Papaya Global is one of the top providers of global payroll services for large and small businesses alike. Its advanced HR tools, automatic tax administration, fast payments in local currencies, comprehensive reporting and global benefits packages help businesses hire, pay and retain employees in more than 160 countries.

But even though Papaya Global consistently makes lists of the best international payroll software, it might not be the best global payroll solution for your business.

Oyster HR is the best Papaya Global alternative for most multinational companies. Below, we review Oyster HR and Papaya Global’s other top competitors so you can decide if Papaya or an alternative will best meet your business’s needs.

Jump to:

Top Papaya Global competitors and alternatives: Comparison table

Global PayrollAdd-on benefitsAnalytics and reportsCustomer supportFree trialPricing
Papaya Global160+ countriesYesYesBusiness hours onlyNo$2 per month per contractor
Oyster180+ countriesYesNoEmail support onlyFor contractor plan only$29 per month per contractor
Rippling50 countriesYesYes24/7 chat, email and phone supportYes*$8 per month per user
ADP Global Payroll140 countriesYesYes24/7 support in 35 languagesNoCustom
Blue Marble Payroll145+ countriesYesYesBusiness hours onlyNoCustom
Velocity Global185+ countriesYesNo24/7 customer supportNoCustom
Safeguard Global170+ countriesYesYes24/7 customer supportNoCustom
*Rippling one-month free subscription available for Tech Republic readers only.

Featured partners

Learn More

Oyster HR: Best overall Papaya alternative

The Oyster logo.
Image: Oyster

With Oyster HR’s employer of record service, companies can manage all aspects of payroll and HR without setting up business entities in the country where they are operating. Oyster offers payroll support for more than 180 countries (20 more than Papaya Global) and processes payments in 120 local currencies.

Unlike Papaya Global, Oyster HR isn’t a global PEO. Instead, its employer of record service facilitates hiring and payroll processing for US-based businesses working with contractors and employees across the world. Its team of compliance experts can keep you up to date on best employment practices in any country. You can also use Oyster HR to offer benefits, including equity options, to employees around the world.

Interested? You can learn more by reading our in-depth Oyster review.

Oyster central dashboard.
Oyster central dashboard. Image: Oyster

Pricing

Oyster HR has three main payroll plans:

  • Contractor: Starts at $29 per contractor paid per month. (Includes a 30-day free trial.)
  • Employee: Starts at $499 per employee per month when billed annually. Price increases to $599 per employee when billed month to month.
  • Scale: Custom pricing only.

The Scale plan is a more customized plan option for businesses with five or more employees.

Features

  • Thorough employee lifecycle management in 180+ countries.
  • Support for paying both contractors and employees.
  • Fully automated payroll with payments made in local currencies.
  • Global health benefits and equity options.
  • Time-off management.
  • Employment cost calculator to help businesses assess the financial viability of hiring in certain countries.
  • Built-in expense management.
  • Global salary insights with expert compensation consulting.

Pros and cons

Oyster prosOyster cons
Easy-to-use, centralized modern cloud platform.May be too expensive for small businesses.
Global payroll automation.Limited advanced reporting and analytics.
Country-specific insights from legal experts.Email customer support only.
Upfront country-specific cost calculator.

Try Oyster

Rippling: Best automations

Rippling logo.
Image: Rippling

Rippling introduced its global payroll and HR features in 2022. The platform is known for its automated, innovative tools that eliminate manual work. Unique among payroll software providers, Rippling also offers IT and finance management plans, allowing businesses to connect their most important software tools on the same unified platform. For instance, using Rippling’s IT Cloud product, companies can manage their employees’ apps, devices, data and security, no matter where they are in the world.

Since Rippling’s global payroll offering is relatively new, it offers international payroll and compliance support in only 50 countries. Additionally, despite offering a wide range of analytics and reports, its global service is not as quite as advanced as that of Papaya Global. However, Rippling has high customer service scores, and its global payroll platform allows you to pay both domestic and global workers on the same operating system and within the same payroll run.

For more information, read our full Rippling review.

Rippling dashboard.
Rippling dashboard. Image: Rippling

Pricing

Rippling’s payroll service starts at $8 per user per month plus a monthly base fee. Since Rippling’s plans are fully customizable, interested parties must reach out for a custom quote.

Features

  • Easy hiring, onboarding and offboarding within the same centralized system.
  • Automated time and attendance tracking.
  • Some global benefits options.
  • Straightforward employer of record services in 50 countries.
  • Corporate card management and employee reimbursement.
  • Remote device and password management.
  • Fully automated domestic and global payroll runs.

Pros and cons

Rippling prosRippling cons
Modern, user-friendly platform.EOR service in 50 countries only.
Fully customizable plans.Limited transparent pricing online.
Excellent scalability for growing businesses.
24/7 customer support.

Try Rippling

ADP Global Payroll: Best for enterprises

Logo for ADP.
Image: ADP

ADP has been in the payroll and HR management business for over 70 years and has more than 800,000 clients in 140 countries. Its global payroll plan, ADP Global Payroll, supports large US-based multinational corporations. ADP Global Payroll offers a comprehensive suite of services that span the entire employee lifecycle. Its top features include advanced tools for national and global payroll along with talent management, tax management and benefits administration.

Learn more about ADP’s global payroll solutions by reading our in-depth ADP Global Payroll review.

 

ADP dashboard overview.
ADP dashboard overview. Image: ADP

Pricing

ADP does not openly disclose the price of its plans on its website. To get a quote customers must schedule a free demo.

Features

  • On-demand, easy-to-read analytics and reports.
  • Automated payroll, benefits and compliance in 140+ countries.
  • HR admin tools.
  • Pre-built integration with third-party HCM software.

Pros and cons

ADP Global Payroll prosADP Global Payroll cons
Excellent mobile app.No transparent online pricing information.
Advanced reports, analytics and data.Limited feature information available online.
Oversight by 300+ security, risk and privacy experts.Steep software learning curve for new users.
24/7 support in 35 languages.

Try ADP

Blue Marble Payroll: Best business expansion support

Blue Marble Logo.
Image: Blue Marble

Blue Marble Payroll is a global payroll solution provider that helps companies expand their business overseas. Apart from its comprehensive payroll features, the platform’s greatest strength is its simplicity and user-friendliness.

Blue Marble Payroll can help your company expand operations in over 145 countries. Along with its global payroll solutions, it offers accounting, tax, finance and HR services. The platform provides customized monthly reporting, real-time access to payroll data across all countries and compliance features to meet local tax and labor laws.

Companies can choose to sign up for Blue Marble Payroll as a standalone service, but Blue Marble also partners with popular payroll companies like Paychex to make international payroll even easier.

Blue Marble employee dashboard.
Blue Marble employee dashboard. Image: Blue Marble

Pricing

Blue Marble does not provide prices online. Customers need to contact the company for price quotes.

Features

  • International payroll management in 140+ countries.
  • Aggregated reporting for real-time data insights.
  • Global expansion services, including business and bank account registration.
  • Consulting services.
  • International contract templates, document translation and other global HR tools.
  • Global health benefits.

Pros and cons

Blue Marble prosBlue Marble cons
Advanced reporting features.No transparent online pricing information.
User-friendly interface.No free trial.
Built-in integration with domestic payroll providers.Extremely limited information about features available online.
Support for businesses scaling globally.Customer service during regular business hours only.

Try Blue Marble

Velocity Global: Best EOR

Velocity Global logo.
Image: Velocity Global

Velocity Global makes global operations simple through its EOR solution. Besides the standard features most global payroll vendors offer, Velocity Global supports global immigration and independent contractor compliance and consulting. With the platform, companies can hire and pay workers in over 185 countries and territories, reduce costs and risks and accelerate global growth.

Velocity Global map of employees.
Velocity Global map of employees. Image: Velocity Global

Pricing

Velocity Global doesn’t provide pricing information on its website and requires users to request a quote based on their operations. Velocity Global doesn’t offer a free trial or a demo.

Features

  • EOR service helps businesses expand without setting up legal entities in foreign jurisdictions.
  • Global payroll, benefits, taxes and compliance.
  • Network of on-the-ground experts in 185+ countries.
  • Streamlined global hiring.
  • Immigration services to support global employees.
  • Remote office access in 120 countries.

Pros and cons

Velocity Global prosVelocity Global cons
Scalable for businesses of all sizes.No transparent online pricing information.
Personalized expertise on a global scale.No free trial.
Availability in 185+ countries.
Mobile app access.

Try Velocity Global

Safeguard Global: Best for workforce planning

Safeguard Global Logo.
Image: Safeguard Global

Safeguard Global helps companies optimize global workforce strategy with its managed payroll, global employment outsourcing and global talent acquisition solutions. The company provides global payroll and workforce management solutions, as well as support for local labor laws, tax regulations and compliance requirements in over 170 countries.

Safeguard Global combines technology with expertise and services for companies to rapidly scale internationally. The platform is mainly used by companies with large workforces that generate millions of dollars a month in revenue.

Safeguard Global new worker update dashboard.
Safeguard Global new worker update dashboard. Image: Safeguard Global

Pricing

Safeguard does not provide the cost of plans online, or a free trial.

Features

  • Worldwide recruitment tools, including optional outsourcing.
  • Time and attendance integration.
  • In-country global compliance experts.
  • Basic HR tools.
  • Comprehensive data, reports and analytics.

Pros and cons

Safeguard Global prosSafeguard Global cons
Payroll support for employees in local languages.No transparent online pricing.
Global payroll in 170+ services.Limited information available online.
24/7 customer service.
Local, expert benefits guidance.

Try Safeguard Global

Is Papaya Global worth it?

The Papaya Global logo.
Image: Papaya Global

Papaya Global is one of the best global payroll services for US-based businesses. It’s also a remarkably affordable global payroll option, especially for businesses that pay global contractors only, not global employees.

Along with offering an EOR service, payroll licensing support and global payroll processing through its international PEO solution, Papaya Global helps guide businesses through complex immigration tasks. Its global benefits are tailored to individual countries and cultures to ensure your business stays competitive in every region. And Papaya processes paychecks in local currencies, depositing them within 48 hours.

Is Papaya Global right for you? Get more details on this payroll service by reading our Papaya Global review.

Pricing

Most of Papaya’s services cost a per-employee monthly fee. Refreshingly, the company lists its international payroll prices upfront and transparently:

  • Contractor management: Starts at $2 per contractor paid per month.
  • Full-service global payroll: Starts at $12 per employee per month.
  • Payroll platform license: Starts at $3 per employee per month.
  • Payments as a service: Starts at $3 per employee per month.
  • Employer of record service: Starts at $650 per employee per month.
  • Global expertise services (health benefits, immigration and equity): Starts at $190 per employee per month.

Features

  • Global visa support.
  • On-the-ground compliance experts.
  • Automatic payroll processing in 160+ countries.
  • Contractor-only plan.
  • Onboarding tools for contractors and employees.
  • Employee app with org chart information and company-wide announcements.

Pros and cons

Papaya Global prosPapaya Global cons
Low starting price.No mobile payroll app.
Multiple services for maximum flexibility.Potentially pricy EOR service.
Fast payments made in local currencies.
Location-specific benefits.

Try Papaya Global

Do you need a Papaya Global alternative?

Papaya Global might be a good international payroll provider for you in the following situations:

  • If you want a supremely affordable way to pay contractors internationally.
  • If you’re happy with your payroll provider but want to expand  its licensing to support global workers.
  • If you typically run payroll from the office, not on the go.
  • If you want to choose between multiple international payroll options instead of being liked into an EOR, PEO or payroll software system only.

On the other hand, you should consider a Papaya Global alternative if you need mobile payroll options, would prefer not to work with a PEO, don’t want to pay extra for comprehensive data and analytics, or prefer an EOR service that starts at a lower per-employee price.

You should also consider your company’s size and budget while deciding between Papaya and an alternative. While Papaya is an affordable pick for processing international employee and contractor payments, its EOR service might not be as affordable as that offered by competitors like Oyster HR.

Unfortunately, most of the companies on our list don’t offer free trials. However, you can reach out to any provider and schedule a customized demo where you’ll also receive a custom quote.

Our methodology

To write our review and evaluate the top Papaya Global competitors and alternatives, we examined sites that compile aggregate data based on verified user reviews, such as Trustpilot, Gartner Peer Insights and others. We also reviewed demos on vendor sites, test-drove the software when possible and scoured through the official sites of each vendor to evaluate their software features, customer service, user-friendliness, price and scalability.

Learn more about how we rate and review software by reading our payroll software review methodology page.