Gusto is the best payroll software for small business in 2026, scoring 6.88 out of 10 on our six-dimension rubric -- transparent $49 plus $6 per person pricing with benefits, HR, and time tracking documented on its own pages. OnPay (6.45) and Patriot (5.90) follow. Four tools are ranked below on verified pricing, features, ease, support, integrations, and fit; two household names appear unranked because they publish no prices.
Disclosure: some links on this page are affiliate links. SoftwareSift earns a commission if you buy through them.
How these tools are scored
Every tool is scored on the same six-dimension rubric: pricing and transparency (25%), feature coverage (25%), ease of use (15%), support (15%), integrations (10%), and target fit for small business (10%). Pricing, feature, and integration scores project from facts verified against pages each vendor publishes, on the dates shown; ease, support, and fit are scored by a structured review of the materials each vendor publishes. A tool appears in the ranking only when its price is verified and at least four of six dimensions have evidence behind them -- otherwise it is listed as not yet fully evaluated, without a rank. Commercial partnerships never affect a score or a rank: several tools ranked on this page pay SoftwareSift nothing, and the buttons appear or disappear based on partner status while the scores do not move.
The ranking
| Rank | Tool | Score (0-10) | Published price | Get it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gusto | 6.88 | $49/mo + $6/person (Simple) | Check price |
| 2 | OnPay | 6.45 | $49/mo + $6/worker | Check price |
| 3 | Patriot Payroll | 5.90 | $37/mo + $5/worker ($18.50/mo intro) | |
| 4 | QuickBooks Payroll | 5.28 | $88/mo + $6.50/employee ($44/mo intro) | |
| -- | ADP (RUN) | Not yet fully evaluated: RUN pricing is quote-only, so there is no published tier to score against | Quote-only; no published plan prices | |
| -- | Rippling | Not yet fully evaluated: pricing is custom-quote-only, so there is no published tier to score against | Custom quote; no published plan prices |
Scores are the six-dimension weighted rubric (0 to 10) projected from the stored, vendor-verified facts as of 2026-07-02. Prices are as published by each vendor on that date; billing basis is stated per row.
What to know about each tool
1. Gusto -- 6.88/10
The category leader on this rubric: transparent $49 plus $6 per person pricing, benefits administration, hiring and onboarding tools, time tracking, and multi-state filing all documented on its own product pages. Support is business-hours chat and phone, with priority help as a paid add-on.
2. OnPay -- 6.45/10
The value pick: the same $49 plus $6 base as Gusto with payroll, benefits admin, and HR onboarding tools included, and phone plus chat plus email support on published hours. Its integration story is the thinnest among the ranked four.
3. Patriot Payroll -- 5.90/10
The budget pick: $37 plus $5 per worker full-service payroll (an intro discount roughly halves it), free US-based setup help, and published phone, chat, and email hours. Feature evidence beyond core payroll and contractor payments is lighter than the leaders.
4. QuickBooks Payroll -- 5.28/10
The ecosystem pick for QuickBooks accounting users: benefits administration through 200+ carriers and a deep Intuit integration surface. Several of its marketing claims did not verify against its own published pages, which holds its feature score down.
ADP (RUN) -- not yet fully evaluated
The biggest name in payroll, with merchant-published 24/7 phone support -- the strongest support commitment in this table. It appears unranked because RUN pricing is quote-only; scores require a published price.
Rippling -- not yet fully evaluated
A workforce platform that spans HR, IT, and finance, with a 600+ app integration shop. It markets to startups through enterprise, publishes no plan prices, and publishes no support hours -- so it appears unranked.