The best payroll software and services should make pay runs easier, taxes cleaner, and compliance less stressful. Whether you’re paying a handful of employees or managing a growing workforce, the right platform can save time and reduce costly payroll mistakes.
For this guide, I reviewed nine payroll options to help you find one that fits your business needs.
My verdict:
| Gusto | ||
| ADP | ||
| Rippling | ||
| OnPay | ||
| Papaya Global | ||
| Paychex | ||
| SurePayroll by Paychex | ||
| QuickBooks Workforce (formerly QuickBooks Payroll) |
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| Square Payroll | ||
| *Fees are based on Rippling’s small business page. **This is for Papaya Global’s Payroll Plus product. |
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Which payroll software is the best?
The best payroll software should make pay runs easier to review, reduce manual tax work, and give employees reliable access to their pay information. The right choice depends on more than a feature checklist, though. A provider that works well for a five-person company in one state may become expensive or restrictive once that company adds locations, hourly teams, or international workers.
For this guide, I compared nine popular payroll solutions and used an objective scoring rubric to determine which one is truly the best. In my assessment, Gusto is the best payroll software solution thanks to its thorough automation, comprehensive payroll tools, and optional employee benefits with built-in administration.
But if Gusto isn’t right for you, one of the other eight payroll solutions might do the trick. Below, I’ve analyzed each platform’s features, strengths, weaknesses, and cost to help you find the best fit for your business.
Data accurate and verified as of 5/29/2026.
Gusto: Best overall payroll software service
Our star rating: 4.6 out of 5
Why Gusto?
If you don’t have any prior experience with payroll software and aren’t sure where to start, Gusto is absolutely my top recommendation. It’s one of the most popular payroll providers for small businesses, thanks to its user-friendly and intuitive interface. It also integrates with dozens of popular third-party applications, including accounting solutions like QuickBooks Online and Xero.
Gusto’s payroll software comes with built-in time tracking features with manager approvals, PTO management, and self-service tools so employees can log in their time, view payslips, and access forms. Gusto’s highest plan even includes dedicated support, HR experts, performance management, and custom reports.
This combination of payroll depth, usability, and optional HR support keeps made it my number one pick.
Gusto pros and cons
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What are Gusto’s top payroll features?
- Unlimited monthly payroll runs.
- Full-service tax administration.
- Employee self-service portal.
- Hiring and onboarding tools with all plans.
- Gusto-brokered health insurance options.
- Additional employee benefit options include 401(k) retirement plans, commuter benefits, and free financial tools.
Top integrations: FreshBooks, QuickBooks Online, Sage Intacct, Xero, ZipBooks, QuickBooks Desktop, and Bookkeeper360.
How much does Gusto cost?
Gusto has three business payroll plans:
- Simple: $49/month + $6/employee/month.
- Plus: $80/month + $12/employee/month.
- Premium: $180/month + $22/employee/month.
If you pay contractors only, Gusto’s contractor plan costs $6 per contractor paid per month plus a base monthly fee of $35.
Gusto also has a wide selection of add-on solutions and services, such as international contractor payments, access to employee benefits plans, and more. Visit its website or contact Gusto for more information.
Learn more by reading our Gusto payroll software review.
Visit Gusto
ALSO READ: ADP vs. Gusto: Which Payroll Software Is Better?
ADP: Best for growing organizations
Our star rating: 4.4 out of 5
Why ADP?
Whether you’re looking for a simplistic app-based payroll solution or a fully featured enterprise-level program, ADP has a payroll product for you. Its extremely versatile solutions are diverse enough to accommodate businesses of all sizes and in plenty of industries.
For instance, ADP TotalSource is a professional employer organization (PEO) for businesses that want to offload basic HR and payroll responsibilities. Roll by ADP is a chat-based payroll app for businesses with fewer than five employees. ADP Workforce Now is an HCM solution for midsize businesses, while ADP Global Payroll helps businesses pay employees in 40+ countries.
ADP pros and cons
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What are ADP’s top payroll features?
- Automated full-service payroll.
- Multi-jurisdiction payroll processing.
- Employee self-service portal access.
- Employee discounts, which provide workers with discounts on brand-name products and with local retailers.
- Exceptional reporting features, including thorough and customizable payroll and HR reports.
Top integrations: QuickBooks Online, Wave Accounting, Xero, SAP, Sage, Workday, 7shifts, ZipRecruiter, HiBob, and Microsoft Teams.
How much does ADP cost?
ADP doesn’t list the base prices for any of its payroll solutions online, including RUN Powered by ADP. Interested parties must contact ADP directly for a quote.
Learn more about ADP in our thorough RUN Powered by ADP review.
Visit ADP
Rippling: Best time-saving automations
Our star rating: 4.3 out of 5
Why Rippling?
Rippling stands out for workflow control rather than basic payroll automation. Administrators can build rules that respond to changes across HR, payroll, benefits, finance, and IT. For example, a promotion can trigger a pay-rate update, while an approved bonus can flow into payroll without another round of data entry.
Its shared employee data can reduce reconciliation work between systems, especially for companies using several Rippling products. Its automations also extend to hundreds of third-party platforms, so you can configure automated workflows like syncing payroll data to your general ledger or reimbursing employee expenses.
Rippling is also one of versatile software on my list, offering a wide range of products and services to streamline HR and payroll processes across the employee life cycle. It has PEO and global payroll solutions, as well as IT and finance tools to manage devices, app access, company credit cards, and expenses.
Rippling pros and cons
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What are Rippling’s top payroll features?
- Employee health insurance benefits in all 50 states.
- Built-in wage garnishment.
- Automated minimum wage, leave and overtime compliance.
- Customizable role-based permissions.
- Customizable workflow automations.
- Wage garnishment.
- PEO, global payroll, and employer of record (EOR) services.
Top integrations: QuickBooks Online, Xero, Sage, and Oracle NetSuite.
How much does Rippling cost?
Rippling doesn’t list its base price online, though its small business page shows that its monthly fees start at $8 per employee per month plus a $40 monthly base fee.
Contact Rippling to request a custom quote.
Dig deeper into Rippling’s features by reading our Rippling payroll review.
Visit Rippling
OnPay: Best industry-specific payroll
Our star rating: 4.7 out of 5
Why OnPay?
OnPay is a solid solution for any business, but it really shines when you start digging into industry-specific payroll requirements.
For example, restaurants, farms, nonprofits, and religious organizations often need more than standard salary and hourly payroll. OnPay supports tipped wages, multiple pay rates, agricultural tax filings, and clergy tax treatment without creating separate premium industry plans.
The best part? These niche capabilities don’t cost extra. Gusto may offer a wider range of native HR capabilities, but OnPay immediately becomes a more affordable option when you start adding up the fees for these specialized payroll functions.
OnPay pros and cons
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What are OnPay’s top payroll features?
- Unlimited monthly payroll runs.
- Free white-glove setup and data migration.
- Optional OnPay-brokered insurance benefits in all 50 states.
- Compliance alerts.
- Wage garnishment.
- Multi-state payroll.
- Federal, state, and local tax filing.
- Support for multiple pay schedules.
Top integrations: Xero, QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Time, and Magnify.
How much does OnPay cost?
OnPay payroll has just one plan that includes all of its payroll tools plus hiring, onboarding and benefits administration. It costs $49 per month as a base fee plus $6 per month per employee.
It also offers an HR add-on if you want PTO management, org charts, onboarding workflows, equipment and software provisioning, and HR insights. This is priced at $2 per month per employee and a $15 base monthly fee.
Learn more about OnPay’s payroll system by reading our comprehensive OnPay review.
Visit OnPay
SEE: The 9 Most Common Payroll Mistakes and Ways to Avoid Them (TechRepublic)
Papaya Global: Best for international payroll
Our star rating: 4.2 out of 5
Why Papaya Global?
For fast, budget-friendly global payroll processing, it’s hard to do better than Papaya. Its contractor payroll plans start at just $5 per contractor per month, or you can also choose Papaya’s EOR service for comprehensive employee hiring and payments in 180+ countries.
Papaya Global pros and cons
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What are Papaya Global’s top payroll features?
- Local currency payments made within 72 hours.
- Optional employee benefits.
- Country-specific tax management.
- AI-based compliance audits.
- Centralized data and journal-entry automation.
- Managed payroll with standardized gross-to-net reporting.
- Local experts with knowledge on immigration, global compliance, equity, benefits, and more.
Top integrations: NetSuite, Workday, Expensify, BambooHR, Namely, and HiBob
How much does Papaya Global cost?
Papaya offers a variety of international payroll services tailored toward businesses with diverse budgets and workforce needs:
- Payroll Plus: Starts at $29/employee/month.
- Payments OS: Starts at $3.5 per transaction.
- EOR: Starts at $499/employee/month.
- Contractor of Record: Starts at $199/contractor/month.
- Contractor solution: Starts at $5/contractor/month.
Learn more about whether Papaya Global will work for you by reading our in-depth Papaya review.
Visit Papaya
Paychex: Best HR solutions
Our star rating: 4 out of 5
Why Paychex?
Paychex works well for businesses that want payroll technology backed by optional HR services. Full-service payroll with tax filing services are standard across all plans, but its higher-level packages come with performance management, learning, HR guidance, recruiting, benefits, retirement, and safety support.
The platform also offers workforce analytics and AI Insights. Plus, its Paychex Pre-check feature lets employees review paycheck details before payday, which can catch incorrect hours, deductions, or personal information earlier.
Paychex pros and cons
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What are Paychex’s top payroll features?
- Employee self-service portals.
- Basic onboarding.
- Unlimited monthly payroll runs.
- Automated new hire reporting.
- Multiple employee pay options, including direct deposit, paper checks, and pay cards.
- Employee benefits options include a financial wellness program, employee assistance programs, and insurance benefits.
- Thorough human resource features with higher-tier plans, including an employee handbook builder and learning management system.
Top integrations: BambooHR, Greenhouse, Indeed, NetSuite, SAP, Sage Intacct, QuickBooks Online, Workday, and Xero.
How much does Paychex cost?
Paychex has five different pricing tiers for its HR/payroll solutions, but all of them require a custom quote:
- Paychex Flex Select: Custom quote.
- Paychex Flex Pro: Custom quote.
- Paychex Flex Enterprise: Custom quote.
- HR Pro: Custom quote.
- HR PEO: Custom quote.
Learn more about Paychex by reading our in-depth Paychex software review.
Visit Paychex
SurePayroll by Paychex: Most affordable payroll
Our star rating: 4.7 out of 5
Why SurePayroll?
SurePayroll by Paychex is hands-down the most affordable payroll solution with the most essential payroll features. It offers the best value for the price and includes more features at no additional cost than other providers include in their base plan.
For example, SurePayroll offers free two-day direct deposit, HR advisor access, and free year-end tax form filing — other providers charge extra for these capabilities.
Businesses can also use SurePayroll by Paychex to find employee benefits like 401(k) retirement plans, health insurance, and workers’ compensation insurance. SurePayroll by Paychex also offers optional hiring tools like pre-employment screening and background checks.
SurePayroll pros and cons
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What are SurePayroll’s top payroll features?
- Unlimited monthly payroll runs.
- Automatic new hire reporting.
- Pre-scheduled payroll runs.
- Support for multiple pay rates and bonuses.
- Wage garnishment.
- Optional health benefits backed by Paychex (SurePayroll by Paychex’s parent company).
- Workers’ compensation administration.
Top integrations: Xero, QuickBooks Online, BuddyPunch, Homebase, and Less Accounting.
How much does SurePayroll cost?
SurePayroll by Paychex has two payroll plans:
- No Tax Filing: $20 per month plus $4 per employee. With this plan, SurePayroll calculates payroll taxes but leaves the filing up to you.
- Full Service: $29 per month plus $7 per employee. With this package, SurePayroll will calculate, remit, and file payroll taxes on your behalf.
Find out if SurePayroll is a good fit for you by reading our SurePayroll by Paychex review.
Visit SurePayroll by Paychex
QuickBooks Workforce: Best for QuickBooks users
Our star rating: 4.1 out of 5
Why QuickBooks Workforce?
If you’re new to payroll, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the new processes and legal requirements. But if you already use QuickBooks Online for bookkeeping, adding QuickBooks Workforce ensures you don’t have to get used to an entirely new, confusing interface while you’re learning how to do payroll.
It’s basically a no-brainer for existing QBO users, especially if you don’t need other HR capabilities like hiring or performance management.
QuickBooks Workforce pros and cons
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What are QuickBooks Workforce’s top payroll features?
- Next-day or same-day direct deposit (plan dependent).
- Automatic payroll runs.
- 1099 e-filing.
- Optional 401(k) plans and healthcare benefits.
- Built-in time tracking through QuickBooks Time (additional fee with basic plan).
- HR support center (with more expensive plans only).
- Built-in workers’ compensation administration.
- Payroll AI tool that gathers time data and flags inconsistencies.
Top integration: QuickBooks Online.
How much does QuickBooks Workforce cost?
Unlike some of its top competitors, QuickBooks Online Payroll lists its prices clearly and upfront:
- Workforce Payroll: $50 per month plus $6.50 per employee.
- Workforce Premium: Costs $88 per month plus $10 per employee.
- Workforce Elite: Costs $134 per month plus $12 per employee.
New customers can receive 50% off QuickBooks’ base price for their first three months of service.
Learn more about QuickBooks Workforce by reading our QuickBooks Workforce review.
Visit QuickBooks Workforce
Square Payroll: Best for businesses using Square
Our star rating: 4.2 out of 5
Why Square Payroll?
Square Payroll is ideal if you’re already using Square for point of sale, invoicing, or banking. It’s an intuitive and affordable platform that helps you run payroll, pay taxes, and stay ahead of compliance needs.
Square Payroll will calculate, withhold, and file federal and state payroll taxes (quarterly and annually) on your behalf. But automatic filing doesn’t stop there — it’ll also handle W-2s, 1099s, and new hire reporting according to your state regulations.
Square Payroll pros and cons
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What are Square Payroll’s top payroll features?
- Unlimited payroll runs and automatic tax filing.
- Multistate and multiple-jurisdiction support.
- Create, manage, and publish schedules
- Import timecards
- Payroll automations
- Benefits administration
Top integration: QuickBooks Online.
How much does Square Payroll cost?
Square Payroll offers two plans:
- Contractor-only payroll: $6 per month per person paid.
- Full-service payroll: $35 per month + $6 monthly fee per person paid.
Visit Square
ALSO READ: Why Does My Business Need a Payroll Service?
More payroll coverage
Our methodology
To review the best payroll software for businesses, I set up free accounts with payroll providers whenever possible to test the software for ourselves. When creating a free account wasn’t an option, I viewed demos and watched product reviews from customers detailing their experience with the software.
In all cases, I read product spec sheets, thoroughly reviewed each company’s website, and reviewed verified user reviews on trustworthy third-party sites.
After conducting this initial research, I used a proprietary in-house algorithm to calculate star ratings for each brand, determine each use case, and rank each brand according to its score.
Our algorithm weighs each criterion as follows:
- Pricing: 25%
- Payroll features: 35%
- Ease of use: 15%
- Customer service: 15%
- Expert score: 10%
Learn more about my software selection process and the criteria I used for testing: Review Methodology for Payroll Software Services
How to choose the best payroll software
To find the right payroll software for your company, you need to first evaluate which payroll features are essential to your day-to-day business operations. Make sure to consider third-party integrations, automatic payroll processing and tax remittance, compliance checks, HR tools, employee self-service features, wage garnishment, and optional employee benefits.
It’s also crucial to consider the price. As you’re budgeting for payroll software, look at not just the monthly fixed base price you’ll pay to use the software but the per-employee fee, which will change over time as you gain employees.
Most importantly, sign up for free trials and request free software demos before fully committing to any payroll product for the long term.
Frequently asked questions
What is payroll software?
Payroll software is a (typically cloud-based) tool businesses use to pay their employees. Payroll software calculates paycheck amounts for both hourly and salaried employees, including gross paycheck amounts, payroll tax amounts, and other paycheck deductions.
Most payroll software automatically deposits employees’ net pay via direct deposit and includes features like payroll reports, optional HR features (like employee benefits administration), and time-tracking solutions for hourly employees who clock in and out.
How does payroll software simplify payroll processing?
Payroll software removes the need for business owners to calculate paycheck amounts by hand. It also simplifies record-keeping processes and helps businesses stay legally compliant with tax and labor laws.
Is payroll software good for small businesses or only for larger enterprises?
Payroll software can help a business with one employee as well as an enterprise with thousands. Small businesses often gain the most immediate value because they can automate calculations and filings without hiring a dedicated payroll specialist.
How much does payroll software cost?
Most payroll products charge a monthly base fee along with a per-employee fee, though some payroll providers like Square Payroll waive their base fees for business owners that pay only contractors. Most entry-level software plans charge around $20 a month as a self-service base fee and up to $50 a month as a full-service base fee. Per-employee fees for entry-level plans can range from $4 per employee to $10 per employee.
There are also free payroll software options, like Payroll4Free, which offers free payroll for businesses with up to 25 employees. Alternatively, businesses can use spreadsheet software like Excel (which costs a monthly fee) or Google Sheets (which is free) to calculate payroll by hand.
However, these more affordable payroll-processing methods aren’t feasible for businesses with dozens of employees. They’re also less ideal for businesses that want to save time on payroll while reducing the possibility of human error.
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