QuickBooks Payroll
QuickBooks Payroll Pricing
QuickBooks Payroll pricing from the vendor’s own pricing page: 3 plans, cost by headcount, and the extra fees to budget for.
- starting price
- $50/mo + $7/employee1
QuickBooks Payroll plans
Workforce Payroll
$7/employee/mo + $50/mo base1
Monthly
- Full service payroll with auto payroll
- 1099 e-file
- Expert product support by phone and chat
Workforce Premium
$13/employee/mo + $88/mo base1
Monthly
- Expert review of your payroll setup
- Same-day direct deposit
- Time tracking, scheduling and the Workforce app
Workforce Elite
$17/employee/mo + $134/mo base1
Monthly
- Expert sets up your payroll
- Tax penalty protection up to $25,000 per year
- Unlimited automated HR workflows
Price at a glance
QuickBooks Payroll cost by company size
- Workforce Payroll$50/mo base + $7/employee/mo
- Workforce Premium$88/mo base + $13/employee/mo
- Workforce Elite$134/mo base + $17/employee/mo
| Employees | Workforce Payroll | Workforce Premium | Workforce Elite |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $57/mo$2,052 over 3 yrs | $101/mo$3,636 over 3 yrs | $151/mo$5,436 over 3 yrs |
| 5 | $85/mo$3,060 over 3 yrs | $153/mo$5,508 over 3 yrs | $219/mo$7,884 over 3 yrs |
| 10 | $120/mo$4,320 over 3 yrs | $218/mo$7,848 over 3 yrs | $304/mo$10,944 over 3 yrs |
| 25 | $225/mo$8,100 over 3 yrs | $413/mo$14,868 over 3 yrs | $559/mo$20,124 over 3 yrs |
| 50 | $400/mo$14,400 over 3 yrs | $738/mo$26,568 over 3 yrs | $984/mo$35,424 over 3 yrs |
| 100 | $750/mo$27,000 over 3 yrs | $1,388/mo$49,968 over 3 yrs | $1,834/mo$66,024 over 3 yrs |
List prices before discounts and add-ons.
Extra and hidden costs
Implementation fee
None2No implementation fee is listed.
Background checks via Checkr
Starting at $29.99 per report2
State tax filing fees
Named in the offer terms; amount not published2
Health insurance (Allstate), 401(k) (Vestwell) and workers' compensation (NEXT)
Sold separately through third parties2
Benefits administration
Sold separately, 20+ employees required2
Mineral HR experts
Paid add-on on Workforce Payroll and Premium (included in Elite; price not published)2
Next-day direct deposit for contractors
Additional fee2
Automated 1099s add-on and printing and mailing 1099 copies
Additional fees2
Contract term
Monthly1
Is it worth the price?
65th percentileQuickBooks Payroll at $225/mo1 vs a category median of $201.50 (list price per month at 25 employees, 10 payroll software products with published prices).
At 25 employees, QuickBooks Payroll lists at $225 a month. Of the 10 payroll software products with published prices, 6 cost less and 3 cost more.
Price comparison
| Product | Starting price | Pricing model | Pricing details |
|---|---|---|---|
 Patriot Payroll | $37/mo + $5/employee/mo (Full Service Payroll plan)3 | Base fee + per employee | Patriot Payroll pricing |
 Square Payroll | $35/mo + $6/employee/mo4 | Base fee + per employee | What Square Payroll costs |
 OnPay | $49/mo + $6/employee/mo (Payroll Essentials plan)5 | Base fee + per employee | What OnPay costs |
 SurePayroll | $29/mo + $7/employee/mo (Full Service plan)6 | Base fee + per employee | SurePayroll plans and prices |
 QuickBooks Payroll | $50/mo + $7/employee/mo1 | Base fee + per employee | QuickBooks Payroll pricing |
 Paychex Flex | $39/mo + $5/employee/mo (up to 19 employees)7 | Base fee + per employee | Paychex Flex plans and prices |
Lowest published monthly price of a plan that files payroll taxes for payroll software, cheapest first at 25 employees. Paychex Flex’s priced plan is not sold at 25 employees. “See plans”: priced on another basis; “Quote only”: no published price.
QuickBooks Payroll price comparisons
Frequently asked questions
How much does QuickBooks Payroll cost?
List prices are $50 per month plus $7 per employee on Workforce Payroll, $88 plus $13 on Premium and $134 plus $17 on Elite. New customers are offered 50% off the base price for 3 months; per-employee fees stay the same.
Does QuickBooks Payroll have a free trial?
Yes. New monthly customers can choose a 30-day free trial of the base price. It does not cover per-employee or state tax filing fees, and it cannot be combined with the 3-month discount.
What fees does QuickBooks Payroll charge beyond the plan price?
Background checks start at $29.99 per report. State tax filing fees, next-day deposit for contractors, automated 1099s and the Mineral HR add-on cost extra, but Intuit does not publish those amounts.
What do alternatives to QuickBooks Payroll cost?
At 25 employees QuickBooks Payroll lists at $225 a month; the lowest-priced alternatives compared here are Patriot Payroll ($162, $63 less), Square Payroll ($185, $40 less), and OnPay ($199, $26 less), at list price.
Is there a free version of QuickBooks Payroll?
No. QuickBooks Payroll lists paid plans only. A free trial is offered.
How much does QuickBooks Payroll cost per month?
On its lowest published plan ($50 plus $7 per head), QuickBooks Payroll comes to about $120 a month for 10 employees and $400 for 50, at list price before add-ons and taxes; the Workforce Elite plan lists at $17/employee/mo + $134/mo base. How that compares across the category: What payroll software costs.
Does QuickBooks Payroll charge an implementation fee?
No. QuickBooks Payroll states no implementation fee.
Which QuickBooks Payroll plan should I choose?
Workforce Payroll ($7/employee/mo + $50/mo base): full service payroll with auto payroll and 1099 e-file. Workforce Premium ($13/employee/mo + $88/mo base): expert review of your payroll setup and Same-day direct deposit. Workforce Elite ($17/employee/mo + $134/mo base): expert sets up your payroll and tax penalty protection up to $25,000 per year.
Is QuickBooks Payroll cheaper than OnPay?
No, at list price. For 25 employees QuickBooks Payroll comes to $225 a month against $199 for OnPay. Features, support and contract terms side by side: QuickBooks Payroll vs OnPay.
Who makes QuickBooks Payroll?
QuickBooks Payroll (payroll software) is sold by Intuit Inc. Intuit was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California, US. Intuit is publicly traded. See the Intuit company profile for the products it sells.
How this page was made
What it is built from
22 verified facts, each checked against the vendor's own pages or another primary source, most recently on Nov 14, 2026.
Method
Scored and compared with the LeadChange methodology, version 1.5. Read the methodology
Independent review
Passed our independent review on Oct 31, 2026. How we review
Hands-on testing
We have not tested QuickBooks Payroll hands-on: this page uses public information only.
Who made it
The LeadChange Research Team, following a written research process. No named expert has reviewed this page. About us
Independence and errors
Who pays us never changes a score or a rank. If something here is wrong, tell us and we correct it publicly. Request a correction
Compare QuickBooks Payroll pricing for your team
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QuickBooks Payroll Pricing
Sources
The 8 pages this page's facts come from. The date beside each is our last check of the facts taken from it (the oldest, when they differ). The numbers beside the figures above link here.
Quotes from the sources
- Intuit quickbooks.intuit.com/payroll/pricing/bundle“WORKFORCE PAYROLL Pay your team and get payroll taxes done for you. $50 + $7/employee” “WORKFORCE PREMIUM FAVORITE All-in-one payroll, time tracking, and HR tools. $88 + $13/employee”
- Intuit quickbooks.intuit.com/payroll/one-employee“Free trial applies to the monthly base price for the first thirty (30) days of new subscriptions to QuickBooks Online and/or Workforce.” “Guided Setup: Free one-time 60-min virtual session with a QuickBooks Workforce expert. Only available to new Workforce customers who are within the first 30 days and have not yet run payroll. Does not include data migration.”
- Patriot Software patriotsoftware.com/pricing“Basic Payroll is $17/month + $4 per worker paid; Full Service Payroll is $37/month + $5 per worker paid.”
- Square squareup.com/us/en/payroll/pricing“For full-service payroll, the cost is $35 per month, plus $6 per person paid per month.”
- OnPay onpay.com/payroll/software/costs-pricing“Payroll Essentials $49 base + $6/worker per month”
- SurePayroll (Paychex) surepayroll.com/payroll“Pay employees in minutes, easily access reports, and get payroll taxes filed and deposited automatically.”
- Paychex paychex.com/payroll/paychex-flex-essentials“Our most affordable option: Only $39/mo. + $5 per employee”
- U.S. SEC (Intuit Inc. Form 10-K) sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/896878/000089687826000037/intu-20260731.htm“Intuit Inc. was incorporated in California in March 1984. We reincorporated in Delaware and completed our initial public offering in March 1993.” “Our principal executive offices are located at 2700 Coast Avenue, Mountain View, California 94043”