Prices checked 2026-10-17
Best payroll for contractors and trades, by real price
Payroll for a crew that pays W-2 employees and 1099 subs: every plan priced for 5 people, with the features trades ask about, from each vendor’s own pages.
Disclosure: Some of these vendors run affiliate programs. Every vendor link on this page is a plain link today; if we join a program, its links will be marked sponsored. It never changes the prices or the order we show. Details
The short answer
- Cheapest that files your payroll taxes and pays 1099 subs: Patriot Payroll Full Service Payroll ($62/mo for 5).
- Cheapest with job costing listed: QuickBooks Payroll (QuickBooks Workforce) Workforce Premium ($153/mo for 5); check the conditions in what each vendor says about job costing, below. RUN Powered by ADP sells job costing as an add-on, quote only.
- Cheapest with time tracking included: Square Payroll Full-service payroll ($65/mo for 5).
- Cheapest with multi-state payroll included: Patriot Payroll Full Service Payroll ($62/mo for 5).
Prices are regular monthly list prices for a 5-person crew. Features are what each vendor’s own pages say; “Not stated” means we couldn’t find it either way, not that the feature is missing.
Certified payroll: unknown for every vendor
If you work prevailing-wage or Davis-Bacon jobs you need certified payroll reports. None of the 11 vendors here confirms on the pages we checked that its payroll produces them, so it isn’t a ranking factor and isn’t in the table. Ask before you sign up.
- SurePayroll: Construction FAQ: "Certified payroll reports (required for Davis-Bacon projects) may need to be produced separately — contact SurePayroll".
- Paychex Flex: Mentioned only in a customer testimonial, not as a feature.
Every plan, priced for a 5-person crew, with trade features
Ranked by price only, among plans that file and deposit payroll taxes. Features don’t change the order; use them to rule plans in or out. Quote-only vendors are listed unranked.
| # | Provider and plan | 5 people, per month | Pays 1099 contractors | Job costing | Multi-state | Time tracking | Workers' comp | Next-day deposit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Patriot PayrollFull Service Payroll | $62/mo$744/yr | Yes | Not stated | Yes | Add-on | Yes | Not stated |
| 2 | SurePayrollSmall Business payroll | $64/mo$768/yr | Yes | Not stated | Add-on | Add-on | Not stated | Not stated |
| 3 | Square PayrollFull-service payroll | $65/mo$780/yr | Yes | Not stated | Yes | Yes | Add-on | Yes |
| =4 | GustoSimple | $79/mo$948/yr | Yes | Not stated | No | Add-on | Add-on | Add-on |
| =4 | Homebase (with Payroll)Payroll add-on + Basic plan | $79/mo$948/yr | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| =4 | OnPayPayroll Essentials | $79/mo$948/yr | Yes | Not stated | Yes | Add-on | Yes | Not stated |
| 7 | QuickBooks Payroll (QuickBooks Workforce)Workforce Payroll | $85/mo$1,020/yr | Yes | No | Not stated | No | Add-on | Yes |
| 8 | JustworksPayroll | $90/mo$1,080/yr | Yes | Not stated | Yes | Add-on | Not stated | Not stated |
| 9 | GustoPlus | $140/mo$1,680/yr | Yes | Not stated | Yes | Yes | Add-on | Yes |
| 10 | QuickBooks Payroll (QuickBooks Workforce)Workforce Premium | $153/mo$1,836/yr | Yes | Yes | Not stated | Yes | Add-on | Yes |
| 11 | QuickBooks Payroll (QuickBooks Workforce)Workforce Elite | $219/mo$2,628/yr | Yes | Yes | Not stated | Yes | Add-on | Yes |
| 12 | GustoPremium | $290/mo$3,480/yr | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Add-on | Yes |
| — | Patriot Payroll Doesn’t file taxesBasic Payroll | $37/mo$444/yr | Yes | Not stated | Yes | Add-on | Yes | Not stated |
| — | SurePayroll Doesn’t file taxesNo Tax Filing (Self-Service) | $40/mo$480/yr | Yes | Not stated | Add-on | Add-on | Not stated | Not stated |
| — | RUN Powered by ADPAll packages | Quote only | Yes | Add-on | Not stated | Add-on | Add-on | Not stated |
| — | Paychex FlexAll packages | Quote only | Yes | Not stated | Yes | Not stated | Add-on | Not stated |
| — | RipplingAll packages | Quote only | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
What vendors say about job costing
- Square Payroll: Labor-cost reporting exists, but job costing is not stated.
- Gusto: Premium lists "Project based rules and costing". Simple and Plus do not list job costing (Time & Attendance Plus mentions project tracking only).
- OnPay: The construction page mentions labor cost breakdown reporting but not job costing.
- QuickBooks Payroll (QuickBooks Workforce): "Allocation of payroll costs by class or project only available to QuickBooks Workforce Premium and Elite users who have a QuickBooks Online Plus, QuickBooks Online Advanced, or Intuit Enterprise Suite plan." So it is true only when paired with QBO Plus or Advanced. Elite also lists GPS mileage and a project activity feed.
- RUN Powered by ADP: "Manage labor costs ... with time tracking and HR tools. Also calculate individual project/job labor costs". Tied to Time and Scheduling, which is listed under add-ons and integrations.
Paying only 1099 subcontractors?
Square lists Contractor-only payroll at $6/person/mo, no base fee Doesn’t file taxes. Gusto: Per active person per month on top of base; US contractors billed at the per-person rate only in months they are paid.
Not assessed: Wave (no feature data yet).
Different crew size? Use the payroll calculator. One employee? Best payroll for one employee.
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