Cloud-based payroll software and online payroll services, compared

What cloud payroll software does

Highest scores

Patriot, Gusto 69out of 100, Oct 2026

Lowest clear base

$35 + $6Square; SurePayroll shows $29 or $39

10 employees

$87 to $153cheapest plan per provider, Patriot to QuickBooks

Quote only

7 providersADP, Paychex, Rippling and 4 HCM suites

Online payroll moves the whole job into a website and an app. A full-service plan does five things:

• Works out gross pay, tax withholding, deductions and net pay each pay run.
• Pays employees by direct deposit and contractors by transfer.
• Deposits federal and state payroll taxes and files the returns, including Form 941 each quarter and W-2s at year end.
• Gives staff a login for pay stubs and tax forms.
• Connects to time tracking and accounting so hours and journal entries flow without retyping.

What it usually does not do: open your state tax accounts (Gusto is the only provider in our research that registers them for you), decide whether a worker is an employee or a contractor, or cover penalties caused by data you entered. Cheaper "software only" plans like Patriot Basic do the math but leave filing to you; see free payroll software and what it leaves out.

Online payroll services scored

Every provider below runs in the browser. They are ordered by our score, which weighs price and cost for 10 employees (25 points), tax filing and guarantee (20), features (20), exit terms (15), support (10) and complaints (10). See how the payroll scores are built and the full breakdown on best payroll software, ranked.

What online payroll costs

Online payroll prices follow one formula: monthly base + per-person fee x headcount. Here it is for a small, a mid-size and a larger team.

Square has the lowest clear base fee, so it is cheapest for one person ($41, against $42 on Patriot). From three people up, Patriot's $5 per-person fee wins, and the gap widens with every hire. Gusto Plus doubles the per-person fee for multi-state and time tracking, so at 40 people it costs almost twice as much as Gusto Simple ($560 vs $289). Hidden fees (year-end forms, extra states, same-day pay, exit filings) are listed on payroll costs and fees.

Online payroll vs desktop software vs a payroll bureau

• Online payroll (everything on this page): monthly fee, updates and tax tables handled for you, staff log in to get stubs and W-2s.
• Desktop payroll: QuickBooks Desktop users report being pushed to subscriptions; one 2021 Desktop user described about $1,000 a year plus payroll plus $8 per employee per month (QuickBooks Community). See QuickBooks Payroll pricing for the current online plans.
• A payroll bureau or reseller: isolved is often sold through local "Network Partners", so price and terms depend on the reseller. ADP RUN and Paychex sell with an assigned rep and quote privately; compare their estimates on ADP pricing and Paychex pricing.
• A PEO: runs payroll as a co-employer and adds benefits. ADP's own guide gives an industry range of 2% to 12% of payroll or about $40 to $160 per employee per month. See PEO vs payroll service.

Payroll management systems, HRIS and time tools

Many searches for a "payroll management system" or "human resource information system" are really asking whether one product can handle payroll, HR records, time and leave. Two routes exist:

1. Payroll first, with add-ons. Cheap and priced in public. Add only the modules you use.
2. An HCM suite. Payroll, HR, time, benefits and recruiting in one database (Paycom, Paylocity, Paycor, isolved, Rippling). All are quote only and score 10 to 21 here, mostly because nothing about price or exit terms is published. Paylocity estimates from OutSail (July 2026) run $18 to $22 per employee per month for core payroll and HR, with implementation at 10% to 20% of first-year spend.

For more on the suite route, see HR and payroll software, HRIS software and HCM software. For hourly teams, time tracking software covers clock-in apps.

Before you move payroll online

1. Pick a start date. Starting at a quarter or year boundary is simplest. Mid-year, the new provider needs your prior payroll totals, and someone must file the old quarter's state wage reports. One employer on Hacker News (August 2026) said missed reports after a switch sent their unemployment rate "from 0.8% to 12.75%".
2. Check funding timing. Online providers debit your bank before payday. A Gusto reviewer (Trustpilot, September 27, 2026) had payroll blocked for insufficient funds after the deadline. Gusto Simple sells next-day pay at $15/mo + $3 per person.
3. Confirm every state. If anyone works in another state, open that state's withholding and unemployment accounts before the first payroll there. Check its 2026 unemployment tax rate and wage base.
4. Read the tax guarantee and its notice deadline. Gusto requires notice 30 days before the agency's response date; QuickBooks Elite requires the notice within 15 days of its date.
5. Know how you leave. Wave cuts payroll data access at the end of the month you cancel. QuickBooks keeps data one year. Patriot keeps downloads open and gives workers lifetime access.

Support: who you can reach and when

Support is the most common complaint across payroll, PEO and EOR reviews in our research: removed phone lines, chatbots, and tickets open for months. If you will need a person on payday, pick a provider that publishes its hours.

Which online payroll fits

• Lowest cost as you grow: Patriot Full Service (69), $112 a month for 15 people.
• New states and weekend help: Gusto (69), the only one that registers state accounts for you.
• Several states at one flat price: OnPay (67).
• Books and payroll in one place: Wave (64) if you use Wave accounting, QuickBooks (52) if you use QuickBooks Online.
• Square POS shops and contractor-heavy teams: Square (55).
• One to five people: see payroll for very small teams.