Deel is scale and speed; Teamed is pricing transparency and flexibility. Deel: $599/month, owned entities, 3–5 day onboarding in South Africa, broadest platform. Teamed: €465/month ($500), 8 African countries, partner model, no offboarding fees, month-to-month contracts. If you want the market leader and fastest path to hire, Deel. If you want to avoid lock-in and save roughly $100/month per head, Teamed is the lean alternative.

Coverage: Deel: 10 African markets (owned in SA, Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt; partners in six more), 150+ countries. Teamed: 8 African countries, partner-led — no owned entities in Africa. Both cover the main hubs; Deel has more African countries and owned presence. If you need only the countries Teamed supports and don’t care about owned vs partner, coverage is sufficient. If you need Egypt, Ethiopia, or a longer Africa list, Deel.

Pricing: Deel: $599/employee/month. Teamed: €465/month ($500) — about $100 less per head. Teamed also does no offboarding fees and month-to-month contracts. Deel typically wants longer commitments; offboarding can carry a fee. On 10 employees, Teamed saves ~$1,000/month and you can exit without an offboarding bill. For cost-conscious or test-and-see hiring, that matters.

Product and support: Deel’s platform is the broadest: contracts, payroll, compliance, integrations. Onboarding is fast and self-serve. Teamed is mid-market focused — leaner product, transparent pricing, less bloat. Support is solid but not the same scale as Deel. If you want maximum product and one platform for everything, Deel. If you want a straightforward EOR without upsells and with clear pricing, Teamed.

Africa-specific: Deel has owned entities in four African markets; compliance and payroll are battle-tested. Teamed uses partners in Africa — no owned entities there. Both handle statutory requirements. For risk-averse companies or high-visibility hires in SA/Nigeria/Kenya/Egypt, Deel’s owned setup is reassuring. For standard hires in Teamed’s 8 African countries, partner model is acceptable and the cost/flexibility trade-off can favour Teamed.

Verdict: Use Deel if you need the most African countries, fastest onboarding, owned entities, and don’t mind $599 and typical EOR lock-in. Use Teamed if you want ~$500, no offboarding fees, month-to-month flexibility, and can work within 8 African countries and a partner model. Scale and speed: Deel. Price and flexibility: Teamed.