Payroll & HR

Full-service payroll for a 10-person business runs between $684 and $2,400 per year at list price, a 3.5x spread across providers running the same federal tax calculations. This guide reports base and per-worker rates read directly from each vendor's public pricing page on August 3, 2026, then multiplies them out to total annual cost at 5, 10, and 25 employees. It covers the three line items that move the total more than the headline rate does: year-end W-2 and 1099 form billing, multi-state payroll fees, and per-run charges for expedited pay. Providers whose pricing could not be verified on this pass are flagged rather than estimated.

QuickBooks and Patriot both cut payroll prices 50% for a limited intro window. See the real list price, the cliff date, and the 3-year cost for each.

Real payroll cost at 10 employees across Gusto, OnPay, Patriot, SurePayroll, Homebase, QuickBooks, Paychex, and ADP -- one table.

Gusto sells payroll first; Homebase sells scheduling with payroll attached. Certified pricing and the real use-case fork for hourly-shift businesses.

Neither Paychex Flex nor ADP RUN publishes a price. Compare support depth, compliance claims, and integrations to decide which sales call to make first.

Patriot Payroll ($37+$5/worker) vs SurePayroll ($29+$7/worker): computed monthly cost at 5, 10, and 25 employees shows which is cheaper at each size.

Gusto is standalone payroll from $49/mo. QuickBooks Payroll bundles payroll with accounting from $88/mo. See which fits your business and at what cost.

Gusto and OnPay both start at $49 + $6/person, but only one includes multi-state payroll at that price. Here is what the identical price actually buys.

ADP RUN publishes no price on any package. See its four tiers, named QuickBooks/Xero/Wave integrations, and what buyers get before the quote call.

Paychex Flex ships five packages and zero published prices. See plan names, support tiers, and what the quote process actually gets you.