Best Payroll by Team Size: 1 to 100 Employees
The best payroll for 2 employees is wrong for 20. Per-employee fees compound, feature needs shift, and support expectations change as your team grows. Here are our picks for each bracket, with the data to back them up.
Monthly Cost by Employee Count
| Employees | Gusto | OnPay | ADP | Paychex | QB | Rippling | Patriot | Square |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $52 | $46 | $84 | $64 | $56 | $43 | $21 | $41 |
| 3 | $64 | $58 | $94 | $74 | $68 | $59 | $29 | $53 |
| 5 | $76 | $70 | $104 | $84 | $80 | $75 | $37 | $65 |
| 10 | $106 | $100 | $129 | $109 | $110 | $115 | $57 | $95 |
| 15 | $136 | $130 | $154 | $134 | $140 | $155 | $77 | $125 |
| 25 | $196 | $190 | $204 | $184 | $200 | $235 | $117 | $185 |
| 50 | $346 | $340 | $329 | $309 | $350 | $435 | $217 | $335 |
| 100 | $646 | $640 | $579 | $559 | $650 | $835 | $417 | $635 |
Green = cheapest at that team size. ADP and Paychex are estimates from published sources. Patriot shown as basic plan (tax filing add-on extra).
Solo / 1 Employee
Our pick: Patriot Basic or Square Payroll
At one employee, you need the simplest, cheapest payroll that files your taxes correctly. Patriot at $21/month is the least expensive. If you use Square POS, Square Payroll integrates natively and costs $41/month.
At this scale, full-service features like benefits admin and time tracking are unnecessary overhead.
If your one employee is a 1099 contractor rather than W-2, Square Payroll offers a contractor-only plan at just $5/month plus $6 per person.
OnPay at $46/month is worth considering if you plan to hire a second person within 6 months, as it scales cleanly without feature tiers.
Key priorities at this size
2 to 5 Employees
Our pick: OnPay or Gusto Simple
This is where most first-time payroll buyers land. OnPay includes everything in one plan at $40 + $6/employee. Gusto Simple at $46 + $6/employee adds a slightly better interface and broader integrations. Both handle multi-state, benefits, and tax filing.
At 5 employees, OnPay costs $70/month and Gusto costs $76/month. The $6/month difference is negligible; choose based on interface preference.
If budget is the primary constraint, Patriot at $37/month for 5 employees is half the cost. But you either handle tax filings yourself or pay an extra $12/month for their tax filing add-on.
This is too early for ADP or Paychex unless you are certain you will grow past 25 employees within 12 months.
Key priorities at this size
6 to 25 Employees
Our pick: Gusto Plus or OnPay
Benefits administration and time tracking become essential at this size. Gusto Plus ($80 + $12/employee) bundles both. OnPay ($40 + $6/employee) includes benefits at a lower price point but has simpler time tracking.
At 15 employees, Gusto Plus costs $260/month while OnPay costs $130/month. The gap is significant. OnPay wins on value unless you specifically need Gusto's project tracking or advanced hiring tools.
If you offer health insurance, both Gusto and OnPay can broker plans. Gusto partners with major carriers in all 50 states. OnPay covers 48 states.
ADP RUN becomes competitive at 20+ employees because its per-employee cost is lower ($5 vs $6), and it includes a dedicated payroll specialist on higher tiers.
Consider Rippling if you want payroll, HR, IT, and device management in one platform. Its $35 + $8/employee pricing is higher per head but consolidates multiple tools.
Key priorities at this size
26 to 100 Employees
Our pick: ADP RUN or Paychex Flex
At this scale, you need a provider that scales to enterprise without forcing a platform switch. ADP and Paychex both offer dedicated payroll specialists, 24/7 phone support, and advanced compliance tools that smaller providers lack.
At 50 employees, ADP costs approximately $329/month and Paychex costs $309/month. Both require custom quotes, so actual pricing may vary.
ADP offers a seamless upgrade path from ADP RUN (small business) to ADP Workforce Now (mid-market) when you outgrow RUN. No data migration needed.
Paychex assigns a dedicated payroll specialist who handles your account personally. This is a meaningful differentiator for businesses that want phone-first support.
Gusto and OnPay technically support teams of this size, but their support infrastructure and enterprise features are not built for it. Expect to outgrow them between 50 and 75 employees.
Consider a PEO (Professional Employer Organisation) if you need bundled payroll, benefits, workers comp, and HR compliance. Justworks starts at $59/employee for small group, $99/employee for full PEO.
Key priorities at this size
Growth Trajectory Advice
If you expect to grow significantly in the next 12 to 18 months, factor your future team size into your decision, not just where you are today. Switching payroll providers is disruptive and best done at quarter boundaries.
Start with OnPay or Gusto if...
You have fewer than 10 employees and expect to stay under 30. Both scale cleanly in this range with predictable per-employee pricing.
Start with ADP if...
You plan to reach 50+ employees within 18 months. ADP RUN upgrades seamlessly to ADP Workforce Now with zero data migration. That transition is worth the higher starting price.