We’ve highlighted the best payroll software options for small businesses below, designed to simplify and streamline all things payroll, right from wage management and benefit to employee taxes and even some HR features.
For any organization employing workers, it’s about a lot more than making sure they get paid. You’ll also want to ensure compliance with tax and labor laws, produce transparent payslips and separate out all your expenses for better monitoring.
Where payroll once meant clunky desktop applications and printed payslips, the best payroll software revolves around cloud access and even offers mobile clients for on-the-go ease.
Better still, this digital transformation makes it simpler for employees to submit queries, and comprehensive support for workers can be easily centralized as a result.
However, whichever form of payroll software you choose to work with, it's imperative that it also runs smoothly with any of your existing accounting packages. Therefore, don't be surprised that the best payroll software also tends to be supplied by the same suppliers who deliver the best in accounting software.
With everything now falling under one roof, HR companies are also getting in on the payroll action.
When narrowing down on the best payroll software for small business, we looked for useful and reliable features, like unlimited payroll runs, easy employee and administrative access, as well as a no-nonsense interface. We also looked at the quality of their customer support across phone, email, and chat, along with the documentation available for learning.
Here we feature the best payroll software platforms currently available.
We've also highlighted the best free software for small businesses and the best tax software.
The best payroll software for small business of 2025 in full:
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Best dependable payroll software for small business
Gusto has now become one of the most recognized names in the industry thanks to its balance of dependability and ease of use. The software includes full-service payroll with time tracking, compliance, as well as managing taxes, 401(k), and benefits such as medical, dental, and vision plans.
There are a handful of different plan levels available, with the cheapest offering to cover the basics of payroll, by way of a monthly software fee plus a fee per employee. After that plans offer features such as onboarding, time tracking, accounting, benefits, and document management.
Strengthening its attraction, Gusto also integrates with a number of existing accounting software and related platforms, such as Freshbooks, Quickbooks, Aplos, Zipbooks and Xero accounting software. While its pricing may have risen in recent years, it continues to be a reliable choice for businesses focused on simplicity and compliance.
Read our full Gusto Review.
Best payroll software for small business for HR outsourcing
Paychex provides a full range of full HR solutions for business, to cover the entire employee lifecycle, right from recruitment to onboarding, payroll and benefits, as well as development and training. The software interface is relatively straightforward and accessing employee records and payroll is easy.
What set Paychex apart is its integration of healthcare, retirement and employee benefit programs. Employer contributions are automatically calculated and transferred alongside wages, making it a good option for organizations looking to outsource HR responsibilities rather than manage them in-house.
Because Paychex has offices across the US, the company can offer competitive benefits and insurance packages for employees on a par with those offered by Fortune 500 companies.
Read our full Paychex review.
Best flexible payroll software for small business
Rippling’s strength is just how flexible it is, with a whole range of software options covering Hr, payroll, benefits, IT and even expense management, so businesses can start small with core functionalities and add out more when they need it.
Rippling is eminently scalable. That means it's easy to upgrade or downgrade your services to match your business needs, and hundreds of third-party integrations from QuickBooks to Slack help ensure it works with you, not against you.
If you've got a company dominated by remote or flexible working or if your business is growing rapidly, then Rippling could be the HR provider you need thanks to its balance of versatility and features.
Read our full Rippling HCM review.
Best payroll software for small business for onboarding
Remote Payroll makes a lot of sense for companies hiring and paying workers across multiple countries, so if you need to onboard at scale and comply with multiple sets of regulations, this is a strong choice.
Employees can self-serve, accessing payslips, requesting time off and managing documents through a simple portal. The platform will also adapt to local tax, labor and compliance laws, taking the weight of HR teams’ shoulders.
Remote Payroll comes with an extensive list of features, which can help business owners tackle every facet of their onboarding needs. The functionality within Remote Payroll means workflow is pretty much seamless too.
Read our full Remote Payroll review
Best one-stop payroll software for small business
Zoho People could not be more one-stop if it tried – it’s by far the most extensive ecosystem on our list, with software spanning payroll, HR, project management, expense tracking and a whole lot more.
It’s built on the foundation of affordable pricing and comes highly customizable, with access to over 1,000 third-party integrations. While many of these are useful, Zoho’s true success comes from the fact that you can bundle everything under one roof, unlocking potentially considerable savings.
Support options are decent with access to knowledge bases and human support, but because it’s part of an entire network of Zoho products, it has the strong backing of countless webinars and training sessions to get you hitting the ground running.
Read our full Zoho People review
Best payroll software for SMEs
PeopleHR was developed in the UK specifically for small and mid-sized businesses, so it’s a natural fit. Its modular design allows you start with the essentials then build out from there, adding things like recruitment, performance management and employee management.
Mobile access is strong, with plenty of functionality and biometric security protection, and there are good onboarding tools. So don’t be thinking that by buying into an SME-focused tool that you’ll be sold short.
In fact, you get some of the latest tech on offer, including artificial intelligence and automation to smooth out the workload for your teams. Support includes onboarding training with plenty of human agent options via email, phone and chat.
Read our full PeopleHR review
Best mobile-friendly payroll software for small business
If you are looking for a mobile-friendly payroll application you should definitely take a look at the venerable QuickBooks from Intuit. Working across smartphones, tablets and computers, the software functions as an affordable and easy system for managing employee payments.
Through the platform you will be able to generate pay slips and send them directly to employees, as well as mandatory forms. There is a feature to calculate maternity and sick leave too, and QuickBooks will also remind you to send payments so you don’t forget. You can also quickly access employee data and manage pension contributions from one dashboard.
The QuickBooks self-service payroll package has both a monthly cost for the service, plus an additional cost per employee, with fees varying according to the number of features and payment tier required.
Read our full QuickBooks review
Best no-frills payroll software for small business
Patriot also gets a resounding thumbs-up for its efficient support infrastructure. The company has a long-standing pedigree too, with around three decades of experience shaping the look and feel of the current package.
Payroll can be tackled with a full service payroll package option. If you plump for this package you can run Payroll and Patriot deals with the payroll taxes side of things. Opt for the cheaper basic payroll edition and you’ll need to handle payroll and payroll taxes yourself.
Lookout for plenty of features, including unlimited payments to vendors, the option or creating and printing 1099s and 1096s, optional 1099 e-filing, expense and income tracking. There’s also the option for producing unlimited customer invoices, accepting credit card payments, recording payments, importing bank transactions automatically and integration of your accounts with payroll.
Read our full Patriot Payroll review
Best payroll software for small business for ease-of-use
When searching for a good payroll solution you will generally find that most HR technology companies offer their own payment features or applications. BambooHR, for instance, provides a separate payroll platform that syncs with its employee-management software.
The software allows you to eradicate double entries, add new employees quickly, and track employee hours and bonus payouts. Other features of the platform include time-off tracking, staff database and records, an applicant tracking system, performance management and electronic signatures.
BambooHR offers two tiers of subscription, starting with the Essentials plan at the lower end. The upgrade is the Advantage plan with a gaggle of additional features including support for on-boarding and off-boarding, electronic signatures and custom email alerts. Unfortunately, pricing is opaque, and you'll have to get in touch for a quote.
Read our full BambooHR review
Best payroll software for small business for time tracking
Hourly payroll covers other crucial areas of your business, with unlimited payroll runs, direct deposit and paper checks, automatic tax filing along with 1099 and W-2 handling all featuring as part of the package. Lookout too for easy handling of garnishments and benefits, while the combination of Time Tracking and Payroll offers the added benefit of smart works comp insurance. Priority phone support is included too.
If you’re looking for a combination of payroll and time management software, with a worker’s comp insurance package also included Hourly is well worth investigating. It’s already doing a decent job of rivalling the likes of Gusto and OnPay, with two plan options including Time Tracking, Payroll or a combination package that includes both.
Features are many and varied, with the Time Tracking package including the ability to track time for all of your workers with the benefit of automatic timesheet creation and GPS clock-ins. Overtime and breaks can also be monitored with ease and it’s all supplemented with detailed reports and audit logs.
Read our full Hourly review.
Best payroll software for small business
1st Money is a UK-based payroll and HR platform that offers strong value for small businesses and microbusinesses – for smaller operations with fewer than 10 employees, it’s completely free.
It might be a pretty simplistic piece of software compared with the giants, but it does include HR functions like timesheets, expenses and scheduling. Even when it does come to paying, plans are priced affordably to ensure you’re getting the best deal.
We love the clean and intuitive interface, which helps reduce the barrier to entry. This is crucial for small businesses, who can’t put aside endless hours and resources for training. While it may not be comprehensive enough for larger companies, it’s a worthwhile option for smaller setups who need compliance without the faff.
Read our full 1st Money review
Best payroll software for small business for simplified HR
Breathe HR is a streamlined HR management system without ridiculous complexity – the cloud-based software is built for SMBs with up to 250 employees, covering all core HR functions like employee records, holiday and absence tracking, and performance management.
Pricing is straightforward, and it’s based on the size of the organization rather than per employee. This offers further simplicity, meaning you won’t add to the cost on a per-head basis (until you reach the next threshold).
The interface is minimalist but colorful, making navigation easy for admins and employees alike, plus good mobile support makes it easy to access on the go.
Read our full Breathe HR review
Also consider
While our main listing includes the top names in payroll software there are many other options to choose from. If you're in business and have employees then you'll also need software to help handle HR requirements. There are payroll software packages that make this possible, all from within one interface. Others let you tackle numerous admin chores too, all using the benefit of just one software bundle.
Here's our selection of other best payroll software packages worth considering.
Best payroll software for small business FAQs
What is payroll software for small business?
Payroll software for small business is an essential tool for companies to manage their accounting and payroll processes. This software simplifies otherwise arduous processes, like managing employee salaries, wages, and deductions, and it integrates with existing HR or accounting systems.
How to choose the best payroll software for small business?
In order to compile our best payroll software for small business list, we tried all of the software options available over a period of time. This allowed us to evaluate all of the features and functions designed to help small and medium-sized business work more efficiently.
If you run a business and have employees then a good quality, robust payroll package is invaluable for letting you get the task completed. Processing payroll doesn't just involve producing checks and direct deposits either because you'll want to have a payroll system that can help you with calculating taxes correctly and staying on top of other accounting chores.
Quite how many features and functions you'll need from your payroll software largely depends on how big your business is. While larger brands such as Sage and QuickBooks can often be easily scaled up as you need more functionality, it may be an idea to stick with a smaller scale, slightly cheaper option. After all, there's no point in paying for the best payroll software if it contains more features than you actually need.
How we tested the best payroll software for small business
We look for a solid collection of features and functions when we test the best payroll software for small business. That means we're on the lookout for unlimited payroll runs, options for administrative and employee access, plus cover for things like health benefits and workers comp.
Transparency is key, and a lot of that comes down to ease of use and pricing – simple and clear tiers with a focus on affordability is key.
Given that payroll software can frequently have its complicated aspects we always make a point of checking the customer support side too. This should ideally include phone, email and chat options, supplemented by plenty of documentation and training where possible.
Read how we test, rate, and review products on TechRadar.
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