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Our verdict
Our verdict
Atlas (Atlas HXM) is a leading global Employer of Record (global EOR), enabling client companies to hire and pay employees globally. Atlas offers one of the most sophisticated SaaS platforms in the industry, and is unrivaled in its international coverage with owned entities (‘Direct EOR’)
Pros
- Hire employees in 160+ countries with the Atlas HXM platform
- The Atlas 'Direct EOR' model means one partner globally, not dozens
Cons
- No outsourced payroll-only solution
- EOR service more expensive than some competitors
Score 9.1 out of 10
How is this calculated?
We calculate the Overall Rating by combining the ratings of several testing categories.
Learn more by reading our testing and review methodology.
120+
$595+
ACH or SWIFT/Wire Transfer
Atlas HXM is a global EOR company that helps companies hire globally. Atlas EOR enables innovative companies to engage a global team without setting up a local company. Read our Atlas HXM review to find out why this global Employer of Record is considered one of the very best in the industry.
Overview
Atlas HXM (or simply ‘Atlas’) is a leading global Employer of Record (EOR) platform. Previously known as Elements Global Services (Elements GS), Atlas HXM is the most established platform on the market, with the broadest coverage.
Atlas HXM specializes in supporting businesses seeking to expand worldwide, hire remote teams, and engage the top talent in the global economy.
Atlas HXM is more than just an EOR solution; it is a comprehensive Human Experience Management (HXM) SaaS platform: A full-service international employment solution providing end-to-end HR and globally managed payroll.
As an EOR, Atlas HXM provides the following:
- International employee hiring in virtually any country or territory
- Global managed payroll and benefits administration
- HR management, onboarding, and offboarding for the entire employee lifecycle
- International compliance assurance.
Through the Atlas HXM platform, it also provides the following insights:
- Data on local market conditions
- Predictions on future compliance changes
- A secure employee portal.
Unlike most global EORs, it is a Direct Employer of Record (Direct EOR). This means it owns all its own entities in every country in the world — it does not rely on multiple local partners. This enables Atlas HXM to manage compliance to a degree that few other global EORs can.
Furthermore, no other global EOR can beat Atlas HXM regarding coverage — it has entities in more than 160 countries.
Key Features
Employer of Record
Atlas EOR becomes the legal employer of your global workforce. This means:
- Hiring your employees wherever they are based — no need to set up a local entity
- Onboarding them with compliant local contracts
- Administering payroll
- Withholding and remitting any necessary income tax, payroll taxes, and social contributions.
When Atlas HXM acts as an EOR, they save companies money and time and take the headache of global compliance.
As mentioned, Atlas applies a ‘Direct EOR’ model. This is unusual in the industry. It is worth noting that there are three general models in the global EOR industry:
- Direct EOR (also known as ‘wholly-owned infrastructure) is where the EOR company has legal entities in every country it operates. This legal entity becomes the legal employer of a team in that country.
Aggregator is where the EOR company operates through multiple third-party providers in other countries. These partners are essentially ‘local EORs’ that operate within that country.
Hybrid, where the company operates through both its own entities, and trusted local partners.
The overwhelming majority of EORs operate through one of these last two models. Atlas is one of the few that operate through the direct EOR model.
This means:
- Compliance and legal certainty — client companies have one contract with one partner. There is no ‘chain’ of companies with potential employer liability.
- Simplicity — client companies deal with one partner internationally: Any problems mean a simple call with your dedicated account manager. No waiting on responses from multiple third-party providers.
Payroll
Atlas directly processes payroll for global teams anywhere in the world. Unlike most of its competitors, there is no need to rely on third parties to correct any errors.
HR
Global HR Management specialists ensure that businesses are up-to-date with applicable local labor laws, rules, and regulations and advise on specific HR issues that arise, such as performance management and termination.
Compliance
As an international compliance solution, Atlas means that global companies:
- Ensure that workers are hired as employees where appropriate, rather than contractors (and therefore avoiding the risk of employee misclassification)
- Onboard talent with compliant labor contracts
- Uphold the highest standards of data protection for employee information.
Atlas HXM Platform
At the heart of the Atlas EOR solution is the Human Experience Management (HXM) platform. With this platform, you can:
- Easily check applicable local labor laws and compliance regulations in a country of expansion
- Hire and manage employees and pay contractors, in every country, through the one central interface
- Administer payroll and benefits
- Benefit from additional HR services, such as immigration and relocation services.
Plans & Pricing
Atlas prices are as follows:
- Contractor payment solutions from $49 per contractor per month
- EOR solutions from $595 per employee per month
- Visa and global mobility sponsorship from $2,500.
Pros and Cons
Why should a business sign up to Atlas employer of record, rather than another global EOR? We set out some of the pros and cons that businesses should consider:
Atlas Pros
Some of the advantages of going with Atlas as a global EOR include:
- The Atlas HXM platform — few other providers offer comprehensive HR software which covers each aspect of global employment. It includes Payroll Plus, a hosted in-platform payment function which guides users on deductions and allowable expenses.
- First-in-class compliance — the Atlas HXM Direct EOR model eliminates many of the risks of global hire. All legal responsibilities and liabilities lie with your one partner, Atlas HXM, not dozens of other local partners in different countries. No other global EOR can offer the same assurance.
- One EOR, 160+ countries — no other EOR allows you to deal with one partner, anywhere in the world. If there is a customer support issue, Atlas HXM can fix it immediately. They don’t have to wait on a local country partner to respond.
- Value-add services — Atlas HXM also provides HR advisory, visa support and sponsorship, contractor payment and a host of other global HR solutions: They are not simply an Employer of Record.
Atlas Cons
Some potential downsides of choosing Atlas HXM include:
- No separate payroll outsourcing solution — Atlas does not currently provide an outsourced payroll service for companies that have legal entities in place in the countries that they seek to hire in, but need a partner simply to handle payroll.
- Higher EOR price than some competitors — At $595 per employee, per month, Atlas is not the cheapest EOR on the market. However, this may reflect the fact that Atlas is currently the only EOR with a global network of legal entities. The price arguably reflects the added compliance assurance of Atlas being a company’s global employment partner.
Unique Selling Point (USP)
Atlas HXM’s USP is its Direct EOR model, which covers 160+ countries. Some competitors offer EOR services globally. Some also run their own entities in each country of hire. However, no competitor provides global coverage and a wholly-owned EOR infrastructure.
RemotePad Score for Atlas
9.1/10 Our expert score for Atlas
Our team came to this score by considering the following components in the following weightings:
Employer of Record features | 25% |
Payroll features | 10% |
HR features | 10% |
Compliance features | 10% |
Platform features | 10% |
Pricing | 20% |
User reviews | 15% |
For each component, Atlas received the following score:
Employer of Record features | 22/25 |
Payroll features | 10/10 |
HR features | 10/10 |
Compliance features | 9/10 |
Platform features | 10/10 |
Pricing | 18/20 |
User reviews | 12/15 |
Atlas HXM Top Competitors and Alternatives
Horizons vs Atlas
Top provider for:
Global EOR
Monthly fee per employee
From $299+
Remote vs Atlas
Top provider for:
Direct EOR solutions
Monthly fee per employee
From $599+
Papaya Global vs Atlas
Top provider for:
Direct EOR solutions
Monthly fee per employee
From $650+
Atlas HXM — Our Take
Atlas stands out in the international Employer of Record market for its universal coverage, powerful Atlas HXM platform, and commitment to building its own international infrastructure.
Atlas does not sink as much money into advertising as its competitors (and therefore may have less visibility) — instead, it invests in its core solution. For this reason, Atlas HXM outranks its competitors on nearly every metric.
If you are looking for an Employer of Record solution with robust compliance, Atlas is an excellent choice. However, if you have already established subsidiaries in various countries, consider an alternative provider offering outsourced payroll processing.
FAQs
Yes. The company rebranded from Elements Global Services (Elements GS) to Atlas HXM (Atlas) in 2022 when it launched its new EOR platform. The new name better reflects the SaaS solution at the core of the Atlas offering.
Other major global EOR companies include Deel, Remote, Papaya Global and Velocity Global.
Atlas has been funded to $220 million since 2020, with a series A funding round in 2020 and series B funding in 2022.
Atlas HXM stands for 'Atlas Human Experience Management', reflecting the broad capabilties and applications of the Atlas platform.
As a privately-held company, Atlas HXM does not reveal its revenue or profit. However, in a report by NelsonHall estimated revenue in 2021 was ~$75m. The approximate breakdown by region was EMEA 50%, APAC 28%, North America 11%, LATAM 11%.