Cheapest Payroll Service (2026): 15 Plans by Monthly Cost

Cheapest payroll services ranked by cost for 5 employees

Patriot Full Service is the cheapest of the 11 payroll services we priced that file your taxes, at $62 a month for 5 employees, with Roll by ADP and SurePayroll tied second at $64. Each provider enters with its cheapest plan that deposits and files federal and state payroll taxes. The price is the base fee plus 5 per-person fees, billed monthly, for one state, at the regular price.

Not every provider on the market. How we rank

RUN Powered by ADP and Paychex aren’t ranked because both sell payroll by quote only; what ADP charges is on its own page. Justworks isn’t ranked because its pricing page blocked our check, Toast sets payroll prices per contract, and Deel’s US payroll is left out because Deel calls it self-service and doesn’t say it files your taxes.

Who has the cheapest payroll at 1, 5 and 10 employees?

Of the 11 we priced, SurePayroll is the cheapest payroll service at 1 employee ($36 a month), and Patriot Full Service is cheapest at 5 ($62) and at 10 ($87). The order changes because SurePayroll has the lowest base fee and Patriot one of the lowest per-person fees, so SurePayroll leads for 1 to 3 people and Patriot from 5 up.

SurePayroll’s year-end fees ($50 plus $5 per W-2 or 1099) push its year one at 5 people to $843, behind Patriot, Roll, Square and Wave. New-customer offers aren’t in these sums because their terms vary: Roll gives three months free, Homebase six months of payroll free, Patriot 30 days free and then a lower price for three months, and SurePayroll every other month free in year one. If you’re hiring your first person, payroll for one employee ranks the services at exactly 1 and 2 people.

Plans that cost less but don’t file taxes or pay employees

Payroll4Free, Patriot Basic and two contractor-only plans cost less at 5 people than every plan above, but each one leaves you a job the full-service plans do for you.

Payroll4Free is the only free payroll software we found, and it is free only while you pay 9 or fewer people no more than once a month; its tax and direct-deposit services charge a fee it doesn’t publish. Contractor-only plans pay 1099 workers and can’t run payroll for W-2 employees: Square’s plan is cheaper for up to 4 contractors, and QuickBooks Contractor Payments is cheaper from 5 contractors up. If you aren’t sure which your workers are, check 1099 vs W-2 before you pick a plan.

How much should payroll services cost?

Full-service payroll for 5 employees costs $62–$130 a month across the 11 plans we priced, and 9 of them cost $85 or less. If a quote for a small team in one state comes in well above that, ask what it bundles besides payroll. QuickBooks Payroll pricing and Gusto’s pricing each have higher tiers with same-day deposit and HR tools. For restaurant payroll, with tips and POS imports, the ranking is different.

Is it cheaper to do your own payroll?

Doing your own payroll is cheaper in fees: Patriot Basic costs $37 a month for 5 people, $25 less than Patriot Full Service. In return you make every federal and state tax deposit on time, file the quarterly and annual returns, and send W-2s yourself. Use a payroll tax calculator to see the amounts you’d be depositing, and compare that work against the monthly saving. For the best payroll software for small business on more than price, see our ranking at 10 employees.