Guide
Free Payroll Software: What's Actually Free (and the Catch)
Free payroll software, checked Oct 2026: what Payroll4Free, HR.my and IRS tools really cover, the catch, and the cheapest paid plans for 3 or 10 staff.
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Independent · No vendor sponsorships
The payroll software comparisons the vendors won't write.
Almost every "best payroll software" page is written by a payroll company. We're not one. Real prices, verified and dated. The fine print in the contract. And what breaks in every tool — including the one we'd recommend.
- Vendors tracked
- 12
- Checked against official sources
- 12/12
- Last verification
- Oct 27, 2026
- Vendor-paid placements
- 0
Start here
The questions small teams ask us most.
Pricing
QuickBooks Payroll Pricing 2026: Real Cost by Tier
QuickBooks Payroll pricing, verified Oct 2026: $50 + $7 per employee up to $134 + $17. Totals at 5, 15 and 40 employees, extra-state fees and exit costs.
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Alternatives
Rippling Alternatives: 6 Competitors With Real Prices
Rippling alternatives and competitors compared on published prices at 5, 15 and 40 employees, plus the Rippling contract terms that make people leave.
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The verified price ledger
Cheapest published plan for each vendor, read from the vendor's own pricing page. 8 of 12 publish a price at all — the rest are Quote only, which means you only find out after a sales call.
| Vendor | Cheapest published plan | Setup fee | Contract | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BambooHR | $250/mo Core (flat rate, 25 employees or fewer) | Not verified yet | Month-to-month or Extended Term (auto-renews for 12-month terms) | Verified Oct 27, 2026 |
| Gusto | $49/mo + $6/employee Simple | None | Month-to-month | Verified Oct 27, 2026 |
| OnPay | $49/mo + $6/employee Payroll Essentials | None | No fixed term; either party may terminate with 30 days' prior written notice (ToS §10) | Verified Oct 27, 2026 |
| Patriot Software | $17/mo + $4/employee Basic Payroll | None | Month-to-month (cancel anytime) | Verified Oct 27, 2026 |
| Paycor | $99/mo + $5/employee Basic (under 50 employees) | Basic: none. Essential $59, Complete $99, HCM $199, shown as 'Fee Waived' under the current offer | General Terms: no fixed term, 60 days' written notice to terminate. Promo offers require a 24-month commitment | Verified Oct 27, 2026 |
| QuickBooks Payroll | $50/mo + $7/employee Workforce Payroll (formerly Payroll Core) | Not verified yet | Month-to-month | Verified Oct 27, 2026 |
| Rippling | $8/employee/mo Rippling platform (starting price) | Not verified yet | Subscription Term set in the Order Form; auto-renews for the shorter of the initial term or 12 months unless notice is given at least 30 days before term end | Verified Oct 27, 2026 |
| SurePayroll | $29/mo + $7/employee Small Business Full Service (starting at) | None | Month-to-month (no commitment) | Verified Oct 27, 2026 |
| ADP | Quote only | Not verified yet | RUN: no fixed term in online terms; auto-renews with each processing cycle; either party may end on 30 days' written notice. Workforce Now: not published | Verified Oct 27, 2026 |
| Paychex | Quote only | Charged (amount not published); excluded from the free-months promo | Current promo requires a one-year service agreement; standard Flex term not published | Verified Oct 27, 2026 |
| Paylocity | Quote only | Implementation billed as Professional Services in the Order; amount not published | Initial term set in each Order; auto-renews unless written non-renewal notice is given (Subscription Agreement v30.0, July 2025) | Verified Oct 27, 2026 |
| Workday | Quote only | Not verified yet | Fixed term set in each Order Form (not published) | Verified Oct 27, 2026 |
List prices in USD per month, before payroll taxes, state add-ons and promotions. Full plan tables and fees are on each comparison page.
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Latest
Comparison
Gusto vs ADP: a published price vs a sales quote (2026)
Gusto vs ADP for small business payroll: Gusto's list prices worked out for 5, 15 and 40 employees, and the ADP RUN terms you agree to before seeing a price.
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Comparison
Gusto vs BambooHR: Payroll Tool or HR System? (2026)
Gusto vs BambooHR with worked costs at 6, 25 and 40 employees. Gusto includes payroll at a published price; BambooHR's payroll is a quote-only add-on.
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Comparison
Gusto vs Rippling: Real Costs and Contract Terms Compared
Gusto vs Rippling for small businesses: worked costs at 5, 15 and 40 employees, why Rippling's total can't be computed, and how to move payroll between them.
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Comparison
Gusto vs QuickBooks Payroll: real costs at 5, 15 and 40
Gusto vs QuickBooks Payroll at list price for 5, 15 and 40 employees, tier by tier, plus the state fees, next-day pay and QuickBooks Online questions.
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Comparison
ADP vs Paychex: both are quote-only, so read the contract
ADP vs Paychex for small business: neither publishes a price, so we compare what you can read: promo clawbacks, 30-day notice, PEO exit fees and tier lineups.
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Comparison
Rippling vs ADP: The Contract Terms Decide It
Rippling vs ADP for small businesses: neither publishes prices, so we compare the contracts on exit notice, seat lock-ins, fee hikes and payroll-free months.
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Alternatives
ADP Alternatives: 6 Payroll Companies Like ADP, Priced
ADP alternatives and competitors compared: who publishes prices, what RUN's terms and '6 months free' really say, and which payroll company fits your size.
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Alternatives
BambooHR Alternatives: 6 Competitors With Real Prices
BambooHR alternatives compared on published prices and contract terms: why a 6-person team pays the same $250/month as 25, and which competitor fits whom.
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Guide
Switching Payroll Providers: Exit Terms, Timing & Checklist
Switching payroll providers? Read the exit clause first: ADP RUN and OnPay want 30 days' notice, Paycor 60. Plus mid-year tax filings and a full checklist.
How we work
Three rules we don't bend
- Every price has a date and a source. We read it on the vendor's own page and show when. If a vendor won't publish a price, we say "Quote only" instead of guessing.
- The fine print gets its own box. Monthly minimums, setup fees, auto-renewals and cancellation terms — the parts that change the real cost.
- Every tool gets criticised. Including the one we recommend. Complaints are attributed and linked, never copied.