How much do payroll services cost? Base fee plus a fee per person

How payroll pricing works

Almost every small-business plan uses the same shape. You pay a base fee each month for the account. Then you pay a fee for each person paid that month. Some companies count only people who got a check that month. Some count everyone on the roster.

So the price for you is a formula, not a number:

Monthly cost = base fee + (fee per person × people paid)

Two other lines move the bill. One is whether the plan files and pays your taxes or only does the math. The other is how many states you pay people in. A second state often costs extra.

Prices on the vendors’ own pages, October 2026

These are list prices from each company’s pricing page, checked October 20, 2026. Promotional discounts are noted separately.

Patriot’s page also showed a promotion in October 2026: 30 days free, then 50 percent off for three months. During those three months the Full Service plan showed as $18.50 a month plus $2.50 a worker, and Basic as $8.50 plus $2.

What the price includes

The table does not compare like with like until you read what each plan does with your taxes.

• Gusto’s pricing page lists tax filings and payments on the Simple plan. Its questions section says Gusto files federal, state, and local payroll tax forms for you, including Forms W-2 and 1099. Simple covers payroll in one state. Paying people in more than one state is a Plus feature, and the page says state tax registration has a fee that varies by state.
• OnPay’s pricing page says all plans include Forms W-2 and 1099, year-end filings, and federal, state, and local tax filings. It says payroll for workers in as many states as you need is included. The same page’s footer said pricing starts at $55 a month, which does not match the $49 base above. Ask before you sign.
• Square Payroll’s pricing page lists the full-service plan at $35 a month plus $6 per person paid, and a contractor-only option at $6 per person paid.
• Patriot’s pricing page lists federal, state, and local tax filings and deposits on Full Service Payroll, with year-end filings at no extra fee. Each additional state filing is $12 a month. Basic Payroll lists printable or electronic Forms W-2, and 1099 e-filing for a fee. The page lists tax filings and deposits only under Full Service, so plan on doing those yourself on Basic.

What three employees cost

Say you pay three employees every month in one state. Use the formula with the list prices above.

• Gusto Simple: $49 + (3 × $6) = $67 a month
• OnPay Payroll Essentials: $49 + (3 × $6) = $67 a month
• Square Payroll full service: $35 + (3 × $6) = $53 a month
• Patriot Full Service Payroll: $37 + (3 × $5) = $52 a month
• Patriot Basic Payroll: $17 + (3 × $4) = $29 a month, but you file and deposit the taxes

Add a second state and the numbers change. On Gusto that means the Plus plan: $80 + (3 × $12) = $116 a month, plus the state registration fee. On Patriot Full Service, the second state adds $12 a month. OnPay’s page says more states are included.

Over a year, the gap between the cheapest and the most expensive full-service line for three people in one state is about $180. Pick on what the plan files for you, then on price.

If you pay only contractors

A business with no employees yet pays only for contractor payments and Forms 1099. The formula still works, with different numbers.

• Square Payroll lists a contractor-only option at $6 per person paid, with no base fee. Four contractors paid in a month is $24.
• Gusto lists no contractor-only plan on its pricing page. It bills U.S. contractors at the per-person price of the plan you pick, in months you pay them. On Simple, four contractors in a month is $49 + (4 × $6) = $73.

Once you hire a first employee, you move to a full plan and the state accounts start. How to file a 1099-NEC covers the contractor form either way.

Costs that are not on the price line

• A second state. Check the fee before you hire a remote worker.
• State registration. A payroll plan runs on your state accounts. It may charge to register them, or you register yourself. The state pages show the clocks, such as California’s 15 days after wages pass $100 in a quarter.
• Contractors. Some plans bill a contractor as a person in the months you pay them. Gusto’s page says U.S. contractors are billed at the plan’s per-person price only in months you pay them.
• Year-end forms. Check whether Forms W-2 and 1099 cost extra. How to file W-2 forms and How to file a 1099-NEC show what those forms involve.
• Your own time. A basic plan that does the math but not the filing leaves Form 941, Form 940, and the state returns on you.

What doing it yourself costs

Doing payroll by hand costs no subscription. It costs time each payday and each quarter, and the risk is on you. Publication 15, the IRS Employer’s Tax Guide, says you remain responsible if a payroll service or other third party fails to do a required step, so a plan does not move the risk off you either. Can I do my own payroll? walks the full year. If you are a family paying a nanny, Nanny payroll is the shorter household version.

How to choose

1. Count the people you pay each month, employees and contractors.
2. Count the states they work in.
3. Decide whether you want the plan to file and pay the taxes, or only do the math.
4. Run the formula on two or three plans, using the price on the company’s page that day.
5. Check the state page for the accounts you still open yourself.

The directory grades software by state on how much of a first hire’s state paperwork it takes off your desk. The methodology page explains the letters. Texas, New York, and Florida show how the work left over differs by state.