Our Full Review
Papaya Global is the enterprise-grade solution for companies running payroll across dozens of countries. Founded in 2016, they've built a platform that handles global payroll, EOR services, contractor payments, and compliance automation in 160+ countries.
Unlike Remote or Deel (which target startups and SMBs), Papaya focuses on mid-market and enterprise clients with 100-10,000+ employees. The platform is more complex, but far more powerful for large-scale global operations.
What Makes Papaya Different?
Most global payroll platforms force you to choose: use their EOR services or manage your own entities. Papaya supports both:
- Own Entity Payroll: You have a subsidiary in Germany? Papaya runs payroll through it.
- EOR Services: No entity in Brazil? Papaya employs people there as Employer of Record.
- Hybrid Model: Mix and match—own entities in some countries, EOR in others.
This flexibility is huge for enterprises with existing international infrastructure.
Who Should Use Papaya Global?
- Mid-market companies (100-1,000 employees) with international presence
- Enterprises (1,000+) needing unified global payroll management
- Companies with existing foreign entities — Papaya can leverage them
- Businesses in heavily regulated industries — compliance automation is top-tier
- CFOs and finance teams — advanced reporting and forecasting tools
Who Should Look Elsewhere?
- Startups with <50 employees — Papaya is overkill, try Remote or Justworks
- Companies wanting simple UI — Papaya is powerful but complex
- Budget-constrained SMBs — pricing is enterprise-tier
- US-only companies — if you're not international, use Gusto or ADP
Global Payroll Management
Papaya's core strength is unified global payroll across 160+ countries:
- Multi-country payroll runs — process payroll for 20 countries simultaneously
- Local currency payments — employees paid in their local currency
- Tax calculation & compliance — automatic tax withholding per country
- Statutory reporting — all local tax filings handled
- Year-end documentation — tax forms and summaries in local formats
You control everything from one dashboard. No need to log into 15 different country-specific systems.
Employer of Record (EOR) Services
When you don't have a local entity, Papaya becomes the employer of record:
- Legally employ people in countries where you don't have a subsidiary
- Papaya handles employment contracts, payroll, benefits, taxes
- You manage day-to-day work and performance
- Seamless transition when you establish your own entity
EOR coverage spans 160+ countries—more than Remote (60+) or Oyster (180+).
Contractor Management
In addition to employees, Papaya handles contractors globally:
- Pay contractors in 190+ countries
- Automated invoicing and payment workflows
- Compliance classification (employee vs. contractor)
- Conversion to full-time when ready
The platform flags misclassification risks—critical in countries with strict contractor laws (like UK or Spain).
Compliance & Risk Management
This is where Papaya really shines for enterprises:
- Regulatory intelligence — platform updates automatically when tax laws change
- Audit trails — full documentation for compliance audits
- Classification checks — ensure contractors meet local legal definitions
- GDPR & data privacy — compliant data handling across regions
- Risk scoring — dashboard shows compliance risk by country and employee
For CFOs and legal teams managing global workforce risk, these features are invaluable.
Benefits Administration
Papaya coordinates benefits across countries:
- Local health insurance — country-specific plans meeting legal requirements
- Retirement & pensions — statutory contributions (e.g., UK auto-enrollment, German social security)
- Statutory leave — vacation, sick, parental leave per local law
- Supplemental benefits — optional dental, vision, life insurance
- Global equity management — stock options and RSUs for international employees
Benefits are localized but managed centrally—no need to work with separate brokers in each country.
Technology Platform
Papaya's platform is comprehensive but has a learning curve:
- Unified dashboard — view global workforce, payroll costs, compliance status
- Workflow automation — approvals, onboarding, offboarding
- Real-time reporting — headcount, payroll costs, budget forecasting
- Employee self-service — payslips, PTO, profile updates
- Mobile app — basic functionality for employees
- Integrations — connects with HRIS, accounting, ERP systems (Workday, SAP, Oracle, QuickBooks)
The UI is professional but not as sleek as Remote or Justworks. It's built for power users (HR managers, finance teams), not necessarily for employee delight.
Reporting & Analytics
Papaya's analytics are enterprise-grade:
- Real-time payroll dashboards — see costs across all countries at once
- Cost forecasting — project future payroll expenses based on headcount plans
- Compliance reports — audit trails, tax filing status, risk assessments
- Custom reports — build reports on any data point (department, location, cost center)
- API access — pull data into BI tools (Tableau, Power BI)
CFOs love this. You can finally see true global payroll costs in real-time, not 30 days after the fact.
Implementation & Onboarding
Papaya implementations are serious projects:
- Dedicated implementation team — project manager and specialists
- Timeline: typically 4-12 weeks depending on complexity
- Data migration — import employee data from existing systems
- Custom workflows — configure approvals, org structure, reporting
- Training — onboarding for HR and finance teams
This isn't a "sign up and start tomorrow" platform. Expect a real implementation process.
Pricing (What We Know)
Papaya doesn't publish pricing. It's fully custom based on:
- Number of employees and countries
- Mix of EOR vs. own entity payroll
- Contract length (typically annual)
- Service level and support tier
Based on market intelligence and user reports:
- EOR pricing: ~$300-500/employee/month (varies by country)
- Own entity payroll: ~$50-150/employee/month
- Contractor management: ~$30-75/contractor/month
- Setup fees: $5,000-25,000+ depending on complexity
For a 200-employee company across 10 countries: expect $40,000-80,000+/year.
This is enterprise pricing. Small businesses will find it steep.
Customer Support
Support is solid for enterprise clients:
- Dedicated account manager — for strategic guidance
- Country specialists — experts for each geographic region
- 24/7 support — available for urgent payroll issues
- Implementation team — hands-on during setup
- Help center & documentation — comprehensive guides
Response times are generally fast. Larger accounts get more personalized service.
What's Missing
Papaya is laser-focused on payroll and compliance. It doesn't try to be a full HRIS:
- No performance management or reviews
- No applicant tracking system (ATS)
- No learning management or training
- No org charts or succession planning
If you need these, integrate with BambooHR, Workday, or dedicated tools. Papaya plays well with others via API.
Papaya vs. Competitors
How does Papaya compare?
- Papaya Global: Best for enterprises, most country coverage, supports own entities + EOR
- Remote: Better for SMBs, simpler UI, EOR-focused
- Deel: Best for contractor-heavy workforces, faster setup
- ADP Global Payroll: Similar enterprise focus, less modern tech
Choose Papaya if you're mid-market/enterprise with complex global payroll needs.
The Bottom Line
Papaya Global is the Rolls-Royce of global payroll platforms. If you're managing hundreds of employees across dozens of countries, the unified platform, compliance automation, and advanced reporting are game-changing.
But it's not for everyone. Small businesses will find it overly complex and expensive. The sweet spot is 100-10,000 employees with significant international presence.
If you're a CFO tired of cobbling together 15 different payroll providers across countries, Papaya is worth serious consideration. The price is high, but so is the value for the right company.