How much does payroll software cost per employee?

Payroll software is priced as a monthly base fee plus a per employee fee, and among the vendors that publish rates the base runs $17 to $50 a month while the per person charge runs $4 to $8. Patriot lists $37 a month plus $5 per worker paid for Full Service Payroll, SurePayroll $29 plus $7, Square Payroll $35 plus $6 per person paid, Wave $40 plus $6 per active employee, and OnPay $49 plus $6 per worker.[1][2][3][4][5] Gusto and QuickBooks Payroll follow the same shape at a higher level, with Gusto reported at $49 plus $6, $80 plus $12, and $180 plus $22.[10] QuickBooks was renamed Workforce on July 1, 2026, when base fees held at $50, $88, and $134 while per employee rates rose from $6.50 to $7 on Payroll, $10 to $13 on Premium, and $12 to $17 on Elite.[12][13] Intuit's own pricing page was unreachable throughout verification and trackers that last checked before July still publish the older rates, so confirm current QuickBooks figures with Intuit directly.[11]

What the effective cost per head works out to

The advertised per person fee is only part of what you pay, because the base fee gets spread across whoever is on the payroll. A five person company on OnPay pays $79 a month, or $15.80 per employee, while a hundred person company on the same published rate pays $649, or $6.49.[2] Across the vendors that publish, entry level full service payroll lands near $12 to $16 per employee at five people, $6.50 to $8 at twenty five, and $5.50 to $6.50 at a hundred.[1][2][3][4]

Which vendors publish rates and which do not

Three of the largest providers publish nothing. Rippling's pricing page is a form asking which services you need, and Paychex's payroll page carries no dollar figures at all.[7][8] ADP names four RUN packages for businesses of one to forty nine employees and attaches no price to any of them.[9] Any per employee number attached to those three comes from third party datasets.[14]

A payroll quote has two parts that behave differently: a fixed monthly charge that stays the same whether you pay three people or ninety, and a variable charge that moves with headcount. OnPay's $49 plus $6 and SurePayroll's $29 plus $7 are the same structure at different levels.[2][3]

The base fee sets your floor

The base fee is what makes very small payrolls expensive per head, since it is charged in full no matter how few people it covers. A two person company on SurePayroll pays $43 a month, or $21.50 each, on a plan whose advertised per worker rate is $7.[3] Past roughly twenty people the per person rate takes over.

Who counts as an employee

Vendors count heads differently, and the wording next to the number matters as much as the number. Patriot charges per worker paid, so an employee who receives no check in a given month is not billed that month, and Square uses per person paid on the same logic.[1][4] Wave charges $6 per active employee whether or not that person was paid, then adds $6 for every contractor paid.[5]

Where two quotes cross over

Two plans built on different structures are only comparable at a specific headcount. OnPay at $49 plus $6 and SurePayroll at $29 plus $7 both come to $169 a month at twenty employees; below that line SurePayroll's smaller base fee wins, and above it OnPay's lower per person rate does.[2][3] Price both against where you expect to be in a year.

Per run billing charges you every time payroll is processed rather than once a month, so the same headcount costs about twice as much on a weekly schedule as on a biweekly one. ADP prices RUN this way, and independent analysis treats payroll frequency as a direct multiplier on the bill, putting the Essential starting point near $79 a month plus $4 per employee and a five person example at about $99 a month before add-ons.[14]

Off-cycle runs are billed as events

Bonus payrolls, corrections, and final checks for departing employees count as additional runs on a per run contract, so a company that runs three corrections in a quarter pays for three extra payrolls.[14] Garnishments work the same way, with a per payment fee each time one is processed, which for a single child support order on a biweekly cycle means twenty six charges a year.[14] Ask in writing whether both are included before comparing quotes.

Most published plans use flat monthly billing

The vendors that post prices have largely removed the frequency penalty, with SurePayroll, OnPay, and Patriot all advertising unlimited payroll runs inside the monthly price.[3][2][1] Weekly payroll is standard in construction, restaurants, and staffing, so employers there should price quotes on annual runs rather than monthly cost.

Contractor only payroll is priced per contractor paid, usually with a smaller base fee or none at all. Square Payroll charges $6 per person paid with no monthly base, Gusto's contractor only plan is verified at $35 plus $6 per contractor, Wave charges $6 per contractor paid on top of its $40 base, and Deel charges $49 per contractor, or $325 as contractor of record.[4][10][5][6]

Why the range runs from $6 to $325

The gap reflects what the vendor takes on rather than the mechanics of sending money. Paying a domestic 1099 contractor and issuing the form in January is light work, which is why Square and Wave price it at or below their employee rate.[4][5] Deel's higher figures cover international contractor compliance, and its contractor of record rate reflects Deel becoming the contracting party.[6]

Mixed workforces get billed for both

If you pay employees and contractors from one account, most vendors bill you for both. Patriot folds contractor payments into its per worker paid charge and includes 1099 and 1096 creation at no extra cost.[1] Count contractors in your headcount math: a fifteen employee company that also pays twenty contractors is a thirty five worker account.

Six line items sit outside the headline per employee rate often enough to break a budget built on that rate alone, and most get harder to move after you sign.

Multi-state filing

Operating in more than one state adds a recurring fee at most vendors and nothing at a few. Patriot charges $12 a month for each additional state it files in, and SurePayroll charges $9.99 a month for multi-state payroll with a separate fee where local taxes apply.[1][3] OnPay includes as many states as you need.[2] One remote hire in a new state triggers the fee, so price the states you expect.

Year-end W-2 and 1099 filing

Year-end forms are billed separately at some vendors and included at others. SurePayroll bills W-2 and 1099-NEC forms annually at a $50 base fee plus $5 per form, so a twenty five person company pays $175 each January on top of its subscription, and Square charges $3 per mailed form.[3][4] Patriot includes year-end filings at no additional fee on Full Service, and OnPay includes them too.[1][2]

Time tracking, HR, and compliance add-ons

Time and attendance and HR modules are almost always priced on top of payroll. Patriot sells each at $6 a month plus $2 per employee, SurePayroll's timeclock integrations start at $5 plus $3 per employee, and OnPay's HR add-on is $15 plus $2 per worker with live HR support at $75.[1][3][2] QuickBooks Workforce prices benefits administration at $5 per active employee for employers with twenty or more people.[12] On a twenty five person SurePayroll account, a timeclock integration alone adds about 40 percent to the bill.[3]

Setup and implementation

Implementation is free at the small business end and quoted at the mid-market end. OnPay charges no implementation or integration fees, while independent analysis puts ADP RUN implementation at $500 to $2,000 and notes that a waived fee sometimes reappears on the first invoice as a data migration line.[2][14] Confirm whether migrating this year's payroll history sits inside that number.

Promotional pricing that expires

Most advertised small business prices are promotional, and the renewal rate is frequently double. Patriot's page shows Basic at $8.50 plus $2 and Full Service at $18.50 plus $2.50 under a thirty days free plus 50 percent off for six months offer, against list rates of $17 plus $4 and $37 plus $5.[1] SurePayroll runs alternating free months across the first year, ADP advertises three months free, and QuickBooks runs a frequent 50 percent off first three months offer that independent analysis calls a doubling of cost in month four.[3][9][11] Budget the list rate.

Annual increases

Renewal increases of 3 to 8 percent a year are standard here, and analysis of ADP contracts finds many businesses paying 15 to 25 percent more by year three without adding an employee or feature.[14]

It is not comparable across plan tiers

Two per employee figures only mean something side by side once you fix what each one buys. Gusto's $6 per person on Simple and $22 on Premium run the same payroll engine with different HR tooling around it, and QuickBooks Workforce Payroll at $7 omits the same day deposit, time tracking, and HR support that push many buyers to Premium at $13.[10][11][12]

It is not what a mid-market buyer pays

Published small business rates do not extend upward. Past roughly fifty employees most shortlisted vendors stop publishing anything, and third party analysis puts ADP Workforce Now at $15 to $30 per employee per month with base fees of $150 to $300.[14] That increase reflects the platform absorbing benefits, time, and compliance work rather than a higher payroll price.

It is not the full cost of paying people

The subscription covers software and filing, not the money that leaves your account. Employer payroll taxes, workers compensation premiums, and benefits contributions all sit outside it, which is why employment services price differently: Deel publishes $125 per US PEO employee and $599 per EOR employee against $49 per contractor.[6]

It is not fixed once you sign

A locked per person rate still produces a moving invoice, because headcount changes month to month, off-cycle runs and garnishment payments are billed as events at some vendors, and annual increases of 3 to 8 percent are normal.[14] The subscription line is the predictable part of a payroll bill.