Best Global Payroll Service Provider in 2023 (Top 3 Ranked)
Choosing the right payroll service provider is crucial to the success of your company, especially if your company is an International Company. Business laws differ from country to country, so you need a payroll provider you can trust to help you achieve your business accounting/hiring/payment goals without a hassle. The best global payroll provider can help you meet your goals.
In this guide, I ranked and reviewed the Best Global Payroll Service Providers, along with my top 3 choices, so you can pick the best one.
Deel.com is one of the most flexible and easy payroll provider. Run payroll in 100+ countries with one platform to streamline international operations and eliminate the ongoing admin of local compliance, taxes, benefits, and more.
With QuickBooks, you can pay your team, track time, and offer competitive employee benefits all in one place. They’ll even do your payroll taxes so you’re never caught off guard—100% accurate tax calculations guaranteed.
Papaya is the world’s first integrated, licensed and regulated global payroll & payments system, supporting currencies including:
USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, AED, CAD, CHF, HKD, SGD, SEK, DKK, NZD, and more.
Read review →
We’re reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
In the dynamic and interconnected world of business today, choosing the best global payroll service provider is of paramount importance for organizations seeking success on an international scale.
As companies expand their operations across borders, managing a global workforce brings about a myriad of complexities, ranging from diverse tax regulations and labor laws to multiple currencies and varying reporting requirements.
A reliable and efficient global payroll service provider becomes the linchpin for seamless payroll management, ensuring timely and accurate payments, compliance with local regulations, and safeguarding against potential financial and reputational risks.
This global payroll review article explores the significance of selecting the right global payroll partner and delves into the invaluable advantages it brings to businesses navigating the complexities of a global economy.
What Are The Best Global Payroll Service Providers?
The best global payroll service provider will ensure timely and accurate payment, compliance with local regulations, and safeguarding against potential financial and reputation risks.
My top picks are Deel.com, QuickBooks, and Papaya Global.
Most payroll companies give you steep introductory discounts, making it easy to get started.
Here are my top picks for the best Global Payroll Service Provider:
Run multi-country payroll in 100+ countries where you have entities
David's Take
| Best for | Start-ups and Small/Medium Businesses |
| Price | Starting at $49/month (depending on your business size, you can request a free quote with the link below). |
| Tax Preparation & Compliance | Yes. |
| Promotion | Get Started with 1 year Discount |
Founded in 2019 by Shuo Wang and Alex Bouaziz. Deel.com is an international payroll and hiring solution software for businesses with global expansion plans. Our overall review score for deel.com as one of the best international payroll services is 4.47 out of 5.
The software company offers employer of record (EoR) services, which enables you to hire, onboard, and pay employees and contractors in over 150+ countries.
When it comes to running a global payroll for your company, it’s super flexible with an easy-to-use online platform and multiple payment options. Furthermore, it has a network of over 200 in-country expert partners ensuring you remain compliant with local laws and tax regulations.
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| • Free online account sign-up (you can explore its features at no cost); you will only be charged when you hire and pay global workers | • Contractor misclassification protection is available only in higher tiers |
| • They offer 24/7 in-app support and the fastest-in-class onboarding speed of 2-3 days. Users get access to local payroll experts in each jurisdiction, and support is available for contractors facing challenges setting themselves up as an LLC. | • Doesn’t offer a special plan or discount for hiring refugees |
| • Built-in expense and time-off management tools. | • Dedicated CSM is not provided to small businesses (only available to enterprises) |
| • Integrates seamlessly with common platforms like Quickbooks, Bamboo, Greenhouse, etc. They also offer custom integrations to automate and sync processes. | • There is a $5 fee per payout. |
| • Multiple payment options (such as via bank transfer, crypto, bitcoin, digital payment processors, and a contractor card) |
Key Features:
- Onboarding & Offboarding: Deel.com claims that you can “onboard or offboard anyone in minutes” with its platform. Collect and send documents, background checks, and other necessary documents to maintain compliance.
- Global Payroll: They operate payroll for contractors and full-time employees alike in over 90 countries. Deel has entities in 90+ countries with in-house payroll experts who can provide direct, country-specific support. Deel also provides tax services to make paying taxes a breeze. It almost goes without saying, but you can pay international employees in their currencies of choice.
- Employer of Record: For countries where your company does not have a local entity, Deel offers EOR services and can hire employees on your behalf.
- Global HR Management: Deel HR combines onboarding, time off, expenses, documents, compensation changes, and more in its user-friendly self-serve platform. Additionally, they also offer org charts and searchable personnel directories.
- Multiple payment options: With Deel supporting payroll payments in over 200 currencies, your international employees can receive their salaries through their local bank accounts and in their local currency. If you have US employees who prefer to be paid in crypto, Deel’s partnership with Coinbase allows you to do just that and with zero transaction fees. Aside from bank transfers and Coinbase, your workers can get their pay through PayPal, Wise, Payoneer, Binance, and Revolut.
- In-house Open API: Deel can help leverage your existing tech stack to automate tedious and time-consuming HR operations like contract creation, timesheet syncing, and more.
- HR, compliance, and visa support:
In addition to its contractor misclassification risk protection services, which include contract review and liability coverage, Deel has over 200 legal hiring experts around the globe to help keep you compliant with local labor laws and regulations. Signing up for its Deel Shield contractor plan even provides access to a global team who can help you manage HR administrative tasks.
If you require visa assistance for your international workforce, Deel’s in-house team of experts can help handle this for you—from assessing your employee’s work visa eligibility based on local requirements and providing visa application support. However, as of this writing, this service is available only in the following countries.
- Canada
- Spain
- USA
- Netherlands
- France
- Germany
- Mexico
- Portugal
- Sweden
- Colombia
- Poland
- Denmark
- Singapore
- Finland
- Belgium
- UAE
- Lithuania
- Estonia
- Latvia
- Mauritius
- South Korea
Deel Pricing
- Hire contractors: For $49 per worker monthly, you can compliantly hire and pay contractors in 150+ countries, as well as use Deel’s localized contracts, online onboarding, automated invoicing, and document management tools.
- Deel Premium: This custom-priced package comes with an additional layer of protection against contractor misclassification issues. If a misclassification claim arises, Deel will cover all legal fees, tax penalties, and third-party indemnity costs of up to $25,000.
- Deel Shield: The differences between this custom-priced plan and the Deel Premium tier include access to a global team who can help manage administrative HR tasks and a more robust contractor misclassification protection service. With this plan, Deel will review each contract and confirm whether or not you can hire the worker as a contractor. Deel will even assume total liability for contractor misclassification cases.
- Hire employees: For $599 per employee monthly, you can make use of Deel’s local entities in 80+ countries to hire, onboard, offboard, and pay employees.
- Run global payroll: This custom-priced plan is ideal for businesses with local entities worldwide and only need a payroll tool to pay international employees.
Deel offers custom-priced enterprise solutions for large businesses. Discounted pricing is also available for VC-backed startups with less than $10 million in funding. However, the discount is only applicable during your first year with Deel. You can contact the provider below for a quote.
What Others think about Deel.com
Many of the Deel reviews on third-party review sites like G2, Capterra, and Trustpilot are positive.
At the time of this publication, Deel reviews earned the following scores on popular user review sites:
- G2: 4.3 out of 5 based on more than 200 reviews
- Capterra: 3.7 out of 5 based on nearly 30 reviews
- Trustpilot: 4.8 out of 5 based on 1,700+ reviews
READ ALSO: Best Web Hosting Services
Pay your team and access HR and benefits with QuickBooks
David's Take
QuickBooks is a great software for managing your company’s payroll, but beyond that, it can help you and your business with so many other business activities that will save you both time and money.
QuickBooks is simply a software that enables businesses to manage their payroll, taxes, employees, financial account management, etc. My marketing team does refer to it as the HR personal assistant or the Accountant’s personal assistant. Well, I’ll say they are right!
So, what exactly can QuickBooks do?
Let us briefly look at the features and possibilities of this software…
| Best for | Small and Medium Businesses |
| Price | QuickBooks Payroll Core ($37.50/month); Essentials ($52.50/month); Payroll Premium plus ($85/month) |
| Tax Preparation & Compliance | Yes |
| Promotion | Buy now & save 50% for 3 months |
QuickBooks Online is a good option for many small businesses that are looking to make invoicing customers easy and integrate invoicing and payments into the general ledger. Small businesses can customize how they use the platform so that they only use the features they need.
Those who want to take their accounting on the go will appreciate the mobile app. It brings most of the features of the online platform, plus it enables mileage tracking and receipt capture for quick and convenient recordkeeping.
QuickBooks Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| • Thorough record-keeping and comprehensive reporting; the entry-level plan comes with more than 50 reports. | • Monthly plans are expensive compared to alternatives. |
| • Straightforward implementation | • Automatic time tracking costs extra, and the Simple Start and Essentials plans don't support billable expense automation. |
| • Robust inventory management in the Plus plan and higher. | • Limited users with each plan; highest-tier plan caps users at 25. |
| • Easy to share information with your accountant and to find QuickBooks experts and online resources if needed. | • Learning curve for corrections can be frustrating |
| • 24/7 phone support and live chat assistance in all plans. | |
| • Choose from more than 750 app integrations, plus options to add in-house bookkeeping and payroll. |
Key features:
Tax penalty protection: With tax penalty protection they‘ll pay up to $25,000 if you receive a penalty.
Same-day direct deposit: You’ll be able to hold onto cash longer and pay your team on your schedule.
Auto taxes and forms: They’ll calculate, file, and pay your payroll taxes for you.
Auto Payroll: Free up your time when you set payroll to run automatically.
- Time Tracking: Approve timesheets and create invoices on the go.
- Expert Setup: An expert will take care of payroll setup once you provide the info.
1099 E-File & Pay: Create and e-file 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC forms.
QuickBooks Pricing
All NwaezeDavid.com readers enjoy promotional discounts. All the plans include access to QuickBooks Online mobile apps, customer support, and third-party app integrations. Add-on services — including QuickBooks Payroll and QuickBooks Payments — will incur separate costs.
Do you have a side hustle that needs accounting software? You should try QuickBooks; as they offer separate product services for different kinds of business. For instance, QuickBooks Self-Employed is designed for freelancers and independent contractors, with plans starting at $15 per month.
Master payroll & payments. Fund in 12 currencies, pay in 160+ countries.
David's Take
Papaya Global provides international businesses with PEO support and compliance. This is essential for small businesses with employees and teams spanning multiple countries.
It’s exciting to know that Papaya Global can provide support in navigating immigration and visa matters and setting up your business to legally employ people in new jurisdictions.
Now, because of Papaya Global’s flexible service options and expertise across many countries, Papaya Global is one of our best picks for the best PEO for international compliance.
| Best for | Medium Scale Business & Big Businesses |
| Price | Papaya pricing ranges from $2–$650 per worker monthly, depending on your business needs. |
| Tax Preparation & Compliance | Yes |
| Promotion | Get Volume Discounts |
Papaya Global is a professional employer organization (PEO) that helps international companies simplify global payroll, hiring, and workforce management. With the ability to provide support in more than 160 countries, Papaya Global was designed for international companies.
If it is related to HR, Papaya Global will do it perfectly. The professional employer organization software offers complete payroll solutions, workforce management from onboarding to benefits, end-to-end employer of record (EOR) and global payroll services, contract worker management, benefits and immigration.
Papaya Global - Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| • Payroll, contractor management, and EoR services cover 160+ countries | • Limited third-party software integrations |
| • Transparent pricing with a reasonably priced global payroll solution | • Basic HR solution; doesn’t have learning management and performance review tools |
| • Compliance support includes worker classification checks for contractors | • Papaya Global is generally more expensive than its competitors. |
| • Dedicated account manager | |
| • Global payroll payments in as fast as 72 hours |
Key features:
- Payroll: Papaya Global’s payroll platform provides an end-to-end payroll consolidation for your entire workforce whether they are on the payroll or contractors. Papaya Global is a great solution for international companies as it can process payroll to employees in over 160 countries and make payments in their local currencies.
- Onboarding: Papaya Global helps businesses hire and onboard employees in more than 160 countries without entity establishment. It provides companies with country-specific onboarding workflows, compliance with local labor laws, intelligent onboarding status tracker, helps facilitate worker transition between global locations, and provides immigration service to support work permit generation.
- Employee Portal: Employees have access to an Employee Portal where they can view their pay slips, wage and tax statements, and employment documents. The portal is available in multiple languages and can be accessed on a desktop or mobile device.
- Company Benefits: Papaya Global helps companies offer competitive benefits packages to international employees regardless of the number of employees in the company. The company can set up health insurance, short-term and long-term disability, vision, dental, and maternity leave while eliminating the need to source local benefits providers in every country, create local accounts, and have a minimum number of employees.
- Global HR Functionalities: Papaya Global’s HR functionalities include PTO tracking, compliance, onboarding/offboarding tools, online storage for workers’ documents, and immigration services if your employees need work permit assistance.
- HR Analytics: Papaya Global’s payroll and HR analytics suite gives you insights into workforce spending, workforce diversity, total employment costs distributed per location, total employment costs per cycle, and much more.
- Expense Management: Papaya Global can help with expense management and process reimbursements for domestic and international employees.
Papaya Global Pricing
Papaya Global offers a number of plans to meet different business needs.
| Global Payroll & Payments | Employer of Record | Contractor Management | |
| Starting Price | $20 per month per employee | $770 per month per employee | $25 per month per contractor |
| Country Coverage | 160-plus | 160-plus | 160-plus |
| Automated Payments | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Third-Party Payments | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| New Worker Requests | Yes | Yes | No |
| Reports | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Center of Excellence Support | Yes | Yes | No |
| Workers Classification Checks | No | Yes | Yes |
There is a setup fee for new customers or those adding a new location. There is also a year-end tax filing fee for plans that include tax filing. Businesses can contact Papaya Global to get a tailored quote based on their unique needs and explore these additional fees.
Frequently Asked Questions
Global payroll refers to the management and processing of employee payments and related compliance matters across multiple countries and regions.
It differs from local payroll, which is limited to one country or region, as it involves handling diverse regulations, currencies, and tax laws associated with different countries.
Global payroll management is challenging due to varying labor laws, tax regulations, and reporting requirements in different countries.
Businesses must navigate language barriers, cultural differences, and complex payroll systems, making it essential to have a specialized approach and expert knowledge.
Outsourcing global payroll services can save businesses time, resources, and money.
Professional providers such as the ones listed above possess expertise in handling complex international payrolls, ensuring compliance, reducing errors, and streamlining processes, leading to improved efficiency and accuracy.
Reputable global payroll providers stay up-to-date with the latest changes in local laws and regulations across different countries.
They have legal experts and consultants who ensure that payroll processes align with the specific requirements of each jurisdiction.
A cloud-based payroll system enables real-time access to payroll data from anywhere in the world, facilitating centralized payroll management.
This accessibility and automation improve collaboration among international teams and ensure consistency in data handling.
A reliable global payroll system incorporates robust data security measures such as encryption, multi-factor authentication, and regular system audits.
This ensures that sensitive employee information is protected and remains confidential.
While some global payroll providers have extensive coverage, not all may offer services in every country.
So, make sure you choose from the ones listed above as they have been vetted and trusted.
It is crucial for businesses to assess a provider's geographical reach and ensure that it aligns with their international operations.
Payroll software plays a vital role in automating payroll processes, calculating taxes, and generating payslips for employees across different countries.
It streamlines workflows, reduces manual errors, and simplifies reporting.
Effective global payroll management provides accurate and timely financial data, allowing businesses to gain a comprehensive view of their international payroll expenses.
This transparency helps in better financial planning and decision-making.
When selecting a global payroll service provider, businesses should consider factors such as the provider's experience and reputation, geographical coverage, compliance expertise, data security measures, customer support, and overall cost-effectiveness.
Evaluating these aspects ensures choosing the best fit for their international payroll needs.