TL;DR
Choose Worklayer if you want AI agents that handle HR work on their own, within permissions you control, for one published price with unlimited AI. Choose Deel if you need payroll in many countries, an employer of record or recruiting in the same system.
Worklayer and Deel
Worklayer
€10 per employee/month, all included
An HR platform run by AI agents. You build agents that handle onboarding, leave, expenses and payroll preparation on a schedule or when something happens, within the permissions you set, and every run is on record.
Deel
From $39 per employee/month with every HR module
A global payroll and HR platform, founded in 2019 and used by more than 40,000 companies. Deel HR comes in three plans from $5 to $29, and payroll, employer of record, recruiting, IT and AI agents are priced separately.
Key differences
| Feature | Worklayer | Deel |
|---|---|---|
| AI agents that act on their own | Included | Work flagged for review |
| Agent permissions and run history | Included | Reasoning logged |
| AI assistant for employees | Included | Included |
| AI usage | Unlimited | Agent add-on priced by usage |
| Time off and attendance | Included | Included |
| Documents | Included | Included |
| Payroll | Preliminary payroll | 130+ countries, paid add-on |
| Employer of record | Not offered | Separate paid product |
| Recruiting | Not offered | Paid add-on |
| Compensation planning | Not offered | On the Elite plan |
| DATEV export | Not offered | Through a marketplace app |
Setup
Worklayer is self-serve: sign up, import your people from a spreadsheet while AI maps the columns, and add leave policies from templates for 13 countries. You can be up and running the same day. Deel starts with a demo, and an onboarding manager works through profiles, managers and leave policies with your team before anything goes live. Deel says core HR usually goes live in weeks.
Verdict: Worklayer is quicker to start. You set it up yourself in a day, with no sales call.
Pricing
Worklayer costs €10 per employee per month, billed annually, with every module, every integration and unlimited AI included. Deel publishes its prices in US dollars, even on its German pages, and charges separately for its HR plans, recruiting, payroll and agents: core HR is $5 per employee, its top HR plan, Elite, is $29, and recruiting adds from $10. Its AI Workforce agents are a paid add-on with no published price. With every HR module, Deel comes to at least $39 per employee per month, before payroll or agents.
| Cost | Worklayer | Deel |
|---|---|---|
| Price per employee | €10 a month, all included | From $39 a month with every HR module |
| Core HR | Included | $5 a month |
| Recruiting | Not offered | From $10 a month |
| Payroll | Preliminary, included | $29 a month |
| AI agents | Included, unlimited | Paid add-on, price not published |
Verdict: With Worklayer the AI agents are part of the one price, so you know the full cost before you talk to anyone.
Why teams choose Worklayer
Deel's AI Workforce agents are a paid add-on with no published price, and your team deploys them when it needs one. The AI step in Deel's workflows is a first pass that flags its work for review. Worklayer's agents do the HR work themselves, on a schedule or the moment something happens. Each agent starts with no permissions: admins grant what it may do, and a run that needs more stops and asks. Every run is on record, step by step. And it all comes at one published price, €10 per employee, with every module and unlimited AI.
Moving from Deel
- 1.
Start for free
Sign up yourself, with no call and no demo. Nothing is charged for 14 days.
- 2.
Import your whole team in minutes
Export your employee list from Deel and upload it in a couple of minutes. AI maps the columns for you. No setup fee, no switching costs.
- 3.
Switch at renewal
Run Worklayer alongside Deel and move over when your Deel term ends. Deel's pricing page says month to month, but its platform terms renew services for a year at a time unless you give 90 days' notice, so check your contract.
Questions
Yes, once you need more than Deel's core HR plan. Worklayer is €10 per employee per month with every module, every integration and unlimited AI included. Deel's core HR is $5, but its top HR plan is $29, recruiting adds from $10, and its AI Workforce agents are a paid add-on with no published price.
No. Deel says its AI Workforce agents are deployed by your team when you want answers or help, and the AI step in its workflows is a first pass that flags its work for review. In Worklayer, agents act on their own, on a schedule or when something happens, within the permissions an admin has granted.
No. Agents only act within the permissions an admin has granted. When a run needs more, it stops and asks an admin.
No. Worklayer prepares payroll: it tracks changes, checks for missing data and exports everything for your tax adviser. Deel runs payroll itself, in Germany and many other countries.
Yes. Export your employee data from Deel and bring it in with Worklayer's AI import.
Yes, for all AI inside Worklayer: no credits and no caps, subject to fair use.