Comparison guide
Handl vs Deel for paying contractors
Free for 7 days, then flat plans from $29/mo.
Deel is a proper global HR platform. Contracts, compliance, EOR in 150 countries, tax forms. If that's what you need, it's good at it. This page is for the agency that pays the same handful of long-term contractors every month and is paying $49 a head for the privilege.
Same idea applies to Remote, which lists contractor management from $29 per contractor per month (remote.com/pricing, 26 Oct 2026).
Written by Darren Clark — Founder of Handl. Ran digital agencies for over 20 years.
Last updated 26 October 2026
- Invoices created automatically when work completes
- Payment reminders that keep chasing until you’re paid
- Clients pay from a link — no client login required
Built by an agency owner, 20 years in. Plugs into the tools you already use.
Quick verdict
Deel is the right tool for contracts, compliance and new countries. If your contracts are sorted and you pay the same few people every month, Handl does the paying from your own Wise or Airwallex balance for $5 a contractor instead of $49.
Side by side
How they stack up
Handl
$5
per contractor paid, per month. Free until 31 January 2027
Best for: Agencies paying the same handful of long-term contractors every month
- The statement is drafted from the hours you've already approved
- Paid from your own Wise or Airwallex balance. Handl never holds the money
- $5 per contractor paid, per month. No fee on the money
- Approved expenses and adjustments land in project costs next to the hours, so margin stays right
Deel
From $49
per contractor per month (deel.com/pricing, 26 Oct 2026)
Best for: Global hiring: contracts, compliance, EOR and payouts in 150+ countries
- Contracts, compliance and classification
- Employer of record and tax forms
- Payouts in 150+ countries
- Contractor-side invoicing
Feature by feature
Handl vs Deel: feature comparison
| Feature |  | Deel |
|---|---|---|
| Platform fee | $5 per contractor paid, per month (free until 31 January 2027) | Starting at $49 per contractor per month (deel.com/pricing, 26 Oct 2026) |
| Who holds your money | Nobody. Your own Wise or Airwallex balance | Deel. You fund Deel, Deel pays out |
| Funding the payment | Nothing. Pay runs leave the balance you already hold | Bank wire or ACH US$5, BECS A$10. By card: 2.9% + $0.30 on US/EU cards, 3.9% + $0.30 on all other cards, settled in USD so your bank adds its FX fee too (Deel Help Centre, updated 28 Apr 2026, checked 26 Oct 2026) |
| FX | Wise from 0.19% per transfer, Wise to Wise same currency free (wise.com/au/pricing/business, 26 Oct 2026); Airwallex local transfers free, FX 0.5% for majors and 1% for others (airwallex.com/au/pricing, 26 Oct 2026). Paid by you to them, shown on every payout | No published rate. Guides put the markup at 0.6% to 2% (estimate). Avoidable only by funding in the invoice currency |
| What your contractor loses on the way | Nothing. They receive the statement total; you wear the fee | Local bank free; PayPal 2.5%; Payoneer 1%; instant card 0.75% US / 2% elsewhere; SWIFT intermediary fees deducted (Deel, 26 Oct 2026) |
| Who writes the statement | Handl, from approved hours × rate or the retainer | The contractor invoices Deel |
| Expenses | Receipt upload, any currency, converted at the date incurred, booked to project cost | Supported |
| Project margin | Hours already count as project cost, and approved expenses and adjustments from pay runs land there too | Not a project tool |
| Approval and safety | A person approves every run, caps, typed-total confirmation, held payout on changed details, audit log | Approval flows, Deel's own controls |
| Contracts, classification, compliance | No | Yes |
| Employer of record, tax forms (1099, W-8BEN, TPAR) | No | Yes |
| Countries | Anywhere your Wise or Airwallex can pay; Wise API funding from AU, NZ, US, CA, SG and MY accounts | 150+ |
| Time, quoting, client invoicing, QuickBooks and Xero sync | Yes, it's the rest of Handl | No |
Worked example
Five contractors, about $3,000 a month each. $180,000 a year moved.
Per year. All figures in US dollars, as Deel and Wise publish them. Deel figures: Deel Help Centre, Supported Payment Methods and Currencies for Client Account Funding (updated 28 Apr 2026), checked 26 Oct 2026.
| Per year | Deel, bank funded | Deel, US/EU card | Deel, other card | Handl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platform fee | $2,940 | $2,940 | $2,940 | $300 |
| Funding fee | $60 | $5,224 | $7,024 | $0, paid from your own balance |
| FX | $1,800estimate | $1,800estimate | $1,800estimate | $9000.5% (Wise lists from 0.19% per transfer) |
| Total | $4,800 | $9,964 | $11,764 | $1,200 |
About $3,600 a year back if you fund Deel by bank. About $10,600if you’ve been putting it on an Australian card.
If you were using the card for the float, we don’t have an equivalent. This saving is for agencies that can pay from cash.
Run your own numbersHow this is worked out
- Money moved = 5 contractors × $3,000 × 12 = $180,000.
- Deel platform fee = 5 × $49 × 12 = $2,940 (deel.com/pricing, 26 Oct 2026). Handl = 5 × $5 × 12 = $300.
- Deel, bank funded funding fee = $5 × 12 (US$5 wire or ACH; A$10 BECS in Australia) = $60.
- Deel, US/EU card funding fee = $180,000 × 2.9% + 12 × $0.30 = $5,224.
- Deel, other card funding fee = $180,000 × 3.9% + 12 × $0.30 = $7,024.
- Deel FX = $180,000 × 1% = $1,800. Estimate, Deel doesn’t publish a rate. Guides put it at 0.6% to 2%: $1,080 to $3,600. Avoidable only by funding in the invoice currency.
- Handl side FX = $180,000 × 0.5% = $900. Wise lists from 0.19% per transfer (wise.com/au/pricing/business, 26 Oct 2026), so 0.5% is a cautious figure. Same-currency Wise to Wise is free, which would take the Handl column to $300.
- Cards from outside the US, UK and EU are settled in USD, so your card issuer’s foreign transaction fee lands on top. That fee is your bank’s, not Deel’s, and isn’t in these totals.
What it cost us
“We moved about US$206k through Deel in six months paying our own contractors. Deel’s card fee was US$7.7k. Amex took another US$6k on top because Deel charged the card in USD. The same money from our own Wise balance would have cost about US$1k.”
Darren Clark, founder, Handl and Dazlab
Verified from a live Deel account: card funding from an Australian card is charged 3.9% of the payment subtotal plus US$0.30, shown as a “Payment Processing Fee” line on each statement.
Your bank’s foreign transaction fee is your bank’s, not Deel’s. Ours was about 3%. Check yours.
Dazlab’s Deel account, 30 Apr to 17 Oct 2026. Fee list: Deel Help Centre, Supported Payment Methods and Currencies for Client Account Funding (updated 28 Apr 2026).
What your contractor loses on the way
With Handl they receive the statement total and you wear the transfer fee. With Deel, withdrawal fees come off what the contractor gets, as Deel lists them (26 Oct 2026):
- Local bank transfer: free
- Wise or Revolut: no Deel fee
- PayPal: 2.5%
- Payoneer: 1%
- Instant card: 0.75% in the US, 2% elsewhere
- SWIFT: intermediary bank fees deducted from what they receive
That’s the contractor’s cost, not added to the agency totals above.
See it in action
What you get with Handl
The statement writes itself
Approved hours times rate, or the retainer. Handl drafts the statement, you check the run, and nobody has to send an invoice.
Pay runs
Weekly run · 26 Oct – 1 Nov 2026
| Contractor | Statement | Expenses | Total | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maya Okafor | 34.0 h × AUD 75 | AUD 86.40 | AUD 2,636.40 | Submitted |
| Daniel Reyes | 28.5 h × USD 60 | — | USD 1,710.00 | Reviewed |
| Priya Natarajan | Retainer | — | GBP 1,200.00 | Submitted |
Before you approve
- Fee, paid by you
- AUD 17.92 · USD 9.40 · GBP 6.10
- Balance after
- AUD 9,843.88 · USD 6,402.00 · GBP 1,049.90
- Caps
- Within AUD 10,000 per run
- Second confirmation
- Not needed
Nothing is paid until you confirm on the next step.
Maya Okafor · AUD 2,636.40
Remittance emailed · booked to project costs
Your money stays in your account
Pay runs leave your own Wise balance. Handl never holds the money, so there is no float and nothing to fund first.
Connect Wise
Handl pays your contractors from this balance and matches incoming transfers to your invoices. Handl never holds the money.
Wise API token
Create a full-access token in Wise → Settings → API tokens. Read-only tokens can’t fund transfers.
Label
Wise balances
- AUD
- 12,480.20
- USD
- 8,112.00
- GBP
- 1,250.00
Profile: Dazlab Pty Ltd · Australia
Incoming transfers will match to invoices from now on.
Connect the account you already have
Already on Airwallex? Same thing. Connect it once, and the run pays out from the balance you already hold.
Connect Airwallex
Client ID
API key
Scope it to balances and payouts only.
Where to find it
- Airwallex → Developer → API keys
- Create a key, tick Balances and Payouts
- Copy the client id shown with the key
- Payouts go to contractors' bank accounts
Airwallex balances
- AUD
- 21,300.00
- USD
- 4,950.00
- EUR
- 2,110.00
Local transfers free · FX shown per payout
A closer look at Deel
A closer look at Deel
Deel is built for companies hiring across borders: it holds the contract, handles compliance and pays out from its own rails. You fund Deel, Deel pays your contractor. That's what the $49 a head pays for, and for a new country or a new hire it's worth it.
The cost shows up when the contracts are already sorted and you're paying the same people every month: a seat fee per contractor, a funding fee to put money into Deel, and FX that Deel doesn't publish.
Strengths
What are our strengths?
Where Handl wins
- The statement is drafted from the work. Approved hours × rate, or the retainer. No invoice to chase.
- Your money stays in your account. Wise or Airwallex to your contractor. No float, no third party.
- $5 vs $49. Per contractor paid, per month, dated on both sides.
- Margin, not just payment. Approved expenses and adjustments land in project costs next to the hours.
- One system. Time, client invoice, contractor pay, then the books.
Where Deel wins
- Contracts and compliance
- Employer of record (EOR)
- 150 countries
- Tax documents
- Contractor-side invoicing
- Big HR teams
If you're hiring in a country you've never hired in before, use Deel.
Which one is for you?
When to choose each tool
Choose Handl if
- You pay the same handful of long-term contractors every month
- Your contracts are already sorted
- You can pay from cash, from your own Wise or Airwallex balance
- You want contractor cost in your project margin
Choose Deel if
- You're hiring in a country you've never hired in before
- You need contracts, classification or compliance handled
- You need an employer of record or tax documents
- You'd rather fund by card and use the float
Frequently asked questions
Can I use both?
Yes. Keep Deel for the contractors who need contracts or compliance in a new country, and pay the long-term ones through Handl.
Do my contractors lose anything on the way?
With Handl, no. They receive the statement total and you wear the transfer fee. With Deel, withdrawal fees come off what they get: local bank transfer: free; wise or revolut: no deel fee; paypal: 2.5%; payoneer: 1%; instant card: 0.75% in the us, 2% elsewhere; swift: intermediary bank fees deducted from what they receive (Deel, 26 Oct 2026). That's the contractor's cost, not the agency's.
What does Handl not do?
Contracts, classification, tax forms, employer of record and payroll. Contractors only. Handl isn't an employer of record.
How much does Deel cost?
Deel starts at $49 per contractor per month (deel.com/pricing, 26 Oct 2026). Funding Deel by card is 2.9% + $0.30 on US or EU cards and 3.9% + $0.30 on all other cards; bank wire or ACH is US$5, BECS A$10 (Deel Help Centre, updated 28 Apr 2026, checked 26 Oct 2026). Deel publishes no FX rate; guides put it at 0.6% to 2%, an estimate.
How much does Handl cost?
$5 per contractor paid, per month, on every plan. A contractor you don't pay this month costs nothing. Free while we're in early access, until 31 January 2027. You pay Wise or Airwallex their transfer fee directly and Handl adds nothing to it.
What about Remote?
The same idea applies. Remote lists contractor management from $29 per contractor per month (remote.com/pricing, 26 Oct 2026). Contracts and compliance are what that pays for.
The verdict
The verdict
Deel and Handl do different jobs. If you need contracts, compliance or a hire in a new country, Deel is the right tool. If you already have your contracts sorted and just want to pay the same people every month without the per-seat fee, Handl pays them from your own Wise or Airwallex balance for $5 a contractor.
Run your own numbers in the contractor pay calculator, or see how a pay run works.
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