For most US small businesses, Gusto is the default: payroll, tax filing and basic HR from $49 a month plus $6 per person, month to month. OnPay is the best value for simple payroll at $49 a month plus $6 per worker with multi-state included and strong reviews. Rippling suits fast-growing startups that want payroll tied to devices, apps and spend, from $8 per employee plus a base fee. Justworks is the pick when you want a PEO for better health insurance, from $79 per employee a month. ADP and Paychex fit larger or more complex employers that want a big provider with service teams, at quoted prices. Deel is the choice when you have employees or contractors in other countries.
Full-service payroll, tax filing, benefits, and HR software for U.S. small businesses and their employees.
Gusto serves more than 500,000 businesses with payroll, tax filing, benefits and HR in one product. Simple costs $49 a month plus $6 per person, Plus $80 plus $12 and Premium $180 plus $22, month to month with no contract. Simple is limited to single-state payroll, so companies with remote employees in several states usually need Plus. It files federal, state and local payroll taxes, issues W-2s and 1099s, pays contractors in more than 120 countries, and connects to QuickBooks, Xero and most bookkeeping services. The contractor-only plan closed to new customers on October 1, 2026.
Pricing: Gusto is month to month with no long-term contract. Simple costs $49/mo plus $6 per person; Plus $80/mo plus $12; Premium $180/mo plus $22. The legacy contractor-only plan was $35/mo plus $6 per contractor, but closed to new customers on October 1, 2026.
Automated federal, state, and local tax filings are included in every main payroll plan.
Onboarding, paystubs, tax forms, benefits, and time off share one employee login.
Pricing is transparent, month to month, and scales with active people.
The lowest plan is limited to single-state payroll and fewer HR features.
Advanced pay timing, time tools, and HR guidance require higher plans or add-ons.
International coverage is contractor-focused rather than global employee payroll.
OnPay, launched in 2009 in Atlanta, serves more than 10,000 US businesses. Payroll Essentials costs $49 a month plus $6 per worker and covers all 50 states, so a remote team does not push you to a higher tier. HR tools, time tracking, compliance resources and live HR support are add-ons from $10 to $65 a month. It has 417 G2 reviews averaging 4.8, one of the highest ratings in payroll, and handles special cases such as agricultural and nonprofit payroll. It has no international payroll.
Pricing: Payroll Essentials is $49 per month plus $6 per worker, so the one-worker minimum is $55 per month. HR costs $15 per month plus $2 per worker, time tracking costs $15 per month plus $4 per worker, compliance resources cost $10 per month, and live HR support costs $65 per month. The pricing page also lists discounted bundles and benefits administration with plan premiums paid separately.
The base plan includes federal, state, and local tax filings, year-end forms, unlimited pay runs, and multistate payroll.
Published pricing starts at $49 per month plus $6 per worker, with a one-worker minimum of $55 per month.
QuickBooks and Xero integrations support automatic pay-run syncing and customizable account mapping.
HR, time tracking, compliance resources, and live HR support increase the monthly cost beyond the payroll base plan.
The platform is focused on US payroll and does not provide an international payroll or employer-of-record offering.
Advanced reporting and workforce-management depth may be narrower than those of larger enterprise HR platforms.
Unified HR, payroll, benefits, IT and spend software for growing businesses managing workforce compliance.
Rippling ties payroll to one employee record that also drives app access, devices, expenses and benefits, so a new hire is paid, given a laptop and added to Slack from one workflow. Payroll starts at $8 per employee per month plus a base fee, published at $40 a month for small businesses, and most companies add modules. It covers US and global payroll and has more than 600 integrations. Rippling raised $450 million in May 2025 at a $16.8 billion valuation. Quotes vary widely by module mix, so compare full proposals rather than the entry price.
Pricing: Official pricing starts at $8 per employee per month plus a monthly base fee. Rippling's small-business page specifies a $40 monthly base fee and says payroll starts at $8 per user per month. Products are generally priced per employee per month; total cost depends on modules, headcount and billing terms.
One employee record can synchronize payroll, benefits, onboarding, IT access and spend workflows.
Payroll automatically calculates and files federal, state and local taxes and stores employee tax forms.
More than 600 integrations connect Rippling to accounting, identity, collaboration and finance tools.
The $8 starting rate excludes the monthly base fee and additional modules, so buyers need a custom quote.
The wide product catalog can require meaningful implementation work and configuration expertise.
Rippling is not a dedicated tax-research or tax-provision platform for complex corporate tax teams.
Justworks offers both standalone payroll, at $8 per employee per month plus a $50 base fee, and a PEO, at $79 per employee per month for Basic and $124 for Plus. As a PEO it becomes the co-employer, which gives small teams access to large-group health plans and handles workers' compensation and compliance. Benefits premiums are on top, and Vendr's 2026 benchmark puts blended PEO costs for 10 to 50 person teams at $100 to $200 per employee per month. It also offers employer of record in more than 60 countries at $599 per employee. G2 lists 1,126 reviews averaging 4.6.
Pricing: Payroll is $8 per employee per month plus a $50 monthly base fee. PEO Basic is $79 per employee monthly with no base fee, PEO Plus is $124, and EOR is $599; benefits, insurance and optional services can add cost. Vendr reports a $58,084 average annual contract across 13 deals, while its broader 2026 benchmark says 10–50 employee teams commonly see $100–$200 blended PEPM when benefits are included.
Payroll has a low published entry price, although the $50 monthly base fee applies.
PEO plans bundle payroll, compliance, HR support and access to benefits in one service.
EOR pricing is published at $599 per employee monthly rather than requiring a fully opaque quote.
PEO totals vary substantially with health benefits, workers’ compensation and other pass-through costs.
Payroll’s base fee makes the lowest advertised price less attractive for very small teams.
The platform is oriented toward small and midsize employers rather than highly customized enterprise HR operations.
ADP pays more than 42 million workers in over 140 countries for 1.1 million clients. RUN serves small businesses and Workforce Now serves mid-size companies, with service teams, tax filing, benefits, time and HR. Pricing is quoted; Vendr benchmarks RUN at $59 to $150 a month plus $12 to $25 per employee. RUN has 6,597 G2 reviews averaging 4.7. It suits employers with several entities, union or industry-specific rules, or those who want a provider that will still be around in 30 years. Watch for fees on payroll runs, forms and add-ons.
Pricing: ADP publishes no official base price for RUN or Workforce Now. Vendr benchmarks RUN commonly at $59–$150 per month plus $12–$25 per employee per month, while its anonymized ADP median contract is $51,372 per year across 11 deals. Actual pricing varies by workforce size, payroll frequency, jurisdictions, worker types, payment methods and add-ons.
RUN combines payroll processing, tax filing, direct deposit and W-2 and 1099 preparation for small employers.
ADP supports payroll-tax filing in all 50 states and pays workers across more than 140 countries and territories.
Higher packages add practical controls such as garnishment payments, state unemployment management and job costing.
ADP does not publish official package prices, so buyers must complete a sales-led quote process.
Payroll-run, implementation, form and add-on fees can increase the cost beyond the base subscription.
Feature availability and packaging vary substantially between RUN and Workforce Now tiers.
6. Best for service-heavy small and mid-size businesses
Paychex
Payroll, payroll-tax filing and HR software for U.S. employers.
Paychex, founded in 1971, serves about 840,000 customers and acquired Paycor in 2025 to strengthen its mid-market HR software. Its packages are quoted, with a general starting point of $39 a month plus $5 per employee. Vendr reports contracts of $13,700 to $26,300 a year for 200 employees. Paychex suits owners who want a dedicated payroll specialist and are comfortable with a sales process. It also offers a PEO and retirement plans.
Pricing: Paychex presents Basic, Foundations, Advanced and Complete packages with customized pricing. Its official comparison page states a general starting point of $39 plus $5 per employee per month, but does not publish a current named-tier quote. Vendr reports observed contracts of $13,700–$26,300 for 200 employees, $22,000–$43,900 for 1,000 employees and $37,800–$88,400 for organizations above 1,001 employees.
Combines payroll processing with Taxpay payroll-tax calculation, payment and filing.
Supports multiple employee payment methods, including direct deposit, paper checks, tip disbursement and pay cards.
Offers compliance reporting for OSHA, EEO-1 and California Pay Data requirements.
Current package pricing is customized rather than published as fixed tier rates.
The public comparison page does not show exact feature inclusion for every package.
Current official materials do not state employee-count, payroll-run or API-call limits.
Global payroll, tax, HR and compliance platform for companies hiring employees and contractors across borders.
Deel operates in 150 countries and serves more than 40,000 customers. Contractor management costs $49 per contractor a month, global payroll for your own entities from $29 per employee, and employer of record from $599 per employee. HR Core starts at $5 per employee. It is the usual choice when a startup hires its first employees outside the US without setting up a local company. For US-only payroll, a domestic provider is simpler and cheaper.
Pricing: Deel HR Core starts at $5 per employee per month, the lowest publicly listed paid platform entry. HR Advanced is $19 and HR Elite is $29 per employee monthly; global payroll starts at $29, contractor management at $49, Contractor of Record at $325 and EOR at $599 per worker monthly. Final costs can vary with country, payroll cycles, implementation, benefits and offboarding.
Combines EOR, global payroll, contractor payments and HR records in one platform.
Publishes clear starting prices for major worker and payroll services.
Supports 150+ countries and payments in more than 120 currencies.
EOR pricing starts substantially higher than HR-only and contractor plans.
Country-specific benefits, implementation and payroll variables can raise quoted costs.
The breadth of modules can be excessive for employers with only domestic payroll needs.
Payroll software calculates gross pay, withholds income tax and employee social security and Medicare, deducts benefits and retirement contributions, pays employees by direct deposit, and pays and files employer taxes with federal, state and local agencies. At year end it produces W-2s for employees and 1099s for contractors.
Most of the risk sits in tax filing. A missed state deposit or a wrong local tax rate leads to penalties and notices that take months to clear. That is why nearly every small business now uses a full-service provider rather than calculating payroll in a spreadsheet or accounting system.
Modern providers add HR tools on top: onboarding, document storage, time off, benefits administration and compliance alerts. Pricing reflects these bundles, so a provider's entry price is rarely what you end up paying.
What changed for 2026
Several updates affect every US employer this year:
Tips and overtime. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act lets workers deduct up to $25,000 of qualified tips and up to $12,500 of qualified overtime ($25,000 if married filing jointly) for 2025 through 2028. Employers do not change withholding of social security and Medicare, but the 2026 Form W-2 adds box 12 code TP for cash tips, code TT for qualified overtime and box 14b for tipped occupation codes. The IRS gave transition relief for 2025 reporting only.
Social security wage base. $184,500 for 2026. Medicare has no wage cap.
Withholding. Employees can submit updated W-4s to reflect the new deductions, and payroll providers must apply them.
All the providers in this guide have updated for these changes. Confirm that time tracking or your scheduling system correctly separates the overtime premium, because only the half of time and a half counts as qualified overtime.
How we chose these seven
We reviewed the payroll and HR providers in our tax directory and focused on those used by US small businesses and startups. We weighted published pricing, tax filing coverage including local taxes, multi-state and international support, PEO and benefits options, integrations with accounting and bookkeeping services, and reviewer feedback. Prices are as of October 2026.
Others to know: QuickBooks Payroll suits businesses already on QuickBooks Online; Paycor, now part of Paychex, serves mid-size companies; and Remote and Oyster compete with Deel for international hiring. For employer of record providers in more detail, see our EOR guide.
Pricing compared
Provider
Published starting price
10 employees, payroll only (approx.)
Contract
Gusto Simple
$49/mo + $6/person
$109/mo (single state)
Month to month
Gusto Plus
$80/mo + $12/person
$200/mo
Month to month
OnPay
$49/mo + $6/worker
$109/mo
Month to month
Rippling
$40/mo base + $8/employee
$120/mo before modules
Usually annual
Justworks Payroll
$50/mo + $8/employee
$130/mo
Month to month
Justworks PEO Basic
$79/employee/mo
$790/mo before premiums
Month to month
ADP RUN
Quoted ($59 to $150 + $12 to $25/employee per Vendr)
~$180 to $400/mo
Quoted
Paychex
From $39/mo + $5/employee
~$89/mo base, quoted
Quoted
Deel Global Payroll
From $29/employee/mo
Depends on countries
Annual or monthly
Which provider fits which business
Small business with employees in one state. Gusto Simple or OnPay. Both cost about the same; OnPay includes multi-state if you expect to hire elsewhere.
Remote-first startup with people in many states. Gusto Plus, OnPay or Rippling. Choose Rippling if you also want device management, app provisioning and spend on the same employee record.
Startup that wants better health insurance. Justworks PEO, or a PEO from ADP, Paychex or Rippling. Compare total cost including premiums, not just the per-employee fee.
Restaurant or hospitality business with tipped staff. A provider with strong tip reporting and time tracking integrations, such as Gusto, OnPay, ADP or Paychex. Confirm 2026 tip reporting codes are handled.
Company with 50 or more employees, multiple entities or union rules. ADP Workforce Now or Paychex, with a service team that can handle complexity.
Company hiring abroad. Deel for contractors and employer of record, then global payroll once you open local entities.
Payroll and your books
Payroll is usually the largest expense line, and errors flow straight into financial statements and R&D tax credit claims. Choose a provider that integrates with your accounting system and maps wages, taxes and benefits to the right accounts. Gusto, OnPay, Rippling and Justworks all integrate with QuickBooks Online and Xero, and most outsourced bookkeepers work with them. See our bookkeeping guide for providers that connect to these payroll systems.
Startups claiming the R&D credit should make sure payroll reports can show wages by employee and role, which the credit calculation relies on. See our R&D tax credit guide.
Switching payroll providers
The cleanest time to switch is January 1, so one provider files the full year's W-2s. If you switch mid-year:
Collect year-to-date payroll data for every employee: wages, taxes, deductions and benefits.
Confirm tax account numbers for every state and locality.
Run a parallel payroll if possible, or check the first run line by line.
Agree who files the quarterly returns for the quarter you switch in.
Update benefits and retirement plan feeds so deductions continue.
Questions to ask before signing
What does the plan cost for our headcount, states and add-ons, all in?
Which local taxes are covered in our cities?
Do you register us in new states, and is there a fee?
How are tax notices handled, and who pays penalties caused by your errors?
How quickly can we run off-cycle payroll?
What does it cost to leave, and how do we export our payroll history?
Frequently asked questions
How much does payroll software cost?
For a 10-person US company, expect about $100 to $250 a month with Gusto, OnPay or Rippling, before benefits and HR add-ons. Gusto Simple is $49 plus $6 per person, OnPay $49 plus $6 per worker, Justworks Payroll $50 plus $8 per employee. PEOs cost more, typically $79 to $124 per employee per month before premiums.
What is a PEO and do I need one?
A professional employer organization becomes a co-employer of your staff for payroll, benefits and compliance. Small companies use PEOs mainly for access to better, cheaper health insurance through the PEO's large group. If benefits are not a priority, standard payroll software is cheaper.
Does payroll software file payroll taxes?
Yes. All the providers here calculate, withhold, pay and file federal, state and local payroll taxes, including quarterly Form 941 and annual W-2 and W-3. Check that local taxes in your cities are covered and whether state registrations are done for you or are your job.
What changed in payroll for 2026?
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act created income tax deductions for qualified tips and overtime for 2025 to 2028. From the 2026 Form W-2, employers report cash tips in box 12 code TP, qualified overtime in box 12 code TT and tipped occupation codes in box 14b. The social security wage base is $184,500 for 2026. Make sure your provider has updated its forms and W-4 handling.
Can I pay remote employees in other states?
Yes, but you must register for withholding and unemployment insurance in each state where employees work. Gusto Plus and above, OnPay, Rippling, Justworks, ADP and Paychex all handle multi-state payroll, and some register you in new states for a fee or as part of the plan.
What about employees outside the US?
If you have no local entity, use an employer of record such as Deel or Justworks EOR, from about $599 per employee per month. If you have a local entity, you can use global payroll from Deel or Rippling. Contractors can be paid through Gusto, Deel and others, but misclassification risk depends on the country.
Prices and ratings come from each vendor's public pricing pages and review sites as of October 22, 2026. Vendors change pricing often, so confirm with a quote. Nothing here is tax or legal advice.
