Cheapest payroll for 4 to 5 employees in 2026
At 4 to 5 employees, the cheap payroll sweet spot is $50 to $70 per month. Patriot Full Service holds the cheapest position throughout. Gusto and OnPay match each other at $64 to $70 and split on multi-state. Square Payroll is the cheapest option for hourly workforces because time tracking is bundled.
Cheap payroll providers at 4 and 5 employees, ranked
| Provider | 4 EE / mo | 5 EE / mo | Annual at 5 EE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patriot Basic (self-tax) | $33 | $37 | $444 |
| Wave (self-service state) | $44 | $50 | $600 |
| Patriot Full Service | $53 | $57 | $684 |
| Roll by ADP | $49 | $54 | $648 |
| Wave (tax-service state) | $64 | $70 | $840 |
| OnPay | $64 | $70 | $840 |
| Gusto Simple | $64 | $70 | $840 |
| Square Payroll | $59 | $65 | $780 |
| QuickBooks Payroll Core | $69 | $75 | $900 |
| Paychex Flex Essentials | $59 | $64 | $768 |
| ADP Run Essential | $95 | $99 | $1,188 |
Why the cheap provider race tightens at 4 employees
Patriot Full Service has the cheapest per-employee fee in the cheap-payroll market at $4 per employee per month. Every other provider charges $5 or $6 per employee. At one or two employees, the $1 to $2 difference is small enough to be a tiebreaker. At four employees, the $1 to $2 difference per employee compounds to $4 to $8 a month, which is enough to widen the Patriot price advantage meaningfully.
That is why Patriot Full Service is consistently the cheapest done-for-you-tax option at 4 to 5 employees. The $37 base is comparable to OnPay's $40 and Gusto's $40. The $4 per employee is the gap-widener.
The implication for your decision: if you are price-sensitive at 4 to 5 employees and the Patriot UX is acceptable, Patriot is the rational choice. The savings versus Gusto are $11 to $13 per month, or $132 to $156 per year. That gap stays roughly stable as headcount grows, so the choice you make at 4 to 5 employees tends to be the choice you keep through 10 to 15 employees.
Why Square Payroll wins at 4 to 5 employees if the team is hourly
Time tracking is mandatory for hourly workforces. The honest provider comparison for hourly teams adds the time-tracking cost to the payroll sticker. Patriot's time-tracking add-on is $6 per employee per month. Gusto Simple does not include time tracking, so you either bolt on a third-party tool (When I Work at $4 per user per month) or upgrade to Gusto Plus at $80 + $12.
Square Payroll includes Square Team time tracking free. At 5 hourly employees, the honest comparison is:
- Square Payroll: $65 all-in
- Patriot Full Service + time-tracking add-on: $57 + $30 = $87
- Gusto Simple + When I Work: $70 + $20 = $90
- Gusto Plus (time included): $140
Square is the cheapest legitimate option for an hourly 4 to 5 person team by $22 to $25 a month versus the next-best option. That is the strongest single argument for Square at this headcount.
The Gusto-vs-OnPay split decides on geography
Gusto Simple and OnPay are price-matched at $70 per month for 5 employees. The tie breaker is multi-state inclusion. Gusto Simple is single-state only; OnPay supports all states at the same price.
For a 4 to 5 employee business with all employees in one state and no near-term plans to hire remotely, Gusto Simple wins on UX and benefits brokerage. For a 4 to 5 employee business with even one employee in a second state, the same Gusto plan does not work. You are forced to Gusto Plus at $80 + $12 per employee, which is $140 per month for 5 employees, double the OnPay price.
The OnPay flat-tier design is the cheapest payroll bet for any business that is uncertain about its future state footprint. If you might hire remotely in the next 18 months, lock in OnPay at $70 now instead of facing the Gusto Plus jump later.
QuickBooks Payroll bundle versus Patriot Full Service standalone
QuickBooks Payroll Core at $75 per month for 5 employees is $18 more per month than Patriot Full Service at $57. If you are already paying for QuickBooks Online accounting (Essentials at $65 per month is the common SMB choice), the bundle math changes.
The integration value of QuickBooks Payroll inside QuickBooks Online is real: payroll runs post directly to the general ledger with the right account mapping, no monthly bookkeeper-cleanup hour required. Most bookkeepers charge $50 to $75 per hour. If QuickBooks Payroll saves one hour a month versus Patriot + manual GL posting, the bundle is cheaper net cost.
For businesses not on QuickBooks Online, the bundle math does not apply, and Patriot Full Service at $57 plus a free accounting tool (Wave) is the cheaper combined stack. See the QuickBooks Payroll cheapest-tier page for the full bundle analysis.
Other headcount-specific pages
Cheapest payroll for 1 employee
Solo owner, S-corp specifics
Cheapest payroll for 2-3 employees
Sub-$60/mo path
Cheapest payroll for 6-10 employees
Sub-$100/mo path
By team size
Crossover headcount across providers
Gusto vs Patriot
Head-to-head at every headcount
Cheapest payroll for restaurants
Hourly + tipped staff focus
Common questions
What is the cheapest payroll service for 4 employees?
Patriot Full Service at $37 + $4 per employee = $53 per month for 4 employees. Patriot Basic without tax filing is $33. Square Payroll is $59 with time tracking included. Gusto Simple and OnPay are both $64.
What is the cheapest payroll service for 5 employees?
Patriot Full Service at $57 per month is the cheapest done-for-you-tax option. Square Payroll at $65 includes free time tracking. Gusto Simple and OnPay are both $70. Patriot Basic without tax filing is $37 but you handle your own taxes.
At 4 to 5 employees, is it worth upgrading from Patriot to Gusto?
The Gusto premium over Patriot Full Service is $11 to $13 per month at this headcount, or $132 to $156 per year. You are buying polished employee onboarding, a better mobile app, and integrated benefits brokerage. For HR-led owners that is worth it. For finance-led owners the Patriot savings are worth keeping.
Does OnPay or Gusto win at 4 to 5 employees?
Both cost the same at $64 to $70 per month for 4 to 5 employees. OnPay wins on multi-state inclusion (Gusto Simple is single-state). Gusto wins on employee app polish and benefits broker depth. If you are in a single state with no immediate multi-state hires planned, Gusto wins. Otherwise OnPay.
Is QuickBooks Payroll competitive at 4 to 5 employees?
QuickBooks Payroll Core at $69 to $75 per month is $5 more than Gusto/OnPay sticker. If you are already paying for QuickBooks Online accounting, the bundle math makes it the cheapest net option because of the integration savings. Standalone, it is not.
What about ADP at 4 to 5 employees?
ADP Run Essential at typical quoted $95 to $99 per month for 4 to 5 employees is consistently more expensive than every other option by $30 to $50 per month. ADP wins only if you specifically need a dedicated specialist on the phone.