Hiring in India without a local entity puts you in a specific situation. You need a company to become the legal employer of your India hire, handle payroll in INR, manage PF, ESI, and TDS, and make sure everything stays compliant with Indian labor law. You keep control of the work. The EOR keeps the compliance off your desk.
Four platforms come up most often for US companies going this route: Kaamwork, Deel, Oyster HR, and Remote. They are all legitimate options. But they are built for different situations, carry different price tags, and make different trade-offs on India-specific depth versus global breadth.
This comparison covers each platform on the criteria that actually matter for India hiring in 2026.
What Matters When Hiring in India Through an EOR
Before getting into the platforms, three things are worth keeping in mind.
India entity ownership. Some EORs own their legal entity in India directly. Others route through a local partner. Direct entity ownership means the EOR files PF, ESI, TDS, and professional tax under its own registrations. A partner model adds a third party into that chain. Most of the time, both work. When something goes wrong, resolution is faster with a direct entity.
India-specific compliance depth. Indian labor law is state-specific. Professional tax rates differ across Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, and other states. Salary structuring for Indian employees is different from any US or European template. A global-first platform handles the basics. An India-focused platform handles the details.
Team model. Some EOR platforms put a country head or account manager between you and your India hire. Others give you a direct line to your team. The model you choose affects retention more than most founders expect.
Kaamwork
Best for: US and UK tech companies building their first India team
Kaamwork (kaam.work) is built specifically for US, UK, and ANZ companies hiring tech talent in India. The EOR fee is $599 per employee per month, on top of the employee's CTC. No setup fees. Onboarding completes in 48 to 72 hours.
The differentiator is not the compliance stack, though that is solid. Kaamwork owns a direct India entity, handles PF at 12% of basic salary, ESIC, TDS, Gratuity, and state-specific professional tax. Employment contracts are issued under Indian law. All of that is what any serious India EOR should do.
The real difference is the team model. Each US manager works directly with their India hire. No country head. No account manager summarizing what your engineer said. The India engineer is in your Slack and your standups, hearing product priorities from the people setting them.
That direct connection affects retention in a measurable way. Kaamwork's attrition rate on this model sits under 5%. The offshore team industry average runs closer to 25%. The gap comes from two places: engineers who are paid competitively and engineers who feel like part of the team rather than a vendor resource.
On the talent side, candidate profiles come in within 24 hours of a role kickoff. The target is the top 5% of India's tech talent, sourced from Amazon, Microsoft, and Flipkart alumni pools. The interview-to-offer conversion rate is 65%.
For companies that want a real India team, with direct manager relationships and competitive compensation, at the $599 price point, Kaamwork is the most purpose-built option in this category.
Pricing: $599/month per employee (additive to salary) India entity: Direct Onboarding speed: 48 to 72 hours Country coverage: India-focused Best for: Seed to Series B tech companies, 1 to 25 India hires
→ Compare Kaamwork against other platforms: kaam.work/why-kaamwork/kaamwork-vs-competitors
Deel
Best for: Companies hiring across multiple countries at the same time
Deel is the largest EOR platform by market share globally. It covers 150+ countries, owns legal entities in roughly 30 major markets including India, and routes through vetted local partners for the rest. For India specifically, Deel operates through a direct entity.
EOR pricing starts at $599 per employee per month for the standard tier and $899 for enterprise. Volume discounts bring that down to $350 to $500 per month for teams of 20 to 50 employees. India can carry a surcharge of $50 to $150 per employee depending on compliance complexity.
Deel's strength is breadth. The platform covers EOR, contractor management, global payroll, HRIS, IT management, and equity tools in one interface. For a US company hiring in India, Germany, and Singapore simultaneously, that consolidation has real value. You are not logging into three separate systems to run payroll.
For India-only hiring, that breadth becomes less useful. You are paying for global infrastructure you are not using, and getting compliance depth that is solid but generic rather than India-specialist.
One thing worth knowing before signing: Deel's published price is the platform fee only. Employer taxes, statutory contributions, and benefits layer on top and vary by country. The all-in cost is meaningfully higher than the $599 headline.
Pricing: From $599/month per employee (standard); $899 (enterprise); volume discounts at scale India entity: Direct Onboarding speed: 2 to 5 business days Country coverage: 150+ countries Best for: Multi-country hiring, contractor-to-employee conversion, companies needing one platform across many markets
Oyster HR
Best for: Companies where employee experience and benefits quality are the priority
Oyster HR covers 180+ countries and operates through a 100% partner model. Oyster itself is not the legal employer in any country, including India. A third-party firm holds that position in every market. For most compliance purposes that works fine. For India-specific statutory depth, you are working through an additional layer.
EOR pricing starts at $699 per employee per month, making it the most expensive option in this comparison. The premium pays for a few things that are worth naming. Oyster's employee portal is the most polished in the EOR category. Payslips, tax documents, time-off balances, benefits enrollment, and expense submissions are consolidated in one interface. Employees in India can parse their payslips without contacting HR. Fewer "where's my payslip" tickets is a real operational benefit.
Dedicated customer success managers are another consistent strength across G2 and Capterra reviews. Routine queries require CSM escalation rather than a front-line support team, which works well when the CSM is responsive.
The $699 floor is the honest trade-off. For India hiring at seed or Series A, that price point is harder to justify against platforms that offer comparable compliance at $100 less per month. Oyster makes more sense when employee experience quality and a dedicated relationship manager are worth more to you than the price difference.
Pricing: From $699/month per employee India entity: Partner model (no direct India entity) Onboarding speed: 3 to 7 business days Country coverage: 180+ countries Best for: Mid-market companies, employee experience priority, mission-driven organizations
Remote
Best for: Companies that want full entity ownership and transparent payroll pricing
Remote operates through owned legal entities in 80 to 90+ countries, India included. No local partners, no third-party intermediaries in the compliance chain. Remote files directly, pays directly, and handles termination through its own in-house legal teams. For risk-averse buyers, that accountability structure is genuinely different from a partner model.
EOR pricing is $599 per employee per month with an annual contract, or $699 on a monthly basis. Pre-seed to Series A companies get a 15% startup discount for the first 12 months. No setup fees. No salary deposit requirement, which sets Remote apart from Deel.
IP protection is where Remote consistently gets called out by reviewers. Invention assignment agreements, work-for-hire clauses, and IP transfer provisions are built into standard employment contracts. For US companies hiring engineers or designers in India, IP assignment clarity matters and Remote handles it well.
The platform scores well on self-service UX. Payslips, time-off, and expense management are employee-accessible without HR involvement. The contractor management side is thinner than Deel, but for companies focused on full-time EOR hiring that is rarely a deciding factor.
Country coverage is the documented limitation. Remote covers 80 to 90+ countries versus Deel's 150+. For a US company hiring only in India, that gap is irrelevant. For companies with simultaneous hiring needs across Southeast Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, or parts of Eastern Europe, Remote may need a second provider alongside it.
Pricing: $599/month (annual) or $699/month (monthly); 15% startup discount available India entity: Direct (owned entity model) Onboarding speed: 3 to 7 business days Country coverage: 80 to 90+ countries Best for: Compliance-first companies, IP-sensitive hiring, self-service teams, transparent payroll
Side-by-Side Comparison
|
Kaamwork |
Deel |
Oyster HR |
Remote |
|
|
EOR Price/Month |
$599 |
From $599 |
From $699 |
$599 (annual) |
|
India Entity |
Direct |
Direct |
Partner model |
Direct (owned) |
|
Country Coverage |
India-focused |
150+ |
180+ |
80 to 90+ |
|
Onboarding Speed |
48 to 72 hours |
2 to 5 days |
3 to 7 days |
3 to 7 days |
|
Team Model |
Direct (no middleman) |
Standard |
Dedicated CSM |
Self-service |
|
Attrition Rate |
Under 5% |
Not published |
Not published |
Not published |
|
Startup Discount |
Not listed |
Volume at 20+ employees |
Not listed |
15% for pre-seed to Series A |
|
Best For |
Tech hiring, 1 to 25 India hires |
Multi-country, contractor management |
Employee experience, mid-market |
Compliance-first, IP protection |
How to Choose
You are a US or UK tech company adding your first 5 to 15 engineers in India. Kaamwork is the most purpose-built option. Direct India entity, $599/month, 48-hour onboarding, no middleman layer between you and your team. The talent-centric model keeps attrition under 5%.
→ See how the model works: kaam.work/why-kaamwork/talent-centric-model
You are hiring across 5 or more countries simultaneously. Deel. The 150+ country coverage, contractor management tools, and consolidated payroll interface make sense when India is one of several markets you are managing at the same time.
Employee experience is the top priority and you want a dedicated relationship manager. Oyster HR. The polished employee portal and CSM model justify the $699 price point if those two factors matter more to you than cost savings.
IP protection is non-negotiable and you want full entity ownership with transparent pricing. Remote. Owned entities in every market it covers, IP assignment built into every contract, no deposit requirement, and pricing that does not require a negotiation call to access.
A Note on Pricing Transparency
All four platforms publish headline prices. But the headline is the platform fee only. Add employer taxes, statutory contributions, and optional benefits, and the all-in monthly cost per employee in India is meaningfully higher than what the pricing page shows.
For India specifically, employer-side statutory contributions include PF at 12% of basic salary, ESIC where applicable, Gratuity accruals, and professional tax by state. These are not optional. They apply regardless of which EOR you use.
Run a loaded cost model before comparing platforms. The $100 difference between Oyster at $699 and the others at $599 looks different once you factor in full statutory costs on both sides.
For US companies starting with India hiring, the decision usually comes down to scope. If India is the only market, Kaamwork's India-first model, direct team structure, and 48-hour onboarding make a strong case. If multi-country coverage is part of the requirement from day one, Deel or Remote become more relevant.
The entity ownership question is worth asking every platform before signing. A direct India entity is not the only way to run compliant payroll, but it is the cleanest path when statutory questions come up.
