Best Payroll Software for 2024 (Buyer’s Guide)

ADP offers automated payroll services and tax support to all size of businesses. Its functionality goes beyond being a basic payroll tool, offering HR features like application tracking, benefits management, and employee cost insights. Additionally, ADP Payroll i fully scalable and fits companies of every size, making ADP Payroll the best overall payroll software.

ADP was founded in 1949 as Automatic Payrolls, Inc., and 1,000,000+ companies use its service.

Benefits

ADP Payroll keeps itself up-to-date on changing rules and regulations so that businesses can stay compliant and avoid potential penalties. It syncs payroll data with other business solutions, like benefits management and time tracking, to help businesses efficiently manage the payroll process.

ADP Payroll allows access to data through mobile devices for on-the-go management of payroll information. Thus, employees can view pay stubs, request time off, and record attendance.

Deel is a global payroll service that is used in 100+ countries. It enables SMBs to hire and pay talents from all over the world without establishing separate entities in each country.

Deel also helps such businesses expand globally without worrying about complex international tax and employment regulations. For these reasons, Deel is the ideal payroll solution for small and mid-sized businesses.

Founded in 2014, Deel supports 25,000+ organizations in 150 countries.

Benefits

Deel generates customized reports analyzing gross-to-net, 401k, pensions, etc. Stakeholders easily understand these reports and gather insights. It allows organizations to compare employer costs, bonuses, taxes, and other parameters across the company entities in a standard currency. Thus, users get a unified view of their expenses in the chosen currency.

Deel supports integrating 80+ business apps, such as Google Workspace, Jira, Slack, QuickBooks, Outlook Calendar, Xero, BambooHR, and Zapier.

Paychex is a cloud-based payroll software platform that users can access from anywhere. It only takes two clicks to enter and run payroll. Its intuitive and self-explanatory UI makes it the best payroll software for a user-friendly experience.

Paychex was founded in 1971 and has 740,000+ business clients in the US and Europe.

Benefits

Paychex offers the Pre-Check service for employees so that they can instantly approve their paycheck before payday and avoid costly payroll discrepancies. It lets companies pay their employees with multiple pay options. These include direct deposit, same-day ACH, paper checks, paycards, eChecks service, Pay-on-Demand (before payroll date), and 24/7 real-time payments.

Paychex’s ever-expanding API library offers seamless integrations with popular business tools like BambooHR, Clover, Deputy, JazzHR, Indeed, Jobvite, Microsoft Azure AD, QuickBooks Online, Xero, and Sage Intacct. This makes hiring, managing, paying, and retaining employees easier.

Gusto provides industry-specific payroll and HR solutions. Its proactive compliance alerts and automated tax reporting features prevent businesses from making human errors. As a result, businesses spend less time managing payroll. This makes Gusto a top automated payroll software choice for small businesses.

Benefits

By using Gusto, you get all the features you need, like health insurance, paid time off, and 401(k) plans, in one place. Gusto integrates with 190 apps, including Xero, QuickBooks, Clover, TSheets, and Trainual, for easy access to all related features.

Gusto allows businesses to manage contractor payments in 120 countries, so users can easily hire and manage top talent around the world.

Gusto supports monthly salaries and hourly rates to pay employees. It also helps businesses submit payroll tax forms like Form W-2, Form 940, Form 8974, Form 1099, Form 941, and more.

Paycor operates as an online payroll software company, offering HR functionalities that sync well with the payroll software to simplify the data management process. Its employee self-service portals also reduce the HR workload. Businesses looking for HR and payroll integration should opt for Paycor.

Paycor was founded in 1990 and has more than 2.3 million users.

Benefits

Paycor offers in-product compliance updates and notifies users of major changes so that users do not have to spend hours researching employment laws in their state or county.

Paycor users benefit from its 250+ integration partners for benefits, payments, POS, background screening, and scheduling.

Paycor has a Tax Compliance Dashboard where proactive compliance alerts can be set and tax filings, W-2s, and 1099s can be submitted with ease.

Rippling is a payroll application that also offers a tightly integrated HR service. Hence, it allows for the smooth syncing of HR data with payroll.

For the companies looking for comprehensive software that allows to perform HR and payroll tasks from one platform, Rippling is the best bet.

US-based company Rippling was founded in 2016 and has a thriving customer base among startups and SMBs.

Benefits

Rippling integrates with 500+ applications, including QuickBooks and NetSuite, so companies already using these accounting programs can easily sync data. It generates reports for visualizing payroll analytics. By sharing these reports, companies enable different departments to make informed decisions.

Rippling offers a unified, integrated system to handle all the necessary tools for payroll management. Companies can track time and attendance from the same platform, review expenses, and manage employee benefits.

Multiplier is a payroll software for on-time global payroll management. Besides supporting payroll, it enables businesses to employ EOR from 150+ countries without establishing entities in those countries. For this reason, Multiplier is the perfect software for EOR and global payroll.

Multiplier was established in 2020 and has service points in North America, South America, Asia, Europe, and Australia.

Benefits

Multiplier uses AWS hosting services and processes personal data complying with GDPR. It also ensures compliance in every country in managing payroll and employment by following country-specific laws and regulations.

While handling payroll, Multiplier allows organizations to oversee taxes, social contributions, and local insurance policies, eliminating the need for concern or the acquisition of additional software for managing these elements.

Patriot was established in 2002 and has its headquarters in Ohio, US. Patriot payroll generates various payroll reports, such as tax filing, tax deposit, pay rate, payroll register, individual paycheck history, payroll tax liabilities, assigned contributions and deductions, and time-off management. These help businesses easily manage and interpret payroll data.

Its monthly base pay and per-employee charges are affordable for all businesses. Hence, Patriot is the best software for affordable payroll.

Benefits

Patriot software can be accessed from any device without downloading it. It offers free 2-day and 4-day direct deposit facilities for qualified customers to help businesses pay their employees without hassle.

Patriot payroll files company tax on time with 100% accuracy. In case of any mistake, it covers all the penalties and interest, which is a win-win situation for the companies.

TriNet HR Payroll, previously known as Zenefits, is a payroll solution for small and medium businesses. In TriNet HR Payroll, payroll is integrated with the HR application so that companies can effortlessly use the HR data to process payroll on time. Businesses looking for an all-in-one HR and payroll solution should go for it.

Founded in 1988, TriNet HR Payroll has 33,000+ users globally as a part of its client organizations.

Benefits

TriNet HR Payroll offers payroll administration services and self-service tools. It allows companies to spend more time on their people and ensures compliance with regulations and payroll tax requirements in various states. TriNet HR Payroll supports hourly and salaried employees in getting paid on time.

QuickBooks Payroll is a software for streamlined payroll. QuickBooks users get the advantage of smooth integration between the payroll software and other QuickBooks applications like QuickBooks Accounting, QuickBooks POS, and QuickBooks Time for data sync. Hence, QuickBooks Payroll is the best choice for integrating with other QuickBooks products.

QuickBooks’ parent company, Intuit, was founded in 1983 and has 100 million users.

Benefits

Sync QuickBooks Payroll with QuickBooks Time to increase the accuracy of payroll and reduce risks involved with manual entry. It also supports managing timesheets and connecting time-tracking data to reduce payroll costs.

OnPay is a full-service payroll solution for small businesses, accountants, or non-profits. Its straightforward pricing is suitable for a small team and includes basic HR tools in addition to the suite. For this reason, OnPay is the perfect choice for any growing business.

OnPay was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Georgia, US.

Benefits

OnPay integrates with several business applications, such as QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, QuickBooks Time, Xero, Deputy, Mineral, and Poster Elite. Thus, users can seamlessly exchange data with these applications to streamline the business process.

OnPay’s report designer lets organizations create reports with custom views and filter them by employee type, location, or department. This allows them to view the reports in real-time online, download them in PDF or spreadsheet format, or move the data to the accounting software.

The software portal is mobile responsive, so companies can conveniently use it on mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. So, users do not need to download a mobile app.

PrimePay offers payroll and HR solutions for SMBs. It helps managing all the federal and state tax filings of a business, including Form W-2. So, PrimePay is the best choice for businesses looking for a tax compliance feature in payroll software.

PrimePay was established in 1986. It has more than 18,000 customers.

Benefits

With automation and useful features, PrimePay enables companies to handle all payroll complexities easily. Anyone can use its simplistic interface without any difficulties, so the team does not need to go through any training. Thus, PrimePay saves valuable time as users can start using it right away.

PrimePay smoothly integrates with different third-party business applications, making it a scalable solution that grows with the business. It is cloud-based software that enables access anytime, anywhere.

PrimePay supports on-demand pay, allowing employees to access their earnings before payday. This increases employee satisfaction and provides financial flexibility, resulting in a higher employee retention rate.

Square Payroll is one of the 36+ products of Square, a company that started its journey in 2009. It has an entire suite of business tools like POS hardware and software that integrate well with each other.

Companies that use other Square products like Square POS will find Square Payroll to be the best option.

Benefits

Square Payroll smoothly integrates with all Square products, making team payroll management easier for Square users. Square Payroll comes with helpful HR and compliance resources to give peace of mind when running payroll.

Employees can onboard themselves in a few steps that reduce company workload. The system also allows qualifying businesses to run payroll two business days before the original pay date, giving businesses more time and flexibility to do so.

Wave Payroll is a payroll application that pays both employees and contractors. It was developed specifically for small businesses to address industry-based needs.

Wave Payroll lets users pay for what they use and reduces the workload of payroll management and annual audits for businesses that need to handle workers’ compensation. It also saves companies from manual, time-consuming calculations. For these reasons, Wave Payroll is ideal for small businesses and freelancers.

Wave was founded in 2010 and has more than 500,000 customers.

Benefits

When companies use Wave Payroll, their employees update contact and banking details by accessing pay stubs and tax forms online. The software integrates with Wave’s accounting, invoicing, and payment applications, keeping records up to date.

Wave Payroll always updates its features to incorporate various financial assistance programs. These are in the areas such as small business aid, unemployment benefits, and tax relief. Such regular updates financially and strategically benefit freelancers and small businesses.

Wave Payroll is not only a software for employee payroll. Businesses can also utilize it to pay their independent contractors and file tax documents for them.

TimeTrex is an automated payroll processing software. Besides payroll, it also manages workforce scheduling and team attendance. Therefore, TimeTrex is the best payroll software for workforce management.

TimeTrex was founded in 2003 and currently has 100,000+ companies as its clients.

Benefits

TimeTrex eliminates the hassle of manual calculations and the chances of human errors with its automated payroll processing. It streamlines the workforce management by providing data consistently through software integrations.

TimeTrex’s compliance and management features minimize the risk of penalties and make the tax filing process easy. It also assists businesses in making better decisions with custom reports of payroll data.

Papaya Global Payroll is an international payroll platform focused on integration and compliance. It offers end-to-end support for all employment types, such as payroll, EoR, and contractors. Businesses can seamlessly switch between any of these and send employees payments with embedded payment platforms, making it the best software for global payroll.

Established in 2016, Papaya Global has 2000+ companies using its solution with a 99% customer retention rate.

Benefits

Papaya Global Payroll keeps companies updated on country-specific payroll laws and immediately alerts them of compliance issues. It holds SOC 1 Type 2 and SOC 2 Type 2 audit reports that demonstrate its capability of securing the ultra-sensitive data.

Papaya Global Payroll offers total visibility and control over the workforce’s spending. Its reports reveal all the hidden insights from payroll data to help organizations make better business decisions. Its real-time reports also allow them to access all location data from one place.

As a payroll solution for the global workforce, Papaya ensures full local compliance and liability for payroll process and execution.

PayFit is a smart payroll solution offering all the necessary payroll management tools. Its innovative products support the payroll needs of SMBs across Europe.

PayFit is also an HMRC-recognised software that handles FPS and EPS submissions, sends P11Ds and P11D(b)s, and supports Automated BACS for faster payments. Hence, PayFit is the right choice for European payroll.

PayFit began its journey in 2016 and has more than 10,000 companies as its clients.

Benefits

By using PayFit, companies can eliminate manual data entry, spreadsheets, and lengthy payroll processes. It also supports the integration of HR data from HiBob, BambooHR, and Personio for payroll.

PayFit also generates payroll reports that can be easily used on accounting applications like Xero, NetSuite, QuickBooks, and Sage. It even handles all RTI submissions on behalf of businesses to ease their process.

PayFit identifies which employees are eligible for pensions and sends enrollment letters on behalf of the company so that they do not have to do it manually.

BambooHR Payroll is an HRIS solution that streamlines an organization’s compensation process. It offers customizable workflows and self-service tools for admins and employee management. Customization is also available for onboarding and reports. Thus, BambooHR Payroll is an excellent choice for businesses looking for customization in payroll software.

Founded in 2008, BambooHR Payroll is headquartered in and has 3 million users.

Benefits

BambooHR Payroll automatically fetches all time-tracking, benefits, and time off data from one place. This feature eliminates the need for double data entry or manual approval.

BambooHR Payroll also implements security measures like advanced data encryption, SOC II audit, diverse data centers, and continuous monitoring. Thus, the sensitive business data remains safe and protected.

BambooHR Payroll supports 120+ payroll, ATS, LMS, benefits, performance, and time tracking software for integration, so businesses can use it with their favorite business tools.

KashFlow is a business software that simplifies the process of paying employees. KashFlow Payroll supports a large number of BACS (UK standard) file formats that can be downloaded and used in  banking software to pay employees automatically. For this reason, KashFlow is a must-have payroll software for UK-based businesses.

KashFlow was founded in 2005 in the UK.

Benefits

KashFlow smoothly integrates with KashFlow Bookkeeping software so that pay details can be trasferred into accounting books. This is ideal for financial reports like profit and loss accounts. It also saves the admin time by enabling every employee to access payslips and other data from anywhere, anytime.

KashFlow is a cloud-based software that stores data with the same security as online banks. It allows organizations to update employee records from anywhere with complete security.

Zoho Payroll offers several useful payroll features, such as online pay stubs, automatic payroll calculation, and on-time employee payment.

Zoho offers country-specific features for the US (track Forms 941, DE-9, and W-2) and India (Form 16 submission) while ensuring compliance with UAE labor laws. These features make Zoho Payroll the best payroll software for India, the US, and the UAE.

Benefits

Zoho Payroll calculates the tax once companies add the tax exemptions and withholdings. It allows organizations to migrate from other solutions even during the middle of the fiscal year. Zoho Payroll manages statutory compliance, including PF, PT, ESI, LWF, and IT. Thus, companies can keep their businesses safe from compliance penalties and easily file tax reports.

Zoho Payroll is integrated with Zoho Books, Zoho People, and Zoho Expense. It ensures contextual data flow between these applications for an integrated payroll ecosystem. It connects with banking solutions so companies can pay salaries on time without leaving the software interface.