Prices checked 2026-10-17
Best payroll for one employee, ranked by price
If you pay just one person, the base fee is most of the bill. Every payroll plan we track with a published price, priced for exactly one employee.
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
At the regular price, the cheapest published payroll plan for one employee is SurePayroll Small Business payroll at $36 a month ($432 a year). The most expensive we track is Justworks at $58 a month.
Ranked on price only, at regular monthly list prices, among plans that file and deposit your payroll taxes. We haven't compared features or support.
Every published plan, priced for one employee
Each provider's lowest-cost standard payroll plan for 1 person: base fee + one per-person fee. Bundles with HR or accounting, PEO plans, limited-time offers and plans that don't file payroll taxes aren't ranked.
| # | Provider and plan | 1 person, per month | Per year | Intro offers and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SurePayrollSmall Business payroll | $36/mo | $432 | — |
| 2 | Square PayrollFull-service payroll | $41/mo | $492 | — |
| 3 | Patriot PayrollFull Service Payroll | $42/mo | $504 | Intro: $18.50/mo + $2.50/person for 3 months. |
| 4 | WaveWave Payroll (US) | $46/mo | $552 | Add-on to Wave accounting; the Starter plan is $0. |
| =5 | GustoSimple | $55/mo | $660 | — |
| =5 | Homebase (with Payroll)Payroll add-on + Basic plan | $55/mo | $660 | Intro: Free for 6 months from the first payroll (new customers; dates on the vendor page). Basic is $0 for 1 location and up to 10 employees. Limited-time small-team offer (teams of up to 5): $35/mo for 1 person after the free months; terms and dates on the vendor page. |
| =5 | OnPayPayroll Essentials | $55/mo | $660 | — |
| 8 | QuickBooks Payroll (QuickBooks Workforce)Workforce Payroll | $57/mo | $684 | Intro: $25/mo + $7/person (per-person fee not discounted) for 3 months. |
| 9 | JustworksPayroll | $58/mo | $696 | — |
| — | Patriot Payroll Doesn’t file taxesBasic Payroll | $21/mo | $252 | You file and deposit payroll taxes yourself. Not ranked. |
| — | SurePayroll Doesn’t file taxesNo Tax Filing (Self-Service) | $24/mo | $288 | You file and deposit payroll taxes yourself. Not ranked. |
Who counts as your one employee
Each provider bills per person differently, from its pricing page:
- SurePayroll: $7 per worker
- Square Payroll: Per person paid per month
- Patriot Payroll: Per worker PAID during the month; billed in arrears
- Wave: $40 USD base + $6 per active employee + $6 per independent contractor paid; tax filing included (1099 filings excluded)
- Gusto: Per active person per month on top of base; US contractors billed at the per-person rate only in months they are paid
- Homebase (with Payroll): Scheduling plans priced per location; payroll $6 per employee paid
- OnPay: $6 per paid worker per month (calculator counts paid workers per month)
- QuickBooks Payroll (QuickBooks Workforce): Per ACTIVE employee per month (counted even at $0 earnings); intro discount does not apply to per-employee fees
- Justworks: Per employee per month
If your one worker is a contractor
Square lists Contractor-only payroll at $6/person/mo, no base fee. Gusto: Per active person per month on top of base; US contractors billed at the per-person rate only in months they are paid.
Quote-only providers (not ranked)
RUN Powered by ADP, Paychex Flex, Rippling don't publish prices, so they can't be ranked here.
Paying more than one person? Use the payroll calculator.
Every vendor link on this page is a plain link; we don't earn a commission from any of them.