The US gives you the deepest talent market in the world and fifty different rulebooks to hire from it. Federal law sets the floor, then each state adds its own payroll taxes, overtime thresholds, and final-pay deadlines. California requires final wages on the day you terminate; miss it and penalties run up to 30 days of pay.
And since the $100,000 fee on new H-1B petitions, relocating talent into the US has become a budget decision, not a paperwork one.
We reviewed 16 EOR providers that employ workers in the US and ranked them on entity ownership, multi-state compliance, pricing, and what real customers report after onboarding.
Why use an EOR in the United States
- One employee in California and one in Texas means two sets of payroll taxes, two final-pay rules, and two overtime thresholds. An EOR applies the right state’s rules automatically.
- W-2 employment through an EOR removes misclassification exposure, the most expensive US hiring mistake, with back taxes and penalties that reach six figures per worker.
- Onboarding runs 3–7 business days against 2–6 months and roughly $10,000–$20,000 in setup and annual maintenance for your own US entity.
Why trust us
- We track US entity ownership and state registration per provider, not just global coverage claims.
- Every statutory figure on this page is sourced from federal agencies (IRS, SSA, DOL) and dated 2026.
- Reviews are independent. Providers don’t write, edit, or pay for their evaluations; affiliate links never change a ranking.
Top 10 EOR providers in the United States: quick comparison
Here’s how the ten-ranked providers compare on the numbers that decide a US hire: price, entity model, and visa reality.
| Deel | Rippling | Multiplier | Pebl | G-P | Remofirst | Omnipresent | Remote | Oyster HR | Justworks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $599/mo | $500/mo | $400/mo | $599/mo | Custom | $199/mo | £499/mo | $699/mo | $699/mo | $59 PEO / $599 EOR |
| Country coverage | 150 | 50+ | 150+ | 180+ | 180+ | 185+ | 180+ | 150+ | 180 | 50+ |
| Owns entity in United States | Owned | Owned | Confirm | Owned | Owned | Confirm | Confirm | Owned | Confirm | PEO (your entity) |
| US visa support | Yes, advisory | No | No | No | Advisory | Confirm | No | Confirm | Confirm | No |
| Payroll currency | USD | USD | USD | USD | USD | USD | USD (billed GBP) | USD | USD | USD |
| Rating | 4.8 | 4.8 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.1 |
Best Employer of Record Providers for United States Hiring
The following providers are evaluated by companies hiring employees in United States, based on compliance coverage, payroll capability, and operational fit.
Why Deel works in the United States
Deel runs US employment through its own entity and applies state rules per employee, which is the whole job here. An engineer in Austin and a designer in San Francisco get different tax registrations, different overtime thresholds, and different final-pay handling without you tracking either.
It's also the only provider on this list with a working immigration arm. Deel Immigration won't make the $100,000 H-1B fee disappear, but it will tell you before you waste a quarter planning around a visa that won't happen.
Deel in the United States at a glance
| Payroll currency | USD |
| Statutory handling | Federal and state payroll taxes, W-2 filings, workers' comp, ACA tracking |
| Typical onboarding | 3–7 business days; benefits enrollment can add time |
Contractor-to-W2 conversion in one system, the cleanest fix for US misclassification risk.
State-by-state compliance updates applied automatically across all 50 states.
16,900 analyzed reviews, the largest verified track record on this page.
Benefits tiers for senior hires; US candidates compare health plans line by line.
Support response times during payroll windows; reviewers report queues at month-end.
Multiplier
Best for: hiring 1–5 US employees on a clear budgetBuilt by Multiplier Technologies Pte. Ltd.
Why Multiplier works in the United States
At $400 a month, Multiplier is the cheapest full-service option in the top tier, $199 less per employee per year than Deel adds up to $2,388, and for a three-person US team that gap funds a decent benefits upgrade. It covers the essentials cleanly: compliant offer documents, federal and state filings, and payroll that runs on schedule, without the enterprise process heavier providers wrap around small accounts.
Multiplier in the United States at a glance
| Payroll currency | USD |
| Statutory handling | Federal and state payroll taxes, W-2, statutory filings |
| Typical onboarding | 3–7 business days; benefits setup can run longer |
Lowest transparent top-tier price at $400; no sales call required to see it.
Fast contract generation; offer documents ready same day in most cases.
Whether US employment runs through Multiplier's own entity; ask directly on the sales call.
US health plan options; benefits enrollment is its most-flagged delay.
HRIS and accounting integrations if you run an enterprise stack.
Pebl
Best for: first US hires without an HR teamBuilt by Velocity Global, LLC
Why Pebl works in the United States
Pebl is Velocity Global's platform pointed at companies making US hires one and two, and the product reflects that buyer. Contracts, payroll setup, and state registration are guided steps rather than a dashboard you're left to figure out.
Velocity Global has run US employment since 2014, so a young brand sits on old infrastructure. That combination, simple front end, established back end, is the right shape for a founder doing this without HR staff.
Pebl in the United States at a glance
| Payroll currency | USD |
| Statutory handling | Federal and state payroll taxes, W-2, statutory benefits provisioning |
| Typical onboarding | 3–7 business days, varies by state registration |
Guided onboarding built for teams with no dedicated HR or legal staff.
A decade of US employment infrastructure behind a 2024-era interface.
Contract amendment turnaround; reviewers flag slow change processing.
What's included at $599 versus rivals charging the same with more HR tooling.
Why Remofirst works in the United States
$199 a month for a compliant W-2 employee. Nothing else on this page comes close.
The math matters in the US more than most markets because employer costs are already heavy: payroll taxes, workers' comp, and health insurance stack 20–30% on top of salary before the EOR fee. Cutting the fee from $599 to $199 saves $4,800 per employee per year.
What you give up is depth. Reporting is basic, the review base is small at 200, and benefits options thin out for senior hires. For a junior or mid-level role on a budget, that trade usually works.
Remofirst in the United States at a glance
| Payroll currency | USD |
| Statutory handling | Federal and state payroll taxes, W-2, standardized contract workflows |
| Typical onboarding | 3–7 business days once documents clear |
$199 is the cheapest credible route to a US W-2 employee, $4,800/year under the market level.
Fast, standardized contract setup; no enterprise sales cycle.
Whether US employment runs through an owned entity or a partner; ask before signing.
Health plan quality for senior candidates; benefits gaps are the most-cited weakness.
Support turnaround on payroll corrections; the team is small (11–50 people).
Oyster HR
Best for: adding US heads to a global Oyster setupBuilt by Oyster HR Inc.
Why Oyster HR works in the United States
Oyster's case is consolidation, not the US itself. If your team already runs hires in Lisbon, Manila, and São Paulo through Oyster, adding a US employee to the same dashboard beats introducing a second vendor for one market; the contracts, payslips, and approvals stay in one system your HR team already knows. As a US-only choice, $699 is a hard sell against Multiplier at $400 and Remofirst at $199, so treat this card as a recommendation for existing Oyster customers first.
Oyster HR in the United States at a glance
| Payroll currency | USD |
| Statutory handling | Federal and state filings, localized contracts, HRIS sync |
| Typical onboarding | 3–7 business days; benefits selection can extend it |
One system across 180 countries; the US hire lives next to the rest of your team.
HRIS integrations keep employee records synced without duplicate entry.
US health plan pricing; benefits cost variation is Oyster's most-flagged issue.
Whether the $699 fee is negotiable if you bring multiple countries.
Remote
Best for: classification-risk-averse teamsBuilt by Remote Technology, Inc.
Why Remote works in the United States
Remote's pitch is discipline.
It employs only through entities it owns, and its classification reviews are stricter than most. In the US that conservatism maps directly onto the biggest financial risk: a worker labeled contractor who functions as an employee, with California's ABC test waiting at the end of it.
The cost of that discipline is $699 a month and a process that moves deliberately. Companies that want a low-drama audit trail tend to think it's worth both.
Remote in the United States at a glance
| Payroll currency | USD |
| Statutory handling | Federal and state filings through Remote's own US entity, transparent cost breakdowns |
| Typical onboarding | 3–7 business days; classification review can add a step |
Owned-entity employment with the strictest misclassification screening on this list.
Itemized employer-cost breakdowns finance teams can reconcile line by line.
Whether $699 buys anything Multiplier's $400 doesn't, for your specific roles.
Expense reimbursement timing; off-cycle payments draw the most complaints.
Rippling
Best for: HR, IT, and payroll in one US systemBuilt by Rippling People Center, Inc.
Why Rippling works in the United States
The US is Rippling's home market, and it shows.
US employment bundles things other countries keep separate: health insurance, 401(k), the laptop, the app logins. Rippling handles all of it in one system, so day one means a paid, insured employee with working access.
One thing to get right up front. The $500 EOR price applies to foreign companies hiring US workers through Rippling's entity; US companies with their own entity use its native payroll instead, from $8 per employee.
Rippling in the United States at a glance
| Payroll currency | USD |
| Statutory handling | Federal, state, and local tax filings; benefits and 401(k) administration built in |
| Typical onboarding | 3–7 business days, device and app provisioning included |
Deepest native US payroll engine on this list; local city taxes included, not bolted on.
Workflow automation covers onboarding, approvals, and offboarding without manual steps.
Which product you're actually buying: EOR, PEO, or payroll. The pricing differs sharply.
Total cost as modules stack; reviewers consistently flag pricing creep.
Setup effort: workflows need configuration time small teams may not have.
Globalization Partners
Best for: senior or legally sensitive US hiresBuilt by Globalization Partners, Inc.
Why Globalization Partners works in the United States
You hire G-P when getting it wrong costs more than the fee. US employment claims, wrongful termination, discrimination, wage disputes, settle in six figures, and G-P's compliance bench is built for exactly that exposure: a Boston-based operation running its model since 2012, with the legal depth to paper a VP hire properly. The trade is opacity. There's no published price, so budget a quote conversation against the $599 market level before committing.
Globalization Partners in the United States at a glance
| Payroll currency | USD |
| Statutory handling | Federal and state filings, benefits administration, dedicated account management |
| Typical onboarding | 3–7 business days for standard roles; senior packages take longer |
Deepest legal and compliance bench on this list for contested-risk situations.
Named account managers rather than a ticket queue.
The quote; reviewers consistently report pricing above newer rivals.
Which payroll and expense steps route through third-party tools.
Omnipresent
Best for: structured, gradual US expansionBuilt by Omnipresent Group Limited
Why Omnipresent works in the United States
Omnipresent suits companies that treat US expansion as a project, not a sprint. Its compliance guidance is unusually well documented, which pays off in a market where the rules genuinely differ between the employee in Denver and the one in Brooklyn.
Two practical notes. Pricing is in pounds, so a USD budget carries FX movement on every invoice, and there's no mobile app, which US employees notice more than European ones do.
Omnipresent in the United States at a glance
| Payroll currency | USD (fees billed in GBP) |
| Statutory handling | Federal and state filings, multi-currency payroll, statutory benefits |
| Typical onboarding | 3–7 business days for standard roles |
Strongest written compliance documentation of the mid-tier providers.
Flexible models (EOR, contractor, PEO-style) under one account.
Whether US employment runs through Omnipresent's own entity or a local partner.
USD billing availability to remove FX noise from your invoices.
Support routing; reviewers report slower responses when regional partners are involved.
Justworks
Best for: US companies hiring across statesBuilt by Justworks, Inc.
Why Justworks works in the United States
Read this card carefully, because Justworks is a different animal from everything above it.
In the US, Justworks is a PEO. It co-employs your workers, which means you must already own a US entity; it cannot hire on your behalf the way an EOR does. Its $599 EOR product covers countries outside the US, not the US itself.
Within that constraint, it's excellent. A US startup with an entity gets multi-state payroll, compliance support, and access to large-group health plans at $59 per employee, roughly a tenth of what the EOR providers above charge. Foreign companies with a US subsidiary fit too. Foreign companies without one should pick any other provider on this page.
Justworks in the United States at a glance
| Payroll currency | USD |
| Statutory handling | Co-employment: payroll taxes, filings, and benefits under a shared-employer model |
| Typical onboarding | 3–7 business days once your entity and FEIN are in place |
Large-group health, dental, and 401(k) plans that small teams can't get alone.
$59/month entry price, the cheapest multi-state compliance on this page by far.
Certified PEO depth: 14 years running US payroll and state filings.
That you have a US entity and FEIN. Without both, Justworks can't employ for you.
Total cost at scale; per-employee pricing climbs as headcount grows.
Additional EOR Solutions in the United States
Here are some additional EOR solutions that can be very effective in the United States which you may explore as well.
Borderless AI
Native Teams
Playroll
Papaya Global
Safeguard Global
WorkMotion
How US employment law actually works
Federal law is the floor, not the system. The Fair Labor Standards Act sets a $7.25 minimum wage and the 40-hour overtime rule, then states build on top. Thirty states run higher minimum wages, and California's exempt-salary floor sits at roughly $70,300 against the federal $35,568.
Every state except Montana is at-will. Either side can end employment at any time without notice or severance, but at-will is narrower than it sounds: terminations that touch discrimination, retaliation, or wage violations produce lawsuits, and US employees file them readily.
The operating rule is simple. The employee's state of residence, not your location, decides which rulebook applies.
Contracts and classification
Most US states require no written employment contract; an offer letter plus company policies is the norm. Put compensation, IP assignment, confidentiality, and at-will language in writing anyway. What's undocumented becomes contestable.
Classification is where foreign employers lose money. A worker labeled contractor who functions as an employee triggers back taxes, penalties, and in California the ABC test, the strictest in the country. Misclassification is the single most common reason companies move US contractors onto an EOR's W-2 payroll.
The same trap exists inside employment: exempt versus non-exempt. Pay someone a salary below the applicable threshold, or give them non-exempt duties, and every hour past 40 owes time-and-a-half retroactively.
Payroll taxes and employer contributions
US payroll splits into what you withhold from the employee and what you pay on top. The employer side runs roughly 8–12% of salary before health insurance.
What a US hire actually costs: a worked example
Take a $120,000 software engineer in California, hired through a $599/month EOR.
The same hire in Texas changes less than people expect. Employer payroll taxes are broadly similar; what Texas removes is employee state income tax and a layer of compliance rules, not your cost line. Run your own numbers in the EOR cost calculator.
Working hours and overtime
The standard workweek is 40 hours. Non-exempt employees earn 1.5x past that, and California adds daily overtime past 8 hours, a rule that surprises employers tracking only weekly totals.
Exempt status requires passing both a duties test and a salary floor: $684/week federally, far higher in California ($1,352/week), Washington (about $1,542/week), and New York. Title means nothing; a "manager" who mostly does line work is non-exempt regardless of what the offer letter says.
Probation, termination, and final pay
There's no statutory probation period in the US. The common 90-day "introductory period" is convention, and under at-will employment it changes nothing legally.
Termination itself is simple; the paperwork around it isn't. Document performance issues before acting, apply decisions consistently across employees, and never time a termination near a complaint or a protected-leave request. Those patterns are what retaliation claims are built from.
Final pay timing is the trap. Each state sets its own deadline, and the strict ones attach penalties that grow daily.
California attaches waiting-time penalties of one day's wages per day late, up to 30 days. On a $120,000 salary, a missed same-day check can cost about $14,000.
Hiring foreign nationals
This is where 2026 differs from every guide written before it. New H-1B petitions for candidates outside the US now require a $100,000 payment on top of standard fees, a rule upheld in federal court in December 2025. Extensions, amendments, and change-of-status filings for people already in the US are exempt.
EORs were never a strong visa route in the US, and the fee closes the question for most budgets. If the candidate already holds US work authorization (a green card, an existing H-1B, OPT), an EOR employs them like anyone else. If they need new sponsorship from abroad, plan on direct employment, a six-figure line item, and immigration counsel; an EOR won't carry that for you.
Permanent establishment and state nexus
An EOR shields you from being the legal employer. It does not shield your company from tax presence.
A US-based employee, especially one signing contracts or closing sales, can create taxable presence for your company: treaty-level permanent establishment federally, and state nexus below it. State nexus is the underrated one; it can trigger state income or franchise tax registration even where no federal PE exists. Get tax advice before the hire, not after the first state notice.
Benefits and leave
There's no statutory paid vacation, no national paid sick leave, and no employer-funded national health system. What exists instead is expectation: 10–15 PTO days, major federal holidays observed, and a credible health plan. Offers without these lose candidates.
The statutory layer is patchy but growing. FMLA provides 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave at employers with 50+ staff; around 18 states plus DC mandate paid sick leave; and a dozen states run paid family and medical leave programs funded through payroll contributions. Your EOR applies whichever set matches the employee's state.
Onboarding timeline
US onboarding through an EOR is among the fastest anywhere: 3–7 business days from signed offer to active employee.
The sequence is document collection (I-9 identity verification, W-4 tax form, bank details), state payroll registration if it's the EOR's first hire in that state, then benefits enrollment, which is the usual source of delay since plan effective dates often snap to the first of the month.
EOR versus your own US entity
Most companies start with an EOR and convert later; every provider in the detailed list supports moving employees onto your own entity once you build one.
When an EOR is the wrong tool
Three cases. If you're past roughly 15 US employees, the fees exceed what an entity plus a PEO like Justworks would cost. If the role needs new visa sponsorship from abroad, an EOR can't carry it. And if US operations are the business (warehouses, regulated activities, government contracts), regulators and counterparties will expect a real US entity anyway.
How to choose between the providers above
Final thoughts
Hiring in the US takes less time and more precision than almost any market. The employee starts in days; the obligations that follow, state payroll registration, overtime classification, final-pay deadlines, benefits expectations, are where money is actually lost.
Our picks. Deel is the best overall: owned US entity, true multi-state depth, and the only real immigration desk on this list. If your team already has a US entity and you're hiring across states, Justworks at $59 per employee beats paying EOR rates for work a PEO does better. On price alone, Remofirst at $199 is the call for junior and mid-level roles, as long as you check the health plan first.
Whichever way you lean, read the full provider reviews before the sales call; the weaknesses listed there are the questions worth asking.
EOR in the United States: what buyers ask
The questions that come up before companies pick a US EOR provider.
How much does it cost to hire in the US through an EOR?
EOR fees run $199 to $699 per employee per month. On top of salary, budget roughly 8-12% for employer payroll taxes plus $7,000-9,000 a year for single-coverage health insurance. A $120,000 hire costs about $145,000 all-in.
What is the cheapest EOR for the United States?
Remofirst at $199 per employee per month is the lowest credible EOR fee for US hiring, about $4,800 a year under the $599 market level. Native Teams lists $99 but with a thinner benefits offer. Check health plan quality before choosing on price.
How long does it take to hire a US employee through an EOR?
Typically 3-7 business days from signed offer to active employee. The employee completes I-9 verification, a W-4, and bank details; delays usually come from benefits enrollment, which often snaps to the first of the month.
Is using an EOR legal in the United States?
Yes. The EOR employs the worker as a W-2 employee, files federal and state payroll taxes, and carries workers' compensation. It is an established, lawful structure in all 50 states, closely related to the staffing and PEO models US law has recognized for decades.
Do US employees get statutory severance or notice?
No. US law mandates neither severance nor notice for most terminations; employment is at-will in every state except Montana. What is regulated is final pay timing, which several states require same-day, and accrued PTO payout where state law treats it as wages.
Can an EOR sponsor a work visa in the US?
Realistically no. New H-1B petitions for candidates abroad now carry a $100,000 government fee, and most EORs never sponsored US visas anyway. An EOR works for candidates who already hold US work authorization; new sponsorship needs direct employment and immigration counsel.
Can one EOR cover employees in multiple US states?
Yes, and that is the main reason to use one. Each state has its own payroll taxes, overtime rules, and final-pay deadlines; the EOR registers and applies the right rules per employee based on where they live.
Do I need a US entity to hire through an EOR?
No, that is the point of the model: the EOR's US entity employs the worker. The exception on this page is Justworks, whose US product is a PEO and does require your own US entity and FEIN.
