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The best payroll software helps you pay your employees accurately and on time and manage your tax requirements. Payroll software helps you manage payroll processes, pay your employees correctly and on time, maintain compliance, optimize HR best practices, and stay on top of emerging payroll trends. We tested leading payroll software to find the best option for your business.
Best Payroll Software: Our Top Pick
We chose Gusto as the best payroll software for its unlimited payrolls per month, flexible pay rates and schedules, and robust third-party integrations with accounting solutions.
Our Top Picks
Best Payroll Software
Best Integrated Platform
Best for Small Businesses
Best for Startups
Best if You Have Around 20 Employees
Best PEO Solution
Best for Paying Hourly Employees
Best for Global Workforces
Digital.com dives deep into every topic it covers to offer trusted and reliable recommendations for the best business tools. See how we review payroll software.
Tips From an Expert
It’s crucial to know all of your options (and your workforce).
As an employer, one of your most fundamental obligations is paying your employees accurately and on time. Before selecting a payroll provider, you need to evaluate the best payroll software solutions on the market to make sure you’re investing in the right payroll tool that can help you compensate your employees and manage all payroll processes correctly.
The Top Payroll Software of 2023
Best Payroll Software
Features
- Strong payroll, reporting, and automations
- Unlimited payrolls per month in all 50 states
- Robust third-party integrations
#1 Top Pick for 2023
With its affordable pricing plans, strong payroll features, and highly customizable platform, Gusto tops our list of payroll software solutions.
Starting Price/Month
$40 + $6/employee
Tax Filing
Yes
Free Trial
30 days
Comp and Benefits
Yes
Read More
With its affordable pricing plans, strong payroll features, and highly customizable platform, Gusto tops our list of payroll software solutions. From unlimited payroll runs for users in all 50 states to its intuitive design, Gusto is a great all-rounder platform for small to mid-sized businesses needing an affordable, easy-to-use payroll solution that accommodates their payroll needs.
I selected Gusto as the best payroll software solution due to its user-friendly platform, great range of core payroll features, and excellent scalability. Gusto walks you through a very thorough yet intuitive setup process — I set up and used the platform in under an hour.
As well as solid, core payroll features such as unlimited monthly payrolls for users in all 50 states and automatic pay runs and tax filing, Gusto also offers several interesting features that many of its competitors lack. For example, employees can complete most of the onboarding process themselves.
The platform makes it easy to automate deductions, tax filings, and direct deposits and easily handles pre-tax benefits. If you want to optimize your payroll processes, Gusto reports include a complete payroll journal, year-to-date employee earnings, and a benefits report.
Gusto’s benefits administration feature is exceptional. The platform creates custom benefit packages that adhere to your specific legal requirements. At no extra cost, Gusto also provides the best benefits package options based on your employee and company information.
- Who is Gusto best for?
Gusto is a great all-around platform for small to midsize businesses that need an affordable, easy-to-use payroll solution with all the bells and whistles needed to run payroll processes easily and efficiently. - Recent upgrades to Gusto
In response to the shift to remote work, Gusto recently bought Remote Teams, a start-up that enables growing businesses to hire remote workers internationally. Additionally, Gusto now also facilitates the payment of contractors in 80 countries and quick tax registration in all 50 states.
To help business leaders make optimized business decisions, Gusto also recently launched the Gusto Economic Trends Tracker. This is an interactive dashboard that provides visualizations of the latest trends in employment, wages, and hours worked across small and medium-sized businesses in America. - Gusto pricing
Although Gusto is not the cheapest payroll provider on the market, the platform provides all of the payroll features you need. Even its most basic plan — coming in at $6 per employee per month plus a base fee of $40 per month — provides unlimited payroll runs, enables you to make direct deposits, and runs payroll reports. Plus, it will also handle your federal, state, and local tax filings.
Reasons to choose Gusto
- Automatic pay runs and tax filing
- Unlimited pay runs per month
- Great employee benefits management
- Offers next-day direct deposits
Reasons to avoid
- Per-employee pricing can get costly
- Unresponsive customer support
- Health insurance in only 39 states
- Not as customizable as others
What Customers Are Saying About Gusto
Gusto is a great payroll solution for small businesses that want to comply with complex wage laws and automate many HR tasks. Their onboarding process is simple, and their reporting is top-notch. It is perfect for smaller businesses that want to process payroll quickly and affordably. However, the price jumps significantly for the time clock feature, and it can be challenging to get clients to use it. The main downside is the customer service which can be challenging to reach and slow.
Best Integrated Platform
Features
- Unlimited payroll runs
- Payroll in all 50 states at no extra cost
- Multiple pay rates and schedules
Starting Price/Month
$40 + $6/employee
Tax Filing
Yes
Free Trial
30 days
Comp and Benefits
Yes
Read More
OnPay’s robust payroll and HR platform is a great multi-faceted solution for small to midsize businesses. Recommended for businesses that pay hourly employees, OnPay can handle the majority of payroll processes at an affordable price.
OnPay is a strong, integrated payroll, HR, and benefits platform that provides an excellent interface, user experience, and a solid feature set. From the get-go, OnPay was easy for me to set up and intuitive to navigate.
One of the platform’s most impressive features is its payroll runs for all 50 states at no additional cost — competitors like QuickBooks Payroll and Patriot Payroll charge extra for additional states. Plus, its employee self-service portal gives employees a lifetime account to access pay stubs, download year-end tax documents, and change their own tax withholding information.
One big advantage of OnPay is that it offers only one pricing tier for access to all of its HR, payroll, and benefits features, which means you don’t need to pay extra to access additional features. OnPay also offers a mobile-friendly website that you can access from your smartphone which is great for on-the-go payroll management.
I found the platform a great fit for businesses that pay hourly employees. The platform also deftly manages various employee deductions, including dollar amounts, percentages, retirement plan contributions, and medical insurance premiums.
- Who is OnPay best for?
My testing showed that OnPay is a good choice for small to midsize businesses looking to manage payroll, HR, and benefits within one platform. Since the platform does not currently support automatic pay runs, I’d say that the platform is better suited to companies with more hourly than salaried employees. - Recent upgrades to OnPay
I was unable to find much information about OnPay product upgrades after September 2020 when the provider launched a payroll Report Designer to give small businesses insights into their operations. - OnPay pricing
Instead of pricing tiers, OnPay charges a $40 base fee plus $6 per employee per month for access to all of the platform’s HR, payroll, and benefits features. OnPay’s pricing page provides a handy calculator that lets you see exactly how much you’d pay for your total number of employees. Plus, OnPay only bills you for employees who are paid in a given month.
Reasons to choose OnPay
- Payroll for all 50 states
- Unlimited pay runs per month
- Multiple pay rates and schedules
- Lifetime employee access to the portal
Reasons to avoid
- No automatic payroll
- Limited third-party integrations
- Charges for year-end tax forms
Best for Small Businesses
Features
- Unlimited pay runs across all 50 states
- Offers two- or four-day direct deposits
- Set-up wizard and knowledge base
Starting Price/Month
$17 + $4/employee
Tax Filing
Yes
Free Trial
30 days
Comp and Benefits
No
Read More
Patriot Payroll offers everything a small business needs when setting up their payroll processes at an affordable price. With its fast and guided setup, you can quickly get started with this easy-to-use, modern payroll platform.
I selected Patriot Payroll as best for small businesses that are new to payroll due to its stellar set-up wizard and strong feature set. Although setting up payroll can be complex, there’s also a fantastic knowledge base filled with video demos to help you out.
As well as two- or four-day direct deposits, automated time off accrual, and unlimited pay runs across all 50 states, Patriot Payroll also offers several customization options. For example, I could create an unlimited number of money and hours types and create user-defined company match and contributions rules.
Patriot Payroll offers everything you need to run payroll, but you can also purchase add-on services such as time tracking, multistate payroll tax filing, accounting, and HR.
While it would be great to see a stronger benefits management feature, Patriot Payroll offers broad functionality and is the least expensive payroll provider on this list.
- Who is Patriot Payroll best for?
With its affordable pricing plans and robust feature set, Patriot Payroll is a great choice for small businesses with less than 100 employees. If you pay more than 100 employees, Rippling could be a more suitable option. - Recent upgrades to Patriot Payroll
This year, Patriot Payroll introduced a new W-2 mini wizard and a net-to-gross payroll tool. - Patriot Payroll pricing
Patriot Payroll costs $17 for the base fee plus$4 per employee/contractor per month making it the most affordable payroll platform on this list. If you file taxes in different states, be aware that Patriot Payroll charges an extra $12 per state, per month for additional state filings.
Reasons to choose Patriot Payroll
- Unlimited pay runs in all 50 states
- Offers two- or four-day deposits
- Set-up wizard and knowledge base
- Clean and modern user interface
Reasons to avoid
- No benefits management module
- $12 per state, per month for state filings
- Lacks customizable reports
- Extra charges for HR and time tracking
What Customers Are Saying About Patriot Payroll
Patriot Accounting is affordable and stable accounting software that is a little more challenging than QuickBooks. But it is an excellent choice for small businesses who want an affordable, full-featured solution. The Patriot team is fantastic and always willing to help. Be aware of delays in debits and direct deposits, and extra fees.
Best for Startups
Features
- Robust payroll feature set
- Personalized dashboards
- Smart technology improves efficiency
Starting Price/Month
Quote-based
Tax Filing
Yes
Free Trial
Video demo only
Comp and Benefits
No
Read More
Well-known for its array of human capital management solutions, ADP’s Run platform is a great choice for startups getting to grips with payroll. With its smart technology that optimizes payroll processes, ADP is a solid choice for businesses with up to 49 employees.
ADP Run is designed for small businesses with up to 49 employees and offers a wealth of functionality for them to run their payroll and HR processes. Businesses looking for a trusted provider with the essential tools they need to process payroll, manage taxes, and easily onboard new hires would do well to consider ADP Run.
I selected ADP Run as best for startups based on the fact that it offers powerful functionality that’s been designed specifically with smaller businesses in mind. It offers direct deposits, contractor payments, and multi-jurisdiction payroll, as well as intelligent search functionality, personalized dashboards, and smart technology.
The solution is easy to navigate and highly intuitive, and there’s also a chat option if you have questions while using the platform. Overall, ADP Run is very user-friendly — notifications remind you when payroll is due, and it’s easy to preview your entire payroll before submitting.
You can also customize how to set up sick time and paid time and add workers’ compensation and retirement contributions. Employees can onboard themselves with the provider’s employee self-service tool, which enables them to view their paystubs and update their information themselves.
- Who is ADP Run best for?
ADP Run is ideal for startups and small businesses that pay between one and 49 employees. Businesses with over 50 employees might find more suitable options in ADP’s Workforce Now platform or Rippling. - Recent upgrades to ADP Run
It was difficult to find specific ADP Run product upgrade information. However, in 2021, the provider announced major updates to the platform, including intelligent search functionality, a streamlined user interface, personalized dashboards with actionable insights, and smart technology that learns a business’s payroll system and identifies possible payroll mistakes before they happen. - ADP Run pricing
ADP Run does not share its pricing information publicly and operates on a quote-based model. However, the provider is offering the first three months free for new clients.
Reasons to choose ADP Run
- Smart technology improves efficiency
- Robust payroll feature set
- Personalized dashboards
- Good reporting options
Reasons to avoid
- Lack of transparent pricing
- Many features cost extra
- Confusing packages
- Set-up fees usually required
Best if You Have Around 20 Employees
Features
- Next-day direct deposits
- Full-service, automatic payroll
- Automated tax filing and payments
Starting Price/Month
$37.50 + $5/employee
Tax Filing
Yes
Free Trial
30 days
Comp and Benefits
Yes
Read More
Based solely on its pricing, QuickBooks Payroll is a great platform with robust features for businesses with less than 20 employees. Despite its strong feature set, the higher price tag might put it out of reach for many smaller businesses.
QuickBooks Payroll is a full-service, cloud-based payroll solution designed for businesses with up to 50 employees — although I recommend it for businesses with around 20 employees based on its high price point. If you’re already using QuickBooks Online for accounting, QuickBooks is a great integration option as a well-known, trusted provider.
The platform greeted me with step-by-step tutorials to set up my account quickly and easily. Once you’re up and running, you can automatically run payroll for your employees, make next-day direct deposits, and enjoy automated tax calculations and filing.
The QuickBooks Payroll interface was a pleasure to use, and it’s clear that it’s been designed with the user experience top of mind. Navigation is intuitive, and dashboards are useful, which is great since I’ve found that many cloud-based platform dashboards are a little underwhelming.
The platform sends HR paperwork to each employee to fill out, simplifying the onboarding process. Employees can also log in to the employee self-service portal to access paystubs, enter timesheets, apply for leave, and view leave balances.
The platform is a great choice for automated payroll processes. Once you’ve inputted hours and salaries, QuickBooks Payroll takes care of the rest. The tool also notifies you when you need to submit reports and payments and deftly handles government forms.
- Who is QuickBooks Payroll best for?
I found that QuickBooks Payroll is best suited for businesses with around 20 employees. While the platform provides many core payroll features, it’s lacking in other important features — such as its employee portal — that are offered by its direct competitors and would benefit a company with over 50 employees. - Recent upgrades to QuickBooks Payroll
Aside from minor updates like tax form updates for specific states and e-file updates, I was unable to find information on core upgrades to the QuickBooks Payroll platform. - QuickBooks Payroll pricing
QuickBooks Payroll is currently offering a 50% discount on its pricing packages, meaning its most basic tier comes in at $5 per employee per month plus a $37.50 base fee per month. This package offers full-service payroll, including automated taxes and forms, automatic payroll for salaried employees, next-day direct deposits, and the ability to manage contractors.
Reasons to choose QuickBooks Payroll
- Next-day direct deposits
- Full-service, automatic payroll
- Automated tax filing and payments
- Intuitive user experience
Reasons to avoid
- Expensive base fee
- Limited third-party integrations
Best PEO Solution
Features
- Robust feature set
- 24/7 customer service support
- Great for salaried and hourly employees
Starting Price/Month
$59/employee
Tax Filing
Yes
Free Trial
30 days
Comp and Benefits
Yes
Read More
If you’re looking to outsource your human resource functions to a professional employer organization (PEO) with a great payroll module, Justworks has you covered. The platform supports both salaried and hourly employees and offers 24/7 customer service support.
Justworks is a PEO solution that manages businesses’ payroll, HR, benefits, and compliance needs. Given the number of roles a PEO usually handles, I found the system easy to set up and navigate, and it was clear to see how the platform can scale with you as you grow.
Designed with small businesses in mind, Justworks is a modern take on many legacy PEO systems which are often presented as an assortment of siloed modules that don’t work together. A clean, intuitive interface made working through the system a breeze.
The provider offers strong payroll features for both salaried and hourly employees as well as support for contracted workers, which is unusual for a PEO — often PEOs charge extra for handling 1099 workers, or they don’t offer the functionality at all.
The platform also takes care of your tax compliance needs, including filing W-2s, paying quarterly payroll taxes, and helping you maintain compliance by informing you of changes to tax and employment laws. Justworks handles all calculations, filings, and payments for federal, state, and local taxes.
The system also supports multiple pay frequencies, off-cycle payments, and wage garnishments, and you can easily track leave accruals and manage time-off requests.
While Justworks is a great PEO solution, I’d have liked to have seen more third-party integrations available. As a PEO — platforms that are known for helping optimize business processes — the solution lacks the number of built-in reporting options I’d expect from an otherwise robust platform.
- Who is Justworks best for?
Justworks is a great fit for small businesses looking for a PEO that provides full-service, outsourced human resource functions. Despite the higher price tag, given that PEOs can help small businesses reduce liability and increase efficiency, Justworks could be a great option for small and large businesses. - Recent upgrades to Justworks
Justworks recently announced the following product upgrades to optimize employees’ self-service options and help you better manage payroll processes:- Justworks mobile app for employees to access paystubs, health insurance information, and time off on the go
- Optimized timecard settings page to help you set up time entry, overtime, and multi-rate overtime calculation methods
- Bulk payments to make it easier to schedule multiple off-cycle payments of the same type at the same time
- Justworks pricing
The basic plan for businesses with less than 50 employees costs $59 per employee per month, making Justworks the second most expensive provider on this list. This plan, however, provides payroll, benefits management, HR tools, and compliance features which provide a lot of value for businesses looking to consolidate most of their people management processes.
Reasons to choose Justworks
- Robust feature set
- Great for salaried and hourly employees
- 24/7 customer service support
- Easy to navigate
Reasons to avoid
- Not as customizable as others
- Expensive solution to use only for payroll
- Not as many third-party integrations
- Time tracking feature are extra
Best for Paying Hourly Employees
Features
- Multiple pay rates and unlimited payroll
- Automatic calculation of payroll taxes
- Built-in time tracking
Starting Price/Month
$25 + $6/employee
Tax Filing
Yes
Free Trial
30 days
Comp and Benefits
Yes
Read More
Launched in 2017, Workful is a relative newcomer on the payroll software market. Despite its later release into an already-crowded market, Workful is a versatile platform with great payroll features and an affordable pricing plan.
Workful is owned by parent company TaxSlayer, a popular online tax filing service that’s been in business since 1965. Based on this experience, Workful offers a full-service, cloud-based payroll solution that includes elements of HR functionality at an affordable price.
I was able to set up the Workful platform and payroll processes relatively quickly with the assistance of a multi-step wizard. The platform itself is easy to navigate and I enjoyed its clean and uncluttered aesthetic.
I chose Workful as the best solution for paying hourly employees because of its built-in time clock that supports geolocation and enables you to easily sync employee time tracking with payroll. For this reason, I highly recommend the platform for businesses that pay hourly employees.
Workful offers direct deposits, multiple pay rates, and a great employee portal where employees can clock in and out, make time-off and expense reimbursement requests, and update their information.
You also have access to a decent report library that includes reports on expenses and mileage, a tax liability report, a payroll register detail report, and a timesheet report. All of this information is updated in real-time to help you make better business decisions.
Workful automatically calculates payroll taxes, generates year-end forms, and auto-populates information on federal tax forms. However, I would have liked to have seen more third-party integration options — currently, Workful only integrates with QuickBooks.
- Who is Workful best for?
With its strong time-tracking features and affordable pricing plan, Workful is a good fit for smaller businesses that pay employees that work on an hourly basis. The platform doesn’t offer automatic payroll, so if you’re paying salaried employees, you might consider solutions like Gusto or QuickBooks Payroll. - Recent upgrades to Workful
Workful recently expanded its earnings types and added e-filing of W-2s and 1099s. - Workful pricing
Like OnPay, Instead of pricing tiers, Workful charges a base fee of $25 per month plus $5 per team member per month, making it the second most affordable payroll platform on this list after Patriot Payroll. This price gives you access to the platform’s payroll, time tracking, and employee self-service tools.
Reasons to choose Workful
- Affordable pricing plan
- Unlimited payroll runs
- Good range or earnings types
- Simple, intuitive interface
Reasons to avoid
- No automated payroll
- Only integrates with QuickBooks
- Employee mobile app features are lacking
- Not as customizable as others
Best for Global Workforces
Features
- One-click payroll runs
- Syncs with HR data
- Global payments in 90 seconds
Starting Price/Month
Custom + $8/employee
Tax Filing
Yes
Free Trial
Trial & demo
Comp and Benefits
Yes
Read More
Rippling is a good choice for businesses with both larger budgets and a global workforce. While the platform boasts many strong payroll features, you need to purchase the core workforce management platform to use the payroll module.
Rippling is a full-service, multi-module HR provider that offers a global payroll solution for businesses paying employees worldwide. I found the setup very intuitive with Rippling’s automated wizard that takes you through a step-by-step guide.
From here, you’re presented with a “to-do list” of tasks that help you input the data and information you need to get started. Then, you are navigated to the next task based on the information you’ve provided.
What I love about the platform is that it can automatically import all data from your current tools, including Sage, QuickBooks Online, Xero, ADP, and Gusto. This plus core payroll features, workflow automations, and a high degree of customizability make Rippling an attractive solution for global businesses.
Plus, unlike many of its competitors, Rippling’s international payroll is included in the price. You can pay full-time and hourly employees and contractors worldwide in one click and in 90 seconds.
I also enjoyed the tight-knit synchronization with Rippling’s HR tools that enable you to onboard and offboard employees, manage employee development, and recruit new talent.
However, if you’re looking for a standalone payroll solution, Rippling is not your tool. You’ll also need to purchase the payroll module’s workforce management module. This is a little disappointing given that Rippling has developed a strong, versatile payroll product with niches that many of its competitors don’t offer.
After setup, I found some of Rippling’s user journeys to be a little complicated, and many filters were reset when I left the screen. I had to refresh many pages multiple times to complete tasks halfway through, which was frustrating.
- Who is Rippling best for?
Rippling is an option for businesses with a global workforce that need to pay employees in different countries. Given the fact that Rippling doesn’t provide transparent pricing information and that you need to purchase its workforce management platform in conjunction with the payroll module, Rippling is suited to midsize businesses with larger budgets. - Recent upgrades to Rippling
Rippling recently announced the following product upgrades:- Rippling Spend Management integrates with the payroll module to consolidate card transactions, reimbursements, and bill payments
- Role-based permissions to help you control employee access to certain systems
- Rippling pricing
On Rippling’s pricing page states that plans start at $8 per employee per month. Aside from this, however, there is no further information. Rippling operates a quote-based pricing system.
Reasons to choose Rippling
- Global payments in 90 seconds
- Access to 500+ integrations
- Automatic filing of global taxes
- Customizable policies & benefits by country
Reasons to avoid
- System can be buggy at times
- Lack of transparent pricing options
- Sometimes clunky user interface
- Can only access payroll if you purchase the workforce management module
Compare Payroll Software
Payroll Software
Best Features
Starting Price
Best Payroll Software
- Strong payroll, reporting, and automations
- Unlimited payrolls per month in all 50 states
- Robust third-party integrations
$40 + $6 per employee per month
Best Integrated Platform
- Unlimited payroll runs
- Payroll in all 50 states at no extra cost
- Multiple pay rates and schedules
$40 + $6 per employee per month
Best for Small Businesses
- Unlimited pay runs across all 50 states
- Offers two- or four-day direct deposits
- Set-up wizard and knowledge base
$17 + $4 per employee per month
Best for Startups
- Robust payroll feature set
- Personalized dashboards
- Smart technology improves efficiency
Quote-based pricing
Best if You Have Around 20 Employees
- Next-day direct deposits
- Full-service, automatic payroll
- Automated tax filing and payments
$37.50 + $5 per employee per month
Best PEO Solutions
- Robust feature set
- 24/7 customer service support
- Strong payroll features for both salaried and hourly employees
No base fee–$59 per employee per month
Best for Paying Hourly Employees
- Multiple pay rates and unlimited payroll
- Automatic calculation of payroll taxes
- Built-in time tracking
$25 + $6 per employee per month
Best for Global Workforces
- One-click payroll runs
- Syncs with HR data
- Global payments in 90 seconds
Custom quote + $8 per employee per month
What You Need to Know
What is payroll software?
Payroll software is an on-premises or cloud-based solution that manages, maintains, and automates payments to employees. Robust, integrated, and properly configured payroll software can help organizations of all sizes maintain compliance with tax laws and other financial regulations, and reduce costs.
What are the benefits of using payroll software?
- Saves time through streamlined and automated processes
- Promotes transparency and builds trust among your employees
- Reduces the possibility of human error
- Protects employee payroll data with tools like conditional system access and password protection
- Keeps you in compliance with company rules and tax laws
- Manages payroll across multiple countries
- Monitors employee time, leave, and overtime
- Tracks employee benefits, bonuses, and overtime pay
- Keeps consistent and reliable payroll
- Offers customer service
What are the disadvantages of payroll software?
- Creates security risks
- Need to secure and back-up data
- Extra costs
- Cost of training time
How We Review Payroll Software
I tested each payroll software solution by signing up for a plan to check out what each provider offers users. I spent time navigating the software, testing features, and evaluating integration options. I also noted the level of customer support that was available to me.
I evaluated each platform’s core features and how well they serve the intended audience, took note of any unique features, assessed pricing options, and ascertained whether a free trial or demo is available. I took an in-depth look at each payroll software solution as a whole and evaluated them based on the following key features:
Learn more about our review methodology.