Hire Globally from the United States

You've found the perfect candidate. They're based in São Paulo, or maybe Berlin, or Manila. Now comes the hard part: figuring out how to actually employ them without setting up a foreign subsidiary, triggering unexpected tax obligations, or accidentally violating labor laws you didn't know existed.

Oyster is an Employer of Record platform that lets U.S. companies employ talent in 180+ countries, without setting up a foreign entity, managing local compliance alone, or guessing at hidden costs.

Below, we'll break down how EORs work for American companies, what they cost, and how to evaluate whether this approach fits your global hiring strategy. We’re pretty biased, but we’ve done our best to provide an honest and clear argument for why Oyster is an unusually excellent fit for American companies like yours.

Top countries to hire from the United States

Top Countries that American companies hire from

• Canada
• United Kingdom
• India
• Philippines
• Spain
• Germany
• Netherlands
• Mexico
• South Africa
• France
• Brazil
• Singapore
  

And many more: view all 180+ countries →

Wait, what is an EOR?

You’re based in the US. You want to hire someone who isn’t. That’s where we come in.

An employer of record (EOR) is an entity that legally employs workers on behalf of another business. An EOR takes full responsibility for all aspects of employment including compliance, payroll, taxes, and benefits.

American companies reading this may already be familiar with a PEO (Professional Employer Organization). An EOR is different. While a PEO partners with your company to share certain employment obligations (managing payroll, group benefits, etc) for team members located where your company is legally registered. You remain the legal employer and manage day-to-day operations. 

An EOR does all of that and more. An EOR assumes full legal responsibility for employing your team members, and can do that for team members outside of your state and country.

Here’s a direct comparison table of how a PEO and EOR differ:

Want the full breakdown? Read our complete PEO vs. EOR comparison.

Does my US company need an EOR?

Maybe! You may need an EOR if you are…

• Hiring abroad but don’t have a legal entity there: If you have found the right potential employee in a country where you do not have a legal presence, then setting up an entity may take months and cost a significant amount of money. In this case, an EOR lets you hire them compliantly in an efficient and timely manner.
• Using contractors abroad and concerned about liability: Misclassifying contractors is a very common and costly mistake that American companies can make when hiring abroad. If a country's labor authority decides that your contractor is actually an employee, then you would be on the hook for back taxes, penalties, and benefits. An EOR removes this risk by employing your team members properly from the very start. 
• Expanding into new markets and regions: If you are testing demand in a new region or following a client into a new market, then you don't necessarily want to commit to a full entity setup just to get started. In this case, an EOR can give you the flexibility to hire in a new country, test the waters, and scale from there

Why do US companies hire abroad?

Sometimes the best person for a particular role does not always live in the same country as your headquarters. This drives some American companies to hire internationally. 

According to Oyster's 2025 Global Hiring Trends Report, employers are getting more strategic and more ambitious about where they choose to grow. Jackie Breslin, the Executive Director of Client HR Consulting Services at TriNet says:

“The U.S. is one of the largest markets for entrepreneurship and business innovation. For fast growing companies employing knowledge workers, solutions like Oyster and TriNet make it easier than ever to build teams across domestic and international borders,” ‍

Latin America has emerged as a particularly popular region for US companies hiring technical talent, thanks to time zone overlap, strong engineering talent pools, and competitive compensation. This all signals an incredible opportunity for employees and employers alike, as global hiring is made more accessible for companies at any growth stage. 

What are the key risks that make an EOR a necessity?

We often hear HR teams ask "Why can't I just hire this person as a contractor and call it a day?". Hiring internationally can introduce very real legal and financial exposures. Here are the three risks that catch US companies off guard most often. (Hint: an EOR solves these)

Establishment Risk

Hiring someone in another country can unintentionally create a permanent establishment, which may trigger corporate tax obligations and regulatory requirements that were not intended. An EOR employs your team through its local entities so your company avoids establishing a taxable presence abroad.

Recent H-1B visa changes raised costs and uncertainty for US employers sponsoring foreign talent domestically, which drove more companies to look at hiring people where they already live rather than bringing them to the US. An EOR makes that possible without the legal complexity of setting up shop in a new country. (Learn more about how PEOs and EORs help US companies navigate global hiring)

Tax Implications

Every country has its own rules for payroll taxes, social contributions, and withholding and getting them wrong can create penalties, back payments, or audits. An EOR manages cross-border tax compliance on your behalf so you're not interpreting foreign tax codes on your own.

Compliance

Labor laws vary from country to country and cover everything from termination rules to mandatory leave to benefits requirements. An EOR ensures compliance across the full employee life cycle so you can focus on managing your teams and avoid navigating unfamiliar legal systems.

How much does an EOR cost?

Typically, EOR services charge per employee per month. Although the fee structure makes budgeting straightforward, the total cost can vary significantly based on a few factors: 

1. Location: Costs per employee might vary by country. Regions with complicated labor laws and compliance requirements may require steeper fees.
2. Role complexity: Job roles that require robust benefits packages or compensation management will likely carry increased costs.
3. Number of employees: Some EOR services offer tiered fees. The more employees you onboard into the EOR system, the lower the cost per employee. 

There is no one-size-fits-all pricing model, so read the fine print and evaluate its impact on your business’s bottom line. You can estimate your savings when using Oyster with this employment cost calculator.

Why Oyster is the best EOR for American companies

Choosing an EOR is a big decision because you are trusting another company to legally employ your team, manage payroll across borders, and keep you compliant in countries that you know very little about. 

Here's what American companies tend to prioritize when evaluating an EOR and where Oyster delivers:

Implementation speed

When you find the right candidate, you don't want to lose them to a long onboarding process. Oyster's automated platform generates locally compliant contracts and can get your new hire onboarded in as little as 48 hours, so you move at the pace your business needs. Learn more about how the EOR process with Oyster works.

Employee experience

Your global team members deserve the same quality of experience as your domestic employees. Oyster provides localized onboarding, competitive benefits tailored to cultural norms, and a self-service platform where employees can access contracts, payslips, time off, and expenses.

Local expertise

Oyster pairs its platform with in-country HR specialists who understand the nuances of local labor regulations, statutory requirements, and benefits expectations. Read our guide to working remotely abroad for a US company.

Transparent pricing

Oyster charges a flat, all-inclusive per-employee fee that covers payroll, benefits, and compliance. There are no hidden fees, surprise termination costs, support search charges, or other fine print when you use Oyster. 

Compliance and risk management

Oyster assumes full legal responsibility as the employer of record, handling tax withholdings, social contributions, and adherence to local labor laws. That means your company reduces its exposure in unfamiliar legal environments without building in-house expertise for every country you hire in.

Integrations and a unified view

Oyster integrates with the tools American companies already use, including BambooHR, Workday, Greenhouse, HiBob, QuickBooks, Slack, Ashby and more, giving your HR, finance, and operations teams a single view of your global workforce.

Where Oyster stands out

We know that we aren't the only option in the market. In addition to all the key features above that matter to an American company choosing an EOR, here's where Oyster particularly shines:

Human-first customer support

Oyster pairs its platform with real human experts deeply familiar with the local regulations, so your team works with a dedicated support team of people who understand the complexity of global employment and treat your questions with care.

Global coverage with deep local expertise

Oyster combines its platform with dedicated human experts who guide you through the complexities of hiring, onboarding, and managing employees in every country you operate in. Aušrinė Keršanskaitė, the Co-Founder of Operations Nation shared with us:

"Oyster was never transactional. There was some real effort to make sure things were done properly."

Covers the needs of US companies

Among companies hiring globally with Oyster, 44% are based in the United States. Oyster understands the specific challenges American companies face when hiring abroad, from navigating permanent establishment risk to structuring competitive compensation across regions. 

And 55% of new hires on the platform are in senior and mid-level roles, which means Oyster is built for the kind of strategic hiring US companies are doing.

Ethically grounded

Oyster is a certified B Corp. This means it meets verified standards for social and environmental performance. For American companies that care about how their partners operate, not just what they deliver, that certification carries weight. Read Oyster's 2025 Impact Report →

How Oyster compares

Choosing an EOR means weighing pricing, country coverage, platform capabilities, and quality of support. Here's how Oyster stacks up against providers that Americas-based companies commonly evaluate.

Oyster vs. Deel: Deel offers strong technology and automation, which can be appealing for speed and scale. However, that automation can come at the expense of personalized support. Pricing varies by country, employment setup, and support level, with add-ons (like offboarding) making total costs harder to predict. Oyster combines intuitive technology with hands-on support and more transparent, predictable pricing.

Oyster vs. Remote: Oyster and Remote have similar pricing, coverage, and platform capabilities. The main difference is the support available, Oyster provides direct access to in-house experts across the full employment lifecycle, which is especially valuable in complex situations like offboarding or compliance questions.

Oyster vs. Rippling: Rippling started as an HRIS/HCM platform and later expanded into EOR, offering an all-in-one solution. However, its EOR product is newer, with more limited coverage and expertise. Its modular pricing can also lead to higher, less predictable costs. Oyster is purpose-built for global employment, with deeper compliance expertise and predictable pricing.

For a full breakdown:‍

The 6 Best Employer of Record Companies in 2026 →

Compare Oyster with other options →

Don’t take our word for it

Here’s what real companies experience when they hire globally with Oyster. 

Customer case studies

Oyster helps companies at every stage of global growth. Here are a few examples:

• Jitasa grew their Philippines team 4x in two years, saved 400 hours of HR admin, and achieved 94% employee retention.
• GiveDirectly hired 24 team members across 17 countries, shifting to a fully remote model while reducing HR workload and compliance risk.
• Zabal Media saved 40 hours per month and roughly $120K per year by automating contractor onboarding, payments, and compliance.
• Laminar Projects reduced HR admin workload by 20–30% while scaling compliantly across 16 countries.

Browse all case studies here

Customers love Oyster, in their own words: 

Oyster consistently earns high marks from both employers and employees across G2, Trustpilot, and Capterra. 

A few of our favorites include: 

"I really like Oyster's proactive and hands-on support. They anticipate needs and share relevant information, and there's a sense of honesty and transparency in their practices that we missed from previous providers." — Rachel, Head of Operations, G2, 2026

“Oyster[‘s] platform is well set up and easy to use, they also continuously improve the features and processes. Makes our lives so much easier and enables us to hire the best talent anywhere in the world. - Vilte Dewar, TrustPilot Review, 2025

“Transparent communication, trustful relationships, fast responses from Oyster Support Team. Outstanding support form the account managers.” - Yuliana K, Capterra, 2026