How Does Deel Work?

Businesses are no longer confined to hiring talent within their local borders.

The rise of remote work and distributed teams has opened up a world of opportunities, allowing companies to tap into skilled professionals from virtually anywhere.

However, with this opportunity comes complexity: navigating international payroll, compliance with local labor laws, and managing a workforce spread across multiple countries can quickly become overwhelming.

This is where Deel comes in. Deel.com is a platform designed to simplify the process of hiring, paying, and managing a global workforce.

But how exactly does it work? In this article, we’ll dive into the mechanics of Deel, exploring its features, benefits, and how it’s transforming the way companies operate on a global scale.

What Is Deel?

Deel is an all-in-one global people platform founded in 2019 by Alex Bouaziz and Shuo Wang, two MIT graduates who identified a gap in the market for seamless international hiring solutions.

Based in San Francisco, Deel has rapidly grown into a leader in the global HR and payroll space, serving over 25,000 companies worldwide—from small startups to large enterprises like Shopify, Nike, and Lego.

The platform’s mission is straightforward yet ambitious: to make it easy for companies to hire anyone, anywhere, while ensuring compliance and efficiency.

At its core, Deel combines payroll, HR tools, compliance management, and mobility services into a single, user-friendly interface.

Whether you’re hiring full-time employees, independent contractors, or managing a hybrid workforce, Deel streamlines the process by handling the administrative and legal complexities that come with global employment.

The Core Features of Deel

Deel’s functionality can be broken down into several key areas, each designed to address a specific challenge of managing an international team.

1. Employer of Record (EOR) Services

One of Deel’s standout features is its Employer of Record (EOR) service.

For companies looking to hire full-time employees in countries where they don’t have a legal entity, setting up local operations can be a costly and time-consuming process.

Deel eliminates this hurdle by acting as the legal employer on behalf of the company.

Through its network of over 150 Deel-owned entities worldwide, the platform handles employment contracts, tax compliance, social contributions, and other statutory requirements.

This allows businesses to onboard employees in minutes rather than months, all while staying fully compliant with local laws.

For example, if a U.S.-based company wants to hire a software developer in Brazil, Deel steps in as the employer of record, managing payroll, benefits, and legal compliance in Brazil.

The company simply pays Deel a flat fee per employee, and Deel takes care of the rest.

2. Global Payroll

Paying a distributed workforce can be a logistical nightmare, especially when dealing with multiple currencies, tax systems, and payment schedules.

Deel’s global payroll solution automates this process, allowing companies to pay employees and contractors in over 100 currencies with a single platform.

The system calculates wages, taxes, and deductions, generates payslips, and ensures timely payments—whether through bank transfers, PayPal, Wise, or even cryptocurrency.

Unlike traditional payroll providers that may rely on third-party intermediaries, Deel’s in-house infrastructure enables faster implementation (typically one to three months) and greater control over the process.

Businesses can fund payroll in their local currency, while employees receive payments in theirs, with transparent exchange rates handled by Deel.

3. Contractor Management

For companies working with freelancers or independent contractors, Deel offers a streamlined solution to create compliant contracts and process payments.

Using localized contract templates that adhere to the labor laws of over 150 countries, businesses can hire contractors quickly and legally.

The platform charges a flat fee of $49 USD per active contractor per month, making it cost-effective for flexible hiring needs.

Contractors benefit from flexible withdrawal options, including local bank transfers, SWIFT, and e-wallets, ensuring they get paid efficiently regardless of their location.

This feature has made Deel particularly popular among startups and tech companies that rely heavily on freelance talent.

4. HR Tools and Integrations

Beyond payroll and hiring, Deel functions as a comprehensive HR platform.

It includes tools for onboarding, offboarding, performance management, and compliance documentation.

Companies can automate workflows—like sending welcome emails to new hires or managing equipment provisioning—using Deel’s customizable Workflow Builder.

The platform also integrates with popular tools like BambooHR, QuickBooks, NetSuite, and Slack, allowing businesses to sync data across their tech stack and reduce manual work.

For startups with fewer than 200 employees, Deel HR is completely free, providing a scalable solution that grows with the business.

This includes features like employee data management, analytics, and reporting, which help companies optimize their workforce strategy.

5. Compliance and Security

Navigating the legal landscape of international hiring is no small feat, but Deel’s team of over 200 local experts ensures compliance with country-specific regulations.

From generating legally binding contracts to filing taxes, Deel takes the burden off employers.

The platform is also GDPR, SOC 2, and ISO 27001 compliant, with robust security measures like SSL encryption and two-factor authentication to protect sensitive data.

How Does Deel Work in Practice?

Let’s walk through a practical example to illustrate how Deel operates. Imagine a small UK-based marketing agency looking to expand its team by hiring a graphic designer in Spain and a content writer in the Philippines.

Hiring the Graphic Designer (EOR): The agency doesn’t have a legal entity in Spain, so it uses Deel’s EOR service.

After selecting the designer, the agency inputs the employee’s details into Deel, which generates a compliant employment contract based on Spanish labor laws.

Deel handles onboarding, payroll, and taxes, charging the agency a monthly fee per employee (typically starting at $599, depending on the country).

Hiring the Content Writer (Contractor): For the freelance writer in the Philippines, the agency creates a contractor agreement through Deel.

The platform ensures the contract complies with Philippine regulations, and the writer chooses their preferred payment method.

The agency pays Deel $49 per month for this active contract, and Deel disburses the writer’s earnings.

Payroll and Management: The agency funds payroll in GBP, and Deel converts the funds to EUR for the designer and PHP for the writer.

Both team members access their payslips via the Deel platform (or an integrated HRIS), while the agency tracks expenses and compliance through Deel’s dashboard.

This process, which might have taken weeks or months with traditional methods, is completed in days with Deel—all while ensuring legal compliance and operational efficiency.

Who Is Deel For?

Deel caters to a wide range of users, including:

• Startups and Small Businesses: With free HR tools and affordable contractor pricing, Deel is ideal for lean teams scaling globally.

• Enterprises: Large companies with employees in multiple countries benefit from Deel’s consolidated payroll and compliance solutions.

• Freelancers and Contractors: Individuals working remotely appreciate Deel’s flexible payment options and reliable support.

• Remote-First Companies: Businesses embracing distributed teams rely on Deel to manage their workforce seamlessly.

The Benefits and Impact of Deel

Deel’s value lies in its ability to simplify what was once a daunting process.

Companies save time and resources by outsourcing payroll and compliance, allowing them to focus on growth and innovation.

Workers, meanwhile, enjoy faster payments and greater flexibility.

Testimonials from users highlight Deel’s ease of use, excellent customer support (available 24/7), and its role in enabling borderless hiring.

Since its inception, Deel has processed over $4.5 billion in payments to more than 260,000 workers worldwide,

a testament to its real-world impact. Its rapid growth—reaching $500 million in annual recurring revenue by 2024—underscores its relevance in a world where remote work is the norm.

Conclusion

Deel works by bridging the gap between opportunity and complexity in global hiring.

By offering a unified platform for payroll, HR, and compliance, it empowers businesses to build diverse, distributed teams without the administrative headaches.

Whether you’re a startup founder looking to hire your first international employee or an HR manager streamlining payroll for a multinational corporation, Deel provides the tools to make it happen.

In a world where talent knows no borders, Deel is paving the way for a more connected, efficient, and inclusive workforce.