Question 1

Is the Free tier really free forever?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Up to 20 active workers, no credit card, no trial expiration. The Free tier includes the full ATS, contractor management, compliance, time and expense, invoicing, and reporting. The only trigger to upgrade is crossing 20 active workers.

Question 2

What counts as a worker?

Accepted Answer

Anyone actively managed through Engage, 1099 contractors, vendor-placed workers, or EOR-employed workers. Inactive or terminated workers do not count. Candidates in the ATS do not count until they are hired.

Question 3

How does platform pricing compare to Deel and Rippling?

Accepted Answer

Both Deel and Rippling charge per seat on the SaaS side, then add setup, onboarding, and offboarding fees separately, then charge EOR on top of that. Engage bundles the SaaS into a single flat tier ($0 / $500 / $1,500) based on worker count. At 75 workers you pay Engage $500/month flat where the per-seat platforms stack multiple line items.

Question 4

What does HQ Simple EOR cost compared to Deel EOR?

Accepted Answer

The apples-to-apples tier on Deel is Enterprise at $899/employee/month, that is the tier that matches what HQ Simple includes (managed compliance, dedicated support). On top of that Deel still adds setup, onboarding, offboarding, and a pre-funding requirement. HQ Simple rolls all of it into a flat ~17% markup, all-in, with no ancillary fees, no pre-funding, and active HR partnership on local labor laws, regulations, and employment norms. Deel is software plus payroll; HQ Simple is an HR partner that also has software.

Question 5

Why does "active HR partnership" matter?

Accepted Answer

Labor laws and employment norms vary not just by country but by jurisdiction within countries, by industry, and over time. Software alone reads a static rules database; it cannot tell you how a specific layoff should be handled under current UK redundancy rules, or when to offer a consulting arrangement instead of employment in Germany, or what the unwritten norm is in Australia for notice periods beyond the statutory minimum. HQ Simple acts as the HR team for those questions in every market we operate directly in. Deel does not, they deliberately position as software + payroll processing.

Question 6

How does Deel actually reach 110+ countries? Is it really direct?

Accepted Answer

No. Deel owns entities in a handful of markets; the rest of their "110+ countries" is delivered through local partner providers, the same model HQ Simple uses for partner markets. The difference is what you get charged: Deel still collects their full per-employee SaaS fee plus setup, onboarding, and offboarding fees on top of the partner’s cost, which inflates the total. HQ Simple charges $0 SaaS to clients in partner markets (the local partner pays HQ Simple 2%), so the partner’s wage-plus-markup cost is what you pay and nothing more.

Question 7

What about Rippling’s country coverage?

Accepted Answer

Rippling has more direct entities than Deel but is still heavily partner-routed to reach 150+ countries. Same cost pattern: the partner handles legal employment, and Rippling charges its SaaS + fees on top. The savings story is consistent across both competitors, when you’re on a partner anyway, paying the platform a full per-employee SaaS fee is paying for marketing, not for legal employment depth.

Question 8

What happens when I cross a tier?

Accepted Answer

You move to the next tier at the start of your next billing period. If you grow from 20 to 21 workers on the 15th, the next month bills at Growth. If you shrink back below a threshold, your next month bills at the lower tier.

Question 9

Does the EOR markup count separately from the platform tier?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The flat monthly tier covers the platform (ATS, contractor management, compliance, reporting, etc.). When a worker is engaged through HQ Simple EOR, you pay the flat ~17% markup on their wages directly to HQ Simple, that is a separate line item from the platform tier. The worker still counts toward your platform tier.

Question 10

Are there volume discounts above 100 workers?

Accepted Answer

Enterprise tier covers 100+ workers at $1,500/month. Volume pricing for 500+ worker programs is available, contact us.

Question 11

Can I pay annually?

Accepted Answer

Yes, contact us for annual pricing. Annual contracts also lock your tier pricing in case we raise list prices later.

Feature	HQ Simple on Engage	Deel	Rippling
EOR published price	~17% flat markup on wages	$599 Standard / $899 Enterprise per employee/mo	$499–$799+ per employee/mo (Global PEO)
Setup / implementation fee	$0	Added on top	Added on top
Onboarding fee per employee	$0	Added on top	Added on top
Offboarding fee per employee	$0	Added on top	Added on top
Pre-funding requirement	No	Yes	Yes
Active HR partnership on labor laws	Yes, included	No, software + payroll	No, software + payroll
Advisory on local norms & practices	Yes, included	No	No
Direct-market coverage (own entities)	US, Canada, UK, Australia	Handful of direct markets, rarely their default	More than Deel, still a small share of their reach
Partner-network reach	40+ countries (partner pays HQ Simple 2%; $0 to client)	Rest of "110+" delivered via partners (full SaaS + fees charged on top)	Rest of "150+" delivered via partners (full SaaS + fees charged on top)
Partner markup passed to client	$0 client cost in partner markets (partner pays HQ Simple 2%)	Full SaaS + fees charged on top of partner cost	Full SaaS + fees charged on top of partner cost
Platform included	yes (Engage)	Separate SaaS fee	Separate SaaS fee
Published pricing		Starting rate only	Starting rate only

Flat tiers. Flat markup. No per-seat math.

Three tiers, flat-rate at every one.

HQ Simple EOR. Flat markup, nothing stacked on top.

EOR pricing compared

Every EOR fee, line by line.

Need an EOR quote for a specific country?

Frequently asked questions

Start free. Grow into the platform. Add EOR when you need it.