What is Rapid?
Rapid is an India-only EOR founded in Bengaluru in 2022 by Navin Rungta. It lets foreign companies employ Indian staff without opening a subsidiary.
Rapid employs staff through its own Indian entities, handling payroll, statutory benefits and IP-protected contracts. Its standout is a pass-through tax structure that Rapid says saves 18% or more on rent and equipment.
Rapid’s pricing page lists the EOR at $299 per employee per month, with $199 quoted elsewhere for annual plans. The figures conflict, so get your rate in writing.
At $299, Rapid costs about half of Deel’s $599 starting rate. It wins for funded startups hiring only in India and loses that edge once a second country enters the plan.
Rapid: Key Facts
A quick look at Rapid’s company background, funding, and operational scale.
Founded
2022
Headquarters
Bengaluru, India
Co-Founders / CEO
Navin Rungta (Founder & CEO)
Employees
Not publicly disclosed
Total Funding
About $265K (pre-seed)
Valuation
Not publicly disclosed
Annual Revenue
Not publicly disclosed
Customers
Not publicly disclosed
Core Services
India EOR, payroll, contractor payments
Support Types
24×7 human support, dedicated success specialist, email
Rapid Review: Editor’s Verdict
Rapid is a narrow, low-cost EOR built for one job: employing an India team through its own local entity. At $299 a month it undercuts the big global platforms by roughly half, and the first hire is free for three months. Buy it if India is the only market on your hiring plan.
The pass-through tax structure is the part global EORs rarely match: Rapid says it saves 18% or more on rent, laptops and gifts billed through it.
The extras matter more than the base fee. In-app ESOP workflows, laptop procurement and an office-space marketplace cover jobs that global providers usually hand back to you. Rapid has no profile on G2, Capterra or Trustpilot, so these claims rest on its own site and a few named customer testimonials.
Before signing, get three things in writing: your actual monthly fee, since Rapid’s site shows $199, $299, $399 and $599; current SOC 2 status, which its pricing table still lists as coming soon; and the termination process. No integrations are published, so plan for manual HRIS and accounting exports.
Editorial Score Breakdown
Rapid Pros & Cons 2026
Rapid’s strengths come from doing one country well. Its weaknesses come from doing only one country, and from a website that cannot settle on a price.
Strengths
Own Indian entity, no partner
Staff sign with a Rapid-owned Indian company, so no third-party employer sits between you and your team.
Half the price of Deel
$299 per employee per month against Deel’s $599.
First hire free for three months
The current offer waives the EOR fee on your first employee for three months, which makes a trial hire close to free.
Tax savings on non-salary spend
Office rent, equipment and gifts routed through Rapid’s structure come in 18% or more cheaper, by Rapid’s own figure.
Stock options run in-app
Grant, track and exercise ESOPs for India staff inside the platform, using Rapid’s compliance workflows instead of a separate legal project.
Human support around the clock
24×7 support and a named success specialist on every plan, not just enterprise tiers.
Areas to Watch
India is the only country
Hiring anywhere else means a second vendor.
Pricing contradicts itself
Rapid’s pages show $199, $299, $399 and $599 for EOR, and $39 or $49 for contractors. Agree your rate in writing before the first invoice.
No published integrations
No HRIS, accounting or ATS connectors are listed, so expect manual exports between systems.
No public review record
There is no G2, Capterra or Trustpilot profile, so buyers have only references and the testimonials on Rapid’s own site to go on.
Rapid Top Features
Rapid’s feature set is built around running an India team as if you owned the entity. Three items stand apart from global EORs: the pass-through tax structure, in-app ESOP administration, and laptop procurement and shipping across India.
Pass-through tax structure.
DifferentiatorNon-salary spend such as office rent, equipment and employee gifts can run through Rapid’s Indian structure instead of landing on your invoice at full cost. Rapid puts the saving at 18% or more on those items. Teams with an office lease or heavy hardware budgets gain the most.
ESOP administration.
DifferentiatorRapid supports awarding, monitoring, exercising and exiting stock options for India employees inside the platform. It also pitches help with FEMA issues for Indian founders whose company is headquartered abroad. Ask for a sample grant document before you rely on it.
Asset procurement and movement.
DifferentiatorRapid buys or leases laptops and office equipment and ships them to employees anywhere in India, with tracking in the dashboard. It also handles import and export of business equipment. The pass-through structure applies to these purchases too.
Owned-entity employment.
CoreEmployees are hired by a Rapid-owned Indian company. Contracts assign IP and invention rights to you.
Rupee payroll on one invoice.
CoreYou pay a single invoice in your own currency while Rapid pays salaries in rupees and files statutory deductions.
Custom benefits and policies.
CoreHealth insurance, welcome kits, festive gifts, leave rules and the holiday calendar can all be set to your own culture rather than an EOR default.
Background checks and screening.
CoreBackground verification, KYC and OFAC screening are included on both plans.
Leave, expenses and offboarding.
CoreTime off, expense approvals, appraisals, raises and terminations all run from the same dashboard.
Contractor payments.
Add-onPay Indian contractors in rupees for $39 or $49 a month each, depending on which Rapid page you read.
Services marketplace.
Add-onRapid curates recruiters, office space vendors, immigration lawyers and customs clearing agents for India expansion.
Is Rapid the Right EOR for You?
Rapid is either a clean fit or a clear miss, and one question decides which: will you ever hire outside India?
Best For
- Funded startups building their first India engineering team
- US or EU companies with no plans to hire outside India
- Teams that want an office or hybrid setup in India, not only remote staff
- Companies granting stock options to Indian employees
- Converting Indian contractors into full-time employees
Rapid Country Coverage
Rapid hires and pays employees in one country: India. Every hire sits on a Rapid-owned Indian entity, and Rapid’s India page explains its local setup.
Rapid Pricing 2026
Rapid sells two EOR plans, Growth Stage and a startup program, with the first employee free for three months on both. The headline Growth Stage rate is $299 per employee per month, but Rapid’s own pages also show $199, $399 and $599, so treat every figure below as a starting point for a written quote.
← Scroll to compare all plans →
Rapid Integrations
Rapid publishes no integrations page and names no native connections to HRIS, accounting, ATS or identity tools. Payroll and employee records stay inside Rapid’s own dashboard, so plan on exporting reports into your other systems. If sync matters, ask during the demo whether an API or scheduled file export exists. For comparison, Remote lists 16 native integrations and Pebl has 22 with dedicated pages.
How Rapid Compares to Alternatives
Buyers shortlisting Rapid usually weigh it against Deel, Multiplier, Remote, Pebl and RemoFirst. At $299 a month Rapid undercuts everyone except RemoFirst at $199, but each of them covers 90 or more countries against Rapid’s one.
Rapid vs DeelDeel covers 130+ countries for twice the price
Rapid vs MultiplierMultiplier adds 160+ countries and HRIS sync
Rapid vs RemoteRemote owns entities in 90+ countries
Rapid vs PeblPebl adds 185+ countries and in-house immigration
Rapid vs RemoFirstRemoFirst is cheaper and covers 185+ countries
Rapid User Community Ratings & Reviews
Rapid has no public review record to score. With no ratings on any of the three platforms we track, there is no basis for sentiment shares or dimension scores, so this section shows the gap rather than estimating around it.
G2
N/A/5
0 reviews
Trustpilot
N/A/5
0 reviews
Capterra
N/A/5
0 reviews
Checked October 2026: Rapid has no profile on G2, Capterra or Trustpilot. The only customer feedback available is a handful of named testimonials on Rapid’s own website, which the vendor selects. Ask Rapid for two reference customers hiring in India at a similar headcount before signing.
Rapid EOR: Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to the most common questions buyers ask before evaluating Rapid as an Employer of Record solution.
Which countries does Rapid cover?
India only. Rapid is built for foreign companies employing staff in India and offers no EOR coverage in any other country.
How much does Rapid EOR cost?
The headline rate is $299 per employee per month, quoted in Rapid’s pricing FAQ and on its compare page. The compare page also lists $199 a month on annual plans, while other cards show $399 for the startup program and $599. Salary, benefits, statutory contributions and office rent are billed on top, so get your rate and billing terms in writing.
Is the first employee really free?
Yes, for three months, under a limited-time offer shown on Rapid’s pricing page.
Does Rapid use its own entity or a local partner?
Its own. Rapid’s pricing page states that employees are hired through Rapid-owned entities in India, and company records show Rapid EOR Tech Private Limited incorporated in January 2023. No partner firm sits between you and the legal employer.
How quickly can Rapid onboard an employee?
Rapid claims the platform steps take under five minutes. The real start date also depends on document collection, background verification and any notice period the hire owes a current employer.
Can Rapid pay contractors as well as employees?
Yes, for $39 or $49 per contractor per month, depending on which Rapid page you read. Contractor payments do not make Rapid the employer, so classification risk stays with you. Converting a contractor to a full-time employee runs through the EOR plan instead.
What compliance certifications does Rapid hold?
Rapid states its systems follow GDPR, CCPA and India’s data protection rules. SOC 2 is unresolved: the pricing table lists it as coming soon, while the site footer displays a SOC badge. KYC checks, OFAC screening and background verification are included on both plans.
Can Indian employees receive stock options through Rapid?
Yes. Rapid offers in-app workflows to award, monitor and exercise ESOPs for India staff, and it pitches help with FEMA questions for Indian founders whose company is headquartered abroad.
What size of company is Rapid best for?
Venture-backed startups and scale-ups building a team in India only. The startup program is limited to companies funded up to Series A with up to 10 people, and growth-stage companies go on the standard plan. Any business with hiring plans beyond India will outgrow it.
How does Rapid handle terminations?
Rapid runs offboarding and terminations on its platform as the legal employer, while you approve the exit. It does not publish how notice pay, gratuity or the final settlement are calculated and billed, so get that process in writing before your first hire.
Does Rapid integrate with HRIS or accounting software?
No native integrations are published. Rapid lists no connections to HRIS, accounting, ATS or identity tools on its website.
Are there public reviews of Rapid?
Not on the major platforms. Rapid has no profile on G2, Capterra or Trustpilot, so the only customer feedback is the named testimonials on its own site.
