What payroll will cost you
Cheapest that file your taxes, at regular prices
- 1.Patriot PayrollFull Service Payroll$744 a year$62 a month
How we got this
- Base fee (monthly)$37
- 5 employees x $5 (monthly)$25
Promotion: 30-day free trial, then 50% off for 3 months (no end date published)
Who: Not stated beyond new customers.
After: The regular price above. Not included in the totals above.
- 2.Roll by ADPRoll$768 a year$64 a month
How we got this
- Base fee (monthly)$39
- 5 employees x $5 (monthly)$25
Promotion: 3 months free (no end date published)
Who: US businesses that have never used Roll by ADP. Cancel during the trial and you lose the rest of it.
After: The regular price above. Not included in the totals above.
- 3.Square PayrollFull-service payroll$780 a year$65 a month
How we got this
- Base fee (monthly)$35
- 5 employees x $6 (monthly)$30
Fine-tune
Paying every 2 weeks? Gusto, OnPay, Roll by ADP, SurePayroll (by Paychex), Patriot Payroll, Square Payroll say payroll runs are unlimited, so how often you pay doesn't change their price. RUN Powered by ADP says its fees rise with how often you run payroll. The others don't say.
Every service we compared (16)
Fully priced for your team
- Patriot PayrollFull Service Payroll$744 a year$62 a month
How we got this
- Base fee (monthly)$37
- 5 employees x $5 (monthly)$25
Promotion: 30-day free trial, then 50% off for 3 months (no end date published)
Who: Not stated beyond new customers.
After: The regular price above. Not included in the totals above.
- Roll by ADPRoll$768 a year$64 a month
How we got this
- Base fee (monthly)$39
- 5 employees x $5 (monthly)$25
Promotion: 3 months free (no end date published)
Who: US businesses that have never used Roll by ADP. Cancel during the trial and you lose the rest of it.
After: The regular price above. Not included in the totals above.
- Square PayrollFull-service payroll$780 a year$65 a month
How we got this
- Base fee (monthly)$35
- 5 employees x $6 (monthly)$30
- Wave PayrollWave Payroll (US)$840 a year$70 a month
How we got this
- Base fee (monthly)$40
- 5 employees x $6 (monthly)$30
- SurePayroll (by Paychex)Small Business$843 a year$64 a month + yearly fees
How we got this
- Base fee (monthly)$29
- 5 employees x $7 (monthly)$35
- Year-end forms $50 + 5 x $5 (once a year)$75
Promotion: Payroll fees free in months 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 (ends Oct 31, 2026)
Who: New clients who sign up during the offer. Year-end, multi-state and other fees are still charged.
After: The regular price above. Not included in the totals above.
- GustoSimple$948 a year$79 a month
How we got this
- Base fee (monthly)$49
- 5 employees x $6 (monthly)$30
- Homebase PayrollPayroll add-on (to any Homebase plan, incl. $0 Basic)$948 a year$79 a month
- Requires a Homebase plan (the $0 Basic plan covers 1 location and up to 10 employees)
How we got this
- Base fee (monthly)$49
- Basic plan (1 location, up to 10 employees) (monthly)$0
- 5 employees x $6 (monthly)$30
Promotion: 6 months of free payroll, then $29 a month + $6 per employee paid instead of $49 + $6 (ends Dec 15, 2026)
Who: Teams of 5 or fewer not already on a paid Homebase payroll plan, who finish payroll setup by Dec 15, 2026 and run a first payroll by Jan 20, 2027. Pay more than 5 people and the standard price applies.
After: $29 a month + $6 per employee paid while you pay 5 or fewer people; $49 + $6 otherwise. Not included in the totals above.
- OnPayPayroll Essentials$948 a year$79 a month
How we got this
- Base fee (monthly)$49
- 5 employees x $6 (monthly)$30
Promotion: One month free (no end date published)
Who: Not stated (offer terms not on the pricing page).
After: The regular price above. Not included in the totals above.
- QuickBooks Payroll (QuickBooks Workforce)Workforce Payroll$1,020 a year$85 a month
- State tax filing fee not published
How we got this
- Base fee (monthly)$50
- 5 employees x $7 (monthly)$35
Promotion: 50% off the monthly base price for the first 3 months (or a 30-day free trial instead) (no end date published)
Who: New QuickBooks Workforce subscriptions. Per-employee, per-contractor and state tax filing fees are not discounted.
After: The regular price above ("the then-current price"). Not included in the totals above.
- JustworksPayroll$1,080 a year$90 a month
How we got this
- Base fee (monthly)$50
- 5 employees x $8 (monthly)$40
- PaycorBasic$1,488 a year$124 a month
- Price shown only after a contact form
How we got this
- Base fee (monthly)$99
- 5 employees x $5 (monthly)$25
Promotion: 50% off for 6 months, or 1 month of free payroll with setup fees waived (two offers shown) (no end date published)
Who: New customers ("Limited Time Offer for New Customers"); the terms behind the asterisk were not on the page.
After: The regular price above. Not included in the totals above.
- Toast PayrollPOS + Payroll bundle$1,620 a year$135 a month
- Requires Toast POS
How we got this
- Base fee (monthly)$90
- 5 employees x $9 (monthly)$45
Promotion: $69 a month + $9 per employee for the POS + Payroll bundle (no end date published)
Who: New restaurants (the page does not define who counts).
After: The regular price above ($90 a month base); the page does not say whether the $9 per employee also changes. Not included in the totals above.
You file the taxes yourself, or the service does not say it files them
- Payroll4FreeFree (9 or fewer employees)$0 a year$0 a month
- Does not say it files your taxes
- Free tier, ad-supported, 9 or fewer employees
How we got this
- Base fee (monthly)$0
- 5 employees x $0 (monthly)$0
- Patriot PayrollBasic Payroll (you file taxes)$444 a year$37 a month
- You file and pay the taxes yourself
How we got this
- Base fee (monthly)$17
- 5 employees x $4 (monthly)$20
Promotion: 30-day free trial, then 50% off for 3 months (no end date published)
Who: Not stated beyond new customers.
After: The regular price above. Not included in the totals above.
Quote only: no published price
- Paychex FlexQuote only
Promotion: Pay nothing until April 2027 (up to 6 free months) (ends Oct 31, 2026)
Who: Clients who pick a qualifying Paychex bundle and sign a one-year service agreement. Leave within the year and Paychex can recover the free months.
After: Your quoted price (Paychex publishes none). Not included in the totals above.
- RipplingQuote only
Promotion: Free for 6 months (no end date published)
Who: Eligible US startups backed by venture capital.
After: Your quoted price (Rippling publishes no base fee). Not included in the totals above.
- RUN Powered by ADPQuote only
Promotion: Up to 6 free months, applied to months 4, 5, 6, 13, 14 and 15 (ends Nov 26, 2026)
Who: New RUN clients who sign and start payroll by Nov 26, 2026 and keep running payroll for 3 months in a row. Essential Payroll clients who sign up online on their own get 3 free months.
After: Your quoted price (ADP publishes none). Not included in the totals above.
Yearly total = 12 months of fees plus fees billed once a year. Taxes and wages are not included: this is what the payroll service charges. Prices from each provider's own page, checked Oct 20, 2026.
What payroll costs, by team size
At regular prices, for one state and employees only, the services that publish a full price and file your taxes cost:
| Team | Lowest | Highest |
|---|---|---|
| 1 person | $36 a month (SurePayroll (by Paychex)) | $104 a month (Paycor) |
| 5 people | $62 a month (Patriot Payroll) | $135 a month (Toast Payroll) |
| 10 people | $87 a month (Patriot Payroll) | $180 a month (Toast Payroll) |
The top of the range is set by Toast’s bundle, which includes its restaurant POS software, and Paycor, which shows its prices only after a contact form. Leave those two out and the top is lower.
What the headline price leaves out
These sit outside the advertised base fee plus a fee per person, and each is on the provider’s own pricing page:
- Year-end forms. SurePayroll bills W-2 and 1099 forms once a year at $50 plus $5 per form. ADP says it charges an additional fee for W-2s and 1099s but publishes no amount.
- A second state. Patriot Payroll adds $12 a month for each extra state, and SurePayroll $9.99 a month. Gusto’s Simple plan covers one state only, so a second state moves you to Plus.
- Paying people faster. On Gusto, same-day pay is $90 per payroll and instant pay $100 per payroll, unless you are on Premium. Next-day pay on Simple is $15 a month plus $3 per person.
- Fees nobody publishes. QuickBooks charges state tax filing fees for its Workforce plans but does not list the amount. Gusto says new-state tax registration “varies by state”.
- Lock-in. Paychex’s own offer terms tie its free months to a one-year service agreement and take them back if you leave early. Gusto, QuickBooks, Roll by ADP, Square Payroll and SurePayroll state no long-term contract on their pricing pages.
How the calculator works
- For each service it picks the cheapest plan that covers your team: enough states, your contractors, and time tracking or next-day deposit if you ticked them.
- It adds the monthly fees (base, per employee, per contractor, extra states, add-ons) and multiplies by 12, then adds fees billed once a year.
- It uses regular prices. Promotions show as a separate line under a service, with who qualifies and when the offer ends, and disappear after that date.
- When a provider does not publish a fee your inputs need, the service moves down to “part of your cost is not published” and the missing fee is named. We never estimate it.
- Quote-only services (RUN Powered by ADP, Paychex Flex, Rippling) are listed with a link to their pricing page, since they have no number to compare.
Payroll fees are what the service charges you. Wages and payroll taxes are separate and the same whichever service you use.
See all payroll services side by side, or how Gusto, QuickBooks Payroll, ADP and Rippling price their plans.
Get told when these prices change
Providers change fees with little notice. Alerts start soon, and we'll send nothing else.
Common questions
How much does a payroll service cost per employee?
On their cheapest full-service plans, the services we compared charge $5 to $9 for each person paid, on top of a monthly base fee of $29 (SurePayroll) to $99 (Paycor Basic). Do-it-yourself plans charge less: Patriot Basic is $4 per person, but you file the taxes yourself.
Does it cost more to run payroll weekly?
At most services we compared, no. Gusto, OnPay, Roll by ADP, SurePayroll, Square Payroll and Patriot Payroll all state that payroll runs are unlimited. ADP says the fees for RUN rise with how often you run payroll. The rest don't say either way, so ask before you sign.
Are payroll taxes included in the price?
No. The service fee pays the company to work out, file and pay your payroll taxes. The taxes themselves, such as your share of Social Security, Medicare and unemployment tax, are separate and are taken from your bank account on top of the fee.
Why is a service missing from the cheapest three?
The top three only include services that publish every fee your inputs need and say they file your taxes. A service that leaves a fee unpublished, needs you to file taxes, or gives quotes only is listed further down under its own heading, with what is missing named.
What does an employee cost on top of wages?
At least 7.65% more, before state taxes. The IRS sets the employer's share at 6.2% for Social Security, on wages up to $184,500 in 2026, plus 1.45% for Medicare. Federal unemployment tax is 6.0% of the first $7,000, or 0.6% after the full state credit. By our math, a $20-an-hour employee working 2,080 hours ($41,600) costs about $44,824 a year, plus state unemployment tax and the payroll fee.
Is a payroll service cheaper than hiring a payroll clerk?
For a small team, by a wide margin. The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median pay of payroll and timekeeping clerks at $58,260 a year (May 2025), before employer taxes. The cheapest full-service plan we found for 5 employees in one state costs $744 a year at its regular price.