Payfit vs SimplePay (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Payfit if

• Fits if you want a provider to run your UK payroll
• Works for firms from 25 employees up to 300 or more

Look elsewhere if

• Watch out: no prices are published, so cost cannot be compared in advance
• Skip it if you pay staff outside the UK, as the pages read describe UK payroll only
• Skip it if you want a free plan or a trial, as neither is listed
• Watch out: sizes described run from small firms of up to 25 employees to 300-plus

Pick SimplePay if

• Fits if you run payroll for a South African business of up to 500 people
• Works for owners who want one plan with every feature included

Look elsewhere if

• Not for you if you run payroll outside South Africa: it is built around SARS rules
• Pricey if you add VAT: the prices shown exclude VAT
• Watch out: accountants, bureaus and firms over 500 employees must request a quote
• Watch out: each extra company is billed separately and needs its own quote

Payfit

• No prices are published; the site offers a demo and a Try now button, so cost cannot be compared in advance.
• The pages read from this location describe UK payroll; availability and features in other countries are not shown on them.
• Payfit says it takes legal responsibility for HMRC compliance on the payroll it runs.
• Pages describe sizes from small businesses of up to 25 employees to mid-market firms of 300 or more.

SimplePay

• Prices are in South African rand and exclude VAT.
• Companies with more than 500 employees, and accounting firms or bureaus running payroll for clients, must request a quote.
• Multiple companies are billed separately, each needing its own quote.
• The site says its ISO 27001 certification is still in progress.

Payfit

Payroll run by Payfit's team

UK payroll experts, described as CIPP-qualified, prepare and check each pay run; the client reviews and approves before payday.

HMRC and pension submissions

Sends Full Payment Submissions and Employer Payment Summaries to HMRC, applies tax code changes, and submits to pension providers including NEST, Smart Pension, Aviva, NOW Pensions and People's Pension.

Starters, leavers and statutory pay

Handles new-starter notifications, P45s, notice-pay calculations and statutory pay entitlements, and generates P11Ds at no extra cost.

Payments

Pays staff through Telleroo or produces a BACS file for upload to the company's bank.

Connected HR modules

Leave and absence, expenses, performance reviews and reporting sit on the same platform as payroll.

SimplePay

Payroll processing

Calculates salaries, wages and tax from employee data and produces payment files to upload to your bank.

Statutory calculations and filing

Handles PAYE, UIF and SDL, with EMP201 and UIF declaration data, and tax certificate exports for eFiling or e@syFile.

Leave management

Custom annual leave policies, built-in sick and family responsibility leave, and approvals through self-service.

Employee self-service

Employees see payslips, request leave, log expense claims and submit banking and address changes through the website or the mobile app for iOS and Android.

Flexible pay structures

Supports variable pay rates, bonuses, commissions and unlimited custom income and deduction items.

Accounting integrations and API

Connects to Xero and QuickBooks and offers an API for other systems.

Payfit

Pricing could not be confirmed. See payfit.com.

SimplePay

• The One PlanR70

  per month, plus R19.50 per employee (first 5)

  All features. Per-employee rate falls to R13.60 for employees 6 to 10, R11.00 for 11 to 300 and R8.75 from 301; 10 employees come to R235.50 a month, excluding VAT.

Payfit

• Other savings

  First month free for new clients until 30 November 2026

  A site banner offers a free first month to new clients who subscribe on or before 30 November 2026.

SimplePay

No public discounts listed.