Deel vs Ontop: Honest Employer of Record Service Comparison (2025)

General overview

When expanding a global workforce, choosing the right Employer of Record (EOR) service can significantly impact compliance, onboarding, and payroll management.

In 2025, two leading players in this space are Deel and Ontop. Both platforms promise to simplify global hiring and compliance for companies without the need to set up local entities. But they have distinct strengths that cater to different business needs.

Ontop simplifies international hiring for small businesses, offering EOR services in 150+ countries through in-country partners. It focuses on essentials like onboarding and payments, supported by light infrastructure. This works well for lean teams, but it lacks the capabilities that growing companies often need.

Deel is known for being the complete global hiring, payroll, and compliance solution. It offers EOR services in over 150 countries through its own entities. It is backed by in-house infrastructure, AI-powered tools, and a dedicated team of compliance, payroll, and HR experts. Deel is ideal for small, medium, and large enterprises seeking a single, unified solution to global expansion and team management.

Let’s dive deeper into how these two Employers of Record stack up across key criteria.

Key features

Ontop:

• Global coverage in 150+ countries using in-country partners
• Automated payroll processing with localized taxes and benefits administration
• Employee Care Analyst to guide employees through onboarding
• Visa debit card and Ontop Global Wallet for employees
• 24/7 support via WhatsApp, live chat, and email
• Contractor management and visa support
• Free employee cost calculator

Deel:

• Global coverage in 150+ countries using owned local entities
• Automated and localized payroll and benefits administration using in-house infrastructure
• Supports contractor management, contractor of record services, immigration and visa support, performance management through Deel Engage, device lifecycle management through Deel IT, and more
• Free global hiring toolkit, including Global Benefits Tool, Global Salary Insights, and Employee Cost Calculator
• Ongoing compliance monitoring powered by Deel’s Compliance Hub
• 24/7 multilingual support via 8+ channels
• No-code workflow builder for customized workflows
• Built-in global HRIS

See also: What Are the Pros and Cons of Hiring With an Employer of Record (EOR)?

Pros and cons

Ontop

Pros:

• Simple user interface ideal for first-time users
• Transparent pricing with lower monthly fee per employee
• Gives employees instant access to earnings through Visa debit cards
• Supports contractor management and payments

Cons:

• Relies on third-party partners for its EOR operations
• Limited compliance management
• Few native integrations (two) and limited API
• Lacks advanced workforce management features

Deel

Pros:

• Wide global reach through wholly owned local entities
• In-house payroll and compliance infrastructure
• Fast and automated onboarding that takes minutes
• Flexible payroll, including on-demand pay and 15+ payment methods
• All-in-one platform offering a wide range of HR and workforce management tools beyond EOR
• Extensive native integrations and a powerful API enabling deep automation across all HR functions

Cons:

• The platform’s depth can be intimidating for new users, but dedicated support helps you get up to speed fast
• Pricing may stretch lean budgets, but automation and built-in HR and compliance reduce long-term costs

Cost

Ontop:

Ontop charges $499 per employee, per month for its EOR service. This rate includes payroll processing, onboarding, localized employment contracts, tax filings, benefits administration, and legal compliance support.

Its EOR package includes visa process management in supported countries.

Deel:

Deel’s pricing for EOR services starts at $599 per employee, per month. The exact cost depends on the number of employees, the countries involved, and specific company needs.

This rate includes access to Deel’s in-house payroll infrastructure, legal and HR experts, and localized onboarding processes.

Deel’s EOR package also includes an integrated global HRIS at no additional cost, along with built-in tools for benefits administration, automated tax filings, and real-time compliance monitoring.

Services like visa support, performance management, equipment provisioning, and equity management are available as optional add-ons. This means you don’t have to invest in additional vendors for HR tools. It reduces software costs and limits the risk of inconsistencies and costly errors caused by disconnected systems.

Summary:

While Ontop provides a leaner EOR service at a lower price, Deel offers deeper functionality. Deel’s higher price reflects its broader infrastructure and integrated HR tools.

For companies looking for more than just payroll and contracts, Deel delivers higher value through a unified platform that reduces vendor sprawl.

See also: EOR vs. Entity Costs: What’s More Affordable?

Compliance & legal reliability

Ontop:

Ontop offers basic compliance support as part of its EOR service, covering employment contracts, tax filings, and basic legal oversight in the countries it supports.

However, Ontop relies on a partner-based EOR model, where third parties handle legal and compliance responsibilities. It also lacks advanced compliance automation and features dedicated to real-time risk monitoring.

This structure can create loopholes, requiring you to take a more hands-on role in keeping up with local labor regulations and ensuring compliance.

Deel:

Deel takes a proactive, in-house approach to legal compliance that’s designed to reduce risk at every stage of the employment lifecycle. At the center of this system is an in-house team of over 200 legal experts, AI tools, advanced automation, and a one-of-its-kind Compliance Hub.

Deel localizes contracts, payroll, tax filings, and HR processes automatically, then its legal team reviews them to ensure compliance with shifting labor laws.

The Compliance Hub offers real-time monitoring of regulatory changes and includes:

• Compliance Monitor: Tracks and summarizes changes in local employment, tax, and labor laws, showing their impact on your business
• Monthly Workforce Insights: Sends monthly alerts based on your employee data, flagging risks like visa expirations, wage issues, and possible misclassification.
• AI Worker Classifier: Assesses whether a worker qualifies as an employee or contractor, using local legal tests and court precedent.

You also get access to Deel AI, an intelligent assistant that answers compliance questions in real time. It draws from your workforce data to provide accurate, relevant guidance and is even accessible through Slack.

All compliance tools come at no extra cost and integrate directly into the platform. You don’t need to rely on third-party legal vendors, reducing costs.

Summary:
Ontop provides basic compliance support but relies on third-party partners to meet legal requirements in different countries. It requires you to stay more involved in ensuring local compliance.

Deel, in contrast, centralizes compliance in-house and automates it. Its proactive alerts, real-time monitoring, and built-in legal reviews reduce manual effort while also minimizing compliance risk.

See also: Compliance Challenges When Managing a Global Contingent Workforce

Onboarding speed

Ontop:

Ontop’s marketing suggests that onboarding takes three days. However, internal support documents indicate the standard timeline is closer to 10 business days. Due to documentation and approvals, onboarding can take an additional 3–5 business days for foreign-national employees.

The platform offers a semi-automated process. Once you create an account and finish identity verification and payment setup, an Employee Care Analyst conducts a kickoff meeting with the new hire, sends a welcome email, and walks them through document upload, KYC checks, and contract signing.

Ontop automatically generates compliant contracts and allows employees to complete paperwork digitally. You can also track each new hire’s progress and send reminders or invitations directly from the dashboard.

Deel:

Deel’s onboarding process takes minutes and is highly automated, with dedicated support available directly within the dashboard.

The platform consolidates all onboarding tasks into one seamless digital process, removing manual handoffs. After adding a new hire, they receive an email invitation to set up their Deel account.

Employees can digitally sign contracts, upload required documents, verify their identity, and track progress via a self-serve dashboard. Automated reminders help speed up completion. You can view their onboarding progress from your dashboard using the Worker Onboarding Tracker feature.

If needed, employees can schedule one-on-one meetings with onboarding specialists through the dashboard.

Deel also offers customizable onboarding workflows through its Workflow Builder, enabling you to tailor onboarding by role, department, or location. You can set custom triggers for tasks such as equipment provisioning, tool access, and onboarding course assignments.

Deel also provides an onboarding plugin for Slack that lets you manage onboarding within your existing communication tools. New hires can complete tasks, receive reminders, and access resources without leaving Slack.

Summary:
Ontop’s onboarding takes significantly longer and relies heavily on manual coordination through support staff. Deel completes onboarding in minutes through a fully automated, self-serve process with dedicated support available when needed.

Additionally, Deel’s customizable workflows make it easier to integrate new hires quickly and smoothly into your company.

See also: Elevate Employee Onboarding & Offboarding Efficiency with Deel

Benefits & payroll management

Ontop:

Ontop’s payroll processing is automated and localized, but it relies on in-country partners. This third-party coordination can introduce delays, errors, or inconsistencies.

The platform automatically handles tax withholding, statutory contributions, deductions, and local filings in accordance with each country’s regulations. Employees receive their salaries in local currencies.

Ontop offers self-serve tools that allow employees to access and manage their payroll information independently.

The platform does not support on-demand pay. However, employees receive a virtual or physical Visa debit card linked to their Ontop Global Wallet, offering greater flexibility in accessing and using their earnings.

Ontop includes all legally mandated benefits by default, ensuring local compliance. It also lets you offer additional local perks through the Ontop Marketplace. However, the platform offers limited options to customize competitive benefits packages directly within salary administration.

Ontop also provides an employee cost calculator to estimate hiring costs by country. But the tool only allows viewing one country at a time and presents all cost estimates in USD.

Deel:

Deel manages payroll and benefits through its in-house payroll engines and benefits admin feature. It ensures accurate salary calculations while handling local tax withholdings, statutory contributions, and government filings.

A standout feature is Deel’s payroll flexibility, such as the on-demand pay option provided through the Anytime Pay feature. This feature allows EOR employees to access a portion of their earned wages before payday without fees or disruption to the payroll cycle.

Its payroll cutoff date is the 20th of each month, which allows you to manage bonuses, reimbursements, or last-minute adjustments.

Deel supports over 15 payment methods, including crypto payouts. You only need to make a single bulk payment, which Deel distributes globally using employees’ preferred currency.

Employees also have access to a self-serve portal where they can manage their payroll information and track their earnings.

Deel partners with leading global providers to offer localized, enterprise-level benefits such as health insurance. This helps you provide more attractive options at discounted rates. Its team of local payroll experts ensures these packages remain compliant and competitive in each country.

A centralized dashboard allows you to view and manage all employee benefits across countries in one place.

Deel provides benchmarking and research tools to help you design competitive compensation packages, including:

• Global Benefits Tool: Displays statutory, common, and competitive benefits by country
• Global Salary Insights: Provides real-time average compensation data across roles and countries
• Employee Cost Calculator: Compares total hiring costs side-by-side for two countries, with results available in any currency

Summary:
Deel stands out with its fully in-house payroll system, delivering more reliable payroll processing than Ontop’s aggregator model.

Deel also offers greater payroll flexibility and more comprehensive benefits administration. This allows you to offer a smoother payroll experience and more competitive benefits, improving overall employee satisfaction and retention.

See also: In-Kind Benefits Packages for Global Team Success

Support & user experience

Ontop:

Ontop has 24/7 customer support through WhatsApp, in-app live chat, and email. While the support is responsive, user reviews report long delays in resolving complex issues.

The dashboard is simple and intuitive, with straightforward navigation. However, the design prioritizes simplicity over advanced usability, limiting how much teams can customize workflows.

Deel:

Deel provides 24/7 multilingual support across multiple channels, including:

• Live chat
• Email
• WhatsApp
• Phone with call back requests and video call options
• Slack, WeChat, and Microsoft Teams

Its support agents are trained across payroll, compliance, and HR, allowing them to resolve even complex issues fast and effectively. They solve 91% of inquiries in the first interaction.

Despite its extensive functionality and customization options, Deel’s interface remains clean, intuitive, and beginner-friendly.

Summary:
Both platforms offer 24/7 customer support, but Deel stands out with its multichannel setup and faster issue resolution. Ontop’s support is responsive, but users report delays when handling complex matters.

Ontop’s simple interface suits basic needs but lacks the customization global teams require. Deel has a clean design while still providing advanced capabilities and customization.

Integrations

Ontop:

Ontop offers native integrations with QuickBooks and BambooHR. For broader use, it provides a REST API with public documentation and a sandbox for testing.

However, the API is limited in scope. It’s primarily geared toward managing contractors and payroll operations. It doesn’t offer deep integration capabilities for core HR functions like performance tracking, time-off management, or benefits administration.

So, while it’s strong for operational tasks tied to payroll and compliance, it’s not a full-spectrum HR API.

Deel:

Deel supports 120+ native integrations across functions like accounting, HR, and time tracking. This includes popular tools such as Greenhouse, QuickBooks, Xero, BambooHR, Workday, and Hubstaff.

For custom integrations, Deel provides a well-documented, publicly available REST API. It also provides a sandbox environment for testing workflows before going live.

The API enables automation across a broad range of HR functions and global employment use cases, with real-time syncing via webhooks.

However, you’ll hardly need to integrate legacy third-party systems. Deel provides native tools like a global HRIS, performance management tools, learning management systems, survey tools, and more.

In addition, Deel includes a no-code Workflow Builder that lets you automate routine HR tasks like approval chains and document collection across systems. This reduces manual work, allowing your team to move faster.

Summary:
Ontop has only two native integrations, and its API is limited in scope. Deel, by contrast, supports over 120 native integrations and offers a powerful, flexible API for broader HR automation.

Deel’s no-code Workflow Builder further helps automate manual tasks across departments, improving efficiency.

See also: 20 Best Payroll Integrations for Accounting, HR, and More

Scalability

Ontop:

Ontop lets you onboard and manage both full-time employees and contractors worldwide. However, it relies on third-party partners for local operations in each country.

This partner-based approach can cause coordination issues and uneven service quality across regions, slowing market entry.

Additionally, Ontop lacks advanced features for global workforce management. This often means relying on extra third-party tools, which can create disconnected systems and slow down your growth.

Deel:

Deel supports growth at any stage, from early expansion to enterprise-level global operations.

You can adopt additional services as your needs grow. For example, start with essentials like contractor of record services, immigration support, or Deel IT. As your business grows, convert contractors to employees and manage performance through Deel Engage.

Its EOR service runs on wholly owned legal entities, in-house payroll systems, and an internal compliance infrastructure. This direct ownership gives Deel full control to adapt its services as your organization evolves.

White-glove support helps you configure workflows, integrations, and platform settings to match your internal processes. With white-label services, you can deliver a fully branded experience to your employees while Deel manages all legal, payroll, and compliance requirements behind the scenes.

This is all possible without the friction that comes from relying on third-party intermediaries

Because Deel owns and operates its global infrastructure, it can evolve quickly without disrupting your operations. The platform regularly introduces new features and automations to keep pace with HR trends and technology. This allows you to access the latest innovations without reworking your systems.

Summary:
Ontop depends on third-party partners and lacks advanced workforce management features, which can slow scaling businesses. Deel’s wholly owned entities and in-house infrastructure enable faster expansion. Deel also provides comprehensive tools to manage growth without needing additional systems.

See also: A Guide on How to Scale Global HR

Review ratings from review sites

Ontop:

• Trustpilot: 3.5
• G2: 4.5

Deel:

• Trustpilot: 4.8
• G2: 4.8

Bottom-line

Ontop delivers essential EOR services suited for small teams with straightforward hiring needs. However, its reliance on third-party partners creates operational gaps that can hold back your growth. With limited workforce management features and basic automation, you’ll need additional tools, increasing both cost and operational inefficiencies.

Deel offers a fully integrated solution with owned legal entities and in-house payroll infrastructure. It prioritizes efficiency, with fast onboarding, advanced automation, always-on compliance monitoring, and broad integrations. That means faster market entry and a unified global people platform for hiring employees and managing all your HR operations.

Whether you’re a startup focused on streamlined expansion or an enterprise managing complex operations, Deel gives you the flexibility and depth to build and manage a top-performing workforce.

Expand your operations to 150+ countries with Deel

G2 has recognized Deel as the leading Employer of Record, citing the highest user satisfaction score and the strongest market presence. Today, over 20,000 companies worldwide trust the platform.

Deel is more than an EOR service. It’s an all-in-one Global People Platform for hiring, paying, and managing contractors and full-time employees in multiple countries. You can run global payroll using Deel’s in-house engines, offer localized benefits, and automate HR workflows across borders.

For companies that prioritize comprehensive, scalable global HR solutions and superior customer support, Deel is the clear choice.

See Deel in action by booking a 30-minute demo.