Cheapest Payroll Software

The lowest-cost options tend to share a few traits: published pricing with a low base fee (e.g. from around $17–$40/month), per-person fees for employees and sometimes contractors, and core payroll and tax filing included. What you often don’t get at the bottom end: robust HR tools, benefits administration, time tracking, or a long list of integrations. For many very small teams, that trade-off is acceptable.

See our payroll software pricing guide for how base fees, per-person costs, and add-ons work across providers.

Patriot Payroll — Patriot Payroll offers some of the lowest published base fees and per-person pricing. You get W-2 and 1099 payroll, tax filing, and direct deposit without extra HR or integration depth. Good for micro businesses that want to minimize cost.

Wave — Wave provides free accounting and invoicing; payroll is a paid add-on. If you already use or want Wave’s free books, adding payroll can keep combined accounting-plus-payroll cost low. Availability varies by state.

OnPay — OnPay uses flat base-plus-per-person pricing with no tier maze. It’s often more affordable than Gusto for similar headcounts while still offering solid payroll, tax filing, and benefits. Good balance of cost and features.

Square Payroll — Square Payroll can be cost-effective if you already use Square for payments or POS. Simple pricing and setup; compare to Patriot and OnPay for your headcount.

The cheapest option isn’t always the best value. Consider paying more for Gusto or similar if you need: benefits administration (health, 401k), time tracking and PTO, contractor self-service, strong accounting or time-tool integrations, or multi-state payroll with more hand-holding. Consolidating payroll and HR in one platform can reduce admin and justify the extra cost.

Compare total cost (payroll + any HR or benefits tools you’d otherwise buy separately) in our Patriot vs Gusto and Gusto vs OnPay comparisons.