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Payroll · head to head

Justworks vs RemoFirst

Justworks logo

Justworks

Payroll

Professional employer organisation with published per-employee pricing and a separate payroll-only tier

From
$8/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
RemoFirst logo

RemoFirst

Payroll

Low-cost employer of record and contractor payments across a very wide country list built largely on partner entities

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Justworks the published per-employee fee is the platform charge, not your cost; health insurance premiums and workers' compensation are billed on top and are usually several times larger, so the transparent price is transparent about the smaller number.; RemoFirst coverage in most countries runs through partner entities rather than entities RemoFirst owns, which lengthens the liability chain and means a disputed termination is handled by a company you have no direct contract with.
  • They diverge on capability: Justworks covers Co-employment PEO, RemoFirst covers Employer of record.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Justworks and RemoFirst actually diverge.

Attributes where Justworks and RemoFirst differ
AttributeJustworksRemoFirst
Starting price$8/monthOn request
Pricing modelPer employee per monthquote
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Payroll).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Justworks

  • Co-employment PEO
  • Large-group benefits
  • Payroll and filings
  • Workers' compensation
  • Compliance support
  • Standalone payroll
  • International contractors
  • HR consulting

Only in RemoFirst

  • Employer of record
  • Contractor management
  • Global benefits
  • Visa and work permit support
  • Equipment provisioning
  • Multi-currency payments
  • Expense management
  • Time off tracking

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Justworks

  • A twenty-person US startup that wants health insurance comparable to a large employer without an insurance broker relationshipnot RemoFirst
  • A company hiring across several US states that does not want to register as an employer and file taxes in each of themnot RemoFirst
  • A founder replacing a bookkeeper-run payroll with something that will not produce a state tax penalty noticenot RemoFirst
  • A team that wants payroll and benefits administration only, without co-employment, at the $8 per employee tiernot RemoFirst

RemoFirst

  • A startup hiring two or three people each in several countries where opening entities makes no sensenot Justworks
  • A company paying an established vendor a high per-contractor fee for administration it could buy far cheapernot Justworks
  • An employer that needs a country outside the coverage of the major EOR providersnot Justworks
  • A team that wants equipment procured and shipped to remote hires without setting up local logisticsnot Justworks

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Justworks

  • The published per-employee fee is the platform charge, not your cost; health insurance premiums and workers' compensation are billed on top and are usually several times larger, so the transparent price is transparent about the smaller number.
  • Leaving a PEO is a project, not a cancellation: you must source your own health plan, obtain your own state employer registrations and unemployment accounts, and time the switch to a plan year, which typically takes months.
  • Coverage is United States only, so the moment you hire your first employee in another country you are running a second system and Justworks handles them only as a contractor.
  • PEO Basic looks like a cheaper way in but excludes the Justworks health plans, which is the main reason companies choose a PEO at all, so most buyers end up on Plus.
  • Benefit plan choice is constrained to what Justworks has negotiated, and a company with strong preferences about carriers or network coverage in a specific region may find the options do not fit.

RemoFirst

  • Coverage in most countries runs through partner entities rather than entities RemoFirst owns, which lengthens the liability chain and means a disputed termination is handled by a company you have no direct contract with.
  • Statutory deposits, typically one or more months of salary and employer contributions held in advance, are quoted separately from the per employee fee and materially change the cash cost of the first year.
  • Currency conversion on payroll runs carries a spread that is not in the headline price, and on a large multi-country payroll that spread can exceed the platform fee itself.
  • Benefits quality varies sharply by country because it is sourced through local partners, so two employees on the same contract in different countries can receive very different cover.
  • The company is young and holds client payroll funds in transit, which is a counterparty risk that larger competitors with longer trading histories and audited entity networks present less of.

Pricing, plan by plan

Justworks

$8/month
  • Payroll$8/month
    • Plus a $50 monthly base fee
    • Payroll, tax filing and benefits administration
    • No co-employment, so no access to Justworks health plans at PEO rates
  • PEO Basic$79/month
    • Full co-employment PEO
    • Payroll, tax filing and compliance
    • Does not include access to Justworks-sponsored health plans
  • PEO Plus$109/month
    • Everything in Basic
    • Access to Justworks health, dental and vision plans
    • Premiums are billed separately and are the larger cost
  • Dedicated HR consulting$30/month
    • Add-on to PEO plans
    • Named HR adviser support

RemoFirst

On request
  • Employer of Record$undefined/year
    • Priced per employee per month
    • Statutory deposit held separately from the platform fee
    • Currency conversion spread applied on each payroll run
  • Contractor Management$undefined/year
    • Priced per contractor per month
    • Compliant contract templates by country
    • Multi-currency payments

Which should you pick?

Choose Justworks if

  • You need co-employment peo.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want large-group benefits.
Justworks review

Choose RemoFirst if

  • You need employer of record.
  • You also want contractor management.
RemoFirst review

Questions people ask

Is Justworks or RemoFirst better?
Neither clearly leads. Justworks starts at $8/month and RemoFirst at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Justworks or RemoFirst?
Justworks starts at $8/month and RemoFirst at On request.
Does Justworks or RemoFirst run on more platforms?
Justworks runs on Web, iOS, Android. RemoFirst runs on Web.
What is Justworks best used for?
Justworks is most often used for a twenty-person us startup that wants health insurance comparable to a large employer without an insurance broker relationship, a company hiring across several us states that does not want to register as an employer and file taxes in each of them, a founder replacing a bookkeeper-run payroll with something that will not produce a state tax penalty notice, a team that wants payroll and benefits administration only, without co-employment, at the $8 per employee tier. Of those, a twenty-person us startup that wants health insurance comparable to a large employer without an insurance broker relationship and a company hiring across several us states that does not want to register as an employer and file taxes in each of them are not what RemoFirst is typically brought in for.
What can Justworks do that RemoFirst cannot?
Justworks covers Co-employment PEO, Large-group benefits, Payroll and filings, Workers' compensation. RemoFirst covers Employer of record, Contractor management, Global benefits, Visa and work permit support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Justworks: What does co-employment actually mean?

Justworks becomes the employer of record for payroll tax and benefits purposes while you retain full control over hiring, management and day-to-day work. It is a legal arrangement, not an outsourcing of your team.

RemoFirst: Does RemoFirst own entities in every country it lists?

No. It owns entities in a minority of its coverage and uses in-country partners elsewhere. Ask per country, because the answer determines who the legal employer is.

Justworks: Is the $79 figure my total monthly cost per employee?

No. It is the platform fee. Health insurance premiums, dental, vision and workers' compensation are additional and typically dwarf it.

RemoFirst: What does the headline per employee price exclude?

Statutory deposits, currency conversion spread on payroll runs, and country-specific charges such as mandatory insurance or entity fees.

Justworks: Can Justworks employ people outside the US?

No. It can pay international contractors, but it is not an employer of record abroad.

RemoFirst: Is it cheaper than Deel or Remote?

On the headline rate, substantially. Once deposits and FX are included the gap narrows, but it usually remains cheaper.

Justworks: What is the difference between the Payroll plan and the PEO?

The Payroll plan handles payroll and benefits administration under your own EIN at $8 per employee per month plus a base fee. The PEO adds co-employment and pooled large-group insurance at $79 or $109.

RemoFirst: Can it convert a contractor into an employee?

Yes, in countries it supports for EOR. This is a common reason buyers start with the contractor product and move up.

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