Remote vs Oyster Compared
Both Oyster and Remote are prominent solutions in the EOR landscape for businesses considering hassle-free global scaling. For those new to the space and wondering what is an EOR, it refers to a service that allows companies to hire international employees without establishing a local legal entity – handling payroll, compliance, and HR on their behalf.
And yet, which EOR platform is the right fit for companies based on various specific business needs and expansion requirements?
In this review, we’ll take a closer look at how Oyster and Remote compare across key areas like usability, compliance, pricing, and overall scalability so you can make an informed decision and choose the platform that best aligns with your global growth strategy.
Oyster vs Remote: Key Facts
*Above-mentioned stats reflect the data available at the time of writing this post as of April 2025.
Quick Insights on Main Distinctions Between Remote vs Oyster
Both Oyster and Remote are robust solutions, and they both emphasize an integrated approach to HR management and efficient global scaling. However, some key differences set them apart. Let’s explore them.
Remote’s owned entities vs Oyster’s hybrid model
Remote owns legal entities in most countries it operates in, which allows for greater control and streamlined employee onboarding. In contrast, Oyster uses a mix of owned entities and local partners supporting global scaling.
Oyster’s usability vs Remote’s focus risk protection
Oyster is often praised for its combination of intuitive, user-friendly interface and solutions for efficient operations. Remote, in turn, puts more emphasis on built-in safeguards and tools to minimize compliance risks.
Oyster’s broad HR ecosystem integration vs Remote’s HRIS-specific focus
Oyster’s marketplace of integrations includes a wide range of tools — collaboration platforms like Slack, equity management solutions, identity providers, etc. Remote, in turn, prioritizes streamlined HR data synchronization with more integrations with core HRIS platforms.
Remote vs Oyster: Core Differences
Comparison Points
Starting price for contractor management*
Starting price per EOR*
Countries covered
Platform’s core approach
Customer support availability and channels
Free trial
Integrations
$29/month
Starting at $599/month
180+ countries
All-in-one solution for global employment in one place
Email/help desk, chat
Yes
15+
Comparison Points
Starting price for contractor management*
Starting price per EOR*
Countries covered
Platform’s core approach
Customer support availability and channels
Free trial
Integrations
$29/month
Starting at $599/month
190+ countries
HR platform for international scaling
Email/help desk, chat, phone support
No
15+
*Pricing reflects information available in April 2025 and is subject to updates.
Explore more insights about Oyster and Remote in their detailed reviews!
Oyster vs Remote: Common Use Cases and Application Areas
Oyster and Remote are both popular EOR platforms, but they are used by businesses of different sizes and across various industries. Explore some usage trends below.
Which EOR platform is best suited for a specific company size?
As the stats below show, both Oyster and Remote cater mainly to small and mid-sized businesses. In the meantime, data shows Oyster has a slightly higher concentration of mid-sized clients, suggesting a strong appeal among growing companies seeking scalable global employment solutions. In contrast, Remote serves a slightly larger share of small businesses.
- Enterprise: 5% of Oyster’s clients, 6% of Remote’s client base.
- Mid-sized businesses: 50% of Oyster’s clients, 41% of Remote’s client base.
- SMBs: 45% of Oyster’s clients, 53% of Remote’s client base.
Which solution is more widely used in a specific geographic region?
Overall, data suggest Oyster has a slightly stronger foothold in Europe and North America. On the other hand, Remote has gained more traction in Asia and Latin America — which might potentially reflect its adaptability to emerging markets and diverse regulatory landscapes.
- North America: 20% of Oyster’s clients, 15% of Remote’s client base.
- Europe: 49% of Oyster’s clients, 44.5% of Remote’s client base.
- Latin America: 10.6% of Oyster’s clients, 13.8% of Remote’s client base.
- Asia: 13% of Oyster’s clients, 21% of Remote’s client base.
- Middle East & Africa: 5.8% of Oyster’s clients, 4.9% of Remote’s client base.
- Australia: 0.82% of Oyster’s clients, 0.7% of Remote’s client base.
What are the most common industries where Oyster and Remote are used?
The most common industries for both Oyster and Remote are IT, financial services, and marketing-related areas. In the meantime, Oyster stands out in the nonprofit and biotech sectors. Remote, in turn, has a more substantial presence in logistics, telecommunications, and healthcare — apparently, appealing to industries with high operational complexity.
- IT & Computer Software: 62.13% of Oyster’s and 56.12% of Remote’s client base.
- Marketing, Advertising, Translations: 5.65% of Oyster’s and 4.35% of Remote’s clients.
- Financial & Legal Services: 8.39% of Remote’s and 6.65% of Oyster’s client base.
- Non-Profit Organization Management: 5.32% of Oyster’s and 1.06% of Remote’s clients.
- Accounting: 4.32% of Oyster’s and 2.53% of Remote’s client base.
- Computer & Network Security: 2.99% of Oyster’s and 3.84% of Remote’s clients.
- Computer Games: 3.65% of Oyster’s and 2.63% of Remote’s client base.
- Biotechnology: 3.32% of Oyster’s and 0.61% of Remote’s client base.
- Logistics and Supply Chain: 1.82% of Remote’s, 0.61% of Oyster’s clients.
- Telecommunications: 1.72% of Remote’s, 1% of Oyster’s client base.
- Hospital & Health Care: 1.62% of Remote’s, 0.5% of Oyster’s clients.
Sources:
What are the most common use cases for Oyster and Remote?
Based on EOR cases, it’s evident that global scaling is a substantial area for both Oyster and Remote. However, the use cases show that Oyster focuses more on streamlined hiring, while Remote emphasizes its impact on operational efficiency and seamless processes.
- Global scaling: 33% of Oyster’s and 36% of Remote’s total cases.
- Seamless, consolidated operations: 25% of Oyster’s and 42% of Remote’s cases.
- Streamlined hiring: 42% of Oyster’s case studies and 22% of Remote’s cases.
Side-by-Side Comparison of Oyster vs. Remote EOR
This section will provide you with a comprehensive side-by-side assessment of Oyster and Remote solutions — considering various factors: user experience, usability, functionality, pricing, and more.
Platform Experience within Oyster vs Remote
When it comes to remote workforce management, both Oyster and Remote offer modern, cloud-based platforms, but their approaches to user experience vary slightly.
Oyster puts a strong emphasis on simplicity and guidance. Its interface is designed for ease of use, with an intuitive dashboard that makes managing payroll, onboarding, benefits, and compliance easy. Besides, its AI-powered virtual assistant, Pearl, helps users navigate local compliance and HR processes — a feature that sets the platform apart from Oyster HR competitors.
Equally, as an Oyster HR alternative, Remote delivers a sleek, modern platform with robust analytics, integrations, and cross-device usability. Its centralized system offers insights into payroll, compliance, and performance, along with step-by-step onboarding and an employee self-service portal to support growing, distributed teams.
Oyster’s platform experience is streamlined through:
- Intuitive onboarding workflows for smooth, streamlined processes.
- AI-powered built-in virtual assistant with step-by-step guidance.
- Centralized dashboard with complete visibility into hiring, payroll, benefits, and compliance.
Functionality differentiators within the Remote platform:
- Payments and invoicing automation supported with real-time tracking.
- Built-in tax calculator with multiple locations supported.
- Pre-set benefits packages by country.
- The IP Guard tool for intellectual property protection guarantees.
Performance of Oyster vs Remote
Speaking of performance, Oyster positions itself as a global-first platform with feature-rich support for various operations — from streamlined hiring and payroll to benefits administration and compliance. Thus, the platform offers robust analytics dashboards with insights into salaries, benefits, and compliance. Besides, its automation capabilities and easy-to-use tools for cross-country employment make it a strong fit for global teams.
Remote, meanwhile, delivers an equally powerful EOR suite. Built-in compliance tracking, payroll management, benefits administration, tax filing, and other tools for efficient global operation add to its value for internationally growing businesses.
Oyster’s functionality highlights are the following:
- Custom region-based onboarding workflows.
- Real-time notifications for smooth operational workflows.
- Localized compliance adherence with social security, tax, and data protection requirements.
- Equity assessment and benefit advisor solutions.
Remote’s feature differentiators include:
- Automated payments and invoicing with real-time tracking.
- Built-in tax calculator supporting multiple locations.
- Pre-set benefits packages by country.
- The IP Guard tool featuring solutions for intellectual property protection.
Global Presence of Oyster vs Remote
When it comes to global hiring, both Oyster and Remote offer broad international coverage. Oyster takes a global-first approach with an impressive presence in over 180 countries, along with localized compliance, region-specific onboarding workflows, and automated multi-currency payroll.
Similarly, Remote offers EOR services across 190+ countries, with strong capabilities in major hiring hubs. In doing so, it provides region-specific onboarding agreements, tax compliance tools, and benefit coverage aligned with local employment regulations.
Oyster supports global expansion with the following capabilities:
- Automated workflows for generating, editing, and signing compliant contracts in minutes.
- Built-in global worker misclassification risks assessment.
- Country-tailored health insurance and retirement plans.
Remote’s features for global scaling and efficiency:
- Templates and onboarding flows tailored to local labor laws.
- Country-specific guides to ensure seamless global hiring and HR operations.
- 24/7 support worldwide from our network of local HR, legal, and finance experts.
Pricing: Oyster vs Remote
Both Oyster and Remote offer transparent pricing with no hidden fees. Beyond that, both EOR providers offer discounts — such as Oyster’s discounts for nonprofits and special pricing packages for refugees. Remote, in turn, provides 14% off with an annual subscription for any business.
In the meantime, Oyster notes that some EOR features — such as pre-configured benefits packages, salary insights, visa sponsorship services, and misclassification protection — are optional and come at additional cost.
Oyster pricing
Remote pricing
Please note that as pricing is subject to change, we are listing and assessing the prices as they are in April 2025.
Oyster versus Remote: User Perspective
Now that we’ve analyzed key aspects of the Oyster vs. Remote comparison, one question still remains: what do real users think of these platforms?
In this section, we’ll dive into real-life user reviews and feedback to better understand how each solution performs in practice—covering everything from usability and support to reliability and overall satisfaction.
Oyster vs Remote: User Reviews and Ratings
All ratings from review platforms reflect the data available at the time of writing this post – April 2025. Ratings may change over time as new reviews are added.
Core Strengths of Oyster and Remote
Breaking down core advantages, Oyster users often praise the platform’s intuitive design and ease of navigation. Besides, Oyster is also often admired for the quality of its customer support, with users highlighting Oyster’s strong vendor cooperation contributes significantly to their long-term success and growth.
As one of the robust alternatives to Oyster HR, Remote stands out for its efficient usability, particularly through its mobile app. Its users also highlight the platform’s capabilities in comprehensive benefits administration and global workforce management solutions, to name a few.
Oyster and Remote:
Strengths Based on User Reviews
Intuitive experience
Usability that drives efficiency
Reliable vendor cooperation
Dedicated support
Comprehensive benefits
Efficient global workforce management
Mobile accessibility
Platform convenience
Additional User Insights About Oyster and Remote
In the meantime, even though both solutions are robust, it’s important to consider a few additional factors when choosing an EOR platform.
As suggested by Oyster users, pay close attention to your target expansion regions, your security capabilities requirements, and the unique way the platform handles operations. Remote users, in turn, have noted some platform configuration limitations, potential legal support concerns, and occasional delays on the operational and customer support side.
Oyster and Remote:
Considerations Based on User Reviews
Limited benefits
Insufficient local presence in some of the regions
Security concerns
Lack of clarity in regard to some operations
Limited flexibility for configuration
Potential legal support inefficiencies
Inconsistent customer support
Occasional payment issues or delays
Comparing Functionality: Oyster vs. Remote
Contractor Management
Contractor Management with Oyster
Oyster’s contractor management module features guided workflows and built-in solutions for simplified hiring, onboarding, payment processing, and compliance. Supporting more than 120 currencies and providing customizable region-specific contract templates, it is designed to efficiently handle distributed teams worldwide.
Oyster’s top features for contractor management:
- Automated onboarding workflows.
- Flexible payment options with payroll scheduling configuration options.
- Centralized invoice and expense tracking tools.
Contractor Management in Remote
With Remote’s contractor management solution, adding and managing contractors never seem easier. The platform’s bulk upload feature enables setup in less than five minutes — whereas real-time tracking ensures full transparency across all payroll and compliance operations. The platform also provides insights into essential contractor-related data to help businesses strategically optimize their contractor-related operations.
Remote’s contractor management highlights include:
- Automated, multi-currency payments with flexible scheduling options.
- Adherence to country-specific compliance requirements.
- Dashboards to analyze contractor costs, performance, and payments.
Global Compliance
Compliance Management with Oyster
Oyster’s compliance management tool features a centralized interface for tax, legal, and regulatory obligations tracking — helping businesses reduce misclassification risks across 180+ countries. Automated compliance checks, Oyster Shell protection module, and in-house legal experts all contribute to seamless, risk-free compliance in any county of scaling.
Oyster’s compliance features include:
- Robust contractor misclassification consultancy tool called Oyster Shell.
- Region-specific templates with 100% legal-reviewed agreements.
- Adherence to various compliance standards: GDPR, SOC II, etc.
Compliance Management with Remote
The Remote platform has straightforward compliance-oriented workflows, country-specific alerts and proactive in-product guidance — altogether ensuring efficient compliance. This way, its built-in compliance solutions tackle a range of main regulatory areas — wage and hour laws, health and safety standards, employee leave entitlements, contract terms, benefits, pensions, immigration requirements, and others.
Compliance features in Remote include:
- Remote Watchtower for compliance tracking and actionable alerts.
- Step-by-step workflows to navigate compliance requirements.
- Region-specific benefits administration aligned with local laws.
Payroll Processing
Global Payroll with Oyster
Oyster’s payroll module streamlines international payroll by consolidating global operations into a single platform. It supports direct employee payroll in 26 countries, full-time employees in 130+, and contractors in 180+ countries — all while providing localized currency support and automated compliance. In doing so, Oyster claims an astounding 99% payroll accuracy — a level of precision nearly unmatched among Oyster HR’s competitors.
Features empowering Oyster’s global payroll include:
- Real-time payroll tracking and easy approval workflows.
- Real-time payroll tracking along with easy, step-by-step approval workflows.
- Insightful dashboards — for example, on gross-to-net reports or employee deductions.
- Seamless HRIS integrations — BambooHR, Workday, Expensify, and others.
Payroll Management in Remote
Remote’s international payroll solutions are built to simplify global hiring: the platform automates tax deductions, local filings, and social security contributions. It also provides secure document storage for payslips and audits, thus ensuring utmost payroll transparency and reporting.
Remote’s payroll functionality includes:
- Support for multi-currency payments.
- Automated payslips generation and other integrated payroll workflows.
- Self-service access for employees to monitor their payments.
Benefits Administration
Benefits Administration in Oyster
Oyster provides both global and localized pre-created packages (that are already tailored to country-specific laws). Employers have the flexibility of choosing from several plans — Essential, Competitive, or Best-In-Class. Plus, Oyster offers optional add-ons like wellness programs and educational perks, too.
Oyster’s benefit packages incorporate the following:
- Oyster insurance covering mental health support, vision, dental, telehealth, etc..
- Coverage of all pre-existing health conditions.
- Maternity care.
- At-home and out-of-home coverage.
Benefits Administration in Remote
Remote’s solutions streamline benefits administration by offering localized, competitive packages designed to meet the unique employee needs in over 90 countries. With deep regional expertise and partnerships with top providers, Remote delivers high-quality, compliant benefits worldwide.
Remote benefits incorporate:
- Health insurance, sick leaves, and paid time off policies tailored to local regulations.
- Country-specific retirement plans, including 401(k) options.
- 24/7 mental health support through therapists, coaches, and wellness resources.
HR Workflow Automation
Automated HR Workflows in Oyster
From recruitment to onboarding, the Oyster platform was designed to minimize manual tasks — doing so with pre-configured hiring flows, localized contract generation, and built-in compliance checks. Thanks to these features, businesses can onboard talent in a fraction of time while maintaining legal accuracy and delivering a smooth experience for both HR teams and employees.
Oyster’s key automation capabilities lie in:
- Guided onboarding allowing to onboard new talent in as fast as 48 hours.
- Automated agreement generation with built-in e-signatures.
- Streamlined global payroll with automated currency conversions and tax withholding.
HR Workflow Automation in Remote
Remote’s automation features enable HR teams to manage incentives, expenses, PTO, and pay changes faster and more efficiently. This way, the platform’s automated workflows help businesses reduce manual effort and minimize errors — thus streamlining their global operations.
Remote’ automated workflows include:
- Automated expense management and incentive approvals.
- Streamlined PTO tracking with built-in notifications and approval flows.
- Real-time notifications on the approval progress.
Final Thoughts on Oyster and Remote Offerings
After evaluating Oyster and Remote across multiple dimensions, it’s clear that both platforms are powerful and well-suited for global workforce management. Still, the best fit will depend on your company’s structure, resources, and growth trajectory. Consider these aspects:
- Scalability and international reach
Remote, with its owned entities, can be ideal for companies needing greater control during large-scale, multi-country expansion. Oyster, in turn, can be well-suited for businesses aiming for fast, automated global growth.
- Intuitiveness
Oyster’s clean, user-friendly interface sets it apart from other Oyster HR alternatives. Remote, while also having a modern UI, emphasizes functionality depth, which may come with a slightly steeper learning curve.
- Mobile accessibility
Remote offers a fully functional mobile app for both iOS and Android — while Oyster does not have a dedicated app, but provides a mobile-friendly web interface for on-the-go access.
FAQ on Oyster vs. Remote Differences
What’s the key difference between Oyster and Remote?
Oyster is built for speed and simplicity, offering intuitive workflows, visualized data insights, broad tool integrations, and a flexible pricing add-on services approach ideal for various business needs. Remote, on the other hand, is highly focused on compliance depth and operational control, with owned entities in most countries, a fully-functioning mobile app, and specialized built-in risk management tools.
Which platform supports more countries for global hiring?
Both Oyster and Remote support a similar number of countries (within a range of 180-195). Yet, Remote offers direct entity coverage which may ensure more specialized in-country support and greater operational control.
Which provider is more suitable for small businesses vs larger enterprises?
As analyzed from their current client bases, both Oyster and Remote have a similar proportion of large-scale enterprise clients. However, based on the statistics, Remote has a slightly greater share of SMB clients compared to Oyster.
Is it easy to switch from one provider to another if needed?
Yes, switching is possible but requires careful planning — involving contract transitions, re-onboarding, updating agreements, and meticulously assessing potential operational gaps.
Explore free demos of Oyster and Remote to see how they manage global hiring and support your growth.
Yaryna is our lead writer with over 8 years of experience in crafting clear, compelling, and insightful content. Specializing in global employment and EOR solutions, she simplifies complex concepts to help businesses expand their remote teams with confidence. With a strong background working alongside diverse product and software teams, Yaryna brings a tech-savvy perspective to her writing, delivering both in-depth analysis and valuable insights.
