Payroll
How much does payroll cost? $37 to $85 a month for five employees
Quick answer
Payroll services charge a monthly base fee plus a fee per employee. For five employees, entry plans cost $37 (Patriot Basic) to $85 (QuickBooks Workforce Payroll) a month; the two cheapest leave tax filing to you. Plans that file the taxes for you start at $62 (Patriot Full Service). Extra states, year-end forms, faster deposits and HR add-ons cost more, and Paychex doesn't publish its tax filing fees.
Payroll services price by headcount: a monthly base fee plus a fee for each person you pay. Here is what the 7 services we compare charge, read from their own pages on Sep 27, 2026.
Entry plans for five employees
| Company | Entry plan | Base fee | Per employee | Five employees | Files taxes? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patriot Payroll | Basic Payroll | $17 | $4 | $37 | No, you file |
| SurePayroll | No Tax Filing | $20 | $4 | $40 | No, you file |
| Paychex Flex | Essentials | $39 | $5 | $64 + unpublished fees | Yes, fees extra |
| Square Payroll | Full-service | $35 | $6 | $65 | Federal and state |
| OnPay | Payroll Essentials | $49 | $6 | $79 | Federal, state, local |
| Gusto | Simple | $49 | $6 | $79 | Federal, state, local (one state) |
| QuickBooks Payroll | Workforce Payroll | $50 | $7 | $85 | Federal and state |
All fees are monthly. If you want the taxes filed, the cheapest published options for five are Patriot Full Service ($37 + $5 = $62) and SurePayroll Full Service ($29 + $7 = $64).
Typical and top plans
Mid and top tiers add time tracking, HR, multi-state payroll and faster support:
- Gusto Plus: $80 + $12 per person, $140 for five; Premium $180 + $22, $290 for five.
- QuickBooks Workforce Premium: $88 + $13, $153 for five; Elite $134 + $17, $219 for five.
- Paychex's Basic, Foundations, Advanced and Complete packages are "Request Pricing" only.
Per-employee maths
The per-employee fee is the part that grows. OnPay's own page headline, "Pricing starts at $55 per month", is its $49 base plus one worker. Check who counts: OnPay, Gusto and Square bill contractors at the per-person fee in months you pay them, and Patriot bills per worker paid. Patriot's fee is charged only in months you run payroll.
Fees on top
- Year-end forms. SurePayroll bills W-2s and 1099-NECs once a year: $50 plus $5 per form, $75 for five. Square charges $3 per person a year to mail paper copies. OnPay mails forms for $10 each; printing them yourself is free.
- Unpublished tax fees. Paychex Flex Essentials says tax administration "Additional fees may apply" and W-2s and 1099s are "Available at additional cost". Treat $64 as a floor.
- Extra states. Patriot Full Service, and QuickBooks Workforce Payroll and Premium: $12 a month per extra state. SurePayroll: $9.99 a month for more than one state, plus an unpublished fee where local taxes apply. OnPay and Square include multistate payroll. Gusto Simple is single-state, so a second state means Plus.
- Contractor direct deposit. QuickBooks: $7 a month on Workforce Payroll "per contractor payment".
- Faster pay. Gusto sells next-day pay on Simple for $15 a month plus $3 per person.
- Support and HR. Gusto priority support is $30 plus $3 per person. OnPay's HR add-on is $15 plus $2 per worker, and time tracking $15 plus $4. Patriot's HR add-on is $6 plus $2 per employee.
Offers that end
- QuickBooks: 50% off the base fee for 3 months ($25), per-employee fees not discounted.
- Patriot: 30 days free, then 50% off for 3 months on both fees ($8.50 plus $2 on Basic).
- SurePayroll: base and per-employee fees credited in months 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 for new clients who enrolled by September 30, 2026 (terms); this offer has ended.
- OnPay: first month free.
- Gusto: a $0 base fee for 6 months on its Contractor Only plan, for businesses with no W-2 employees.
Next steps
Price your own headcount and states with the fees above, then compare the services in our payroll services ranking. Contractors should see our list for construction and trades. How we score cost is on the methodology page.