How much payroll services cost
The Payroll Price Index: what the 13 US payroll services we track that publish prices charge each month for 1 to 50 employees, worked out by our calculator from the list prices on their own websites.
Prices re-confirmed on each provider's own page for 11 services: · last checked by hand for 2 services:
A month for 10 employees in one state, payroll taxes filed for you:
For 10 employees in one state with payroll taxes filed for you, payroll services cost $87 to $290 a month ($87 to $200 without Deel), with a median of $109 a month or $10.90 per employee (among the 13 US payroll services we track that publish prices; list prices only; checked between October 22, 2026 and October 25, 2026; Deel's own blog posts give lower starting prices than its pricing page; Deel's product page describes its self-service option as a way to handle taxes and filings yourself, and suggests its managed option, which has no published price, for hiring across multiple states; Hourly also says to request a quote for exact pricing; Hourly's help center says employees' home address must be in California, so confirm it serves your state).
Monthly price by team size
Monthly list price for W-2 employees only (no contractors), all in one US state, with federal and state payroll taxes filed and paid for you, on each service's cheapest published plan for that team (among the 13 US payroll services we track that publish prices; list prices only; checked between October 22, 2026 and October 25, 2026). A second line gives the figure without Deel, where it differs.
| Employees | Lowest | Median | Highest | Median per employee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $29 $41 without Deel | $55 | $104 | $55 |
| 5 | $62 | $79 | $145 $140 without Deel | $15.80 |
| 10 | $87 | $109 | $290 $200 without Deel | $10.90 |
| 25 | $162 | $199 | $725 $380 without Deel | $7.96 |
| 50 | $287 | $349 | $1,450 $680 without Deel | $6.98 |
Quarterly history
The index's quarterly history starts in Q4 2026: its first snapshot of these figures was recorded on October 24, 2026. From the next quarter's snapshot on, this section shows the change since the quarter before, with and without Deel.
Price per employee by team size
Base fees are shared by more people as a team grows, so the price per employee falls. The median price per employee is $55 for 1 employee and $6.98 for 50 employees (among the 13 US payroll services we track that publish prices; list prices only; checked between October 22, 2026 and October 25, 2026).
- Highest without Deel
- Highest
- Median
- Lowest
Show these numbers as a table
| Employees | Highest without Deel | Highest | Median | Lowest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | $54.50 | $54.50 | $30.50 | $23.50 |
| 3 | $38.67 | $38.67 | $22.33 | $17.33 |
| 4 | $32 | $32 | $18.25 | $14.25 |
| 5 | $28 | $29 | $15.80 | $12.40 |
| 6 | $25.33 | $29 | $14.17 | $11.17 |
| 7 | $23.43 | $29 | $13 | $10.29 |
| 8 | $22 | $29 | $12.13 | $9.63 |
| 9 | $20.89 | $29 | $11.44 | $9.11 |
| 10 | $20 | $29 | $10.90 | $8.70 |
| 12 | $18.67 | $29 | $10.08 | $8.08 |
| 15 | $17.33 | $29 | $9.27 | $7.47 |
| 20 | $16 | $29 | $8.45 | $6.85 |
| 25 | $15.20 | $29 | $7.96 | $6.48 |
| 30 | $14.67 | $29 | $7.63 | $6.23 |
| 35 | $14.29 | $29 | $7.40 | $6.06 |
| 40 | $14 | $29 | $7.23 | $5.93 |
| 45 | $13.78 | $29 | $7.09 | $5.82 |
| 50 | $13.60 | $29 | $6.98 | $5.74 |
The chart starts at 2 employees: for 1 employee, the price per employee is the whole monthly price, given in the table above.
How the index is worked out
- The team: W-2 employees only (no contractors), all in one US state, with federal and state payroll taxes filed and paid for you.
- Each service's price: its cheapest published plan for that team, at the standard monthly list price (base fee plus per-employee fees), worked out by the same calculator as our home page.
- Lowest and highest: the smallest and the largest of those prices.
- Median: the middle price once they're sorted; with an even number of services, the average of the two middle prices. Median per employee: the median of each service's price divided by the number of employees.
- The services: only the US payroll services we track that publish prices, so adding or dropping a service can move the figures.
- Quarterly snapshots: the same figures, one snapshot kept for each calendar quarter as recorded that day, with the services it counted and the dates their prices were checked (the change since the quarter before).
Which services are in the index
The 13 US payroll services we track that publish prices: Deel, Gusto, Homebase, Hourly, Justworks, OnPay, Patriot, Paychex Flex, Paycor, QuickBooks, Roll by ADP, Square Payroll and Wave.
Not in the index: ADP RUN and Rippling don't publish list prices; SurePayroll is left out because its own pages showed different prices. What we found about each: ADP RUN, Rippling and SurePayroll.
Figures without Deel. Deel is a global payroll and hiring service that prices its US payroll per employee; its pricing page shows no monthly base fee. Leaving Deel out changes the lowest price at 1 employee and the highest price at 5, 10, 25 and 50 employees, and doesn't change the median at any size. We also give each figure without Deel because of our notes on its price: Deel's own blog posts give lower starting prices than its pricing page; Deel's product page describes its self-service option as a way to handle taxes and filings yourself, and suggests its managed option, which has no published price, for hiring across multiple states. Every figure in the index is for a team whose payroll taxes are filed and paid for you. The table gives each figure without Deel on a second line, where that differs.
What the index leaves out
- The payroll taxes themselves, and health-insurance and workers' comp premiums.
- Discounts and current offers: every figure uses standard monthly list prices.
- Contractors, more than one state, and features beyond tax filing. The calculator prices those for your team.
- Fees a provider doesn't publish. On the plans the index prices:
- Paychex Flex: Paychex Flex Essentials doesn't include year-end W-2 and 1099 forms: Paychex says they're "Available at additional cost" and doesn't publish that cost. On Paychex Flex Essentials, Paychex says "Additional fees may apply" to its payroll tax service, without giving an amount.
- Paycor: Paycor's small business pricing page doesn't say whether setup or year-end W-2 and 1099 forms cost extra.
Notes on the services in the index
Caveats our data records about some of the prices behind these figures:
- Deel: Deel's own blog posts give lower starting prices than its pricing page; Deel's product page describes its self-service option as a way to handle taxes and filings yourself, and suggests its managed option, which has no published price, for hiring across multiple states.
- Homebase: Homebase's prices are for one location, its plan fees are charged per location, and it doesn't say whether remote staff in another state need a location of their own.
- Hourly: Hourly also says to request a quote for exact pricing; Hourly's help center says employees' home address must be in California, so confirm it serves your state.
- Paychex Flex: Paychex's main pricing page doesn't link to its Flex Essentials plan, so it may not be offered to every business; Paychex describes Flex Essentials as for businesses with fewer than 20 employees and/or contractors (at 25 and 50 employees).
- Paycor: Paycor's pricing page also has an older, hidden price table with different numbers.
- QuickBooks: QuickBooks lists its Workforce plans' extra-state fee and some contractor fees only in its offer terms, and our prices include them.
- Wave: Wave's prices apply to new payroll customers who signed up after April 2, 2025.
Where the prices come from and how often we check them: how we check prices. Which service costs least for each team size: cheapest payroll by team size. Every price change we record: price change log. The index as a download (CSV · JSON), free to reuse with a credit: price data and how to cite it.