Payroll Costs: Common Questions Answered (2026)

Quick answer

For a very small business, a payroll service usually charges a fixed monthly base fee plus a fee for each person paid. As of October 6, 2026, the entry-level plans on providers' own pricing pages run from $17 a month plus $4 per employee up to $88 a month plus $6.50 per employee. For one to five employees, that works out to about $21 to $121 a month. Higher tiers reach $203 a month plus $10 per employee, and ADP does not publish payroll prices at all.

The subscription is only part of the cost. Before the first paycheck, a business needs an Employer Identification Number (EIN). After the first paycheck, it carries employer taxes, state rules and recordkeeping that no plan price includes.

How is payroll pricing structured?

Each provider below that publishes a price charges a monthly base fee plus a fee for each person on payroll. To compare plans, look at both numbers, not just the headline figure. For a one-person payroll, the base fee dominates. At five people, the per-person fee starts to matter.

Add-ons are the third number to check. Multi-state payroll and household payroll are priced separately at some providers. Employer payroll taxes are a separate cost, and no subscription price includes them.

What does each provider charge?

The providers are listed alphabetically, not ranked. All prices are as of October 6, 2026, taken from each provider's own pricing page.

ADP does not publish payroll pricing and quotes each business individually. Its small business product, RUN Powered by ADP, is built for businesses with 1 to 49 employees. Any ADP payroll price on a third-party site is an estimate, not ADP's figure.

Gusto has three tiers: Simple at $49 a month plus $6 per person, Plus at $80 plus $12, and Premium at $180 plus $22. The per-person fee doubles on Plus and nearly quadruples on Premium. That makes the tier choice a bigger cost decision than the base fees suggest.

OnPay lists one price: $49 a month plus $6 per worker. Its public page quotes a starting price of $55 a month. That figure is the base fee plus one worker, not a cheaper plan.

Patriot Software sells two tiers. Basic Payroll is $17 a month plus $4 per employee, and Full Service is $37 plus $5. Check which tax filings each tier covers before choosing the cheaper one.

QuickBooks Payroll pairs payroll with a QuickBooks accounting plan. Workforce Payroll with Simple Start costs $88 a month plus $6.50 per employee, the version with Essentials costs $125 plus $6.50, and Workforce Premium with Plus costs $203 plus $10. QuickBooks also offers a promotional rate of 50% off the base fee for three months, which is temporary.

SurePayroll starts at $29 a month plus $7 per worker. Multi-state payroll is a $9.99 monthly add-on, and household payroll starts at $39 a month. Compared with a plan charging $49 a month plus $6 per person, the higher per-worker fee only catches up at around 20 workers, so for a very small team the lower base fee wins.

ZenBusiness does not run payroll, and no ZenBusiness plan price includes payroll. It appears here because it handles the steps payroll depends on and refers payroll to ADP, as explained below. Payroll itself is ADP's service, quoted by ADP for each business.

ZenBusiness's formation plans start with Starter at $0 plus state fees. Pro is $199 and Premium is $299, and both renew at their annual prices. A registered agent is $199 a year, Money Pro bookkeeping is $30 a month, and a website is $129 a year. The EIN is included from Pro up and costs $99 on Starter.

What would one, three or five employees cost each month?

The table below combines each published base fee and per-person fee. Providers appear in alphabetical order, not ranked. Figures exclude employer taxes and add-ons, and QuickBooks is shown at its ongoing price.

The ZenBusiness row shows what ZenBusiness itself sells. Payroll is ADP's service, quoted by ADP for each business, and is not included in any ZenBusiness plan price. All other figures are illustrations built from published prices as of October 6, 2026, and a real bill can differ once add-ons and state requirements are included.

Is the QuickBooks promotional price what a business will pay?

Only for the first three months. The promotion halves the base fee for that period, and then the base fee returns to the full published amount. The per-employee fee is not part of that discount. Budget for the ongoing price, because that is the one that lasts.

How do you get a price from ADP?

Ask for a quote. ADP prices each business individually based on details such as headcount and pay schedule. When a quote arrives, ask how much is the base fee and how much is per employee, and which tax filings and year-end forms are included. That makes the quote comparable to the published prices above.

What do you need to pay for before the first payroll run?

An EIN comes first. As ZenBusiness puts it on its ADP payroll partnership page, you cannot run payroll without an EIN. The IRS issues EINs directly and explains how to apply on its "Get an Employer Identification Number" page. ZenBusiness offers the EIN as a service for $99 on its Starter plan and includes it from Pro up.

The EIN also unlocks the other early steps. ZenBusiness's own EIN page connects it to hiring employees, opening a business bank account and filing taxes. IRS Publication 583, Starting a Business and Keeping Records, recommends opening a business checking account early. Money that moves through a personal account makes payroll harder to reconcile and harder to defend later.

For anyone who has not yet formed the business, this sequence is where the real cost of payroll starts. The order is entity, then EIN, then bank account, then payroll. State formation fees are set by each state, vary, and are separate from any service's price.

How does payroll through ZenBusiness work?

ZenBusiness recommends RUN Powered by ADP, built for businesses with 1 to 49 employees. A ZenBusiness customer requests the connection from the ZenBusiness dashboard. An ADP representative then follows up to discuss employee count and pay schedule, and ADP provides the quote.

The scope is a referral, not a built-in feature. ADP is a separate service with its own platform, billing and support, and day-to-day payroll, tax filings and management all happen in ADP's system. The ZenBusiness dashboard is where the connection is requested, not where payroll runs.

A ZenBusiness customer may be eligible for promotional pricing from ADP. Eligibility is not guaranteed, offers vary, and any offer is confirmed in the consultation. Offers generally exclude state filing fees and add-ons. The appeal is one place to set up and run the business, with a partner handling payroll.

What paperwork comes with each new hire?

The IRS "Hiring Employees" page sets out the basics. Form I-9 applies to everyone: "All U.S. employers must properly complete Form I-9 for every individual they hire for employment in the United States." New employees should give the employer a signed Form W-4 when they start, effective with the first wage payment. The employer also needs each employee's name and Social Security number for Form W-2.

A W-4 stays in effect until the employee submits a new one. When a replacement arrives, the new withholding has to begin no later than the start of the first payroll period ending on or after the 30th day after the employer receives it. A payroll service can collect and store these forms, but the obligation stays with the employer.

What does misclassifying a worker cost?

Potentially far more than any subscription. Under IRS guidance on independent contractors and employees, an employer who treats an employee as a contractor without a reasonable basis "may be held liable for employment taxes for that worker." Calling someone a contractor in a contract does not settle the question.

The IRS looks at three categories: behavioral control, financial control and the type of relationship. In the IRS's words, "There is no 'magic' or set number of factors that 'makes' the worker an employee or an independent contractor and no one factor stands alone in making this determination." Form SS-8 asks the IRS to decide a worker's status, but the IRS warns that "it may take at least six months to receive a determination on your filing."

Do S corporation owners have to run payroll for themselves?

If you own an S corporation and work in it, yes. The IRS guidance on S corporation compensation says that "S corporations must pay reasonable compensation to a shareholder-employee in return for services that the employee provides to the corporation before non-wage distributions may be made." The IRS can also reclassify distributions as wages.

That puts the owner on payroll as a person to be paid. It adds the per-person fee and the employer taxes on that wage to the monthly cost.

Does pay frequency change what payroll costs?

It can. State law sets the minimum pay frequency, and the rules vary widely. The U.S. Department of Labor's State Payday Requirements page shows that California requires pay at least twice per calendar month on days designated in advance. Colorado requires monthly pay, and Connecticut requires weekly pay unless the labor commissioner approves a longer interval.

More pay runs mean more processing time and more chances for error. Check whether a plan charges per run before settling on a schedule. The DOL itself notes that individuals "should consult the relevant state labor office for official information."

Are payroll taxes and workers' compensation included in these prices?

No. Employer payroll taxes are a separate cost from the subscription. A full-service plan may calculate, file and pay them on the employer's behalf, but the taxes themselves are still the employer's cost. This page does not state current rates or wage bases, so ask any provider which filings it handles and which remain the employer's job.

Workers' compensation is set by state law and differs sharply from state to state. Check the requirements with your state's own agency. The U.S. Small Business Administration also publishes a "Hire and Manage Employees" guide, but for workers' compensation, state rules decide.

How long do payroll records have to be kept?

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, payroll records must be kept for three years. The records that wage calculations are based on, including time cards and wage rate tables, must be kept for two years. The DOL sets this out in Fact Sheet #21. Storage is cheap, but rebuilding missing records during an audit is not.

Which option costs least for a very small business?

If the only question is the lowest monthly software bill, Patriot Software's Basic Payroll has the lowest published price on this page. For an established business with an EIN, a bank account and clean books, that is a fair place to start comparing.

Many very small businesses are not there yet. If the business is not yet formed, has no EIN, or runs money through a personal account, the cheapest path is the one that avoids redoing the setup. That means forming the business and getting the EIN first, then choosing payroll. ZenBusiness handles those first steps and refers payroll to ADP, which quotes each business separately.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or accounting advice, and payroll requirements vary by state and change over time.