Payroll doesn’t have to be a headache. The right payroll software can turn it into a seamless process, freeing up your time and reducing stress. For businesses big and small, managing payroll accurately is crucial to keeping your team happy and ensuring tax compliance. Effective payroll services also play a key role in managing tax reporting, social security contributions, and employee benefits. In this guide, we’ll reveal the top payroll software for 2025. These powerful payroll management solutions simplify payroll processing, eliminate costly errors, and help you stay compliant. Whether you’re running a small business or a large enterprise, finding the right payroll software and services can save you time, reduce errors, and improve efficiency.
Ready to discover the perfect fit for your business? Keep reading to explore payroll solutions that make payday a breeze and help your business thrive by reducing administrative burdens, ensuring accurate, on-time payments, and simplifying payroll tax management.
What is Payroll Software?
Payroll software is a tool that automates the entire payroll process, from calculating wages to distributing payments to employees. This payroll management software handles various essential tasks, such as tax calculations, benefit deductions, and detailed payroll reporting. By using payroll software, businesses can reduce human error, stay compliant with tax regulations, and save valuable time on manual payroll tasks. With the right payroll solution, companies can ensure employees are paid accurately and on time, reducing stress for HR teams and business owners alike. Payroll software also provides easy access to payroll data, helping you track expenses and maintain organized records.
Top 10 Payroll Software: Pricing Comparison Chart
|
Payroll Software |
Pricing Model |
Estimated Cost |
| Deel | Pay-per-employee pricing | Flat rate user pricing, with a free version for businesses with up to 200 people |
| Rippling | Subscription-based, customized pricing | From $8/user/month (billed annually) |
| Paylocity | Pricing upon request | Starts around $2 to $5 per employee/month |
| Remote | Pay-per-employee pricing | From $50/user/month |
| RUN Powered by ADP | Pricing upon request | Starts at $19 per month, plus per-employee fee |
| Oyster HR | Subscription-based, pricing varies | Custom pricing based on team size and country |
| Paycor | Pricing upon request | Starts at $99/month, plus per-employee fee |
| Remofirst | Pay-per-employee pricing | Starts at $25 per employee/month |
| OnPay | Subscription-based, flat pricing | Starts at $6 per user |
| Paychex Flex | Subscription-based, based on features | Starts at $59 per month |
Best Payroll Software for 2025
Let’s take a look at the top payroll software options for 2025, designed to fit the needs of businesses of all sizes. These tools make payroll easier, more accurate, and ensure your business stays compliant.
1. Deel
Deel is a great choice for businesses with teams around the world. It helps companies manage payroll in over 150 countries and ensures compliance with local laws, making it perfect for international and remote workers. Deel makes global payroll easy by handling everything from payments to taxes, ensuring businesses stay efficient and compliant.
Key Features:
- Global Payroll Management: Deel lets you manage payroll for employees in multiple countries, ensuring everything is compliant with local rules and regulations. This feature makes it easy for businesses to scale globally without worrying about regional payroll differences.
- Tax Compliance: Deel handles tax filing and calculations in more than 150 countries, keeping your business compliant with tax laws worldwide and avoiding penalties. This ensures you never miss important tax deadlines or risk costly fines.
- Employee Management: Deel simplifies managing both contractors and full-time employees, offering a single platform for global workforce management. It makes managing cross-border teams more efficient, from payroll to benefits.
- Onboarding Tools: Deel provides easy tools to onboard new employees or contractors from around the world, ensuring smooth and compliant global hiring processes. This feature reduces the administrative burden of hiring across borders and ensures quick setup.
Best For: Deel is ideal for businesses with remote teams or employees in different countries. It helps manage global payroll, stay compliant with tax laws, and handle employee and contractor needs all in one platform. Whether you’re scaling your business globally or managing an established international team, Deel is a reliable payroll solution.
2. Rippling
Rippling simplifies global payroll by offering seamless integrations across HR, IT, and accounting systems. It provides a unified platform to manage payroll, employee data, and other HR functions. Whether you’re handling payroll for a few employees or managing a global team, Rippling ensures everything is streamlined and compliant. It also allows businesses to quickly onboard new hires and pay employees or contractors from anywhere with just a click.
Key Features:
- Payroll Management : Rippling helps businesses manage payroll for employees in different countries, making it ideal for companies with a global workforce. It ensures all payroll is processed accurately and in compliance with local laws, wherever your team is located.
- Automated Tax Filings: Rippling automates tax calculations and filings for both federal and local taxes, ensuring compliance with tax laws worldwide. This reduces the chances of errors and avoids penalties.
- Employee Onboarding: Rippling allows businesses to onboard new hires quickly and automatically. This feature makes it easy to handle everything from paperwork to payroll, streamlining the entire process.
- Employee Data: Rippling’s platform centralizes all employee data, which helps businesses automate administrative tasks like payroll processing and updating employee information, saving time and reducing errors.
Best For: Rippling is perfect for businesses that need a customizable payroll solution with powerful integrations and automated features. It’s especially useful for companies looking to manage payroll, employee data, and onboarding in one platform, simplifying the administrative workload and making it easier to scale operations.
3. Paylocity
Paylocity helps businesses automate payroll tax calculations and filings while ensuring compliance with tax regulations. It is a great option for businesses that need accuracy and efficiency in their payroll processes.
Key Features:
- Automated Tax Calculations: Paylocity’s automation takes care of tax calculations, eliminating the need for manual input and reducing errors. It helps ensure compliance with federal, state, and local tax requirements for all employees.
- Payroll Tax Filing and Reporting: With automated tax filing, Paylocity simplifies the process of submitting payroll taxes on time, ensuring you never miss a deadline. Detailed reporting also helps you keep track of your tax liabilities.
- Employee Self-Service Portal: Paylocity offers an employee self-service portal where employees can view and download their pay stubs, tax documents, and benefits information at any time. This empowers employees to manage their payroll data without needing HR intervention.
Best For: Small to mid-sized businesses that want to streamline payroll processes while ensuring tax compliance. It’s ideal for businesses looking to automate their payroll tax tasks and improve accuracy and efficiency. Paylocity’s reporting and analytics also allow you to easily track payroll expenses and assess tax liabilities, helping you make more informed decisions about your business’s financial health.
4. Remote
Remote is an excellent platform for managing payroll for international teams. It’s built to simplify the complexities of global payroll and ensures businesses stay compliant with local tax laws across different regions.
Key Features:
- Payroll for Remote Teams: Remote allows businesses to manage payroll for employees in over 60 countries, ensuring compliance with local regulations in each country. This feature is ideal for businesses with global teams or freelancers.
- Benefits Administration: Manage and streamline employee benefits such as health insurance, retirement plans, and paid time off (PTO) with Remote’s benefits administration tools, ensuring employees receive the right coverage.
- Local Tax Compliance: Remote ensures your business complies with the local tax laws in each region, handling all tax filings and reporting as required by the specific country.
Best For: Global companies with remote teams or international employees. Remote is ideal for companies that need a compliant payroll solution across multiple countries, offering simplicity and peace of mind. Remote also offers a comprehensive onboarding process that helps businesses hire employees from anywhere in the world, making it easier to scale their teams globally.
5. RUN Powered by ADP
RUN Powered by ADP provides small businesses with a straightforward, user-friendly payroll solution. It’s designed to take the complexity out of payroll, offering essential features that are easy to navigate.
Key Features:
- Employee Payment Processing: RUN ensures timely employee payments by automating payroll processing. Whether it’s salaried or hourly workers, the system ensures everyone is paid on time, every time.
- Tax Filing and Compliance: Stay compliant with federal and state tax requirements through automatic tax filings and the generation of necessary reports. ADP ensures that taxes are filed correctly, reducing the risk of costly mistakes.
- Mobile Payroll Access: Process payroll from anywhere using the mobile app, allowing business owners to handle payroll tasks on the go.
Best For: Small businesses looking for an easy-to-use payroll solution that takes care of tax filing, employee payment processing, and ensures compliance without requiring in-depth payroll knowledge. RUN also offers HR tools that integrate with payroll, allowing business owners to manage their workforce efficiently in one place, from hiring to retirement.
6. Oyster HR
Oyster HR is designed for companies hiring employees internationally. It simplifies the entire payroll process by handling everything from payroll processing to tax compliance, making it ideal for global businesses.
Key Features:
- Global Payroll Processing: With Oyster, you can manage payroll in 180+ countries, ensuring employees are paid accurately and on time, no matter where they are located.
- Benefits Administration: Manage your employees’ benefits (e.g., health insurance, retirement plans) through Oyster’s integrated platform, making it easy to stay compliant with local regulations.
- Onboarding and Contract Management: Simplify onboarding and contract management for international hires. Oyster ensures all your employees, regardless of location, are onboarded seamlessly.
Best For: Companies with international teams or businesses hiring employees in multiple countries. Oyster is a great fit for businesses that need to handle complex global payroll and tax compliance. Oyster’s local knowledge of employment laws and tax regulations in over 180 countries helps mitigate risks associated with non-compliance, ensuring that businesses meet all local requirements.
7. Paycor
Paycor helps businesses automate their payroll systems, reducing manual errors and improving efficiency. With Paycor, payroll becomes an easier and more accurate process, even for complex payroll tasks.
Key Features:
- Payroll Automation: Paycor offers automated payroll systems that handle everything from tax calculations to deductions, improving accuracy and minimizing manual intervention.
- Tax Compliance: Paycor ensures that your payroll is always in line with federal and state tax laws, automating the filing of taxes and creating necessary reports for your records.
- Time and Attendance Tracking: Integrate your time-tracking system with payroll to ensure accurate payroll calculations based on actual hours worked, eliminating discrepancies in employee pay.
Best For: Medium to large businesses that want to automate payroll processes while ensuring compliance with tax laws. Ideal for businesses that need efficiency and accuracy without manual intervention. Paycor also includes features for HR management, making it a one-stop solution for managing employee data, payroll, and compliance all in one platform.
8. Remofirst
Remofirst helps businesses scale their operations by providing payroll solutions for teams in over 170 countries. It handles local tax regulations and supports multiple currencies, ensuring that payroll is accurate and compliant no matter where your employees are located.
Key Features:
- Global Payroll Management: With Remofirst, you can manage payroll for international teams, ensuring compliance with local tax regulations in over 170 countries.
- Local Tax Compliance: Remofirst automatically ensures that payroll is compliant with local tax laws and tax filings are accurate to avoid costly penalties.
- Multi-Currency Payroll: Pay employees in their preferred currency by using Remofirst’s multi-currency payroll system, making global payroll processing seamless.
Best For: Global teams needing a scalable payroll solution that is adaptable to changing business needs. Ideal for companies with employees in multiple countries requiring local tax compliance and multi-currency processing. Remofirst’s ability to manage complex international payroll and handle multi-currency payments makes it an excellent option for global enterprises.
9. OnPay
OnPay offers payroll solutions tailored to the unique needs of niche industries such as agriculture and non-profits. It provides industry-specific features that streamline payroll and tax compliance.
Key Features:
- Industry-Specific Payroll Tools: OnPay provides customized tools for industries like agriculture and non-profits, allowing businesses to tailor payroll features to their specific needs.
- Tax Filings and Compliance: Automatically calculate and file taxes to remain in compliance with federal, state, and local tax laws specific to your industry.
- Employee Benefits Management: Easily manage employee benefits, including health insurance and retirement plans, which is critical for industry-specific payroll needs.
Best For: Niche industries such as agriculture, nonprofits, and retail that require specialized payroll solutions. Perfect for businesses looking for customized payroll tools and tax compliance tailored to their industry. OnPay’s industry-specific features streamline payroll processes and reduce errors, allowing businesses to save time and focus on other key tasks.
10. Paychex Flex
Paychex Flex offers payroll solutions that can be customized to meet the needs of any business, whether small, medium, or large. It adapts to your growing business and ensures payroll is handled smoothly.
Key Features:
- Customizable Payroll Options: With Paychex Flex, you can customize payroll features based on your business’s specific needs, from tax filing to employee payments.
- HR and Benefits Management: Manage your workforce more effectively with HR tools that help with hiring, benefits administration, and compliance.
- Tax Filing and Compliance: Automate tax filings to ensure compliance with tax laws, including state, local, and federal tax filings, to avoid fines or penalties.
Best For: Businesses of all sizes that need a flexible payroll solution with customizable options for different business needs, along with HR tools and tax filing automation. Paychex Flex also integrates with other HR software, providing a comprehensive solution for businesses looking to manage their payroll, HR, and employee benefits in one place.
Features of Payroll Software
Payroll software solutions vary in features, but most offer a set of core functionalities that simplify payroll tasks and improve accuracy. Here are the key payroll features you should look for when choosing the right payroll software:
- Automated Payroll Processing: Payroll software automatically calculates employee salaries, bonuses, and deductions, reducing the risk of human error. This feature saves businesses valuable time by eliminating manual calculations and ensuring accurate paychecks.
- Tax Calculations and Payroll Tax Filing: Accurately calculates federal, state, and local taxes and ensures timely payroll tax filing, reducing the risk of tax penalties. This feature helps businesses stay compliant with tax laws and minimizes the administrative burden.
- Employee Self-Service Portal: Provides employees with easy access to their pay stubs, tax documents, and benefits information, promoting transparency and reducing HR workload. This feature empowers employees to manage their payroll-related queries independently.
- Time and Attendance Tracking: Integrates with time-tracking systems to accurately record employee hours worked, improving payroll accuracy. By syncing time data directly with payroll calculations, this feature reduces discrepancies and ensures employees are paid correctly.
- Benefits Administration: Manages employee benefits such as healthcare, retirement plans, and paid time off (PTO), streamlining benefits enrollment and administration. This feature makes it easier for HR teams to track and manage employee benefits in one place.
- Reporting and Analytics: Provides detailed reports on payroll expenses, tax liabilities, and compliance, giving businesses valuable insights into their payroll data. This feature helps with budgeting, audits, and strategic planning, ensuring full financial transparency.
Trends In Payroll Software for 2025
As technology advances, payroll software is evolving to meet new demands. In 2025, expect major updates that will change how businesses handle payroll management. From enhanced payroll automation to stronger payroll security, these innovations will make payroll more efficient and reliable. Here are the top payroll trends for 2025 you should watch for:
- AI and Automation: Artificial Intelligence will automate even more payroll functions, making the entire process faster, more accurate, and efficient. With AI-driven payroll, businesses can reduce manual data entry, improve payroll accuracy, and streamline tax calculations.
- Global Payroll: As businesses expand internationally, payroll software will increasingly support multi-country payroll processing and ensure compliance with varying local regulations. This feature will help global companies simplify cross-border payroll management and manage taxes seamlessly.
- Integration with Other HR Functions: Payroll software will continue to integrate smoothly with HR, accounting, and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, creating a unified platform. This trend will allow businesses to manage employee data, time tracking, benefits, and payroll from a single interface, improving overall efficiency.
- Blockchain Technology: Blockchain could be used to enhance payroll security and transparency. By storing payroll records in a decentralized ledger, blockchain can ensure that payments and transactions are secure, reducing fraud and increasing trust in the payroll process.
- Employee Experience Enhancements: Payroll software will focus more on improving the overall employee experience with self-service tools, mobile apps, and more personalized services. With better access to payroll information, employees will feel more empowered and engaged with their compensation process.
Benefits of Payroll Software
Using payroll software provides a wide range of benefits that can streamline your payroll process, improve accuracy, and save valuable time. Here are some of the top payroll software benefits for businesses:
- Time and Cost Savings: Automating payroll processes reduces manual input, saving your team significant time. By eliminating tedious tasks like data entry and calculations, payroll software allows businesses to allocate resources more effectively and improve overall efficiency.
- Accuracy: Payroll software minimizes human errors in tax calculations, deductions, and payments, ensuring your employees are paid correctly. This high level of accuracy reduces the risk of costly mistakes and ensures smooth payroll operations.
- Compliance: Staying compliant with ever-changing tax laws is crucial. Payroll solutions help businesses meet federal, state, and local tax requirements, ensuring timely tax filing and avoiding penalties or audits. This feature is particularly important for payroll compliance in small and large businesses.
- Employee Satisfaction: Ensuring employees are paid accurately and on time leads to higher job satisfaction. A reliable payroll system boosts morale, enhances trust, and improves employee retention by eliminating payroll issues and delays.
- Scalability: As your business grows, so do your payroll needs. Payroll software can scale with your company, handling larger teams and complex payroll tasks as your business expands. This scalability ensures that your payroll system evolves with your company’s changing requirements.
- Enhanced Security: Payroll software offers better security compared to traditional methods. Sensitive employee information, including pay rates and tax details, is stored securely, reducing the risk of data breaches and unauthorized access. This is especially important in safeguarding confidential business and employee data.
- Streamlined Reporting and Analytics: Payroll software allows businesses to generate detailed reports on payroll expenses, tax liabilities, and compliance. These insights help with budgeting, audits, and strategic decision-making, offering better control over financial planning and payroll management.
Selection Criteria for Payroll Software
Choosing the right payroll software is crucial for simplifying payroll tasks and ensuring compliance. To find the best payroll software for businesses, consider these key selection criteria to ensure the solution meets your company’s unique needs:
- Business Size: Ensure the software is suitable for your company’s current size and scalable for future growth. Whether you’re a small startup or a growing enterprise, the right payroll software should adapt as your business expands.
- Global Reach: If your business operates internationally, choose payroll software that supports global payroll and complies with local tax laws and regulations. This feature is essential for businesses with teams in multiple countries, ensuring accurate payroll management worldwide.
- Ease of Use: Opt for payroll software with an intuitive interface and minimal learning curve, so your HR and payroll teams can start using it quickly. Software that’s easy to navigate saves time on training and helps ensure smooth payroll operations.
- Integration Capabilities: Make sure the software integrates seamlessly with your existing HR, accounting, and time-tracking systems. This feature allows for smooth data flow across platforms, reducing errors and saving time on manual data entry.
- Customer Support: Strong customer support is essential, especially when dealing with complex payroll issues. Choose a provider that offers timely, knowledgeable support to resolve any issues or questions you may encounter.
Costs and Pricing Models for Payroll Software
Payroll software costs can vary significantly based on your business size, required features, and the software provider. Choosing the right payroll solution involves understanding the different pricing models available, which can help you select the best option that fits your budget and business needs. Here are the common payroll software pricing models to consider:
| Pricing Model | Description | Best For |
| Subscription-Based Pricing | Many payroll software providers charge a monthly or annual subscription fee, typically based on the number of employees. | Businesses of all sizes that prefer predictable pricing and budgeting. |
| Per Employee, Per Month | Some platforms charge a fixed fee for each employee every month, allowing businesses to scale easily as their workforce grows or shrinks. | Companies with fluctuating workforces or seasonal staffing needs. |
| Add-on Services | Additional services like tax filing, benefits management, or advanced reporting may be offered at an extra cost. | Businesses that need specialized features or customizable options. |
| Free Trials | Many payroll software providers offer free trials, enabling businesses to test the software before committing to a paid plan. | Small businesses or startups that want to try before they buy. |
Example Cost Breakdown:
- Small Business: Starts at $25–$100 per month, plus per-employee fees.
- Mid-size to Enterprise: Can range from $200 to $1,000 per month depending on features.
Conclusion
Choosing the right payroll services and software is essential for ensuring timely, accurate, and compliant payroll management. Whether you’re handling payroll for a small business or managing a global workforce, the payroll solutions mentioned above provide flexible options designed to meet various business needs. By automating payroll processing, you can minimize manual errors, maintain tax compliance, and save valuable time, allowing you to focus on other important aspects of your business. Invest in the right payroll solution to streamline your payroll tasks, improve efficiency, and ensure accurate tax filings, no matter the size of your team or the complexity of your payroll needs.
When choosing the best payroll software for your business, consider your specific needs, such as global payroll support, tax filing automation, and employee self-service options. With the right solution, you can scale your business without worrying about payroll complexities. Contact Us today and explore the top payroll software options to simplify your payroll management and stay compliant. Choose a solution that works for you and watch your payroll processes become faster, easier, and more efficient.
FAQs about Payroll Software
Who uses payroll software?
Payroll software is used by businesses of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises. It is essential for HR professionals, payroll managers, business owners, and companies with remote or global teams. Payroll solutions help automate the process of calculating wages, taxes, and benefits, saving time and ensuring compliance. Whether managing a local or international workforce, payroll software reduces errors and ensures timely, accurate payroll processing.
What integrations are the most important for payroll software?
The most important payroll software integrations include HR management systems, accounting software, time-tracking tools, and benefits administration platforms. Popular integrations are with tools like QuickBooks, Xero, Google Workspace, and Slack. These integrations streamline the payroll process by syncing data seamlessly across various business platforms, reducing the need for manual input and improving accuracy.
What data security features are included in payroll software?
Data security is a top priority for payroll software solutions. Features like data encryption, secure cloud storage, and multi-factor authentication protect sensitive employee and company information. Additionally, many payroll providers comply with regulations like GDPR and other data protection laws, ensuring that your business and employee data remain secure and confidential.
What is the best payroll software for small businesses?
The best payroll software for small businesses is affordable, easy to use, and offers essential features like automated tax filing, direct deposit, and compliance management. Solutions such as RUN Powered by ADP, Gusto, and OnPay are top-rated for small businesses. They are user-friendly, cost-effective, and provide automated payroll processing to ensure that your team gets paid accurately and on time.
Can payroll software help with tax compliance?
Yes, payroll software plays a vital role in ensuring tax compliance. It automates tax calculations, manages tax filings, and ensures your business adheres to local tax laws. Most payroll solutions update tax rates automatically to stay current with tax regulations, reducing the risk of errors and penalties.
How much does payroll software cost?
The cost of payroll software varies based on the features you need and the size of your business. For small businesses, the price typically ranges from $20 to $150 per month. More advanced solutions with additional features like global payroll or multi-currency payroll can cost more. Custom pricing is often available for larger organizations or those with specific payroll needs.
Can payroll software handle multiple currencies for global teams?
Yes, many modern payroll systems support multi-currency payroll to facilitate payments for global teams. With global payroll software, businesses can pay employees in their local currencies, ensure tax compliance in different countries, and manage international payroll efficiently. This feature is ideal for businesses with remote employees or operations across multiple regions.
