treat them right, no matter where they live.

To see just how easy it is to use Oyster, you can try it right now for free. 

With the free Oyster starter pack, you can onboard and pay up to two contractors. Hire effortlessly in over 180 countries. Run payroll in more than 120 different currencies.

For full-time employees, you’ll need a subscription to one of Oyster’s premium plans. This provides global payroll and HR administration, intellectual property protection, and privacy compliance for full-time hires in more than 130 countries.

The localized support is where Oyster really shines–everything from helping you find a diverse applicant pool in hundreds of countries to ensuring you’re in the clear with local compliance laws.

Discovering, hiring, and paying a global workforce is no problem with Oyster.

Want to offer benefits? Not an issue. Oyster will help navigate the regulations so you can provide localized health benefits, manage PTO, and more.

Pricing is $499 per employee per month if you pay annually upfront and $599 per employee per month for a month-to-month plan. Contractor pricing is $29 per month per contractor.

This is an excellent payroll solution for companies that need to hire now but don’t have experience with global hiring. It’s the full package–recruiting, onboarding, payroll, and ongoing compliance.

Speed up your hiring process and start seeing the growth you know is there. Start using Oyster today.

Immedis — Best for Administrative Payroll Tasks

Immedis is a technology-forward cloud-based payroll system. It supports complete payroll cycles for international pay runs in 150+ countries with real-time analytics and advanced reporting tools.

Global brands like Uber, Wayfair, McAfee, Adobe, and Twilio all rely on Immedis for international payroll processing. 

Compared to other international payroll services, Immedis really stands out with its robust technology. The platform lets you automate payroll inputs and other processes to reduce the administrative labor required to run payroll. 

The software also comes with an employee self-service portal so each employee can enter and access their own data from anywhere. Your staff can access old pay stubs or update bank details without needing to contact your payroll department. 

If you run into any problems or need some help, Immedis offers 24/7 payroll support and fast ticket response. So you can rest easy knowing they have your back if trouble arises. 

Request a free demo to get started. 

Payoneer — Best for Paying International Contractors

Payoneer is not a full-service payroll provider. With that said, it’s still an excellent and reliable solution for businesses that need to issue payments to international workers. 

It’s perfect for sending payments to contractors, suppliers, freelancers, and remote employees overseas. 

Use Payoneer to issue contractor payments via bank transfer, ACH debit, or even credit card. This gives you lots of flexibility in terms of how you pay your contractors.

The platform supports one-off payments, recurring payments, and monthly salaries. So whether you’re working with contractors on a per-project basis or for ongoing work, Payoneer has you covered. 

For those of you working with multiple contractors or freelancers, Payoneer even supports batch payments. So you can issue payments to all of your contractors at the same time, making it easy for you to scale without adding extra administrative work on the back end. 

Payoneer supports international payments in 200+ different countries, which is the largest number we’ve seen when researching global payroll solutions. 

The service is available for businesses registered in the US, Canada, Switzerland, India, Chile, Brazil, Israel, Peru, Turkey, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Columbia, and the Russian Federation. 

It’s free to sign up, and fees are only assessed when payments are sent. Depending on the recipient, your business might not pay any fees to use Payoneer. 

How to Find the Best International Payroll Service For You

All international payroll services have one thing in common—they allow you to pay employees in multiple countries. So you’ll see lots of common features from one service provider to another.

With that said, there are some key factors that you should take into your final decision as you’re shopping around and comparing services. This will help you distinguish which international payroll services support the needs specific to your company.  

HR Tools

Beyond payroll, some of the top options in this category provide an all-in-one solution for workforce management. This includes tools for international hiring, onboarding, benefits administration, time-off tracking, and more. 

Most businesses use some type of HR software to manage their international teams. So it’s just a matter of deciding whether you want a separate solution for HR or if you want a fully integrated solution with your payroll provider. 

Going with an all-in-one solution for HR and payroll definitely has its fair share of benefits. 

For starters, it limits the amount of software you and your staff need to use for everyday tasks. But these solutions also tend to simplify payroll in the sense that all of the data exists in one place. So you won’t have to worry about imports, exports, and integrations between different systems. 

These solutions typically offer more accurate payroll runs as well since all of the employee data is coming from the same source. 

Employees vs. Contractors

There are several differences that you need to consider when you’re paying an employee compared to a contractor. 

Some international payroll services support both employee and contractor payments, while others are better for one or the other. 

Make sure the platform you’re evaluating can handle payments for the type of workers you need to pay. To remain compliant in some countries, you need to set up a local presence to legally pay employees. This requirement typically isn’t necessary if you’re paying contract workers. 

Tax forms, filing status, and other variables need to be taken into consideration here as well.

The payroll service you select must be up to date about rules for defining employees versus independent contractors. If you do not classify the person properly, according to local rules, you could end up with tax penalties. 

If you classify the person as an international independent contractor, it is important to understand how much time the person spent inside the United States, if any. The residential status of the person determines whether tax withholding is necessary. Your payroll service should give you the ability to designate residential status as part of its records.

Employer of Record (EOR) Services

This piggybacks off of our last point about the requirements needed to pay employees in certain countries. An employer of record is a company that’s legally responsible for payroll, employment taxes, insurance, visa applications, immigration forms, and more. 

So if you want to hire employees in certain regions without actually setting up a local presence there, you need to go with an international payroll service that offers EOR services.

In this case, the service provider will handle everything for you. They’ll become legally responsible for maintaining the payroll services and everything else required for you to remain compliant. 

This route is much more cost-effective and offers less risk than starting a new entity or subsidiary in every country where you hire a new employee. 

Not every international payroll provider offers this type of service. So you can quickly eliminate certain providers if an EOR is something you need. 

The Top International Payroll Services in Summary

Payroll is a significant responsibility for employers. For those of you with employees in different countries, finding the right international payroll service for your business is an important decision. 

Papaya Global and Remote are the best international payroll providers on the market. They support cross-border pay runs, compliance, and HR requirements for the global workforce.