Papaya Global Review and Pricing

Why We Chose Papaya Global for International PEO Services

When a business operates internationally, HR administration can be a challenge. Papaya Global’s international PEO services can replace your internal HR department and seamlessly handle human resources functions overseas. Papaya Global can support employers in over 160 countries, run payroll in over 100 currencies, and handle benefits administration globally. Papaya’s international PEO services far surpassed those of the standard PEOs we reviewed. We were also impressed by Papaya’s streamlined platform, which helps employers manage multiple locations and workers from a centralized dashboard.

We liked that, in addition to accessing Papaya’s extensive online knowledge base of country-specific resources, you can contact local experts in various countries for further assistance with hiring, handling the onboarding process, and managing your global workers in a legally compliant manner. For these reasons and more, Papaya Global is our choice for the best PEO for international services.

Papaya’s centralized dashboard lets business owners and managers view pertinent workforce data from one location. Source: Papaya Global

Ease of Use

When we tested Papaya Global’s platform, we liked its straightforward layout. Each worker (regardless of type) can access a private employee portal that prominently displays tasks or to-do lists. Additionally, we appreciate that Papaya Global offers Android and iOS mobile apps (Papaya Personal), which enhance the platform’s self-service capabilities. Workers can view files, payments, time-off reports and more. Papaya Personal also includes a built-in timekeeping tool.

On the admin side, we found the Papaya platform intuitive and liked that it compiles payment and employee information from various locations and countries into one location. A centralized information portal helps employers streamline payroll and pay management across several countries. 

Although time reporting can be automatically integrated into Papaya from a third-party platform, it can also be manually reported within the system if needed. Source: Papaya Global 

Features

Papaya provides standard PEO services on an international scale. Here’s an overview of the Papaya features we found notable for international businesses. These offerings can help you manage the geodiversity of a global workforce. (The specific features you can access depend on your plan and payment tier.)

HR Services

Hiring and onboarding new workers can be challenging for any business. Finding global workers who fit a region’s workplace culture can be even more difficult. One of our favorite Papaya features is that the platform streamlines global hiring and onboarding.

For example, when you add a new global worker to the system during the hiring process, you can loop in Papaya’s immigration services to ensure the employee is onboarded correctly according to that country’s compliance mandates. Not many competitors provide this service, which is crucial when you’re onboarding international workers. We were also impressed by Papaya’s setup. After the new worker is approved, Papaya can automatically send the appropriate employment contracts to the worker. Then, the new hire can view these documents in the employee portal.

Employees can upload documents and manage employee details from the Papaya portal. Source: Papaya Global

Risk and Compliance

Papaya Global excels at helping companies mitigate risk and stay compliant across more than 160 countries. It offers several in-depth online resources to educate employers on jurisdiction regulations. We were impressed that the software goes further than this to provide in-country experts who can review essential details with employers. 

When we analyzed the software, we were pleased to see that it has configurable permission settings that allow employers to control what their workers can access within the system.

Payroll and Taxes

We found Papaya’s payroll capabilities to be top-notch. You can pay all worker types throughout multiple countries, even if you don’t have a local entity in those jurisdictions. This far exceeds standard PEO capabilities and is essential for expanding to multiple jurisdictions without adding local entities.

We like that when running payroll with this PEO, you can pay workers in more than 100 currencies. We particularly appreciate that you can access a centralized view of all payments. This makes it easy to administer and manage payments from multiple locations. 

Papaya Global can also file payroll taxes on your behalf. The company claims its global payment platform “guarantees full local compliance and liability for your funds [and] payment process,” which is a huge advantage for small businesses navigating payments in multiple countries. 

Papaya Global makes global payments a breeze, allowing you to pay workers in over 100 currencies. Source: Papaya Global

Employee Benefits

Some PEO competitors we reviewed limit your employee benefits administration process. In contrast, we liked that Papaya Global offers several benefit administration options, allowing you to choose the best plan for your organization. For example, you can sign up for Papaya’s global benefits plan or connect with Papaya’s local benefits partners in your respective jurisdictions. You can even source your own employee benefits and integrate them with Papaya Global. We were impressed by this level of flexibility — a crucial driver in simplifying global employee management.

Pricing

We were especially pleased with Papaya Global’s pricing transparency. Many competitors don’t openly list starting plans and rates online. However, pricing transparency is valuable for small and midsize businesses that want to quickly see the prices of specific features. Also, unlike most standard PEOs, Papaya Global offers an array of services to fit various types of employers — for example, payroll, employer of record (EOR) and contractor management.

Here’s a general breakdown of Papaya Global’s plans.

• Payroll Plus: Starts at $25 per employee per month (volume discounts are given)
• EOR: Starts at $599 per employee per month
• Contractor payments and management: Starts at $30 per contractor per month
• Global workforce payments: Starts at $2.50 per transaction
• Agent of record: Starts at $200 per contractor per month

One standout feature is an online price calculator that estimates the cost of hiring an employee in any given country. A Papaya Global representative mentioned some notable terms and conditions. For example, employers typically sign a two-year agreement, but there is a termination convenience clause with a rolling 90-day contract.

Papaya doesn’t require a minimum number of workers, but there is a pay cycle minimum. You must use Papaya’s payroll services if you want it as an EOR. This is standard among the competitors we reviewed.

Implementation/Onboarding

We found Papaya’s implementation process standard among the industry. The initial payroll setup can take between eight and 12 weeks. After your initial implementation period, it’s a bit faster to onboard new employees to the system. EOR and contractor management plans can be set up much faster, sometimes in less than a week.

We appreciate that Papaya Global is system-agnostic and can connect to a wide range of third-party applications. While this is an excellent benefit, it can also add some time to your implementation period if you must connect to several platforms at once. To ease this burden, Papaya offers an implementation team to integrate platforms if needed. 

A Papaya representative told us that in addition to being assigned a dedicated point of contact, new clients receive three months of onboarding and implementation support after going live. Not all competitors offer this level of support, which can be helpful for organizations that need assistance with integrations and early implementation. 

Customer Support

We found Papaya Global’s customer support comparable to that of other services we reviewed. You are assigned a dedicated customer success manager (CSM) in your time zone to contact if you have questions. You and your CSM can establish a meeting cadence (e.g., biweekly, weekly or bimonthly) and a communication channel (e.g., text, call or video chat) that works best for you. 

We like that Papaya Global offers advisory services that include partners in every country in which it operates. This can be helpful if you have employees in multiple countries and want localized support. It’s crucial to have support staff who understand international business etiquette and can advise you.

We found Papaya Global’s online knowledge base especially valuable. It offers a wealth of online information for employers to learn about specific country requirements, processes, agreements and contracts. This trove of localized knowledge can be a game-changer for employers that want to expand to a new region or country and need help understanding how to stay compliant.

Papaya Global provides extensive online help resources, including a searchable knowledge base. Source: Papaya Global

Limitations

Unlike competitors we reviewed, Papaya Global doesn’t offer full-service performance management features. The vendor is comprehensive in helping you administer benefits, process payroll, handle employee recruitment and hiring, and stay legally compliant in various jurisdictions. However, you must find an additional solution for performance management. 

We like that Papaya Global integrates with BambooHR and other human resources information system partners, so you have options for performance management functions from third-party applications if needed. If you’re interested in a PEO solution that offers built-in performance management features, read our review of AlphaStaff and our BambooHR review.

Another potential limitation is that Papaya Global is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau or the Employer Services Assurance Corp. (ESAC). ESAC accreditations are given to PEOs that meet specific financial and compliance requirements. While this isn’t a dealbreaker for most businesses, we like to see our best picks receive this accreditation. To learn about accredited PEO services, read our review of ADP TotalSource and our review of Paychex.

Methodology

We researched and analyzed dozens of the best PEO service providers to identify the top professional employer organizations and help businesses choose the right PEO service for their needs. We evaluated pricing, contract requirements, bundled versus a la carte features, minimum requirements, employee benefits administration, time tracking tools, payroll processing and taxes, administrative HR functions, talent management features, integrations, legal risk and compliance assistance, accreditations, and customer support.

For additional insights, we watched product videos and conducted demos when possible. When looking for the best international PEO, we prioritized flexibility, legal compliance assistance, global features, usability and customer service. You can read more about our editorial process here.

Bottom Line

We recommend Papaya Global for …

• Companies that have workers in multiple countries.
• Companies that are looking for global advisory services.
• Small to mid-market organizations with 100-plus employees.

We don’t recommend Papaya Global for …

• Companies that need a low-cost EOR solution.
• Companies that need time tracking and performance management functions.