Best PEO companies in 2026

Our top PEO picks, ranked by score

Ranked by our published PEO score out of 100 (see our scoring method). We did not test these services; scores come from published prices, terms, IRS records and documented complaints, checked October 16, 2026.

PEO scores: all 15 companies

Each PEO is scored on six criteria. Price transparency carries the most weight (25 points) because it is what buyers can least easily find elsewhere; Forbes Advisor's PEO ranking gives pricing 3%. A low score often means a PEO publishes little, not that its service is poor: G&A Partners blocks automated reading of its site, so its 8 reflects missing data.

What a PEO costs for 5, 10 and 25 employees

Only three PEOs publish a per-employee fee. Here is what each costs in admin fees alone:

The fee is the smaller part of the bill. On top of it you pay employer payroll taxes, health premiums and workers' comp. For one employee on $60,000 in Texas, 2026 employer taxes alone are $4,590 of FICA (7.65%), $42 of FUTA (0.6% of $7,000) and $243 of state unemployment (2.70% of $9,000), or $4,875 a year, whether or not you use a PEO. Our PEO cost breakdown adds premiums and workers' comp for a 10-person team, where the Justworks Plus fee comes to under 12% of the cost on top of salaries.

Who publishes prices, and who makes you call

Most PEOs quote only. That is the norm, not a red flag on its own, but it means you cannot compare until you sit through sales calls. Third-party figures below are estimates and are labeled with their dates; several are more than a year old.

Promotions change the first-year math: Deel credits three months on two-year order forms signed by December 31, 2026; Insperity offers new HR360 clients a credit of up to $425 per full-time employee; Paychex showed a "3 months free for National PEO Week" banner with no terms.

What the PEO fee covers, and what it does not

Ask every PEO for an unbundled quote. ADP TotalSource reviewers say "the admin fees are hidden in the workers comp rates" (Capterra, October 2024). Ask whether state unemployment is reported under the PEO's rate or yours; check your state's 2026 rate in our SUTA rate table.

Contract terms, notice and exit fees

No PEO in our set publishes its full client service agreement, termination notice period or exit fee. What is on the record:

Leaving takes planning even when the contract is month to month. Your health plan ends with the PEO's plan, the 401(k) needs a transfer, and a Justworks reviewer said old tax records took about three months to get (Trustpilot, September 24, 2026). The wage-base carryover in 26 USC 3511(b) applies only to certified PEOs, so with any other PEO ask how Social Security and FUTA wage bases are handled if you join or leave mid-year. Before you sign, ask for the notice period, any termination or transition fee, and how long you keep access to payroll records and W-2s.

IRS certification (CPEO) status

A certified PEO is treated as the sole employer for federal employment taxes on the wages it pays your work site employees, so if it fails to deposit, the IRS looks to the PEO, not to you (26 USC 3511(a)). Wage bases also carry over if you join or leave mid-year (3511(b)).

• On the IRS active list (report date 8/7/2026): Justworks, TriNet, ADP TotalSource, Paychex PEO (including Oasis), Insperity, Amplify, ExtensisHR, Engage PEO, Questco, PrestigePEO and Sequoia One.
• Likely, unconfirmed: G&A Partners (G&A Outsourcing VII, LLC).
• Not found under their brand names: Rippling, Vensure and BBSI. They may certify under another entity name; ask for the legal name and EIN on the contract.

Entity names and how to check them are on our IRS certified PEO list.

What PEO customers complain about

We paraphrase recurring complaints from public reviews; ratings are as seen October 16, 2026. Justworks has a G2 score of 4.6 from 1,127 reviews but 2.1 on Trustpilot from 37; TriNet 4.2 from 1,988 on G2 and 3.9 from 230 on Trustpilot; ADP TotalSource 4.3 from 576 on G2.

• Justworks: Support that 'is responsive, but not helpful'; payroll held or taxes filed in the wrong state; 401(k) and FSA errors; one customer billed at the top plan rate; a West Coast customer said normal-hours support needed a paid upgrade. (source)
• TriNet: Worksite employees report FSA claims rejected and repeated proof requests (July and August 2026); clients report a per-employee price that rises every year and setups that took most of a year to fix. (source)
• ADP TotalSource: Renewals up 8% in 2025 and 18% in a second year; 'the admin fees are hidden in the workers comp rates'; plans limited to Aetna (Capterra, 2024 to 2025). (source)
• Paychex PEO: Paychex PEO complaints were not researched separately; Paychex overall draws complaints about fees and billing after cancellation. (source)
• Insperity: A September 2026 reviewer said multi-state payroll was wrong for months; others cite slow support. The review count is small. (source)
• Rippling PEO: Modular pricing that is hard to budget; slow support on complex issues; one client had to register with state agencies themselves. (source)

Across PEOs, the pattern is the same: renewal increases with no explanation, benefits administration errors that hit employees (FSA and 401(k)), and setup problems in the first months. For two head-to-head views, see Justworks vs TriNet and TriNet vs Insperity.

The other PEOs we scored

6. BBSI (26/100)

Best for businesses with higher workers' comp exposure that want local, in-person support. BBSI prices on headcount, workforce mix, turnover, loss history and job risk, and bills workers' comp as payroll-based premiums 'with no deposits or year-end audits.' Health benefits are an add-on, not in the Core package. Watch out: Health benefits are not in the core package, and no CPEO listing was found. More in the BBSI review.

7. Amplify HR Management (23/100)

Best for very small companies, including teams of 1 to 10, in tech and healthcare. Amplify sells to very small companies, including 1 to 10 employees, with a tech, healthcare and startup focus. Its site's '#1 PEO' claims are unverified. Watch out: Its '#1 PEO' claims are unverified, and no prices or terms are published. More in the Amplify HR Management review.

8. ExtensisHR (22/100)

Best for businesses of about 10 to 100+ employees that value fast phone and chat response. ExtensisHR targets firms of about 10 to 100+ employees and publishes response-time claims for phone and chat. Watch out: No public prices, benefits details or contract terms. More in the ExtensisHR review.

9. Engage PEO (21/100)

Best for small businesses that want a PEO with named national health carriers. Engage names Aetna, MetLife, Kaiser and BCBS among its benefit carriers. It is on the IRS CPEO list, though its site does not say so. Watch out: Prices, contract terms and support details are not published. More in the Engage PEO review.

10. PrestigePEO (20/100)

Best for small and midsize firms that want a mid-sized PEO with direct phone support. A mid-sized national PEO that sells on direct phone access. It is on the IRS CPEO list, though its site only mentions 'industry certifications.' Almost no public reviews exist to check service claims. Watch out: Almost no public reviews, and no published prices or benefits details. More in the PrestigePEO review.

11. Questco (20/100)

Best for small and midsize businesses in the Southwest and Plains states. A regional PEO with offices from Arizona to Nebraska and a franchise model. Watch out: Very few public reviews, and no published prices or benefits details. More in the Questco review.

12. Sequoia One (17/100)

Best for investor-backed companies that want benefits strategy alongside a PEO. Sequoia pairs a PEO with benefits brokerage, total rewards and equity advisory, and runs programs for investors' portfolio companies. Watch out: No public prices, contract terms or support details. More in the Sequoia One review.

13. Rippling PEO (11/100)

Best for companies already on Rippling that want PEO benefits in the same system. Rippling's PEO runs inside its HR, IT and device platform and offers benefits through national carriers 'at affordable and predictable rates.' The page shows no price, minimum, setup fee or CPEO statement. Watch out: No PEO price, terms or CPEO listing under the Rippling name was found. More in the Rippling PEO review.

14. G&A Partners (8/100)

Best for buyers prepared to collect a full quote and contract terms directly. G&A Partners' website blocks automated reading, so we could not verify its services or terms. Watch out: We could not read G&A's website, so this score reflects missing data rather than the service itself. More in the G&A Partners review.

15. Vensure (8/100)

Best for businesses that want a PEO advertising 24/7 phone support. Vensure sells PEO and HR outsourcing on its VensureONE platform and advertises "24/7 Live Support" by phone. Its G2 score is the lowest of the PEOs we track, and we did not find it on the IRS CPEO list under its own name. Watch out: CPEO status could not be confirmed under the Vensure name, and almost nothing else is published. More in the Vensure review.

PEO services: pros and cons

Who should not use a PEO

• Teams with a good broker plan already. If your current premiums are competitive, the PEO fee is pure added cost. At published Justworks prices the PEO must save about $98 to $107 per employee per month to break even against payroll plus a health add-on (PEO vs payroll service).
• Owners who want full control of plans and carriers. You get the PEO's menu, and it leaves with the PEO.
• Companies with several legal entities. One TriNet client left for ADP "due to having multiple companies" (Capterra, October 2025).
• Anyone who mainly needs foreign hires. A PEO covers US employees only; see PEO vs EOR.
• Firms that want an outsourced HR team but not co-employment. Consider an ASO (PEO vs ASO) or payroll software from our payroll rankings.

How to get PEO quotes you can compare

1. Send every PEO the same census: headcount by state, salaries, job class codes, current plan and renewal date.
2. Ask for an unbundled quote: admin fee, each premium, workers' comp rate per $100 of payroll by class code, and the SUTA rate used.
3. Get a broker quote for the same plan level so you can price the "no PEO" option.
4. Ask for renewal history for clients your size, the contract term, notice period, exit fees and record access after leaving.
5. Check the contracting entity on the IRS CPEO list and, in licensing states, the state register (for example Texas or Florida).

More guides and every PEO review are on the PEO hub. Startups should also read payroll and PEO for startups.