Square Payroll vs QuickBooks: which costs less?

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Square Payroll prices re-confirmed on its own page: October 22, 2026 · QuickBooks prices re-confirmed on its own page: October 22, 2026

For 5 employees in one state with taxes filed for you, Square Payroll is cheaper: $65 a month (Full-service payroll) vs $85 (Workforce Payroll (formerly Payroll Core)) (QuickBooks lists its extra-state fee and some contractor fees only in its offer terms). That holds at every team size up to 100.

Monthly price by team size

Lowest published monthly price for each service's cheapest plan that files payroll taxes for you, one state. "—" = no published plan fits.
Service	1 employee	5 employees	10 employees	25 employees	50 employees
Square Payroll	$41	$65	$95	$185	$335
QuickBooks	$57	$85	$120	$225	$400

Other situations

Situation	Square Payroll	QuickBooks
10 employees in 2 states, taxes filed for you	$95 (Full-service payroll)	$132 (Workforce Payroll (formerly Payroll Core))
5 contractors, no employees	$30 (Contractor-only payroll)	$25 (Contractor Payments (contractors only))

Feature differences

Features available on at least one plan (included or as a paid add-on), according to each provider's pricing page:

Only Square Payroll

Nothing listed that QuickBooks lacks.

Only QuickBooks

Health benefits administration
Pay-as-you-go workers' comp
Phone support
Local (city/county) tax filing
Same-day direct deposit
Built-in time tracking
Paid-time-off tracking
HR tools (onboarding, handbook, compliance)
Access to HR advisers
Tax penalty guarantee

See Square Payroll pricing See QuickBooks pricing

Want a different team size or must-haves? Use the calculator, which compares all 13 services at once.

Details: Square Payroll · QuickBooks