Vendor Cost / OnPay
OnPay cost 2026: single tier, $49 + $6, what it actually includes
OnPay is the simplest pricing model in the category: one plan at $49 per month base plus $6 per employee per month, every feature included, no upsells. This page walks through what is genuinely in the base plan, where OnPay beats Gusto and Paychex on math, and the few weaknesses worth knowing before signing.
The OnPay price, as of 16 May 2026
From onpay.com/pricing: $49 per month base plus $6 per person per month. The same price applies whether the person is a W-2 employee or a 1099 contractor. OnPay does not run promotional discounts the way Intuit or ADP do, and the price has been stable since 2024.
| Employees | Monthly total |
|---|---|
| 1 | $55 |
| 5 | $79 |
| 10 | $109 |
| 25 | $199 |
| 50 | $349 |
| 100 | $649 |
What is genuinely included for $49 + $6
The OnPay base plan covers everything most small and mid-size businesses need without forcing a tier upgrade. Full-service payroll with federal, state, and local tax filing in all 50 states. Multi-state payroll at no extra fee. Direct deposit. Unlimited pay schedules (weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, monthly, off-cycle bonus runs). Year-end W-2s and 1099s included, both digital and mailed. Employee self-service portal for paystubs and tax documents.
On HR, the base plan includes PTO accrual and approval, onboarding with e-sign for I-9 and W-4, document storage, and employee handbook templates. On benefits, OnPay runs an integrated brokerage that quotes health insurance from major carriers in your state at no platform fee, with premiums deducted from payroll automatically. Retirement integration with Guideline or Vestwell is configured at the standard $39 to $99 monthly plus per-participant fees. Workers' compensation runs through pay-as-you-go partners at the standard premium rate.
The same plan covers contractor-only businesses without a separate tier. Restaurants with tipped wage handling, construction with prevailing wage and certified payroll, and agriculture with H-2A worker support are all on the base plan with no surcharge. This breadth of inclusion is genuinely unusual.
The OnPay vs Gusto math at three sizes
At 5 employees, OnPay is $79 monthly and Gusto Simple is $79. The numbers match. Gusto has the brand and marketing budget, OnPay has slightly faster customer service and a tighter feature set. Either is fine.
At 15 employees with multi-state needs (say one employee in California, one in Texas, the rest in your home state), OnPay is $139 monthly and Gusto Simple plus two state fees is $163 monthly. Stepping up to Gusto Plus to handle multi-state cleanly is $260. OnPay wins by $24 to $121 depending on which Gusto tier you compare against.
At 25 employees needing HR plus time tracking plus benefits, OnPay is $199 monthly and includes the HR module natively. Gusto Plus to match the same feature set is $380 monthly. OnPay wins by $181 per month, or roughly $2,200 per year. That gap is enough to fund a part-time bookkeeper or cover other tools.
Where OnPay is the right answer
The clearest OnPay buyer is a 10 to 50 employee business that needs more than basic payroll but is not ready to pay Gusto Plus or Premium prices and does not need the Rippling unified platform. That includes most professional services firms, agencies, restaurants, small construction outfits, and growing e-commerce businesses. The simpler pricing makes budgeting easier, and the lack of tier upsells means you do not have to defend feature requests against a sales rep pushing a higher plan.
The other OnPay buyer profile is industry-specific complexity at scale: an agricultural business managing H-2A seasonal workers, a restaurant chain handling tipped wages across multiple locations, a construction firm with prevailing wage and certified payroll. OnPay handles these natively where Gusto and QuickBooks require third-party integrations and where ADP and Paychex charge premium tiers for them.
Where OnPay is the wrong answer
Three buyer profiles where OnPay does not win. First, very small businesses under 5 employees: at $49 base plus $6 per employee, OnPay for a 1-employee S-corp is $55 monthly, which is roughly twice the cost of a DIY payroll tool for an S-corp owner-only setup. The OnPay floor is the same as Gusto's, but neither is cheap for tiny teams.
Second, tech companies wanting unified HR, IT, identity, and payroll on one platform. That is the Rippling pitch and OnPay does not compete on it. OnPay is payroll plus light HR, not a workforce platform.
Third, mid-market and enterprise buyers above 100 employees who need deep HRIS, multiple legal entity payroll, complex benefits administration with multiple medical plans across geographies, or global payroll. OnPay scales to 500 employees on a single entity but is not designed for the complexity that ADP Workforce Now or Paychex Flex Enterprise handle natively.
Implementation, migration, and contract
OnPay provides free migration from any other payroll provider, including data entry of year-to-date earnings, tax deposits, and employee profiles. That migration is genuinely free, with no implementation fee. For a 25-person company switching from ADP mid-year, that is a $1,500 to $5,000 saving compared to ADP's implementation fees in reverse.
The contract is month-to-month with no commitment and no cancellation fee. This is meaningful flexibility versus Paychex and ADP's standard 12 to 24 month contracts. The trade-off is no annual prepay discount, but for most buyers the flexibility is worth more than a 10 percent annual discount.
Where to go next
Gusto cost
The direct comparison. Same starting price, different feature gates.
QuickBooks Payroll cost
The alternative if you are running QuickBooks Online for accounting.
Restaurant payroll cost
Where OnPay's native tipped wage handling earns its keep.
Switching providers
OnPay's free migration is one of the easier transitions in the category.