Deel alternatives

Deel prices HR Core at $5 per employee a month and sells EOR, contractor and PEO plans as separate products, verified 24 September 2026. Teams leaving it compare BambooHR, Factorial, Zoho People, HarmonyHR and Personio. For HR and client project work on one record, PeopleMuster is the strongest alternative at $3 per person, every module included.

Why people leave

Each Deel product carries its own price. HR Core is $5 per employee a month, Contractor Management is $49 per contractor, US PEO is $125 and EOR is $599 per employee. A team that grows into two of them pays two separate rates.
"Free" turned out to be $5. Plenty of third-party lists still call Deel HR free. Deel's own HR page prices Core at $5 per employee a month, so the budget line appears the day the team signs up.
Your delivery work lives somewhere else. Deel is sold on hiring and paying people across borders. If your staff also log hours against client projects, that work still sits in a second tool.

The real options

Six HR products were compared on 24 September 2026 against Deel. Each one was scored on its published entry price, what the next tier or product costs, any seat minimum, and whether the staff record and the client work sit in one system. Evaluated from Deel's own documentation and pricing, September 2026; every other figure came from that vendor's own pricing page. Disclosure: PeopleMuster is our product.

PeopleMuster

$3 per person a month. Every module included, no tiers, from the first person.

Who it suits: Agencies, software houses and consultancies whose people run client projects every week.
Where it wins: The directory, leave, attendance and timesheets by project share one database. Approved leave drops out of the capacity plan straight away, and hours feed utilisation by person and project.

BambooHR

Core $10, Pro $17 and Elite $25 per employee a month. Teams of 25 or fewer pay a flat rate from $250 a month. Verified September 2026.

Who it suits: Small and mid-sized companies that want an HR-only system with a published ladder.
Where it wins: Three published tiers, and a flat monthly rate that suits a team under 26 people.
Where it falls short: Pro is $17 against Core's $10, so moving up a tier raises the rate for every employee.

Factorial

From $8 per user a month, with modules added on top. Quote-led beyond the starting figure. Verified September 2026.

Who it suits: European SMBs that want to start with core HR and add modules one at a time.
Where it wins: A modular build, so you choose which parts of HR to buy first.
Where it falls short: Only the $8 entry figure is published. Every add-on is priced in a sales conversation.

Zoho People

Essential HR $1.50 up to People Plus $10 per user a month billed monthly ($1.25 to $9 annual). Paid plans need 5 users. Free edition for 5 users, 3 in the US. Verified 24 September 2026.

Who it suits: Price-led teams already running other Zoho apps.
Where it wins: A low entry rate and a free edition for very small teams.
Where it falls short: Five tiers to choose from, and paid plans start at five users.

HarmonyHR

HRIS + Survey from $5 per employee a month, 20% off annual. ATS is $32.50 per recruiter a month. Verified 24 September 2026.

Who it suits: Small HR teams that want an HRIS with surveys at a Deel-level price.
Where it wins: Free migration and onboarding included, by the vendor's own pricing page.
Where it falls short: Recruiting is a separate $32.50 per recruiter on top of the HR rate.

Personio

Core starts from €7.60 per employee a month. Tiers beyond the entry figure are demo-gated. Verified September 2026.

Who it suits: European small and mid-sized companies happy to buy through a demo.
Where it wins: A published entry figure in euros, which is rare among the larger HR suites.
Where it falls short: No per-tier price is published beyond €7.60, so the full cost arrives in a quote.

Questions people ask

How much does Deel cost in 2026?

Deel HR Core starts at $5 per employee a month. Contractor Management is $49 per contractor, Contractor of Record $325, US PEO $125 and EOR $599 per employee a month. Entity setup is quote-only. Read from deel.com/pricing and deel.com/hr on 24 September 2026.

How do I move from Deel to PeopleMuster?

We load your people, leave types and projects with you during setup, at no extra fee. If you'd rather do it yourself, the CSV importer takes people, leave balances and projects from a spreadsheet export. Your 14 free days cover the move, so the first bill comes after the team is already in.

Why are Rippling and HiBob not on this list?

Neither publishes a price. Rippling's pricing page sets out a required core platform with products sold on top, and HiBob's pricing page leads to a demo request, both checked in September 2026. Without a figure they can't sit on the same grid as the six vendors above.