Free payroll software: what is actually free in 2026

What free payroll software really means

Free full service

None foundin our Oct 16, 2026 price check

Full service from

$35 + $6Square; SurePayroll lists $29 or $39 + $7

Cheapest software

$17 + $4Patriot Basic; you file

Wave Payroll

$40 + $6Wave accounting is free; payroll is not

When a payroll product says "free", it is one of three things:

1. A calculation tool. It works out gross pay, withholding and net pay. You still deposit the taxes and file every federal and state form. Payroll4Free and ExcelPayroll fall here, according to Fit Small Business (July 2, 2026).
2. A free product with paid payroll. Wave accounting and Homebase scheduling have free tiers. Their payroll costs money.
3. A free period on a paid service. ADP, Paychex, SurePayroll, Homebase and Patriot all run free-month offers. Most have conditions, and some can be clawed back.

Free payroll options compared

Nothing in our research offers free payroll that also files and pays your taxes for W-2 employees. Here is what each "free" option actually covers.

Payroll4Free and ExcelPayroll do not appear in our own vendor research, and we could not read their pages to confirm the figures, so treat them as a reported starting point and check the vendor's terms yourself.

Free trials and promotions, with the fine print

A free trial is the closest thing to free full-service payroll. Read the conditions before you count on the savings.

What a promo saves in year one: Patriot Full Service, 5 workers

• Month 1: free = $0
• Months 2 to 4 at half price: ($18.50 + $2.50 x 5) x 3 = $31 x 3 = $93
• Months 5 to 12 at full price: ($37 + $5 x 5) x 8 = $62 x 8 = $496
• First year: $589, against $744 at full price ($62 x 12)

Source: Patriot pricing page, checked Oct 16, 2026.

The cheapest payroll that files your taxes

If free does not cover what you need, these are the lowest published prices for full-service payroll, where the provider deposits and files federal and state payroll taxes. They are ordered by our score out of 100, which weighs price alongside tax guarantees, exit terms, support and complaints (how we score).

For one person, Square ($41) is the cheapest clear price. SurePayroll could be lower ($36) if the $29 base in its calculator is the real one, but the same page says "Starting at $39/month", so get it in writing. Patriot Full Service is cheapest at five or more people, but adds $12 a month for each extra state. For a full price list including add-ons and year-end fees, see how much payroll services cost. For one to five people, compare plans on payroll for very small teams.

What doing payroll by hand involves

Doing payroll yourself with a spreadsheet or a free calculator costs $0 in software. This is the work it leaves you, using the IRS 2026 schedule.

The IRS charges penalties for late deposits and for late or missing W-2s; the rates are in IRS Publication 15. State mistakes cost money too. One employer on Hacker News (August 2026) said missed state wage reports after a payroll switch sent their unemployment insurance rate "from 0.8% to 12.75%". Check your state's rate on our 2026 SUTA rates by state table.

Your real cost of free

• Software: $0 (or $17 + $4 per worker for Patriot Basic, which does the math)
• Taxes: the same as any other option. Payroll software never lowers the tax itself.
• Your time: every pay run, 16 or more federal deadlines a year (12 monthly deposits, 4 quarterly 941s), plus year-end forms and state reports.
• Risk: penalties and interest on any late or wrong filing are yours.

Want to see what an employee costs you in taxes before you choose? The free employee cost calculator adds Social Security, Medicare, FUTA and state unemployment for any state.

Free payroll for nonprofits, churches and household employers

None of the providers in our research publishes a free or discounted payroll plan for nonprofits. The prices on this page apply to them too. Nonprofits and churches have their own payroll tax rules; see nonprofit payroll and church payroll.

If you employ a nanny or other household worker, you owe Social Security and Medicare once you pay one worker $3,000 or more in cash wages in 2026, and FUTA once you pay $1,000 in any quarter (IRS Publication 926). You report on Schedule H with your tax return. SurePayroll's Nanny and Household plan is $39 a month including one employee (the page also shows $45). See nanny payroll options.

Free payroll calculators and templates

A free payroll template or calculator is fine for checking numbers. Make sure it tracks each pay date, gross pay, federal and state withholding, the 6.2% Social Security and 1.45% Medicare shares for both employee and employer, and every deposit you make. The 2026 Social Security wage base is $184,500 per employee; Medicare has no cap.

Our 2026 payroll tax rates page lists the federal figures, and how payroll taxes work explains who pays which share.

Who should not use free payroll

• Anyone with staff in two or more states. Each state means its own registration, withholding and unemployment account.
• Anyone filing 10 or more W-2s and 1099s in total. The IRS requires e-filing at that point, which most spreadsheets cannot do.
• Employers who have already missed a deposit. A full-service plan with a published tax guarantee can cost less than repeat penalties.
• Restaurants with tipped staff. Tip credits are easy to get wrong by hand: the federal minimum cash wage is $2.13 an hour with a tip credit of up to $5.12 (DOL), and many states set their own rules. See restaurant payroll.