Prices checked 2026-10-17 to 2026-10-19
QuickBooks alternatives with payroll, priced for 1, 5 and 10 people
Accounting software plus payroll for a small service business: each alternative’s books plan and payroll add-on, against QuickBooks Online bundled with QuickBooks Payroll, at regular prices.
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The short answer
- Baseline: QuickBooks’ Workforce Payroll + QBO Simple Start bundle is $120.50/mo for 5 people at the regular price.
- 5 of 5 books-plus-payroll combinations we can price cost less for 5 people; cheapest: Wave Starter + Wave Payroll (US) at $70/mo.
- Price rises: we’ve recorded 23 plan-level QuickBooks Online increases on 8 dates since 2019; Simple Start was $20 a month before 2019-09-15 and is $38 now. Every change: QuickBooks price increase log.
Regular monthly list prices for the cheapest paid books plan (Wave: the $0 Starter plan) plus payroll. The books plans don’t include the same features or limits; check the notes on each pricing page.
Books and payroll together, priced against QuickBooks
Sorted by the monthly cost for 5 people. Intro discounts on the books plan are listed, not added in.
| Books + payroll | 1 person | 5 people | 10 people | vs QuickBooks at 5 people | Intro offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QuickBooks Online + Payroll bundle (baseline)Workforce Payroll + QBO Simple Start · $88/mo + $6.50/employee | $94.50/mo | $120.50/mo | $153/mo | — | $44/mo + $6.50/employee (per-employee fee not discounted) for 3 months |
| Wave Starter + Wave Payroll (US)Books $0/mo; payroll $40/mo + $6/person. $40 USD base + $6 per active employee + $6 per independent contractor paid; tax filing included (1099 filings excluded) | $46/mo | $70/mo | $100/mo | Wave $50.50 less | — |
| Patriot Accounting Basic + Patriot Full Service PayrollBooks $20/mo; payroll $37/mo + $5/person. Integrates free with Patriot Payroll. | $62/mo | $82/mo | $107/mo | Patriot Accounting $38.50 less | Books: $10/mo for 3 months |
| FreshBooks Lite + FreshBooks PayrollBooks $23/mo; payroll $40/mo + $6/person. $40/month + $6 per user, on top of a paid FreshBooks plan (not available during the free trial). Powered by Gusto. Automatically calculates, pays and files federal and state payroll taxes (including 941s, 940s and W-2s) and files 1099s. Cannot be used to pay only 1099 contractors: at least one US W-2 employee is required. Usage fee is billed for active employees and for contractors paid that month. US only, excluding territories. Source: freshbooks.com/payroll-software and support.freshbooks.com article 21824633966477. | $69/mo | $93/mo | $123/mo | FreshBooks $27.50 less | Books: $4.60/mo for 4 months |
| Xero Early + Xero Payroll, powered by GustoBooks $27/mo; payroll $36/mo + $6/person. $36/month + $6 per employee/contractor. Xero says it calculates, files and pays federal and state payroll taxes, files W-2s and 1099s, and remits to federal, state and local agencies. Built for teams of 1-20+. Not available to US mobile subscribers. Source: xero.com/us/accounting-software/payroll/ (FAQ) and the 2026-08-12 media release. | $69/mo | $93/mo | $123/mo | Xero $27.50 less | Books: $2.70/mo for 6 months |
| FreshBooks Lite + Gusto SimpleBooks $23/mo; payroll $49/mo + $6/person. Gusto lists FreshBooks among its integrations. | $78/mo | $102/mo | $132/mo | FreshBooks $18.50 less | Books: $4.60/mo for 4 months |
Tax filing: Patriot Full Service and QuickBooks Payroll file and deposit payroll taxes (from their pages); Wave’s add-on lists “tax filing included (1099 filings excluded)”. We haven’t confirmed what the Xero and FreshBooks payroll add-ons file; check before you switch.
Books only (no payroll price in our data)
- Zoho Books: Standard $20/mo. No payroll add-on in our data, so it isn’t priced with payroll here.
Payroll by quote
- Sage 50: Sage 50 Payroll module is Quote only (Tiered by employees; call to purchase).
QuickBooks Online pricing · QuickBooks Payroll pricing · QuickBooks vs Xero · Payroll and QuickBooks price tracker
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