Featured Partner
Featured Partners
1
Gusto
Yes
Yes
$49 per month plus $6 per user
2
ADP
Yes
Yes
Custom
3
Justworks
Yes
Yes
$50 plus $8 per person
4
Rippling
Yes
Yes
$40 plus $8 per person
Compare the Best Cheap Payroll Services of 2025
Gusto
Best for Paying Contractors
Gusto
Starting Monthly Price
$49 plus $6 per employee
Integrations
Yes
HR Library
Yes
$49 plus $6 per employee
Yes
Yes
Gusto’s base plan costs $49 per month plus $6 per month per person. It also has a contractor-only plan that’s $6 per month per person. The contractor plan allows you to make unlimited contractor payments, has four-day direct deposit, generates 1099-NECs at year-end and includes new hire reporting. If you have international contractors, this is available as an add-on.
Learn more: Read our full Gusto review.
- Charges no monthly per-contractor fee
- All plans support automated payroll processing
- Low-end Simple plan includes employee benefits
- Time tracking sold as an add-on for the Simple plan
- State tax registration requires an added fee
- HR resource center available only to Premium subscribers
| Specification | Details |
|---|---|
|
Unlimited Payroll Runs
|
Yes
|
|
Next-Day Direct Deposit
|
Plus and Premium only
|
|
Employee Portal
|
Yes
|
|
Employee Self-Onboarding
|
Yes
|
|
Payroll Data Transfer
|
Premium plan only
|
Remote
Best for International Employers
Remote
Starting price
$29 per employee
Integrations
Yes
HR Library
Yes
$29 per employee
Yes
Yes
Juggling all the legalities of employing remote workers in multiple countries can be daunting, but Remote makes it easy. It’s a fully fledged HR platform that just happens to have great payroll functionality. For $29 per employee or contractor per month, you can manage and pay your entire international workforce.
For outsourcing management of your international employees and contractors, Remote offers Employer of Record (EOR) services for $599 per employee per month with an annual contract or $699 when purchased month-to-month. If you hire at least one qualified refugee, you get a 15% discount on the company’s EOR service for all employees hired using Remote.
Learn more: Read our full Remote review.
- Provides payroll and HR services in 170 countries
- 15% discount on EOR service when you hire a qualified refugee
- Exchange fees are mid-market rate plus 1%
- Expensive for businesses with only U.S. payroll
- Cost for multi-country payroll processing is $50 per employee per month
- Direct support relies on a ticketing system
| Specification | Details |
|---|---|
|
Unlimited Payroll Runs
|
No
|
|
Next-Day Direct Deposit
|
No
|
|
Employee Portal
|
Yes
|
|
Employee Self-Onboarding
|
Yes
|
|
Payroll Data Transfer
|
Manual only
|
QuickBooks Payroll
Best for QuickBooks Users
QuickBooks Payroll
Starting price
$50 plus $6 per employee
Integrations
Yes
HR Library
Yes
$50 plus $6 per employee
Yes
Yes
QuickBooks is one of the most popular accounting software programs, and its payroll service is just as good. Its base plan costs $50 per month plus $6 per employee per month (as of this writing, Intuit is offering the first three months of QuickBooks products at half-price).
QuickBooks Payroll comes with auto payroll, 1099 e-file and pay, next-day direct deposit and unlimited payroll runs. It calculates paychecks and taxes and provides payroll reports. One of the best things about QuickBooks Payroll is that it integrates seamlessly with QuickBooks accounting software, making it easy to manage both your finances and your payroll from one platform.
Learn more: Read our full QuickBooks Payroll review.
- Free trial extends to current QuickBooks customers
- Get three months at a 50% discount in lieu of a free trial
- All plans support contractor payments
- Expert help is only free for the first 30 days
- Entry-level plan lacks time management
- 24/7 support available only with the high-end package
| Specification | Details |
|---|---|
|
Unlimited Payroll Runs
|
Yes
|
|
Next-Day Direct Deposit
|
Yes
|
|
Employee Portal
|
Yes
|
|
Employee Self-Onboarding
|
Yes
|
|
Payroll Data Transfer
|
Payroll Elite only
|
Square Payroll
Best for Multistate Payroll
Square Payroll
Starting price
$35 plus $6 per employee
Integrations
Yes
HR Library
Yes
$35 plus $6 per employee
Yes
Yes
Square is best known as a low-cost point-of-sale (POS) system vendor, but the Square Payroll service has many other winning features as well. It’s priced at $35 a month plus $6 per employee per month and includes multistate payroll, time cards, an employee app, W-2 and 1099-NEC mailing, unlimited pay runs and contractor payments.
Square Payroll for contractors is priced at $6 a month for each person paid. Both Square Payroll plans require no long-term contracts and support payments by check, direct deposit or Cash App. The product is best for businesses that already use Square for POS and want to consolidate their vendors. Because multistate payroll is included, it’s also ideal for businesses with employees in multiple states.
Learn more: Read our full Square Payroll review.
- Free seasonal inactivity
- Includes labor-cost reporting and overtime calculations
- Calculates tips automatically and imports them into payroll
- Scheduling is limited to 10 days out
- QuickBooks Online is the only supported accounting integration
- Switching from another payroll provider requires manual data collection
| Specification | Details |
|---|---|
|
Unlimited Payroll Runs
|
Yes
|
|
Next-Day Direct Deposit
|
Yes
|
|
Employee Portal
|
Yes
|
|
Employee Self-Onboarding
|
No
|
|
Payroll Data Transfer
|
Manual only
|
Justworks
Best for HR Benefits
Justworks
Starting price
$50 plus $6 per employee
Integrations
Yes
HR Library
Yes
$50 plus $6 per employee
Yes
Yes
Justworks is an HR platform that offers payroll as one of its many features. Pricing starts at $50 a month plus $8 per employee per month. The company’s basic plan includes HR tools, custom pay schedules, payroll reporting and multistate payroll for no added fee. Advanced time tracking is sold as an add-on for Justworks’ payroll and Professional Employer Organization (PEO) plans.
Only benefit deductions are included with the company’s payroll plan, but its PEO Plus service comes with access to medical, dental and vision coverage as well as mental health and health advocacy services. PEO Plus costs $109 per employee per month. The company’s PEO Basic plan, which is $59 per month per employee, provides simplified compliance, HR consulting and tools, 24/7 support and commuter benefits. Justworks is best for businesses wanting a comprehensive HR platform with payroll functionality.
Learn more: Read our full Justworks review.
- Includes HR consulting services
- Automates payroll tax filing
- Supports multistate payroll at no extra charge
- Pays by direct deposit only rather than printing checks
- Applicant tracking and custom reporting available only with PEO services
- Advanced time tracking requires an added fee
| Specification | Details |
|---|---|
|
Unlimited Payroll Runs
|
No
|
|
Next-Day Direct Deposit
|
No
|
|
Employee Portal
|
Yes
|
|
Employee Self-Onboarding
|
No
|
|
Payroll Data Transfer
|
Manual only
|
Most Popular is calculated from the number of times each affiliate product was selected by Forbes Advisor users over a six month time period.
Methodology
To compile our list of the best cheap payroll services, we looked at a variety of factors, including price, features, ease of use, customer service and reviews. We then scored these providers across five categories of features with 17 different metrics. Finally, we assigned weighted scores to these factors to narrow down the best cheap payroll services.
Here are some of the categories we used to rank the providers that made the top of the list.
| Decision Factor | Scoring Weight | Description |
|---|---|---|
| General Features | 14% | For features, we looked at what’s included in each service’s basic and advanced plans, with a focus on the former. |
| Additional Features | 8% | Some additional features we looked at included wage calculation, automated reminders and integrations. |
| Value | 30% | We considered the starting price for each service as well as the range from its lowest- to highest-priced plans. Providers that offered free trials and whose prices are transparent were given slightly higher scores for pricing. |
| App Reviews | 4% | The future is mobile so we considered how well provider mobile apps were rated online. |
| Service and Support | 4% | Payroll errors can result in legal actions and upset employees. We looked at the quality of service and support to help resolve issues when they arise. |
| Consumer Sentiment | 40% | Real-world experiences are important and we looked at a large number of customer experiences across categories such as ease of use, pricing and overall satisfaction to get a clear picture of quality. |
Featured Partners
1
Gusto
Yes
Yes
$49 per month plus $6 per user
2
ADP
Yes
Yes
Custom
3
Justworks
Yes
Yes
$50 plus $8 per person
4
Rippling
Yes
Yes
$40 plus $8 per person
How To Choose the Best Cheap Payroll Service
When researching and narrowing down cheap payroll services, keep features, ease of use, customer support and other factors in mind.
Essential Cheap Payroll Service Features
Cheap payroll software should have, at bare minimum, these six features:
What are the most important features to look for in cheap payroll software?
They should also include an employee portal and mobile app so workers can easily access and update their payroll and HR information.
Price and Value
Small-business payroll software ranges from free products with limited features to outsourced PEO and EOR services. Between these extremes are payroll solutions that charge a base monthly fee of about $30 to $60 and a per-employee fee ranging from $4 to $8.
Small businesses can choose from a number of free payroll software products, although these typically cap the number of employees you can pay or have limited features such as no support for direct deposit of paychecks.
By paying between $25 and $50 per employee per month for low-cost payroll software, companies gain many useful features such as automatic tax payments, employee self-onboarding and personalized customer support. A small investment in payroll software helps boost workers’ productivity and managers’ effectiveness.
Ease of Use
The cheap payroll software products we reviewed provide portals and mobile apps that allow employees to access their payroll information and update their personal records such as changing their address or adding beneficiaries. They also make it easy for managers to generate reports showing payroll trends and supporting their workforce planning.
Customer Service
Some of the payroll software vendors we looked at give businesses direct access to payroll and HR experts, although most rely on support tickets that their customers submit via web form or email. Response times to support requests vary from a few hours to the next business day. Telephone support may be available during extended business hours Monday to Friday.
Reputation
Businesses often stick with their payroll service for years, so it’s important to choose a payroll vendor that offers the features and support your company needs. The seven cheap payroll software vendors in our review all have years of experience selling payroll services to small businesses, although Intuit and Square made their reputations in accounting software and low-cost POS, respectively. You can often get a sense of a payroll software vendor’s reputation by scanning the comments of its customers who post to popular review sites.
Which Cheap Payroll Service Is Best for Your Business?
Forbes Councils member Alisha Delancey describes seven aspects to consider when shopping for payroll software:
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How much does cheap payroll software cost?
The cost of a payroll service depends on the number of employees you have and the features you need. Basic payroll services start at around $25 per employee per month, but they can go up to $300 per employee per month for extensive features such as compliance and HR.
What type of HR features should payroll software have?
Payroll systems should be able to facilitate the onboarding and termination of employees, monthly payments, off-cycle disbursement and taxation compliance. This includes factors such as employees being able to fill out W-4 forms electronically and having access to a self-service portal that allows them to access all necessary forms, make any changes that they need and view documents such as pay stubs. The best payroll platforms also support benefits administration and provide new hire reports when needed.
Do I need workers’ compensation as an employer?
Workers’ compensation insurance is required in most states if you employ staff. This insurance covers medical expenses and lost wages for employees who are injured on the job.
