Index › Core HR and payroll › September 2026 Edition

Global payroll and employer of record

Asked as “employer of record”, and as “global payroll provider”, on behalf of a mid-market B2B company. 46 first choices recorded across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, twelve models each.

Standing

Deel

Contested

22% of first choices, contested.

ShowinginAll 50 categories →

By buyer segment

The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment; they sit side by side and are never added together.

Small business

Deel29%ContestedStanding →Mid-market

Deel22%ContestedThis page Enterprise

Remote19%ContestedStanding →

01The standing

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, over all twelve models, for a mid-market B2B company. Ordered by share.

ProductFirst-choice shareNegative rateLabelsQuadrant

Deel19%53accepted challenger

Papaya Global17%36accepted challenger

Oyster7%27accepted challenger

RemoFirst11%19accepted challenger

Remote18%51accepted challenger

Rippling12%33accepted challenger

Multiplier8%24accepted challenger

G-P18%11accepted challenger

Bars are the share of first choices, 0 to 100Every product with at least 10 labels here. Every product name links to its vendor page.

Head to head

Deel vs Papaya Global Deel vs Oyster Papaya Global vs Oyster

Recommended versus criticized

Every product with at least 10 labels here, on both axes. The 30% line names a quadrant, not the verdict above: that one needs more than 40%.

Criticized challengerCriticized default

Negative label rate →

Accepted challengerEndorsed leader

0%First-choice share → · lines at 30% share and 25% negative40%

Key

Deel22%

Papaya Global13%

Oyster13%

RemoFirst11%

Remote9%

Rippling9%

Multiplier2%

G-P2%

02What they warned about

One of twelve models held their first choice under the paraphrase. Claude Haiku 4.5, GPT-5.4 mini, Perplexity Sonar, Grok 4.1 Fast, Mistral Small, DeepSeek V4 Flash, Llama 4 Maverick, Qwen 3.7 Flash, Kimi K2, GLM 4.7 FlashX and MiniMax M2.5 changed. A high negative share on a product with few labels is a warning. A low share on a product with many labels is salience, not sentiment.

Deel

19%

10 of 53 labels negative · 8 of 12 models · 2 hard negative

“Drastically Cautioned – Documented Legal/Compliance Issues... Who should avoid: Companies with compliance-sensitive contracts, enterprise clients, or critical payroll deadlines.” DeepSeek V4 Flash, negative prompt

Remote

18%

9 of 51 labels negative · 7 of 12 models

“premium, all-in-one Employer of Record (EOR) providers like Deel, Remote, or Rippling ... these admin costs can quickly deplete your capital” Gemini 3.5 Flash, budget prompt

Papaya Global

17%

6 of 36 labels negative · 4 of 12 models · 2 hard negative

“Platforms with Notable Concerns ... **Papaya Global** - Trustpilot rating: Concerning 3.2/5 with reports of **missed payments** and **hidden fees**” Kimi K2, negative prompt

Rippling

12%

4 of 33 labels negative · 3 of 12 models · 1 hard negative

“Rippling (for global payroll outside the US)... If you need true multi-country payroll, look elsewhere.” Mistral Small, negative prompt

03What they cite

Citations exist only for the models that return a source list: twelve of the twelve in this edition, and all six flagship models on the expanded tier.

Sites the answers cite

66 of 72 answers in this category came back with a source list, from 12 of 12 models: citations where the model returns them, or the search results it consulted. 6 of those lists are Google grounding redirects that name no site and are left out of the counts. 832 links across 176 sites, every framing counted. Ranked by the number of answers carrying the site or page.

teamed.global

vendor site · Teamed22 answers · 35 citations · 10 models

eorhq.com

22 answers · 26 citations · 10 models

peoplemanagingpeople.com

vendor site · People Managing People22 answers · 26 citations · 9 models

gartner.com

vendor site · Gartner20 answers · 24 citations · 10 models

globaleorservices.org

19 answers · 22 citations · 8 models

remote.com

vendor site · Remote19 answers · 22 citations · 10 models

herohunt.ai

vendor site · HeroHunt.ai16 answers · 16 citations · 9 models

safeguardglobal.com

vendor site · Safeguard Global16 answers · 16 citations · 9 models

oysterhr.com

vendor site · Oyster HR15 answers · 19 citations · 10 models

deel.com

vendor site · Deel13 answers · 19 citations · 8 models

topsourceworldwide.com

13 answers · 16 citations · 6 models

remofirst.com

vendor site · RemoFirst13 answers · 14 citations · 7 models

Pages the answers cite

The ten pages named in the most answers, by full address. A page here is one the models returned with a recommendation, not one the index endorses.

gartner.com/reviews/market/employer-of-record-eor

20 answers · 10 models

remote.com/blog/payroll/best-global-payroll-providers

17 answers · 10 models

herohunt.ai/blog/the-best-employer-of-record-providers

15 answers · 8 models

hivedesk.com/compliance/best-employer-of-record-companies

11 answers · 9 models

whichpayroll.com/best-global-payroll

11 answers · 9 models

globaleorservices.org/solutions/eor-comparison

10 answers · 7 models

rippling.com/blog/international-payroll-providers

10 answers · 9 models

safeguardglobal.com/resources/blog/best-employer-of-record-providers

10 answers · 8 models

oysterhr.com/library/employer-of-record-buyers-guide-2026

9 answers · 9 models

teamed.global/compare/best-eor-providers-2026

9 answers · 6 models

04How they answered

Six framings of the same buying question, each sent to every model in a fresh session with search on. One row per model, so a row shows whether it held its answer under rewording, what it named when cost was the constraint, and what it argued against. Computed from the raw judge labels.

ModelDirect“What is the best employer of record for a mid-market B2B company?”Paraphrase“Which global payroll provider would you recommend to a mid-sized B2B company?”Comparative“What are the top EOR and global payroll platforms and how do they differ?”Budget-constrained“What is the best employer of record for a company with a limited budget?”Scale-constrained“We are a 500 person company evaluating an employer of record. What should we look at?”Negative“Which EOR and global payroll platforms should I avoid or be cautious about?”

Claude Haiku 4.5Multiplier, Oyster

Three alternatives

Deel, Remote, Velocity Global

DeelChanged

Three alternatives

ADP, Papaya Global, Rippling

Deel

Two alternatives

Papaya Global, Remote

Hire with Columbusagainst: RemoFirstno first choiceagainst: Deel, Rippling

GPT-5.4 miniDeel

Two alternatives

Remote, Rippling

RemoteChanged

Four alternatives

ADP Global Payroll, Deel, Papaya Global, Rippling

Deel, Papaya Global, Remote

Six alternatives

ADP, CloudPay, G-P, Oyster, Rippling, Velocity Global

RemoFirst

One alternative

Deel

against: Remoteno first choicenothing named

Gemini 3.5 FlashRippling

Three alternatives

Deel, Papaya Global, Remote

RipplingHeld

Three alternatives

Deel, Papaya Global, Remote

Deel

Seven alternatives

G-P, Multiplier, Oyster, Papaya Global, Remote, Rippling, Safeguard Global

Hire with Columbus

Three alternatives

RemoFirst, Remote People, Thera

against: Deel, Remote, Ripplingno first choiceagainst: Atlas HXM, Deel, Papaya Global, Rippling

Perplexity SonarTeamed

One alternative

Safeguard Global

DeelChanged

Four alternatives

Papaya Global, Paylocity, Remote, Rippling

Deel, Papaya Global

Four alternatives

Multiplier, Oyster, Remote, Rippling

RemoFirst

Two alternatives

Playroll, Remote People

against: Deel, Remoteno first choiceagainst: Agile HRO, Horizons, Native Teams, RecruitGo, Skuad

Grok 4.1 FastDeel

Four alternatives

Multiplier, Oyster, Remote, Rippling

against: Papaya GlobalRipplingChanged

Three alternatives

Deel, Papaya Global, Remote

Deel, Papaya Global

Five alternatives

ADP, Oyster, RemoFirst, Remote, Rippling

Hire with Columbus

Three alternatives

Horizons, RecruitGo, RemoFirst

against: Multiplier, Remoteno first choiceagainst: Deel, G-P, Gusto, Oyster, Papaya Global, Remote

Mistral SmallOyster

Two alternatives

Deel, Remote

Papaya GlobalChanged

Four alternatives

Deel, Lano, Remote, Rippling

Deel

Six alternatives

Multiplier, Oyster, Papaya Global, Remote, Remote People, Rippling

Tarmack

Two alternatives

Hire with Columbus, Remote People

no first choiceagainst: Foxhire, G2O, Multiplier, Payoneer Workforce Management, Rippling, Talent500

DeepSeek V4 FlashDeel

Three alternatives

Oyster, Remote, Teamed

against: G-P, Papaya GlobalDeel, RipplingChanged

Three alternatives

Multiplier, Papaya Global, Remote

Deel

Eight alternatives

ADP, G-P, Oyster, Papaya Global, Remote, Rippling, TMF Group, Velocity Global

RemoFirst

Two alternatives

Native Teams, Wisemonk

against: Deel, Remoteno first choiceagainst: Deel, Gusto, Papaya Global, Remote

Llama 4 MaverickDeel, Oyster, Remote

One alternative

Multiplier

Papaya GlobalChanged

Three alternatives

Oyster, Remote, Rivermate

Deel, Papaya Global

Two alternatives

ADP GlobalView Payroll, Remote

RemoFirstno first choicenothing named

Qwen 3.7 FlashDeel, Oyster, Remote

Two alternatives

Multiplier, Rippling

Oyster, Papaya GlobalChanged

Five alternatives

Paylocity, Remote, Rippling, SRGA Global, TMF Group

Deel, Remote

Three alternatives

Oyster, Papaya Global, Rippling

Native Teams

One alternative

RemoFirst

no first choiceagainst: Deel, Payoneer Workforce Management, Remote, Wise

Kimi K2Deel, Remote

Two alternatives

Oyster, Teamed

Papaya GlobalChanged

Four alternatives

Deel, Lano, Remote, Rippling

Deel

Three alternatives

Oyster, Papaya Global, Remote

Native Teams

Two alternatives

Hire with Columbus, RemoFirst

no first choiceagainst: Deel, Oyster, Papaya Global, Velocity Global

GLM 4.7 FlashXG-P, Safeguard Global

Eight alternatives

Deel, Multiplier, Omni HR, Oyster, Papaya Global, Remote, Teamed, WorkMotion

Papaya GlobalChanged

Six alternatives

Deel, Multiplier, Oyster, Paylocity, Remote, Rippling

Deel

Eight alternatives

Atlas HXM, HireGlobal, Oyster, Papaya Global, Payoneer Workforce Management, Remote, Rippling, TopSource

Hire with Columbus

Three alternatives

HireGlobal, RemoFirst, Tarmack

no first choiceagainst: ADP Global Payroll, Deel, Employment Hero, RemoFirst, Remote

MiniMax M2.5Oyster

Four alternatives

Atlas HXM, Deel, Multiplier, Remote

Deel, Papaya GlobalChanged

Two alternatives

Remote, Rippling

Remote People

Eight alternatives

Deel, G-P, Multiplier, Oyster, Papaya Global, RemoFirst, Remote, Rippling

RemoFirst

Three alternatives

Multiplier, Pilot, Remunance

no first choicenothing named

Bold is the first choiceAlternatives are counted; the count opens them.What the answer argued against

05The record

One row per call: the version string exactly as returned, whether the model searched, sources cited, and latency. Full answer text is in the free responses file. Download the record

Seventy-two rows: every prompt, every model, every answer.

Prompt	Model	Version string	Time (UTC)	Searched	Sources	Latency
Direct recommendation	Claude Haiku 4.5	`claude-haiku-4-5-20251001`	2026-09-17 21:08	yes	9	9 s
Direct recommendation	GPT-5.4 mini	`gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17`	2026-09-17 21:14	yes	3	6 s
Direct recommendation	Gemini 3.5 Flash	`gemini-3.5-flash`	2026-09-17 18:40	yes	21	34 s
Direct recommendation	Perplexity Sonar	`sonar`	2026-09-17 20:44	yes	20	4 s
Direct recommendation	Grok 4.1 Fast	`spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex`	2026-09-17 19:50	yes	35	19 s
Direct recommendation	Mistral Small	`mistral/mistral-small via mistral`	2026-09-17 19:26	yes	5	4 s
Direct recommendation	DeepSeek V4 Flash	`deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks`	2026-09-17 21:11	yes	16	20 s
Direct recommendation	Llama 4 Maverick	`meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock`	2026-09-17 21:35	yes	5	3 s
Direct recommendation	Qwen 3.7 Flash	`alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba`	2026-09-17 18:24	no	0	30 s
Direct recommendation	Kimi K2	`moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita`	2026-09-17 21:16	yes	13	27 s
Direct recommendation	GLM 4.7 FlashX	`zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai`	2026-09-17 21:07	yes	14	33 s
Direct recommendation	MiniMax M2.5	`minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax`	2026-09-17 21:46	yes	5	20 s
Paraphrase	Claude Haiku 4.5	`claude-haiku-4-5-20251001`	2026-09-17 18:48	yes	9	8 s
Paraphrase	GPT-5.4 mini	`gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17`	2026-09-17 20:55	yes	1	5 s
Paraphrase	Gemini 3.5 Flash	`gemini-3.5-flash`	2026-09-17 18:07	yes	9	22 s
Paraphrase	Perplexity Sonar	`sonar`	2026-09-17 19:33	yes	20	9 s
Paraphrase	Grok 4.1 Fast	`spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex`	2026-09-17 21:02	yes	15	10 s
Paraphrase	Mistral Small	`mistral/mistral-small via mistral`	2026-09-17 20:31	yes	5	5 s
Paraphrase	DeepSeek V4 Flash	`deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via deepinfra`	2026-09-17 19:00	yes	19	40 s
Paraphrase	Llama 4 Maverick	`meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock`	2026-09-17 21:02	yes	5	3 s
Paraphrase	Qwen 3.7 Flash	`alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba`	2026-09-17 20:31	yes	5	14 s
Paraphrase	Kimi K2	`moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita`	2026-09-17 20:31	yes	7	21 s
Paraphrase	GLM 4.7 FlashX	`zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai`	2026-09-17 17:55	yes	12	81 s
Paraphrase	MiniMax M2.5	`minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax`	2026-09-17 19:04	yes	5	17 s
Comparative	Claude Haiku 4.5	`claude-haiku-4-5-20251001`	2026-09-17 17:54	yes	18	9 s
Comparative	GPT-5.4 mini	`gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17`	2026-09-17 20:59	yes	4	11 s
Comparative	Gemini 3.5 Flash	`gemini-3.5-flash`	2026-09-17 18:51	yes	20	30 s
Comparative	Perplexity Sonar	`sonar`	2026-09-17 20:29	yes	20	9 s
Comparative	Grok 4.1 Fast	`spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex`	2026-09-17 21:44	yes	32	15 s
Comparative	Mistral Small	`mistral/mistral-small via mistral`	2026-09-17 19:41	yes	15	9 s
Comparative	DeepSeek V4 Flash	`deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks`	2026-09-17 18:59	yes	29	29 s
Comparative	Llama 4 Maverick	`meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock`	2026-09-17 20:14	yes	5	2 s
Comparative	Qwen 3.7 Flash	`alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba`	2026-09-17 20:40	no	0	70 s
Comparative	Kimi K2	`moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita`	2026-09-17 21:05	yes	15	29 s
Comparative	GLM 4.7 FlashX	`zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai`	2026-09-17 18:49	yes	10	96 s
Comparative	MiniMax M2.5	`minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax`	2026-09-17 18:11	yes	17	39 s
Budget constrained	Claude Haiku 4.5	`claude-haiku-4-5-20251001`	2026-09-17 21:09	yes	9	7 s
Budget constrained	GPT-5.4 mini	`gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17`	2026-09-17 21:13	yes	4	5 s
Budget constrained	Gemini 3.5 Flash	`gemini-3.5-flash`	2026-09-17 19:23	yes	25	21 s
Budget constrained	Perplexity Sonar	`sonar`	2026-09-17 21:15	yes	20	4 s
Budget constrained	Grok 4.1 Fast	`spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex`	2026-09-17 20:55	yes	39	20 s
Budget constrained	Mistral Small	`mistral/mistral-small via mistral`	2026-09-17 18:02	yes	5	3 s
Budget constrained	DeepSeek V4 Flash	`deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via deepinfra`	2026-09-17 18:14	yes	14	31 s
Budget constrained	Llama 4 Maverick	`meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock`	2026-09-17 19:39	yes	5	2 s
Budget constrained	Qwen 3.7 Flash	`alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba`	2026-09-17 18:41	yes	10	38 s
Budget constrained	Kimi K2	`moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita`	2026-09-17 18:12	yes	9	16 s
Budget constrained	GLM 4.7 FlashX	`zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai`	2026-09-17 18:27	yes	17	17 s
Budget constrained	MiniMax M2.5	`minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax`	2026-09-17 20:41	yes	10	26 s
Scale constrained	Claude Haiku 4.5	`claude-haiku-4-5-20251001`	2026-09-17 19:30	no	0	7 s
Scale constrained	GPT-5.4 mini	`gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17`	2026-09-17 19:04	no	0	10 s
Scale constrained	Gemini 3.5 Flash	`gemini-3.5-flash`	2026-09-17 21:58	yes	12	55 s
Scale constrained	Perplexity Sonar	`sonar`	2026-09-17 20:37	yes	20	10 s
Scale constrained	Grok 4.1 Fast	`spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex`	2026-09-17 20:52	yes	12	10 s
Scale constrained	Mistral Small	`mistral/mistral-small via mistral`	2026-09-17 21:34	no	0	6 s
Scale constrained	DeepSeek V4 Flash	`deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks`	2026-09-17 20:55	yes	20	29 s
Scale constrained	Llama 4 Maverick	`meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock`	2026-09-17 20:37	yes	5	3 s
Scale constrained	Qwen 3.7 Flash	`alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba`	2026-09-17 17:58	yes	5	23 s
Scale constrained	Kimi K2	`moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita`	2026-09-17 18:02	yes	9	22 s
Scale constrained	GLM 4.7 FlashX	`zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai`	2026-09-17 19:22	yes	15	71 s
Scale constrained	MiniMax M2.5	`minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax`	2026-09-17 18:19	yes	5	25 s
Negative framing	Claude Haiku 4.5	`claude-haiku-4-5-20251001`	2026-09-17 19:48	yes	35	16 s
Negative framing	GPT-5.4 mini	`gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17`	2026-09-17 19:39	yes	2	14 s
Negative framing	Gemini 3.5 Flash	`gemini-3.5-flash`	2026-09-17 20:02	yes	26	23 s
Negative framing	Perplexity Sonar	`sonar`	2026-09-17 21:26	yes	20	8 s
Negative framing	Grok 4.1 Fast	`spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex`	2026-09-17 21:06	yes	47	21 s
Negative framing	Mistral Small	`mistral/mistral-small via mistral`	2026-09-17 19:27	yes	5	8 s
Negative framing	DeepSeek V4 Flash	`deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks`	2026-09-17 18:30	yes	34	40 s
Negative framing	Llama 4 Maverick	`meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock`	2026-09-17 18:05	yes	5	2 s
Negative framing	Qwen 3.7 Flash	`alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba`	2026-09-17 19:40	yes	18	46 s
Negative framing	Kimi K2	`moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita`	2026-09-17 18:51	yes	25	36 s
Negative framing	GLM 4.7 FlashX	`zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai`	2026-09-17 18:21	yes	15	55 s
Negative framing	MiniMax M2.5	`minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax`	2026-09-17 21:15	no	0	8 s

Normalization in this category

Every judgment call made between the raw labels and the numbers above, listed so it is visible and reversible.

Category-scoped readings

ADP Global read as ADP Global Payroll

ADP GlobalView read as ADP GlobalView Payroll

Atlas read as Atlas HXM

Oyster HR read as Oyster

Papaya read as Papaya Global

Paylocity Global Payroll read as Paylocity

Payoneer read as Payoneer Workforce Management

RemotePeople read as Remote People

RemotePeople (formerly Horizons) read as Remote People

TopSource Worldwide read as TopSource

Unresolved, counted raw

Blue Marble

Check

Foxhire

G2O (by Velocity Global)

Hero Hunt

Links International

Localis

Mauve

Remunance

SD Worx

SRGA Global

Talent500 (by Oyster)

Thera

Discontinued, still offered

No shut-down product was recommended here.

Global payroll and employer of record

By buyer segment

01The standing

Recommended versus criticized

02What they warned about

03What they cite

Sites the answers cite

Pages the answers cite

04How they answered

05The record

Normalization in this category

Also in core hr and payroll