Table of Contents
Highlights: Simple, Straightforward
Track1099 is an excellent tool for small and medium businesses looking for a straightforward 1099 solution. It is a robust, fully dedicated platform that simplifies 1099 management, helping ensure IRS compliance and reducing administrative time spent on tax details and possible manual errors. Their easy-to-follow portal allows businesses to upload and store worker information and schedule tax forms to be sent to the IRS and contractors when reminded. The platform is designed to be easy to use, even for those who may not be tax experts, so that they can ensure they’re fulfilling their business’s obligations correctly (Track1099’s full library of available tax forms can be seen here).
The tool integrates natively with Zero, QuickBooks, Bill.com, and NetSuite, with further access to an API (application programming interface–think of this as an integration you can build yourself).
One of the biggest advantages of Track1099 is that it’s cost-effective for smaller businesses, offering pricing per document and electronic compatibility (e-file, e-delivery, & e-correct). This pay-per-form model allows businesses to better control costs based on their specific needs. The platforms also automate electronically filing (e-file) 1099 forms directly with the IRS and contractors. This streamlines the filing process and reduces errors. Contractors receive their forms via e-mail, reducing administrative time and ensuring timely contractor access (paper options are available). If a mistake is made on a 1099 form for some reason, Track1099 allows users to easily make corrections at no additional cost.
Track1099 is also very straightforward, in that it is designed specifically for filing and managing 1099 forms, as the name clearly states. This makes it highly effective for businesses that need to handle this specific tax requirement. Track1099 can also be a valuable tool to ensure that a business stays compliant with IRS regulations, by automatically updating its platform to reflect the latest IRS rules and deadlines. Track1099 provides reminders and notifications about important IRS deadlines, helping businesses stay on track with their filing obligations and away from penalties.
For larger businesses managing multiple contractors, Track1099 offers the advantage of bulk filing capabilities. In addition to their integrations, users also have the option to upload a spreadsheet with mass contractor information and payment data, making it easy to generate and file multiple 1099 forms in one go.
While the tool can send more than just 1099 forms (ex: W2 forms), its limited range will likely not cover a business’s every tax filing need. Track1099 is also not designed to grow with a business’s more significant operational needs (payroll, contractor/employee management, etc.); it will remain fairly limited to filing specific tax forms. Some users have reported that Track1099 does not provide real-time updates on the status of filed forms with the IRS, which can make it challenging for businesses to track the progress of their filings and ensure that everything has been successfully processed. Additionally, unlike platforms that integrate payment processing with tax reporting, Track1099 does not handle payments to contractors. The business must do that themselves, which might be less convenient than opting for an option like PayPal or Venmo, which can do both of these functions together.
Although the pricing structure is highly advantageous for small and medium businesses, larger businesses or organizations needing to file a vast quantity of forms may be able to find better bulk discount or flat fee pricing than Track1099 provides.
For remote or mobile teams, another disadvantage is that Track1099 does not offer a dedicated mobile app. This is more unique in today's software landscape options and may be a hindrance depending on the team. The tool also only deals with U.S. contractors and tax reporting, so if international contractors are in use, other tools may be a better fit.
Priced per form, with no minimums or subscription fees. The average price per form is $2.43.
Highlights: Efficiency, Contractor-Centric
As a startup itself, Gigwage recognized the typical challenges businesses face with 1099 management–time consuming contractor onboarding, unclear payment statuses, with an over reliance on manual processes and a lack of true scalability. The platform aims to solve those challenges to enhance the contractor or “gig” worker experience, given it is the fastest growing sector of the U.S. workforce. Gigwage provides comprehensive support for onboarding, verifying, managing, and paying contractors, ensuring tax obligations as well as daily operations are executed as efficiently as possible.
Gigwage is a newer company, so their native integrations suite isn’t built out yet. They do offer an API for potential integrations, which can be discussed with their team along with pricing.
Gigwage is intentionally built for businesses that manage 1099 contractors, making it ideal for companies with a non-traditional workforce. Because of this, the tool automatically files 1099s and issues copies to workers. The platform is also designed to handle contractor payments of all sizes, allowing it to grow with businesses over time. Regardless of scale, Gigwage keeps up with changes in local, state, and federal laws & regulations to ensure businesses continued compliance. Their support is specifically tailored to 1099 management, recognizing that is a primary need of their customers.
While Gigwage does not have an exclusive mobile app, the tool is accessible from mobile devices, which can be partially beneficial for remote or moving teams. International payments are available for spread out teams, but keep in mind conversion fees may be applicable, along with additional attention to international tax compliance. They offer payments through direct deposit, ACH transfers, and same-day payments, offering contractors a variety of options depending on their needs. Additionally, contractors can access services like banking solutions, which could be attractive when hiring a quality contractor force.
Gigwage offers more flexibility in pricing than its larger competitors, which often have set tiers. That said, they do require the businesses they work with to meet certain parameters (see Pricing below).
While Gigwage’s power is in the fact that they’re heavily focused on 1099 contractors, this also means that they don’t offer expansive payroll solutions for employees and beyond. Businesses with a mixture of workforces or needs for extensive analytics and reporting may need a more advanced feature set. On the flip side, organizations with a very limited number of contractors may find that the tool isn’t as cost-effective as more basic platforms like Track1099. Additionally, because Gigwage is a newer company, users may experience bigger software and pricing changes as the tool expands. While not necessarily a bad thing, this does offer more potential volatility and potential variation in what was initially sold.
Another consequence of the age of Gigwage is that their native integration suite is yet to be built out. It would be reasonable to anticipate integrations with the typical big players like QuickBooks in the future, but for the time being users will have to spend more manual time connecting the open API to their existing tech stack. In this same vein, the online resources available at large for Gigwage may be fewer than other established companies, meaning businesses may need to rely more heavily on Gigwage’s team for troubleshooting and setup assistance.
The Gigwage sales team will need to be contacted for quotes, but per their G2 page, they advise that their best-fit users are those companies:
Highlights: Variety of Services, Holistic, Growth
Gusto is a great solution for businesses looking for an all-encompassing personnel tool that can grow with their needs. Ranked G2’s top-rated choice for contractor payments, the platform aims to consolidate all worker details, whether employees or contractors, and payment & tax information. Gusto also frees up administrative workloads, allowing contractors to self-onboard with guided tutorials in an intuitive interface. When your business is ready, the tool also makes it easy to scale by addressing topics like health insurance and other employee benefits.
Gusto integrates natively with almost 200 outside tools, like Intuit QuickBooks, Xero, and Ignition, ensuring that almost anything in your existing tech stack can be connected to reduce duplicate or manual work.
One of the main advantages of Gusto is it’s ability to integrate 1099 management with its payroll services, allowing businesses to both pay contractors and automatically generate their 1099s at year-end quickly. Payments allowable on a recurring schedule or as needed basis. The tool further offers a comprehensive suite of HR services, including benefits administration, onboarding, time tracking, and compliance management. Their worker portal is easy to navigate, enabling users to easily acquire the information or forms they need without having to involve the administrators. All in all, it’s the perfectly scalable 1099 management tool for small and medium businesses.
While being transparent, Gusto’s pricing structure can be expensive for very small businesses, especially those with only a few contractors. The subscription fee might feel high compared to other more straightforward 1099 management tools if payroll for employees isn’t also needed. The tool may additionally overcomplicate the process if users want just need tax compliance assistance. Gusto is also designed for U.S.-based businesses and contractors, so a business working with international contractors may require additional tools; in this case, a software with international combability would probably be a better option.
Users also report issues with customer service, citing longer wait times and some variation in representatives assisting with issues.
Gusto charges a $24/mo base subscription with an additional $6/mo per contractor.
Highlights: Expansive, Enterprise Business, International
Ripping is a really expansive tool, with a wide range of features and services, from human capital management (HCM) to payroll, information technology (IT), and company spending & reporting. For 1099 management needs, the platform enables the onboarding of contractors from over 185 countries, executes agreements/contracts, completes KYC (Know your Client) verification (necessary in the investment and financial services industries), and processes payments in over 50 currencies. 1099s are then automatically generated for U.S. based contractors at the end of the year, with the help of their built-in compliance tools and reminders. However, the real power of Rippling is in it’s HR and employee management capabilities for rapidly growing, complex companies. Contractor management is just a small feature within the broader suite of tools, intended for large, enterprise companies.
Because of its enterprise nature, Rippling integrates natively with a vast library of applications, over 600, like Google Workspace, QuickBooks, GitHub, Stripe, and Asana. They also allow API access. There will rarely be a tool within a tech stack that isn’t able to integrate with Rippling.
Rapidly growing companies with both 1099 contractors and W2 employees can manage both on Rippling, making it easier to handle payroll, benefits, compliance, and HR needs for an entire workforce (and don’t forget about their IT and device management tools as well). The tool streamlines the onboarding and offboarding process for contractors, collecting necessary tax information, setting up payments, and tracking contracts. Rippling also allows assists with tracking contractor expenses and reimbursements, with required attachments. A pro the tool offers to contractors, therefore making the business more attractive, are benefits & perks, like health insurance or retirement plan access (based on eligibility).
Rippling offers the additional advantage of international payment support, which isn’t always the case with payroll tools. They also provide flexibility in payment schedules, allowing businesses to pay contractors on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis (via a variety of methods including direct deposit, ACH transfer, and check).
Beyond just their products, Rippling has an extensive online presence with a certified learning course, industry events, webinars, and more. This increases the accessible knowledge base and ensures Rippling and your toolset stay on the front wave of industry and compliance changes.
While there can be a lot of power in the full feature suite of Rippling, the comprehensive platform may feel overwhelming or unnecessary for small and medium businesses with basic contractor management needs. Time to value will also be slower than simpler platforms because of the steep learning curve and implementation process. This is especially true for businesses who plan on integrating it with existing systems or using its advanced HR and IT management tools. It’s robust nature also does mean it is a more expensive option compared to other payroll or contractor platforms. Another drawback is the lack of a free trial for all of the feature sets, making it harder to fully assess the suitability of the tool prior to committing to a paid subscription.
While Rippling is scalable, which enables it to grow with a business, it’s features are more geared towards enterprise businesses and therefore will always prioritize those organizations needs; when developing or improving the product, those customers get the loudest voice. Users will also experience platform updates and new feature rollouts that can impact operational workflow. This means a business may find themselves needing to adapt to changes or learn new flows, causing potential disruptions.
Rippling can customize plans and features to meet your needs but plans generally start at $40/mo base price plus $8/mo per user for small businesses.
Highlights: Popular, Growth, General Accounting
QuickBooks is a well-known platform that businesses of all sizes can leverage–it’s especially a good solution if an organization needs or is already deploying bookkeeping software. Their flexible plan options allow users to focus on just contractors or a combination of employees and contractors, with bulk payment processing and automatic tax filing capabilities and reminders at year-end, ensuring compliance with federal regulations while saving on administrative time. QuickBooks can scale with any business as it grows, with a library of expansive offerings including health and retirement benefits administration and the accounting features the tool leads the industry in.
QuickBooks integrates with over 750 outside tools, like Amazon Business, Stripe, PayPal, and Etsy, making it a great compliment or owner of contractor and employee management.
If already utilizing QuickBooks accounting features, the Contractor Payments feature integrates in smoothly, allowing centralized financial data management. Alternatively, if you’re just starting with QuickBooks Contractor Payments, it can scale up eventually to meet business needs, adding in accounting and bookkeeping features (expense tracking, invoicing, and financial reporting) as growth occurs. It’s tax focus is also not limited to 1099s forms, making it easier to address wider tax needs at year end.
QuickBooks simplifies the onboarding process, allowing contractors to easily provide their tax and payment information (e.g., W9) via secure portal. It is also accessible via mobile app, offering flexibility for small business owners or freelancers with a mobile and dispersed team.
Because QuickBooks is so ubiquitous in the business world, users have access to robust support, including a customer support team, online resources, tutorials, and forums for both business owners and workers.
Pricing is more competitive with QuickBooks than businesses might find with other expansive platforms, with plans based on number of contractors and specific feature sets needed.
QuickBooks Contractor Payments is designed to work within the QuickBooks ecosystem; so users might find it limiting or redundant if their business uses a different accounting software or doesn’t centralize operations through QuickBooks.
Similarly to expansive software systems like Rippling, QuickBooks periodically updates its features and interface. While these updates are usually to improve the product and fix bugs, they can sometimes disrupt workflows or require users to relearn certain processes.
While the platform does start with affordable plans and scale up, it may become expensive for small businesses or freelancers who need additional features, payroll services, or a very large quantity of contractors. Organizations may find cheaper alternatives if only needing 1099 management. Also keep in mind that Contractor Payments does not include features like time tracking, project management, or standard contract execution/storage.
QuickBooks starts at $15/mo base subscription for up to 20 contractors, plus an additional $2/mo for any contractors above the limit.
Highlights: A/P, A/R, à la carte
Bill.com partners directly with Tax1099 to sync 1099 vendor information from accounts payable (A/P) profiles and sends relevant details the third-party platform to 1099 to be generated and issued. Contractors who received payments of over $20,000 and have over 200 transactions processed through Bill.com will automatically receive 1099s through this process, pending approval. This solution is comparable to something like Track1099, but comes with the added benefit of being automatically connected to your payable and expense tracking.
Tax1099 integrates natively with eight applications besides Bill.com, including QuickBooks and NetSuite. Bill.com integrates with seven outside tools (like Sage Intacct, HRIS, and Xero) to ideally cover all potential accounting and payment platforms.
Bill.com automates the generation, filing, and delivery of 1099 forms, reducing usual administrative work. They provide a centralized dashboard where businesses can additionally manage all contractor information, payments, and tax documents in one place. This centralization makes tax season preparation even easier. Further, contractors have their own dashboards for onboarding, where they’re able to provide W9s and other necessary documentation, as well as update payment info, view payment history, and track their invoices.
The tool is also compatible with international payments, ensuring wide spread teams cn receive compensation in their local currency. Their mobile app enables businesses and contractors access on the go, as well. Contractors are even able to submit for expenses and reimbursements, categorizing items appropriately.
While Bill.com is compatible with international payments, it may not offer as many options or as competitive rates as specialized platforms fully intended for global contractors. Additionally, users may encounter transaction fees associated with certain payment methods, like wire transfers or checks, that can add up, especially if there are a frequent number of payments going out. Large sums can also be held up with longer processing times, meaning contractors are waiting longer for their expected payments.
Also keep in mind that because of the partnership with Tax1099, pricing may become prhibitive. Users must be subscribed to Bill.com, in aiddition to paying the per form cost from Tax1099.
An advantage of Bill.com is the integration of accounts payable and receivable with 1099 management, but this also means that it’s more specialized features address those functions, while lacking advanced features specifically tailored to contractor management or even employee management (time tracking, project management, benefits allocation, etc).
Starting at $2.90/20 forms, and the average form costing $1.75 with additional bulk pricing. And don’t forget about the Bill.com subscription, starting at $19/mo per user.
Highlights: Spending Control, Medium to Large Business
Airbase is all about data-driven reporting to stop uncontrolled spending. They provide a unified way to manage expenses, invoices, corporate cards, and vendor payments, including 1099 contractor management. Onboarding management supports contractor oversight and automated year-end tax form preparation for medium to large businesses. An A/P portal streamlines vendor onboarding, with impressive customization (and questionnaires) to ensure businesses are capturing all required information, contracts, and payment details from contractors. The platform uses artificial intelligence (AI) to automatically generate 1099s and validate tax IDs before filing with the IRS.
Airbase integrates with over 70 outside tools, including Sage, Quickbooks, and DocuSign, with additional API capabilities available.
Airbase allows businesses to set up custom approval workflows for contractor payments. This adds a layer of control and security, ensuring that payments are properly vetted before they are processed. Further customization also allows for the scheduling of recurring payments for regular contractors.
Portal access isn’t limited to just business owners–contractors can access the tool for self-guided onboarding, payment information, tax forms (like W9s), and any other required documentaiton. All information, both on the business end and contractor end, is available on the mobile app.
In addition to managing contractor payments, Airbase offers tools to handle contractor expense reimbursements, similar to Bill.com. Also available are virtual and physical corporate cards that can be used to pay contractors directly.
Airbase is primarily designed for larger businesses with coplex financial operations. Small or simple businesses may find the tool to ve overkill. Their implementation process may also take more time and resources than smaller organizations are willing or able to commit. It also excels in being a spend management platform, so it’s focus will never exclusively be on 1099 contractor management and the feature set will reflect that. Pricing will also be on the higher end of things, influenced by these factors.
Users also report that their vendor management features are better suited to traditional B2B vendors rather than indepdent contractors, so it may be limiting. Although this isn’t unusual, and something that is noted in all of the A/P integrated 1099 management tools.
Airbase supports U.S. based contractor payments, so international teams will likely have better success with other global tools.
Airbase doesn’t offer transparency into its pricing, but its team can quote three tiers based on employees (up to 200, 200-500, up to 10,000).
Highlights: International, Hands Off
The following tools are much more robust than even the most diverse software so far. This is because they are professional employer organization based (sometimes referred to as an employee leasing company), which means they completely take over the HR function for companies, keeping it out of house and offering many capabilities it would be hard to meet internally anyways. With that being said, Justworks offers a wide host of products, ranging from all-in-one HR, payroll, benefits, and compliance management, to modules focusing on hiring and international contractor management. Specific to 1099 and contractor purposes, the tool enables the onboarding of workers from over 30 countries, with applicable payment processing and currency exchanges/rates. Payments are tracked throughout the year for automatic generation and filing of tax forms. While it may not focus exclusively on contractors, Justworks is a good option for businesses with both employee and independent contractors who don’t want to be responsible for worker management in house.
Justworks integrates with seven outside tools, including QuickBooks, NetSuite, and Xero.
Justworks offers a full suite of HR, payroll, and compliance tools in addition to 1099 management, making it an attractive option for businesses looking to centralize their employee and contractor management in one place. Additionally, it provides built-in compliance support, helping organizations stay compliant with federal, multi-state, and local tax laws, particularly those related to 1099 contractors. This is great for teams with contractors in different states, with potentially different requirements.
The platform offers tools to simplify contractor onboarding, including the collection of necessary tax forms (like W-9s) and other documentation. They also handle background checks and other compliance-related tasks, significantly reducing admin time. For day-to-day management, the tool includes time and attendance tracking features, ensuring accurate payments. In some cases, Justworks offers access to benefits like health insurance for contractors, which can be an appealing perk for attracting and retaining top talent. They’re easy to access, offering a user-friendly portal where workers can manage their own information, view payment history, and download tax forms.
Not necessarily a bad thing, Justworks is designed to handle both employee and contractor management. Businesses with only contractors might find it overkill for their needs. Justworks also primarily focuses on U.S.-based contractors, so its support for international contractor payments is present but limited.
While Justworks offers some benefits for contractors, its primary focus is on providing benefits and HR services for W-2 employees. Businesses that are primarily contractor-driven may find that the platform’s employee-centric features are not as relevant to their needs. Additionally, to access contractor payments, users must subscribe to the monthly subscription fee for the payroll plan, even if they’re not using the full capabilities.
It should also be noted that the platform’s support is logically geared more towards HR and payroll functions employees, which can result in less contractor-specific support.
Justworks starts at $50/mo plus an additional $8/mo per user. When completing payments, there will also be a $39 fee per paid contractor (plus applicable exchange rate fees).
Highlights: Compliance & Reporting, Employees + Contractors
TriNet, like Justworks, is a PEO platform that offers a vast array of people management services. Certified by the IRS and accredited by ESAC (Employer Services Assurance Corporation), the tool assists with onboarding international contractors, streamlining payments, and automating the creation & filing of 1099 forms. TriNet is a strong choice for businesses that need a comprehensive solution for managing both employees and 1099 contractors. Its focus on compliance, scalability, and administrative automation makes it a valuable tool for businesses looking to simplify contractor management.
TriNet integrates with over 40 apps, like QuickBooks, Deputy, and Asana, making it even more unified with your current tech stack.
TriNet’s big value add is its compliance expertise with federal, state, and local regulations regarding 1099 contractors. The platform provides guidance on contractor classification, wage reporting, and tax compliance. Like many other broad HR-integrated contractor management tools, it makes it easy to manage and process payments to contractors through direct deposit or other methods.
Like any PEO tool, the platform simplifies the onboarding process for contractors by collecting required forms, such as W-9s, and other necessary documentation. TriNet also assists with background checks and other compliance-related tasks, saving on admin time, particularly in those industries where such requirements are prevalent. The tool will applicably scale as the business does.
Like Justworks, in some cases, TriNet offers contractors access to benefits, such as health insurance, similar to full-time employees. They also include time and attendance tracking features that can be useful for managing contractor hours, especially for businesses that need to track billable hours or project-based work. These features are easily accessible online or via mobile app.
TriNet is a premium PEO service, and its pricing can be relatively high, especially for small businesses that only need 1099 management. The platform is designed to handle a wide range of HR, payroll, and compliance tasks, which can be helpful but also be overkill for businesses with straightforward 1099 management needs or no employees. Because their core focus is on managing full-time employees, this means that some of the features and resources are more geared towards employee management rather than 1099 contractors. Businesses that are contractor-heavy may not benefit from all the features they're paying for, and they’ll have less of a voice as the platform makes feature improvements. Organizations with international contractors may also find better success in another tool, since TriNet primarily focuses on U.S.-based contractors.
Since the tool is quite robust, users may find onboarding with TriNet a complex and time-consuming process, especially for businesses transitioning from a simpler system.
TriNet doesn’t offer transparency into its pricing but expect to see monthly rates per employee.
Highlights: Diverse Contractors, Day to Day Management
UpWork differs a bit from the platforms reviewed so far, in that it primarily focuses on finding and managing independent contractors and freelancers. It’s essentially a marketplace, like Amazon, but instead of sourcing physical products, these tools help businesses source talent and manage their work and payments directly. Upwork then automatically issues 1099 to applicable contractors for tax season. (Plus, they’re committed to doing good in the world, working to prevent modern enslavement and human traficking in their network and supporting workers in Ukraine.)
Their enterprise suite integrates with vendor management systems (VMS), applicant tracking systems (ATS), human resource information systems (HRIS), and spend management/accounting systems, ensuring that your contractors and their information is syncing across tech stacks.
UpWork provides access to a vast pool of contractors from around the world, making it easy for businesses to find and hire contractors for almost any job. The platform simplifies the contracting process once hired by providing time-tracking and invoicing features (it even has the ability to set budget maximums for projects). The hiring process is also straightforward, with a streamlined process that includes contract setup (including NDAs [non-disclosure agreements]), payment terms, and tax form collection. They then manage and automatically track payments to freelancers, via a variety of payment methods, including direct deposit, PayPal, and wire transfers. UpWork also uses an escrow system to hold funds until work is completed to the satisfaction of your business. This ensures that freelancers are paid for their work, while businesses have protection against incomplete or unsatisfactory work, reducing the risk of payment disputes. If issues do arise between businesses and freelancers, UpWork offers a built-in dispute resolution service. This can help resolve conflicts over payments, project scope, or deliverables without the need for external legal intervention.
UpWork is scalable, meaning businesses can easily add more freelancers as needed or reduce their freelancer workforce when projects are completed.
While UpWork makes it really easy to find talent, they charge service fees to businesses for using the platform, which can add up over time. These fees are typically a percentage of the total contract amount, making it more expensive compared to direct hiring and payment methods outside of the platform. Their fee structure for freelancers can be complicated, with tiered fees based on the total amount earned from a client. This can lead to higher costs for freelancers, which may result in them raising their rates to compensate and charging businesses more in the long run. Additionally, UpWork acts as the intermediary between businesses and freelancers, which comes with advantages but also means that businesses have less direct control over contractor relationships. Freelancers hired through UpWork are typically more transactional as well, with less integration into a company's culture or branding. This can be a disadvantage for businesses that want contractors to feel more connected to their brand or participate in long-term projects. Communication must take place within the platform for at least the first two years of the client-freelancer relationship. This can feel restrictive for businesses that prefer to use their own communication tools or want more direct and immediate contact with freelancers.
Although UpWork provides access to a large pool of freelancers, the quality of contractors can vary significantly. Businesses may need to spend time vetting and managing freelancers to ensure they meet the desired standards, which can be time-consuming (though this is likely to happen in any other contractor sourcing scenario).
You set the project budget, with the contractors paying a 10% fee.
Highlights: International, Limited Liability
Deel is a great contractor management solution for globally distributed teams and has the flexibility to scale with growth and types of workers (employees and contractors). The tool allows users to generate, sign, and manage locally compliant contractors in over 150 countries. Compliance assistance ensures workers are classified properly and your team is notified of any changes in regulations, automatically issuing tax forms. If ever desired, Deel streamlines the process of converting contractors into employees as the business scales. Deel’s global focus, automation features, and compliance support make it a powerful tool for businesses managing 1099 contractors, especially those working with remote or international freelancers. They can even hire contractors on your behalf, taking on the additional liability.
Deel integrates natively with over 90 outside tools like QuickBooks, Bamboo, and Xero. API access is available as well.
Deel is designed to manage contractors globally, making it easy for businesses to hire and pay contractors from different countries while complying with local laws and tax regulations. The platform handles payment processing (via direct deposit, bank transfer, PayPal, and more), allowing businesses to pay contractors in their preferred currency. For businesses that do manage contractors across multiple countries, Deel consolidates global payroll into one platform. Additionally, Deel provides localized legal contracts and ensures compliance with labor laws, reducing the risk of misclassification and potential legal issues.
Like the other PEO and Contractor Management Marketplaces, Deel offers a seamless onboarding process for contractors, including automated contract generation, tax form collection (e.g., W-9), and payment setup. Contractors can access their own portal on Deel, to view payment details, manage contracts, and handle tax documentation.
While Deel offers customizable contracts and features, smaller businesses may find that some customization options are limited without upgrading to higher-tier plans. This could be a drawback for companies with unique contractor management needs that require more flexibility. For businesses that only hire contractors occasionally, Deel's cost and complexity might outweigh its benefits. And though Deel excels at managing international compliance, for businesses that only work with U.S.-based contractors, Deel’s global features may feel excessive and unnecessary.
While Deel offers a contractor self-service portal, the contractor experience may vary based on the country or region they’re in. Some contractors may encounter challenges with payment methods, currency conversion, or understanding local compliance. This is a challenge present for many globally distributed teams.
Deel starts at $49/mo, with additional fees per contractor.
Highlights: White Glove, Full Lifecycle
Like UpWork, Toptal's biggest advantage is its ability to find and manage contractors, as well as its 1099 management. However, they’ve set themselves apart with their level of service. They’ve made a commitment to only accepting the top 3% of freelancer applications each month, ensuring you’re only sourcing “top talent” (the origin of their name). Toptal is a white glove experience, with their dedicated account managers taking a primary role from defining contractor need to finding and managing workers and their payments once deployed.
Toptal rigorously vets its freelancers, ensuring that businesses are working with top, diverse talent. This reduces the risk of contractor-related issues and provides businesses with highly skilled professionals who can deliver quality work, minimizing concerns about managing low-performing contractors and time sucks. Because of their white glove service, Toptal simplifies the onboarding process by handling much of the administrative work, including contracts, agreements, and project management support. Toptal offers flexible engagement models, allowing businesses to hire freelancers for short-term, long-term, or project-based work. They then manage payments to freelancers on behalf of the business, consolidating all invoices into a single payment. There is also a complimentary two-week trial when working with a contractor where, if work is unsatisfactory, your business isn’t responsible for paying for that time. In the event of a dispute with a freelancer, Toptal provides support to help resolve the issue.
In addition to handling a lot of people management, Toptal ensures that contracts and agreements with freelancers are compliant with local regulations. They will take care of the admin tasks associated with 1099 reporting for U.S.-based freelancers, ensuring IRS compliance.
In accordance with its premium services, Toptal is known for its premium pricing. The cost of hiring top-tier freelancers through the platform can be significantly higher than other freelancer platforms. Smaller businesses or startups with limited resources might find the platform less accommodating for their contractor management needs. Toptal primarily focuses on highly skilled professionals in fields such as software development, design, and finance. For businesses looking to hire contractors in other fields, such as marketing, content creation, or administrative roles, Toptal's talent pool may be limited and again, too experienced to be within budget. The tool is also geared towards long-term or high-value projects. Also, keep in mind that Toptal's curated approach means that businesses may have fewer freelancers to choose from compared to other platforms like UpWork or Fiverr. And because the platform focuses on matching businesses with top-tier talent, the onboarding process can be longer compared to more open platforms. The vetting and matching process may take several days, which could be a drawback for businesses that need to hire freelancers quickly.
Unlike some platforms that offer community-building features, networking opportunities, or collaborative spaces, Toptal is more focused on delivering talent. It is not a communal resource to further professional development.
Toptal does not offer out of the box pricing, so their team will need to be contacted for a quote. As a ballpark estimate, they offer the following example on G2:
Pricing Range (based on Developer rates)
Highlights: International, Payment Processor
Payment applications directly handle payment processing for businesses, and automatically issue 1099s themselves to anyone a business has paid at least $600 to in a given year. However, remember that these platforms usually have two types of payments: service and/or product-related goods for businesses and family/friend payments. Any contractor payments made as a family/friend will NOT count towards the calculation for 1099s. But for businesses with limited contractors and a small in-house team, these payment applications can be just exactly what they need.
PayPal integrates with over 90 tools, ranging from accounting platforms like QuickBooks to recurring and bill payment platforms like Recurly and Paymentus.
PayPal is globally recognized and trusted, making it easy to pay contractors no matter where they are located. Many freelancers and independent contractors are already familiar with the user-friendly, intuitive interface of PayPal, making it a convenient option for both businesses and vendors. Additionally, the tool supports payments in multiple currencies and across international borders, making it an excellent choice for businesses that work with contractors around the world. This flexibility simplifies managing payments to a global workforce.
PayPal allows for instant payments and supports a variety of payment methods, including credit cards, debit cards, bank transfers, and PayPal balances, which can be more enticing to contractors. They also offer recurring payment options, which is useful for businesses that need to pay contractors on a regular basis. PayPal offers business accounts with additional features tailored for companies, such as invoicing, multi-user access, and enhanced reporting tools. These features make it easier to manage contractor payments alongside other business finances. They also include integrated invoicing tools, allowing contractors to send invoices directly through the platform. Businesses can easily manage, pay, and track invoices, which streamlines the payment process with clear documentation.
In addition to its almost 100 native integrations, PayPal offers a range of developer tools and APIs that allow businesses to customize payment workflows and integrate PayPal into their own systems. This flexibility can be beneficial for businesses with unique payment needs or custom platforms.
Transaction fees can add up quickly, especially for businesses making frequent or high-value payments to contractors. There is not a bulk payment option, which can increase approval/admin time when addressing A/P. Also, when paying international contractors in different currencies, PayPal charges currency conversion fees, which can be relatively high. This increases the cost of managing payments for businesses with global contractors.
The tool is known for occasionally freezing accounts if it detects suspicious activity. This can disrupt payments to contractors and cause significant delays. If a business account is frozen, it may take time to resolve the issue, which can affect cash flow and contractor relationships negatively. Unlike dedicated contractor management platforms, PayPal does not offer payroll or contractor management features, such as onboarding, document management, or contractor agreements. Businesses need to handle these tasks separately.
Creating an account is free, but fees are paid on every transaction, typically around 2-3% + $0.30 per transaction for payments funded by credit or debit cards.
Highlights: Domestic, Payment Processor
Using Venmo for 1099 management can be a great option for businesses seeking simplicity, speed, and cost-effectiveness in handling contractor payments. PayPal and Venmo are very similar (PayPal owns Venmo), meaning Venmo is an equally popular platform, so it’s likely that your contractors will already have an account set up and can easily request and receive payments from the business. When comparing payment application platforms, recognize that PayPal is a bit more business-oriented and Venmo is a bit more consumer oriented, but both are acceptable for paying contractors, depending on business size and need.
Venmo is known for its intuitive interface and straightforward functionality. It is easy for both businesses and contractors to set up and use, making payment management less of a hassle. Many freelancers and independent contractors are already familiar with the platform and may prefer it as a payment method due to its widespread use. Offering Venmo as a payment option can make it easier to attract and retain contractors. It is particularly popular among younger generations, making it a good fit for businesses that frequently hire millennial or Gen Z freelancers.
Payments can be sent and received quickly, reducing the need for complex invoicing systems. The tool offers free transactions for payments made from a linked bank account or Venmo balance, which can be a cost-effective option for businesses managing multiple payments. This can reduce the overall cost of managing 1099 contractors compared to other payment platforms with higher fees.
Venmo is designed with mobile users in mind, making it a convenient tool for businesses and contractors who are often on the go. The tool offers the ability to split payments, which can be useful for businesses that need to pay multiple contractors for collaborative projects or shared tasks. This feature simplifies the distribution of funds across a team of freelancers. As mentioned previously, Venmo is owned by PayPal, which allows for easy transfers between the two platforms. Businesses that also use PayPal can benefit from the interoperability between the two systems, providing more flexibility in managing payments.
Venmo is primarily designed for personal transactions rather than business payments. While it can be used for sending payments to contractors, its lack of robust business features makes it less suitable for managing multiple 1099 contractors or handling more complex payment needs. For example, the social sharing feature, which allows transactions to be visible to other users (even if only the amounts are private), may raise privacy concerns for both businesses and contractors. Although payments can be set to private, the default settings and social aspect of the platform may not be ideal for professional business transactions. Venmo does have a "business profile" option, but it lacks many of the advanced features that businesses need for managing contractors, such as bulk payment processing, contract management, or detailed reporting tools. It also offers basic transaction history but lacks the detailed record-keeping and reporting features that more specialized platforms provide. Even with these features, the platform is not compatible with international payments.
Venmo’s personal account has limitations on the amount of money that can be sent and received, which may be problematic for businesses making larger payments to contractors. They also do not offer integrated invoicing features, which are common in business-focused payment platforms. Organizations must rely on external tools or manually manage invoices, adding extra steps to the payment process and complicating the management of contractor relationships. They do not support multi-user access for businesses, meaning that only one person can control the business account, which can be limiting for companies with multiple team members managing contractor payments and financial records. Additionally, Venmo does not easily integrate with popular accounting software platforms like QuickBooks or Xero. This lack of integration can complicate the process of reconciling payments and managing contractor expenses, as businesses must manually input transaction data into their accounting systems.
The platform's use is free, but fees are incurred on things like instant money transfers or credit card transactions.
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