SimplePay review (2026): is it worth paying for?
South African online payroll with leave and self-service
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SimplePay report card
Good · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 13, 2026
Best for South African payroll for small firms
SimplePay does South African payroll with PAYE, UIF and tax filing, leave and self-service, on one plan: R70 a month plus R19.50 an employee. That is cheap, but it is in rand, excludes VAT, and companies over 500 employees and bureaus must ask for a quote.
Who SimplePay is for
- 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
Who SimplePay is not for
- 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
Why SimplePay gets a 2.8
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- AValue for moneyR70 plus R19.50 an employee, about R170 a month for five people, which is well under what payroll tools cost elsewhere.
- CFree plan and trial30-day trial with all features, and no card is asked in the sign-up form. No free plan afterwards.
- BFeaturesPAYE, UIF and SDL, SARS filing, leave, self-service, accounting links and an API. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in South African payroll.
- CEase of useNo store rating on record. You enter pay items and employees and connect an accounting package, so it is a C.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb, iPhone and Android, with Xero, QuickBooks and an API. No desktop app.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from SimplePay's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
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<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/simplepay#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/simplepay.svg" alt="SimplePay: 2.8 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where SimplePay stands among payroll services
SimplePay's GPA of 2.8 is higher than 39 of the 40 other payroll services we grade, and level with 1.
It stands best on value for money (A, above 36 of 40) and worst on ease of use (C, above 1).
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 41 payroll services we grade, cut by the letter each got. SimplePay’s own letter is outlined.
- AValue for moneyAbove 36 of 40, level with 4
- CFree plan and trialAbove 30 of 40, level with 9
- BFeaturesAbove 17 of 40, level with 23
- CEase of useAbove 1 of 40, level with 25
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 11 of 40, level with 29
Keep SimplePay, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace SimplePay 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 is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 2.8 is higher than 39 of the 40 other payroll services we grade.
What you could make
- Time off, employee records 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.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. SimplePay’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 SimplePay?
SimplePay is online payroll software for South African employers, with leave management, employee self-service and statutory filing for PAYE, UIF and SDL. One plan includes every feature, priced as a base fee plus a per-employee charge that falls as headcount grows. The company also runs sites for Singapore, Ireland and Hong Kong.
Worth knowing
- 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.
Key features
- 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.
SimplePay pricing
As of Nov 12, 2026, SimplePay is a paid product with a free trial, starting at R70 per month plus R19.50 per employee, excluding VAT.
- Starts at
- R70 per month plus R19.50 per employee, excluding VAT
- Free plan
- None
- Free trial
- 30-day free trial with all features and full support
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| The One Plan | R70per 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. |
Read from simplepay.co.za on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with SimplePay before you buy.
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Common questions
Does SimplePay have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. SimplePay is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Does SimplePay have a macOS app?
No macOS app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. SimplePay is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Is SimplePay open source?
SimplePay is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 12, 2026.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026.