Expert Guide

Cheapest Payroll Software in 2026: 10 Providers Priced for a 10-Employee Business

Ten US payroll services with a printed price, ranked by the monthly bill for 10 W-2 employees on full-service tax filing, with the headcount where the cheapest pick changes, from prices read in October 2026.

Product links may be affiliate links. How we rate 10 tools compared
TL;DR

Short answer: Patriot Full Service Payroll is the cheapest full-service payroll software for a 10-employee business in 2026, at $87 a month, with federal, state and local tax filing included. Roll by ADP is $2 behind at $89, Square Payroll costs $95 and SurePayroll $99 for the same team. Prices read on each vendor's pricing page on October 26, 2026.

The ranking is not fixed. SurePayroll's lower base fee makes it the cheapest at one to three employees, the two tie at four, Patriot leads from five, and the gap widens with every hire because Patriot's per-worker fee is the lowest on this page alongside Roll's. Gusto, OnPay and Homebase tie a step further down, QuickBooks Workforce Payroll costs $120 and Justworks, at $130, is the most expensive printed plan.

Key facts10 tools compared: Patriot Software, Roll by ADP, Square Payroll, SurePayroll, Wave Payroll…
  • Updated: November 10, 2026
  • Top pick: Patriot Software (best for: Single-state businesses of five or more employees that want the lowest full-service bill)
  • Top pick price as of November 10, 2026: Patriot Software: Full Service $37/mo + $5 per worker paid, $87 at 10 employees; Basic $17/mo + $4 if you file taxes yourself
  • 10 tools compared: Patriot Software, Roll by ADP, Square Payroll, SurePayroll, Wave Payroll, OnPay, Gusto Simple, Homebase Payroll, QuickBooks Workforce Payroll, Justworks Payroll
  • Roll by ADP (best for: Owners who want to run payroll from a chat-style mobile app at a Patriot-level price): $39/mo + $5 per employee, $89 at 10 employees; unlimited payroll runs, three months free at signup
  • Square Payroll (best for: Square sellers and businesses that mostly pay contractors): Full service $35/mo + $6 per person paid, $95 at 10 employees; contractor-only plan has no base fee
  • SurePayroll (best for: Businesses with one to three employees, where the lowest base fee makes it the cheapest full-service plan): Small business plan from $29/mo + $7 per worker, $99 at 10 employees; a second card on the same page shows $39

Cheap payroll software means two numbers, a base fee and a per-employee fee, and the cheapest provider depends on which one your headcount makes bigger. A low base fee with a high per-worker fee wins for a three-person shop, ties at four and loses from the fifth hire to a provider with the opposite shape. This page computes the monthly bill for ten providers at 1, 5, 10, 25 and 50 W-2 employees, counts only full-service plans where the provider files and deposits the taxes, and shows the exact headcount where the cheapest pick changes. Promotional months are listed but never counted.

Toolradar data: the Toolradar payroll ranking, from the software directory we run, tracks 76 payroll tools as of October 25, 2026, and only 22 of them publish a price, with a median cheapest paid plan of $22 a month. Every provider on this page is one of the ones that prints its fee, so the totals below are the vendor's own numbers multiplied out, not estimates.

Top Picks

Based on features, real-world fit, and value for money.

#1 Top pick

Patriot Software

The cheapest full-service payroll from five employees up, with free direct deposit, free setup and local tax filing included.

Pricing

Full Service $37/mo + $5 per worker paid, $87 at 10 employees; Basic $17/mo + $4 if you file taxes yourself

Best for

Single-state businesses of five or more employees that want the lowest full-service bill

#2

Roll by ADP

ADP's self-serve mobile payroll app at one flat price, a couple of dollars a month behind Patriot at every size.

Pricing

$39/mo + $5 per employee, $89 at 10 employees; unlimited payroll runs, three months free at signup

Best for

Owners who want to run payroll from a chat-style mobile app at a Patriot-level price

#3

Square Payroll

Full-service payroll at a low base fee, with a contractor-only mode that has no monthly base fee at all.

Pricing

Full service $35/mo + $6 per person paid, $95 at 10 employees; contractor-only plan has no base fee

Best for

Square sellers and businesses that mostly pay contractors

Cheapest Payroll Software in 2026: 10 Providers Priced for a 10-Employee Business: 10 tools compared, updated Nov 2026
ToolPricingBest for
Patriot SoftwareFull Service $37/mo + $5 per worker paid, $87 at 10 employees; Basic $17/mo + $4 if you file taxes yourselfSingle-state businesses of five or more employees that want the lowest full-service bill
Roll by ADP$39/mo + $5 per employee, $89 at 10 employees; unlimited payroll runs, three months free at signupOwners who want to run payroll from a chat-style mobile app at a Patriot-level price
Square PayrollFull service $35/mo + $6 per person paid, $95 at 10 employees; contractor-only plan has no base feeSquare sellers and businesses that mostly pay contractors
SurePayrollSmall business plan from $29/mo + $7 per worker, $99 at 10 employees; a second card on the same page shows $39Businesses with one to three employees, where the lowest base fee makes it the cheapest full-service plan
Wave Payroll$40/mo + $6 per active employee or contractor paid, $100 at 10 employees; tax service in all 50 statesOwners already on Wave's free accounting who want payroll and books in one login
OnPayPayroll Essentials $49/mo + $6 per worker, $109 at 10 employees; HR add-on $15/mo + $2 per workerSmall businesses that want one plan with HR tools and no tiers to upgrade through
Gusto SimpleSimple $49/mo + $6 per person, $109 at 10 employees; Plus $80 + $12 per person for multi-state; Premium $180 + $22Teams that will add benefits, time tracking or a second state and want one vendor for all of it
Homebase PayrollBasic plan $0 for 1 location up to 10 employees; payroll add-on $49/mo + $6 per employee paidHourly teams of 10 or fewer at one location that schedule and clock in on Homebase
QuickBooks Workforce PayrollWorkforce Payroll $50/mo + $7 per employee, $120 at 10 employees; 50% off for 3 months at signupBusinesses already on QuickBooks Online that want payroll inside the same login
Justworks Payroll$50/mo base fee + $8 per employee, $130 at 10 employees; PEO plans from $79 per employee with no base feeBusinesses that expect to move to a PEO for benefits later and want the same vendor

Pricing read from each vendor's own pricing page, checked Nov 2026. Every vendor here publishes a price.

Lowest published monthly price by toolBar chart of the lowest monthly price each vendor publishes; the same figures are in the comparison table above.Lowest published monthly pricePatriot Software$17Roll by ADP$39Square Payroll$35SurePayroll$29Wave Payroll$40OnPay$15Gusto Simple$49Homebase Payroll$49QuickBooks Workforce Payroll$50Justworks Payroll$50
Lowest monthly figure each vendor publishes, checked Nov 2026. A tilde marks a figure the vendor states approximately. Per-seat and usage charges can sit on top of it. Every tool here publishes a monthly price.
1 Patriot Software logo
Top Pick

Patriot Software

The cheapest full-service payroll from five employees up, with free direct deposit, free setup and local tax filing included.

Pricing
Full Service $37/mo + $5 per worker paid, $87 at 10 employees; Basic $17/mo + $4 if you file taxes yourself

Best for: Single-state businesses of five or more employees that want the lowest full-service bill

Pros

  • Cheapest at 5, 25 and 50 employees as well as at 10: $62, $162 and $287 a month, our arithmetic from the printed fees
  • Full Service files and deposits federal, state and local taxes and year-end forms with no setup fee
  • The per-worker fee is the lowest on this page, shared only with Roll, so the lead over the other providers grows with every hire

Cons

  • Each additional state costs $12 a month, so a team in three states pays $24 more than the totals here
  • Time and attendance and HR add-ons each carry another per-employee fee, and the promotional half-price base lasts three months
2 Roll by ADP logo

Roll by ADP

ADP's self-serve mobile payroll app at one flat price, a couple of dollars a month behind Patriot at every size.

Pricing
$39/mo + $5 per employee, $89 at 10 employees; unlimited payroll runs, three months free at signup

Best for: Owners who want to run payroll from a chat-style mobile app at a Patriot-level price

Pros

  • Second cheapest at both 10 and 50 employees, with the same per-employee fee as Patriot
  • One plan with everything included and no tiering, sold by ADP without the quote process of RUN
  • Three months free at signup, a limited-time offer that is not counted here

Cons

  • Always slightly more than Patriot Full Service because of the higher base fee
  • One plan and no tiers, so an owner who later wants HR tools or a dedicated advisor has nowhere to upgrade inside Roll
3 Square Payroll logo

Square Payroll

Full-service payroll at a low base fee, with a contractor-only mode that has no monthly base fee at all.

Pricing
Full service $35/mo + $6 per person paid, $95 at 10 employees; contractor-only plan has no base fee

Best for: Square sellers and businesses that mostly pay contractors

Pros

  • Third cheapest at 10 employees, and the cheapest of the providers on the middle per-person rate at every size
  • Contractor-only payroll costs the per-person fee and nothing else, the cheapest way on this page to pay a few 1099 workers
  • Timecard import brings hours into payroll, so hourly teams on Square's tools do not key them twice

Cons

  • The per-person fee loses to Patriot's and Roll's from the second employee, so the gap reaches $48 a month at 50
  • Mailing paper W-2s and 1099s costs $3 per person a year, and the value case assumes you already sell through Square
4 SurePayroll logo

SurePayroll

The lowest base fee on this page, which wins at one to three employees, ties Patriot at four and loses from the fifth hire.

Pricing
Small business plan from $29/mo + $7 per worker, $99 at 10 employees; a second card on the same page shows $39

Best for: Businesses with one to three employees, where the lowest base fee makes it the cheapest full-service plan

Pros

  • Cheapest at 1 employee at $36 a month and still cheapest at 3, our arithmetic from its base and per-worker fees
  • First state included, with multi-state payroll at $9.99 a month, less than Patriot's per-state fee
  • Unlimited payroll runs, free two-day direct deposit and every other month free in the first 12 months, an offer not counted here

Cons

  • The per-worker fee is the highest on this page, so at 50 employees the bill is $379, the highest of the four lowest-base providers
  • Year-end W-2 and 1099 forms are billed at $50 plus $5 per form, areas with local taxes carry a separate fee, and the pricing page shows two different starting prices, so confirm the base fee at signup
5 Wave Payroll logo

Wave Payroll

Payroll add-on for Wave's accounting at a flat base fee per month, with tax filing in every state since April 2025.

Pricing
$40/mo + $6 per active employee or contractor paid, $100 at 10 employees; tax service in all 50 states

Best for: Owners already on Wave's free accounting who want payroll and books in one login

Pros

  • Fifth cheapest at 10 employees at $100, and the books and payroll share one ledger with no integration to maintain
  • Tax service covers all 50 states at the same base price, after Wave dropped its two-tier state pricing on April 2, 2025
  • Only active employees and contractors paid in the month are billed

Cons

  • A few dollars a month more than Square for the same per-person fee, and $13 more than Patriot at 10 employees
  • Payroll is an add-on to Wave's accounting, so a business on QuickBooks or Xero gains nothing from the bundle
6 OnPay logo

OnPay

One payroll plan at the same price as Gusto Simple, with an optional HR add-on instead of a tier ladder.

Pricing
Payroll Essentials $49/mo + $6 per worker, $109 at 10 employees; HR add-on $15/mo + $2 per worker

Best for: Small businesses that want one plan with HR tools and no tiers to upgrade through

Pros

  • One plan covers payroll, filings and year-end forms, with no Plus or Premium tier to grow into
  • The HR add-on brings compliance resources and live HR support for $35 more at 10 people
  • Ties with Gusto Simple and Homebase for 10 employees

Cons

  • The base fee is higher than both Patriot's and SurePayroll's, so OnPay is never the cheapest at any headcount on this page
  • At 50 employees the bill is $349, $62 a month more than Patriot for the same filings
7

Gusto Simple

The most-used small business payroll at the OnPay price on Simple, with pricier tiers the moment you add a state.

Pricing
Simple $49/mo + $6 per person, $109 at 10 employees; Plus $80 + $12 per person for multi-state; Premium $180 + $22

Best for: Teams that will add benefits, time tracking or a second state and want one vendor for all of it

Pros

  • Simple ties OnPay and Homebase for 10 employees with unlimited payrolls, filings and basic PTO policies
  • US contractors are billed at the per-person rate only in months they are paid
  • Benefits, 401(k), time tracking and HR tools are a plan change away rather than a second vendor

Cons

  • Simple runs payroll in one state only; a second state means Plus, which is $200 at 10 employees
  • Priority support costs $30 a month plus $3 per person on Simple and Plus
8 Homebase Payroll logo

Homebase Payroll

Free scheduling and time clock for up to 10 employees with full-service payroll added per employee paid.

Pricing
Basic plan $0 for 1 location up to 10 employees; payroll add-on $49/mo + $6 per employee paid

Best for: Hourly teams of 10 or fewer at one location that schedule and clock in on Homebase

Pros

  • Basic is $0 for one location and up to 10 employees, so the payroll add-on is the entire bill
  • Hours flow from the free time clock into payroll, which removes the timesheet step for hourly teams
  • Six free months of payroll, then a $29 base for teams of five or fewer who set up by December 15, 2026, a limited-time offer not counted here

Cons

  • The 11th employee or a second location forces Essentials at $30 a month per location, so 25 employees cost $229 rather than $199
  • Payroll alone costs more than Patriot at 10 employees, and the value depends on using the scheduling product
9

QuickBooks Workforce Payroll

Intuit's full-service payroll sold on its own or bundled with QuickBooks accounting, ninth of ten for a 10-person team.

Pricing
Workforce Payroll $50/mo + $7 per employee, $120 at 10 employees; 50% off for 3 months at signup

Best for: Businesses already on QuickBooks Online that want payroll inside the same login

Pros

  • Sold alone or with accounting: the Simple Start bundle is $88 plus $6.50 per employee for a business that needs both
  • Full-service tax filing, unlimited 1099 e-filing and next-day direct deposit on the entry plan
  • Existing QuickBooks Online subscribers add payroll from inside the product, with no second login

Cons

  • $33 a month above Patriot at 10 employees and $113 above it at 50, because both its base and per-employee fees are higher
  • Time tracking and HR tools start on Workforce Premium at $88 plus $13 per employee, $218 a month for 10 people
10 Justworks Payroll logo

Justworks Payroll

Payroll and HR tools priced as the on-ramp to Justworks' PEO rather than as the cheapest payroll.

Pricing
$50/mo base fee + $8 per employee, $130 at 10 employees; PEO plans from $79 per employee with no base fee

Best for: Businesses that expect to move to a PEO for benefits later and want the same vendor

Pros

  • One plan with payroll for all employees, HR tools, expert support and access to time tracking
  • Moving to the PEO Basic plan at $79 per employee later keeps payroll history with one vendor
  • The base fee is close to OnPay's and Gusto's; the difference is all in the per-employee fee

Cons

  • The per-employee fee is the highest on this page, so Justworks is $43 a month above Patriot at 10 employees and $163 above at 50
  • A business that never wants a PEO pays for an on-ramp it will not use

What it is

Payroll software calculates wages and withholdings, pays employees by direct deposit, and files and deposits federal and state payroll taxes, with year-end W-2 and 1099 forms. The cheap end of the market sells it as a flat monthly base fee plus a per-employee or per-worker fee, billed for the people paid that month. Full-service means the provider files and deposits the taxes; a self-service plan like Patriot Basic at $17 a month plus $4 per worker leaves the filing to you, which is why it is listed on this page but not ranked. The ten providers here are the ones with a printed US price: Patriot, Roll by ADP, Square, SurePayroll, Wave, OnPay, Gusto, Homebase, Justworks and QuickBooks. ADP RUN, Paychex and Paycor sell by quote and are not ranked.

Why it matters

At 10 employees the spread between the cheapest and the most expensive printed plan is $43 a month, or $516 a year, for the same federal and state filings. That is the difference between Patriot and Justworks, our arithmetic from both price lists. The spread grows with headcount: at 50 employees Patriot is $287 and Justworks $450, because Justworks charges the highest per-employee fee on this page and Patriot the lowest. For a business that will double its team in two years, the per-employee fee matters more than the base fee it signs up on, which is why the tables below run the numbers at five sizes instead of one.

Key features to look for

Base fee plus per-employee feeEssential
Every ranked provider prints both numbers, listed in each card below. The base fees run from SurePayroll's lowest to the $50 charged by Justworks and QuickBooks, and the per-employee fees from Patriot's and Roll's lowest to Justworks' highest, which is why the cheapest provider changes with headcount.
Full-service tax filing includedEssential
All ten ranked plans file and deposit federal and state payroll taxes. Patriot's Full Service plan adds local filings; SurePayroll charges a separate fee in areas with local taxes and bills year-end W-2 and 1099 forms annually on top.
Multi-state fees
Patriot charges a monthly fee for each additional state on Full Service, SurePayroll a smaller monthly fee for multi-state payroll, and Gusto Simple covers one state only, with the Plus plan required for more. Wave's tax service now covers all 50 states at the same base price.
Contractor pricing
Square runs contractor-only payroll at a per-person fee with no base fee, Wave bills contractors at the same rate as employees in the months they are paid, Gusto charges its per-person rate only in months a contractor is paid, and Patriot pays contractors inside the same per-worker fee.
Introductory offers
Patriot gives a 30-day trial then 50% off for 3 months, Roll three months free, QuickBooks 50% off for 3 months, SurePayroll every other month free in the first year, and Homebase six free months of payroll. None of these is counted in the totals, because the regular rate is what you pay in every later year.
Free plan underneath
Homebase Basic is $0 for one location with up to 10 employees, so its payroll add-on is the whole bill until the 11th employee forces the Essentials plan. No other provider on this page has a free tier; the free options are covered on the best free payroll software page.

Pricing

The ranking uses each plan's regular base fee plus its per-employee fee times the headcount, for W-2 employees in one state on full-service tax filing, our arithmetic from the prices printed on the vendor pages on October 26, 2026. At 10 employees the order is the one in the pricing table below. At 1 employee: SurePayroll $36, Square $41, Patriot $42, Roll $44, Wave $46, OnPay, Gusto and Homebase $55, QuickBooks $57, Justworks $58. At 5: Patriot $62, Roll and SurePayroll $64, Square $65, Wave $70, OnPay, Gusto and Homebase $79, QuickBooks $85, Justworks $90. At 25: Patriot $162, Roll $164, Square $185, Wave $190, OnPay and Gusto $199, SurePayroll $204, QuickBooks $225, Homebase $229 with Essentials, Justworks $250. At 50: Patriot $287, Roll $289, Square $335, Wave $340, OnPay and Gusto $349, SurePayroll and Homebase $379, QuickBooks $400, Justworks $450. Sources: Patriot pricing, Roll by ADP pricing, Square Payroll pricing, SurePayroll pricing, Wave Payroll, OnPay pricing, Gusto pricing, Homebase pricing, QuickBooks payroll plans and Justworks pricing.

The flip points follow from the fees. SurePayroll beats Patriot while 29 plus 7 times the headcount is below 37 plus 5 times the headcount, which holds for one to three employees; at four both cost $57, and from five Patriot is cheapest and stays there. Square beats Patriot only at a single employee, by $1. Roll never beats Patriot because its base is $2 higher and its per-employee fee the same. SurePayroll's second pricing card at $39 would add $10 to every SurePayroll total, and at that base it is never the cheapest at any size. Gusto Simple's totals assume one state; a second state moves Gusto to Plus at $80 plus $12 per person, $200 at 10 employees, while Patriot and SurePayroll only add a monthly multi-state fee for the same hire. The payroll cost guide explains the fees behind these totals, and the Patriot pricing page walks through the leader's add-ons.

PlanPriceBest for
Patriot Full Service Payroll$87/mo at 10 employeesFederal, state and local filing and year-end forms; a monthly fee per extra state; Basic plan if you file taxes yourself
Roll by ADP$89/mo at 10 employeesOne plan, unlimited runs; three months free at signup
Square Payroll$95/mo at 10 employeesFull-service filing; contractor-only payroll with no base fee; $3 per person a year for mailed forms
SurePayroll$99/mo at 10 employeesLowest base fee here; multi-state payroll for a monthly fee; W-2 and 1099 forms billed annually; a second card on the page shows a higher base
Wave Payroll$100/mo at 10 employeesActive employees and contractors billed at the same rate; tax service in all 50 states
OnPay Payroll Essentials$109/mo at 10 employeesOne plan with filings and year-end forms; HR add-on priced per worker on top
Gusto Simple$109/mo at 10 employeesOne state only; Plus for multiple states at $200 for 10 employees; Premium is the top tier
Homebase Basic plus Payroll$109/mo at 10 employeesBasic is free for one location up to 10 employees; Essentials $30 per location from the 11th employee
QuickBooks Workforce Payroll$120/mo at 10 employeesFull-service filing, unlimited 1099 e-file and next-day deposit; Simple Start accounting bundle available; 50% off for 3 months
Justworks Payroll$130/mo at 10 employeesHighest per-employee fee here, with HR tools and time tracking access; PEO Basic $79 per employee with no base fee
ADP RUN, Paychex Flex, PaycorContact salesNo printed price, so none of the three can be ranked; use the totals above as the ceiling for a quote
Mistakes to avoid
×Signing up on the promotional rate. Patriot's 50% off, Roll's three free months, QuickBooks' half price and SurePayroll's alternate free months and Homebase's six free months all end, and the regular fee is what every later year costs.
×Ranking by base fee alone. SurePayroll's base is the lowest here, but its per-worker fee puts it level with Homebase as the third most expensive plan at 50 employees, behind only QuickBooks and Justworks.
×Pricing a self-service plan against full-service ones. Patriot Basic at $57 for 10 employees looks like the winner until you count the hours spent filing quarterly returns yourself.
×Forgetting the second state. One remote hire adds $12 a month on Patriot, $9.99 on SurePayroll and a plan change to Plus on Gusto.
×Counting contractors as free. Wave, Gusto and Square bill contractors at the per-person fee in the months they are paid, so a business with six 1099 workers should add them to the headcount.
Expert tips
→Price the headcount you expect in 12 months, not today's: a four-person team pays the same on SurePayroll as on Patriot, and every hire after that favors Patriot.
→Pay with the free plan you already use. Homebase Basic and Wave's accounting are free, so their payroll add-ons are the whole bill, while a QuickBooks Online subscriber adds Workforce Payroll from inside the product.
→Get the regular monthly rate in writing before you accept any free-months offer, and switch at a quarter end so quarterly filings stay in one system.

The bottom line

Patriot Full Service Payroll is the cheapest payroll software for a 10-employee business in 2026, and it keeps that position at 25 and 50 employees because its per-worker fee matches the lowest on the page while its base fee sits below Roll's. SurePayroll is the pick for a team of one to three, Square for a business that mostly pays contractors or already sells on Square, and Homebase or Wave when the free product underneath is the one you run the business on. OnPay and Gusto cost more than Patriot at 10 employees and earn the difference only if you want HR tools or benefits from the same vendor; QuickBooks and Justworks are the most expensive printed options and make sense mainly for a QuickBooks Online shop or a business headed for a PEO. How we compared: ten US payroll providers with printed prices, read on their pricing pages on October 26, 2026, with the monthly bill computed at 1, 5, 10, 25 and 50 W-2 employees in one state on full-service tax filing, regular rates only, no hands-on payroll runs. For the full product verdicts see the Patriot review, SurePayroll review, Square Payroll review, OnPay review and Gusto review; for free tiers, best free payroll software; for the feature-led ranking, best payroll software for small business; and for leaving a quote-only incumbent, cheaper ADP alternatives and cheaper Paychex alternatives.

Cite this: HRpresso, "Cheapest Payroll Software in 2026: 10 Providers Priced for a 10-Employee Business", November 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest payroll software for a 10-employee business in 2026?

Patriot Full Service Payroll, at $87 a month for 10 employees with federal, state and local tax filing included. Roll by ADP is $89, Square Payroll $95 and SurePayroll $99 for the same team, our arithmetic from the fees printed on each pricing page on October 26, 2026.

What is the cheapest payroll software for one employee?

SurePayroll, at $36 a month on its lowest-on-the-page base fee, ahead of Square at $41 and Patriot at $42. SurePayroll stays cheapest through three employees and ties Patriot at four; from the fifth, Patriot's lower per-worker fee makes it the cheapest full-service plan and the lead grows with every hire.

Is there free payroll software with tax filing?

Not with full-service filing among the providers ranked here. Homebase Basic is free for up to 10 employees but its payroll add-on is a paid per-employee product, and Patriot Basic at $17 plus $4 per worker leaves the tax filing to you. The free options that exist, with their caps and filing fees, are covered on the best free payroll software page.

How much does payroll software cost per employee?

Between $5 and $8 per employee a month on the plans with a printed price. Patriot and Roll by ADP sit at the bottom of that range, Justworks at the top, SurePayroll and QuickBooks Workforce Payroll one dollar below Justworks, and Square, Wave, OnPay, Gusto and Homebase in between. Each is added to a monthly base fee, which is why the cheapest provider changes with headcount.

Why is Gusto not the cheapest payroll software?

Gusto Simple costs $22 more than Patriot for 10 employees, and it runs payroll in one state only. A second state moves you to Plus, $200 for the same 10 people. Gusto's case is benefits, time tracking and HR from one vendor, not the lowest payroll bill.

Does the cheapest payroll software change at 25 or 50 employees?

No, Patriot stays cheapest at $162 for 25 and $287 for 50 employees, with Roll by ADP $2 behind at each size. The order below them does change: SurePayroll's per-worker fee pushes it from fourth at 10 employees to a tie for seventh with Homebase at 50, and Homebase's Essentials plan adds $30 a month once a team passes 10 people.
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