OnPay vs Justworks: Which Is Better?

Round by round

1. Round 1💰 Pricing & TransparencyOnPay wins
   OnPay9/10

   $49 + $6/employee

   One published plan, no sales call

   • Single published plan, dramatically cheaper per employee
   • No sales call required to see real numbers

   Source: OnPay pricing page

   Justworks5/10

   $59/employee/mo (Basic)

   Rare for a PEO to publish pricing at all; Plus tier runs $99/employee/mo

   • Publishes pricing directly, unlike most PEO competitors
   • No base fee means cost scales fast with headcount
   • Plus tier benefits premiums can be 40-60% of the total invoice

   Source: Justworks pricing page

   OnPay is a fraction of the cost per employee because it's software, not a PEO relationship.

2. Round 2🧾 Core Payroll & Tax FilingOnPay wins
   OnPay8/10

   50 states, included

   Automatic filing on the one plan, no extra multi-state fee

   • Automatic filing included in every plan
   • No multi-state upcharge

   Source: OnPay tax filing data

   Justworks7/10

   50 states, included

   Filing handled as part of co-employer responsibilities

   • Filing and payments included across all plans
   • Bundled into a much higher per-employee price than pure payroll software

   Source: Justworks plan data

   Both file taxes automatically in all 50 states — OnPay just does it for a fraction of the per-employee cost.

3. Round 3👥 HR Features & BenefitsJustworks wins
   OnPay6/10

   +$15 + $2/employee

   PTO, onboarding, org charts; benefits via broker partners

   • Affordable modest-cost HR add-on
   • Benefits administration support via broker integrations
   • No access to large-group insurance rates

   Source: OnPay HR add-on data

   Justworks9/10

   Aetna, UHC, Kaiser access

   PEO Plus adds mental health (Talkspace), fertility (Kindbody) benefits

   • Large-group health rates via co-employment pooling
   • PEO Plus adds mental health and fertility benefits
   • Benefits premiums can dominate the total invoice

   Source: Justworks PEO Plus data

   OnPay bolts on HR tools; Justworks' co-employment model unlocks benefits tiers OnPay structurally can't reach.

4. Round 4🖥️ Ease of Use & SetupOnPay wins
   OnPay9/10

   "Onboarding was seamless"

   • Free white-glove setup and data migration
   • No underwriting/eligibility review required

   Justworks7/10

   9.3/10 vs 7.6 (ADP)

   Dedicated onboarding manager, but 2-3 week process with eligibility review

   • High G2 setup-ease score with dedicated onboarding manager
   • Requires co-employment underwriting/eligibility review
   • Some high-risk industries excluded entirely

   Source: G2 setup-ease comparison

   OnPay is faster and simpler because there's no eligibility review; Justworks is smooth but takes longer by design.

5. Round 5🔌 IntegrationsOnPay wins
   OnPay8/10

   QBO/QBD, Xero + portal

   Dedicated multi-client accountant/bookkeeper portal

   • Connects to QuickBooks and Xero
   • Dedicated accountant/bookkeeper multi-client portal

   Source: OnPay integrations data

   Justworks7/10

   QuickBooks, Xero, Slack, M365

   Broad day-to-day business tool integrations via marketplace

   • Broad marketplace covering everyday business tools
   • No dedicated multi-client accountant portal

   Source: Justworks integrations data

   Both connect to the core accounting tools; OnPay's accountant-specific portal is the differentiator.

6. Round 6🤝 Customer Support & TrustOnPay wins
   OnPay9/10

   4.8 / 4.8 / 4.2

   No sharp rating gap across platforms

   • Consistent ratings across all three platforms
   • Support included on every plan

   Source: OnPay sentiment data

   Justworks5/10

   4.6 G2/Capterra vs 1.7-1.9 Trustpilot

   • Strong 4.6/5 on G2 and Capterra
   • 24/7 support and a dedicated onboarding manager
   • "Poor" 1.7-1.9/5 on Trustpilot
   • Some compliance document requests reportedly delayed 7-10 weeks

   Both score well on G2/Capterra, but OnPay doesn't have Justworks' steep Trustpilot cliff.

Which one is for you?

Side by side

Top ratedOnPay

Check price

Justworks

Check price

Overall score

7.7

Best

6.7

Price

See price

See price

Pricing & Transparency

8.3

6.3

Customer Support & Trust

9.0

5.7

Core Payroll & Tax Filing

8.1

7.1

Ease of Use & Setup

8.4

7.1

Integrations

6.9

6.1

Head-to-head findings

Pricing & Transparency

$49/mo + $6/employee

$59/employee/mo (Basic)

Customer Support & Trust

4.8 G2/Capterra, 4.2 Trustpilot — no collapse

4.6 G2/Capterra vs 1.7-1.9 'Poor' Trustpilot

Core Payroll & Tax Filing

50 states, no upcharge

50 states, included

Ease of Use & Setup

Painless onboarding, weak mobile app

2-3 weeks

Integrations

~6 integrations

QuickBooks, Xero, Slack, M365

HR Features & Benefits

+$15/mo + $2/employee

Aetna, UHC, Kaiser access

Record

Head-to-head record

8–0–1

2–7

Head-to-heads won

100 %

22 %

Rounds won

63 %

37 %

Pros

• 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

• 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

Cons

• 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

• 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

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