How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Rankite is independent; if a vendor ever pays for a featured spot, that listing is clearly labeled Partner.
Key takeaways
- Small businesses under 20 employees get the best value from Patriot Full Service ($37/month + $5 per worker paid), OnPay ($49/month + $6 per worker) and Gusto Simple ($49/month + $6 per employee).
- Square Payroll ($35/month + $6 per person) is the pick for restaurants and shops already running Square POS, with tips and timecards syncing automatically.
- ADP Run and Paychex Flex publish no prices at all: expect a sales process and get every fee in writing before you compare.
- Full-service payroll (the vendor files your taxes) costs roughly $15 to $20 more per month in base fee than self-service plans, and it is worth it for almost every small business.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 Gusto | Small businesses that want predictable, published pricing | $49/month + $6/employee/month (Simple plan) | No (no free trial advertised) |
 OnPay | Owners who want one simple flat price | $49/month + $6/worker/month (single plan) | First month free (no permanent free plan) |
 Patriot Software | Tight budgets and very small teams | $37/month + $5/worker paid/month (Full Service plan) | Free trial (30 days) |
 Square Payroll | Restaurants, cafes and retail shops already on Square POS | $35/month + $6/person paid/month (full-service payroll) | No (free trial mentioned by reviewers, length unverified) |
 SurePayroll | Teams of 1-10 operating in multiple states | $29/month + $7/employee/month (Full Service plan) | No (promo: 6 months free during the first 12 months, alternating months) |
 QuickBooks Payroll | Small businesses already running their books on QuickBooks Online | $50/month + $6.50/employee/month (Core plan) | Free trial (30 days, per reviewers) |
 Rippling | Growing startups that want HR, IT and payroll in one system | $35/month + $12/employee/month (payroll starting point) | No (no free trial confirmed) |
 ADP Run | Compliance-first buyers who plan to scale | See website (all plans custom-quoted) | No (3-month-free promo reported by reviewers, unverified) |
 Paychex Flex | Owners who want a dedicated payroll specialist | See website (custom quote only) | No (no free trial advertised) |
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
The best payroll software for small business
A bakery with 12 employees does not need the same payroll system as a 400-person manufacturer. It needs paychecks out on time, taxes filed without a second thought, and a bill that does not double when two people get hired. These nine payroll services are the ones worth a small business owner's attention in 2026, priced out for real headcounts instead of enterprise demos.
#1
Gusto
Best for: Small businesses that want predictable, published pricing
Visit gusto.com
Starting price$49/month + $6/employee/month (Simple plan)
Free planNo (no free trial advertised)
The reason Gusto keeps winning small-business recommendations is that nothing about it is a surprise. You sign up online without talking to sales, the price is printed on the website, and a 10-person team on Simple pays $109 a month with unlimited runs, so weekly payrolls and corrections cost nothing extra. Tax filing is full-service on every plan: federal, state and local forms filed for you, with W-2s and 1099s at year end. It connects to QuickBooks, Xero, FreshBooks, Expensify and Homebase.
What changes as you grow is the tier. Simple covers the basics; Plus at $80 base plus $12 per employee adds multi-state payroll, next-day direct deposit and time tracking, and Premium at $180 base gates same-day pay. Standard direct deposit on Simple takes about four days. For teams under 20 in one or two states, Simple is usually enough, and the month-to-month contract means you can leave if it stops being enough.
What we like- Published prices with no contracts and free setup
- Unlimited payroll runs on every plan
- Federal, state and local tax filing plus W-2/1099 generation on all plans
Watch out for- Time tracking, PTO policies and next-day direct deposit require the Plus plan
- Per-employee fees add up quickly past 25 employees
Starting price$49/month + $6/worker/month (single plan)
Free planFirst month free (no permanent free plan)
OnPay removes the decision fatigue that plagues payroll shopping. There is one plan and one price: $49 a month plus $6 per worker, and that covers unlimited pay runs, all federal, state and local tax filings, W-2s and 1099s, multistate payroll, garnishments and multiple pay rates. A 10-person team pays $109 a month, identical to Gusto Simple at that headcount. The first month is free, including onboarding and migration from your current provider.
The trade is scope. Everything is US-centric, so it is the wrong tool the moment you hire abroad. HR features like PTO management and org charts live in a $15 base plus $2 per worker add-on rather than being bundled. But setup is genuinely easy: in-house payroll experts handle the dashboard, employee entry, prior wage data and migration within days, and support is US-based by chat and phone. If you want payroll handled correctly with no tier puzzles, start here.
What we like- One plan with unlimited runs and every tax filing included, no hidden fees
- New-hire reporting handled in all 50 states plus DC
- W-2 employees and 1099 contractors in one pay run at no extra charge
Watch out for- US-only payroll with no international option
- HR features require a paid add-on
Starting price$37/month + $5/worker paid/month (Full Service plan)
Free planFree trial (30 days)
Patriot is how small businesses pay half price without buying a toy. Full Service at $37 a month plus $5 per worker paid covers federal, state and local tax filings and deposits plus every year-end form, with a tax filing reliability guarantee. A 10-employee company pays $87 a month. The per-worker-paid model is the quiet advantage: in a slow month with fewer people on payroll, you pay just the base fee, while competitors charge per employee whether they worked or not.
Buy the right tier. Basic at $17 a month is not full-service: you handle your own tax filings, which defeats the purpose for most owners. Budget for the $37 Full Service plan from the start. Each additional state costs $12 a month, reporting is basic compared with pricier tools, and standard direct deposit takes four days. Month-to-month with no contracts or setup fees, so the risk of trying it is close to zero.
What we like- You are charged only for workers actually paid each month
- Full Service covers all tax filings and deposits plus year-end forms with a reliability guarantee
- Free US-based support and free setup assistance
Watch out for- The cheaper Basic tier leaves tax filings to you
- Each additional state costs $12 per month
#4
Square Payroll
Best for: Restaurants, cafes and retail shops already on Square POS
Visit squareup.com
Starting price$35/month + $6/person paid/month (full-service payroll)
Free planNo (free trial mentioned by reviewers, length unverified)
Square Payroll is built for one buyer: the hourly-workforce business already running Square. Timecards, tips, overtime and commissions flow straight from the register into payroll, which kills the weekly ritual of retyping hours. A 10-person team pays $95 a month. Seasonal businesses get a real perk: months with no payroll cost nothing. Contractors can be paid by direct deposit or Cash App, and multi-state payroll with tax filings is included at no extra charge.
Without Square POS, the case weakens fast. It becomes a mid-priced payroll tool with thin HR, limited benefits administration and weekday-only support, and reviewers note occasional tax filing errors. The contractor-only plan at $6 per person with no base fee looks cheap but excludes auto payroll, multistate and timecard features. If your register says Square, the hours-and-tips sync is the clearest reason to pick it. If not, the specialists above give you more.
What we like- Hours, tips, overtime and commissions flow from Square POS into payroll automatically
- Pay nothing in months with no payroll
- Multi-state payroll and tax filings included at no extra charge
Watch out for- Thin HR and benefits features
- Most of the value disappears outside the Square ecosystem
Starting price$29/month + $7/employee/month (Full Service plan)
Free planNo (promo: 6 months free during the first 12 months, alternating months)
SurePayroll, backed by Paychex, is the quiet specialist for very small teams that cross state lines. Full Service at $29 a month plus $7 per employee includes federal and state tax filing and deposits, unlimited runs and free 2-day direct deposit. The standout is the flat $9.99 a month multi-state add-on after the first state: if your people sit in three or more states, that single line item beats per-state pricing from every competitor here.
The catches sit at the edges. Year-end forms are not included ($50 base plus $5 per form each year), and you are billed per employee whether they were active or not. Past 15 to 20 employees, $7 per head per month makes it one of the pricier options (25 employees runs $204 a month), so growing teams should re-run the math against Gusto or OnPay. Setup is guided with free onboarding from real humans, and the alternating-months-free promo softens the first year.
What we like- Multi-state payroll is a flat $9.99 per month add-on regardless of state count
- Full Service includes tax filing and deposits with free 2-day direct deposit
- Month-to-month with no setup or cancellation fees
Watch out for- Year-end W-2/1099 filing costs $50 plus $5 per form annually
- The $7 per-employee fee gets expensive past 15 employees
Starting price$50/month + $6.50/employee/month (Core plan)
Free planFree trial (30 days, per reviewers)
QuickBooks Payroll earns its place for exactly one reason: your accounting already lives in QuickBooks Online, and payroll entries land straight in the ledger. Core includes next-day direct deposit; Premium and Elite upgrade to same-day. Taxes are calculated, filed and paid for you on full-service tiers, including multi-state payroll, and contractor payments come along through unlimited 1099 e-filing at no extra cost. Elite adds tax penalty protection: Intuit covers IRS penalties and interest up to $25,000 a year.
The math only works if you are already a QuickBooks customer. A 10-employee company on Core pays $115 a month for payroll alone, before the accounting subscription. Intuit runs frequent new-signup promos (currently 50 percent off for new accounts), so the sticker price is rarely the real first-year price. Setup help scales with the plan. If your books are not in QuickBooks, there is no reason to start here.
What we like- True full-service payroll with taxes calculated, filed and paid for you
- Elite plan includes tax penalty protection up to $25,000 per year
- Unlimited 1099 e-filing on all three plans
Watch out for- You also pay for the QuickBooks Online accounting subscription
- Core has the highest starter base fee in this list
#7
Rippling
Best for: Growing startups that want HR, IT and payroll in one system
Visit rippling.com
Starting price$35/month + $12/employee/month (payroll starting point)
Free planNo (no free trial confirmed)
Rippling is not a payroll company with extras; it is an everything platform that happens to do payroll well. The pitch is the single source of truth: hire someone, give them a raise or change their benefits, and payroll updates itself because HR, IT, benefits and spend share one record. Payroll starts at $35 a month plus $12 per employee per Rippling's own FAQ, with unlimited runs and automatic federal, state and local tax filing.
The catch is the stack. That payroll price sits on top of the core HRIS platform (from $8 per user per month plus a $40 monthly base fee) and whatever benefits or IT modules you add, so a 10-employee setup runs about $155 a month before the platform layers, and most configurations need a sales quote. For a startup that wants one system for HR, IT and payroll and plans to grow fast, the unification is worth pricing. For a bakery that needs payroll, the specialists above are cheaper and simpler.
What we like- One employee record drives HR, payroll, benefits, IT and spend, so changes apply everywhere automatically
- Automatic tax calculation with filing to the right agencies
- Unlimited pay runs at no extra cost
Watch out for- Payroll pricing stacks on top of core platform fees and modules
- Most configurations need a sales quote for the real number
Starting priceSee website (all plans custom-quoted)
Free planNo (3-month-free promo reported by reviewers, unverified)
ADP Run is the enterprise answer scaled down to 1-to-49-employee businesses. The strength is compliance depth: automated tax filing backed by a penalty guarantee, background checks on every plan, SUI management, garnishment handling and HR help desk at higher tiers. And because ADP's lineup runs from RUN up to Workforce Now, TotalSource PEO and payroll in 140-plus countries, you will never outgrow the vendor.
You pay for that in opacity. ADP publishes zero prices, so every figure online is a third-party estimate and you walk into a sales process blind. Reviewers report implementation fees, off-cycle run fees and extra year-end charges, and most find RUN more expensive than Gusto or Patriot under 20 employees. Setup runs through a sales rep, not self-serve sign-up. If you value an established compliance-first provider and plan to scale into ADP's bigger products, take the call. If you want a price today, skip it.
What we like- Automated tax filing with a penalty guarantee on full-service plans
- Background checks included on every RUN plan
- 900-plus integrations and a product line you never outgrow
Watch out for- No published prices, so you negotiate blind
- Reviewers report implementation fees and add-on costs
#9
Paychex Flex
Best for: Owners who want a dedicated payroll specialist
Visit paychex.com
Starting priceSee website (custom quote only)
Free planNo (no free trial advertised)
Paychex Flex sells the human touch: instead of a support queue, you get a dedicated payroll specialist who knows your account. For owners who want to call a person when payroll goes sideways, that is the whole pitch. The platform bundles payroll with HR, benefits administration, retirement and insurance, plus a separate PEO option, and it handles multi-state compliance for growing companies.
The commercial side is the roughest in this list. Paychex publishes no prices at all now, so every number you find online is an estimate and every buyer talks to sales. Reviewers report setup fees, year-end W-2 and 1099 fees, add-on modules billed separately and early termination fees of $1,500 to $3,000 on annual contracts. Small single-state teams usually overpay here versus the flat-rate tools. If the specialist model appeals to you, get the full fee schedule, including year-end and termination terms, in writing before you sign.
What we like- A named payroll specialist assigned to your account
- Payroll, HR, benefits, retirement and insurance from one vendor, plus a PEO option
- Scales from tiny teams to hundreds of employees
Watch out for- No published pricing at all
- Reviewers report year-end fees, separately billed add-ons and early termination fees on annual contracts
What small businesses actually need from payroll software
Strip away the marketing and small-business payroll comes down to four things. First, full-service tax filing: the vendor calculates, files and pays your federal, state and local payroll taxes, and handles year-end W-2s and 1099s. Self-service plans that leave filings to you save about $15 to $20 a month in base fee and cost you weekends in January. Second, the per-employee math at your headcount: a 10-person team pays $87 a month on Patriot Full Service and $109 on Gusto Simple or OnPay, but the ranking changes by 25 employees because $5 to $12 per head per month compounds fast.
Third, direct deposit speed, which vendors bury in plan details: same-day on QuickBooks Premium and up and Gusto Premium, next-day on Gusto Plus and QuickBooks Core, two-day on SurePayroll, and about four days on Gusto Simple and Patriot standard. Fourth, multi-state handling if your people sit in more than one state: SurePayroll charges a flat $9.99 a month after the first state, Patriot charges $12 per extra state, and Gusto gates multi-state to Plus and above. Price all four for your situation, not the base fee on the pricing page.
When to switch from a spreadsheet or your accountant
Most small businesses switch to payroll software at one of three moments. The first hire outside the family: the moment someone else's taxes depend on you getting it right, the spreadsheet stops being cute. The second state: multi-state withholding and registration is where DIY payroll starts generating penalties. The third is growth past about five employees, when the per-run time cost of manual payroll exceeds the $87 to $115 a month these tools charge.
Switching is easier than vendors imply. OnPay and Patriot include free migration with prior wage data handled by their teams; Gusto, Square and QuickBooks all offer guided onboarding. The lowest-risk moment to switch is the start of a quarter, and the highest-risk is December: year-end filings are cleaner when one provider handles the full year. Month-to-month plans with no contracts (Gusto, OnPay, Patriot, Square, SurePayroll) mean you can move again if the first choice disappoints.
How we chose
We started with the searches small-business owners actually run: payroll software, small business payroll software, payroll service and HR payroll software. For each candidate we opened the vendor's own pricing page, checked plan names and prices against public reviews on G2 and Capterra and practitioner discussion on Reddit, and compared feature lists, tax filing coverage and company-size fit. Where a price could not be verified on the vendor's page we wrote "See website" instead of guessing. The shortlist favors transparent flat-rate services a small team can buy today, with the big compliance-first providers included for buyers planning to scale.
Frequently asked questions
How much does payroll software cost for a small business?
For 10 employees, expect $87 to $155 a month on the transparent tools: Patriot Full Service ($87), Square Payroll ($95), Gusto Simple and OnPay ($109 each), QuickBooks Core ($115 before the accounting subscription). ADP Run and Paychex Flex are custom-quoted and usually cost more at small headcounts. Watch for year-end filing fees that sit outside the monthly price.
Should a small business use full-service or self-service payroll?
Full-service, almost always. The vendor calculates, files and pays your payroll taxes and handles year-end forms; self-service plans calculate the paychecks and leave the filings to you. The price gap is usually $15 to $20 a month in base fee, which is cheap insurance against penalties and January weekends.
What is the cheapest payroll software for a very small business?
Patriot Full Service at $37 a month plus $5 per worker paid is the cheapest genuine full-service option here: a 5-person team pays $62 a month, and you are charged only for workers actually paid. SurePayroll's $29 base is lower, but the $7 per-employee fee and extra year-end form charges narrow the gap. Avoid the ultra-cheap self-service tiers unless you genuinely enjoy filing taxes.
Does payroll software handle contractors too?
Yes, on most of these. Gusto, OnPay, QuickBooks Payroll and Square Payroll all pay 1099 contractors alongside W-2 employees, usually in the same pay run at no extra charge. Square even lets contractors receive pay through Cash App. If contractors are most of your workforce, Gusto's Contractor Only plan ($35 base plus $6 per contractor) and Square's contractor plan ($6 per person, no base fee) are worth a look.
How long does it take to set up payroll software?
Days, not weeks, on the self-serve tools. Gusto, Patriot and Square are built for online sign-up with startup wizards and free setup help; OnPay's team handles migration from your current provider within days. ADP and Paychex take longer because setup runs through a sales rep with a sales order. Have your EIN, state tax IDs and prior wage data ready before you start.
Can I run payroll in multiple states?
The full-service plans handle it, but the pricing differs. SurePayroll charges a flat $9.99 a month after the first state, which is the best deal at three or more states. Patriot charges $12 a month per additional state. Gusto includes multi-state on Plus and above. ADP and Paychex handle it through their compliance teams on quoted plans.
Sources we checked (11)
- https://gusto.com/product/pricing
- https://onpay.com/payroll/
- https://www.patriotsoftware.com/pricing/
- https://squareup.com/us/en/payroll/pricing
- https://www.surepayroll.com/pricing
- https://quickbooks.intuit.com/payroll/
- https://www.rippling.com/pricing
- https://run.adp.com
- https://www.paychex.com
- https://www.g2.com/categories/payroll
- https://www.capterra.com/payroll-software/
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has spent more than a decade helping SaaS and e-commerce brands grow through search. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.