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Reviewed
Running a business is expensive, and one of the biggest expenses is payroll. Between paying employees and managing taxes, payroll can eat up a large chunk of your budget. That’s why it’s important to find a payroll service that is both affordable and effective. There are several payroll services out there, so we’ve done the research to find the best cheap payroll services of 2024.
The Forbes Advisor Small Business team is committed to bringing you unbiased rankings and information with full editorial independence. We use product data, strategic methodologies and expert insights to inform all of our content and guide you in making the best decisions for your business journey.
We reviewed several payroll services using a detailed methodology to help you find the seven best cheap payroll services for small businesses. Our ratings consider factors such as starting price, features like compatibility with third-party integrations and access to a self-service employee portal and customer reviews and ratings. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.
| Company | Forbes Advisor Rating | Starting price | Integrations | HR Library | LEARN MORE | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QuickBooks Payroll |  |
4.8 |  |
$45 per month ($22.50 for the first three months under current promotion) plus $5 per employee | Yes | Yes | Learn More | Read Forbes' Review | |
| Remote |  |
4.7 |  |
$29 monthly per contractor | Yes | Yes | Learn More | Read Forbes' Review | |
| OnPay |  |
4.6 | |
$40 per month plus $6 per employee | Yes | Yes | Learn More | On OnPay's Website | |
| Justworks |  |
4.6 | |
$59 monthly per employee | Yes | Yes | Learn More | On Justworks' Website | |
| Gusto |  |
4.6 |  |
$40 per month plus $6 per employee | Yes | Yes | Learn More | On Gusto's Website | |
| SurePayroll |  |
4.6 | |
Contact for quote | Yes | Yes | Learn More | On SurePayroll’s Website | |
| Square Payroll |  |
4.4 | |
$35 per month plus $6 per person paid | Yes | Yes | Learn More | Read Forbes' Review |
To compile our list of the best cheap payroll services, we looked at a variety of factors, including price, features, ease of use, customer service and reviews. We then scored these providers across four categories of features with 17 different metrics, then we assigned weighted scores to these factors to narrow down the best cheap payroll services.
Here are some of the categories we used to rank the providers that made the top of the list.
When it comes to price, we looked at the starting price for each service. We also consider the range of pricing from its lowest-priced to its highest-priced plan. Providers that offered free trials of their services were also given higher marks as those who provided transparent pricing. This accounted for 15% of our scoring.
For features, we looked at what’s included in each service’s basic plan. The best payroll service won’t matter if you don’t know how to use it, so its service should be intuitive and easy to use. Most payroll services, whether they are cheap or expensive, usually have limited features themselves and tend to benefit from integrations with third-party companies to provide benefits to their users. However, having access to an HR library and self-service employee portal were among the features we considered essential for a cheap payroll service to have. We weighted features at 35% of our total score.
Customer service is important when it comes to any type of service, but especially when you’re in charge of someone’s livelihood. If something goes wrong with your payroll, you need to be able to reach customer service and get help quickly. Because of that, we looked at reviews of payroll services by real users on third-party websites, including G2 and Capterra, and those providers that scored high (3.5 or higher out of 5) did better in our scoring. These reviews added up to 15% of the scoring.
Based on our market research and the categories listed above, we also ranked additional criteria from customer reviews, such as ease of use, any stand-out features, popularity and value for the money. Altogether, these criteria make up 35% of the total score.
Featured Partners
1
OnPay
Yes
Yes
$40 per month + $6 per user
2
SurePayroll
Yes
Yes
$29.99/mo plus $5 per employee
3
Gusto
Yes
Yes
$40 per month plus $6 per user
4
Rippling
Yes
Yes
$35 per month + $8 per user
Now that you know the best cheap payroll services, it’s time to choose one for your business. Here are some factors to keep in mind when making your decision:
Payroll Solutions Tailored To Your Business Goals
If you have employees, you need to withhold taxes and pay other payroll-related expenses. A payroll service can help you with this by calculating withholdings and sending payments to the appropriate agencies.
The features you want in a payroll service for your small business include one that is simple to set up, provides payroll processing and management, makes it possible to do tax filing, creates detailed payroll reports, offers direct deposit to your employees, allows employees to make certain changes as needed and offers quality customer support.
The cost of a payroll service depends on the number of employees you have and the features you need. Basic payroll services start at around $25 per employee, per month, but they can go up to $300 per employee, per month, for extensive features, such as compliance and HR.
Payroll systems should be able to make the onboarding and termination of employees, monthly payments, off-cycle disbursement and taxation compliance easier. This includes factors like employees being able to fill out W-4 forms electronically and having access to a self-service portal that allows them to access all necessary forms, make any changes that they need and view documents like pay stubs. The best payroll platforms also offer HR support around health insurance plans and other benefits and provide new hire reports when needed.
Workers’ compensation insurance is required in most states if you have employees. This insurance covers medical expenses and lost wages for employees who are injured on the job.
