On this page
Summary
Remote charges $599/month per employee and competes on transparency, IP protection, and contractor economics — not on speed. For teams hiring engineers in India or the Philippines, its country-specific IP assignment clauses are a real advantage over generic templates. For urgent Singapore hires, expect 2–3 days to first payroll versus Deel’s 1–2. The single biggest trade-off: Vietnam and Thailand run through partners, not owned entities.
Ratings Breakdown
Remote in Asia: Key Facts
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| HQ | San Francisco, USA (fully remote company) |
| Founded | 2019 |
| Employees | 1,900+ |
| Asian countries covered | 8 |
| Total countries | 80+ |
| Time to first payroll (Singapore) | 2–3 business days |
| Time to first payroll (India) | 2–4 business days |
| EOR pricing | $599/employee/month (annual) · $699/month (monthly) |
| Contractor pricing | Free tier · $29/mo basic · $99/mo plus |
| Global Payroll (own entities) | $29/employee/month |
| Deposit required | 1 month salary |
| Local entities owned | Owned in 7 of 8 Asia markets; partner in Vietnam |
| Integrations | BambooHR, Workday, HiBob, Personio, QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, Greenhouse, Slack, Zapier |
| Payment methods | Bank transfer, Wise |
| Mobile app | No dedicated mobile app |
| Free trial / demo | Demo available |
| Certifications | SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, CSA STAR Level 1, GDPR |
What Remote Does Well
IP protection localised by country
Employment contracts use IP assignment and confidentiality clauses drafted for each country’s law — not a single global template with the country name swapped. In India, clauses align with the Indian Contract Act and Copyright Act. In the Philippines, local IP requirements are built in. Remote calls this “IP Guard” and it’s included in every EOR contract. Most EORs ship one global template and hope it holds. If your hires are engineers and IP ownership is non-negotiable, Remote is one of the few providers that takes this seriously.
Free contractor tier that actually works
Remote’s free contractor management tier supports unlimited contractors with localised contracts and payments. The paid tier ($29/month) adds bulk payments and custom workflows; the plus tier ($99/month) adds compliance features. Deel charges $49/month per contractor with no free option. For companies testing a market with contractors before committing headcount, Remote’s economics are the best among major EORs. commercetools migrated from a limited EOR provider to Remote and scaled across 26+ countries including India and Pakistan, using the contractor-to-EOR path on one platform.
Transparent pricing with no module surprises
The $599/month EOR fee includes benefits administration, payslips, compliance updates, and IP Guard. No add-on modules for standard payroll or statutory filings — what you see is what you pay. Finance teams get predictable billing. At 10 employees that’s $5,990/month fixed. One catch: the $599 rate requires annual billing. Month-to-month is $699 — a 17% premium that’s easy to miss.
Owned entities in core Asia markets
Remote uses owned entities in Singapore, India, Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, and South Korea. Seven of eight Asian markets are owned. When a compliance question arises — say, an ESIC edge case in India or a Shakai Hoken enrolment issue in Japan — Remote’s own legal team answers directly. Vietnam is the exception, served through a partner entity.
Employee portal that reduces support load
Payslip history, time-off requests, benefits, and contract documents are in one interface. An eCommerce SMB consolidated 308 employees onto Remote’s platform, cutting manual payroll tasks by 77% and saving $61,750 annually. Employees in Singapore and India consistently rate the self-service portal above typical in-house HR systems.
Where Remote Falls Short
Slower onboarding than Deel across Asia
Singapore: 2–3 business days versus Deel’s 1–2. India: 2–4 days versus Deel’s 2–3. Indonesia and Japan: 5–7 days. If you need someone live by a specific Monday and it’s already Thursday, Remote is the wrong call. For planned hires the gap is acceptable; for urgent roles it’s a genuine constraint.
Vietnam runs through a partner
Vietnam is covered through a partner entity, not Remote-owned. If Vietnam is a major hiring hub, Multiplier’s owned coverage there is more reliable. Partner setups mean less control over contract terms and escalation paths. Thailand is not listed in Remote’s coverage at all.
No built-in immigration or work-permit management
Remote does not provide visa or work-permit services — it refers to external immigration specialists. Deel handles immigration in 70+ countries. Pebl (formerly Velocity Global) bundles it as a core workflow. If work-permit handling is a primary need, Remote can’t solve it.
Support is ticket-only with no phone channel
No phone support. Non-urgent queries often see 24–48 hour turnaround, especially at peak periods. Capterra reviewers flag compliance verification delays that can stretch to 6+ weeks in some markets. If your question is “can we terminate this employee under local law by Friday?” and it’s Wednesday, Remote’s standard queue may not cut it.
Pricing Breakdown
Base EOR fee
$599/employee/month when billed annually. $699/month on monthly billing — a detail easy to miss in initial quotes. The fee includes legal employment, local payroll processing, benefits administration, IP Guard, compliance monitoring, and unlimited indemnity coverage.
Add-on costs
| Service | Cost |
|---|---|
| Contractor management (basic) | Free |
| Contractor management (paid tier) | $29/contractor/month |
| Contractor management (plus) | $99/contractor/month |
| Global Payroll (own entities) | $29/employee/month |
| Equity solutions | Custom pricing |
What’s NOT included
Immigration and work-permit services are not offered at all — not even as a paid add-on. Currency conversion markups apply on cross-border payments. Enterprise-specific SLAs require custom agreements.
Volume discounts
Not published. Custom pricing available for larger teams — expect negotiation room at 25+ employees, meaningful discounts at 50+.
How it compares
Remote matches Deel at $599/month. At the budget end, Remofirst ($199) and Payoneer WFM ($199) cost a third as much — the trade-off is fewer owned entities and no IP Guard equivalent. Multiplier ($400) offers stronger Asia pricing. Remote’s advantage over Deel at the same price point is the free contractor tier and IP localisation; Deel’s advantage is faster onboarding and broader country coverage (150+ vs 80+).
Remote Asia: Country-by-Country
Owned entity. Onboarding: 2–3 days. Auto-generated MOM-compliant contracts.
Owned entity. IP clauses localised to Indian Contract Act — a clear differentiator for tech employers.
Owned entity. IP clauses tailored to Philippine law. Onboarding: 3–5 days.
Owned entity. Slower onboarding at 5–7 days due to local registration requirements.
Owned entity with direct contract control. Onboarding: 5–7 days.
Owned entity. Onboarding: 5–7 days.
Partner entity, not owned. Entity control and escalation differ from owned markets.
Owned entity. Onboarding: 5–7 days.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- IP assignment clauses are localised country-by-country — not a generic global template
- Free contractor tier with a clear conversion path to EOR on the same platform
- $599/month is all-in for EOR — no hidden modules for benefits or compliance
- Owned entities in 7 of 8 Asian markets covered
- SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, and CSA STAR Level 1 certified
- Employee portal reduces admin overhead and gets high adoption from workers
- Integrations with BambooHR, Workday, QuickBooks, Xero, Greenhouse, and Slack
Cons:
- Singapore onboarding is 2–3 days versus Deel’s 1–2 — slower for urgent hires
- Vietnam relies on a partner entity; Thailand is not covered at all
- No immigration or work-permit services, even as a paid add-on
- Support is ticket-only — no phone channel, 24–48 hour turnaround on non-urgent queries
- $699/month if you don’t commit to annual billing — 17% more than the advertised $599
- 80 countries total versus Deel’s 150+ — narrower if you need coverage outside core markets
- No dedicated mobile app
How Remote Compares
Same $599/month. Choose Remote for IP protection in India and the Philippines and contractor-to-EOR conversion; Deel for fastest Singapore/India onboarding and owned entities in 150+ countries.
Remote wins on IP Guard and free contractor tier; Multiplier wins on ASEAN with owned Vietnam and Thailand, $400/month, and Singapore-based support.
Choose Remote for EOR and contractor focus with strong IP protection; Rippling for all-in-one HRIS, payroll, IT, and EOR if you’re already in their ecosystem.
Remote for lower cost ($599 vs G-P’s $699+) and contractor tooling; G-P for mainland China coverage or the deepest compliance team in complex markets like Japan.
Case Studies
Singapore SaaS startup tested both Remote and Deel simultaneously, chose Remote for the long-term partnership and service quality. Migrated all employees with zero downtime.
Consolidated HR across 27 countries with a 2-person HR team. Onboarding time cut to 4 days, managing 50 hires per month through Remote HRIS.
Open-source Python company turned equity management into a hiring advantage using Remote’s platform for distributed engineering teams.
SaaS procurement company replaced two competing EORs with Remote, consolidating employee experience and reducing vendor complexity.
Real User Feedback
| Platform | Rating | Review Count |
|---|---|---|
| G2 | 4.6 / 5 | 4,525 reviews |
| Trustpilot | 4.7 / 5 | 2,801 reviews |
| Capterra | 4.4 / 5 | 94 reviews |
Total reviews across platforms: 7,400+
What users praise:
G2 reviewers highlight the clean interface and straightforward onboarding. Trustpilot feedback consistently mentions reliable payment processing — payroll arrives on schedule. The employee self-service portal draws positive mentions from both employers and employees, with several reviewers noting it’s easier to navigate than their previous in-house HR systems. IP protection and compliance management are praised by tech company reviewers in particular.
What users complain about:
The most common complaint across platforms: support response speed on non-urgent tickets. Multiple reviewers note 24–48 hour turnaround and no phone option. Capterra reviewers flag compliance verification delays that can stretch to 6+ weeks in certain countries. A smaller but consistent set of reviews mention country-specific surcharges not disclosed upfront and occasional billing errors.
Final Verdict
Who should use Remote:
- Startups (1–10 international hires): Strong fit if you’re hiring engineers and IP ownership matters. The free contractor tier lets you test markets before committing headcount. At $599/month per EOR employee, budget-conscious startups should compare Multiplier ($400) first.
- Mid-market (10–50 hires): Remote shines here if your hiring mixes contractors and full-time employees across Asia. The contractor-to-EOR conversion path is the cleanest in the market. IP Guard across India and Philippines is a genuine advantage for tech teams.
- Enterprise (50+): Remote works at scale, but the lack of immigration services and phone support becomes a bigger gap. Enterprise buyers should also evaluate Deel’s broader coverage (150+ vs 80 countries) and G-P’s deeper compliance infrastructure.
Who should NOT use Remote: Teams that need Vietnam or Thailand through an owned entity — Multiplier covers both. Teams that need immigration/visa support — Deel or Pebl bundle it. Teams that need someone onboarded in Singapore by tomorrow — Deel’s 1–2 day timeline beats Remote’s 2–3.
Bottom line: Remote is the strongest choice for tech companies that hire engineers in Asia and care about IP ownership across jurisdictions. You get real legal protection in every contract, not a boilerplate template. The trade-off is a day slower onboarding and no immigration support.
Best suited for: Tech companies hiring engineers in Asia who need localised IP protection, teams building contractor-to-employee pipelines, and buyers who want transparent all-in pricing on a single platform.
Visit Remote: remote.com
Further Reading
- Contractor vs Employee in Asia — Misclassification Risk Guide
- EOR Cost Guide — What Does an EOR Cost in Asia?
- Best EOR for Tech Companies Hiring in Asia
- How to Hire Employees in Asia Without a Local Entity
- Asia Employment Law Changes 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Remote own its entities in all Asian countries?
In 7 of 8 markets: Singapore, India, Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, and South Korea are owned. Vietnam is served through a partner. Thailand is not covered. The owned-entity ratio is strong for Asia — better than Oyster, weaker than Deel.
What does the $599/month actually include?
Legal employment, local payroll, benefits administration, IP Guard (country-specific IP assignment clauses), compliance monitoring, and unlimited indemnity coverage. No separate charges for standard payroll runs, statutory filings, or benefits. Annual billing required for the $599 rate — month-to-month is $699.
How does Remote’s IP Guard work in India?
Remote drafts IP assignment and confidentiality clauses specifically for Indian law — aligning with the Indian Contract Act and Copyright Act. These aren’t global templates with “India” swapped in. The clauses are embedded in every employment contract, so IP assignment happens at the point of hiring, not as an afterthought.
Can I use Remote for contractors and convert them to employees later?
Yes. Start contractors on the free tier (unlimited contractors, no monthly fee). When ready to convert, move them to EOR on the same platform — no renegotiation or data migration. Paid contractor tiers at $29 or $99/month add bulk payments, custom workflows, and enhanced compliance features.
Why is Indonesia onboarding 5–7 days when Singapore is 2–3?
Indonesia requires additional local registration steps, document notarisation, and BPJS enrolment that simply take longer. This isn’t a Remote-specific issue — it’s structural to the Indonesian market. Deel is also slower in Indonesia than Singapore. Budget the extra time for any Indonesian hire.
Does Remote handle work permits or visa sponsorship?
No. Remote does not provide immigration services — not as an included feature, not as a paid add-on. They refer to external immigration specialists. If work-permit support is essential, Deel covers 70+ countries and Pebl builds it into the core workflow.
How does Remote compare to Deel at the same $599 price?
Same monthly cost, different strengths. Remote wins on IP protection (country-specific clauses vs Deel’s standard templates), contractor economics (free tier vs Deel’s $49/month), and pricing transparency. Deel wins on onboarding speed (1–2 days in Singapore vs 2–3), country coverage (150+ vs 80+), and owned entities in every market (Deel owns all 10 Asia markets; Remote partners in Vietnam).
