EREditorial team · Updated 16 Oct 20267 min read23 alternatives compared
Every other contractor payouts provider we score, set against Solar Staff on list price, documented countries and our contractor payouts score.
Short answer
Stay with Solar Staff if you are
Companies paying many individual freelancers, self-employed people and sole proprietors
Clients who want a contract, an acts-and-invoice set and a VAT invoice issued for each payment
Clients that top up their balance by invoice with VAT and want to reclaim that VAT
Teams that want USDT or WebMoney payouts, or payouts driven through an API
Startups, small businesses and large companies, in Solar Staff's own words
Look at alternatives if you are
Companies that need to employ people abroad: its published pages show no EOR or payroll offer
Buyers who want a price list before talking to a manager
Buyers who want the customer contract public before signing
Buyers who need a named security certification such as SOC 2 or ISO 27001
Buyers who need an operator entity on a company register we can check
On this page
What our data points to
Limits in our data on Solar Staff, from its own pages and the facts we checked. This is a summary, not the reasons any one customer gave.
No published price: an individual tariff 'from 3%', against 'starting at just 6%' in the help centre, so the price scores as quote only
The public contract text is the Terms of Use; the customer offer or framework agreement appears inside the account after registration
PCI DSS is named in one FAQ answer on the mass payouts page; no certificate, level or attestation is published, and the home page says only 'international standards' and annual audits
No operator entity found on a company register we accept
Support hours not stated: the office is listed Monday to Sunday, 9:00-18:00 with no time zone, and no response target is given
Contractor management has no country list or claim of its own; the 190+ figure is stated for payouts
No integration count, dedicated manager or onboarding time stated; IP assignment is not stated
Withdrawals by SWIFT start at $700, and USDT payouts are not offered in every country
Solar Staff next to its alternatives
Each row is set against Solar Staff. 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 Solar Staff 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 Solar Staff: Our contractor payouts score 0.9 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 Solar Staff: Our contractor payouts score 0.6 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 Solar Staff 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 Solar Staff?
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 Solar Staff 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 Solar Staff on a platform with at least 50 reviews for each, its row and card say so.
What should I check before switching from Solar Staff?
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.
