Here’s a compact, practical guide to affordable global payroll options for small businesses — grouped by the common use-cases you’ll face and with starting-price examples so you can compare quickly.

Summary — pick by need

• Paying contractors only and you don’t need local-employment compliance: use contractor-payment platforms or payments services (lowest cost).
• Hiring employees but don’t want to set up local entities: use an Employer‑of‑Record (EOR). EORs are more expensive but handle taxes, benefits, filings and legal risk.
• You already have/are opening local entities and want consolidated payroll: use a global payroll platform that integrates multi‑country runs.

Recommended providers (affordable options, with what they’re best at)

1. Contractors — lowest cost, fast onboarding

• Remote Contractor Management: $29/contractor/month (contractor plan) and tools for contracts + automated payments. Good if you want both contract templates and mass payments in one platform. (remote.com)
• Oyster Contractor: free trial then about $29/contractor/month; supports 180+ countries and invoice/payments in many currencies. (oysterhr.com)
• Papaya Global Contractor plan: around $25–$30/contractor/month for contractor management. Cheaper than full EOR and includes compliant contracts + payments. (businessnewsdaily.com)
• If you only need to send money (no contracts/compliance): Wise Business or Payoneer for low-cost global transfers, or PayPal Payouts for mass pay — these are the cheapest per-transaction options but do NOT provide employment compliance. (Wise: low FX and transfer fees; PayPal Payouts: per‑payout fees or %). (wise.com)

2. Employer of Record (EOR) — hire employees without local entities (more expensive but lowest legal risk)

• Multiplier: EOR from about $400/employee/month — one of the lower‑cost EORs while still offering payroll, benefits and local compliance in many countries. Good if you want EOR coverage at comparatively lower per‑seat cost. (usemultiplier.com)
• Remote: EOR commonly listed at $599/employee/month (annual) or $699 month‑to‑month — widely used and transparent pricing; contractor management and global payroll are cheaper options if you don’t need full EOR. (remote.com)
• Deel: EOR and payroll product suite; Deel lists similar EOR pricing (example: ~$599/employee/month) and contractor plans (higher contractor plan than some competitors). Good UX and broad coverage. (deel.com)
• Papaya Global: offers EOR starting near the industry standard (~$599/employee/month), plus lower-cost payroll or SaaS tiers if you have entities. Useful if you want consolidated payroll + EOR options. (businessnewsdaily.com)

3. Global payroll platforms for companies with local entities or growing into multi-country payroll

• Papaya Global: modular payroll product (SaaS payroll + payroll services) with low per‑employee SaaS layers and add‑ons for payroll plus. Good for companies that own entities and want consolidation. (business.com)
• Rippling: US‑centric payroll + global HR stack; pricing starts low for core HR tools but global/EOR costs add up; best when you want unified HR + device + payroll automation. Check a custom quote for international payroll/EOR add‑ons. (rippling.com)
• Lano / Multiplier / Remote / Papaya (above) also offer payroll consolidation products that are price‑competitive for small multi‑country runs. (lano.io)

Quick price comparisons (typical starting points you’ll see)

• Contractor platforms: ~$20–$49 per contractor/month (Lano ≈ €20, Remote/Oyster ≈ $29, Deel ≈ $49, Papaya ≈ $25–$30). (lano.io)
• EOR (employee) services: roughly $400–$699 per employee/month depending on vendor (Multiplier often lists ~$400, Remote/Deel/Papaya commonly ~$599, Oyster shows higher on some plans). Volume discounts and country differences apply. (usemultiplier.com)
• DIY payments (Wise, Payoneer): pay per transfer and FX fees — much cheaper per payment but no compliance, tax filings or benefits administration. (wise.com)

How to choose (short checklist)

• Are the people contractors or local employees? If contractors only → contractor platforms or Wise/Payoneer. If employees → EOR or set up local entity + payroll platform. (remote.com)
• How many hires / countries? EORs are easiest for 1–20 hires in many countries; if you plan to scale to dozens of hires, negotiate volume discounts. (remote.com)
• Do you need benefits, payroll tax filing, local statutory filings, or just payment? If you need filings and benefits, pick an EOR (Multiplier, Remote, Deel, Papaya). If not, use contractor management or payment services. (usemultiplier.com)
• Budget per person: set your acceptable monthly PEPM (per-employee-per-month) and compare real total cost (base fee + statutory employer costs + FX and transaction fees). EOR quotes should include local statutory costs; always ask for a full cost breakdown.

Practical next steps (fast)

1. If you only pay contractors and want cheapest path: open a Wise or Payoneer business account for payments OR use Remote/Oyster/Papaya contractor plans (~$25–$30/contractor/mo). (wise.com)
2. If you want compliant employees without entities: get quotes from Multiplier (lower‑cost EOR example), Remote, Deel and Papaya for the specific countries you need — compare total cost (salary + EOR fee + statutory contributions). (usemultiplier.com)
3. If you already have local entities and want consolidated runs: request demos/quotes from Papaya, Rippling, Lano or Papaya’s Payroll OS depending on your stack. (business.com)

If you want, I can:

• prepare a one-page cost comparison for your exact scenario (number of hires, countries, contractors vs employees) so you can see total monthly cost across 3–4 vendors, or
• send a short script/email you can copy to request quotes/demos from 2–3 vendors.

Which would you prefer?