How we score Payroll services
Rubric v1, published Sep 27, 2026 · See the ranking
We score each payroll service on its entry plan (the cheapest plan that pays W-2 employees) using only what the company publishes on its own website: the base fee plus the per-employee fee for five employees, whether it files payroll taxes for you, what the plan includes, whether it stands behind its tax filings, support, and whether there is a free trial. Every score is worked out by the formula shown for its criterion, and every fact behind it links to the page it came from, with the date we read it.
A fact the company does not publish counts as absent, and a service that only quotes on request scores 0 on price. We have not run payroll in these services; when we do, the method will say so and the rubric version will change.
The criteria
| Criterion | Weight | What a 10 and a 0 look like |
|---|---|---|
| Cost for five employees | 35% | The entry plan's monthly base fee plus five times its per-employee fee, at the regular price (no introductory discount), annual prepay included. 10 at $50 or less, 0 at $250 or more, straight line between; 0 if not published. |
| Included on the entry plan | 20% | Which of five the entry plan includes: unlimited payroll runs, direct deposit, an employee self-service portal, contractor payments with 1099s, new-hire reporting. 2 points each. |
| Tax filing | 20% | 10 if the entry plan files federal, state and local payroll taxes and year-end W-2s for you; 6 if it files federal and state but not local; 0 if you file, or it is not published. |
| Tax accuracy guarantee | 10% | 10 if the company says it pays penalties caused by its own tax filing errors on the entry plan; 0 if not, or not published. |
| Support | 10% | Support on the entry plan: phone and chat 10; one live channel (phone or chat) 6; email or help centre only 3; not published 0. |
| Free trial | 5% | 10 for a free trial or free months that need no payment up front, 0 for neither. |
The overall score is 10 × the sum of weight × criterion score, from 0 to 100, shown as 0-10 with one decimal.
Version history
- v1, published Sep 27, 2026: Cost for five employees 35%, Included on the entry plan 20%, Tax filing 20%, Tax accuracy guarantee 10%, Support 10%, Free trial 5%