EREditorial team · Updated 16 Oct 20267 min read23 alternatives compared
Every other contractor payouts provider we score, set against Arbonum on list price, documented countries and our contractor payouts score.
Short answer
Stay with Arbonum if you are
Software, game-studio and digital-marketing teams paying freelancers in several countries; those are the industries Arbonum's own pages address
Teams that want to pay a fee on each payout instead of a monthly price per contractor
Buyers who want a dedicated manager and chat support from the start
Look at alternatives if you are
Companies that need to employ people: Arbonum lists no Employer of Record service
Buyers who need to see which countries are covered, since only a claimed count (115+) is given
Buyers who need a verified security certification or a company-register entry for the contracting entity
Teams that want a fixed monthly price: the fee scales with each payout
On this page
What our data points to
Limits in our data on Arbonum, from its own pages and the facts we checked. This is a summary, not the reasons any one customer gave.
5% a payout is above all 6 other percent-of-payout prices here for payouts, and above all 4 for contractor management
The UAE contracting entity is on no register we could read; the Cyprus company (ROWLING LIMITED) is on a register but is named as the privacy controller, not the contracting party
No security certification we could verify: the home page shows a SOC 2 badge with no report we could open
No country list: 115+ countries is a claim
Funds: customers send an advance payment to Arbonum under the agreement, and the undrawn part is returned within 10 business days of termination. The AML policy says Arbonum is not a licensed financial or payment institution and holds no client funds as such
The default fee coefficient in the agreement is 1.10, which is 10% of the contractor amount, against 'from 5%' on the home page; the AML policy says Arbonum offers no crypto-asset services, while the compare page lists crypto transfers
Onboarding 'under 10 minutes' is claimed, but signup goes through a manager who sets up the account, so the real time is not stated
No integrations count, API documentation, setup fee or termination fee published
Arbonum next to its alternatives
Each row is set against Arbonum. Prices are compared only where both publish a “from” price on the same terms, and countries only where both pages show a documented count.
Order: our contractor payouts score, highest first; equal scores go by name. Review-platform ratings do not change it; a row notes where a provider is rated higher than Arbonum on a platform with at least 50 reviews for each. How we score
Companies paying contractors in many countries by bank, wallet, crypto or card
Not for
Companies that need to employ staff abroad: the help centre says Ontop no longer provides EOR directly
Top pro
COR at $49 per contractor a month with no setup fee: the 8 other per-contractor-month COR list prices on this site are all higher
Top con
The $49 COR card and the terms disagree: the card describes direct hiring with your own agreements, the T&Cs and help centre describe Ontop as the contracting party that invoices in its own name
Startups, SMBs, agencies and enterprises: the segments Remozo names for its contractor product
Not for
Buyers whose security review asks for SOC 2 or ISO 27001 held by Remozo itself
Top pro
Contractor payouts claimed in 190+ countries; 98 are listed one by one in Remozo's help centre
Top con
Contractor plan from 3% per payout: for contractor payouts, 2 of the 6 other percentage prices we compare are lower and 1 the same. The contractor page says from 1.5%, which we do not score
Crypto and web3 teams paying contractors in stablecoins or crypto, a segment Rise names (startups, web3 startups, DAOs, global agencies)
Not for
Companies that need an EOR in countries beyond the US and the UK today
Top pro
Prices are published per head: $49 a contractor a month (discounts for startups and non-profits), $299 for Agent of Record, $399 an employee for EOR
Top con
EOR is documented in 2 countries (US, UK) against a claim of 90+. The parent, Rise Works, Inc., is on the GLEIF register; no own entity is documented in either country
Against Arbonum: Our contractor payouts score 0.5 higher
6.4Our score 6.4 of 10Our contractor payouts score
Contractor payouts price from
0.25%of each payout
Contractor payouts countries46 claimed
Minimum termNone
ServicesPayouts
Best for
Platforms and marketplaces that pay sellers, freelancers, creators or service providers, as Stripe describes its customers
Not for
Companies that want a provider to run contractor onboarding, contracts or closing documents: Stripe's pages describe a payment flow, not those
Top pro
Fee schedule published: 0.25% + 25¢ per payout and $2 per monthly active account, plus 0.25% of payout volume for funds routing and platform management where it applies, Instant Payouts at 1% and cross-border payouts from 0.25% of payout volume
Top con
No country list for Connect payouts. The Connect page says Connect Onboarding supports 46+ countries and does not tie that to payouts; we document none
Against Arbonum: Our contractor payouts score 0.2 higher
6.1Our score 6.1 of 10Limited dataOur contractor payouts score
Contractor payouts price from
US$42per payout
ServicesPayouts · Contractors
Best for
Companies that pay freelancers and contractors abroad and want one contract with one billing entity (Payroll)
Not for
Buyers whose security review needs a named SOC 2, ISO 27001 or similar certification
Top pro
Payroll publishes its fees: 39 EUR / 42 USD per withdrawal on the tariff new accounts start on, or 5%, 4% or 3% of payouts by monthly turnover (3% above 100,000 EUR/USD a month)
What to check with Arbonum and with the new provider. Your agreement with each one sets the details.
Notice period and contract term. Check how much notice your agreement asks for, whether a minimum term or a renewal date applies, and what leaving early costs.
Data export. Ask for an export of your records, contracts, invoices and closing documents before the account closes, and in which format it comes.
Contracts with contractors. Each contractor signs a new agreement with the new provider or with you. Check the notice terms in the current contracts and who holds the rights to the work.
Payout methods. Confirm the new provider can pay each contractor by a method and in a currency they can receive, and tell them before the first payout.
Closing documents and tax forms. Collect the invoices, closing documents and tax forms issued so far from the current provider before you leave.
Deposits. If you paid a deposit, check when and how it comes back, and what may be deducted from it first.
Questions people ask
What are the alternatives to Arbonum?
We list 23 other contractor payouts providers. In our order the first three are Wise, Ontop and 4dev.com. The table on this page sets the first 10 against Arbonum on list price, documented countries and our contractor payouts score.
How is the order worked out?
By our contractor payouts score, highest first; equal scores go by name. Review-platform ratings are not part of our score and do not change the order. Where a provider is rated higher than Arbonum on a platform with at least 50 reviews for each, its row and card say so.
Which alternatives list a lower contractor payouts price than Arbonum?
5 of them list a lower “from” price than Arbonum’s 5% of each payout, among providers that publish one on the same terms. The lowest is Wise at 0.23%. These are list prices: setup fees, deposits and volume discounts are not included.
What should I check before switching from Arbonum?
The notice period and contract term, a full data export, new agreements with your contractors, their payout methods, closing documents and tax forms, and how any deposit comes back. The checklist on this page goes through each one.
