Payroll Software for Small Business: Reviewed by Experts (2024)

We’ve kept track of Gusto for years, and in our view, they have done a great job avoiding a common software pitfall. The vendor has kept a steady pace through the years and their primary focus on payroll and benefits has not been clouded by impulsively building more features into their stack. Instead, they work with numerous integrated partners who take the wheel on new initiatives, letting Gusto focus on what they do best.

One of our favorite features is the full-service payroll. Gusto supports payroll for U.S.-based W-2 employees and domestic and international contractors. This vendor also offers e-signature collection, automated tax filing, automatic deductions, varied payroll schedules, and unlimited pay runs so businesses can ensure employees receive pay and benefits promptly.

For a long time, we have also appreciated how transparent Gusto is about pricing. The payroll software does not require long-term contracts or setup fees, allowing SMBs to manage their payroll efficiently without any unexpected costs.

A fair warning, though, international payroll through Gusto is only possible for contractors, not for full-time employees. In other words, they don’t offer an EOR model. Another feature Gusto lacks is accounting, meaning you must use third-party integrations for complete financial management.

Furthermore, while the Simple plan is cost-friendly, it lacks essential features like native time tracking and the e-sign. Lastly, compliance alerts and broker integration are terrific features, but the platform requires you to either opt for its Premium plan or pay extra to use them.

200,000+ companies, including Little Fish Accounting, Rise Marketing, Cortex, and AVLancer.

Gusto has four plans:

• Simple Plan: $40/month base fee plus $6/month per person.
• Plus Plan (Limited Time Sale): $60/month base fee plus $9/month per person.
• Premium Plan (For a Limited Time): $135/month plus $16.50 per person‍
• Contractor Only Plan: $6/month per person (suitable for businesses without W-2 employees).

We didn’t expect this level of flexibility from an economical payroll tool. With Patriot, there’s no limit to the number of payroll runs, and you can pay your team members at the frequency of their choice, be it weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly, or monthly.

Moreover, this platform does not charge any fees for its account setup assistance. Should you opt to DIY, it probably won’t be much trouble, thanks to the platform’s payroll startup wizard and the in-house support team. In our tests, it took just 7 minutes to hear back from them.

As long as all your team members are based in the U.S., you’ll find Patriot to be an invaluable ally, as this vendor can handle payroll processing and direct deposit payments for both full-time salaried workers and contractors. If you opt for the higher-tiered plan, this platform can also take care of your payroll tax filing and payment at both the federal and state levels.

That said, we should caution you that Patriot will charge $12 per month for each state tax filing. And unlike some competing tools like Gusto, this vendor does not support employee benefits management.

Another point to note is that Patriot’s payroll services are tailored to US-based companies. In other words, it’s not a good fit for those with international hires.

10,000+ companies, including Ninja Window Washing, B Squared Fine Homes, and Coblentz Cabinets.

Patriot offers two payroll plans:

• Basic costs $17/month plus $4 per employee or contractor. The business owner is responsible for payroll and tax filing.
• Full Service costs $37/month plus $4 per employee or contractor. The business owner runs payroll, but Patriot handles payroll tax filings.

We know that most small businesses are pressed for time, so their payroll tool must be extremely easy to use. And the fact that Netchex remains easy and pleasant to work with in all our test cases is truly impressive.

You can add employees, set payroll cycles, and fix issues with minimal training. Plus, no matter which plan you pick, you’ll get a customer support rep from Netchex who not only helps with the initial setup and then vanishes, but stays approachable for any snags that may arise post-implementation.

Given how pricey payroll mistakes can be, being able to spot issues before everything is finalized is a lifesaver - and that’s exactly what Netchex’s pre-payroll does, which we love. It gives you a heads-up if there's a paycheck going out to someone who shouldn't be getting one or if the numbers aren’t adding up right.

Another big thumbs up for Netchex is its eye for innovation. They’ve recently added some neat features like AskHR, where employees can get quick answers to their questions, and Netchex AI, which is stellar at crunching data in complex ways.

As much as Netchex is geared towards SMBs, if you've got fewer than 50 employees, it might feel a bit much and lean towards the expensive side. And just like Paychex, they don’t let you take their service for a test drive before committing.

6,500+ organizations, including Xpressdocs, BK Corrosion, Regal Hospitality, and The Colony ER Hospital.

Netchex uses a per employee per month pricing model, which varies based on company size and products.

When it comes to SMB payroll tech, Paychex Flex has been our perennial favorite, thanks to its scalability. We first tested this software a couple of years ago, and until now, we’re still impressed with the simplicity and the range of plans it offers for various business sizes.

From HR to retirement packages, online payroll services, and benefits, you get the flexibility to choose what really fits your team’s needs. And as we’ve kept a close eye on every HR tech we review, we’ve barely heard negative comments about this platform’s usability.

We are not big fanz of Paychex’s appearance (the design looks quite dated compared to modern-looking competitors like Gusto or Remote, actually), but what’s underneath didn’t disappoint—the platform’s features are constantly improving. The timecards are a good example. Each time an employee punches in and out, the system generates a timecard and is ready to process once it’s time to run a payroll cycle. This alone can save dozens of hours of company time.

Paychex products have evolved a lot, but unfortunately, the integration capabilities have not. As of this writing, the platform still lacks native integration with Quicken. While we can’t say this is a deal breaker for most, those seeking to remove manual entry for certain tasks like 401k transactions may find this bothersome and might be better served by another tool.

745,000+ companies, including Warner Bros, Denny's, Grubhub, and Frito-Lay.

Paychex Flex offers three curated plans: Essentials, Select, and Pro. Essentials has a monthly base rate of $39 plus $5 per employee. Select and Pro are custom plans that require a call for a quote.

Millions of small businesses have used Intuit QuickBooks accounting software for their lightweight bookkeeping, so we bet this brand is no stranger to most of you. It is effective, simple, and affordable. And as we tested its online payroll product, the same is true for this tool.

QuickBooks payroll processes employee pay stubs and automatically files taxes in a simple, intuitive interface. Remarkably, the direct deposits are among the fastest we’ve seen, with next-day payments offered in the cheapest plan and same-day ones in the rest.

The platform also helps with calculating and submitting your payroll taxes, and it gives you reminders to make sure you're tax-ready.

Many HRs we talked to praised this payroll for its seamless integration with other QuickBooks products, which was also part of the reasons they chose this software in the first place.

However, we would not recommend this tool for businesses with international staff, as global payroll is currently beyond the vendor's capabilities. The same goes for those on a tight payroll budget. For context, QuickBooks charges $25 per month plus $6 per employee, while Patriot does $17 plus $4 per employee.

Regarding the mobile experience, although the browser version is optimized for both desktop and mobile use, there is no dedicated mobile app for employers, and the employee app lacks some features found on the web version. For example, on the web, we could match our receipts to incoming bank transactions, whereas in the mobile app, we were only able to take photos of the receipts.

29,000,000+ companies, including Industrial Manila, Tamar's Hope, and Hiplus.

QuickBooks has three plans as below and a 30-day free trial:

• Core: $25 per month plus $6 per employee
• Premium: $55 per month plus $8 per employee
• Elite: $80 per month plus $15 per employee

Scaling internationally is exciting news for any business, but it also comes with a huge HR headache. Each country and state has different laws (which change over time), and local talent has varying interests in compensation packages. Having been there ourselves, so we can't help but appreciate how much easier Remote has made it for SMBs looking to expand their teams globally.

Remote offers two plans: one for global payroll and another for Employer of Record (EOR)—which includes everything from payroll to benefits, HR, and tax needed to hire and pay people from over 170 countries compliantly. Both come with transparent rates and no hidden fees. However, what really stands out to us is that regardless of the plan chosen, you gain access to in-house, local payroll support. We bugged these people a couple of times in our testing, and they have never let us down once—always quick turnaround and thorough guidelines.

That said, we do wish there was a free trial so the platform is more accessible to small businesses. Also, those preferring self-help documentation instead of always having to reach out to human support might not be satisfied with what's available in Remote's help center. In our experience, the instructions are not the easiest to follow, as they are mostly in written form with very few product screenshots for illustration.

Remote customers include brands like GitLab, Paystack, and Loom, but the exact number is undisclosed.

Remote offers two packages for payroll management:

• Global Payroll: $50 per employee per month
• Employer of Record: Starting at $599/month billed annually

We first tested Square in 2020 and have kept a close eye on the tool ever since, and we have to admit that this is one of the best payroll options available when it comes to flexibility.

Square has two simple plans: one for contractor payroll and another for both contractors and full-time employees. The pricing is transparent and reasonable, with no annual commitment required. The best part, though, is that users can pause their subscription and won't be charged until it resumes after 9 months or when they process payroll again, whichever comes first. For businesses dealing with off-season, this is a huge money saving.

If you're a retailer, especially a store owner or in the restaurant business, you’ll find the combination of Square POS and Square payroll useful in many ways. Plus, if you're looking for third-party integrations, there are still plenty of options offered.

Just keep in mind that Square Payroll only works for businesses that file Form 941 or Form 944 and doesn't support employers in the household and agriculture sectors.

We should also warn you that even though the contractor plan is incredibly affordable — at $6 per contractor per month — it doesn’t cover features like automated payroll, PTO, and overtime calculations. You’d have to choose the higher-priced plan to access these features.

Square's clients include The Art of Donut, Glamourax Salon, and Live by the Sword, but the exact number of customers remains undisclosed.

• Employees and Contractors: $35/month + $6 per person paid per month. Free trial is available.
• Contractors Only: $6/contractor paid per month

If you’ve already read our reviews of other payroll tools we’ve included in this guide, you may have noticed that OnPay is not the only vendor that can perform full-service payroll plus HR and benefits. However, it is the only one that has bundled all these functions into a single, affordable plan.

Starting at $46 per employee per month, you'll receive everything from multi-state payroll processing to automated onboarding, e-signing, broker-of-record integration, employee self-service, and account migration—all without additional fees or the need for plan upgrades.

Moreover, this platform is one of the few in the industry that offers a 30-day free trial, which you can easily sign up for online through its website. The only thing to note here is that the trial starts only after OnPay verifies your provided information, including your bank account. So make sure you double check the form before submitting.

Compared to its peers, OnPay has done an outstanding job providing online free guides. Despite being free resources, the guides are rich in information and offer many good insights into payroll, benefits, and HR.

Unfortunately, the vendor’s support didn’t meet our expectations. It took some time to receive a response from their live chat, and our email also had to wait until the next day for a reply.

Lastly, a few things to be clear: Unlike Gusto, OnPay has no native time tracking tool. It also doesn’t support automatic payroll.

OnPay charges a $40 monthly base fee plus $6 per employee. It also offers a free trial.