A payroll service is software that calculates paychecks, files federal and state payroll taxes, and either delivers direct deposits or prints checks for the people on your team. The right one keeps your books clean, files the right forms on the right dates, and never makes you call the IRS yourself.
U.S. small businesses that run payroll by hand spend an average of 5 to 8 hours per pay period on tax calculations, filings, and check distribution, per a 2024 SCORE small-business report (accessed September 2026).
At a freelance bookkeeper rate of $75 per hour, that is roughly $1,800 to $2,900 per year in unrecovered labor on top of any IRS late-filing penalty you might already owe.
Gusto Simple is the right pick for a small business in one state that wants transparent published pricing and unlimited payroll runs. OnPay fits a multi-state operation on a single base plan. QuickBooks Payroll Core is the cheapest path for a business already running QuickBooks Online. Patriot Full Service is the lowest published bill for cost-sensitive teams under 10 people. ADP RUN is the right choice if you need 24/7 support and enterprise-grade compliance, accepting that pricing is quote-based.
Key facts: Gusto Simple is $49 per month plus $6 per person. OnPay is $49 per month plus $6 per worker with all 50 states on the base plan. QuickBooks Payroll Core is $50 per month plus $6.50 per employee. Patriot Full Service is $37 per month plus $5 per worker. ADP RUN publishes no list price. Paychex Flex also publishes no list price.
At 10 employees, Gusto Simple and OnPay both run $109 per month. Patriot Full Service runs $87 per month, but costs extra for multi-state filing. ADP RUN is published nowhere – its official FAQ states that fees increase with payroll frequency, and a per-payroll processing fee is common.
The honest traps: what they do not put on the pricing page
“Free” payroll add-ons in accounting software are rarely free in practice. QuickBooks Payroll Core starts at $50 monthly plus $6.50 per employee after the first three months at 50% off, per Intuit’s published promotion terms (accessed September 2026). A business that picks Core for the QBO integration often pays more in year two than a direct Gusto or OnPay contract.
Quote-based providers move the bill based on payroll frequency. ADP RUN’s official FAQ states that fees increase with the number of pay runs, and per-payroll processing fees are common. A business running weekly payroll on ADP RUN can pay 40 to 60% more than a monthly-payroll customer on the same quote, per a 2024 industry survey (accessed September 2026).
Multi-state is a tier jump, not a switch. Gusto Simple covers one state only – adding a second work state forces an upgrade to Plus at $80 per month plus $12 per person. OnPay is the only provider in this comparison that includes all 50 states on its $49 base plan, per its pricing page (accessed September 2026).
PEO pricing is a different scale. Justworks PEO Basic is $79 per employee per month with no base fee. At 10 employees that is $790 per month, about 7x the cost of Gusto Simple for the same headcount. The PEO bundles co-employment, benefits administration, and HR – which is a real product – but it is not a payroll app you compare on PEPM alone.
Payroll services for small businesses compared
The five published-price providers in this comparison all run on a monthly base plus a per-person fee, but they diverge sharply on state coverage, run limits, and add-on costs. The table below compares entry price, multi-state coverage, free tier, and the support model each tool ships with.
| Tool | Best For | Entry Paid Price | State Coverage | Run Frequency | Support Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gusto Simple | One-state small teams that want transparent pricing | $49/mo + $6/person | Single state on base | Unlimited | Basic; Priority add-on |
| OnPay | Multi-state operations on the base plan | $49/mo + $6/worker | All 50 states on base | Unlimited | Phone, chat, email |
| QuickBooks Payroll Core | QuickBooks Online users wanting fast direct deposit | $50/mo + $6.50/employee | One state on Core | Unlimited | Expert product support |
| Patriot Full Service | Cost-sensitive teams under 10 employees | $37/mo + $5/worker | One state; $12/mo per extra state | Unlimited | Email and chat |
| ADP RUN | Compliance-heavy teams needing 24/7 support | Quote-based (typically $79+/mo + per-run fees) | All states on Essential+ | Frequency-priced | 24/7 phone and chat |
Gusto: best for one-state small businesses wanting transparent pricing
Gusto is the right pick if you want a published price ladder and unlimited payroll runs on the base plan. Gusto Simple is $49 per month plus $6 per person, with full-service federal and state tax filing, W-2 and 1099 generation, and unlimited runs including off-cycle runs, per Gusto’s pricing page (accessed September 2026).
The published pricing is the standout feature. Gusto’s official pricing page (accessed September 2026) lists Simple at $49 + $6, Plus at $80 + $12, Premium at $180 + $22, and a Contractor-Only tier at $35 + $6.
The Simple base fee rose from $40 to $49 between January 2025 and September 2026, a 22.5% increase, per archived captures (accessed September 2026). The per-person fee stayed flat at $6.
The honest weakness is single-state coverage on the base plan. Gusto Simple covers one state only – adding a second work state forces a tier jump to Plus at $80 per month plus $12 per person, which is a $91 monthly step at 10 employees. A business with remote workers in two or more states on day one should look at OnPay instead.
Choose Gusto Simple if you operate in one state and want the cleanest possible published price. Skip Gusto if you already run multi-state payroll or you want the cheapest possible bill and Patriot is an option.
OnPay: best for multi-state operations on the base plan
OnPay is the right pick if you need all 50 states on the same base plan. OnPay is $49 per month plus $6 per worker, with multi-state payroll, federal, state, and local tax filings, W-2 and 1099 forms, and unlimited pay runs on the base plan, per OnPay’s pricing page (accessed September 2026).
The single-plan structure is the biggest reason to pick OnPay. Where Gusto forces a tier jump for a second state, OnPay includes every state on its $49 base plan. For a 5-person business with employees in three states, OnPay is $79 per month versus Gusto Plus at $140 per month for the same headcount – a $61 monthly gap.
The honest weakness is feature depth compared to Gusto Premium. OnPay does not bundle time tracking, scheduling, or the dedicated CSM that ships with Gusto Premium at $180 per month plus $22 per person. OnPay treats those as add-ons at $15 per month plus $2 per worker each, per the OnPay add-on pricing page (accessed September 2026).
Choose OnPay if you operate in two or more states and want to keep the bill on a single published plan. Skip OnPay if you want built-in time tracking and ATS on the same vendor – Gusto Plus or Rippling bundles those more tightly.
QuickBooks Payroll Core: best for QuickBooks Online users
QuickBooks Payroll Core is the right pick if your books already live in QuickBooks Online and you want the integration to happen without a connector. Core is $50 per month plus $6.50 per employee, with next-day direct deposit, full-service federal and state tax filing, and one state filing included, per QuickBooks’ published lineup (accessed September 2026).
The native QBO integration is the biggest reason to pick QuickBooks Payroll. Payroll posts to the right GL accounts, payroll tax expense flows into the right reports, and the reconciliation step is one click instead of a CSV import. For a 10-person team that already uses QuickBooks Online Plus or Advanced, Core is the cheapest seamless option.
The honest weakness is the per-state upcharge. Core includes one state filing; every additional state is $12 per month per state. A business with employees in three states pays $24 more per month on top of the base, per Intuit’s published lineup (accessed September 2026).
Premium at $88 monthly plus $10 per employee bundles multi-state and same-day direct deposit for a tier jump that may or may not pencil out.
Choose QuickBooks Payroll Core if you run QuickBooks Online and the time savings on reconciliation beat the per-state add-on. Skip QuickBooks Payroll if you do not use QuickBooks Online already – Gusto or OnPay will be cheaper for the same headcount.
Patriot Full Service: best for cost-sensitive teams under 10 people
Patriot is the right pick if the headline bill matters more than feature breadth. Patriot Full Service is $37 per month plus $5 per worker, with full-service tax filing, W-2s and 1099s, and direct deposit on the base plan, per Patriot’s pricing page (accessed September 2026).
The price is the biggest reason to pick Patriot. At 10 employees, Patriot Full Service runs $87 per month versus Gusto Simple at $109 per month and OnPay at $109 per month – a $22 monthly gap that compounds to $264 per year. For a 5-person team, the gap widens to a $24 monthly advantage.
The honest weakness is feature depth and multi-state cost. Patriot Full Service is one state on the base plan, with $12 per month per additional state – identical to QuickBooks Core’s structure. Time tracking, HR document storage, and onboarding workflows are weaker than Gusto or OnPay at the same headcount.
Choose Patriot if your payroll needs are simple and you want the lowest published bill. Skip Patriot if you need built-in HR features or time tracking without paying for add-ons.
ADP RUN: best for compliance-heavy teams that need 24/7 support
ADP RUN is the right pick if you want enterprise-grade compliance and 24/7 support, and you accept that pricing is quote-based. ADP RUN packages publish features but no list price – you have to contact sales, per ADP’s RUN packages page (accessed September 2026). 24/7 customer support is included on the Essential tier, and direct deposit, W-2s, 1099s, and tax filing are listed as included.
The 24/7 support model is the biggest reason to pick ADP RUN. A small business with night-shift workers or payroll deadlines that fall on weekends can call ADP at 11pm without paying a Priority Support add-on. ADP also handles certified payroll and multi-jurisdiction tax filings on Essential and above.
The honest weakness is pricing opacity. ADP RUN’s official FAQ states that fees increase with payroll frequency, and per-payroll processing fees are common. A weekly-payroll customer can pay 40% more than a monthly-payroll customer on the same headline quote, per a 2024 industry benchmark (accessed September 2026). The published comparisons are usually midpoints of typical ranges, not real quotes.
Choose ADP RUN if you need 24/7 enterprise-grade support and accept a quote-based process. Skip ADP RUN if a published price ladder is part of your decision – Gusto or OnPay give you the same tax-filing product with a number you can budget against.
How to pick a payroll service in 4 steps
- Count your work states, not your mailing addresses. If your team is in two or more states, OnPay is the only provider in this comparison that keeps the base plan at $49. Gusto and Patriot both charge extra for additional states, and QuickBooks Core charges $12 monthly per extra state.
- Decide how much you want a published number. Gusto, OnPay, QuickBooks Core, and Patriot all publish list prices that match a 10-employee month within $20. ADP RUN and Paychex Flex require a sales call. If your accounting workflow runs on budget-vs-actual, published is faster.
- Match the support tier to your team’s pain tolerance. Gusto Simple ships with weekday basic support. OnPay ships with phone, chat, and email. ADP RUN ships with 24/7 phone and chat on Essential. If you run payroll on Friday nights or your bookkeeper is part-time, the support model matters more than the per-person fee.
- Audit the per-payroll and frequency fees before you sign. ADP RUN’s official FAQ says fees increase with frequency. A weekly customer pays more than a monthly customer. If your team is paid weekly, get the per-run fee in writing before you sign – Gusto and OnPay’s unlimited-run model answers this question directly with a flat monthly number.
The final decision path
If you run a one-state small business and want transparent published pricing with unlimited payroll runs, start with Gusto Simple at $49 per month plus $6 per person. The published ladder makes year-two budgeting honest.
If you operate in two or more states and want to keep the base plan, OnPay at $49 per month plus $6 per worker with all 50 states on the base plan. The multi-state coverage avoids the Gusto Simple-to-Plus tier jump.
If your books already live in QuickBooks Online and you want the reconciliation step to vanish, QuickBooks Payroll Core at $50 per month plus $6.50 per employee. The native QBO integration is the cheapest seamless option for an existing QBO shop.
If the headline bill is the deciding factor and your team is under 10 people in one state, Patriot Full Service at $37 per month plus $5 per worker. The $22 monthly gap versus Gusto or OnPay compounds to $264 per year at 10 employees.
If you need 24/7 enterprise-grade support and accept a quote-based process, ADP RUN. The pricing opacity is real, but the compliance tooling and 24/7 support tier are the best in this comparison if your operation warrants them.
None of these tools is the wrong choice for a small business running payroll in 2026. The wrong choice is the provider you pick based on the headline monthly base without auditing the per-person fee, the state coverage, and the support tier that ships with that base.
For a head-to-head on the two published-price leaders, see our Gusto vs QuickBooks Payroll comparison. For broader operations tooling beyond payroll, operations tools every small business needs covers scheduling, contracts, and mileage tracking. For contractor and freelancer payment without W-2 payroll, freelancer bank account setup covers the lighter end of the spectrum.
Basis: pricing and plan details pulled from Gusto, OnPay, QuickBooks Payroll, Patriot, and ADP RUN pricing pages and package matrices accessed September 2026. ADP RUN and Paychex Flex are quote-based; ADP RUN’s official FAQ states fees increase with payroll frequency and per-payroll processing fees are common. Published price ladders reflect public list prices and may vary with promotional discounts. No hands-on testing; figures are public list prices. Verify on each vendor’s pricing page before purchase. Last updated: October 2026.
