On this page16 sections
- Ratings and complaints
- Deel vs. competitors
- Pricing
- Step by step
- Deel legitimacy and licensing
- Deel pricing explained
- How Deel’s employer of record works
- How Deel Works
- Deel BestGuide Rating
- The Rippling lawsuit and DOJ investigation
- Deel complaints and how to avoid problems
- Cancelling Deel
- Who should skip Deel
- What customers say
- Alternatives
- FAQ
Deel is a legitimate global payroll and employer of record company founded in 2019, with more than 40,000 customers and its own entities in 130+ countries, and it fits companies that want contractors, international employees and U.S. PEO staff on one platform. The tradeoff is price: its $599 per employee a month EOR fee is higher than Multiplier's published $459 to $499, and salary, employer taxes and benefits are billed on top. Reviews are strong (4.6 out of 5 on Trustpilot from about 9,600 reviews), with complaints centered on slow support and account or payment holds during verification. Know that Rippling's federal lawsuit accusing Deel of corporate spying is still open, and that a Justice Department criminal investigation was reported in January 2026; these are allegations, not findings.
Your options
-
Deel This company pays BestGuide when you connect with it through our site. Verified partners are scored on our partner verification program and can be listed first. Payment never changes what we report about fees, terms or complaints. This review Companies hiring a mix of contractors and employees across several countries that want one platform and one invoice.
-
Remote This company pays BestGuide when you connect with it through our site. Verified partners are scored on our partner verification program and can be listed first. Payment never changes what we report about fees, terms or complaints. Alternative Startups and mid-size companies hiring a handful to a few hundred people abroad that want published prices and an EOR that owns its local entities.
- Employer of record
- $599 per employee a month, full legal employment in 130+ countries, as listed October 20261
- Contractors
- $49 per contractor a month; Contractor of Record $325 a month, where Deel takes on classification risk1
- U.S. PEO
- $125 per employee a month, co-employment in all 50 states with benefits1
- Contract term
- Month to month with no long-term commitment, per Deel’s pricing FAQ; a PEO promotion with 3 free months requires a 2-year term1
- Size
- 150+ countries covered, 40,000+ customers and $20B+ in payroll processed, per Deel1
- Founded
- 2019 by Alex Bouaziz (CEO) and Shuo Wang; Deel says it has raised $650 million3
- Onboarding
- As little as one day for a new EOR employee, per Deel2
- Pending litigation
- People Center (Rippling) v. Deel, filed March 17, 2025 in federal court in San Francisco; still active with filings on October 12, 20266
Pros
- Published prices for every core product, month to month
- Broad coverage: 150+ countries, with its own entities in 130+
- Contractors, EOR, U.S. PEO and a free HR tier on one account
- Strong user ratings: 4.6 on Trustpilot and 4.8 on the App Store
Cons
- $599 EOR fee is higher than Multiplier's published price
- Salary, employer taxes and benefits are added on top of the fee
- FX markup is not published
- Open Rippling spying lawsuit and a reported DOJ criminal probe
Best for: Companies hiring a mix of contractors and employees across several countries that want one platform and one invoice.
Skip it if: You have a U.S.-only team, or you need one or two international employees and want the lowest platform fee.
Deel vs. competitors
| Company | EOR price per employee a month | Contractor tools | U.S. PEO | Minimum term | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deel | $599 | $49 a month; Contractor of Record $325 | $125 per employee a month | Month to month | Visit site |
| Multiplier | $459 billed annually or $499 monthly | $40 a month; Contractor of Record from $399 | Not offered | None | Visit site |
| Remote | From $599 | $29 a month; Contractor of Record from $325 | No minimum headcount | Visit site | |
| Oyster | $699 billed monthly; annual discounts available | $29 a month after a 30-day free period | Not published | Read review |
Employer of record (EOR) services we reviewed
-
Deel This company pays BestGuide when you connect with it through our site. Verified partners are scored on our partner verification program and can be listed first. Payment never changes what we report about fees, terms or complaints. This review BestGuide rating: 4.9 out of 5. Set by our editorial team from published factors such as cost, credentials, reputation, customer experience, services and guarantees. Verified partners are scored on our partner verification program and can be listed first; they are always labeled BestGuide Partner. Best for: Companies hiring a mix of contractors and employees across several countries that want one platform and one invoice. -
Remote This company pays BestGuide when you connect with it through our site. Verified partners are scored on our partner verification program and can be listed first. Payment never changes what we report about fees, terms or complaints. BestGuide rating: 4.8 out of 5. Set by our editorial team from published factors such as cost, credentials, reputation, customer experience, services and guarantees. Verified partners are scored on our partner verification program and can be listed first; they are always labeled BestGuide Partner. Best for: Startups and mid-size companies hiring a handful to a few hundred people abroad that want published prices and an EOR that owns its local entities. -
Pebl BestGuide rating: 4.7 out of 5. Set by our editorial team from published factors such as cost, credentials, reputation, customer experience, services and guarantees. Verified partners are scored on our partner verification program and can be listed first; they are always labeled BestGuide Partner. Best for: Companies hiring a few full-time employees abroad that want a low base fee and no setup or exit charges. -
Justworks This company pays BestGuide when you connect with it through our site. Verified partners are scored on our partner verification program and can be listed first. Payment never changes what we report about fees, terms or complaints. BestGuide rating: 4.6 out of 5. Set by our editorial team from published factors such as cost, credentials, reputation, customer experience, services and guarantees. Verified partners are scored on our partner verification program and can be listed first; they are always labeled BestGuide Partner. Best for: U.S. small businesses that want better health benefits and HR compliance help for a published per-employee price. -
Multiplier This company pays BestGuide when you connect with it through our site. Verified partners are scored on our partner verification program and can be listed first. Payment never changes what we report about fees, terms or complaints. BestGuide rating: 4.6 out of 5. Set by our editorial team from published factors such as cost, credentials, reputation, customer experience, services and guarantees. Verified partners are scored on our partner verification program and can be listed first; they are always labeled BestGuide Partner. Best for: Startups and mid-size companies hiring a handful of full-time employees abroad without setting up local entities. -
Globalization Partners BestGuide rating: 4.5 out of 5. Set by our editorial team from published factors such as cost, credentials, reputation, customer experience, services and guarantees. Verified partners are scored on our partner verification program and can be listed first; they are always labeled BestGuide Partner. Best for: Companies hiring employees in several countries that want wide coverage, posted starting prices and no minimum term. -
Gusto This company pays BestGuide when you connect with it through our site. Verified partners are scored on our partner verification program and can be listed first. Payment never changes what we report about fees, terms or complaints. BestGuide rating: 4.8 out of 5. Set by our editorial team from published factors such as cost, credentials, reputation, customer experience, services and guarantees. Verified partners are scored on our partner verification program and can be listed first; they are always labeled BestGuide Partner. Best for: Small businesses that want to run their own payroll online with taxes filed for them and clear monthly pricing.
Deel pricing at a glance
Deel list prices, as listed October 20261
| Product | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Employer of record (EOR) | $599 per employee a month | Deel legally employs your hire in 130+ countries and runs contracts, payroll, benefits and compliance |
| U.S. PEO | $125 per employee a month | Co-employment of U.S. staff in all 50 states, with benefits |
| Contractor management | $49 per contractor a month | Contracts, invoicing and payments in 120+ currencies; you classify the worker |
| Contractor of Record | $325 per contractor a month | Deel engages the contractor and takes on misclassification risk |
| Talent sourcing | $14 per worker a month | Job posting, screening and candidate management |
| Deel HR | Free | Employee database, org chart, documents and time off tracking |
Fees do not include the worker’s salary, employer social contributions or mandatory benefits, which vary by country and are billed on top. Deel’s FAQ says it uses competitive exchange rates with minimal fees but does not publish an FX markup.
Deel, step by step
Book a demo or sign up
Pick the product you need: contractors, EOR for employees abroad, U.S. PEO or payroll for countries where you already have an entity.
Get a country cost estimate
Ask for the full monthly employer cost per country, including salary, taxes, mandatory benefits and any deposit, not just the $599 fee.
Onboard the worker
Deel issues a locally compliant contract and the worker creates an account, uploads documents and bank details and signs. Deel says this can take as little as one day.
Pay monthly
You fund one invoice and Deel runs local payroll, tax filings and benefits, or pays contractors in their chosen currency.
Offboard under local law
You can cancel at any time, but ending an EOR employment follows the country's notice and severance rules, which you pay for.
Deel legitimacy and licensing
Yes. Deel is a real, large company. It was founded in 2019 by Alex Bouaziz and Shuo Wang, says it has raised $650 million, serves 40,000+ customers and has processed more than $20 billion in payroll. A January 2026 report put its valuation at about $17 billion. It says it owns legal entities and its own payroll engine in 130+ countries, which matters because the employer on your worker’s contract is a Deel company, not a third-party partner.
Users rate it well: 4.6 out of 5 from 9,612 Trustpilot reviews, with 91% five star and 5% one star, and 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store. We could not find a BBB profile for Deel.
Legitimate is not the same as risk-free. Deel is a defendant in a federal racketeering lawsuit brought by rival Rippling, covered below.
Deel pricing explained
Deel publishes list prices: $599 per employee a month for Employer of record (EOR). A company that legally employs workers abroad on your behalf through its own entity. Compare employer of record (EOR) services, $125 per employee a month for its U.S. PEO. Professional employer organization: a U.S. co-employment model that handles payroll, benefits and HR. Compare employer of record (EOR) services, $49 per contractor a month for contractor management and $325 a month for Contractor of record. A service that engages contractors on your behalf and takes on misclassification risk. Compare employer of record (EOR) services. Deel HR, a basic employee database and time off tool, is free.
The fee is the smaller part of an EOR bill. You also pay the employee’s salary plus employer social contributions, mandatory benefits and any 13th month pay, which vary widely by country. For one EOR employee over a year, Deel’s fee alone is $7,188, against $5,508 on Multiplier’s annual Core plan.
Deel says its pricing is month to month with no long-term commitment. A PEO promotion offering three free months requires a two-year order form, and if you end that order early Deel’s terms say you repay the full list price for the term, so read promotional terms closely.
How Deel’s employer of record works
With EOR, Deel becomes the legal employer in the worker’s country. Deel issues the employment contract, registers the employee for local tax and social insurance, runs payroll, files taxes and enrolls benefits. You direct the person’s daily work. Deel says onboarding can take as little as one day.
For contractors, you can either classify and pay them yourself through Deel for $49 a month, paying in 120+ currencies, or use Contractor of Record for $325 a month, where Deel engages the contractor and takes on misclassification risk.
Before you sign, ask Deel for an all-in monthly cost estimate for each country, whether a security deposit is required, how currency conversion is priced on your invoice and on the worker’s pay, and what termination would cost under local law.
How Deel Works
Getting Started
Companies sign up for Deel and select the hiring method they need: Employer of Record for full-time international staff, contractor management for freelancers, or PEO for domestic US teams. Deel’s EOR plan covers full legal employment in 130+ countries, according to its pricing page, meaning Deel becomes the legal employer on paper while the client company directs the person’s day-to-day work.
Onboarding and Compliance
Once a hire is approved, Deel generates locally compliant contracts and manages onboarding, tax registration, and benefits enrollment. The company reports it has hired more than 650,000 workers through its platform since 2019, giving it a large base of precedent for handling country-specific labor rules.
Running Payroll
Deel processes payroll and contractor payments in more than 120 currencies. Contractors can be paid through bank transfer, PayPal, Wise, or a Deel-issued card, while EOR employees receive standard local payroll runs with tax withholding handled by Deel.
Ongoing Management
After onboarding, day-to-day management runs through a single dashboard covering time off, org charts, and document storage. Deel HR, the free tier of the platform, includes the employee database and time-off tracking without requiring an EOR or contractor subscription.
Deel BestGuide Rating
Deel’s BestGuide Rating (Expert Score) of 4.4 out of 5.0 comes from BestGuide’s expert panel, which scored the company across five criteria: Reputation, Services, Transparency, Customer Satisfaction, and Scalability.
Services and Transparency are Deel’s strongest criteria, each scoring 90%, reflecting its published pricing across five plan types and its broad product line spanning EOR, PEO, payroll, HR, IT, and benefits. Reputation is the weakest criterion at 85%, reflecting recurring complaints about support responsiveness during peak periods.
Deel’s overall score sits above the payroll and HR software vertical average, which BestGuide’s panel places closer to 4.0 to 4.2 for platforms with narrower country coverage or less transparent pricing.
What customers say about Deel
Recurring themes across the review sites and complaint records listed above, not individual quotes.
Common praise
- Easy to use interface and quick setup
- On-time salary and contractor payments
- Fast replies from support in many reviews
- One platform for contractors, employees and payroll in many countries
Common complaints
- Slow or hard to reach support, especially outside business hours
- Account lockouts and funds held during identity or payment verification
- EOR fees that feel high for a single hire
- Mobile app glitches when submitting hours or invoices
The Rippling lawsuit and DOJ investigation
In March 2025, People Center, Inc., the company behind Rippling, sued Deel in federal court in San Francisco under the federal racketeering law, alleging that Deel paid a Rippling employee to pass along confidential information. The case, People Center, Inc. v. Deel, Inc. (3:25-cv-02576), is assigned to Judge Charles R. Breyer and was still active, with new filings on October 12, 2026.
In January 2026, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Justice Department had opened a criminal investigation and that grand jury subpoenas had been issued. No charges or findings against Deel had been reported as of October 2026.
These are allegations. The case does not change how Deel’s EOR contracts or payroll work, but it is a reputational and legal risk some buyers weigh, especially if you also use Rippling.
Deel complaints and how to avoid problems
Most Trustpilot reviews are positive, but the negative ones repeat a few themes: slow support, especially outside business hours; accounts locked or payments held during identity and payment verification; and EOR fees that feel steep for one hire. Deel replied to all negative Trustpilot reviews.
- Complete identity verification and bank details before your first payroll date.
- Keep invoices and contracts downloaded outside the platform.
- Get the country cost estimate in writing, including deposits and termination costs.
- Ask for a named account manager if you have more than a few workers.
Cancelling Deel
Deel’s pricing FAQ says you can cancel at any time and pay month to month. Cancelling contractor management is simple, but ending an EOR employee is a termination under local labor law, so notice periods, severance and accrued vacation still apply and are billed to you. If you signed a promotional order form with a minimum term, such as the PEO offer, check the early termination terms first.
Who should skip Deel
Deel is overbuilt for a U.S.-only company that just needs payroll, where a domestic payroll provider usually costs less. If you need one or two employees abroad and nothing else, Multiplier’s published EOR price is $100 to $140 a month lower per person. And if you plan to hire many people in a single country, compare EOR fees with the cost of opening your own entity and running local payroll.
Alternatives to Deel
-
Better if you only need EOR for a few employees abroad and want the lowest published platform fee.
-
Worth comparing if you mostly hire contractors, since its contractor plan starts lower than Deel’s.
-
A better fit for a U.S.-only team that just needs domestic payroll and benefits.
-
Your own entity or direct contractor payments
If you plan many hires in one country, a local entity plus local payroll can cost less than EOR fees; for a few freelancers, a written contract and bank or Wise transfers cost little, though you carry the classification risk.
Next steps
Deel reviews
Written by readers, read by our moderators, never edited by the company.
No reader reviews yet. If you have used Deel, yours will be the first.
Write a reviewHow do I know I can trust these reviews about Deel?
- Every reviewer confirms an email address before a review can publish.
- Our moderators read every review before it publishes.
- Companies can respond publicly but can never edit, hide or remove a review.
- Paying BestGuide never changes the reader rating or which reviews publish.
Frequently asked questions
Is Deel legit and safe?
Yes. Deel is an established global payroll and EOR company with 40,000+ customers, its own entities in 130+ countries and a 4.6 out of 5 Trustpilot score from about 9,600 reviews. It is also a defendant in Rippling's federal spying lawsuit, which was still open in October 2026.
How much does Deel cost?
As listed in October 2026, EOR is $599 per employee a month, U.S. PEO $125 per employee a month, contractor management $49 per contractor a month and Contractor of Record $325 a month. Salary, employer taxes and benefits are extra.
Does Deel's EOR fee include salary and taxes?
No. The $599 covers Deel's service. You also fund the employee's salary, employer social contributions and mandatory benefits, which vary by country.
Does Deel require a contract?
Deel says its standard pricing is month to month with no long-term commitment. Some promotions, such as three free months of PEO, require a two-year term with repayment if you end early.
Is Deel free for contractors?
Deel's published contractor price is charged to the company, at $49 per contractor a month. Contractors are paid in their chosen currency, from 120+ supported; check any withdrawal or conversion fee for your payout method in your account, since Deel does not list those on its pricing page.
How many countries does Deel cover?
Deel says it covers compliance in 150+ countries and offers full EOR employment in 130+ countries, where it owns entities and its payroll engine.
What is the Deel and Rippling lawsuit about?
Rippling's parent, People Center, sued Deel in March 2025 alleging Deel paid a Rippling employee to pass on confidential information. The case is pending in federal court in San Francisco, and a Justice Department criminal investigation was reported in January 2026. No findings had been made as of October 2026.
Is Deel cheaper than Multiplier or Remote?
Deel's $599 EOR fee is above Multiplier's $459 to $499, the same as Remote's starting price since October 13, 2026, and below Oyster's $699. For contractors, Remote and Oyster list $29 a month and Multiplier $40, against Deel's $49.
Does Deel have a BBB rating?
We could not find a BBB profile for Deel. Its main public ratings are on Trustpilot and app stores.
Can I cancel Deel at any time?
Yes for the platform, per Deel's FAQ. For EOR employees, local labor law still governs notice and severance, which you pay.
Sources (10)
Facts on this page come from company websites, government agencies and regulators, checked on the dates shown. Editorial standards
- Deel: Pricing (accessed October 12, 2026)
- Deel: Employer of record (accessed October 12, 2026)
- Deel: About us (accessed October 12, 2026)
- Trustpilot: Deel reviews (accessed October 12, 2026)
- Apple App Store: Deel: Global Payroll & HR (accessed October 12, 2026)
- CourtListener: People Center, Inc. v. Deel, Inc., N.D. Cal. 3:25-cv-02576 (accessed October 12, 2026)
- The Currency: US Justice Department opens criminal probe into Silicon Valley spy allegations (Jan 23, 2026, citing The Wall Street Journal) (accessed October 12, 2026)
- Multiplier: Pricing (Internet Archive, Oct 4, 2026) (accessed October 12, 2026)
- Remote: Pricing (accessed October 12, 2026)
- BBB: business search for Deel (accessed October 12, 2026)
BestGuide is free to use. Some companies we review pay us when you visit their site or contact them through us. Compensation may influence which companies we feature and their order. It doesn't change what our reviews say. Advertising disclosure