Oyster covers 140 countries. We cover 19, really well.
Oyster runs payroll in 140+ countries. We run payroll in 19 LATAM countries, and that is the only thing we do.
Why pick a LATAM specialist over a global generalist?
Oyster is built to serve companies hiring everywhere at once. That is a real use case. But when LATAM is where your team is actually growing, a platform optimized for 140 countries spreads its attention thin. The statutory details in Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico alone require constant attention. Aguinaldo cycles, eSocial filings, IMSS contributions, and severance fund rules like FGTS are not edge cases. They are the job.
Oyster has verified coverage in 17 of the 19 LATAM countries we serve. Nicaragua and Venezuela are not confirmed in their coverage data. If your hiring map includes those markets, that gap matters. More broadly, when a platform serves 140 countries, LATAM is roughly 14% of its footprint. It is not where the product is sharpest.
We cover 19 LATAM countries and nothing else. Every contract template, every payroll run, every statutory contribution is built around this region. You get locally compliant employment contracts, payroll in local currency, and onboarding live in 72 hours. No detours through a global support queue that handles questions from Lagos to Lisbon before yours.
Four numbers that explain the difference
on nineteen countries.
A specialist's tradeoff: less reach, more depth. Here is what that actually translates to when you start onboarding people.
All 19 countries we serve are in Latin America. That is the entire scope of our operation.
Locally compliant contract issued and employee onboarded within 72 hours of engagement.
Oyster starts at around $599 per employee per month. Our pricing starts from $349, varying by country and team size.
Payroll taxes, social security, severance funds, and mandatory benefits are handled in every country we cover.
Five places focus shows up.
This table is short on purpose. We are not trying to win a feature checklist. We are showing the five dimensions where specialization produces a different result.
Pick by what you actually need, not by feature count. not by feature count.
You are tired of explaining to a generalist platform why Brazil's CLT contract is not interchangeable with a standard employment agreement.
You are hiring across Europe, Asia, and LATAM simultaneously and need a single platform with strong integrations to manage it all in one place.
Questions worth asking before you decide.
These are the questions we hear most often from teams comparing us to Oyster.
What if I need to hire outside LATAM?
LATAM is our specialty. If you have a hire outside the region, we can sometimes still help, but it is not what we are built for. If your hiring map is mostly LATAM with an occasional exception, that is a conversation worth having with us directly.
Can a LATAM-only provider actually handle complex markets like Brazil and Argentina?
Yes, and that is the point. Brazil's eSocial reporting, Argentina's mandatory severance provisions, and Mexico's IMSS registration are not add-ons for us. They are the core of what we do. Locally compliant employment contracts and statutory contributions are handled in every country we cover, including the harder ones.
Is switching from Oyster expensive or disruptive?
Switching is straightforward when timed to a payroll cycle. We review your existing contracts, issue locally compliant replacements, and take over payroll at the next cycle. Most teams are fully transitioned without a gap in pay. Our starting price from $349 also means the savings often cover any transition effort quickly.
What switching from Oyster looks like.
Review your payroll calendar first.
We look at your current pay cycle dates across each LATAM country and identify the cleanest cutover point. Switching mid-cycle creates reconciliation work, so we plan around the calendar, not against it.
We take over contracts at the next cycle.
Once the timing is confirmed, we issue locally compliant employment contracts in each country. Your employees receive updated agreements before the transition date. Statutory contributions, benefits, and mandatory provisions carry over correctly.
Your first LATAM payroll runs through us on schedule.
Payroll runs in local currency, taxes and contributions are filed, and your team gets paid on time. From that point forward, you manage the work. We handle the compliance.
Nineteen countries. A guide for each one.
Every country we cover has a 6-section hiring guide on contracts, payroll, taxes, leave, severance, and recent legal changes. That depth is what focus actually means.
See what LATAM focus actually costs.
We will walk you through pricing by country and show you what onboarding looks like for your specific team. No sales deck, just answers.
The talent is in Latin America. The hiring is on us.
Set up an account in three minutes. No credit card. No sales call. Hire one person, hire fifty. Pay only when they're on payroll.