What Remote Is and Why It Exists
Remote is a global HR platform that solves one of the most practical problems in modern business: how to legally employ someone in another country when you do not have a legal entity there. Without a platform like Remote, hiring internationally requires either setting up a local legal entity — expensive and slow — or misclassifying workers as contractors when they should legally be employees.
Remote acts as the employer of record (EOR) in the countries where your team members are based. The employee works for your company day-to-day, but Remote handles the legal employment relationship, local compliance, payroll, benefits, and tax filings in each jurisdiction. The result is that a company can hire in dozens of countries without establishing subsidiary entities in each one.
Who Remote Is Built For
The primary use case for Remote is companies with distributed or fully remote teams that include international employees. This includes startups scaling quickly who want to hire the best candidate regardless of location, established companies expanding into new markets, and businesses moving from a contractor model to a compliant employment model for long-term team members.
Remote also serves companies that manage international contractors — not just employees. The contractor management product handles compliant contracts, invoice management, and payment in local currencies without the cost of the full employer of record service.
Core Capabilities: What Remote Actually Handles
The employer of record service covers the full employment lifecycle in each supported country: compliant employment contracts, local payroll processing, statutory benefits, tax withholding and filing, and termination support that complies with local labour laws. Remote currently supports employment in over 180 countries, with owned local entities in the most common hiring destinations rather than relying on third-party partners — a meaningful quality differentiator in this market.
Global payroll is available for companies that already have entities in multiple countries and need a consolidated platform to manage payroll across them. This is distinct from the EOR product and serves companies that are past the startup phase and want operational consolidation.
The contractor management product is the most affordable entry point. For companies managing international contractors, Remote provides compliant contracts, automated payment runs, and currency handling at a flat monthly rate per contractor — significantly cheaper than the full EOR service.
Remote Pricing: What to Expect
Remote’s contractor management plan starts from $29 per contractor per month, making it accessible for businesses with a small international contractor base. The employer of record service starts from $599 per employee per month — higher than some competitors but reflective of Remote’s owned-entity model rather than partner-dependent coverage.
The cost needs to be evaluated against the alternative: setting up a local entity in a new country can cost $5,000–$20,000 and take months. For a single employee in a new market, the EOR model is almost always the faster and more cost-effective path.
Where Remote Stands Out
Remote’s owned local entities — rather than third-party partnerships — mean the compliance and employment infrastructure is genuinely Remote’s responsibility rather than a resold service. This matters when local employment law changes, when a dispute arises, or when a termination needs to be handled correctly.
The platform itself is clean and well-designed. Onboarding new international employees, managing time off, handling expense reimbursements, and accessing payroll records are all handled through one interface rather than a patchwork of local tools.
Where Remote Has Limitations
The EOR pricing is a genuine barrier for early-stage businesses or those hiring just one or two international employees on tight budgets. At $599+ per employee per month, the cost is meaningful and should be modelled carefully before committing.
Remote is not a full HR information system. For performance management, learning and development, or structured HR operations beyond compliance and payroll, you will need a dedicated HRIS alongside it.
Is Remote the Right Platform for Your Team?
If you are hiring internationally and do not want to set up local entities, Remote is one of the strongest options in the market. The owned-entity model provides genuine compliance confidence, the platform is well-built, and the contractor management product offers an affordable starting point. Model the cost honestly against the alternative — most companies that do the maths find it compelling.
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