EREditorial team · Updated 16 Oct 20268 min read23 alternatives compared
Every other contractor payouts provider we score, set against Ontop on list price, documented countries and our contractor payouts score.
Short answer
Stay with Ontop if you are
Companies paying contractors in many countries by bank, wallet, crypto or card
A remote or hybrid company with 20 or more employees paying 10 or more global contractors, which Ontop names as its clearest fit
Startups and SMBs, in Ontop's own words
Teams with fewer than 10 international workers that want to start without a sales call, as the help centre describes
Look at alternatives if you are
Companies that need to employ staff abroad: the help centre says Ontop no longer provides EOR directly
Buyers who need the COR service agreement published before they sign
Buyers who need a phone line or a stated support response target: Ontop lists neither
Buyers who need to see a SOC 2 report: Ontop states the certification but publishes no report
On this page
What our data points to
Limits in our data on Ontop, from its own pages and the facts we checked. This is a summary, not the reasons any one customer gave.
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
The COR service agreement and the tri-party MSA are named in the T&Cs but not public; the published T&Cs cover payouts and contractor management only
No EOR: the help centre says Ontop no longer provides EOR services directly, though the pricing FAQ still mentions switching from a contractor to an employee setup and the help centre routes EOR enquiries to sales
SOC 2 is stated on a help-centre page; the type, auditor and report are not published
Pricing pages say 24/7 support; the help centre lists 24-hour business support Monday to Thursday, shorter Friday and Sunday hours, an on-call guard for the rest of the weekend and no phone support. No response target is stated
An early termination charge applies (the greater of the fees for the rest of the term and the six-month average times the months left), and cancelling takes a form, written notice and 30 days
Contractor management at $49: 14 of the 17 other per-contractor-month list prices here are lower and 3 match. The price is 'Starting from', with conditions on worker numbers, plus transfer fees from a fee schedule
No public API documentation or integration count found; the T&Cs say only 'We may provide you with an API'
IP assignment is not stated: the T&Cs leave IP clauses to separate add-on agreements between client and worker
The payout guide flags restricted countries on 8 country headings but its own restricted list names 16; the guide has no page for 20 of the 22 countries and territories in our list without evidence (Bermuda and Hong Kong have guide sections but are left unscored as territories)
Ontop next to its alternatives
Each row is set against Ontop. 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 Ontop on a platform with at least 50 reviews for each. How we score
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 Ontop: Our contractor payouts score 1.1 lower
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 Ontop: Our contractor payouts score 1.4 lower · Rated higher than Ontop on G2 and Trustpilot.
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 Ontop 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 Ontop?
We list 23 other contractor payouts providers. In our order the first three are Wise, 4dev.com and Remozo. The table on this page sets the first 10 against Ontop 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 Ontop 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 Ontop?
One: Justworks lists US$39, against Ontop’s US$49 per contractor a month. Only providers that publish a “from” price on the same terms are compared, and setup fees, deposits and volume discounts are not included.
What should I check before switching from Ontop?
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.
