Oyster

Mid-market EOR plus HR for distributed teams.

From $699/employee/mo 30-day free trial 4.6 on Capterra API

Visit Oyster (opens in a new tab)

Bottom line

Global EOR, payroll, and contractor payments. EOR is $699/employee/mo. Contractors are free for 30 days, then $29/mo.

Stands out for: Public EOR and contractor prices, plus a documented developer API and HRIS connections.

Watch out for: EOR is $699 per employee. People Services advisory is $300 per hour. Annual discounts apply on EOR.

Overview

Oyster is global employment software: employer of record, payroll, contractors, and people services. EOR is $699 per employee per month in 120-plus countries, with annual discounts. Contractors are free for 30 days, then $29 per contractor per month, with identity checks and payments in 120-plus currencies. People Services advisory is $300 per hour. A public API is documented at docs.oysterhr.com.

People teams pick Oyster when they want a named EOR fee and HRIS write-back rather than a custom spreadsheet of entities. Connections include BambooHR, Workday, HiBob, Slack, and Zapier. Buying EOR is still a sales motion even with published prices. The contractor trial is 30 days. Global payroll is listed separately on the homepage.

Who it's for

Best for

  • Companies hiring full-time staff in 120-plus countries
  • Teams that want a contractor 30-day trial
  • People ops that need Workday or BambooHR sync
  • Buyers who want a public developer API

Not ideal for

  • Startups shopping for a sub-$200 EOR fee
  • Teams that only need US payroll

Key features

EOR. Employ talent abroad without local entities.

Distributed HR. HR workflows aimed at remote and multi-country teams.

Pricing

Starting price $699/employee/mo
Free tier –
Free trial ✓ 30 days
PlanPriceWhat you get
Contractors$29/contractor/moFree for the first 30 days
People Services$300/hour
EOR$699/employee/moAnnual discounts available

EOR is $699/employee/mo with annual discounts. Contractors are free for 30 days, then $29/contractor/mo. People Services is $300/hour. Global payroll is listed separately. The 30-day trial applies to contractors. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.

Checked 19 Sep 2026. Vendors change prices without notice.

See current pricing on Oyster (opens in a new tab)

Is Oyster expensive?

Oyster starts at $699/employee/mo. We list 14 EOR tools in total. 0 have a free tier, and those with a public price typically start around $199 a month.

  • 7 quote-based
  • 0 free tier
  • 9 public price

Worked out automatically from every EOR listing, so it updates as the directory changes.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Published EOR fee of $699/employee/mo
  • Contractors free 30 days, then $29
  • Public developer API

Cons

  • EOR is expensive vs low-cost rivals
  • People Services is $300/hour
  • EOR still starts with sales

Integrations

BambooHR Workday HiBob Slack Zapier

From the vendor's own site (opens in a new tab).

What's new at Oyster

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How Oyster compares

See all Oyster alternatives, with what each one does differently and a head to head for every pairing.

ToolFree tierFromMCPAPICompare
Oyster (this tool) –$699/employee/mo–✓
Deel Global HR and EOR if you want a wider product suite. –$49/contractor/mo✓✓ Compare
RemoFirst Much cheaper published EOR fee if benefits depth is secondary. –$199/employee/mo–– Compare
Remote Owned-entity EOR if that model is the requirement. –$29/employee/mo✓✓ Compare
Papaya Global Payroll-led global employment if you already have entities. –Quote-based–✓ Compare
Deel

$49/contractor/mo MCP API

Global HR and EOR if you want a wider product suite.

RemoFirst

$199/employee/mo

Much cheaper published EOR fee if benefits depth is secondary.

Remote

$29/employee/mo MCP API

Owned-entity EOR if that model is the requirement.

Papaya Global

Quote-based API

Payroll-led global employment if you already have entities.

Your next step

Shortlisting Oyster?

Frequently asked questions

What is Oyster?
Mid-market EOR plus HR for distributed teams. Global employment for mid-market companies that want EOR plus light HR tooling for distributed teams. Oyster is listed under EOR and HRIS in the Work Insiders directory.
Is Oyster free?
No. Oyster is a paid product. It does offer a 30-day free trial.
Does Oyster have an MCP server or API?
Oyster has a public API. It does not currently list an MCP server.
What are alternatives to Oyster?
Oyster alternatives worth comparing are Deel, RemoFirst, Remote and Papaya Global. The comparison table above shows free tier, starting price, MCP and API side by side.