BrightPay vs Zellis (2026): which should you pick?

Pick BrightPay if

• Fits if you run payroll for a UK small business
• Works for accountants who want links to Xero, QuickBooks or Sage

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you pay staff outside the UK, as it is built around HMRC and UK rules
• Watch out: prices are in pounds plus VAT, and the entry price is for one employer and one employee
• Watch out: per-employee charges start at the fourth employee, falling in bands above 750
• Too light for larger employers, as payroll is capped at 300 employees at standard pricing

Pick Zellis if

• Fits if you run payroll for a large or complex UK or Irish workforce
• Works for organisations that want payroll, HR and scheduling from one supplier

Look elsewhere if

• Not for you if you want a price first, because none is published
• Skip it if you are a small business, as the vendor says it is configured for large, high-volume workforces
• Skip it if you employ in the US, since the pages cover the UK and Ireland
• Not for you if you want a free plan or trial, as none is listed

BrightPay

• Prices are in pounds and shown plus VAT; the entry price is for one employer and one employee.
• Per-employee charges start at the fourth employee: £2.10 each for employees 4 to 10 on monthly billing, falling in bands to £0.12 above 750.
• Payroll is capped at 300 employees per employer at standard pricing.
• Built for UK payroll (HMRC, RTI, auto-enrolment); the vendor also publishes Ireland versions of its pages.

Zellis

• No prices are published; buyers are invited to request a demo.
• Pages describe UK and Ireland customers; it does not present itself as a US payroll option.
• The vendor says its payroll is configurable for large, high-volume workforces, so it may be more than a small business needs.

BrightPay

HMRC submissions

RTI submissions go to HMRC straight from BrightPay on every pay run, and auto-enrolment duties are assessed with alerts for pending actions.

Automatic payroll checks

Flags NI category changes, minimum wage shortfalls for hourly staff and pension contributions below the minimum before a run is finalized.

Employee and manager portals

Employees see payslips and book annual leave, and line managers handle leave requests and team details in their own portal.

AI assistants

Oscar collects new-starter details for approval, BrightAsk answers UK payroll questions, and a payslip comparator explains changes between payslips.

Payments and accounting journals

Pays through a Modulr account and exports payroll journals to Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, Zoho Books, BrightBooks and other packages.

Zellis

Real-time payroll engine

Processes payroll continuously across the cycle rather than only at cut-off.

AI anomaly detection

Flags errors, missing data and compliance risks as they appear.

Intelligent payslips

Payslips explain each payroll change in plain terms.

Workforce management

Demand forecasting and automated scheduling across sites and shifts, with time feeding directly into pay.

HR and talent

Employee data, joiner-mover-leaver workflows, a 24/7 AI assistant for HR questions, and talent management.

BrightPay

• BrightPay Cloud£7.00

  per month, billed annually (£8.25 billed monthly)

  Entry price shown for one employer and one employee, plus VAT; per-employee charges apply from the fourth employee.

Zellis

Pricing could not be confirmed. See zellis.com.

BrightPay

• Annual discount

  Save 15% with annual billing

  The pricing calculator shows a 15% saving on annual billing against monthly billing, so the entry price is £84 a year plus VAT.

Zellis

No public discounts listed.