Capterra Value Report: A Price Comparison Guide for Payroll Software

There are a plethora of things that human resources (HR) professionals need to keep an eye on when choosing payroll software for their business. However, more often than not, users’ top two considerations are functionality and price.

Even though price is a key consideration when it comes to purchasing software, it shouldn’t mean you should compromise on the functionality and the value you get for your money. Small businesses need to choose payroll software that is both affordable and fits the specific needs of their business.

Software features vary widely depending on the vendor. While most vendors offer basic features that a small business needs to support its payroll function, some vendors may offer additional features within the same price range. Before investing in any payroll tool, you need to determine which products offer the features you need while still giving you the best value for your money.

If you’re looking to invest in payroll software, you’ll find a whole universe of tools available on the market. In this pricing report, we’ll review the price of the top payroll software products that have received both a high value-for-money and functionality rating from users. This information should help you purchase the best solution for your business needs.

Top payroll software rated on value for money and functionality

The graphic below shows products that have the highest value-for-money and functionality ratings based on user reviews in Capterra’s software directory. Products are arranged in increasing order of their value-for-money rating (bottom to top) and functionality rating (left to right).

Price comparison for highly rated payroll software

Comparing pricing and features for multiple software solutions can prove to be an arduous task. To help you out, we’ve created a table to highlight how different payroll software products stack up against each other in terms of starting pricing, free trials, and free versions, allowing you to compare these products all in one place.

1. Deluxe Payroll and HR

Deluxe Payroll and HR is a comprehensive cloud-based payroll and HR solution that offers features such as full-service payroll, tax filings, digital hiring, digital onboarding, employee self-service, two-day direct deposit, compliance, and payroll reports.

Starting price: Starts from $46 per month ($39 base fee + $7 per employee)

Features available at a higher price: Advanced versions of Deluxe Payroll and HR offer HR document management, employee performance tracking, workflow automation and templates, team directory, and organizational charts.

2. Gusto

Gusto is an all-in-one people platform for different HR functions such as payroll and benefits. The software offers features including time and attendance, hiring and onboarding, talent management, insights and reporting, full-service payroll, and employee benefits.

Starting price: Starts from $45 per month ($39 base fee + $6 per employee) with unlimited payroll runs.

Advanced features available at a higher price: Advanced versions of Gusto offer features such as health insurance broker integration, compliance alerts, project tracking, team management tools, and performance reviews.

3. Homebase

Homebase is a cloud-based HR solution that helps small businesses manage hourly work. The solution offers functionalities such as employee scheduling, time clock, time sheets, payroll, hiring, onboarding, compliance, and team communication.

Starting price: Starts at $14 per month per location (billed annually) for unlimited employees.

Features available at a higher price: Advanced versions of Homebase offer features such as labor cost controls, time-off controls, new hire onboarding, employee paperwork and documents, compliance support, and budgeting.

4. Hourly

Hourly is cloud-based workers’ compensation insurance and payroll software that offers unlimited payroll runs, automatic tax-filing, self-service garnishments, QuickBooks integration, and next-day direct deposit.

Starting price: Starts from $46 per month ($40 base fee + $6 per person) with unlimited payroll runs.

Features available at a higher price: Advanced versions of Hourly offer features such as employee document center, same-day direct deposit, and time tracking.

5. Knit

Knit is a full-service payroll and payments HR solution that offers payroll features including direct deposit, payroll calculations, employment records, unlimited income types, multiple pay rates, and unlimited deduction types.

Starting price: Starts from $45 per month ($39 base fee + $6 per employee per month) with unlimited pay groups.

Features available at a higher price: Advanced versions of Knit offer features such as mass import payroll info, documents and e-signatures, and balance adjustments for time off.

6. OnPay

OnPay is a payroll services tool that includes features such as direct deposits, garnishments, multiple pay rates and schedules, tax filings and payments, integrations, and unemployment insurance withholding.

Starting price: Starts from $40 per month ($36 base fee + $4 per person per month) with unlimited monthly pay runs.

Features available at a higher price: OnPay offers all features for one pricing; however, prices vary as per the number of employees.

7. Patriot Payroll

Patriot Payroll is an online payroll solution designed for small businesses. The solution offers features such as an employee portal, direct deposit, payroll setup, integrations, time-off accruals, and multiple pay rates.

Starting price: Starts at $14 per month ($10 base fee + $4 per employee per month) with unlimited monthly payroll runs.

Features available at a higher price: Advanced versions of Patriot Payroll offer features for federal, state as well as local taxes.

8. Paychex Flex

Paychex Flex is an HR and payroll solution that offers features including benefits management, assessment management, HR library, business forms, financial wellness program, new-hire reporting, general ledger report, standard analytics and reporting, and employee self-service.

Starting price: $44 per month ($39 per month as base fee + $5 per employee) with unlimited payroll runs.

Advanced features available at a higher price: Advanced versions of Paychex Flex offer a dedicated payroll specialist, learning management system, and onboarding essentials, including new-hire documentation, employee screening, and accounting software integration.

9. QuickBooks Payroll

QuickBooks Payroll is a payroll solution for small businesses. The software offers features including payroll reporting, benefits management, direct deposit, wage garnishment, self-service portal, and tax compliance.

Starting price: Starts at $74 per month ($70 per month as base fee + $4 per employee per month), with unlimited payroll runs.

Features available at a higher price: Advanced versions of QuickBooks Payroll offer expert review, same-day direct deposit, HR support center, and workers’ compensation administration.

10. Rippling

This HR platform offers payroll management, benefits management, onboarding, offboarding, learning management, and talent management, among other features.

Starting price: Starts from $8 per user per month.

Advanced features available at a higher price: Rippling offers custom pricing as per the features required by the users.

11. Square Payroll

Square Payroll is an online payroll services tool for small businesses. The software offers various payroll features such as full-service payroll, automatic payroll tax calculations, multistate payroll, tax filings, payments, and live support for account setup.

Starting price: Starts at $40 per month ($35 per month as base fee + $5 per person per month), with unlimited pay runs per month.

Features available at a higher price: Square Payroll offers all features for one pricing; however, prices vary as per the number of employees.

12. SurePayroll

SurePayroll is a payroll software for small businesses that has features such as payroll management, payroll reporting, compliance posters, HR guides, employee database, applicant tracking, compensation management, a self-service portal, and health insurance administration.

Starting price: Starts at $34 per month ($30 per month as base fee + $4 per employee), with unlimited monthly pay runs.

Features available at a higher price: Advanced versions of SurePayroll offer features such as integrations for time clock and accounting.

13. UZIO

UZIO is a cloud-based payroll, benefits, and HR software with features such as full-service payroll, unlimited payroll runs, tax payments and filings, and two-day direct deposit.

Starting price: Starts at $45 per month ($40 per month as base fee + $5 per employee per month), with unlimited payroll runs.

Features available at a higher price: Advanced versions of UZIO offer an employee self-service portal, open enrollment, employee decision support system, compliance, and document management.

14. Zenefits

Zenefits is a people operations tool with functionalities available for onboarding, payroll, and benefits. The software includes automated onboarding, employee management, time-off tracking, scheduling, automated payroll sync, multiple integrations, and mobile apps.

Starting price: $8 per employee per month. The pricing model for Zenefits provides monthly and annual billing payment options.

Advanced features available at a higher price: Advanced versions of Zenefits offer features such as compensation management, performance management, employee engagement surveys, payroll, and advisory services.

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Methodology

We have considered the highest-reviewed payroll products in this report. The pricing included in the pricing table is for the base plan of the product found on vendor websites as of March 30, 2022. This data may have changed since publication and may not reflect current conditions. For further information on pricing for a particular product, please check out the vendor websites.

If you want to explore more payroll tools, please visit our Payroll Software Category Page.

Disclaimer: The pricing report highlights the highest-reviewed products based on value for money and functionality ratings from end users. This data may have changed since publication and may not reflect current conditions.