Payroll · head to head
RemoFirst vs Volopay
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
- -
Volopay
Payroll
Corporate cards, multi-currency accounts and accounts payable automation for Asia-Pacific businesses
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: 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.; Volopay cross-currency spend within Singapore carries a fee around 3.1%, which is easy to overlook against the advertised free domestic transfers and can dominate total cost for internationally mobile teams.
- They diverge on capability: RemoFirst covers Employer of record, Volopay covers Multi-currency business accounts.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which RemoFirst and Volopay actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), 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 RemoFirst
- Employer of record
- Contractor management
- Global benefits
- Visa and work permit support
- Equipment provisioning
- Multi-currency payments
- Time off tracking
Only in Volopay
- Multi-currency business accounts
- Virtual and physical corporate cards
- Accounts payable automation
- Accounting integrations
- Approval workflows
Both cover
- Expense management
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
RemoFirst
- A startup hiring two or three people each in several countries where opening entities makes no sensenot Volopay
- A company paying an established vendor a high per-contractor fee for administration it could buy far cheapernot Volopay
- An employer that needs a country outside the coverage of the major EOR providersnot Volopay
- A team that wants equipment procured and shipped to remote hires without setting up local logisticsnot Volopay
Volopay
- A Singapore-headquartered company paying vendors and staff across several APAC currencies from one accountnot RemoFirst
- A finance team wanting free domestic transfers with accounts payable automation includednot RemoFirst
- A regional business consolidating separate local business bank accounts into one multi-currency platformnot RemoFirst
- A company whose card spend is concentrated in SGD and wants to minimise cross-currency fee exposurenot RemoFirst
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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.
Volopay
- Cross-currency spend within Singapore carries a fee around 3.1%, which is easy to overlook against the advertised free domestic transfers and can dominate total cost for internationally mobile teams.
- Cross-border payments in non-SGD currencies add roughly 1.6%, so a company paying many overseas vendors accumulates a real cost that is not visible on the headline pricing.
- Regional focus on Asia-Pacific means weaker fit for companies whose spend is mainly in Europe or North America, where Payhawk or Extend cover the ground better.
- Pricing is not published, so despite the specific fee percentages that are publicly known, the underlying subscription or platform fee must be obtained by quote.
- As a comparatively young fintech, its card issuing depends on banking partners whose regulatory standing in each APAC market can change, and companies should confirm current licensing in their specific country before committing.
Pricing, plan by plan
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
Volopay
On request- Volopay$undefined/month
- Free domestic SGD transfers and Accounts Payable Automation
- Approximately 1.6% fee on cross-border non-SGD payments
- Approximately 3.1% fee on cross-currency spend within Singapore
Which should you pick?
Choose Volopay if
- You need multi-currency business accounts.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want virtual and physical corporate cards.
Questions people ask
- Is RemoFirst or Volopay better?
- Neither clearly leads. RemoFirst starts at On request and Volopay at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, RemoFirst or Volopay?
- RemoFirst starts at On request and Volopay at On request.
- Does RemoFirst or Volopay run on more platforms?
- RemoFirst runs on Web. Volopay runs on Web, iOS, Android.
- What is RemoFirst best used for?
- RemoFirst is most often used for a startup hiring two or three people each in several countries where opening entities makes no sense, a company paying an established vendor a high per-contractor fee for administration it could buy far cheaper, an employer that needs a country outside the coverage of the major eor providers, a team that wants equipment procured and shipped to remote hires without setting up local logistics. Of those, a startup hiring two or three people each in several countries where opening entities makes no sense and a company paying an established vendor a high per-contractor fee for administration it could buy far cheaper are not what Volopay is typically brought in for.
- What can RemoFirst do that Volopay cannot?
- RemoFirst covers Employer of record, Contractor management, Global benefits, Visa and work permit support. Volopay covers Multi-currency business accounts, Virtual and physical corporate cards, Accounts payable automation, Accounting integrations. Both handle Expense management.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
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.
Volopay: What currency is Volopay built around?
Singapore dollar as the base account currency, with support for spend and transfers across several other Asia-Pacific currencies.
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.
Volopay: Are transfers free?
Domestic SGD transfers and the Accounts Payable Automation product are advertised as free; cross-border and cross-currency transactions carry separate fees.
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.
Volopay: Is pricing published?
No, subscription pricing requires a quote, though the specific cross-currency fee percentages are disclosed publicly.
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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