Justworks
Pay, benefits and HR platform for employers, with an app for staff
Justworks report card
Fair · out of 4.0 · graded Oct 17, 2026
Best for small teams after big-company benefits
Justworks is payroll with people behind it, and its PEO is the draw: small teams get the kind of health plans and 401(k) big employers offer. Plain payroll is $90 a month for five people. Time tracking costs extra on every plan, and there's no trial.
Who Justworks is for
- Great if you want health insurance as good as a big employer's, through the PEO
- Handy when your team clocks in on a shared iPad
- Good for staff who'd rather send expenses and time-off requests from their phone
Who Justworks is not for
- Pricey if you need time tracking, at $8 a person on top of every plan
- Skip it if your overseas people are employees, since they go on the $599-a-person EOR plan
- Not for you if you want to try it first, as there's no trial on record
Why Justworks gets a 2.4
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- CValue for moneyThe Payroll plan is $50 a month plus $8 an employee, $90 for five, above the middle of this category. Time tracking is another $8 a person. Its EOR plan, a different kind of service, is $599 a person, $2,995 for five, the same as Deel and Remote.
- FFree plan and trialNo free plan and no trial on record. You pay from the first month.
- BFeaturesUS payroll with HR tools and expert support, a PEO that brings small teams big-company health plans and 401(k), employer of record abroad, and contractors in 60+ countries. Staff handle pay stubs, time off, expenses and timecards in the app.
- AEase of use4.84 from about 5,200 App Store ratings for the app staff use for pay stubs, time off and expenses. A shared iPad can be the team's time clock, with a PIN for each person.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb, iPhone and Android, and an iPad can run as a time clock. No desktop app, and the listing names no integrations.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Justworks' own pages on 17 October 2026, and its App Store rating. Justworks' pricing page turned our reader away on 17 October 2026, so its prices are as the listing has them. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
Make Justworks? Put this grade on your site
Paste this where you want the badge. It links here and follows the grade if it changes. About badges
<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/justworks#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/justworks.svg" alt="Justworks: 2.4 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Justworks stands among payroll services
Justworks's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 6 of the 18 other payroll services we grade, and level with 9.
It stands best on ease of use (A, above 9 of 18) and worst on free plan and trial (F, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $50 a month, against a middle price of $29 for the category: 11 of the 13 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 3.3 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 19 payroll services we grade, cut by the letter each got. Justworks’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 1 of 18, level with 11
- FFree plan and trialAbove 0 of 18, level with 13
- BFeaturesAbove 6 of 18, level with 12
- AEase of useAbove 9 of 18, level with 9
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 2 of 18, level with 16
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 14 payroll services. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
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
Keep Justworks, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace Justworks you would be making payroll taxes worked out and filed with the government for you. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
It costs $600 a year.
What you could make
- Time tracking and expense tracking: an app builder makes these well.
What you could not
- Payroll taxes worked out and filed with the government for you.
- A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page.
- Sharing with other people, which means accounts and invitations.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Justworks’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is Justworks?
Justworks is a platform for running a company's pay, benefits and HR, with support from people and access to corporate-level benefits. Its mobile app shows employees their pay stubs, earnings and insurance details, and lets them request time off, submit expenses and clock in and out. A shared iPad can serve as the team's time clock.
Justworks is a paid product, starting at $50 per month, plus $8 per employee (Payroll). See every plan
Good for
- Smaller employers that want benefits normally offered by large ones
- Teams that clock in on a shared iPad
- Employers whose staff submit expenses and time off from a phone
Worth knowing
- Payroll and the PEO plans are for US teams. Staff abroad go on the $599 employer-of-record plan, or are paid as contractors in 60+ countries at $39 each a month.
- Health insurance through the PEO plans needs the co-employer arrangement; on the Payroll plan it is an $8-a-month add-on per benefits-eligible employee.
- Time tracking is $8 a month per employee on every plan, and dedicated HR consulting is $30 per employee.
- The employee app needs an account set up through an employer that uses Justworks.
Key features
- Pay stubs and earnings
- Employees review payments, share pay stubs and see year-to-date earnings in the app.
- Benefits at hand
- Insurance details are available and shareable from the app, so staff do not need to carry a card.
- Time off requests
- Employees request time off in the app, and managers review and approve requests there.
- Expense reimbursements
- Staff upload receipts when they spend and submit reimbursement requests under the company's rules.
- Time tracking and Terminal Mode
- Clock in and out, manage breaks and shifts and submit timecards; Terminal Mode turns a shared iPad into a PIN-based time clock.
- Company calendar and directory
- A shared calendar of pay dates, holidays, time off and birthdays, and a directory of colleagues grouped by department.
Justworks pricing
- Starts at
- $50 per month, plus $8 per employee (Payroll)
- Free plan
- None
- Free trial
- None listed
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll | $50per month, plus $8 per employee | Payroll for US employees with HR tools, expert support and access to time tracking. US-based contractors are $8 a month each. |
| PEO Basic | $79per employee / month | Justworks becomes the co-employer: payroll, compliance, HR consulting, 24/7 support and 401(k). No base fee. |
| PEO Plus | $124per employee / month | Everything in PEO Basic plus medical, dental and vision administration, HSA and FSA accounts. Marked popular. No base fee. |
| EOR | $599per employee / month | Employer of record for hiring full-time staff abroad, with global HR and compliance support. No base fee. |
Read from justworks.com on Oct 17, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Justworks before you buy.
How people rate the Justworks app
4.8
out of 5 for the iPhone and iPad app
- 5 stars93%
- 4 stars3%
- 3 stars1%
- 2 stars<1%
- 1 star2%
5,181 ratings on the App Store in the United States, read Oct 17, 2026. It rates the app, not everything the product does. See the listing
Justworks alternatives
- Justworks vs Gusto
From $49/mo
- Justworks vs Deel
From $29/mo
- Justworks vs OnPay
Free trial · from $49/mo
Common questions
Is Justworks free?
No. Justworks is a paid product, starting at $50 per month, plus $8 per employee (Payroll).
How much does Justworks cost?
Justworks lists 4 plans. Payroll: $50 per month, plus $8 per employee. PEO Basic: $79 per employee / month. PEO Plus: $124 per employee / month. EOR: $599 per employee / month. Prices were read from justworks.com on Oct 17, 2026.
What platforms does Justworks work on?
Justworks is available on Web, iOS and Android.
How is Justworks rated?
Justworks's iPhone and iPad app averages 4.8 out of 5 from 5,181 ratings on the App Store in the United States, as read on Oct 17, 2026. That is the store's rating of the app, not a score from us.
Does Justworks have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 17, 2026. Justworks is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Does Justworks have a macOS app?
No macOS app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 17, 2026. Justworks is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Is Justworks open source?
Justworks is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 17, 2026.
Who makes Justworks?
Justworks is made by Justworks, Inc.
What are the alternatives to Justworks?
The closest alternatives to Justworks in our directory are Gusto, Rippling, Deel, OnPay and Paychex Flex. Each one has a side-by-side comparison with Justworks.
How does Justworks compare with other payroll services?
Justworks's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 6 of the 18 other payroll services we grade, and level with 9. It stands best on ease of use (A, above 9 of 18) and worst on free plan and trial (F, above 0).
Is Justworks good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Justworks C for value for money. Its paid plans start at $50 a month, against a middle price of $29 for the category: 11 of the 13 others that charge start lower. On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 3.3 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price.
Could I make my own version of Justworks?
To replace Justworks you would be making payroll taxes worked out and filed with the government for you. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. It costs $600 a year. What you could not make: Payroll taxes worked out and filed with the government for you. A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page. Sharing with other people, which means accounts and invitations. The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job. This is a judgement from its listing. We have not built one.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 17, 2026. What people say is linked where it appears.