OnPay vs Tax1099
We give OnPay a 2.6 GPA and Tax1099 a 1.8, out of 4.0. OnPay grades higher on the free plan, features and ease of use. Tax1099 grades higher on value for money. 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
Tax1099
E-filing for 1099s, W-2s and other IRS information returns
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAOnPayGood | 1.8GPATax1099Weak | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | BGraded against its own alternatives, as it files forms rather than running payroll. Essential has no yearly fee: 1099s and W-2s are $2.99 each for the first 20, falling to $0.72, plus $0.50 a copy by eDelivery. Teams is $249 a year. Payroll services like Gusto start at $49 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. | FNothing free. Signing up for Essential needs no card or subscription, but every form you file is charged, and there's no trial. That's paying as you go, not trying it out. |
| 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. | DNext to its alternatives it does one slice of the job, and does it fully: federal, state and SSA filing, corrections, W-9 collection, TIN checks and recipient copies. But it runs no payroll and pays nobody, so it sits beside your payroll or your books. |
| 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. | CNo store rating on record. You'll bring in payee names, tax IDs and amounts from a spreadsheet or QuickBooks, Xero or BILL, then choose how the copies go out. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with QuickBooks Online, Xero, Vestwell, JazzHR, NEXT Insurance and TurboTax. No desktop app. | BWeb only, with QuickBooks Online and Desktop, Xero, BILL, FreshBooks, Sage Intacct, NetSuite and Zapier, and an API on Scale at $349 a year. No phone or desktop app. |
| Best for | small US firms that want a clear price and benefits | filing 1099s without a payroll service |
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 Tax1099. 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. Tax1099 starts at $20.75 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.0.
OnPay scores higher, and starts $28.25 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other payroll services on the chart, 1 scores higher than OnPay for less, and 4 score higher than Tax1099 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. Tax1099 starts at $249 per year (Teams); Essential has no yearly fee and charges per form.
- Tax1099 has a free plan. OnPay does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only OnPay lists iOS and Android apps.
- OnPay also covers time tracking, reports and payroll.
At a glance
| OnPay | Tax1099 | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $49 per month, plus $6 per worker paid | $249 per year (Teams); Essential has no yearly fee and charges per form |
| Free plan | None | Essential plan: no subscription or card needed, but each form filed is charged, from $2.99 for the first 20 1099s or W-2s down to $0.72 each at 501 to 1,000. |
| Free trial | First month free | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | OnPay, LLC | Zenwork, Inc. |
| Price read from | onpay.com | tax1099.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 18, 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
Tax1099
- Small businesses filing 1099s for contractors and vendors
- Accountants and CPAs filing for many clients from one login
- Companies that collect W-9s and check tax IDs before filing
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.
Tax1099
- It files information returns and payroll tax forms but does not run payroll or pay anyone, so it is narrower than the payroll services here.
- Each form is charged: $2.99 apiece for the first 20 1099, 1098 or W-2 forms, falling to $0.72 at 501 to 1,000. Over 1,000 forms is quoted.
- Recipient copies cost extra: $0.50 a form by eDelivery, $1.95 printed and mailed in the US, $4.99 abroad. Mail in the season's last 5 days adds $1 each.
- It files only with the IRS, the SSA and US states, runs in a browser with no mobile app, and API access needs Scale at $349 a year.
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.
Tax1099
- Federal and state e-filing
- Files 1099, 1098, W-2, 94x, 1042-S, 1095 and 990 forms with the IRS and SSA, and state copies through the combined federal and state program or directly.
- Corrections and scheduling
- Files corrected and void forms, schedules filings ahead, resubmits forms the IRS rejected and produces 1096 and W-3 summaries for reference.
- W-9 and W-8 collection
- Requests W-9 or W-8 forms from payees online, priced from $1 for one request to $95 for 1,000, and imports W-9s from PDF.
- TIN matching and address checks
- Checks payee name and tax ID pairs in real time for $1 each or within 24 hours for $0.37, and validates US addresses against USPS records.
- Imports and integrations
- Pulls payee data from CSV or Excel and 12+ no-code integrations such as QuickBooks, Xero, BILL and NetSuite; Scale adds an API for automated filing.
- Recipient copies
- Sends copies to recipients by eDelivery for $0.50 a form, or prints and mails them for $1.95 in the US and $4.99 abroad.
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.
Tax1099
Essential$0
No yearly fee; pay per form from $2.99 each. Federal, state and SSA filing, corrections, scheduling, USPS address checks and accounting imports.
Teams$249
per year
Formerly eFile Plus. Everything in Essential plus several users, team creation and 250 free TIN matches.
Scale$349
per year
Formerly Enterprise. Adds API filing, workflow and user management, action tracking, IRS notice management and a free first bulk TIN match.
