OnPay vs SurePayroll
We give OnPay a 2.6 GPA and SurePayroll a 2.4, out of 4.0. OnPay grades higher on the free plan and features. SurePayroll grades higher on value for money and ease of use. They get the same grade on platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
OnPay
US payroll with published prices, plus HR and time add-ons
SurePayroll
Online payroll for small US businesses and household employers
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAOnPayGood | 2.4GPASurePayrollFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CPayroll Essentials is $49 a month plus $6 a worker, $79 for five, the same as Gusto and just under the middle of this category. Benefits administration and onboarding are in that price rather than sold on top. | BNo Tax Filing is $20 a month plus $4 an employee, $40 for five, inside the cheapest quarter of this category. Full Service, which files taxes, is $64 for five. Year-end forms add $50 plus $5 a form, and multi-state is $9.99 a month. |
| Free plan and trial | CThe first month is free. There's no free plan, and the listing doesn't say whether you need a card to start. | FNo free plan or trial. New customers get every other month free in their first year, which is a good deal, but it's a discount on a paid plan, not a trial. |
| Features | BPays employees and contractors in all 50 states, files taxes under an error-free guarantee, onboards new hires with e-signatures, syncs to QuickBooks Online or Xero and sets up health plans with in-house agents. Time and HR are add-ons. | CPayroll done fully: unlimited and automatic runs, employees and contractors together, tax filing on Full Service and a household plan for nannies. A smaller job, though, with no HR tools beyond paid employment-law help. |
| Ease of use | B4.83 from 689 App Store ratings, short of the 1,000 an A needs. New hires onboard themselves and sign their I-9s and W-4s online. | A4.7 from about 6,100 App Store ratings for the employer app, where owners run payroll and check reports. Staff get their own app for pay stubs. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with QuickBooks Online, Xero, Vestwell, JazzHR, NEXT Insurance and TurboTax. No desktop app. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with apps for owners and for staff. No desktop app, and accounting sync is a $4.99-a-month add-on rather than built in. |
| Best for | small US firms that want a clear price and benefits | tiny businesses and families paying a nanny |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: OnPay and SurePayroll. How we grade
Price against what you get
OnPay starts at $49 a month and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. SurePayroll starts at $20 a month and scores 3.0.
They score the same, and SurePayroll starts $29 a month lower. Of the other payroll services on the chart, 1 scores higher than OnPay for less, and none scores higher than SurePayroll for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- OnPay starts at $49 per month, plus $6 per worker paid. SurePayroll starts at $20 per month, plus $4 per employee.
- OnPay also covers time tracking.
At a glance
| OnPay | SurePayroll | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Paid |
| Starts at | $49 per month, plus $6 per worker paid | $20 per month, plus $4 per employee |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | First month free | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | OnPay, LLC | SurePayroll, Inc. |
| Price read from | onpay.com | surepayroll.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
OnPay
- Small US businesses that want to know the price without a sales call
- Teams paying employees and contractors in several states
- Owners who want benefits handled in the same place as payroll
SurePayroll
- Small US businesses with a handful of employees
- Families paying a nanny, caregiver or housekeeper
- Owners who want to run payroll from a phone
Worth knowing
OnPay
- Add-ons bought alone cost $15 plus $2 per worker (HR), $15 plus $4 per worker (Time Tracking), $10 (Compliance Resources) and $65 a month (Live HR Support).
- Runs payroll in all 50 US states at no extra charge per state; the pages read mention no other countries.
- Health insurance, workers' comp and 401(k) plans are paid at their premiums on top of the OnPay subscription.
SurePayroll
- Runs US payroll; the first state is included, multi-state payroll is $9.99 a month and local taxes carry a separate fee.
- Year-end W-2 and 1099-NEC forms are billed once a year at $50 plus $5 per form.
- Accounting sync is $4.99 a month, time clock import from $5 a month plus $3 per employee, and employment law help from $30 a month.
- Household employers buy a separate Nanny & Household plan at $39 a month, including one employee, marked down from $45.
Key features
OnPay
- Full-service payroll
- Pay W-2 employees and 1099 contractors by direct deposit, check or prepaid debit card, with unlimited pay runs and garnishment deductions.
- Taxes in all 50 states
- Files and pays federal, state and local taxes and year-end W-2s and 1099s, registers for state taxes, and backs its filings with an error-free guarantee.
- Hiring and onboarding
- Send offer letters for e-signature, have new hires sign I-9s and W-4s and onboard themselves, and file state new-hire reports automatically.
- Accounting sync
- Syncs the general ledger to QuickBooks Online or Xero after every pay run, with line items mapped to your chart of accounts.
- Benefits administration
- Health, dental and vision plans chosen with licensed in-house agents, with open enrollment and payroll deductions; you pay only the premiums.
- Time Tracking add-on
- Time clocks for each worksite, overtime and break rules, supervisor approval and approved hours sent straight to payroll.
SurePayroll
- Unlimited and automatic payroll
- Every plan includes unlimited payroll runs, and payroll can be scheduled to run on its own on the chosen pay dates.
- Tax filing on Full Service
- Full Service calculates, files and deposits federal, state and local payroll taxes and gives access to Forms 940, 941, W-2 and 1099.
- Free 2-day direct deposit
- Direct deposit with a two-day lead time is included, and pay stubs and reports stay available online at any hour.
- Employees and contractors
- W-2 employees and 1099 contractors are paid in the same payroll, with multiple pay rates, bonuses and new hire reporting.
- Employer and employee apps
- Owners run payroll and review reports from the SurePayroll app, and employees see their own pay stubs and account details in theirs.
- Household payroll
- A separate Nanny & Household plan files household payroll taxes and prepares Schedule H and W-2 forms for families.
Plans
OnPay
Payroll Essentials$49
per month, plus $6 per worker paid
Full-service payroll and tax filing in all 50 states, onboarding with e-signatures, accounting sync, reports and benefits administration.
Payroll, Time Tracking and HR$70
per month, plus $10 per worker paid
Bundle for hourly teams: Payroll Essentials with the Time Tracking and HR add-ons, against $79 plus $12 per worker bought separately.
Payroll, HR and HR Support$120
per month, plus $7 per worker paid
Bundle for salaried teams: Payroll Essentials, HR, Compliance Resources and Live HR Support.
Everything bundle$130
per month, plus $10 per worker paid
Payroll Essentials with Time Tracking, HR, Compliance Resources and Live HR Support.
SurePayroll
No Tax Filing$20
per month, plus $4 per employee
The Full Service features, except that you file and deposit all payroll taxes yourself.
Full Service$29
per month, plus $7 per employee
Payroll taxes filed and deposited, unlimited payroll runs, free 2-day direct deposit and W-2 and 1099 workers. The first state is included.
Ways to pay less
OnPay
No public discounts listed.
SurePayroll
- Other savings
Every other month free for the first year
New customers get every alternating month free during their first 12 months, which SurePayroll advertises as 6 free months. Terms apply.
