Best Payroll Software in 2025

Paychex Flex is a comprehensive payroll and HR solution suitable for businesses of all sizes. It offers a wide range of features, strong payroll processing capabilities, advanced reporting, and robust HR functionalities. Its scalability allows it to support everything from small startups to large enterprises with complex payroll needs. Paychex provides excellent customer support, including dedicated payroll specialists. The system includes automated tax filing and compliance tools, employee self-service portals, and various integrations with third-party applications. It consistently scores well in terms of user satisfaction due to the thoroughness of its features.

Gusto is an intuitive payroll software designed particularly for small to medium-sized businesses. It excels in ease of use and a clean, user-friendly interface that simplifies payroll processing. While it delivers core payroll functionalities, it also extends to HR support like benefits administration, and employee self-service portals. Gusto's design focuses on providing a good experience for both administrators and employees. It integrates with several accounting and time-tracking platforms. Its pricing plans are often competitive and include good value for the provided functionalities, especially those crucial for smaller companies. Customer support is readily available, though may not be as complete as some vendors offering more detailed HR services.

ADP Workforce Now is a robust payroll and human capital management (HCM) solution suitable for mid-sized to large businesses. It goes beyond core payroll functions, providing comprehensive HR features such as talent management, benefits administration, and time and attendance tracking. The software handles complex payroll scenarios, multiple locations, and global payroll needs. ADP offers strong compliance support and robust reporting capabilities. This is a scalable platform that supports a wide variety of business sizes and structures. ADP provides extensive customer support, including specialized representatives and ample training materials.

Rippling distinguishes itself with its unified approach to HR and payroll management, providing a single platform that combines payroll, HR, IT, and benefits administration. This approach is particularly attractive for businesses looking for a seamless and integrated system. It offers comprehensive automation which helps streamline workflows. Rippling supports global payroll and offers extensive integration capabilities with many third-party applications, emphasizing automation across the HR lifecycle. Although its features and integrations provide significant advantages, its all-in-one design might exceed the requirements of some smaller businesses. Furthermore, Rippling places an emphasis on supporting complex needs related to compliance and operations across a diverse set of countries.

Square Payroll is a user-friendly payroll solution, particularly well-suited for businesses already using Square's point-of-sale (POS) system. It offers straightforward payroll processing, tax filing, and direct deposit capabilities. Square Payroll is designed to be easy to set up and use, making it an especially suitable option for small businesses and startups that need a simple, affordable solution. While it streamlines fundamental payroll processes, it lacks the extensive features and complexity seen in options such as Paychex Flex and ADP Workforce Now, making it less appropriate for larger businesses or ones that require advanced HR or reporting capabilities. It boasts a good value, especially when combined with Square's other business services.