Cheapest Payroll software (October 2026)
Real list prices for 1, 5, 10 and 25 users, billed monthly or annually, computed from each vendor's published plans.
9 of the 20 Payroll tools we track publish comparable prices in USD. Prices last checked on Oct 13, 2026.
Cheapest option by team size
Payroll prices by number of users
| # | Tool | 1 user | 5 users | 10 users | 25 users | Free plan | Prices checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Square Payroll | $6/moContractor-only payroll | $30/moContractor-only payroll | $60/moContractor-only payroll | $150/moContractor-only payroll | — | Oct 13, 2026 |
| 2 | Deel | $14/moFind Talent | $625/moHire Full-Time Employees | $1,250/moHire Full-Time Employees | $3,125/moHire Full-Time Employees | — | Oct 12, 2026 |
| 3 | Skuad | $19/moContractors (AOR) | $995/moEmployees (EOR) | $1,990/moEmployees (EOR) | $4,975/moEmployees (EOR) | — | — |
| 4 | Remote People | $25/moGlobal Payroll | $125/moGlobal Payroll | $250/moGlobal Payroll | $625/moGlobal Payroll | — | Oct 12, 2026 |
| 5 | Fingercheck | $29/moTime & Attendance | $145/moTime & Attendance | $290/moTime & Attendance | $725/moTime & Attendance | — | Oct 13, 2026 |
| 6 | Oyster HR | $29/moGlobal Contractors | $3,495/moEmployer of Record | $6,990/moEmployer of Record | $17,475/moEmployer of Record | — | — |
| 7 | Remote.com | $29/moPayroll | $145/moPayroll | $290/moPayroll | $725/moPayroll | — | — |
| 8 | Gusto | $35/moContractor Only | $35/moContractor Onlyprice per account (user limit not stated) | $35/moContractor Onlyprice per account (user limit not stated) | $35/moContractor Onlyprice per account (user limit not stated) | — | — |
| 9 | Heard | $129/moLite | $129/moLiteprice per account (user limit not stated) | $129/moLiteprice per account (user limit not stated) | $129/moLiteprice per account (user limit not stated) | — | Oct 13, 2026 |
Priced in another currency (not ranked)
These tools publish prices in a different currency. We list them without ranking them against USD prices, because exchange rates would distort the comparison.
- Parim Workforce SoftwareFrom £47/mo
No comparable public price
These tools don't publish a numeric price with a currency (often "contact sales"), so they can't be ranked.
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Compare Payroll prices head to head
How we compute this
- For each tool and team size we take the cheapest published plan that fits: per-user plans cost the unit price × users (respecting any stated minimum or seat pack), plans that include some users cost their base price plus the extra-user price for each additional user, flat plans cost their flat price when the vendor states a user limit (or unlimited users) and are otherwise counted as one licence per user, and plans whose stated user cap is below the team size are skipped. Intro and promotional prices are replaced by the list price, and usage-based prices (per transfer, per hour…) are left out.
- Prices are vendor list prices before taxes, add-ons and discounts. Annual billing is shown as the effective price per month.
- Only tools priced in the most common currency (USD) are ranked; we never convert prices to rank them. ≈ amounts are indicative conversions at the ECB reference rate.
- Cheapest by list price is not the same as best value: features and limits differ between plans. Free plans are flagged but not counted as a price, because their user limits vary.