Deel 2024 Review: A Comprehensive Guide to Global HR and Payroll Solutions

Today's increasingly globalized and remote-friendly work environment brings numerous benefits but also introduces a unique set of challenges.

Whether you're a small startup looking to expand internationally or a larger enterprise navigating the complexities of cross-border payroll and compliance, the demands of managing a global workforce can be overwhelming. 

Solutions like Deel have emerged to address these challenges, offering comprehensive tools to simplify global hiring, ensure compliance, and support the growth of remote teams.

But with so much already on offer—and with Deel continuously adding more to strengthen its solutions—it can be easy to overlook the full potential of what this platform provides.

In this review, I'll break down Deel's suite of offerings, its pros and cons, how it stacks up against alternatives, and its pricing. 

I've done the legwork and compiled everything into this comprehensive guide so you can get all the must-know insights quickly. Whether you're considering Deel for the first time or looking to maximize its potential, this review is here to help you make an informed decision more easily.

An Overview of Deel

Deel is a global HR and payroll platform founded in 2019 by Alex Bouaziz and Shuo Wang. The company started with a mission to simplify the complex process of hiring and managing international teams.

Deel offers a wide range of services, including payroll, HR management, and Employer of Record (EOR) solutions. These services allow companies to hire and pay workers in over 150 countries, handling compliance, taxes, and local labor laws on behalf of their clients.

Deel has grown rapidly, becoming one of the fastest-growing SaaS companies globally with its remarkable journey from $1M ARR to $100M in just 20 months. 

Deel is particularly known for its user-friendly platform, which integrates various HR functions, including robust payroll and compliance management, into a single interface. 

The platform supports different employment types, including full-time employees, contractors, and freelancers, making it versatile for dynamic teams of all sizes.

Deel has raised significant venture capital funding and has become a key player in the HR software ecosystem, especially as companies increasingly adopt hybrid work and fully remote work models. 

The company is recognized for enabling businesses to expand their talent pool beyond geographical boundaries, making it easier to tap into global talent without the administrative burden typically associated with international employment.

Understanding Deel Solutions

Deel is designed to take a lot off the plate for those who hire and manage teams on a global scale. 

It provides a tech-driven solution to simplify the global employment processes while taking care of the nitty-gritty details of compliance, payroll, and legal requirements.

Deel’s key offerings include:

1. Global Payroll: Automates payroll processing for international teams, handling multiple currencies, taxes, and local labor laws.
2. Employer of Record: Acts as the legal employer on behalf of companies, allowing businesses to hire full-time employees in countries where they don't have a legal entity. This service covers everything from contracts to benefits and compliance with local labor laws.
3. Contractor Management: Offers tools for managing and paying international contractors, from creating compliant contracts, to processing payments, and managing invoices for freelancers and contractors globally.
4. HR Management: Offers essential HR features like time tracking, expense management, benefits administration, and team engagement and development for a one-stop solution to manage a global workforce.
5. Compliance and Legal: Well-versed team of experts helping companies navigate complex local regulations and additional legal services such as equity management, visa support, and global background checks.

Since its founding in 2019, Deel has rapidly expanded its services and global reach. 

While some competitors focus on specific services (like payroll, contractor management, or compliance service), Deel offers a complete suite of HR, payroll, and compliance tools in one platform. That’s why it’s precious for:

• Startups and SMEs: Companies that want to tap into global talent without the complexity of setting up foreign subsidiaries.
• Remote-First Companies: Businesses that operate with fully distributed teams and need a reliable way to manage payroll and compliance across multiple countries.
• Enterprises Expanding Globally: Large companies looking to expand quickly into new markets without bogging down on the complexity of payroll and employment regulations.

Deel Global Payroll

Payroll management is a cornerstone of Deel's services, seamlessly integrating with its broader contractor management and compliance solution offerings. 

The latest acquisition of PaySpace completes its global payroll capabilities, enabling Deel to operate native payroll engines in over 120 currencies worldwide. This expansion ensures companies can confidently manage payroll across multiple regions.

Deel’s platform consolidates payroll data, automates payments, and localizes payroll taxes, reducing errors and ensuring that employees are paid accurately, in their preferred currencies, and on time, regardless of their type of employment and location.

Compared to other payroll providers, Deel shines more with its multi-currency payment options and superior compliance management. This means you can outsource the entire payroll process to Deel, from processing payroll and generating paystubs to filling tax forms with the appropriate authorities. It has local experts in over 100 countries and can localize payroll services in those countries, including all 50 US states.

Key Payroll Features

• Multi-Currency Payments: Employees can receive salaries in over 120 currencies, with real-time currency conversion for competitive exchange rates.
• Automated Calculations: Automatically handles complex tax calculations, deductions, and social contributions according to local laws.
• Off-Cycle Payments: Supports bonuses, commissions, and one-time payments outside the regular payroll cycle.
• Variable Pay Structures: Supports diverse pay structures, including hourly wages, overtime, bonuses, and commissions.
• Local Tax Filings: Supports automated filings in multiple jurisdictions, reducing administrative burdens and ensuring compliance.
• Payslip Customization: Payslips can be customized to include detailed breakdowns of earnings, deductions, and benefits.
• Employee Access: Employees can manage payroll information and download payslips via an enhanced self-service portal accessible on mobile devices.
• Document Management: Provides secure access to payroll documents, including payslips and tax forms, and allows payroll cost allocation by project, department, or region for better financial visibility.
• Consolidated Reporting: Centralized payroll data in a single dashboard simplifies reporting and analysis across locations.
• Seamless Integrations: Integrates with popular HR software and accounting tools, enhancing data flow between HR and payroll.
• Global Gross-to-Net Reports: Provides instant global reports that offer insights into employer costs, taxes, and spending across entities in one standard currency.
• Custom Dashboards: Allows customization of payroll reports for specific areas like social security, 401(k), and pensions, making data more digestible for stakeholders.

Deel Employer of Record

Employer of Record service is central to Deel solutions, built to help businesses hire talents from anywhere with ease and in compliance without needing local entities. 

For more information, explore our detailed guides on EOR meaning and EOR roles.

Deel has significantly expanded its reach, now available in 150 countries. And in 2024, the company is also moving towards establishing Deel-owned infrastructure and entities now in over 100 countries, including key markets like Spain, Germany, Australia, Canada, and India. This strategic move ensures that Deel can offer the highest level of compliance service tailored to the specific needs of each region.

Deel's EOR platform is further enhanced by AI-powered global hiring assistants and compliance monitoring features to streamline processes and add another layer of protection. 

You can pull global workforce insights from a knowledge library built by experts and ask instant questions about your global workforce while ensuring that your practices are always double-checked for compliance with local regulations. 

Deel's ability to quickly onboard employees in new markets, often within days, and 24/7 support are also key strengths.

Key EOR Features

• Global Entity Coverage: Hire employees in 150+ countries where you don’t have yet a local entity, supported by Deel’s in-house infrastructure for consistent service and compliance with local employment laws.
• All-in-one Platform: Allows you to manage everything in a centralized and secure platform that integrates everything from payroll and tax to employee management with a high level of automation.
• Built-in Compliance Protection: Automated regulatory insights inform you of wage, pension, termination policies, and leave changes, with support from 200+ legal experts to mitigate legal risks as your business expands.
• Localized Onboarding: Country-specific onboarding ensures compliance with local regulations.
• Automated Background Checks: Ensures that all necessary checks for new hires are conducted according to local legal requirements, reducing risks and accelerating the hiring process.
• Multi-Currency Payroll: Handles payroll, taxes, and deductions in over 120 currencies and across jurisdictions, providing employees with direct deposits in their local currency through a secure and integrated platform.
• Best-in-Class Benefits Plans: Offer competitive, compliant benefits packages tailored to each country, ensuring your global workforce receives appropriate and attractive compensation.
• Remote Work Equipment: Provides necessary equipment for your employees promptly on your behalf, coordinating global logistics, tracking deliveries, and equipment management.
• Global Workspace Access: Provides your employees with flexible workspace solutions through Deel’s partnership with WeWork, granting access to over 800 locations worldwide.
• Global Equity Management: Helps you manage and distribute employee stock options across multiple countries, ensuring compliance with local laws. This feature simplifies equity compensation, making it easy to reward your global workforce while adhering to regional regulations.
• Employee Self-Service Portal: Employees can manage payslips, benefits, and time off through an easy-to-use portal, reducing HR workload while enhancing transparency and accessibility.
• Automated Offboarding: Compliant offboarding processes automatically calculate final payments based on local laws, supported by Deel’s legal expertise, ensuring smooth, risk-free employee exits.
• Visa and Work Permit Support: Provides end-to-end assistance with obtaining visas and work permits, ensuring your employees can legally work in any country. This includes navigating local immigration regulations, managing documentation, and streamlining the entire application process.
• Advanced People Analytics: Gain insights into global payroll and workforce trends, enabling better decision-making and strategic planning for your international operations.

>> Click here to check out our top Employer of Record Services picks in 2024.

Deel Contractor Management

Deel is also well-known for its powerful contractor management software (Fun fact: this was actually their starting point!) which aims to simplify the process of hiring and paying contractors from anywhere in the world.

This foundational service remains a core strength of Deel, as it has since expanded to include global payroll, EOR, and HRIS services. 

It offers a comprehensive platform that allows companies to compliantly onboard contractors in over 150 countries. The platform includes features such as automated contract generation, work milestone tracking, and built-in compliance checks.

They have just launched a notable feature, “Deel Shield,” which offers unparalleled protection against worker misclassification. It works by assessing whether a worker should be classified as a contractor or employee based on local labor laws. Deel then assumes liability, creating a compliant contract for contractors or recommending hiring them as EOR employees. 

This allows companies to confidently grow their global workforce, with peace of mind that legal and compliance risks are minimized.

Key Contractor Management Features

• Compliance and Contract Generation: Provides legally compliant contract templates that are tailored to the laws and regulations of each country. These contracts can be customized to include specific terms, such as payment schedules, confidentiality clauses, and IP agreements, ensuring that both parties are protected.
• Global Contractor Payments: Enables companies to pay contractors in over 120 currencies, supporting a variety of payment meth,ods including bank transfers, e-wallets, and cryptocurrencies. Payments are automated and can be scheduled according to the company’s needs, ensuring that contractors are paid on time, regardless of their location.
• Automated Invoicing: The platform automates the invoicing process, allowing contractors to generate and submit invoices directly through Deel. This feature reduces administrative burden and helps maintain accurate financial records.
• Tax Form Management: Assists with the collection and management of tax forms (such as W-8 or W-9 in the US), ensuring that companies meet their tax obligations and that contractors are properly documented.
• Expense and Time Tracking: Contractors can track their time and submit expenses directly through Deel’s platform, streamlining the approval and reimbursement process for companies.
• ‍Deel Leased Equipment: You can lease equipment via Deel for contractors anywhere in the world with various computing devices, including mobile devices, laptops, tablets, and desktops.‍
• Misclassification Prevention: Uses AI-driven tools to accurately classify workers as employees or contractors, reducing the risk of costly misclassification issues.‍
• HR Platform Integration: Consolidates HR tasks for all employee types (local, EOR, contractors) into one platform, streamlining processes like time off tracking, expenses, and document management. This also enables an easy transition from contractors to full-time employees based on your needs.‍
• Dashboard and Reporting: Offers a centralized dashboard where you can manage all their contractors, view payment statuses, generate reports, and monitor compliance. This provides a clear overview of contractor management and helps businesses stay organized when their gig teams grow.

>> Click here to check out our top Contractor Management Software picks in 2024.

Deel Global HR Platform

Deel has expanded its platform to include HRIS capabilities, offering onboarding, document management, employee engagement, and data tracking features. And Deel gives its global-first HRIS platform for free! 

While Deel is newer in this space compared to established HRIS providers like BambooHR or Gusto, its integration with payroll and compliance services provides a more unified solution, particularly appealing to companies looking for an all-in-one platform for a global workforce.

With Deel HRIS, you can effortlessly manage time off and expenses and create customized people directories and organizational charts. The platform also offers powerful dashboards for tracking global costs, headcount, DEI, and more.

Built to ensure compliance with unmatched global coverage and localization, it allows you to automate key processes such as onboarding, offboarding, and tool access management. 

The platform’s flexibility and comprehensive feature set, including document storage and digital signing capabilities, make it an essential tool for growing companies looking to unify their global HR operations.

Deel also provides tools for goal setting, 360° feedback, learning management, and career development for those as a separate add-on to further streamline your employee engagement and management in a single centralized system.

Ease and Convenience of Use

Deel is known for its user-friendly interface and strong customer support. Its platform is designed with simplicity in mind, letting users navigate various HR functions from onboarding to payroll with minimal learning curve. 

However, with the frequent updates and new features they keep rolling out, some users say it can occasionally get tricky to navigate.

Automated workflows and guided prompts simplify complex processes like contract generation, compliance monitoring, and payments, reducing manual effort and minimizing errors. You can also design your workspace with flexible products and feature widgets. 

Deel has a rich library that offers step-by-step guides, interactive tutorials, and FAQs that walk users through various tasks, ensuring they can make the most out of the platform’s capabilities.

New hires receive clear, automated instructions via email, guiding them through each step of the onboarding process. This includes signing contracts, submitting necessary documentation, and setting up payment details. The platform ensures that all required actions are completed on time, with reminders and notifications to keep the process on track.

Once onboarded, employees can easily navigate the platform to access their pay slips, request time off, or update their personal information. 

Deel Mobile

Deel’s mobile app makes managing HR tasks on the go even more effortless. With continuous updates, it’s now more user-friendly than ever and available on iOS and Android, catering to both employers and employees.

The app lets you access everything Deel offers, keeps you updated with smart notifications, and ensures secure logins with Face ID or fingerprint recognition. And even when offline, you can still manage the basics.

Deel AI

Deel has enhanced its platform with AI-driven features, making global workforce management more intuitive and efficient while helping users leverage its expert-generated knowledge base to the fullest.

At the heart of these enhancements is the Deel AI, a global work assistant that provides instant access to HR-related data and insights across various regions. Deel AI can deliver real-time, relevant information for you to make informed decisions. And you can even ask Deel AI through Slack integration. 

Deel Integrations

Users appreciate the variety of integration options available, including popular accounting software, payment gateways, and HRIS systems.

Some popular integrations include accounting (QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite), employee management (BambooHR, Hibob, 360Learning, 15Five), ATS (Greenhouse), and productivity (Google Workspace, Microsoft Teams, Slack), ensuring that employee data across your tech stack is always up to date.

The platform also provides open API and Zapier connections for further customization and automation needs.

Customer Support

Deel's customer support receives generally positive feedback for its responsiveness and availability. 

They offer 24/7 support primarily through chat, connecting users with in-house representatives, which ensures quick and personalized responses. In addition to chat, Deel provides support via a web form and email.

Deel Security & Privacy

Deel offers top-tier security and privacy, making it a reliable choice for businesses of all sizes. Deel’s Trust Center provides transparent insights into their security practices, giving you confidence that your data is in safe hands.

It holds certifications like SOC1, SOC2, and ISO 27001, ensuring compliance with industry-leading standards. 

Deel uses AES-256 encryption to safeguard data and operates on a secure, AWS-hosted infrastructure with built-in scalability. Advanced tools like Okta and Jumpcloud manage access while employees undergo regular security training.

How Much Does It Cost? Deel Pricing Breakdown

Its pricing model is flexible, transparent, and competitive compared to others in the market, especially considering the breadth of services included. 

While Deel offers a comprehensive suite of services, it remains cost-effective even for startups and SMEs. Deel charges based on active contracts:

• For contractors, it’s $49 per contract per month, covering everything from compliance to payments
• For employees, the price is ranging depending on your target country, starting at $499/month

For US companies, Deel offers a particularly cost-effective solution with its native payroll engine and local experts in all 50 states. Contractor services are priced at just $19 per employee/month, and if you need PEO services, those start at $79 per employee/month.

Background Checks, Equipment, Workspace Provisions, and Equity Management are available for all plans as optional add-ons.

Deel HR platform is free when you engage with other services, and Deel Engage is priced at $20 per employee/month for powerful built-in employee management features. 

Conclusion

Deel is a game-changer for businesses looking to manage global teams with ease. Its comprehensive platform brings together everything you need—payroll, compliance, and HR management—into one user-friendly interface. 

Deel makes it simple to expand internationally, offering robust tools that handle the complexities of global hiring with efficiency and compliance. With competitive pricing and strong customer support, Deel ensures that you can focus on growing your business while they take care of the details.

Whether you're looking to hire contractors, manage full-time employees abroad, or expand your operations globally, Deel offers a reliable, scalable, and cost-effective platform to meet those needs. It has over 3,000 positive reviews online and is trusted by many remote-first companies like Shopify, Dropbox, Coinbased, and Zapier.

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