- OfficePortal vs Oyster HR in one line: Oyster employs people on your behalf in other countries; OfficePortal is the system you use to manage the people you employ yourself.
- Oyster charges $699 per employee per month for its employer-of-record service, plus a refundable deposit, with annual discounts available.
- OfficePortal Premium costs $4 per user per month billed yearly, and the Standard plan is free for up to five users.
- Oyster covers time off and timesheets, but not biometric attendance, shift scheduling or performance reviews.
- If you don't need someone else to be the legal employer, you're probably paying for more than you use.
What's the difference between an employer of record and an HR system?
An employer of record (EOR) becomes the legal employer of your staff in a country where you don't have a company. It writes the local contract, runs local payroll, pays taxes and handles statutory benefits. You direct the work; the EOR carries the employment.
An HR system such as OfficePortal doesn't employ anyone. It's the software your HR team uses to track attendance, plan shifts, approve leave, run review cycles and process payroll for people already on your books. The two can sit side by side, but they're not substitutes for each other.
When does OfficePortal make more sense than Oyster?
It comes down to who the legal employer is. OfficePortal is the better fit when:
- Your people are already employed by your own company, at home or through local entities you've set up.
- You work with contractors and want their time, leave and pay handled in one place. OfficePortal's payroll includes a contractor pay option.
- You care about daily operations: attendance tracking with biometric check-in, shift scheduling, the leave management system and performance reviews.
- You want a predictable software bill: every plan is on our pricing page, with no deposit and no seat contract.
How much does Oyster cost compared with OfficePortal?
Oyster publishes its prices. Employer of record costs $699 per employee per month, contractor management costs $29 per contractor per month with the first 30 days free, and its People Partner advisory service costs $300 an hour. EOR hires need a refundable deposit.
For ten people, Oyster's EOR comes to $6,990 a month; OfficePortal Premium comes to $40. That gap isn't a like-for-like saving, because the EOR fee buys legal employment abroad. What it does show is how expensive the EOR route is if you don't actually need it.
Oyster HR disadvantages: why do companies look for alternatives?
- The per-head cost adds up fast. At $699 per employee per month, a 50-person team costs about $35,000 a month.
- A deposit up front. Each EOR hire needs a refundable deposit before work begins.
- Thin on day-to-day HR. There's no biometric attendance or shift scheduling, and its EOR service doesn't include performance reviews.
- Advice is billed by the hour. People Partner Services cost $300 an hour.
- Support complaints. Some reviewers mention slow responses and uneven local expertise in countries served through partners.
- Payroll and integration limits. Some reviewers mention payment delays, limited payroll flexibility and shallow integrations.
- Overkill once you have an entity. If you open your own company in a country, paying an EOR for those employees no longer makes sense.
What does Oyster do well?
Quite a lot, if you need it. Founded in 2020 and valued at $1.2 billion after its 2024 funding round, Oyster lets you hire full-time staff in 120+ countries and pay contractors in 180+, without setting up local companies. Setup, onboarding and termination are included in the EOR fee, there's no minimum headcount, and it offers benefits, visa sponsorship and misclassification protection. Reviewers often describe it as easy to use.
What should you check before choosing an Oyster alternative?
- Who needs to be the legal employer? If it's you, you need HR software, not an EOR.
- Which daily tasks matter most? Check for attendance, shifts, leave and reviews, not just payslips.
- How does the cost scale? Compare per-user software pricing with per-employee EOR fees at your real headcount.
- What's the commitment? Look for deposits, seat contracts and billing terms.
- Is help included? OfficePortal's onboarding team helps with setup, data migration and training.
Can you use OfficePortal and Oyster together?
Yes, and some growing companies do something similar: an EOR legally employs a handful of people in countries where they have no entity, while a separate HR system runs attendance, leave and performance across the wider team. Just keep in mind that the EOR still runs payroll for the people it employs.
How do you move people from Oyster to OfficePortal?
Usually this happens when you open your own entity in a country. Once those employees transfer to your company, you can run their attendance, leave, reviews and payroll in OfficePortal. Book a demo and the onboarding team will help you set up salary structures, migrate records and run a parallel payroll before you switch.
Comparing other global HR options? See how OfficePortal compares with Deel, Remote, Papaya Global and Rippling on our HR software alternatives page.