Pricing · HR and Payroll

Papaya Global pricing

What Papaya Global really costs by product, why the platform fee is only part of it, and the salary, taxes and FX that decide your real global bill.

Papaya Global prices each product separately and is built for larger organizations running global payroll at scale. Payroll only runs payroll where you already own a local entity, billed per employee per month. Contractor management adds compliant agreements and payments for a per contractor fee, or you can pay per transaction. Employer of record, for hiring abroad without your own entity, carries the highest per employee fee and comes in two service tiers. Across all of them, the published figures are platform fees only. Your real invoice adds salary, local employer taxes and statutory benefits, which usually form the larger share. Two extra costs catch teams out: a foreign exchange markup on cross border pay, and country complexity surcharges in stricter markets. Below we lay out each product as reported, then the costs that decide real global spend. Treat the figures as a guide and confirm with Papaya Global.

Read the full Papaya Global review
Reviewed by ·Updated APRIL 2026·How we vet

Plans and prices

Priced per product, per worker, per month

Pricing as of June 2026. Papaya Global prices each product separately: Payroll only from about $12 per employee per month where you own a local entity, Contractor Management from about $30 per contractor per month (or about $2.50 per payment), and Employer of Record reported from about $650 per employee per month (Standard) to about $770 (Premium). Platform fees exclude salary, employer taxes and statutory benefits, and a foreign exchange markup of roughly 1 to 1.5% applies to cross border pay. Check the vendor for current pricing.

Payroll
$12
Per employee per month, from; own entities
+Per employee per month, from
+Run payroll where you own an entity
+Workforce cost analytics platform
+Consolidated multi country reporting
Contractors
$30
Per contractor per month, from; or $2.50 per payment
+Per contractor per month, from
+Compliant agreements and onboarding
+Bulk payments and automated invoicing
+Or about $2.50 per payment
★ Our pick
EOR
$650
Per employee per month, from; Premium ~$770
+Per employee per month, from, reported
+Hire abroad with no local entity
+Salary, taxes and benefits billed on top
+Premium tier reported about $770
Extras
FX
Markup and country surcharges, on top
+Roughly 1 to 1.5% FX markup
+Billed on cross border pay
+Surcharges in some complex markets
+On top of the platform fee
What moves the real bill

The platform fee is the floor, not the bill.

Four things tend to separate Papaya Global's published per worker figure from what you actually pay, especially on employer of record. Budget for these before you commit.

Employment costs sit on top of the fee. The employer of record fee, reported from about $650 a month, is the platform charge only. Salary, local employer taxes and statutory benefits are billed in addition and usually form the larger share, with some markets adding a meaningful percentage in mandatory benefits and contributions.
Foreign exchange markup. Paying workers in their local currency adds a foreign exchange markup of roughly 1 to 1.5% over the mid market rate. On large, multi country payroll volume that becomes a real recurring line item rather than a rounding error.
The product mix drives the unit price. Payroll only from about $12, contractors from about $30 and employer of record from about $650 are very different rates. The same headcount costs very differently depending on whether you run it as your own payroll, as contractors, or as employer of record staff.
Country complexity surcharges. Stricter markets can carry country complexity surcharges on top of the standard per employee fee, reflecting heavier compliance. Because pricing is quoted by country and service, model your actual geographies rather than a single headline rate.
Pricing questions

Papaya Global pricing FAQ

How much does Papaya Global cost?

Papaya Global prices each product separately: payroll only from about $12 per employee per month, contractor management from about $30 per contractor per month, and employer of record reported from about $650 (Standard) to about $770 (Premium) per employee per month. Platform fees exclude salary, taxes and benefits, and a foreign exchange markup applies. Verified June 2026; check the vendor for current pricing.

Is Papaya Global more expensive than Deel or Remote?

On employer of record, Papaya Global's reported $650 and up sits above Deel and Remote, which both price from about $599 per employee per month at the platform level. Papaya Global leans toward enterprise global payroll and analytics, where its strength is running and reporting payroll across many entities rather than the lowest EOR fee. The cheapest real total depends on country and worker mix. Verified June 2026; check vendors for current pricing.

Does Papaya Global charge a foreign exchange markup?

Yes. Paying workers in their local currency adds a foreign exchange markup of roughly 1 to 1.5% over the mid market rate. On large cross border payroll volume that becomes a meaningful recurring cost on top of the platform fee. Pricing as of June 2026; check the vendor for current pricing.

What is Papaya Global payroll only pricing?

Payroll only, for companies that already own local entities, is reported from about $12 per employee per month and includes the workforce analytics platform and consolidated multi country reporting. It is far cheaper than employer of record because you remain the employer and Papaya Global runs the payroll. Verified June 2026; check the vendor for current pricing.

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