Top 3 Payroll Software: Comparison of OnPay, Deel and Gusto

Keeping payroll running smoothly is a vital responsibility for any business. It’s about ensuring your team is compensated fairly, benefits are managed, and tax obligations are met. The right payroll management software simplifies this complex process, helping you achieve business goals and offer valuable benefits.

In this guide, we’ll introduce three top-tier payroll solutions. OnPay is a user-friendly, comprehensive platform for small to medium-sized businesses. For global workforces, Deel excels in international hiring, payments, and compliance. Gusto provides robust automation and HR support for US-based businesses.

This article offers an in-depth look at these top 3 payroll software options, exploring how they handle payroll processing, taxes, benefits, and HR. Our aim is to provide the clear insights you need to make a confident choice for your business.

One of the most critical and often daunting tasks facing businesses, whether local or global, is maintaining precise control over payroll processes while ensuring absolute compliance with an ever-evolving landscape of regulations. Before you even hire new employees, for instance, understanding these requirements and potential challenges is paramount. Failing to do so can lead to stiff penalties, legal risks, and significant operational headaches.

This complexity is further compounded by new legislation, both domestically and internationally. It’s easy for businesses to fall behind on meeting new laws, inadvertently inviting unwanted attention from tax authorities. Despite these challenges, many businesses still rely on outdated methods; a 2023 survey revealed that 51% still used spreadsheets and 19% used manual/paper-based methods for payroll. This highlights a critical need for more robust solutions.

The good news is that capable technology can address these challenges. Modern payroll software constantly updates with the latest regulations, allowing you to focus on core business objectives. These systems offer compelling reasons to get a payroll software beyond mere calculation.

For instance, a robust payroll solution can seamlessly help with crucial employee benefits. In the US, this includes managing aspects like funding the 401(k) of your employees. Such offerings are just one of the many benefits that make dedicated payroll software essential for your company.

Beyond compliance and benefits, businesses are increasingly recognizing the strategic value of payroll data. Insights from this data are a major consideration for informing strategies such as cost management and commercial growth. Reviewing the best payroll management software can help you manage taxes and benefits accurately and on time, providing peace of mind and supporting your strategic goals.

Here’s an overview of the top 3 payroll management software.

1. OnPay

OnPay is an easy-to-use yet comprehensive payroll management software for small to medium-sized businesses. This cloud-based service streamlines payroll, automates tax filing, and integrates benefits like health insurance and 401(k) retirement plans. It ensures accuracy and compliance, making your management straightforward.

You’ll find OnPay both affordable and efficient, offering unlimited payroll runs for W-2 employees and 1099 contract workers each month. Flexible payment options, including checks or direct deposit, are also provided. OnPay expertly handles payroll taxes, calculating, withholding, paying, and filing all state and federal taxes for you. They offer an accuracy guarantee, taking responsibility for any errors. This commitment ensures you avoid inaccuracies and oversights.

OnPay

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With its clean, intuitive interface, OnPay delivers strong value. This cost-efficient solution bundles services based on your employee count, growing with your business. It’s an ideal partner for effective employee management and HR needs, with pricing starting at $40/month base pay and $6/month per employee, and a free trial available.

2. Deel

Deel is a leading global people platform, expertly designed to help companies compliantly hire, pay, and manage anyone, anywhere. It brings together global payroll, HR, and compliance into one powerful system. This allows businesses to manage their entire international workforce from a single, easy-to-use platform.

What truly sets Deel apart is its owned infrastructure in over 130 countries, unlike traditional providers relying on fragmented third-party networks. This means faster onboarding, more reliable payroll, and fewer compliance risks for contractors or employees. Deel simplifies every step of global workforce management, from localized contracts and tax filings to benefits, immigration, and expense tracking.

Deel

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Trusted by over 25,000 businesses, Deel combines automation, real-time visibility, and expert support to make international hiring seamless. It integrates smoothly with essential business tools like your accounting software, Slack, and BambooHR, syncing data and accelerating workflows. Deel offers various pricing plans, including Contractor Management at $49/contractor/month and Employer of Record (EOR) at $599/employee/month, with many other services available by quote or tiered pricing.

3. Gusto

Gusto is an online HR services tool designed to simplify the complex processes of payroll, benefits, and HR for modern US-based businesses. It offers a solid set of payroll features, coupled with an unusually well-designed user interface, and impressive innovation and automation functionalities. This makes it a highly intuitive platform for managing your team.

The platform excels at automating the calculation, payment, and submission of your company’s payroll taxes at all government levels. It ensures businesses can pay through bank deposit or check options, automate calculations, and handle year-end forms to avoid critical errors. When you need to integrate health benefits or other perks, Gusto provides an intuitive way to manage these, consulting with licensed advisors to tailor plans for your needs.

Gusto streamlines HR by consolidating all employee data, from emergency contacts to new hire documents, in one accessible place. This helps comply with standards like HIPAA and makes HR management more transparent. For a comprehensive look at whether this platform aligns with your specific needs, considering the pros and cons of Gusto can provide valuable insights.

Gusto offers scalable plans, with pricing starting at a $40 base fee plus $6 per person for its Simple Plan, which includes full-service payroll. Other plans like Complete and Concierge offer additional features at higher price points, with a free trial available after your first payroll run.

Comparison of Features

Payroll Processing

Gusto sports a clean, intuitive opening screen.

Payroll software is designed to make payroll easier and faster. Gusto, OnPay, and Deel are all designed to meet this core need, each with a distinct focus. With Gusto, you can automatically sync team hours, then review everything before initiating payroll. The platform is known for its clean, intuitive user interface that simplifies the process for domestic employees.

OnPay also prides itself on its easy-to-use payroll platform for the U.S. market. The system allows you to easily process payments via direct deposit, check, or prepaid card as needed. It also provides flexibility to customize the payment experience for your employees.

Deel, on the other hand, is built for companies with a global workforce. Its key strength is its Global Payroll platform, which allows a U.S.-based company to pay both domestic employees and international contractors, as well as full-time employees abroad, all from a single system. It handles currency conversions and local payment requirements automatically.

Verdict: Gusto and OnPay offer robust, user-friendly payroll solutions for businesses with U.S.-based workforces. Deel is the standout choice for any U.S. company hiring, or planning to hire, talent outside the United States.

Tax Management

OnPay and Gusto both excel at domestic tax management, automatically calculating, paying, and filing all payroll taxes for you. OnPay has tax information on all 50 states, making it an ideal system for companies with a distributed U.S. workforce. Both platforms also provide all the necessary year-end tax forms for employees and contractors.

Deel’s focus is on global compliance. For a U.S. HR professional, this means Deel handles the complexity of tax regulations in other countries. The platform automates the collection of country-specific tax forms. It ensures compliance with local labor and tax laws, removing a significant administrative and legal burden.

Verdict: For purely domestic operations, Gusto and OnPay provide excellent, automated tax management across all 50 states. Deel becomes the essential tool for any business that needs to manage tax and compliance for an international team, a task for which domestic-focused systems are not equipped.

Benefits Administration

OnPay screen showing payroll deduction, 410k and 403b.

When it comes to U.S.-based benefits, Gusto is a leader. The software offers health, retirement, and even 529 college savings plans. It allows employers to easily administer these benefits to their employees, often at no extra administrative cost.

Meanwhile, OnPay allows employers to manage their own benefits, with integrations for insurance, 401(k) plans, and more. Deel’s strength is in global benefits. It enables companies to offer competitive, locally compliant benefits packages—such as health insurance and pensions—to employees across different countries, ensuring equity within a distributed team.

Verdict: Gusto offers the most comprehensive and integrated benefits administration for U.S.-based employees. Deel is the indispensable solution for companies needing to source and manage compliant benefits packages for their international workforce.

Human Resources Feature

Beyond payroll, Gusto’s Concierge Plan offers access to certified HR experts and tools to ensure compliance with U.S. labor laws. This is ideal for companies that need direct HR advisory support. OnPay integrates a comprehensive suite of HR tools, including automated onboarding flows, compliance audits, and an HR resource library.

Deel is positioned as an all-in-one HR platform for a global workforce. Its HR features include international employee onboarding, background checks, and equipment management. It is designed to manage the entire lifecycle of an employee or contractor, regardless of their location.

Verdict: OnPay provides a strong set of integrated HR tools for domestic businesses. Deel is the clear choice for managing the HR needs of a global team. Gusto stands out for companies that specifically require on-demand access to certified HR professionals for advisory services.

Integration

You can easily integrate OnPay with QuickBooks and Xero, among other third-party applications.

All three payroll software platforms offer integration with other business applications, including major accounting software such as QuickBooks and Xero. Gusto and OnPay offer a wide range of integrations across categories such as Time Tracking, HR & Compliance, and business operations tools.

Deel also offers robust integrations with leading HRIS and accounting systems, including QuickBooks, Xero, and NetSuite. This ensures that payroll data, whether domestic or global, can sync seamlessly with a company’s financial records.

Verdict: All three platforms demonstrate strong integration capabilities with essential business software. While Gusto and OnPay may have a broader marketplace of smaller apps, Deel integrates with the key accounting and HRIS platforms most businesses use, making this category a less decisive factor.

Pricing

OnPay offers a straightforward pricing model: a $36 base fee plus $4 per employee per month. It provides a full suite of payroll and HR features for a predictable cost, with special accommodations for specific industries.

Gusto offers three pricing tiers: Core, Complete, and Concierge. The Core plan starts at a $39 base fee plus $6 per employee, with prices scaling up for more advanced HR features and dedicated support. This model allows businesses to choose a plan that fits their current size and needs.

Deel’s pricing is structured differently, based on the worker’s classification. Paying international contractors starts at $49 per contractor per month. For hiring full-time international employees through its “Employer of Record” (EOR) service, which handles all legal and HR complexities, pricing starts at $499 per employee per month.

Verdict: OnPay offers the most transparent and affordable pricing for U.S. businesses with straightforward needs. Gusto’s tiered model is well-suited for scaling U.S. companies that want to add more HR features over time. Deel’s pricing reflects its specialized, high-value service for solving the complex legal and logistical challenges of hiring and paying a global workforce.

Finding the Best Payroll Management Software

After reading about the top 3 payroll management software, you should now be able to decide which features you need for your business.

After comparing these top payroll management software solutions, the best choice for your business will largely depend on its geographic footprint.
Gusto and OnPay are both excellent, feature-rich platforms designed to serve the needs of U.S.-based businesses. Gusto is particularly strong for scaling companies that value integrated benefits and access to HR experts. OnPay provides a comprehensive and affordable all-in-one solution for domestic payroll and HR.

Deel is the specialized, powerful choice for any U.S. business that has, or intends to build, a team with talent outside of the United States. It is built from the ground up to handle the complexities of international payroll, taxes, benefits, and compliance, making it an essential tool for the modern, global-minded company.

Whichever payroll management software you choose for your business, it is sure to help boost productivity and save you time along the way.

As the leading application in this review, Gusto pretty much covers all your payroll needs. Better still, it comes with essential HR solutions that eliminate the need to invest in another application. If you want to check its comprehensive feature set, you can easily sign up for Gusto free trial here

By Daniel Epstein

Daniel Epstein is a senior financial research analyst at FinancesOnline and the architect behind our Fintech and ERP content division. His main areas of expertise are blockchain technologies, cryptocurrencies, and the use of biometrics in fintech solutions. His work has been frequently quoted by such publications as Forbes, USA Today, Entrepreneur, and LA Times. With more than 1,800 solutions scrutinized in the last 5 years spent on our team he always prioritized offering readers an unbiased perspective on modern financial technologies.