Contractor payment pricing compared: per payout vs per contractor per month (2026)

Contractor payment platforms charge in one of three ways: per payout, per contractor per month, or a monthly platform fee plus transaction fees. Which one costs less depends on how often you pay each contractor and whether you need the platform to sign with them. For teams that pay contractors once or twice a month, the pricing model decides more of the bill than the headline fee.

TL;DR

• Kleos, Gusto and Wise charge per payment. Deel, Oyster, Papaya Global, Payoneer Workforce Management and Remote charge per contractor per month. Tipalti charges a monthly platform fee plus transaction fees.
• To only send money to contractors you already contract with, a transfer service such as Wise Business is usually cheapest, with fees from 0.23% per transfer.
• To have the platform sign with each contractor, Kleos charges $50 each time you pay a contractor, against $325 per contractor per month for contractor-of-record at Deel and Remote.
• Currency conversion and withdrawal fees can cost more than the platform fee. Kleos adds 2% over the mid-market rate only when the payout currency differs from the funding currency, and contractors pay nothing to withdraw.

Kleos publishes this comparison and appears in it. Every price for another provider is taken from that provider’s own pages and help centres, checked October 2026.

Which contractor payment platforms charge per payout instead of per contractor per month?

Kleos, Gusto and Wise Business charge per payment, so a month with no payout costs nothing. Deel, Oyster, Papaya Global, Payoneer Workforce Management and Remote charge per contractor per month. Kleos, a contractor-of-record and employer of record platform, also signs the agreement with each contractor and charges a flat $50 each time you pay one.

Sources: each provider’s own pricing pages and help centres, checked October 2026.

A contractor-of-record (CoR) is a company that signs the service agreement with an independent contractor, pays them and carries the classification obligation for that engagement. Payment tools such as Wise and Tipalti move the money and leave the agreement with you.

What's the cheapest way to pay international contractors once a month?

To send money to contractors you already have agreements with, a transfer service such as Wise Business is usually cheapest: no subscription, and fees from 0.23% per transfer. If you also need the agreement, tax forms and classification handled, the lowest published price for one payout a month is a per-payout contractor-of-record: Kleos charges $50 each time you pay a contractor.

Published list prices, October 2026. Currency conversion and fees on the contractor’s side are covered further down.

The cheapest line depends on who signs with the contractor. Where you sign, you also keep the classification risk, whatever the platform’s templates say. Global contractor management software covers how the three models differ.

Per payout or per contractor per month: which is cheaper?

Per-payout pricing is cheaper when you pay each contractor once or twice a month, or irregularly. At one payout a month, Kleos costs $50 per contractor against $325 for contractor-of-record at Deel or Remote. Against a percentage fee of 3% per payout, Kleos’s flat $50 costs less on any payout above about $1,670.

Kleos charges $50 or €50, depending on the account currency, each time a contractor is paid. Paying a contractor twice in a month costs $100; a month with no payout costs nothing. A per-contractor fee is charged for every active contractor whether or not you paid them that month.

Monthly payment is common. A US finance manager whose company pays contractors through Deel told Kleos in 2026: “If you only pay them once or twice a month, then that’s a high cost.” The same manager noted that companies rarely pay contractors more often than that, and that monthly payment is common in Europe.

Per-contractor pricing wins when the same person is paid several times a month. For a monthly invoice, which is how most contractors bill, per-payout pricing costs less.

How much does Deel charge for contractors?

Deel charges $49 per contractor per month for contractor management, where your company signs with the contractor, and $325 per contractor per month for contractor-of-record, where Deel signs. Deel’s contractors pay $5 to withdraw across borders and $5 to $10 over SWIFT, and need $100 on balance to withdraw over SWIFT.

Both Deel fees are charged per contractor per month. For a contractor paid once a month, Kleos charges $50 per payout for the contractor-of-record model, and nothing on the contractor’s side. Deel alternatives for paying international contractors compares eleven providers in more detail.

What are Payoneer’s fees for paying contractors?

Payoneer sells two different things. Payoneer Workforce Management charges $19 per contractor per month for contractor management and $99 for its agent-of-record tier, which signs with the contractor. Contractors who receive money into a Payoneer account pay $1.50 per same-currency withdrawal and up to 2% when they convert currency.

Agent of record is an older name for contractor-of-record. At one payout a month, Payoneer’s agent-of-record tier at $99 costs about twice Kleos’s $50 per payout; at two payouts a month the two are level.

How much does Tipalti cost?

Tipalti Mass Payments starts at $249 a month, and Tipalti Accounts Payable at $99 a month, both with unlimited users. Per-payment transaction fees come on top and are not published. Tipalti is built for finance teams paying large numbers of suppliers and payees, and it does not sign agreements with contractors.

For a team paying a few dozen contractors, the $249 platform fee is charged before the first payout. Per-payout contractor-of-record platforms, such as Kleos at $50 per payout, charge nothing in a month with no payouts and sign the agreement with each contractor.

What do currency conversion and withdrawal fees add to the cost?

On large payouts, currency conversion and withdrawal fees can cost more than the platform fee. Kleos adds 2% over the mid-market rate only when the payout currency differs from the currency the company funded in; a same-currency payout carries only the $50 fee. Contractors pay nothing to withdraw from Kleos.

On a $3,000 payout converted into another currency, a 2% margin is $60, so the Kleos payout costs $110 in total. Paying in the currency you fund in, where the contractor accepts it, keeps the cost at $50. Multi-currency invoicing tools for global teams compares how rates are set and when they are fixed.

Which contractor payment platforms send one invoice for the whole team?

Kleos issues one invoice per top-up covering every contractor it paid, because Kleos is the contracting party and invoices the company itself. Platforms that route payments against contractor invoices, such as Deel, let you fund many invoices in one bulk payment, but each contractor’s invoice stays a separate document in your books.

Transfer services such as Wise Business send up to 1,000 payments from one batch upload, with no invoice layer at all. You collect and file each contractor’s invoice yourself.

For finance teams, the number of invoices decides the reconciliation work each month. One invoice for twenty contractors is one document to match; twenty invoices are twenty.

Frequently asked questions

Which contractor payment platforms charge per payout?

Kleos charges $50 each time you pay a contractor, 4dev charges 3% or less per payout, Gusto charges $5 per payment to US-based bank accounts for contractors abroad, and Wise Business charges from 0.23% per transfer. Kleos and 4dev also sign the agreement with each contractor as contractor-of-record.

What is the cheapest way to pay international contractors?

To only send money, a transfer service such as Wise Business, with fees from 0.23% per transfer, is usually cheapest. If you need someone else to sign with the contractor and carry the classification obligation, Kleos charges $50 per payout, against $325 per contractor per month at Deel and Remote.

How much does Deel charge per contractor?

Deel charges $49 per contractor per month for contractor management and $325 per contractor per month for contractor-of-record. Contractors pay $5 to withdraw across borders and $5 to $10 over SWIFT, with a $100 minimum balance for SWIFT withdrawals.

Is per-payout pricing cheaper than a monthly fee per contractor?

For contractors paid once or twice a month, usually yes. Kleos’s $50 per payout costs $50 to $100 a month per contractor, against $325 for contractor-of-record at Deel or Remote. Per-contractor pricing wins only when the same person is paid several times a month.

How much does Tipalti cost?

Tipalti Mass Payments starts at $249 a month and Tipalti Accounts Payable at $99 a month, both with unlimited users. Per-payment transaction fees are charged on top and are not published. Tipalti does not sign agreements with contractors.

Do contractors pay fees to receive money?

It depends on the platform. Deel’s contractors pay $5 per cross-border withdrawal, and Payoneer account holders pay $1.50 per same-currency withdrawal and up to 2% on conversion. Kleos charges contractors nothing to withdraw.

How much does Kleos charge to pay a contractor?

Kleos charges $50 or €50, depending on the account currency, each time you pay a contractor, and nothing in a month with no payout. Kleos adds 2% over the mid-market rate when the payout currency differs from the funding currency. Contractors pay nothing to withdraw.

List how many times you paid each contractor last month, then price each provider on that number rather than on your headcount.

Last updated: October 2026.