Contractor payments · October 2026 Edition
Deel vs Square Payroll
Four of fourteen models named Deel first on the direct prompt; zero named Square Payroll. Deel was named by fourteen of the fourteen models and Square Payroll by nine and Deel carries 52 labels and Square Payroll 11, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in three categories this edition.
Named in one category this edition.
First-choice share20%8%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate15%9%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#2#5A position in a field of 13; printed, not drawn.
Labels5211A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Deel reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Tipalti was named alongside these two in twelve of the fourteen direct answers. Tipalti vs Deel · Tipalti vs Square Payroll · Deel vs Rippling
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the contractor payments page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
DeelFirst choices, of fourteen modelsSquare Payroll
Direct40
Paraphrase60
Comparative90
Budget-constrained043 against Deel
Scale-constrained00
Negative005 against Deel · 1 against Square Payroll
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Deel and Square Payroll stood in it.
| Model | Direct | Paraphrase | Comparative | Budget-constrained | Scale-constrained | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | | |||||
| GPT-5.4 mini | | | | |||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | | | | | | |
| Perplexity Sonar | | | | | ||
| Grok 4.1 Fast | | | | | | |
| Mistral Small | | | ||||
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | | | | | ||
| Llama 4 Maverick | | | ||||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | | | | | | |
| Kimi K2 | | | | |||
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | | | | | |
| MiniMax M2.5 | | | | | ||
| GPT-6 Luna | | | | |||
| Muse Glimmer 30B | | | |
Deel Square Payroll first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Deel on the left and Square Payroll on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Deel and Square Payroll stood in it.
Deel first, Square Payroll not the choice
4 of 14 modelsSquare Payroll was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Perplexity SonarDeel alternatives: BILL, Tipalti
Mistral SmallDeel, Tipalti alternatives: BILL
GLM 4.7 FlashXDeel alternatives: 1099Online, Gusto, Remote, Rippling, Tipalti
MiniMax M2.5Deel, Papaya Global alternatives: BILL, Remote, Rippling
Neither was the first choice, one was named
6 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.GPT-5.4 miniTipalti alternatives: BILL, Deel, Rippling
Gemini 3.5 FlashWorksuite alternatives: Deel, Rippling, Tipalti, Wingspan
Grok 4.1 FastRippling alternatives: Deel, Gusto
Llama 4 MaverickGusto alternatives: Deel, Tipalti
Qwen 3.7 FlashRippling, Tipalti alternatives: BILL, Deel, Gusto
Muse Glimmer 30BTipalti alternatives: Deel, Gusto, Trolley, Wingspan
Neither was named
4 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.Claude Haiku 4.5Tipalti alternatives: Gusto, Remote, Wingspan, Worksuite
DeepSeek V4 FlashTipalti alternatives: BILL, Rippling
Kimi K2Tipalti alternatives: BILL, Gusto, Rippling, Routable
GPT-6 LunaBILL alternatives: Gusto, Tipalti
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Square Payroll leads by two points.
Square Payroll10%#2 of 13Deel8%#3 of 13Mid-marketThe figures above
The order flips: Deel leads at mid-market.
Deel20%#2 of 13Square Payroll8%#5 of 13Enterprise
What the models said about Deel
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of seven in this category shown.
“Opaque or very high fees (Deel Payroll, certain freelancing-site payout tools)” GLM 4.7 FlashX · negative prompt · hard negative
“High fees for transactions/withdrawals and payment delays/notifications are common criticisms, despite strong compliance features.” Grok 4.1 Fast · negative prompt · soft negative
“Deel enforces strict late-payment fees ... has been known to put a hard lock on freelancer payouts” Gemini 3.5 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“I'd suggest Deel or Papaya Global as the top choices. Deel offers the most comprehensive platform with strong compliance features” MiniMax M2.5 · direct prompt · first choice
“the strongest single-platform choice is usually Deel if you want contractor payments plus 1099/tax compliance in one system” Perplexity Sonar · direct prompt · first choice
“I'd recommend starting with Deel if you have international contractors, or Tipalti if you want maximum automation” GLM 4.7 FlashX · paraphrase prompt · first choice
What the models said about Square Payroll
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Four of five in this category shown.
“Platforms to use with caution: Stripe, Square, PayPal Business.” Gemini 3.5 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“Square Payroll's Contractor-Only plan stands out as the best option for a company on a limited budget” Grok 4.1 Fast · budget prompt · first choice
“Square Payroll is my budget pick if you want payments and 1099-NEC filing in one place” GPT-6 Luna · budget prompt · first choice
“Square Payroll if you only care about paying contractors as cheaply as possible” Perplexity Sonar · budget prompt · first choice
Also compared
Tipalti vs DeelTipalti vs Square PayrollDeel vs RipplingDeel vs GustoDeel vs WingspanDeel vs QuickBooks Contractor PaymentsDeel vs RemoteRippling vs Square PayrollGusto vs Square PayrollSquare Payroll vs WingspanSquare Payroll vs QuickBooks Contractor PaymentsSquare Payroll vs RemoteAll twenty-eight head-to-head pages and the full contractor payments standing
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.