Deel

Summary

Deel is the market default for global EOR — 35,000+ companies, 150+ countries, and owned entities across every Asian market it covers. At $599/month per employee it’s not the cheapest option in the region, but it will onboard your Singapore hire in 1–2 days and your Jakarta hire without a compliance fire drill. The single biggest trade-off: that $599 fee is 20–40% of total employment cost when you’re hiring in India or the Philippines.

Ratings Breakdown

Deel in Asia: Key Facts

What Deel Does Well

Owned entities in every Asian market it covers

Deel owns its legal entities across all 10 Asian countries. Employment contracts are issued directly by a Deel subsidiary, IP assignment clauses are enforced by Deel’s legal team, and when something breaks you’re not waiting for a third-party subcontractor to respond. In Japan and Indonesia, where employment law is genuinely complex, owned entities aren’t optional — they’re the difference between a provider that can answer your compliance question directly and one that’s calling a partner.

Fastest Asia onboarding at any price point

Singapore: 1–2 business days to first payroll. India: 2–3 days. Philippines: 2–3 days. These numbers are consistent, not aspirational. Remote runs 2–3 days in Singapore. Multiplier matches on Singapore speed but trails on India. Nexbuzz, an India-based e-commerce company, hired its Malaysia team in 2 hours using Deel and saved over $51,000 in entity setup costs.

Ten-country Asia breadth through owned coverage

Singapore, India, Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, South Korea, and Hong Kong — all through owned entities. Rippling doesn’t cover Vietnam or Thailand. Oyster uses partners in Vietnam and Thailand. ShopBack, APAC’s largest rewards platform, scaled hiring across 9 countries using Deel without establishing local entities in any of them.

Contractor-to-employee conversion on one platform

Start someone as a contractor at $49/month, convert to full EOR employment later — same platform, no data migration, no renegotiation. Keego Mobility, a Taiwanese manufacturer, doubled its headcount and tripled revenue using this path across APAC and Europe.

Equity and stock option management built in

Deel supports equity grants with country-specific tax treatment across Singapore, India, Japan, and other markets. For tech companies issuing options to Asia-based engineers, having equity administration in the same platform as payroll eliminates a separate vendor like Carta (though Deel also integrates with Carta if you prefer to keep it separate).

Where Deel Falls Short

$599/month adds up in lower-salary markets

In India or the Philippines where local salaries run $1,500–$3,000/month, the EOR fee is 20–40% of total employment cost. Multiplier starts at $400/month. Over 10 employees in Manila, that difference is $23,880 per year in fees alone. Payoneer WFM starts at $199/month — the gap reaches $48,000/year across the same team.

Platform depth can overwhelm small teams

The feature set is extensive: payroll, equity, compliance, contractor management, HR modules, IT device management, immigration. For a two-person People team hiring their first offshore employee, expect a real onboarding session before the platform clicks. Multiplier and Remote have simpler learning curves for small teams.

One month salary deposit locks up cash

Standard in the industry, but still capital you won’t recover until offboarding. For a 10-person Singapore team at $5,000/month average salary, that’s $50,000 sitting in Deel’s account.

US-headquartered support isn’t Asia-first

Deel’s support team is global, not ASEAN-native. For routine queries the response time is solid (91% first-contact resolution claimed). For nuanced, market-specific compliance questions — a state-level PT variation in India, a BPJS classification edge case in Jakarta — Multiplier’s Singapore-based team has a timezone and local knowledge edge. G2 and Trustpilot reviewers note that support slows during peak payroll periods (January and September especially).

Pricing Breakdown

Base EOR fee

$599/employee/month. This includes local tax and payroll compliance, automated contract generation, benefits administration, onboarding, and access to 200+ in-country legal and HR experts. 24/7 support is included at all tiers.

Add-on costs

What’s NOT included

Immigration and visa sponsorship is custom-quoted — not bundled into the $599. The Deel Card and crypto withdrawal options are free, but standard currency conversion markups apply on cross-border payments. Enterprise-grade analytics and dedicated CSM require enterprise-tier agreements.

Volume discounts

Deel doesn’t publish volume discount tiers. Enterprise pricing is custom-quoted. Expect meaningful discounts at 25+ employees, but you’ll need to negotiate.

How it compares

$599/month puts Deel in the upper tier alongside Remote ($599) and G-P ($699+). At the budget end, Remofirst ($199) and Payoneer WFM ($199) cost roughly a third as much — the trade-off is fewer owned entities and thinner compliance teams. Multiplier ($400) splits the difference with strong Asia coverage at a lower price.

Deel Asia: Country-by-Country

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Owned entities in all 10 Asian markets — no partner variability in any country
• Fastest onboarding in Asia: 1–2 business days in Singapore, 2–3 in India and Philippines
• Contractor-to-employee conversion on the same platform without data migration
• Equity and stock option administration with country-specific tax treatment
• 150+ countries means one vendor for Asia, Europe, and Americas — no multi-provider coordination
• 100+ integrations including Xero, QuickBooks, NetSuite, BambooHR, Workday, and Slack
• SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, and GDPR certified — enterprise-grade security

Cons:

• $599/month is $199 more than Multiplier — that’s $23,880/year extra across 10 employees
• One month salary deposit required upfront per employee
• Platform complexity is overkill for teams hiring fewer than 5 people
• Not Asia-headquartered — Multiplier’s Singapore-based team has a timezone edge for ASEAN queries
• No China mainland coverage — G-P and INS Global are the options for China WFOE hiring
• Immigration services are custom-quoted, not included in the base fee
• Support response degrades during peak payroll periods

How Deel Compares

Case Studies

Real User Feedback

Total reviews across platforms: 25,000+

What users praise:

G2 reviewers consistently highlight onboarding speed and the unified platform — “everything in one place” is the single most repeated phrase across thousands of reviews. Capterra reviewers give Deel 4.8 for ease of use and 4.7 for value, with contractor payout options (bank transfer, Wise, PayPal, crypto) drawing particular praise. Trustpilot feedback emphasizes payment reliability and responsive support chat.

What users complain about:

The most common complaint across platforms: pricing feels steep for smaller teams in lower-cost markets. Multiple G2 reviewers note that $599/month is a significant line item when hiring in India or the Philippines. Trustpilot users flag support slowdowns during peak payroll periods (January and September). Capterra reviewers mention a learning curve in the first week — the platform’s depth works against teams who just need basic EOR.

Final Verdict

Who should use Deel:

• Startups (1–10 international hires): Only if speed is your top priority and you can absorb $599/month per head. If you’re hiring 3 engineers in India and budget matters, Multiplier at $400 or Payoneer WFM at $199 will save you $7,200–$14,400/year without meaningful compliance risk.
• Mid-market (10–50 hires): This is Deel’s sweet spot. You’re hiring across multiple Asia markets, need owned-entity assurance, and have the budget to pay for it. The platform’s depth — equity, immigration, IT — starts paying for itself at this scale.
• Enterprise (50+): Deel works, but negotiate hard on pricing. At 50+ employees, G-P’s compliance depth and Rippling’s unified HR platform become serious alternatives. Ask Deel for enterprise-tier pricing before committing.

Who should NOT use Deel: Teams hiring exclusively in 1–2 ASEAN markets where Multiplier or Payoneer WFM cover the same territory at $199–400/month. Also skip Deel if you need mainland China — that’s G-P or INS Global territory.

Bottom line: Deel is the safest default for multi-country Asia hiring. Owned entities everywhere, fast onboarding, and a platform that handles compliance without hand-holding. You pay a premium for that — make sure you need the breadth before you commit.

Best suited for: Companies hiring across 3+ Asian countries simultaneously who need owned-entity compliance and 1–2 day onboarding, and can absorb the $599/month fee.

Visit Deel: deel.com

Further Reading

• EOR Cost Guide — What Does an EOR Cost in Asia?
• Contractor vs Employee in Asia — Misclassification Risk Guide
• Best EOR for Tech Companies Hiring in Asia
• EOR Pricing: What Providers Don’t Tell You
• Asia Employment Law Changes 2026

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Deel own its legal entities in all Asian countries?

Yes. Deel operates through its own subsidiaries in all 10 Asian markets: Singapore, India, Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, South Korea, and Hong Kong. No third-party partners, no shared entities. This matters because when a compliance question arises in, say, Indonesia’s severance law, Deel’s own legal team answers — you’re not waiting on a subcontractor.

What’s the real total cost per employee with Deel in Asia?

Base EOR fee is $599/month. Add the one-month salary deposit (refunded at offboarding), employer-side statutory contributions (17% BHXH in Vietnam, 12–13% EPF in Malaysia, 17% CPF in Singapore), and any add-ons you need (immigration is custom-quoted, Deel HR is $5/month). For a Singapore employee earning $5,000/month, budget roughly $6,500/month all-in including the EOR fee and employer CPF.

How fast can Deel onboard someone in Singapore vs Japan?

Singapore: 1–2 business days for citizens and PRs. Japan: 3–5 business days. The gap is mostly regulatory — Japan requires more documentation and Shakai Hoken enrollment takes longer. If you need an Employment Pass in Singapore, add 4–8 weeks for MOM processing on top.

Can I start with contractors and convert to EOR employees later?

Yes. Deel’s contractor management runs $49/month. When you’re ready to convert, the employee record carries over — no re-onboarding, no data migration. The conversion cost is the difference between contractor and EOR pricing ($550/month more).

Does Deel cover mainland China?

No. Deel does not offer EOR services in mainland China. For China coverage, G-P and INS Global are the established options — both operate through WFOEs (Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprises). INS Global has been operating in China since 2006.

What happens if I need to terminate an employee in Indonesia?

Deel’s owned entity handles the full termination process under Indonesian Manpower Law. Indonesia has mandatory severance formulas based on tenure — a 5-year employee can be owed 5+ months of salary in severance. Deel calculates the liability and manages the process, but the severance cost itself is your responsibility.

How does Deel’s pricing compare to Multiplier and Remote for Asia hiring?

Deel and Remote both charge $599/month per employee. Multiplier charges $400/month. Over 10 employees, that’s a $23,880/year difference between Deel and Multiplier. The trade-off: Deel has owned entities in every Asian market while Multiplier uses partners in some. If all your hires are in Singapore and India where Multiplier also owns entities, the price difference is hard to justify.

Is Deel’s platform too complex for a small team?

It can be. Deel’s platform covers EOR, contractors, payroll, equity, IT device management, and immigration — most small teams use maybe 20% of it. Multiple Capterra reviewers note a first-week learning curve. If you’re hiring fewer than 5 people in Asia and don’t need equity or IT modules, Multiplier or Remote offer simpler interfaces at the same or lower price.

AK Anchal Katyal Published February 20, 2026