Updated September 2026 · 10 compared

The best payroll software, ranked.

10 payroll software compared across 45 evidence-checked head-to-heads.

Every matchup is scored round by round on what matters most: pricing & transparency, customer support & trust, core payroll & tax filing, ease of use & setup.

1OnPay7.7
2Gusto7.3
3Rippling7.0

At a glance

Best for customer support7.0

Best for core payroll6.3

ADP

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Top 10 payroll software

Ranked by overall score

Top rated

OnPay

Best for: Small business wanting the lowest, most predictable published price

Pick OnPay if you want the lowest, most predictable published price with no per-state upcharges.

Pricing & Transparency: $49/mo + $6/employee
Customer Support & Trust: 4.8 G2/Capterra, 4.2 Trustpilot — no collapse
Core Payroll & Tax Filing: 50 states, no upcharge
Ease of Use & Setup: Painless onboarding, weak mobile app

One published plan with no tier ladder
Multi-state filing included at no extra charge
First month free plus free setup/data migration
No extra charge for multi-state payroll or year-end filing

HR features (PTO, onboarding, org charts) require a paid add-on
PTO, onboarding, and org charts all require a paid HR add-on
No in-house PEO option
Mobile app is the weakest part of the platform, missing desktop features

Gusto

Best for: Growing team wanting native performance and compensation tools

Pick Gusto if you want native, tiered-in HR depth like performance reviews and 401(k).

Pricing & Transparency: $49/mo + $6/employee
Customer Support & Trust: 4.6 / 4.6 / ~2.3
Core Payroll & Tax Filing: Automated filing, multi-state costs extra
Ease of Use & Setup: Rated easiest to learn

Fully published pricing, no sales call
Automatic federal/state/local filing praised for accuracy
401(k) built in natively via Guideline
Certified HR pros and compensation tools bundled into Premium

Multi-state payroll requires upgrading to a pricier tier
Multi-state filing requires a pricier tier
Advanced tools locked behind pricier Premium tier
Trustpilot ~2.3/5, driven by support-response complaints

Best for customer support

Rippling

Best for: Growing company needing HR, IT, and payroll unified on one record

Pick Rippling if you're a growing company that needs HR, IT, and payroll unified on one employee record.

Pricing & Transparency: 'Starting at $8' hides the real total
Customer Support & Trust: 4.8/5 G2 (11,900+ reviews)
Core Payroll & Tax Filing: 185+ countries via Global EOR
Ease of Use & Setup: Sales call + 12-month contract

Module pricing scales with only what you actually turn on
All 50 states plus 185+ countries via Global EOR
One employee record for domestic and international hires
IT/device management tied to the same employee record

Real total ($21-50 PEPM) not published anywhere
Requires a sales call to see the actual number
International breadth is overkill for a single-location small business
Most HR depth requires paying for the module separately

Square Payroll

Best for: Restaurant or retail business already running Square POS

Pick Square Payroll if you're already running Square for point-of-sale and want tips/hours auto-imported.

Pricing & Transparency: $35 + $6/employee
Customer Support & Trust: "Screwed up my tax filings every month"
Core Payroll & Tax Filing: 50 states, automated
Ease of Use & Setup: "Nothing beats it in terms of price and quality"

Contractor-only plan has zero monthly base fee
Seasonal inactivity periods waive fees in slow months
Automatic filing included by default, no upgrade tier
Automated multistate filing included

Full-Service base fee is double Patriot's Basic tier
No built-in onboarding workflow or org chart tool
QuickBooks support is export-based, not deeply native
Reported tax filing errors from at least one reviewer

QuickBooks Payroll

Best for: Business already on QuickBooks Online wanting to stay the sole legal employer

Pick QuickBooks Payroll if you're already on QuickBooks Online and want to stay the sole legal employer.

Pricing & Transparency: $50/mo + $6.50/employee
Customer Support & Trust: 1.2/5 Trustpilot
Core Payroll & Tax Filing: Up to $25,000/year
Ease of Use & Setup: No underwriting required

Three published tiers, cheaper than PEO pricing at small headcounts
No sales call required
Automatic filing on every tier
Elite's $25,000/year penalty protection guarantee

Extra states cost $12/mo each below Elite
Penalty protection requires notifying within 15 days
No PEO/co-employment option at all
Benefits brokered separately, not bundled

Best for pricing

Patriot Payroll

Best for: Extremely price-sensitive business not using Square for anything else

Pick Patriot Payroll if you're not using Square for anything else and want the lowest published price.

Pricing & Transparency: $17 + $4/employee (Basic)
Customer Support & Trust: "I always get a live agent right away"
Core Payroll & Tax Filing: 84% on Basic (self-file)
Ease of Use & Setup: "Have to start my payroll all over"

Cheapest published base plan available
Two tiers let cost-sensitive owners pay only for what they need
Full Service backed by a genuine filing-error guarantee
Compliance center and paperless employee files

Multi-state Full Service filing adds $12/mo per extra state
Basic plan leaves the business responsible for its own filing
Multi-state Full Service filing costs extra per state
No tip or hours auto-import capability

Justworks

Best for: Small team wanting real large-group health benefits now

Pick Justworks if you want real co-employment and large-group benefit rates bundled together.

Pricing & Transparency: $59/employee/mo (Basic)
Customer Support & Trust: 4.6 G2/Capterra vs 1.7-1.9 'Poor' Trustpilot
Core Payroll & Tax Filing: 50 states, included
Ease of Use & Setup: 2-3 weeks

Every tier's price is published, no sales call
Per-employee price drops at 50+ headcount
Filing included on every plan across all 50 states
Covers the core business apps most teams already use

PEO pricing runs well above QuickBooks for small teams
No dollar-figure penalty-protection guarantee
Not a native, same-vendor connection like QuickBooks Payroll
Plus tier gets expensive once benefits premiums layer on top

Best for core payroll

ADP

Best for: Business that wants a true PEO co-employment option

Pick ADP if you need a real PEO co-employment option or enterprise-grade compliance scale.

Pricing & Transparency: No published pricing, add-ons stack up
Customer Support & Trust: 4.1-4.6/5 G2/Capterra vs ~1.2/5 Trustpilot
Core Payroll & Tax Filing: Enterprise scale, jurisdiction complaints
Ease of Use & Setup: "Setup...has been a nightmare"

RUN Essential estimated near $79/mo + $4/employee
Automatic tax filing included on every RUN tier
Decades of compliance scale — pays 1 in 6 US workers
ADP TotalSource is a full co-employment PEO, distinct product

No published, self-serve pricing anywhere
Reported termination fees up to ~50% of remaining contract value
Reviewers report inconsistent handling of multiple local jurisdictions
Background checks and HR support center locked behind higher RUN tiers

Paylocity

Best for: Mid-market company (50-5,000+ employees) needing unified HCM

Pick Paylocity if you're a mid-market company needing payroll, HR, and talent under one login.

Pricing & Transparency: $22-33/employee/mo (est.)
Customer Support & Trust: 4.5 G2 vs 1.3 "Bad" on Trustpilot
Core Payroll & Tax Filing: 9.4/10 & 9.1/10 (G2)
Ease of Use & Setup: 8.7/10 (G2)

Pricing scales with negotiated contract length
High G2 scores for payroll accuracy at scale
Automatic filing across all 50 states
Full HCM suite: recruiting, learning, engagement, analytics

No public rate card, hard to comparison-shop
Implementation fee and multi-year contract pressure add real cost
Overkill depth for a small business
Requires a sales quote to get started

Paychex

Best for: Business wanting a proven PEO with predictable per-employee-year pricing

Pick Paychex if you're US-only and want a proven, flat-priced PEO.

Pricing & Transparency: ~$39 + $5/employee
Customer Support & Trust: 4.2 G2/Capterra vs 1.1 Trustpilot
Core Payroll & Tax Filing: 160+ reports
Ease of Use & Setup: 'Super easy to use'

Flex Essentials price is published and consistent (~$39 + $5/employee)
All 50 states with local tax filing included on most tiers
Flat per-employee-per-year PEO pricing
Access to large-group benefit rates via co-employment

Select, Pro, Enterprise, and PEO all require a sales call
No international payroll or EOR option at all
Fewer native identity/IT integrations than Rippling
Higher tiers still require a sales call

Compare every spec

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1OnPayScore 7.7	$49/mo + $6/employee	4.8 G2/Capterra, 4.2 Trustpilot — no collapse	50 states, no upcharge	Painless onboarding, weak mobile app	~6 integrations	+$15/mo + $2/employee	8–0–1	100 %	63 %
2GustoScore 7.3	$49/mo + $6/employee	4.6 / 4.6 / ~2.3	Automated filing, multi-state costs extra	Rated easiest to learn	~10 integrations	Tiered-in HR depth	8–1	89 %	63 %
3RipplingScore 7.0	'Starting at $8' hides the real total	4.8/5 G2 (11,900+ reviews)	185+ countries via Global EOR	Sales call + 12-month contract	650+ integrations	IT/device management unique in category	6–3	67 %	59 %
4Square PayrollScore 6.8	$35 + $6/employee	"Screwed up my tax filings every month"	50 states, automated	"Nothing beats it in terms of price and quality"	Native Square POS integration	Tip import + PTO tracking	4–5	44 %	41 %
5QuickBooks PayrollScore 6.8	$50/mo + $6.50/employee	1.2/5 Trustpilot	Up to $25,000/year	No underwriting required	Native to QuickBooks Online	Partner-based HR	4–3–2	57 %	48 %
6Patriot PayrollScore 6.8	$17 + $4/employee (Basic)	"I always get a live agent right away"	84% on Basic (self-file)	"Have to start my payroll all over"	QuickBooks, Vestwell, SimplyInsured	HR add-on + free integrations	5–4	56 %	50 %
7JustworksScore 6.7	$59/employee/mo (Basic)	4.6 G2/Capterra vs 1.7-1.9 'Poor' Trustpilot	50 states, included	2-3 weeks	QuickBooks, Xero, Slack, M365	Aetna, UHC, Kaiser access	2–7	22 %	37 %
8ADPScore 6.3	No published pricing, add-ons stack up	4.1-4.6/5 G2/Capterra vs ~1.2/5 Trustpilot	Enterprise scale, jurisdiction complaints	"Setup...has been a nightmare"	Hundreds of apps	700,000+ worksite employees	4–5	44 %	54 %
9PaylocityScore 6.2	$22-33/employee/mo (est.)	4.5 G2 vs 1.3 "Bad" on Trustpilot	9.4/10 & 9.1/10 (G2)	8.7/10 (G2)	ERP + custom API/EDI/SFTP	Full HCM suite	2–6–1	25 %	44 %
10PaychexScore 5.7	~$39 + $5/employee	4.2 G2/Capterra vs 1.1 Trustpilot	160+ reports	'Super easy to use'	~300 integrations	—	0–9	0 %	35 %

Popular head-to-heads

45 round-by-round comparisons — here are the top-ranked match-ups

Gusto vs OnPay→

Rippling vs OnPay→

OnPay vs Square Payroll→

Gusto vs Rippling→

Gusto vs Square Payroll→

QuickBooks Payroll vs OnPay→

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Gusto vs QuickBooks Payroll→

OnPay vs Patriot Payroll→

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