It’s an entirely different game when it comes to hiring tech talent in 2026 than it was even a few years ago. Companies are no longer competing locally: they’re fishing in an international talent pool. That means attempting to hire quickly, oversee compliance as you manage payroll across borders and still somehow keep costs in check.
This is where Employer of Record (EOR) services come in.
With an EOR, you can employ developers, designers, DevOps specialists, QA and other IT staff across the globe without establishing a legal entity there. They handle HR tasks, onboarding, payroll, taxes and compliance while you focus on building great products.
To assist you in wading through the crowded EOR market, we’ve put together a list of 5 of the best Employer of Record companies for successful IT hiring for 2026, that actually get tech, have simplified global hiring processes, and are set up to support nimble scaling.
Table of Contents
1.) Deel:
Deel has been a prominent player for years, and in 2026, it remains in the EOR market — especially for IT teams who are looking to hire fast across multiple regions.
The most obvious is speed. This company can easily go from offer to onboarding in days. When a startup wants to hire a backend developer in Poland or a security engineer in Brazil without incorporating an entity, Deel takes care of the back end.
For teams that are growing quickly, this flexibility is invaluable. Instead of being burdened by the local tax rules, benefits packages or employment agreement details, the hiring team can stick to skills and culture fit.
Deel also provides localised benefits packages across more than 100 countries. That matters when you’re hiring engineers, because expectations vary widely from country to country. One candidate in Germany, for example, might care more about additional vacation days; another in India may want health insurance. Deel removes these nuances from your plate.
And the platform is easy to use on top of it all. Managers can track contracts, payroll, visas, expenses and compliance in a single space. IT businesses love the automated workflow — it cuts manual HR processes and makes hiring clearer and transparent.
2.) Remote:
Remote prides itself on security, transparency and pro-employee policies. It’s perfect for companies that aim to build sustainable, healthy homes for distributed tech teams.
Many EOR platforms concentrate on speed, but Remote concentrates on the quality of employment experience. This is very important for IT positions as it applies more to retention than volume. When you hire a senior cloud architect or a machine-learning expert, you don’t want churn.
Remote provides super flexible contracts, great benefits, and manages the IP for foreign workers. They get them up and running in no time. But the most important thing is how protective Remote views intellectual property. IP leakage is a deal-breaker for tech companies. With Remote, everything – from your inventions to code ownership is legally protected globally.
The company also has proprietary legal entities in many countries. And that removes the middlemen upon whom some EOR providers depend. The result is more uniform processes, faster support and transparent pricing.
The user dashboard is also appreciated by many engineering managers. It provides them with a clear view into their costs, contracts, payments and employee status without having to wait on an HR or a finance team.
3.) Cleveroad:
Cleveroad deserves a special place on the list because they provide full-cycle software development services and can offer clients an EOR hiring model that enables fast, compliant hiring of IT specialists across regions. This approach is especially valuable for companies weighing in-house software development vs outsourcing, as it combines flexibility with access to ready-to-work engineers.
This is where we make the real difference, when you don’t need just compliant hiring, but actual access to verified engineering talent.
Cleveroad offers the talents of developers, designers, QA specialists, business analysts and DevOps engineers: professionals already interviewed and trained in this or that field, ready to join the customer’s project.
When companies seek to grow their development capabilities, say, adding a React Native developer in Central and Northern Europe or a backend specialist, Cleveroad takes care of all of the work. Businesses remain focused on building their product, not wading through complex labour laws.
What makes Cleveroad a good fit for IT recruitment is, well, their deep tech background. As the company focuses on software development, they have insight into project needs, tech stacks and delivery models. This makes sure the talent you get in return isn’t just a matter of compliance and an easy hire, but also ideal for real engineering tasks.
4.) Rippling:
Rippling is an intriguing choice because it exceeds typical EOR behaviour. There are lots of tools to help you hire globally, but Rippling groups HR, finance and IT into a single system. This is particularly appealing for tech companies with convoluted operations.
Another pro is that Rippling offers automation. For instance, when a contractor becomes a full-time employee, management ensures role permissions, payroll configurations and benefits are adjusted without human touch. For businesses with extensive distributed engineering teams, this efficiency equates to less grinding admin work and more productivity.
5.) Oyster HR:
Oyster HR made a name for itself as the world-centric, employee-vowed entity EOR provider and also managed to specialise in providing fair remote opportunities for employees all over. In IT, this meshes well with the trend toward distributed, borderless teams in the IT industry.
Oyster is often used by companies when seeking to scale engineering teams in places where they don’t have legal representation, including Central and Northern Europe, Latin America, Africa or Asia. Oyster’s compliant hiring model manages all those details on the local labour laws, which is especially important if you are employing specialists like DevOps engineers, cybersecurity expertise or mobile developers.
What Oyster does best is the hiring experience. Tech candidates frequently rave about the culture- and people-focused onboarding experience. The other value you get is salary information. IT wages vary wildly by country, and many companies either overpay or underpay because of this scarcity of data. Oyster offers region-specific salary baselines so hiring managers know what it’s like to pay competitive salaries.
That helps draw stronger talent while staying on budget.
What Type of EOR is Best for IT Hiring in 2026?
Selecting an EOR is more than selecting a platform with the most features. You should tailor the service to your business objectives, technical requirements and geography-focused hiring strategy.
Here are the main things to take into account:
Global Coverage and Local Expertise:
If you plan to hire in specific regions such as Eastern Europe, Latin America, or Asia, ensure the EOR provider has a strong local presence. Solid, region-specific compliance support enables faster hiring, smoother onboarding, and higher employee satisfaction.
Strong IP and Data Protection:
For tech companies, this is not a negotiable issue. Your EOR should have in place clear and enforceable IP protection covering all employment contracts.
Positions such as software engineers, ML scientists and cybersecurity professionals are dealing with sensitive data on a day-to-day basis – make sure everything is protected contractually.
IT-Friendly Onboarding and Tools:
A few EORs focus on tech hires and have the features that are important for IT teams:
- Streamlined access management
- Automated onboarding processes
- Device and software provisioning
- Secure documentation workflows
If you are scaling engineering teams, these tiny details add up to a material decrease in operational friction.
Localised Compensation and Benefits:
Competitive packages are expected by developers, and expectations vary widely by country. Local perks, holidays and local benefits should align with regional norms such that the offer feels appealing. This is critical for keeping your top engineers.
Cost Transparency:
Some EORs offer simple pricing; others bury costs for renewals, contract changes or benefits administration in small type.
It’s better to look for a provider with:
- Clear upfront pricing
- No surprise charges
- Flexible contract terms
That’s more headaches down the line as you grow.
Talented Engineering Support:
Some EORs simply handle compliance. Others, such as Cleveroad, can assist not only in hiring of personnel but arrange a quick launch of engineering teams.
If you just can’t wait to build your own tech team from scratch, pre-vetted talent can take months off the recruitment process, and is often a more viable option.
Final Thoughts:
IT hiring in 2026 increasingly depends on speed, flexibility, and access to global talent pools rather than local availability alone. Companies now source software engineers, DevOps specialists, architects, designers, and QA professionals across multiple regions based on skills, availability, and delivery needs.
Employer of Record (EOR) services provide the operational and legal foundation required to scale this model. By handling employment compliance, payroll, and local regulations, EOR providers enable companies to hire internationally without establishing legal entities in each region.
The five companies covered in this guide: Deel, Remote, Rippling, Oyster HR, and Cleveroad, approach EOR services from different angles. Some emphasise automation and HR infrastructure, while others focus on risk mitigation, hiring speed, or deep expertise in technical talent acquisition. This variety allows organisations to select an EOR partner that aligns with their hiring strategy and growth stage.
With the right EOR partner, companies can build and manage distributed engineering teams efficiently, reduce administrative overhead, and scale global operations with predictable compliance and delivery outcomes.
About the Author:Yuliya Melnik is a technical writer at Cleveroad, a web and mobile application development company. She is passionate about innovative technologies that make the world a better place and enjoys creating insightful content on topics such as in-house software development vs outsourcing, helping businesses make informed strategic decisions.
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