Gusto vs OnPay vs QuickBooks Payroll: Best Payroll Software for a Small Business
Payroll is one of the few small-business back-office tasks where getting it wrong has real consequences — a missed tax filing or a botched direct deposit isn’t just annoying, it’s a compliance problem. All three tools here handle the core job (running payroll, filing payroll taxes automatically) reliably; the real differences are pricing structure, how much HR/benefits functionality is bundled in, and whether you’re already inside an ecosystem (like QuickBooks accounting) that makes one an obvious fit.
Quick take
- Already use QuickBooks Online for accounting and want native integration: QuickBooks Payroll
- Want the simplest single-tier pricing with multi-state and HR features included, no upsell tiers: OnPay
- Want the most polished self-service app for employees and don’t mind paying more as you add HR features: Gusto
The three options
Gusto is built around a clean employee-facing experience and tiered plans that add HR functionality as you pay more. As of 2026: Simple at $49/month + $6/employee/month (single-state payroll, basic onboarding), Plus at $80/month + $12/employee/month (multi-state payroll, time tracking, scheduling, next-day direct deposit), and Premium at $180/month + $22/employee/month (dedicated HR support, compliance alerts). Gusto raised the Simple plan’s base fee from $40 to $49 in March 2026, so treat older reviews citing $40 as outdated. It also offers a Contractor Only plan at $6/contractor/month with no base fee for businesses with no W-2 employees. Gusto’s strength is UX — employee self-onboarding, a well-reviewed mobile app, benefits administration (health insurance, 401(k)) available as an add-on — at the cost of the highest price for full HR functionality (Premium tier).
OnPay takes the opposite approach: one plan, $49/month base + $6/employee/month, with multi-state payroll, HR tools, and benefits administration included at that single price — no upsell tier required to unlock features Gusto or QuickBooks gate behind their higher tiers. This is OnPay’s real differentiator for a small business: you’re not choosing between “cheap but limited” and “full-featured but expensive,” you get the full feature set at the base price regardless of employee count or state complexity. The trade-off is a smaller, less polished ecosystem than Gusto or QuickBooks — fewer third-party integrations, a plainer interface — for a business that mainly wants payroll to just work without tier-shopping.
QuickBooks Payroll is the obvious pick if you already run QuickBooks Online for accounting, since payroll data flows directly into your books without manual reconciliation. Current tiers: Core at $50/month + $6/employee/month (automatic payroll, tax filing, direct deposit), Premium at $85/month + $9/employee/month (adds same-day direct deposit, time tracking, workers’ comp administration, HR support), and Elite at $130/month + $11/employee/month (personalized setup, HR advisory, tax penalty protection). Intuit raised QuickBooks Payroll prices 15-20% in July 2025, and those higher rates carry into 2026 — some third-party trackers still cite slightly different Premium/Elite figures (around $88 and $134 respectively), which suggests either regional pricing variance or trackers not yet reflecting the most recent change; verify the live number before quoting one externally. For a business not already on QuickBooks accounting, there’s little reason to pick this over Gusto or OnPay — the integration is the entire value proposition.
Cost and features compared (2026)
| Gusto | OnPay | QuickBooks Payroll | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $49/mo + $6/employee (Simple) | $49/mo + $6/employee (only plan) | $50/mo + $6/employee (Core) |
| Top tier | $180/mo + $22/employee (Premium) | Same price, all features included | $130/mo + $11/employee (Elite) |
| Multi-state payroll | Plus tier and up | Included at base price | Available all tiers |
| HR support | Premium tier only | Included at base price | Premium tier and up |
| Accounting integration | QuickBooks, Xero (via sync) | QuickBooks, Xero (via sync) | Native (QuickBooks Online) |
| Best for | Best employee-facing UX, willing to pay for HR tier | Simplest pricing, full features without upselling | Already on QuickBooks Online accounting |
Which one fits your setup
If your books already live in QuickBooks Online, the native integration in QuickBooks Payroll removes a real amount of manual reconciliation work that both Gusto and OnPay require via a sync connector instead — that alone usually outweighs the per-tier pricing difference. Not on QuickBooks yet? See Invoice Ninja vs Wave vs QuickBooks Simple Start for the accounting-platform decision first. If you’re not locked into an accounting platform and want to avoid the “pay more to unlock multi-state or HR support” pattern both Gusto and QuickBooks use, OnPay’s single-tier pricing is the more transparent choice, particularly for a business with employees across multiple states from day one. Gusto is worth the premium if the employee-facing app and onboarding experience matter to you specifically — it’s consistently the best-reviewed on that front — and you’re planning to eventually want the HR/benefits features that come bundled at its higher tiers anyway.
Which one should you actually pick?
- Already run QuickBooks Online for accounting: QuickBooks Payroll, for the native sync alone.
- Want one price, full features, no tier-shopping: OnPay.
- Want the best employee self-service experience and plan to grow into HR features: Gusto.
Payroll software referral placeholder — swap for a real Gusto/OnPay/QuickBooks affiliate or partner link once a program is confirmed, per CMT-54’s monetization decision.
Bottom line
All three file payroll taxes correctly and pay employees on time — the real decision is pricing structure and ecosystem fit. QuickBooks Payroll makes sense almost by default if you’re already on QuickBooks Online accounting. OnPay is the most transparent pricing model, with no feature-gating by tier. Gusto costs more at the top end but has the best-reviewed employee experience and the most complete HR/benefits stack once you’re paying for it.
Sources
- Gusto pricing — official page blocks automated fetch (403); figures corroborated across 8+ independent 2026 trackers, including confirmation of the March 2026 Simple-plan increase from $40 to $49
- OnPay pricing — official — fetched directly, base fee and per-employee rate confirmed verbatim
- QuickBooks Payroll pricing — corroborated across multiple 2026 trackers; some variance in Premium/Elite figures noted and flagged in the article rather than resolved to one number