Payroll

Contents

1. 01WelcomeWhat these tools do, how many we grade and what to know before choosing
2. 02Our top threeThe three we'd look at first, and who each one suits
3. 03What they costWhat paid plans start at, the best buy at each budget and the free plans
4. 04The gradesThe highest graded, and how the whole category does on each subject
5. 05Keep or make?Which are worth paying for, and which you could make yourself
6. 06Every toolAll of them, best graded first, with what each costs
7. 07Quick answersThe questions people ask when choosing, each answered in a line or two
8. 08About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

ToolGPA put this guide together from each tool’s own pages, their app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on the Payroll page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 18, 2026.

Pay your team with the taxes worked out and filed for you, at home or in other countries.

Before you choose, here are 7 things to know about payroll services, worked out from every one we grade.

1. 1

   We grade 21 payroll services

   1 of them are free or have a free plan, and 5 more let you try before paying. Everything in this guide comes from their own pages and our grades.

2. 2

   Paid plans start at $29 a month in the middle

   From $6 (Square Payroll) to $99 (Paycor), going by what each one's paid plans start at.

3. 3

   Best value: Deel and Square Payroll

   Nothing on our chart scores higher than these without costing more.

4. 4

   16 of 21 have iPhone and Android apps

   21 run in a web browser and 0 have a Windows app. Check the one you need before you fall for anything.

5. 5

   The middle GPA is 2.4

   0 score 3.0 or higher. The highest is Roll by ADP, at 2.8.

6. 6

   Best free option: Tax1099

   Tax1099 has the highest GPA of the free ones, 1.8. E-filing for 1099s, W-2s and other IRS information returns.

7. 7

   21 worth keeping, 0 you could make

   By our keep-or-make rules, 21 do something you couldn't reasonably build yourself, 0 are simple enough to make with an AI app builder, and 0 are a close call.

Part 02 · Top three

Our top three

The three we'd look at first, and who each one suits

The three payroll services we'd look at first. First place suits the most people; second and third are the best picks for the people it leaves out. Each has an Insider's Guide of its own.

1. 1st

   

   2.6GPA

   OnPay

   Free trial · from $49/mo

   For: Most small US businesses

   OnPay's Payroll Essentials is $49 a month plus $6 per worker paid, and pays W-2 employees and 1099 contractors in all 50 states with no charge per state. It files federal, state and local taxes and year-end forms under an error-free guarantee, onboards new hires with e-signatures, syncs to QuickBooks Online or Xero and includes benefits administration with in-house agents. The first month is free. It runs on the web, iPhone and Android, and its iPhone and iPad app averages 4.8 from about 690 ratings. Know the limits: time tracking and HR tools are add-ons, $70 a month plus $10 a worker as a bundle, and its pages mention no payroll outside the US.

   The OnPay Insider’s Guide

2. 2nd

   

   2.8GPA

   Roll by ADP

   Free trial · from $39/mo

   For: Owners who want to run payroll from a phone

   Roll by ADP runs payroll by typing requests such as "Run payroll" into a chat. One plan, $39 a month plus $5 per worker paid, covers W-2 employees and 1099 contractors, tax filing and payment, time tracking, an AI assistant and QuickBooks Online sync, and new US clients get 3 months free once setup is done. Its iPhone and iPad app averages 4.7 from about 2,900 ratings. It is second because it does a smaller job than OnPay: the pricing page lists no HR tools, benefits administration or higher tiers, the desktop view opens only by scanning a code from the phone app, and same-day deposit costs a fee per transaction.

   The Roll by ADP Insider’s Guide

3. 3rd

   

   2.4GPA

   Deel

   From $29/mo

   For: Companies hiring or paying people abroad

   Deel employs your hires in 130+ countries where you have no company, at $599 per employee a month, runs payroll for your own entities in 130+ countries at $29 per employee, and pays contractors in 120+ currencies at $49 each a month. US payroll in all 50 states is $29 per employee. It is month to month with no long-term contract, and its iPhone and iPad app averages 4.8 from about 3,200 ratings. It is third because most people looking for payroll pay a team in the US only, where OnPay or Roll does the job for a base fee plus $5 or $6 a worker. There is no free trial, only a demo, and its US PEO price differs between tabs of the pricing page.

   The Deel Insider’s Guide

Going by our grades, Deel and Square Payroll give the most for the money among payroll services: no tool on this chart scores higher without costing more.

Paid plans start at a middle price of $29 a month across the 16 that charge, from $6 (Square Payroll) to $99 (Paycor).

4 of the 16 score above the category's average while starting at or below its middle price. 0 cost more than the middle price and score below the average.

Every tool gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. Here are the 12 highest graded payroll services, then how the whole category does on each subject.

Tool	Value	Free	Features	Ease	Platforms	GPA
Roll by ADP	B	C	C	A	B	2.8
OnPay	C	C	B	B	B	2.6
Patriot Payroll	A	C	C	C	B	2.6
Deel	C	F	B	A	B	2.4
Gusto	C	F	B	A	B	2.4
Justworks	C	F	B	A	B	2.4
Paychex Flex	C	F	B	A	B	2.4
Paylocity	C	F	B	A	B	2.4
QuickBooks Workforce	C	D	B	B	B	2.4
Rippling	C	F	B	A	B	2.4
RUN Powered by ADP	C	F	B	A	B	2.4
Square Payroll	B	F	C	A	B	2.4

Some software does something you couldn’t reasonably build yourself. Some is simple enough that an AI app builder could make the core of it in an afternoon. Here’s where payroll services land, by the same rules for every tool.

• 21

  Keep it

  It does something you could not reasonably make for yourself, or it costs nothing.

• 0

  Your call

  You could make the core of it, and you would give something up.

• 0

  You could make this

  What it does is the kind of thing an AI app builder makes well, and it charges every month.

Every payroll service we grade, with its GPA and what it costs. Each one has a page of its own on toolgpa.com, with its Insider’s Guide.

1. 1Roll by ADPFree trial · from $39/mo2.8
2. 2OnPayFree trial · from $49/mo2.6
3. 3Patriot PayrollFree trial · from $17/mo2.6
4. 4DeelFrom $29/mo2.4
5. 5GustoFrom $49/mo2.4
6. 6JustworksFrom $50/mo2.4
7. 7Paychex FlexPaid2.4
8. 8PaylocityPaid2.4
9. 9QuickBooks WorkforceFree trial · from $50/mo2.4
10. 10RipplingPaid2.4
11. 11RUN Powered by ADPPaid2.4
12. 12Square PayrollFrom $6/mo2.4
13. 13SurePayrollFrom $20/mo2.4
14. 14NiuralFrom $29/mo2.2
15. 15PaycorFrom $99/mo2.2
16. 16Payoneer Workforce ManagementFrom $19/mo2.2
17. 17RemoteFrom $29/mo2.2
18. 18OysterFree trial · from $29/mo2.0
19. 19RemotePeopleFrom $25/mo2.0
20. 20Employment HeroFrom $10/mo1.8
21. 21Tax1099Free plan · from $249/yr1.8

ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.

Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.

• 3,189

  tools graded

• 94

  categories

• 426

  price changes on record

• 579

  apps priced in 12 countries