Free payroll software: what's actually free, and what isn't

Here's the plain truth: almost no payroll service that deposits and files your payroll taxes for you is free. Moving money and filing federal and state returns every quarter costs the vendor real money, so they charge for it. What you can get free is software that calculates payroll while you file the taxes yourself, a free trial of a paid service, or a low-cost plan if you only pay contractors.

Short answer

Payroll4Free is the only truly free US payroll software we could verify: free if you pay 9 or fewer people no more than once a month, paid for by ads, and you deposit and file the taxes yourself. If you want the taxes handled, the lowest full-service prices we found are Zoho Payroll at $29 a month plus $5 per employee (annual billing, one state) and Square Payroll at $35 a month plus $6 per person. If you only pay 1099 contractors, Square charges $6 per person paid with no base fee.

Written by Rajat GuptaFact-checked by Chandrasmita

Prices and plan limits checked on each vendor's own website on September 25, 2026. Vendors change pricing often, so confirm on their site before you buy.

Sources we used

We rely on vendor documentation, pricing pages and other primary sources. We do not use G2 or Capterra ratings as ranking inputs.

Primary sources

Official vendor documentation, pricing pages, help centers, and release notes
Public analyst reports, market commentary, and relevant public filings
Practitioner discussions in communities such as Reddit

What we exclude

G2 and Capterra ratings as ranking inputs
Vendor-submitted claims that cannot be corroborated publicly
Anonymous summary statements presented as proof without a primary source behind them

Review standard

Material corrections can be submitted through the contact page. We update pages when a claim can be verified against a stronger source.

Read the full review methodology and sponsored disclosure.

Evidence used on this page

Payroll Software buyer's guide: The full category overview, evaluation criteria and tool list.
Best Payroll Software: Our ranked shortlist for the category.

Top pick for each situation

1. Truly free payroll, if you'll file the taxes yourself
Payroll4Free
2. Businesses that only pay 1099 contractors
Square Payroll (contractor-only)
3. Lowest full-service price, single state
Zoho Payroll
4. Businesses already keeping books in Wave
Wave Payroll
5. Employees in more than one state
OnPay

Free and low-cost payroll compared

The free column says which kind of free you get: truly free (no end date), a free trial, or no free option. US prices per month from each vendor's own site.

Tool	Price	Free plan or trial	Best for	Key limitation
Payroll4Free	$0 for 9 or fewer people paid no more than once a month. Optional paid tax filing and direct deposit services (prices not published)	Truly free: payroll runs, tax calculations, direct deposit through your own bank or paper checks, year-end forms	Very small employers paying monthly, with someone who knows the payroll tax calendar	You deposit and file payroll taxes yourself unless you buy its tax service; ads in the software; paying every two weeks puts you over the free limit
Square Payroll (contractor-only)	$6/mo per contractor paid, no base fee. Full-service plan: $35/mo + $6 per person	No free plan or trial listed	Owners paying a handful of contractors, especially current Square sellers	Contractor-only plan has no automated tax filing; W-2 employees need the $35 plan
Zoho Payroll	Standard $29/mo billed annually + $5 per employee ($39 + $6 monthly); multi-state Professional $49 + $7 annually	Free trial: 14 days	Employers with everyone in one state who can pay a year upfront	Standard is single-state only; employees in a second state mean Professional
Wave Payroll	$40/mo + $6 per employee + $6 per contractor paid (US)	Free trial: 30 days, starting with your first payroll run	Sole proprietors and small teams on Wave's free accounting plan	Tax service excludes 1099 filings
OnPay	$49/mo + $6 per worker	Free trial: first month free for new customers	Small employers with remote staff in several states	No free plan; the base fee is higher than Square or Zoho

The shortlist, ranked

Top pick for: Truly free payroll, if you'll file the taxes yourself

1. Payroll4Free

Payroll4Free is free as long as you pay 9 or fewer people no more than once a month. That covers payroll processing, tax calculations, direct deposit if you send it through your own bank (or paper checks), year-end tax forms for W-2 employees and 1099 contractors, vacation tracking and reporting. The company pays for it by selling small ads that show inside the software.

Read the limit carefully: no more than once a month. If you pay weekly or every two weeks, you don't qualify for the free service.

The free version doesn't deposit or file your payroll taxes. You do that yourself with the forms and tools it provides, or you pay for its optional Payroll Tax Service. Direct deposit through Payroll4Free's bank instead of your own is also a paid option. Neither price is on the website, so ask before you sign up.

Top pick for: Businesses that only pay 1099 contractors

2. Square Payroll (contractor-only)

It isn't free, but for a contractor-only business it's the closest thing. Square charges $6 a month for each person you pay, with no base fee.

Once you hire a W-2 employee you need the full-service plan at $35 a month plus $6 per person paid, which includes automated federal and state tax payments and filings. Square charges $3 per form if you want W-2s or 1099s mailed on paper.

Top pick for: Lowest full-service price, single state

3. Zoho Payroll

Zoho Payroll's Standard plan is $29 a month plus $5 per employee on annual billing, or $39 plus $6 month to month. It runs single-state payroll in any of the 50 states and pays and files federal, state and local taxes automatically.

Multi-state payroll needs Professional: $49 a month plus $7 per employee annually, or $59 plus $8.50 monthly. There's a 14-day free trial.

Top pick for: Businesses already keeping books in Wave

4. Wave Payroll

Wave's accounting is free; its payroll isn't. In the US it costs $40 a month plus $6 per active employee and $6 per contractor paid, and you can use it for up to 30 days after your first payroll run before paying.

Wave's tax service now covers all 50 states: it transfers your tax payments and files the paperwork with your state agency and the IRS. It excludes 1099 filings, so plan to file those yourself. The IRS's free IRIS portal handles that.

Read our Wave Payroll profile

Top pick for: Employees in more than one state

5. OnPay

OnPay costs $49 a month plus $6 per worker, and new customers get their first month free. Federal, state and local tax filings are included, and you can pay workers in as many states as you need.

That last point is why it's on this list. Zoho Payroll's Standard plan is single-state, and its multi-state plan costs more. If you have even one remote employee in another state, price OnPay against that upgrade.

Read our OnPay profile

Truly free, free trial or cheap: the three kinds of free payroll

Truly free means you can run payroll every pay period for $0 with no end date. Payroll4Free is the one US product we could verify. The trade is that you deposit and file the taxes yourself.

A free trial is a paid, full-service product you can use at no charge for a while: OnPay's first month, Wave's 30 days from your first payroll run and Zoho Payroll's 14 days. After that you pay a monthly base fee plus a per-person fee.

Cheap is where most small employers end up. Square's contractor-only plan costs $6 per person paid, and the full-service plans we checked start between $29 and $49 a month plus $5 to $6 per person. At that price the vendor takes over the filings.

What doing payroll taxes yourself involves

With a free tool that doesn't file taxes, the whole calendar is yours: federal income tax withholding and FICA deposits on the IRS schedule, a quarterly Form 941, an annual Form 940 for federal unemployment, W-2s to employees and the Social Security Administration, 1099-NECs to contractors, plus state withholding and unemployment returns. Our [payroll tax withholding](/glossary/payroll-tax-withholding) and [W-2 and 1099 filing](/glossary/w2-1099-filing) entries walk through each one.

The government's own tools cost nothing. EFTPS, run by the U.S. Treasury, lets you pay any tax due to the IRS free of charge, payroll deposits included. The IRS's IRIS Taxpayer Portal lets you e-file 1099s free, up to 100 returns at a time. Those two plus a free payroll calculator is a workable setup for one or two employees in a single state, if someone owns the calendar.

Payroll that comes with your accounting software

If you already pay for accounting software, price its payroll add-on before buying a separate tool. Xero Payroll, powered by Gusto, is $36 a month plus $6 per employee or contractor. FreshBooks Payroll is $40 a month plus $6 per person. QuickBooks sells payroll bundled with QuickBooks Online, starting at $88 a month plus $6.50 per employee with Simple Start, with 50% off the base price for the first three months. None of these is free.

If you're comparing larger providers such as [Gusto](/software/gusto), [ADP](/software/adp), [Paychex](/software/paychex), [Rippling](/software/rippling) and [Justworks](/software/justworks), start with our [best payroll software](/categories/payroll-software/best) ranking and check each vendor's current pricing.

Outside the US

In the UK, HMRC's Basic PAYE Tools is free payroll software for employers with fewer than 10 employees. It works out tax and National Insurance and sends the information to HMRC, and it runs on Windows, macOS and Linux. In Canada, Wave Payroll is available in every province and territory except Quebec, at $25 CAD a month plus $6 per employee and per contractor paid.

How to choose

Count your people and states first. Nine or fewer people paid monthly in one state, with someone who knows the filing calendar: Payroll4Free. Contractors only: Square's contractor plan. W-2 employees in one state: Zoho Payroll or Square's full-service plan. Employees in several states: OnPay. Already on Wave, Xero or FreshBooks: price their payroll add-on first.

Then put a number on your own time. Our [payroll software savings calculator](/calculators/payroll-software-savings) compares the hours spent on do-it-yourself payroll with a paid plan's monthly fee. For the difference between what employees earn and what lands in their account, see [gross pay vs net pay](/glossary/gross-pay-vs-net-pay).

Frequently asked questions

Is there any truly free payroll software?

Yes, but only if you file the taxes yourself. Payroll4Free is free for businesses paying 9 or fewer people no more than once a month. It calculates payroll and produces year-end forms, but depositing and filing payroll taxes is on you unless you buy its paid tax service.

Which free payroll software files taxes for you?

None that we could verify. Every service we checked that deposits and files payroll taxes charges for it, starting at $29 a month plus $5 per employee (Zoho Payroll, billed annually, one state) or $35 a month plus $6 per person (Square). Free trials from OnPay, Wave and Zoho let you test full-service payroll before you pay.

Can I pay contractors for free?

Not quite, but close. Square's contractor-only payroll costs $6 per person paid each month with no base fee. The 1099-NEC forms themselves can be e-filed free through the IRS IRIS Taxpayer Portal, up to 100 returns at a time.

Does QuickBooks have free payroll?

No. QuickBooks Payroll is sold as a bundle with QuickBooks Online, starting at $88 a month plus $6.50 per employee with Simple Start, and new customers get 50% off the base price for three months.

Is Wave payroll free?

No. Wave's accounting has a free plan, but Wave Payroll costs $40 a month plus $6 per employee and $6 per contractor paid in the US, after a 30-day free trial that starts with your first payroll run.

What is the risk of running payroll with a free tool?

The main risk is a late or missed tax deposit or filing, which is the employer's responsibility either way. Free tools calculate the numbers but leave deposits and filings to you, so put every due date on a calendar and reconcile your payroll tax liability accounts every month.