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Payroll software
Start with the states you pay in, the hours you approve and the support your team needs. Explore three reviewed payroll options, then compare the right plans on the same brief.
Explore the shortlistUpdated September 20, 2026 · US edition
Gusto offers published plans, ADP RUN offers quoted payroll and HR packages, and Rippling lets you combine a required platform with selected modules. Start with your needs, then open the detailed review.
Three selected tools with published Best HR Tools reviews. These are starting points for evaluation, not an exhaustive market list or a scored ranking. Several may suit the same need.
Model a monthly figure before booking demos
Gusto publishes monthly plans for payroll and HR. Match the tier to your states, time tracking and support needs, then use our review’s calculator to explore the subscription.
Confirm in your demoSimple covers single-state payroll. Check Plus for multi-state payroll and included time tracking.
Read the Gusto review Official product details
Payroll packages with support to explore
RUN combines small-business payroll and tax filing with four package levels. Explore it when payroll support and optional HR services are important parts of your brief.
Confirm in your demoTime, benefits and year end forms are described as additional
Read the RUN Powered by ADP review Official product details
Connect payroll with broader workforce workflows
Rippling uses a required core platform with separately selected products. Explore payroll alongside the HR, finance or IT workflows you actually need, and ask for an itemized proposal.
Confirm in your demoConfirm exactly which modules the quoted price includes
Read the Rippling review Official product detailsVendor links are direct and untracked. Our publisher has joined Deel’s partner program; BestHRTools-specific approval and tracking are not confirmed. Commercial relationships
Gusto publishes Simple at $49/month plus $6/person and Plus at $80/month plus $12/person. The second plan adds a different scope, including multi-state payroll and time tracking. ADP RUN and Rippling require quotes.
For a hypothetical ten-person team, those Gusto subscriptions are $109 and $200 per month before add-ons and other charges. Put the actual states, pay schedule, time tools and support level in every quote request so the numbers describe the same need.
Hourly teams live on time approval. Ask how hours reach payroll, who approves them, and what your team does with an export that fails the evening before a run.
Teams paying in more than one state should confirm plan coverage and who handles state registrations. When payroll is bundled with HR or IT tools, name the implementation owner in writing before signing.
This shortlist covers three products for which we have published source-led reviews. We looked for documented payroll scope, a published pricing approach and clear questions to validate in a demo. It is a selected starting point, not a review of every provider.
Ask each provider to demonstrate the same task: import approved hours, review a pay adjustment and explain what happens when a filing or payment needs attention. This is a suggested demo exercise, not a test we performed.
Agree a transition plan with your current and proposed providers. Record which payroll history, employee records and opening balances need to transfer, who checks them and who owns each filing during the change.
If the problem is an unclear approval process rather than missing software, work through our HR and payroll diagnostic first. Outsourcing payroll also needs ongoing oversight: the IRS explains that employers generally retain responsibility for federal employment taxes.
Carry the same brief into a closer comparison.
Leave with something useful
Record your workforce, states, pay schedule and add-ons. Ask every provider to price that same scope.
Ready to move? Plan your payroll migration with our checklist.
Start by matching the payroll service to your states, pay schedule, hours and support needs. Ask shortlisted providers to demonstrate one normal run and one correction using the same example. The easiest fit is the workflow your team can review confidently.
Read the sourceA spreadsheet can help with working calculations, but it is not itself a filing or payment service. Confirm with your payroll accountant who is responsible for deposits and filings before relying on a sheet.
Read the sourceADP does not publish rates for RUN. The packages page describes the lineup for teams under fifty employees and points to a quote, with pay frequency and add ons affecting what you are quoted.
Read the sourceQuickBooks does offer a payroll product, so it is a fair candidate. Do not assume an accounting subscription already includes payroll, though: check what your chosen plan actually covers before you rely on it.
Read the sourceThe IRS states that outsourcing payroll duties generally does not relieve an employer of its federal employment tax responsibility. Read that page and talk to your accountant about how it applies to you.
Read the sourceVendors describe mid year switching as possible and publish guidance for it. There is no fixed timeline, so confirm in writing who owns historical data and which filings each side handles during the change.
Read the sourceBring a concrete scenario, for example a ten person US team moving from one state to two. Ask each vendor to walk that case through plan coverage, registrations, hours and the first live run.
Read the sourceSometimes yes. Gusto describes its entry plan as single state and its next tier as multi state, so confirm both the plan tier and your state registrations before hiring across a line.
Read the sourceTime tracking alone does not process payroll or file taxes. Some time vendors also sell payroll services, so confirm whether the product you are buying includes payroll or only passes approved hours to another provider.
Read the sourceRippling describes a required core platform plus the modules you choose, priced mostly per person monthly with some base components. Ask the rep to list the modules by name so the payroll scope is explicit.
Read the sourceADP describes round the clock payroll support, subject to the support channel, and that is not the same offering as an HR help desk. Ask which questions each channel is scoped to answer.
Read the sourceNot automatically. ADP describes year end forms as carrying additional fees, so ask for those line items in the quote rather than discovering them in your December invoice.
Read the sourceReviewed September 20, 2026. This selected shortlist uses official product documentation and our published reviews. Fit descriptions and demo questions are editorial judgments, not measured outcomes. We did not test customer accounts or score every product in the market. Prices are dated benchmarks; confirm the proposal for your team.
Four questions came from People also ask in our September 20 Google US desktop DataForSEO scan; the remaining questions are editorial. Search visibility and advertising CPC are not product quality scores.