The 20 Best Payroll Software For Businesses (2025 Updated List)

Read this comprehensive review and comparison of the top Payroll Systems with features & pricing to select the best Payroll Software for your business:

When you own a company, you need to take care of your employees, give them timely and accurate payments and other benefits so as to have utmost productivity. Other benefits may include health insurance, retirement planning, etc.

These benefits are given to your employees so that they can work with a tension-free mind and focus more on improving their working skills and increase your company’s productivity in the end.

Now, in order to manage the accounts section, you need skilled professionals who can prepare the data of total worked hours of each employee, tax and benefits deductions from the Net Income and calculate the accurate Gross Income of the employees, which is eventually distributed to the employees at the due date, in the form of direct deposits, cheques, etc.

This process, which is called payroll processing, is a very crucial part of any company which needs to be done with utmost dedication and sincerity.

Payroll Software

With due course of time and technological advancement, software has been developed to tackle the task of payroll processing in just a few clicks. This modern software gives you several benefits, including employees’ work hours tracking, benefits deduction, accurate and on-time salary disbursement, and more.

In this article, we will talk about the best Payroll Software in detail, so that you can learn about each one of them and then decide which one suits your requirements the most.

Suggested Reading =>> Time Tracking Software for Employees

Our TOP Recommendations:

Suggested Reading =>> Best Payroll Services

List of the Best Payroll Software

Here is a list of popular payroll systems for businesses:

1. Remote
2. Paychex
3. ADP
4. Bambee
5. Papaya Global
6. TriNet
7. OysterHR
8. Rippling
9. Zoho Payroll
10. Deel
11. Gusto
12. Patriot
13. OnPay
14. Homebase
15. Intuit QuickBooks
16. Workful
17. Payroll4Free
18. SurePayroll
19. PaycheckManager
20. Sage Payroll
21. Hr.my

Comparison of Some of the Top Payroll Systems

Let us review these payroll systems below:

#1) Remote

Best for Pay Employees Globally.

Remote is an HR management software with robust payroll features. You can rely on the software to automate your company’s payroll processing and compensate employees across the globe. The software makes sure you stay compliant with local laws of the country your employees are working in. The software also automates the processing of taxes. 

Features:

• Time and Attendance Tracking
• Automated Expense Management
• Log and track payroll inputs
• Instantly view payroll runs for each country
• Ensure legal compliance globally

Verdict: With Remote, you get a complete HR management system that streamlines and automates your payroll processes. The software is ideal for companies that have a global workforce. It helps you stay compliant with local laws in each country and ensures your payrolls are processed without hassle. 

Price: Remote basic HR management features are free to use. The integrated payroll will cost you $29/employee/month.

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#2) Paychex

Best for self-service by employees, which saves administrative costs and time.

Paychex offers you to take care of your payrolls so that you can focus on other important aspects of your business. Features offered by Paychex include payroll processing, tax calculation, filing and payments, and much more.

Features:

• Easy-to-use software with a user-friendly, simple interface
• Payroll processing is done with the help of merely two clicks
• Automatically calculates payroll taxes and files and pays them on your behalf
• Free mobile application
• 24/7 customer support service
• Employee benefits, including health benefits and retirement plans

Verdict: The self-service software is a plus point as it saves much time of the administration. Customer service is also reported to be good, which makes it one of the top payroll systems.

Price: Contact the sales team for a customized price quote.

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#3) ADP

Best for all-in-one tech for HR management and payroll processing.

ADP arms its users with a powerful all-in-one software that makes the prospect of payroll management considerably simple. The software works on auto-pilot once set up and makes sure your payrolls are running on time as quickly as possible. The software also files and pays taxes automatically.

The software also handles IRS inquiries for you and even draws reports on payroll on a quarterly and monthly basis. Moreover, the software comes with built-in compliance, thus helping you adhere to laws and regulations across all 50 American states.

Features:

• Automatic Tax filing
• 24/7 customer support and chat
• Seamless integrations and add-ons.
• Built-in compliance

Verdict: With ADP, you get a complete HR and payroll solution that caters to businesses of all sizes. You will be able to automatically handle payroll, file taxes, and stay compliant throughout with ADP’s payroll software at your helm.

Price: Contact for a quote.

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#4) Bambee

Best for Payroll and Tax solutions for small businesses.

Bambee is a widely-recognized platform for HR-related solutions. The dedicated HR manager they assign companies is capable of tackling several fundamental aspects crucial to the seamless functioning of a company’s HR department. This, of course, includes smooth payroll management as well.

Bambee offers a guided payroll solution complete with built-in HR support. The platform allows you to pay your employees directly via direct deposit. The team behind Bambee also ensures there are no errors when calculating wages. They also take care of federal, local, and state taxes at your behest.

Features:

• 2-Day Direct Deposit
• Automatic Tax Management
• Assist in complying with guidelines pertaining to wage and hour regulations
• Multiple Pay rate support

Verdict: Bambee’s payroll solution is both competitive as well as affordable. With Bambee by your side, you’ll have no problem complying with payment regulations or paying necessary taxes on time. Bambee is the ideal payroll solution for small and mid-sized enterprises.

Price: Bambee’s pricing starts at $99/month. The pricing structure is flexible. The more employees you wish to accommodate, the more you’ll have to pay for Bambee’s services.

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#5) Papaya Global

Best for Payroll Process Automation in 160+ Countries.

Papaya Global is a one-of-a-kind payroll automation software that streamlines the payroll process for existing contracted workers in over 160 countries. In addition, the platform allows you to do so without the need of a legal entity overseeing the process. The platform ensures all employee data is verified to help organizations stay on track with their budgets.

The software also creates preventative reports that shed light on payment discrepancies. The platform further streamlines workflows by helping you set user roles/permissions. Approval chains for each payroll processed through Papaya Global can be customized. Also, you get to access all trail logs and SOC reports.

Features:

• Simplified Payroll Processing for Global EOR and contracted workers.
• Standardize Payroll Data
• Integrates with multiple existing payroll tools.
• Generate preventative reports
• Agile verification of global payroll data.

Verdict: Papaya Global allows you to automate your global payroll and helps you get complete visibility over your global workforce spending. The software is easy to deploy and use. As such, it has our highest recommendation.

Price: Payroll Plan: $20 per employee per month, Employer of Record Plan: $650 per employee per month.

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#6) TriNet

Best for Tax processing and compliance assurance.

With TriNet, you get a robust payroll administrating solution that considerably streamlines various key aspects associated with processing payrolls. Their solution facilitates payroll processing with both direct deposit and debiting. It makes the whole process paperless by enabling e-pay stubs, electronic W2 preparation, etc. 

Features:

• Payroll Administration
• Electronic Pay Stubs
• Tax processing
• Expense management

Verdict: If you seek a payroll service that blends well with your organization’s business model and assures compliance with the necessary regulations, then you’ll adore what TriNet has to offer. 

Price: Contact the TriNet team for a quote

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#7) OysterHR

Best for Automate payroll in 120+ currencies.

With Oyster HR, you get a platform that can run payroll automatically in more than 120 currencies across 180+ countries. The software considerably streamlines the entire payment process. All you have to do is pay the lump sum. Oyster will divide the amount and cover your team’s salaries worldwide by making sure everyone is paid what they are owed.

The software comes with built-in features that bolster all sorts of ad-hoc payments. This entails bonus payments as well as expense reimbursements. The software also makes sure the payments are done in a tax-compliant manner.

Features:

• Compliance International Payroll
• Supports 120+ currencies
• Manage salaries, bonuses, and expense reimbursements
• Integrates with several ERP tools

Verdict: Oyster HR arms you with an end-to-end global payment solution that helps you manage payments, generate actionable insights, and make on-time payments in a compliant manner.

Pricing: Contractor starts at $29 per contractor per month, Employee starts at $599 per employee/month. A custom plan is also available.

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#8) Rippling

Best for Full Payroll Automation.

With Rippling, you can run payrolls globally in less than 90 minutes. The software seamlessly integrates all HR-related data with your payroll to considerably expedite the process. All you have to do is click “Run” to make sure your payroll is processed. The software also allows you to automatically file taxes at the local, state, and federal levels.

Features:

• Automatic compliance with established company payroll policies and regulations.
• Pay people across the globe in minutes.
• Easily customize your business’s PTO policy.
• Create custom reports or access Rippling’s library of templates to generate comprehensive reports.

Verdict: It is incredible how fast and easy it is to manage payroll with Rippling. You have tons of tools at your disposal to make sure your taxes are filed and payroll is processed in a matter of minutes with just a few clicks.

Price: Starts at $8 per month, contact for a custom quote.

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#9) Zoho Payroll

Best for Automatic Payroll Calculation.

With Zoho Payroll, you get one software to perform all your payroll-related tasks. Running payroll on this tool is very simple and takes only a minute of your time. You can rely on Zoho Payroll to automatically generate payslips that contain a detailed breakdown of everything from taxes to allowances.

You can also conveniently create multiple pay slabs for your employees. You also get the tools you need to make payments on time to your employees directly into their bank accounts. Perhaps the best thing about this Zoho Payroll is their handling of statutory compliance pertaining to IT, PF, PT, etc. Simply put, the software helps you avoid costly compliance penalties.

Features:

• Automatic Payroll Calculation
• In-depth payroll reports
• Employee loan management
• Facilitates direct deposit of salaries into employee bank accounts
• Zoho Books integration

Verdict: Zoho Payroll is a cloud-based comprehensive payroll management software that arms you with all the features you need to execute payroll activities in one place. It is simple to use and considerably cuts down time spent on payroll calculations.

Price: Free to use for up to 10 employees. Premium Plan starts at $0.82/month per employee.

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#10) Deel

Best for Running payroll in 90+ countries.

Deel is a great platform for businesses that have employees across the globe. The software takes the hassle out of global payments and associated compliance. You get expert support from seasoned HR and payroll advisors that possess insight into local jurisdictions across 90+ different countries globally.

You get fully managed POC and payroll support across multiple time zones. The solution handles various aspects related to compliance like payslip creation and delivery, compliant onboarding and offboarding, and managing employee benefits, etc. You also get accurate insight into your global payroll with a standardized reporting system.

Features:

• Custom Dashboards
• Comprehensive Payroll Reports
• Global Analytics
• Dedicated payroll support across multiple time zones

Verdict: Deel simplifies global team management by streamlining the hiring and payment process. The software ensures payments are made in a hassle-free manner while complying with local laws.

Price:

• Deel for contractors starts at $49
• Deel for EOR Employees Starts at $599
• Free for companies with fewer than 200 employees.

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#11) Gusto

Best for being a complete payroll solution.

Gusto is a payroll system that makes the payroll process easy and quick. It is one of the best payroll software out there, which offers you features including Gusto Wallet, time tracker, payroll processing, HR support, employee benefits, and more.

Features:

• Gusto Wallet app, which offers employees to make some money in case of any unforeseen events before pay day. The amount taken is later deducted from their pay cheque automatically.
• Offers tracking work hours and run payroll in just a few clicks.
• Gusto benefits include health as well as financial benefits. Health benefits include benefits for vision and dental care too. Financial benefits include savings features, instant loans, and more.
• Additional features that help in the onboarding and offloading process of employees.

Verdict: Gusto is a highly recommended software. It has some over-the-top reviews from its users. The customer service is reported to be outstanding, plus the easy-to-use interface is talked about by most of its users.

Price: Price plans are as follows:

• Core: $39 per month base price Plus $6 per month per person
• Complete: $39 per month base price Plus $12 per month per person
• Concierge: $149 per month base price Plus $12 per month per person
• Contractor only: $6 per month per person

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#12) Patriot Software

Best for payroll and accounting features at exceptionally low prices.

Patriot Software is an American Software company, which provides services for accounting and payroll for small businesses. Features offered by one of the best payroll systems range from unlimited payroll processing to easy integration.

Features:

• Provides free setup, direct deposit, and expert support with each plan.
• Allows unlimited payroll even with its basic plan.
• Mobile-friendly applications and easy integration with other platforms.
• Accounting features include invoicing, bookkeeping, and more.
• Employee benefits and tax filing.

Verdict: Customer service is excellent, and constant improvements are also a plus point. One drawback is the lack of automatic time tracking of work hours, which can not be ignored because this feature is provided by most of its counterparts.

Price: There is a 30-day free trial. The prices that follow are as under:

• Online accounting plans are priced at $15 per month and $25 per month
• Online payroll plans priced at $10 and $30 per month

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#13) OnPay

Best for transparent and affordable pricing.

OnPay offers you Payroll and HR services at prices that do not make a hole in your pocket. Features offered by OnPay include automatic payroll processing and tax filing; support for businesses to run from home and much more.

Features:

• Automatic payroll processing and tax filing.
• You can pay through direct deposit, cheque, or using a debit card.
• Cloud-based, mobile-friendly software; can be accessed through mobile.
• Simple and easy integration with other platforms.
• Features to support small businesses working from home. For example, employee self onboarding, e-signature, and more.

Verdict: OnPay is known to be an affordable and easy-to-use software for small businesses, the learning curve is reported to be not so smooth, but once you get used to it, it’s just awesome.

Price: $36 per month base fee, plus $4 per person per month

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#14) Homebase

Best for Payroll Automation

With Homebase, you get a fully automated software that streamlines almost all aspects of a payroll process. The platform takes your timesheets and converts them into hours and wages for payroll. Homebase accurately calculates taxes and wages at your behest, thus ensuring you send correct payment to employees and the IRS.

The software is more than capable of automatically processing tax filings. Homebase also lets your employees self-onboard and e-sign their own payroll forms. Other than this, you can manage other aspects of a team in the software. You’ll be able to send messages, share schedules, and get a team in sync.

Features:

• Tax Filing Automation
• Convert timesheets into hours
• FLSA Compliant
• Employee self-onboarding

Verdict: Homebase does a lot more than streamline the payroll process from start to finish. It takes care of many other aspects directly associated with payroll such as employee onboarding, filing taxes, time tracking and much more.

Price: The basic plan of Homebase can be used for free. The Essentials plan will cost $20/month/location. The Plus plan will cost $48/month/location. The All-in-One plan will cost you $80/location/month.

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#15) Intuit QuickBooks

Best for being an all-in-one accounting software for small to medium-sized businesses.

Intuit QuickBooks is accounting software, built for small to medium-sized businesses, which offers you plenty of features, yet is easy to use. Features offered by Intuit QuickBooks include payroll processing, tax penalty protection, tax filing, and more.

Features:

• Protects you from tax penalty with a compensation of up to $25,000.
• Tracks worked hours of your employees, pays them accurately and on time, creates invoices too.
• Lets you do a direct deposit on the same day.
• Calculates, files and pays the payroll taxes for you, tries to maximize tax deductions.

Verdict: QuickBooks payroll is always loved by its users due to the easy-to-use features it offers and an up to mark customer service. The only demerit of QuickBooks is a comparatively higher price than its counterparts.

Prices: There is a free trial for 30 days. Prices that follow are stated as under:

• Self-employed: $7.50 per month
• Simple start: $12 per month
• Essentials: $20 per month
• Plus: $35 per month
• Advanced: $75 per month

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#16) Workful

Best for simple interface and affordable prices.

Workful is a simple and easy-to-use payroll system built for small businesses, which tracks the work hours and attendance of your employees, files your taxes, and much more. You get this software free for 30 days, then pay according to the price plan that suits you.

Features:

• Lets you run the payroll process in just 4 clicks.
• Lets you create payroll reports containing information about your employees’ total work hours, tax liabilities, etc.
• Keep an eye on your federal as well as state tax filing so that you do not need to worry about any penalty
• Helps with the onboarding process. New hires input their information themselves. You just need to add their name, email, and pay rate.

Verdict: The users of the Workful payroll system applaud the extremely easy-to-use interface. The software is suitable for small-sized businesses, especially those who pay workers on an hourly basis.

Price: There is a free trial for 30 days. Then pay $25 per month + $5 per employee per month.

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#17) Payroll4Free

Best for offering free features for a small business.

As the name suggests, Payroll4Free is free payroll software. You do not need to pay anything, as long as you need payroll processing done for a maximum of 25 employees. After that, you have to pay according to the price plans.

Features:

• Payroll processing for up to 25 employees, time tracking, tax calculation, and filing.
• Gives you a detailed report containing information about your employees, worked hours, pay rate, benefits, etc.
• It lets you do direct deposits or pay through cheques.
• Integration tools that can help you in sending the payroll data to other platforms or import data from time clock files.

Verdict: This free payroll processing system is recommended for its free version, which provides the basic payroll features absolutely free. It’s simple, easy to use, and suitable for a small business.

Price: There is a free version (for up to 25 employees). Prices start at $12.5 per month.

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#18) SurePayroll

Best for automatic payroll processing.

SurePayroll provides payroll processing features for small businesses and offers a free trial for two months. Features provided by the software include automatic payroll processing, benefits deductions; smart options including Nanny share, mobile-friendly application, etc.

Features:

• You can share a nanny for your child, with your neighbors or relatives, or friends and divide the cost among you.
• Processes payrolls while accurately calculating wage garnishments, 401(K) deductions, etc.
• Provides affordable insurance plans to your employees.
• Helps you do a background screening of your new hires, before joining.
• Tax calculations, filings, and payments are being handled by the software.

Verdict: The features of SurePayroll that are most liked by its users are paying through direct deposit and easy integration with other platforms, which makes the software a recommended one.

Price: Contact directly for a price quote.

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#19) PaycheckManager

Best for tax calculations and filing.

PaycheckManager is an online payroll and tax calculation software, which provides a three month free service to its users. The features offered by this software include unlimited payrolls, tax calculation, and more.

Features:

• Lets you do unlimited payrolls and print cheques for your employees.
• Accurately calculates federal as well as state taxes.
• Files your taxes prior to the due date so that you do not have to incur late payment fees.
• Easy to use software interface so you can do the payroll processing yourself.

Price: Price plans are as follows:

• Basic: $5 per month
• Managed service: $12 per month + $2 per month per employee + $10 setup fee

Verdict: PaycheckManager is an easy-to-use payroll and tax calculation software that offers plenty of features at affordable prices, due to which, the software is highly recommended by the users.

Further Reading => BEST Invoice Factoring Companies

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#20) Sage Payroll

Best for data protection and employees’ self-service feature, that saves your administrative costs and time.

Sage Payroll, which is now acquired by iSolved, provides payroll and HRM services throughout the United States. The features provided by this software include talent management, payroll processing, tracking work hours, calculating benefits, and much more.

Features:

• Cloud-based payroll software for easy access anytime, from anywhere
• Lets you pay through direct deposit or pay cards
• Employee self-service feature saves your administrative costs and time
• Payroll tax calculation, filing, and payments
• Data protection with SSAE – 16 certified data centers

Price: Contact directly for a price quote.

Verdict: Sage Payroll is highly recommended for small businesses. The software, which is now acquired by iSolved, is reported to have become better and smoother.

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#21) Hr.my

Best for being a free payroll software with all the features that you wish for.

Hr.my is absolutely free software for everyone. The software is best suitable for small businesses who want to cut their costs of administration. The features offered by this software include leave management, time tracking, SSL certification, and much more.

Features:

• SSL certification that keeps your data secure.
• Time clock to track work hours and management of leaves record.
• Salary processing for monthly/ semi-monthly/ weekly/ biweekly periods.
• Employee self-service program including e-claim and e-leaves.

Verdict: Hr.my can be recommended for small businesses. The software is free to use. Some users find the interface to be outdated and complain about a lack of customer support.

Price: Free payroll software for small businesses

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Frequently Asked Questions

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Conclusion

In this article, we reviewed free as well as paid Payroll software. We also saw what to keep in mind while choosing a payroll system, compared the top options, and then reviewed each one of them thoroughly so that you can decide which one to choose for your business.

Also Read =>> Best Bookkeeping Software

Based on our research, we can clearly conclude that the overall best Payroll software is Gusto, Intuit QuickBooks, OnPay, Workful, Payroll4Free, and Run by ADP.

Gusto, Run by ADP and Paychex can be opted for by any sized business, while all others listed above can be recommended for small businesses only. Payroll4Free and Hr.my offer payrolling features absolutely free of cost. OnPay, Workful, and Patriot Software offer payrolling at affordable, comparatively low prices.

Hr.my, Sage Payroll, Paychex offer employee self-service features, which can be helpful in saving time and costs of administration.

Some of the software like SurePayroll, Gusto, and Workful make the onboarding of new hires easy for you. Gusto even offers Gusto Wallet for the employees which can be used to take loans before the payday and the loan amount then gets deducted from the pay cheque.