The 12 Best Payroll Software for Small Businesses of 2026

When it comes to SMB payroll tech, Paychex Flex has been our perennial favorite, thanks to its scalability. We first tested this software a couple of years ago, and until now, we’re still impressed with the simplicity and the range of plans it offers for various business sizes.

From HR to retirement packages, online payroll services, and benefits, you get the flexibility to choose what really fits your team’s needs. And as we’ve kept a close eye on every HR tech we review, we’ve barely heard negative comments about this platform’s usability.

We are not big fanz of Paychex’s appearance (the design looks quite dated compared to modern-looking competitors like Gusto or Remote, actually), but what’s underneath didn’t disappoint—the platform’s features are constantly improving. The timecards are a good example. Each time an employee punches in and out, the system generates a timecard and is ready to process once it’s time to run a payroll cycle. This alone can save dozens of hours of company time.

Paychex products have evolved a lot, but unfortunately, the integration capabilities have not. As of this writing, the platform still lacks native integration with Quicken. While we can’t say this is a deal breaker for most, those seeking to remove manual entry for certain tasks like 401k transactions may find this bothersome and might be better served by another tool.

745,000+ companies, including Warner Bros, Denny's, Grubhub, and Frito-Lay.

Paychex Flex offers three curated plans: Essentials, Select, and Pro. Essentials has a monthly base rate of $39 plus $5 per employee. Select and Pro are custom plans that require a call for a quote.

• Vermont Child Care Contribution Tax now available.
• Paychex Oasis customers can now access the Mineral platform for custom handbooks, HR resources, and legal information.

We picked Deel’s payroll because it’s easy to use, offers a variety of payment options, and provides strong compliance support.

The payroll automation immediately caught our eye during testing. Running payroll across multiple countries is as simple as a few clicks, and we can pay both employees and contractors in over 200 currencies. Furthermore, with so many payment options, including bank transfers, Wise, PayPal, Payoneer, and even cryptocurrency, it feels like Deel has thought of every possible way to ensure employees and contractors get paid efficiently.

One of our favorite features is the Deel Card, which allows global contractors to receive payments in USD and use the funds directly without the hassle of currency conversions—something we believe most, if not all, distributed teams will appreciate.

Beyond ease of use, Deel’s built-in compliance support is also well executed. As a 14-person startup, we understand that many small businesses don’t have an in-house legal or tax team, so knowing that Deel has over 200 experts ensuring compliance in more than 100 countries does provide great peace of mind. There is also a Shield module for those needing extra protection against compliance risks. However, we did find that modifying contracts wasn’t as flexible as we wanted—any changes require an addendum, which could mean additional administrative work for HR.

When it comes to pricing, Deel is priced from $24 to $29 per employee per month for global or US, which is quite reasonable. However, its employment and payroll offerings—for example, contractor payroll charging $49 per contractor per month—are somewhat steeper than competitors like Papaya Global ($30 per contractor per month) and Oyster ($29 per contractor per month). We also noticed that some key features, such as onboarding automation, come as add-ons, which can increase the total cost of ownership.

Deel has served over 40,000 companies, including Brex, Makerpad, and Andela.

Deel provides a range of payroll services: 

• Managed Payroll: Priced from $24 to $29 per employee per month for global or US payroll, tax, and reporting.
• Employment & Payroll: Ranges from $125 to $899 per employee per month for global hiring (EOR) or US co-employment (PEO), including HR, benefits, and legal assistance.
• Hire Contractors: Between $49 and $325 per contractor per month for compliant global hiring and payment, with options for standard management or Contractor of Record.

Paylocity made the cut for our SMB payroll page thanks to their purpose-built functionalities that bundle an enterprise-grade HRMS into a small business's one-stop tool. Beyond payroll, it includes an applicant tracking system, mobile onboarding, electronic document signing, performance management, and even asset and access management. These HR workflows are all part of a unified employee dashboard that’s accessible via desktop or mobile, which gives employees the power to self-manage everything from PTO requests to updating tax withholdings.

As we dove deeper into each feature via a recent demo with their SMB team, what immediately stood out was how easy it was to run payroll in a batch view with pre-filled salary, deduction, and benefits data pulled from integrated systems. We could make one-off adjustments, filter by department or pay group, which could be particularly helpful, for example, to isolate hourly employees or run a bonus batch for managers. There’s even support for nuanced edge cases like manual tax withholding edits, which we found simple to apply in real time.

From user interviews, we’ve heard lots of good words about Paylocity’s automation, so we had high hopes when testing this feature out. And thankfully, it lived up to our expectations. Recurring earnings and time data sync automatically, and it’s not an exaggeration to say reports are time-savers, given how convenient it allows HR to receive reports at the interval of their choice, securely stored within the platform.

That being said, it’s not the right choice for every small business. A 5-person startup, for example, may find the system more robust than they need. We’re also not fans of the fact that the pricing is undisclosed. Unlike many competitors, such as Deel, Gusto, OnPay, and Paychex, which typically list their rates openly, Paylocity tends to keep its pricing hidden behind a sales demo. While this approach isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it's definitely not what most small businesses prefer.

As a final note, Paylocity is also well-equipped to handle payroll for international contractors or even full-time employees, thanks to its acquisition of Blue Marble back in 2021. They can help SMBs run payroll in the US and in over 150 countries, all within the same platform.

Paylocity is used by 40,000+ companies, including POLYWOOD, The Kennedy Group, and Hathaway Brown School.

Paylocity pricing is custom and based on employee count and feature selection. A demo is required to receive a quote.

Paylocity has added several 2025 updates that significantly improve compliance, integrations, and reporting:

• New general ledger integrations with QuickBooks Online, NetSuite, and Acumatica now allow native, real-time syncing of payroll data with your accounting tools. The setup also includes a step-by-step mapping tool and real-time error checks, so you can catch issues before they affect your books.
• Custom journal entry logic allows you to automatically generate accounting entries based on employee details, including department, location, or job type. This helps customize financial tracking without requiring manual calculations each time payroll is processed.
• Reporting has also improved. New templates group earnings, taxes, and deductions into cleaner summaries, while a company-wide tax report consolidates historical and current data for faster audits.

If intuitive time tracking, compliance support, and transparent pricing are high on your priority list, Homebase is a solid option worth considering.

There are many great payroll solutions on the market; however, many bury their costs in the fine print. For a transparent priced option, we like Homebase. Right on its website, you can easily find out how much the payroll tool costs.

As of this writing, it’s priced at $39 per month plus $6 per active employee, which is relatively affordable. To sweeten the deal, the vendor also has a free trial. The only thing to keep in mind is that payroll is an add-on, so you'll need to choose one of their four plans to access it. That being said, their basic plan is free to start with—good enough for companies with one location and up to 20 employees.

Another thing we loved about this payroll software is its automation capabilities, particularly its real-time syncing with the time tracking system. To test this out, we set up a schedule for an hourly team and had employees clock in and out using their mobile app.

The system didn’t disappoint: it automatically pulled hours worked, calculated overtime, and factored in PTO, all without requiring manual timesheet adjustments. Compared to Gusto’s Simple Plan, which lacks built-in time tracking, Homebase includes this feature natively, making it a better option for businesses managing shift workers.

We also liked the overtime prevention tool, which automatically clocks out employees at the end of their shifts to prevent unnecessary labor costs. In this area, Homebase outshines QuickBooks Payroll, which does not offer built-in overtime prevention.

With Homebase, your tax filing is automated at the federal, state, and local levels. We prefer this to Patriot’s Full Service Plan, which charges $12 per month per state for the feature. We think many users would, too.

However, Homebase doesn’t have built-in benefits administration features the way Gusto does, so you’d need to rely on a third-party tool for such needs.

Another drawback we noticed while assessing the product was that this payroll system does not offer automatic compliance reporting, or real-time GPS tracking, all of which are available in Gusto Premium and QuickBooks Payroll.

100,000+ companies, including The Blind Goat & Xin Chao, Fuzzy Goat Yarn Shop, and Forth & Nomad.

Homebase Payroll costs $39/month + $6/month per active employee and is offered as an add-on.

We tested Rippling’s payroll platform with an eye toward the challenges SMBs face—tight bandwidth, multi-state compliance, and minimal margin for error. What we found is a system that delivers impressive automation, especially for teams managing remote or distributed workforces.

Take Hovercraft, a small marketing agency with employees in nine states. They leaned on Rippling’s HR Services to handle the notoriously painful task of registering for state payroll tax accounts and staying compliant across jurisdictions.

When we looked under the hood, it was clear how this worked: Rippling automatically creates state accounts, handles tax payments, and flags regulatory updates—tasks that would otherwise consume days of admin time each month. Hovercraft now saves an estimated 30 hours per week, enough to avoid hiring an additional operations staffer.

That said, it’s not just compliance that Rippling streamlines. At The Portland Clinic, a healthcare provider with 500 employees, payroll used to be error-prone due to disconnected systems (ADP for payroll and UKG for time tracking). After switching to Rippling, the clinic integrated time and attendance into payroll, which cut down on data entry errors and post-payroll corrections.

During our evaluation, we liked how Rippling’s approval reminders and auto-calculated overtime reduced manual intervention and improved pay run accuracy. Their payroll admin shared, “I’ve come to a point where I trust it and rarely have to double-check it.”

But Rippling isn’t plug-and-play for everyone. Several users we spoke with described the implementation process as more DIY than expected. There’s no dry run for your first payroll, which left some admins feeling anxious about going live. One user mentioned it was “like flying blind,” and wished for a dedicated setup partner.

Support is another mixed bag. The chat-based system works well for routine questions, but escalations can take longer than some teams would prefer, especially if they’re used to immediate live help.

Notable customers include Hovercraft, Harver, and The Portland Clinic.

Rippling's pricing starts at $8 per user, in addition to a $40 monthly platform fee.

We didn’t expect this level of flexibility from an economical payroll tool. With Patriot, there’s no limit to the number of payroll runs, and you can pay your team members at the frequency of their choice, be it weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly, or monthly.

Moreover, this platform does not charge any fees for its account setup assistance. Should you opt to DIY, it probably won’t be much trouble, thanks to the platform’s payroll startup wizard and the in-house support team. In our tests, it took just 7 minutes to hear back from them.

As long as all your team members are based in the U.S., you’ll find Patriot to be an invaluable ally, as this vendor can handle payroll processing and direct deposit payments for both full-time salaried workers and contractors. If you opt for the higher-tiered plan, this platform can also take care of your payroll tax filing and payment at both the federal and state levels.

That said, we should caution you that Patriot will charge $12 per month for each state tax filing. And unlike some competing tools like Gusto, this vendor does not support employee benefits management.

Another point to note is that Patriot’s payroll services are tailored to US-based companies. In other words, it’s not a good fit for those with international hires.

10,000+ companies, including Ninja Window Washing, B Squared Fine Homes, and Coblentz Cabinets.

Patriot offers two payroll plans:

• Basic costs $17/month plus $4 per employee or contractor. The business owner is responsible for payroll and tax filing.
• Full Service costs $37/month plus $4 per employee or contractor. The business owner runs payroll, but Patriot handles payroll tax filings.

• Patriot up its fees from $17/mo to $37/mo plus $4/employee or 1099 contractor.
• Starting August 13, 2024, all payroll software customers get free law alerts, a compliance dashboard, and an HR assessment tool.
• It also just launched a contract portal and a mobile app for employee timekeeping.

Millions of small businesses have used Intuit QuickBooks accounting software for their lightweight bookkeeping, so we bet this brand is no stranger to most of you. It is effective, simple, and affordable. And as we tested its online payroll product, the same is true for this tool.

QuickBooks payroll processes employee pay stubs and automatically files taxes in a simple, intuitive interface. Remarkably, the direct deposits are among the fastest we’ve seen, with next-day payments offered in the cheapest plan and same-day ones in the rest.

The platform also helps with calculating and submitting your payroll taxes, and it gives you reminders to make sure you're tax-ready.

Many HRs we talked to praised this payroll for its seamless integration with other QuickBooks products, which was also part of the reasons they chose this software in the first place.

However, we would not recommend this tool for businesses with international staff, as global payroll is currently beyond the vendor's capabilities. The same goes for those on a tight payroll budget. For context, QuickBooks charges $25 per month plus $6 per employee, while Patriot does $17 plus $4 per employee.

Regarding the mobile experience, although the browser version is optimized for both desktop and mobile use, there is no dedicated mobile app for employers, and the employee app lacks some features found on the web version. For example, on the web, we could match our receipts to incoming bank transactions, whereas in the mobile app, we were only able to take photos of the receipts.

29,000,000+ companies, including Industrial Manila, Tamar's Hope, and Hiplus.

QuickBooks has three plans as below and a 30-day free trial:

• Core: $25 per month plus $6 per employee
• Premium: $55 per month plus $8 per employee
• Elite: $80 per month plus $15 per employee

• Both the base fee and employee fee across plans have been increased. For example, Core plan used to be $22 per month plus $4 per employee now is $25 per month plus $6 per employee.
• QuickBooks Online Payroll now offers organizational charts and directories.
• The platform now can automatically match new bank transactions for QuickBooks Payroll and Payments.

We’ve kept track of Gusto for years, and in our view, they have done a great job avoiding a common software pitfall. The vendor has kept a steady pace through the years and their primary focus on payroll and benefits has not been clouded by impulsively building more features into their stack. Instead, they work with numerous integrated partners who take the wheel on new initiatives, letting Gusto focus on what they do best.

One of our favorite features is the full-service payroll. Gusto supports payroll for U.S.-based W-2 employees and domestic and international contractors. This vendor also offers e-signature collection, automated tax filing, automatic deductions, varied payroll schedules, and unlimited pay runs so businesses can ensure employees receive pay and benefits promptly.

For a long time, we have also appreciated how transparent Gusto is about pricing. The payroll software does not require long-term contracts or setup fees, allowing SMBs to manage their payroll efficiently without any unexpected costs.

A fair warning, though, international payroll through Gusto is only possible for contractors, not for full-time employees. In other words, they don’t offer an EOR model. Another feature Gusto lacks is accounting, meaning you must use third-party integrations for complete financial management.

Furthermore, while the Simple plan is cost-friendly, it lacks essential features like native time tracking and the e-sign. Lastly, compliance alerts and broker integration are terrific features, but the platform requires you to either opt for its Premium plan or pay extra to use them.

Gusto serves over 400,000 customers across all the United States. They don't specify which portion of that is Small Businesses, but from our experience, a myriad of SMBs across the US love using Gusto and feel confident sticking with it as their payroll expands.

Gusto's payroll pricing starts at $49/month, plus $6 per team member for the Simple plan, which is suitable for single-state payroll, reporting, and support. The Plus plan starts at $80, and the Premium plan at $180, with additional per-person fees of $12 and $22, respectively. They also offer a Contractor Only plan at $35/month. Add-ons, such as HR Resources ($50 + $5 PEPM) and Priority Support ($30 + $3 PEPM), are available for Simple and Plus plans.

• 5 new add-ons for Simple plans (Time tracking, next-day direct deposit, performance, priority support, and HR resources).
• Personalized health insurance suggestions during shopping.
• Vestwell, Guideline, Betterment at Work, and Human Interest as new 401(k) integration partners.
• New feature Smart Import automates payroll data import from spreadsheets or time-tracking software.

We know that most small businesses are pressed for time, so their payroll tool must be extremely easy to use. And the fact that Netchex remains easy and pleasant to work with in all our test cases is truly impressive.

The platform's standout feature is on-screen payroll, which is a consolidated screen that surfaces all the decisions that normally require bouncing between multiple pages. Before you run payroll, you see outstanding time approvals, PTO requests, missed punches, new hire forms, and benefit elections all in one place. For small business owners managing shift workers across multiple locations, this eliminates the last-minute firefighting that usually hits right before payroll runs.

You can add employees, set payroll cycles, and fix issues with minimal training. The check preview process is particularly clever: rather than fielding payday calls about missing commissions or raises, employees may validate their pay before it processes. One customer reduced manual checks by 90% using this feature. You can also compare payroll runs to spot outliers and ensure accuracy. Mobile-first design means employees get push notifications about missed punches and can correct them via their phones without needing desktop access.

Integration is flexible—custom imports for third-party time systems like Toast POS or Wellsky can be built in a week. No matter which plan you pick, you'll get a customer support rep from Netchex who not only helps with initial setup but stays approachable for any issues that arise post-implementation.

As much as Netchex is geared towards SMBs, if you've got fewer than 50 employees, it might feel like overkill and lean towards the expensive side. And just like many payroll providers, they don't let you take their service for a test drive before committing.

7,500+ organizations, including Xpressdocs, BK Corrosion, Regal Hospitality, and The Colony ER Hospital.

Netchex uses a per employee per month pricing model, which varies based on company size and products.

The platform has undergone significant advancements. They recently introduced on-screen payroll consolidation, check preview functionality (enabling employees to validate pay before processing), payroll comparison tools, and features like AskHR for automated employee assistance and NetInsights for intelligent data analysis. The roadmap also includes Mesh Teammates, a suite of AI agents launching in early 2027 designed to automate recurring HR and payroll tasks.

Scaling internationally is exciting news for any business, but it also comes with a huge HR headache. Each country and state has different laws (which change over time), and local talent has varying interests in compensation packages. Having been there ourselves, so we can't help but appreciate how much easier Remote has made it for SMBs looking to expand their teams globally.

Remote offers two plans: one for global payroll and another for Employer of Record (EOR)—which includes payroll, benefits, tax, and employment compliance for hiring through Remote’s entities. Both come with transparent rates and no hidden fees. However, what really stands out to us is that regardless of the plan chosen, you gain access to in-house, local payroll support. We bugged these people a couple of times in our testing, and they have never let us down once—always quick turnaround and thorough guidelines.

That said, we do wish there was a free trial so the platform is more accessible to small businesses. Also, those preferring self-help documentation instead of always having to reach out to human support might not be satisfied with what's available in Remote's help center. In our experience, the instructions are not the easiest to follow, as they are mostly in written form with very few product screenshots for illustration.

Since our last review, there have been several notable changes. A new integration with Coinbase now allows employers to pay employees in cryptocurrency. Additionally, Easop was acquired to automate equity compensation compliance for globally distributed teams. The employee app has also been improved to display time-off statistics and automatically add public holidays to the calendar.

Remote customers include brands like GitLab, Paystack, and Loom, but the exact number is undisclosed.

Remote offers two packages for payroll management:

• Global Payroll: $50 per employee per month
• Employer of Record: Starting at $599/month billed annually

• New integration with Coinbase enables employers to pay employees in cryptocurrency.
• Acquired Easop to automate equity compensation compliance for globally distributed teams.
• Improved employee app shows time-off stats and auto-adds public holidays to the calendar.

We first tested Square in 2020 and have kept a close eye on the tool ever since, and we have to admit that this is one of the best payroll options available when it comes to flexibility.

Square has two simple plans: one for contractor payroll and another for both contractors and full-time employees. The pricing is transparent and reasonable, with no annual commitment required. The best part, though, is that users can pause their subscription and won't be charged until it resumes after 9 months or when they process payroll again, whichever comes first. For businesses dealing with off-season, this is a huge money saving.

If you're a retailer, especially a store owner or in the restaurant business, you’ll find the combination of Square POS and Square payroll useful in many ways. Plus, if you're looking for third-party integrations, there are still plenty of options offered.

Just keep in mind that Square Payroll only works for businesses that file Form 941 or Form 944 and doesn't support employers in the household and agriculture sectors.

We should also warn you that even though the contractor plan is incredibly affordable — at $6 per contractor per month — it doesn’t cover features like automated payroll, PTO, and overtime calculations. You’d have to choose the higher-priced plan to access these features.

Square's clients include The Art of Donut, Glamourax Salon, and Live by the Sword, but the exact number of customers remains undisclosed.

• Employees and Contractors: $35/month + $6 per person paid per month. Free trial is available.
• Contractors Only: $6/contractor paid per month

• Price increase slightly: Same monthly base fee, per-person fee up from $5 to $6.
• New Time Off reports allow users to view, manage, and track team time off in a reporting view.
• Admins now can control access to wages and labor cost data when managing permission sets.

If you’ve already read our reviews of other payroll tools we’ve included in this guide, you may have noticed that OnPay is not the only vendor that can perform full-service payroll plus HR and benefits. However, it is the only one that has bundled all these functions into a single, affordable plan.

Starting at $46 per employee per month, you'll receive everything from multi-state payroll processing to automated onboarding, e-signing, broker-of-record integration, employee self-service, and account migration—all without additional fees or the need for plan upgrades.

Moreover, this platform is one of the few in the industry that offers a 30-day free trial, which you can easily sign up for online through its website. The only thing to note here is that the trial starts only after OnPay verifies your provided information, including your bank account. So make sure you double check the form before submitting.

Compared to its peers, OnPay has done an outstanding job providing online free guides. Despite being free resources, the guides are rich in information and offer many good insights into payroll, benefits, and HR.

Unfortunately, the vendor’s support didn’t meet our expectations. It took some time to receive a response from their live chat, and our email also had to wait until the next day for a reply.

Lastly, a few things to be clear: Unlike Gusto, OnPay has no native time tracking tool. It also doesn’t support automatic payroll.

OnPay charges a $40 monthly base fee plus $6 per employee. It also offers a free trial.

• Price increase: OnPay: $36 monthly base fee + $4/employee.