EREditorial team · Updated 15 Oct 20267 min read12 alternatives compared
Every other COR provider we score, set against Mellow on list price, documented countries and our COR score.
Short answer
Stay with Mellow if you are
Companies whose workforce is mostly contractors, paid in many countries
Teams that want to pay out in USDT, to cards, bank accounts or e-wallets
Startups, mid-market companies and enterprises, in Mellow's own words, that want a Contractor of Record to be the contracting party
Look at alternatives if you are
Companies that need to employ staff abroad, since we score no Employer of Record or payroll service for Mellow
Buyers whose security review demands a named certification up front
Buyers who need a published contract for payouts or contractor management
Contractor of Record buyers who need a dedicated manager on the standard plan; Mellow lists one only in its custom Partner plan
On this page
What our data points to
Limits in our data on Mellow, from its own pages and the facts we checked. This is a summary, not the reasons any one customer gave.
No named security certification is published, and the PCI DSS claim has no attestation behind it.
No published agreement for contractor payouts or contractor management; the Customer agreement that the Contractor of Record terms form part of is not public.
Price: the 3.5% payout starting rate is above 4 of the 6 other percent-of-payout prices we compare and equal to 1. Contractor management has no published price.
Country counts differ by page: 150+ on the pricing page, 100+ on the Contractor of Record and payouts pages, 197 in a help-centre guide. We document no country list for Contractor of Record or contractor management.
Support hours and onboarding time are not stated, and standard Contractor of Record support has no dedicated manager.
The footer names FLIME B.V. and FRWD Limited next to the Cyprus companies, "depending on product and region", and does not say which entity contracts for which service.
Mellow next to its alternatives
Each row is set against Mellow. 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 COR 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 Mellow 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
Against Mellow: Same COR score · Rated higher than Mellow on G2.
6.6Our score 6.6 of 10Limited dataOur COR score
COR price from
US$400per contractor a month, billed annually
Onboarding2–3 days
ServicesEOR · COR · Contractors · Payroll
Best for
Companies from startups to enterprises, going by Multiplier's segment pages
Not for
Buyers who need the deposit amount before signing: Multiplier calculates it per contract
Top pro
Own SOC 2 (Type I and II), SOC 3 and ISO 27001:2022 on its security page; the AWS certifications listed there are kept apart as the host's
Top con
The "from" prices assume an annual contract. Monthly EOR costs $499 on Core and $559 on Growth, about 11% of countries are priced differently, and compliance-mandated add-ons come on top of EOR and COR
Startups, scaling companies and enterprises, the three groups Native Teams writes for
Not for
Buyers who want to read the EOR or COR agreement before talking to sales: the terms of service are the only contract text online
Top pro
EOR from $99 per employee a month, below all 20 other per-employee EOR prices in USD we compare
Top con
The terms of service are the only contract text online. The EOR and COR agreements are not published, and the terms say a separate signed contract takes precedence
Enterprise teams and small and growing businesses (SMEs), in RemotePass's own words
Not for
Buyers who must review EOR contract terms up front: no EOR agreement is public
Top pro
EOR from $349 per employee a month with tax included; 13 of 20 other EOR prices in dollars start higher
Top con
No EOR agreement is public: the Terms say EOR runs under a separate Consultant Agreement "available on the Site", which we did not find. The public legal documents are the Terms, the Privacy Policy and the Acceptable Use Policy
What to check with Mellow 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 Mellow?
We list 12 other COR providers. In our order the first three are Remote, Remote People and Deel. The table on this page sets the first 10 against Mellow on list price, documented countries and our COR score.
How is the order worked out?
By our COR 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 Mellow on a platform with at least 50 reviews for each, its row and card say so.
What should I check before switching from Mellow?
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.
