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Deel IT (formerly Hofy) operates across 130+ countries and supports the full asset lifecycle. But its rigid workflows, complex interface, and limited customizations often overwhelm smaller teams. One remote employee shared,
“They flooded my inbox with notifications every minute, but the earliest pickup slot wasn’t even until the next week.”
While Deel IT is feature-rich, its lack of flexibility and rigid workflows can limit visibility, delay device returns, and drive up IT costs.. Especially for companies with 50–200 employees (where every ops cycle counts), the setup costs often outweigh the ROI.
Despite high fees, Deel IT’s returns process can feel disjointed and invasive. Reasons like these often lead users to look for more intuitive and scalable Deel IT alternatives like Firstbase. In this guide, we’ll compare Firstbase to Deel IT and also explore four other alternatives worth considering.
For growing companies that add 10-50 new employees monthly, platform resellers like Deel IT are becoming an operational liability. It’s because these platforms deliver slow, ‘best-effort’ support, unpredictable freight markups, and zero visibility once a device ships. That’s why,
Most “device-hub” platforms operate a ship‑and‑pray model: little post-purchase accountability, slow support, no SLAs, and cost unpredictability masked as scale.
And because their workflows are one-size-fits-all, fast-growing teams struggle to adapt device policies or connect tools like MDMs and HRIS, which equals more manual work, not less.
If Deel IT feels bloated, rigid, or unreliable, you’ll need some effective alternatives.
The right solution should deliver complete (Asset Lifecycle Management) that automates every step from procurement to certified disposal.
Here are five platforms attempting to solve these problems.
Companies using Firstbase have saved over $ 100,000 in shipping costs, more than 5,000 hours of manual work, and achieved a 99% satisfaction rate, all while scaling globally. Calculate how much you could save with Firstbase.
We’ve listed five Deel IT alternatives that go beyond logistics, offering smarter automation, cleaner pricing, and scalable support that growing teams can actually rely on. Here’s how they stack up against Deel IT.
Firstbase is the only platform that combines enterprise-grade software with end-to-end logistics. Unlike most reseller-driven platforms, Firstbase is purpose-built to manage the entire employee device lifecycle (globally and at scale).
From procurement and deployment to maintenance and retrievals, Firstbase offers a fully integrated experience backed by real-time visibility and high-touch logistics.
It supports a vendor-neutral approach: buy or lease from Firstbase, or ship them your existing equipment. Their platform seamlessly integrates with HRIS and ITSM tools like Workday, BambooHR, Namely, ServiceNow, and Oomnitza, enabling cross-functional teams to work from a single source of truth.
While Deel IT offers global coverage across 130+ countries with a 5-day SLO, Firstbase goes further: operating in 150+ countries with SLA-backed 48-hour delivery guarantees.
Where Deel IT users report delays, unpredictable fees, and costly add-ons (like $99/month for basic 24/7 support), Firstbase offers per-seat pricing with white-glove support built in.
Unlike Deel IT’s rigid workflows and delayed pickups, Firstbase automates every stage (from procurement to retrieval)with audit-ready documentation, real-time inventory visibility, and a 97%+ retrieval rate. No hidden freight markups.
If you’re curious what this looks like at scale, see how Cresta slashed device downtime and reclaimed team bandwidth with Firstbase.
What users feel about Firstbase
Allwhere is an all-in-one IT asset management platform that helps distributed teams procure, deploy, and retrieve hardware with minimal manual effort. Built for remote, hybrid, and on-site work environments, it streamlines complex logistics while integrating perks and wellness options to improve the employee experience.
With allwhere, HR and IT teams get a consolidated dashboard to manage devices, vendors, and fulfillment, all without monthly platform fees.
Compared to Deel IT’s fragmented workflows and expensive fees, allwhere offers zero monthly charges and also reduces vendor bloat through consolidated billing. Teams get clearer visibility and fewer vendor touchpoints.
However, Firstbase still leads in audit-grade compliance, deeper platform automation, and handling of legacy fleets at scale.
Workwize is a zero-touch IT asset management platform that simplifies procurement, deployment, tracking, and recovery of hardware across 100+ countries. Designed for scaling companies, it centralizes vendor access, automates procurement and approval workflows, and gives teams control over budgets and hardware choices, all through a unified self-service portal.
Workwize is up to 3x more cost-effective than Deel IT and offers full pricing transparency, avoiding the surprise line items common with Deel’s model. But Firstbase still stands out with SLA-backed retrievals, NIST-compliant data destruction, and audit-grade chain-of-custody logs, better suited for high-compliance environments.
Electric is an IT platform tailored for SMBs to manage IT assets (from hardware procurement to cybersecurity) without needing a full internal IT team. It helps small teams manage onboarding, offboarding, and MDM across macOS and Windows without needing deep IT expertise. It centralizes visibility and integrates with your HR systems to support every stage of the employee lifecycle.
Electric combines device procurement, real-time IT support, and enterprise-grade security in one platform without the operational overhead or third-party delays typical of Deel IT’s reseller-based model.
But Electric AI focuses on SMBs with reactive support and U.S.-centric services. Firstbase, on the other hand, offers true global logistics and flat per-seat pricing, built for scale from Day 1.
GroWrk is a full-stack IT asset management platform that helps manage the full device lifecycle at scale. Teams can source from certified global resellers, store inventory across international warehouses, and ensure employees receive their gear within seven business days. Sustainability and operational visibility are baked in, with remote tracking, reuse, and secure recycling.
GroWrk offers wider reach (150+ countries vs. Deel IT’s 130), faster procurement, and always-on support, without extra add-ons. But users raise their prepayment requirement as a concern.
Firstbase delivers a smoother experience with SLA-backed 48-hour delivery compared to its seven-day delivery timeline, and no prepayment or low-stock surprises, making it a more predictable and scalable choice for fast-growing teams.
Let’s break down a few key criteria to help you compare Deel IT alternatives.
Per-device pricing may look flexible on paper but it rarely stays that way. With Deel IT, costs stack fast: $18 per device for lifecycle management, $9 per device for MDM, $9 for endpoint security, $11 for identity tools, and $99 per person for basic tech support. That’s before you add freight, storage, or retrieval charges.
This pricing structure works when headcount is stable. But most teams aren’t static: people join, leave, go on leave. Every change means more devices, more support, more cost.
But platforms like Firstbase takes a simpler approach: one flat per-seat price that includes shipping, storage, retrievals, and tech support. No hidden fees. One invoice. For finance teams tracking spend across departments and geographies, that level of clarity matters.
When evaluating IT asset platforms, don’t just ask where they deliver, ask how fast, and whether they’re willing to put it in writing.
Deel IT, for example, operates in 130+ countries, yet their delivery timelines stretch from 5 to 10 days, with no guaranteed SLA. That kind of “best effort” approach might work for stable teams, but for growing companies hiring across time zones, it means missed start dates and frustrated new hires.
On the other hand, Firstbase operates in 150+ countries with an SLA-backed 48-hour delivery promise. Because Day 1 matters. And so does keeping your promises. Book a quick, 15-minute demo and take a closer look at how we do it.
When you're choosing a Deel IT alternative, look closely at what happens after the device ships. Retrievals, RMAs, and support tickets are where many vendors fall short: slow responses, no SLAs, and no clear chain of custody.
Ask: Will your team have to chase down devices? Will you get updates, or just silence?
Look for platforms that offer SLA-backed support with real accountability. Firstbase, for example, gives you a dedicated Customer Success Manager, 24/5 support with less than 4-hour response times (guaranteed), and a dashboard that tracks every RMA in real time (from pickup to wipe to resale or recycling).
As you evaluate Deel IT alternatives, zoom out: does the platform automate every stage, or just fragments?
The new standard is full-cycle automation:
If a provider can’t handle this end-to-end (or makes you log separate tickets for each step) you’ll spend more time chasing vendors than running IT. Prioritize platforms that give you complete control from a single dashboard (like Firstbase 😉).
Eight questions to vet any IT Asset Management vendor
Here's a quick checklist you can simply copy, paste, and use during vendor demos:
Note: Make sure the answers are in writing and SLA-backed.
If your last invoice had too many surprise fees, delayed deliveries, and ticket backlogs, it’s a broken model.
Deel IT and other “device-hub” platforms may tick the right boxes on paper, but in practice, they leave growing teams with rigid workflows, ballooning costs, and no real control.
But with Firstbase ‘s SLA-backed 48-hour global delivery, real-time asset tracking, certified retrievals, and transparent per-seat pricing, what you see is what you get.
Not sure if the switch is worth it? Pull up your last invoice from Deel IT (or any vendor) and request a quote from Firstbase. You’ll be surprised how much you’ve been paying to (not) get what you want.
