Remote and Oyster both charge $699. The year's bill is still different
Summary
On the price card it is a draw. Both list $699 per employee per month, $8,388 a year. So this piece is about everything that is not the fee: the cash that moves first, the shape of an annual deal, the currency on the invoice, and whose entity employs the person. Those four turn the same monthly number into two different years.
Oyster's first invoice arrives sooner and is larger
Oyster requires a refundable deposit for each EOR employee. In the support article this site read, it is normally one month, the deposit invoice goes out within two business days, and no agreements are shared until the payment clears. Your cash moves before the candidate has seen a contract.
Remote's pricing page says it collects reserve payments only "in rare, high risk circumstances," lists the things other providers take extra deposits for, leave above the minimum, dropped probation, incentive plans, severance accruals, and answers "We don't."
So the month you sign costs salary plus statutory employer cost plus $699 at Remote, and the same plus a month's deposit at Oyster. Same fee, one month's difference in cash.
What an annual deal looks like
Oyster sells annual seats at a reduced fee; the page does not say how much is knocked off. When a seat empties, you can put a new hire or a backfill in it at no extra charge. For a company that expects turnover during the year, that clause is worth more than a lower monthly figure.
Remote's page shows $699 with no annual toggle. Discounts come through an Order Form, and if that form carries a minimum contract value and your year's fees fall short, Remote bills the gap as a true-up. Remote's own example: commit $100,000, use $85,000, receive an invoice for $15,000. The annual "saving" shows up as a reusable seat at Oyster and as a shortfall invoice at Remote.
The currency on the invoice
Oyster bills in USD, EUR, GBP and CAD, and charges a conversion fee when you pay in a currency other than the contract's. Remote bills in twelve (USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, NZD, SGD, CHF, JPY, SEK, NOK, DKK) and converts any payslip in a different currency at the "Remote FX Rate," which it says moves month to month with volume and the currency pair's volatility. The markup is not published.
If you want to be billed in yen, only Remote offers it on paper. What the rate inside that invoice looks like, you learn when it arrives.
Who is the employer
Remote says it owns and operates all its entities, with no handoffs to third parties. Oyster says it hires through "our owned entities and vetted partners" and does not label its country pages either way. In a partner country, the signature on your employee's contract belongs to a local firm.
Smaller differences worth a glance
- Contractor management is $29 a month at both; Oyster's first 30 days are free.
- Oyster's People Partner service, hourly HR advice, is $300 an hour. Remote publishes nothing in that form.
- Oyster advertises up to $1,200 off EOR subscription fees for startups; the conditions are not on the page.
- Remote says no platform, onboarding or setup fees. Oyster says setup is included in the subscription.
Which one
With the fee equal, two questions settle it. Can you put up an extra month of cash in the signing month? If not, Remote. Do you expect people to come and go within the year? If so, Oyster's annual seat. If neither applies, choose by billing currency.
| Remote | Oyster HR | |
|---|---|---|
| Published EOR fee | $699 per employee per month | $699 per employee per month, annual discount unpublished |
| Deposit | Reserve only in rare, high-risk cases | Refundable, normally one month, paid before agreements are shared |
| Annual deal | Order Form discount; true-up on a missed minimum | Annual seats, reusable when one empties |
| Billing currencies | 12, converted at the Remote FX Rate | USD, EUR, GBP, CAD; conversion fee outside the contract currency |
| Employing entity | Owned entities (Remote's statement) | Owned entities and partners |
| Checked | 2026-10-01 | 2026-10-01 |
| Provider site | See Remote EOR pricing | See Oyster HR EOR pricing |
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Sources
- https://remote.com/pricing
- https://support.remote.com/hc/en-us/articles/47842035392909-What-is-a-true-up-invoice-and-when-will-you-receive-one
- https://support.remote.com/hc/en-us/articles/4407227685005-What-conversion-rates-are-used-when-invoicing
- https://www.oysterhr.com/pricing
- https://www.oysterhr.com/direct-plus
- https://support.oysterhr.com/hc/en-us/articles/34221595587089
- https://www.oysterhr.com/library/employer-of-record-pricing
Related on this site
- Can you pay Remote less than $699 a month, and what's the catch?
- If the big EOR providers charge about the same, what actually separates them?
- Oyster's $699 and the deposit that comes before the contract
- How long before an EOR hire can actually start work?
Related on this site
- Deel at $599 and RemoFirst at $199: what the $400 a month is buying
- Multiplier against Deel: $100 a month cheaper on paper, with two lines left blank
Written by Kaz, independent publisher. No commercial relationship with the providers named unless it is listed on the disclosure page.
Page last updated 2026-10-02. Sources are listed per figure and labeled statutory or payroll reference. Rates last verified 2026-08-21. This is not legal, tax or payroll advice and we do not file anyone's payroll.
Every formula on this site is written out in full on Method. Ordering is by computed cost, never by what a provider pays us.
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