Payroll Software

How Much Does Payroll Software Cost?

Real list prices from 7 payroll products that publish them, cost by headcount, the pricing models you will meet and the fees that are easy to miss.

By LeadChange Research TeamUpdated Oct 6, 2026Facts checked Oct 5, 2026

How much payroll software costs

Published prices for payroll software range from $17–$50 per month in base fees and $4–$8 per employee per month. At 25 employees, the median list cost across 7 products is $199 per month.

List prices before discounts, taxes and add-ons; quote-only vendors are not included.

Cost by company size

Gusto Simple$49/mo + $6/employee/mo
Justworks Payroll$50/mo + $8/employee/mo
OnPay Payroll Essentials$49/mo + $6/employee/mo
Patriot Payroll Basic Payroll$17/mo + $4/employee/mo
QuickBooks Payroll Workforce Payroll$50/mo + $7/employee/mo
Square Payroll Full-service payroll$35/mo + $6/employee/mo

Estimated list price per month by number of employees
Employees	Gusto Simple	Justworks Payroll	OnPay Payroll Essentials	Patriot Payroll Basic Payroll	QuickBooks Payroll Workforce Payroll	Square Payroll Full-service payroll

1	$55/mo	$58/mo	$55/mo	$21/mo (lowest)	$57/mo	$41/mo
10	$109/mo	$130/mo	$109/mo	$57/mo (lowest)	$120/mo	$95/mo
25	$199/mo	$250/mo	$199/mo	$117/mo (lowest)	$225/mo	$185/mo
50	$349/mo	$450/mo	$349/mo	$217/mo (lowest)	$400/mo	$335/mo
100	$649/mo	$850/mo	$649/mo	$417/mo (lowest)	$750/mo	$635/mo
250	$1,549/mo	$2,050/mo	$1,549/mo	$1,017/mo (lowest)	$1,800/mo	$1,535/mo

Pricing models explained

Base fee + per employee. A monthly base fee plus a fee for each employee paid. This is the most common structure and scales predictably with headcount.
Per employee per month. A single per-employee rate with no base, often used for larger or HCM-bundled deals. Check the minimum monthly charge.
Per payroll run. A fee for each pay run, sometimes plus a per-employee fee. Cost rises with weekly or off-cycle payrolls.
Tiered plans. Packages that gate features such as multi-state filing, time tracking or HR tools. Compare tiers against the features you need, not the entry price.
Custom quote. Enterprise pricing based on employee count, entities and modules, usually with an implementation fee.

Price comparison

Payroll Software prices, lowest published plan
Product	Starting price	Pricing model	Pricing details
Patriot Payroll	$17/mo + $4/employee/mo	Base fee + per employee	Patriot Payroll plans and prices
SurePayroll	$29/mo + $7/employee/mo	Base fee + per employee	SurePayroll pricing
Gusto	$49/mo + $6/employee/mo	Base fee + per employee	Gusto plans and prices
OnPay	$49/mo + $6/employee/mo	Base fee + per employee	OnPay plans and prices
Justworks	$50/mo + $8/employee/mo	Base fee + per employee	Justworks pricing
QuickBooks Payroll	$50/mo + $7/employee/mo	Base fee + per employee	QuickBooks Payroll plans and prices
Square Payroll	$35/mo + $6/employee/mo	Base fee + per employee	Square Payroll pricing
Homebase	Quote only	Tiered plans	Homebase plans and prices
Paycom	Quote only	Quote only
Paycor	Quote only	Quote only
Paychex Flex	Quote only	Quote only
Paylocity	Quote only	Quote only
UKG Pro	Quote only	Quote only
isolved People Cloud	Quote only	Quote only
Rippling	Quote only	Quote only
Dayforce	Quote only	Quote only
Workday Human Capital Management	Quote only	Quote only
ADP Workforce Now	Quote only	Quote only

Lowest published list price per month; quote-only products show no price.

Extra and hidden costs

Gusto
Next-Day pay $15/mo + $3/mo per person (Simple only), Same-day pay $90 per payroll, Instant pay $100 per payroll, Gusto Business Compliance $85/mo per state, annual contract, Remote I-9 $20/submission, E-Verify $5/submission, Priority Support $30/mo + $3/mo per person, Time & Attendance Plus $6/mo per person, Gusto Money Plus $19/mo, Global contractor payments $5 per payment to US bank accounts, R&D tax credits 15% of identified credits, Workers' comp from $14/mo, Tax-advantaged benefits $200 annual service charge
Justworks
Time Tracking $8/month per employee, International Contractors $39/month per paid contractor, Employer of Record (EOR) $599/month per employee (Basic and Plus plans), Payroll + Health Insurance $8/month per benefits-eligible employee (Payroll plan), Dedicated HR Consulting $30/month per employee (Basic and Plus plans), US-Based Contractors $8/month per paid contractor, Health Insurance Reimbursements (ICHRA) $25/month per enrolled employee
OnPay
Add-ons per month: HR +$15 base and $2/worker; Time Tracking +$15 base and $4/worker; Compliance Resources +$10 base; Live HR Support +$65 base; Benefits: pay plan premiums only
Patriot Payroll
Time & Attendance add-on: $6/month plus $2 per employee, HR Software add-on: $6/month plus $2 per employee
QuickBooks Payroll
Health insurance (Allstate), 401(k) plans (Vestwell), Workers' compensation (NEXT), Background checks from $29.99 per report
Square Payroll
Paper W-2/1099 mailing: $3 per employee or contractor annually, Workers' compensation add-on, Paid amendment services, Health insurance add-on, 401(k) add-on
SurePayroll
Multi-state payroll: $9.99/month, Local taxes: separate fees apply, W-2/1099 filing: $50 base plus $5 per form, billed annually, Accounting software integration: $4.99/month, Timeclock integration: from $5/month plus $3 per employee, Employment law plans: from $30/month, 401(k): custom quote

What drives the price

Number of employees and contractors paid each cycle
Pay frequency and the number of off-cycle runs
Number of states and local jurisdictions requiring filings
Multiple legal entities or pay groups
Bundled modules such as time tracking, benefits administration or HR
Service level, such as a dedicated payroll specialist

Fees to ask about before you sign:

Implementation or setup fees, and data migration charges
Per-state or per-jurisdiction filing fees
Year-end form fees for W-2s and 1099s
Fees for off-cycle runs, corrections and amended returns
Charges for integrations or API access
Termination and data export fees

Frequently asked questions