Best payroll software for small business (2026)

Gusto

Full-service payroll with automatic tax filing, contractor payments, benefits administration and onboarding. Known for an easy setup.

See Gusto plans →Official site, not an affiliate link

Rippling

A modular platform where payroll is one piece. You can add HR, devices, app management and global payroll. Pricing is quote-based and modular.

Book a Rippling demo →Official site, not an affiliate link

Justworks

A PEO: Justworks becomes co-employer for HR and tax purposes, which can give small teams access to larger-group health benefits. It also offers a payroll-only plan.

See Justworks →Official site, not an affiliate link

eBillity

Time tracking with payroll and billing, suited to firms whose hours drive both invoices and paychecks.

See eBillity →Official site, not an affiliate link

Quick picks

• Simple payroll for a small team: Gusto.
• Growing fast and managing laptops and apps too: Rippling.
• Want better benefits through a PEO: Justworks.
• Hourly billing business: eBillity.

Not tax or legal advice.

How this page was made: from each provider's official product and pricing pages and its public documentation, read on the date named in the page. We have not run a hands-on test, lab benchmark, or paid user study for this page. A step-by-step section describes the vendor's published flow. It is not a test we performed.

Pricing at a glance

All plans are month-to-month with unlimited payroll runs. Listed add-ons include Priority Support ($30 plus $3 per person), broker integration ($6 per eligible employee) and Next-Day pay on Simple ($15 plus $3 per person). Contractor-only payments are billed only in months contractors are paid.

Gusto prices below are the figures recorded from gusto.com/product/pricing in October 2026. On 6 November 2026 that page blocked this check, so the dollar amounts were not reconfirmed. State registration, benefit premiums and some add-ons cost extra. The Gusto button on this site is not an affiliate link.

On 6 November 2026, Rippling's pricing FAQ said: "Rippling plans start at $8 per employee per month, with a monthly base fee. Your total cost depends on the products and services you choose." That sentence is not a quote for your company. See rippling.com/pricing and justworks.com/pricing. Neither button is an affiliate link. The old outbound URL for Rippling on this site pointed at a partner marketplace. It now goes to Rippling's own site.

Feature comparison

How to choose

• Under 20 people, US-only, want it simple: Gusto.
• Growing fast, need apps, devices and payroll in one system: Rippling.
• Need better health insurance options without an HR team: Justworks (PEO).
• Bill clients by the hour: eBillity for time and billing.

How we evaluated

Scores on this page are editorial scores out of 10. They are a judgment from the provider's product, pricing and documentation pages, using the weights below. They are not user ratings, lab results, or a ranking anyone paid for. A price is only as current as the date written next to it. The research methodology covers what we do not do.

This guide is general information, not tax or legal advice. Payroll tax rules vary by state. Check with a qualified accountant for your situation.

Matching a provider to your situation

First hire, one state

You want fast setup, automatic filings and clear pricing. Gusto lists Simple from $49/month plus $6 per person (October 2026) and walks you through setup.

Fast-growing team with laptops and software accounts

Rippling ties payroll to a single employee record that also drives app access and device management, so onboarding and offboarding happen in one place.

Small team that wants big-company benefits

Justworks as a PEO can give access to pooled health plans and takes on co-employment compliance tasks.

Service business billing hours

eBillity focuses on time tracking and billing, which feeds payroll and client invoices.

Payroll setup checklist

Whichever provider you choose, setup asks for the same core information. Gathering it before you sign up turns a stressful week into an afternoon.

1. Business details: legal name, EIN, business address, entity type and the date you started paying people.
2. State registrations: state withholding and unemployment insurance account numbers for each state where you have employees. Some providers can help register, but timelines vary by state.
3. Bank account: the account payroll will be debited from, plus verification.
4. Employee information: names, addresses, start dates, pay rates, and federal and state withholding forms. Most providers let employees enter this themselves during onboarding.
5. Payroll history: if you've already paid people this year, year-to-date wages and taxes so year-end forms are correct.
6. Benefits and deductions: health premiums, retirement contributions, garnishments and any other recurring deductions.
7. Pay schedule: weekly, biweekly, semimonthly or monthly, and your first pay date.

Run a preview payroll before your first live run, and compare it to your previous provider's output line by line.

Timing a switch between providers

The cleanest time to change payroll providers is at the start of a calendar year, because the new provider starts with no year-to-date history and the old provider produces your year-end forms. The next best times are the start of a quarter, since quarterly filings stay with one provider. Mid-quarter switches are possible but require moving year-to-date and quarter-to-date data accurately.

1. Pick your first pay date on the new system.
2. Request reports from your old provider: year-to-date earnings by employee, tax payments and filings.
3. Enter history into the new system and reconcile totals.
4. Run a parallel or preview payroll.
5. Confirm the old provider won't file for periods the new one is handling.

Questions to ask in a payroll demo

1. Which states and local taxes do you file for me, and are any excluded?
2. What is the full monthly price for my exact headcount and features?
3. Are contractors counted in the per-person fee?
4. How many payroll runs are included, and is off-cycle payroll extra?
5. What happens if you make a filing error?
6. How is support provided, and during what hours?
7. Is there a contract term or cancellation fee?
8. Can I export all payroll history if I leave?

Judging support before you need it

You find out how good payroll support is on the worst day: a missed deadline, a rejected bank debit or a tax notice. Before buying, check what channels are offered (chat, phone, email), the hours, whether higher plans get priority or dedicated support, and how tax notices are handled. During the trial or demo, ask a specific question such as how the provider handles a notice from your state unemployment agency, and note how clear the answer is.

Payroll glossary

Full-service payroll

A provider calculates, pays and files payroll taxes for you.

PEO

Professional employer organisation: a company that becomes a co-employer for tax and benefits purposes.

EOR

Employer of record: a company that legally employs workers on your behalf, often in other countries.

Off-cycle payroll

A payroll run outside the regular schedule, for a bonus or correction.

W-2 / 1099

Year-end US forms for employees and contractors respectively.

SUI

State unemployment insurance, paid by employers in each state where they have employees.

Employee or contractor? Getting classification right

Misclassifying workers is one of the most expensive mistakes a small business can make, and payroll software can't decide it for you. In the US, the tests look at how much control you have over how the work is done, whether the worker uses their own tools and sets their own hours, whether they work for other clients, and whether the work is a core part of your business. Federal and state tests differ, and some states use stricter tests than the IRS.

Practical steps: document why each contractor is a contractor, use written agreements, collect a W-9 before paying them, and pay contractors through a system that can produce 1099 forms at year-end. If you're unsure about a specific role, ask an employment attorney or accountant before you start paying.

How to compare total cost fairly

Payroll pricing usually combines a monthly base fee with a per-person fee, and the per-person count may include contractors. Add-ons such as time tracking, benefits administration, HR support or extra states may be billed separately. PEOs typically charge per employee per month and may include benefits administration in that fee.

1. Count employees and contractors you'll pay each month.
2. List the features you need: multi-state payroll, time tracking, benefits, HR advice, onboarding.
3. Get each provider's price for exactly that configuration, in writing.
4. Ask about one-time setup or migration fees and contract terms.
5. Compare annual totals rather than headline monthly prices.

Compliance tasks that sit beside payroll

Payroll is one part of employer compliance. Depending on your state and size, you'll also deal with new-hire reporting, required workplace posters, paid sick leave rules, minimum wage changes, overtime calculations, workers' compensation insurance and I-9 employment eligibility verification. Many providers help with some of these, for example by filing new-hire reports or offering workers' comp through partners. Make a list of which tasks your provider handles and which remain yours, and put the remaining ones on a calendar.