Best Payroll Software for a 5-Person Small Business

A five-person business does not need enterprise payroll. It does need tax filings to be correct, direct deposits to arrive, employees to retrieve their own forms and a human to answer when a state notice appears. That is the line between a cheap plan and a cheap-looking plan.

This comparison uses US list prices checked October 4, 2026, for five paid W-2 employees in one state. Introductory discounts and add-ons are excluded.

What five employees cost each month

The spread from first to fifth is $18 a month, or $216 a year. That is small enough that the wrong workflow can erase the saving in a single afternoon.

Patriot is the value winner

Patriot Full Service includes federal, state and local tax filings, year-end forms, unlimited payrolls and a filing guarantee at $37 plus $5 per worker. The first state is included; each additional state adds $12 a month. For a stable five-person team in one state, the math is difficult to beat.

The tradeoff is ecosystem depth. Patriot covers payroll well, but a buyer seeking a broader benefits marketplace, sophisticated onboarding or a large accountant network may find more leverage elsewhere.

Square wins inside a Square business

Square Payroll is only $3 more than Patriot for five people. It includes unlimited runs, federal and state filings, multi-state payroll, timecard imports, tips, commissions and a team app. For a cafe, salon or retailer already using Square, removing manual timecard and tip entry is worth far more than three dollars.

A professional firm without Square POS gets less from that integration advantage. It can still use Square Payroll, but it should compare support, benefits and accounting sync instead.

Gusto is the polished all-rounder

Gusto Simple costs $79 for five people and combines payroll with self-onboarding, tax forms, basic PTO and an employee portal. The interface and guided workflow are its strongest advantages. Owners in user discussions repeatedly describe routine payroll as something that “just works.”

Simple is a single-state plan. A distributed team must price Gusto Plus at $140 a month for five people, not compare against the $79 headline.

OnPay is stronger than its identical price suggests

OnPay also costs $79, but Payroll Essentials includes multi-state payroll without an extra state fee, unlimited runs, W-2 and 1099 workers, automatic filings and migration assistance. That makes it a better published-price deal than Gusto Simple for a five-person team spread across states.

Gusto has the more developed employee-facing brand and benefits ecosystem. OnPay’s case is operational breadth at the base price.

QuickBooks charges for staying in one system

QuickBooks Core is the most expensive public entry plan in this group by only one dollar over Gusto and OnPay. Its value is native accounting. If payroll journals, liabilities and reports land correctly without an integration, the owner and accountant may save more than $18 a month.

Do not choose it merely because QuickBooks is familiar. Choose it when the accounting connection removes actual work.

Use these four questions before buying

1. Who files every tax jurisdiction?Confirm federal, state and local filings, not just calculations.
2. How many states will exist next year?A remote hire can change the cheapest plan overnight.
3. Where do hours and tips originate?The best integration may be more valuable than the lowest fee.
4. Who answers a tax notice?Ask about correction ownership, response channel and penalty protection.

Frequently asked questions