Remote.com vs Square Payroll
Features, use cases, pros and cons, and pricing side by side — and which one to pick.
Quick verdict: Pick Remote.com if you're hiring or paying people across countries; pick Square Payroll if you're a US small business already running on Square.
Best for: Companies hiring employees in countries where they don't have a legal entity, Finance teams that need multi-currency payroll in one platform
Read the full Remote.com reviewBest for: Restaurants and cafés that collect tips through Square POS, Retail teams with commissions or multiple pay rates
Read the full Square Payroll reviewCommission may apply at no extra cost
Remote.com vs Square Payroll: features compared
Compare key features side by side
Feature Comparison Summary
Which should you choose?
Choose Remote.com if
- You're hiring employees abroad without setting up local entities
- You need multi-currency payroll with monthly, semi-monthly, and hourly cycles
- You want API, webhooks, or MCP access to employment data
Choose Square Payroll if
- You already run Square POS and want tips and timecards imported
- You want federal and state tax filings automated at no extra charge
Remote.com vs Square Payroll: pros and cons
Remote.com
Remote runs its own legal entities and in-house payroll experts in every market it serves, so you can hire in 90+ countries without setting up local companies. EOR pricing at $699 per employee sits at the market's high end, and payroll carries undisclosed fees. Overall, it's a strong pick for international teams that can absorb the cost.
Pros
- Operates its own legal entities in every market it serves, staffed with in-house payroll teams and local legal experts, rather than outsourcing to third-party middlemen
- Employer of Record covers 90+ countries at a flat $699 per employee per month with no platform, onboarding, or setup fees and no minimum headcount
- Runs monthly, semi-monthly, and hourly payroll across multiple currencies in one platform with full visibility for finance teams
Cons
- Employer of Record is priced at $699 per employee per month, which is at the high end of the EOR market and adds up quickly for teams scaling headcount abroad
- Payroll carries an implementation fee plus a recurring payroll delivery fee that aren't disclosed upfront, so total cost depends on a custom quote for your entities
- Some products have restrictive eligibility — PEO is billed in USD only and requires a U.S. bank account, and the Equity product serves only Delaware C-Corps
Square Payroll
Square Payroll shines for businesses already on Square: it imports timecards and tips from Square POS, files federal and state taxes automatically, and skips long-term contracts. The trade-offs are a tight integration list with only QuickBooks Online named, plus unpublished add-on pricing. Overall, it's a smart pick for Square users and a harder sell for everyone else.
Pros
- Square POS integration imports timecards and tips automatically, so tipped staff like restaurant crews get paid for hours actually worked without manual entry
- Federal, state, and multistate tax filings are automated at no extra charge, including quarterly and annual forms plus year-end W-2s and 1099-NECs
- Unlimited pay runs and off-cycle payments are included on both plans with no per-run fees and no long-term contract
Cons
- Key features like automatic timecard and tip imports depend on Square POS, so businesses not already running Square lose much of the value
- QuickBooks Online is the only accounting integration named on the site, which limits options if you use Xero, FreshBooks, or other bookkeeping tools
- Pricing for add-ons like workers' comp, health insurance, 401(k) plans, and compliance alerts isn't published, making total cost hard to budget up front
Remote.com and Square Payroll in detail
Remote.com
Remote is a global employment platform. It lets companies hire, pay, and manage team members in other countries without setting up local companies themselves. The service covers employer-of-record employment, multi-currency payroll, and local compliance, backed by in-house payroll teams and legal experts. It's built for HR, finance, and operations teams at growing companies that hire internationally, and for developers who want to embed employment into their own products through its API.
Standout features
- Owned infrastructure, not middlemen
- Payroll, all in one place
- Keep the tools you already use
- Built for builders
Use cases
- Hire abroad without a local entity
- See all your global payroll in one place
- Manage contractors worldwide without the admin pile-up
- Keep your HR stack, add global infrastructure
Square Payroll
Square Payroll is online payroll software for small businesses, built to work with the rest of Square. It pays employees and contractors, automates federal and state tax filings, and imports timecards and tips from Square POS. It fits restaurants, retail shops, salons, home and repair services, and any small business that wants payroll tied to its point of sale.
Standout features
- Payroll that works with your POS
- Taxes and filings, handled
- Flexible pay runs for real life
- Faster ways to get your team paid
- Benefits and bookkeeping in one place
Use cases
- Run tipped payroll in minutes
- Pay commissions and mixed rates
- Contractor payroll without the paperwork
- Pay field crews from anywhere
Pricing compared
List prices from each vendor's pricing page, before taxes and add-ons. Costs are per month.
| Pricing compared | Remote.com | Square Payroll |
|---|---|---|
| From (cheapest paid plan) | $29/mo Payroll · per user | $6/mo Contractor-only payroll · per user |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| Money-back guarantee | Not stated | Not stated |
| Annual billing savings | — | — |
| Pricing model | Per-user and flat plans | Per user |
| Cost for 1 user | $29/mo Payroll plan, billed monthly | $6/moCheaper Contractor-only payroll plan, billed monthly |
| Cost for 5 users | $145/mo Payroll plan, billed monthly | $30/moCheaper Contractor-only payroll plan, billed monthly |
| Cost for 10 users | $290/mo Payroll plan, billed monthly | $60/moCheaper Contractor-only payroll plan, billed monthly |
| Cost for 25 users | $725/mo Payroll plan, billed monthly | $150/moCheaper Contractor-only payroll plan, billed monthly |
| Plans | 8 | 2 |
| Prices checked | Vendor page checked Oct 12, 2026 | Checked Oct 13, 2026 |
| Price history | Tracking prices since Sep 7, 2026. No price change detected yet. | Tracking prices since Sep 8, 2026. No price change detected yet. |
- Cheapest plan that fits each team size. Per-user plans are multiplied by the number of users (respecting stated minimums and seat packs). Plans that include some users cost their base price plus the extra-user price for each user beyond those included. Flat-priced plans with no stated user limit are counted as one licence per user.
Cheaper for your team size
For 5 users (billed monthly), Square Payroll costs $30/mo vs Remote.com at $145/mo.
- Square Payroll is cheaper at every team size we checked (1 to 25 users).
- For 1 user (billed monthly), Square Payroll costs $6/mo vs Remote.com at $29/mo.
- For 10 users (billed monthly), Square Payroll costs $60/mo vs Remote.com at $290/mo.
- For 25 users (billed monthly), Square Payroll costs $150/mo vs Remote.com at $725/mo.
Computed from published list prices on the dates shown. Excludes taxes, add-ons and promotions.