Payroll software compared

Payroll software works out what each person is owed, withholds income and payroll taxes, pays the net amount and files the paperwork that follows. The eight products on this page each run pay runs and pay stubs, handle tax withholding and filings, and pay by direct deposit. We read every price on the vendor's own website on November 4, 2026, then read it a second time from a separate fetch. Each product page links to the pages we used.

All figures are in US dollars for US employers. Payroll prices depend on where your employees work, because the number of states, local tax areas and filing frequencies changes what a provider does for you. Several vendors say so on their own pages, and the example costs below assume one state.

What a payroll service actually takes off your hands

A US employer with employees has three recurring jobs. It withholds federal income tax and the employee's share of Social Security and Medicare from each paycheck. It deposits those amounts, plus its own share, with the IRS on a schedule. It reports the totals on forms due at fixed dates.

The IRS Employer's Tax Guide for 2026 puts the Social Security rate at 6.2% each for employer and employee on wages up to $184,500, and the Medicare rate at 1.45% each. The IRS deposit rules require federal tax deposits to be made electronically, and list a payroll service as one of the ways to do it. There are two deposit schedules, monthly and semiweekly, chosen before each calendar year.

The reporting calendar is fixed too. According to the IRS due dates page, Form 941 is due on April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31, and Form 940, Form W-2 and Form 1099-NEC are all due January 31. Employees must receive their W-2 copies by the same date. A payroll provider that files for you takes over this calendar, which is the main reason small businesses pay for one.

Who stays liable when a provider files for you

Hiring a provider does not hand the legal duty to someone else. The IRS describes the trust fund recovery penalty as equal to the unpaid balance of the trust fund tax, meaning withheld income tax plus the employee's share of Social Security and Medicare. It can be assessed against a responsible person who willfully fails to collect or pay it, and the IRS says payroll service providers and their responsible staff can qualify as well.

For a buyer this means two checks. Confirm in writing who pays the IRS and from which account, and keep a copy of each quarter's filings. Wave says on its payroll page that automatic tax payments can in rare cases fail, and Zoho's price list includes a $100 fee for a failed employer fund transfer. Both are reminders that a failed debit is a problem you still have to catch.

Records you need whatever you choose

The Department of Labor's recordkeeping fact sheet says employers must keep payroll records for at least three years, and keep the records that wage computations are based on, such as time cards and records of deductions, for two years. Ask any provider how long it keeps pay stubs and filings available online and whether you can export them if you leave. SurePayroll says payroll history, pay stubs and filings stay available online around the clock, and Paycom says employees can reach pay stubs through self-service.

How the published prices compare

Six of the eight products publish a price, and the pattern is the same almost everywhere: a monthly base fee plus a charge for each person paid. Here is what each costs for a business with 10 employees in one state, using the listed rates and before any promotions, add-ons or local tax fees.

• Zoho Payroll: $79 a month on Standard billed annually ($29 plus $5 per employee), or $99 billed monthly.
• Square Payroll: $95 a month ($35 plus $6 per person paid).
• SurePayroll: $99 a month ($29 plus $7 per employee), though its site also shows a $39 starting price that it does not explain.
• Wave Payroll: $100 a month ($40 plus $6 per active employee).
• OnPay: $109 a month ($49 plus $6 per worker).
• QuickBooks Payroll: $153 a month on its cheapest listed bundle ($88 plus $6.50 per employee), which comes with a 50% promotion for three months.

The differences are smaller than they look at 10 people and larger at 50. The base fee matters most for tiny teams, and the per-person charge decides the bill once headcount grows. Zoho's annual rate of $5 per employee against OnPay's $6 adds up to $50 a month at 50 people.

Paychex Flex and Paycom publish no prices. Paychex shows Request Pricing on every plan, and Paycom's payroll page offers a meeting request. Quote-only pricing is common for larger payroll providers, and it makes comparison harder. If you take a quote, ask for the per-employee rate, the base fee, setup charges, and what happens to the price after any introductory offer.

Fees outside the headline price

The headline price rarely covers everything. Zoho lists the clearest set of extras. Next-day processing costs $3 per employee, mailed W-2s cost $3 per employee, and a wire transfer costs $10. A failed employee payment costs $8, and an amended tax return or a delayed tax filing costs $150 each. Square charges $3 per mailed W-2 or 1099 form each year, and SurePayroll bills annual W-2 and 1099-NEC forms at a $50 base fee plus $5 per form.

State coverage and local taxes are the next place costs appear. SurePayroll charges $9.99 a month for multi-state payroll and says a separate fee applies where local taxes are required, without listing it. Wave says its tax service now covers all 50 states at the same price, and OnPay says it files in all 50 states and the District of Columbia with no separate state filing fee listed. Wave's tax service does not cover 1099 filings, so a business that pays contractors needs another route for those forms.

Benefits sit outside the base price at every vendor. Square sells workers comp, health insurance and 401(k) as add-ons without showing prices, and its partners are SimplyInsured and Vestwell. Paychex says its current offer covers the payroll component only, so setup, NSF, delivery, 401(k) and Time and Attendance fees still apply.

Direct deposit timing

Direct deposit is included at every vendor here, but the lead time differs, and it decides how late you can approve a pay run. Zoho says to approve payroll at least 4 business days before the pay date, and a new employee's bank account takes 2 to 3 business days to verify. SurePayroll includes 2-day direct deposit with its Full Service plan.

Square says to process payroll by 8 p.m. PT for employees to be paid by direct deposit on payday, and it offers next-day payroll with a Square balance or Square Checking account. QuickBooks advertises same-day direct deposit, and its Essentials bundle ties that to running payroll by 7:00 am. A business that cannot plan four days ahead should treat these timings as a selection criterion and test them in a trial.

Free months and promotions

Four vendors advertise introductory offers, and their terms matter more than the headline. QuickBooks lists 50% off for three months. Wave gives up to 30 days free from the first payroll processed. OnPay offers one month free with no terms stated on its pricing page. Zoho gives a 14-day trial with all features and no credit card.

Paychex runs a promotion called Do Not Pay Until April 2027 that carries a one-year service term, and it says it can recover the value of free months already credited if the agreement ends early. That clause is worth reading before you sign. Square says it has no long-term contracts, SurePayroll says there is no contract and billing is monthly, and OnPay says pay runs come with no cancellation fees. Paycom does not state a contract term on its payroll page.

Pay stubs and employee access

Every employee needs to see what was withheld. Zoho posts pay stubs to the employee portal as soon as payroll is paid. QuickBooks employees see and print pay stubs and W-2s through QuickBooks Workforce, after the employer invites them. OnPay gives employees a portal and mobile app for pay stubs and W-2s, and Paycom says employees can review paychecks before payroll is submitted.

Pay stubs also matter for former staff. A payroll provider that keeps access open after someone leaves saves your office a stream of requests each January. Ask each vendor how long a departed employee can still sign in to download a W-2.

Security statements

Security claims are thin on most payroll pages. OnPay states it holds a SOC 2 Type II report and says it requires multi-factor authentication for its own internal systems, while recommending it to clients. We found no SOC or ISO claim on the Zoho, Square, Wave, QuickBooks, SurePayroll or Paycom product pages, and Paychex's payroll page had none either. Several of them link to separate security pages that we could not read, so a missing claim here is a gap in what we checked, not proof that no audit exists. Ask for the current report under a non-disclosure agreement before moving employee Social Security numbers and bank details to any provider.

Integrations

Accounting sync is the integration most small businesses need. OnPay names QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop and Xero, plus QuickBooks Time, Deputy and When I Work for hours. Square imports timecards from Square POS and its Team App and syncs to QuickBooks Online. Zoho names Zoho Books as the only integration on its payroll page. Paycom says it does not integrate specifically with other providers and offers custom data converters and GL Concierge reports instead.

What to test during a trial

• Run a pay run for a test employee in each state you operate in, and check the tax withheld against the IRS and state figures.
• Time the approval cutoff against your real pay date, using the lead time the vendor states.
• Open the employee view and check that a pay stub and a W-2 can be downloaded.
• Ask in writing which account the tax deposits come out of, and who covers a penalty if a filing is late.
• Price your real headcount, local tax areas and a year of mailed forms, then add the benefit fees you plan to use.