HR & Payroll Software Pricing: Costs, Models & TCO (2026)

Pricing verified September 1, 2026. Primary vendor references: Gusto · Rippling · BambooHR · Deel · Workday. Published prices are snapshots; taxes, location, workforce, modules, discounts and contract terms can change the final quote.

Compare published prices, custom quotes, add-on modules and company fit before building an HRIS or payroll RFP.

Quick answer: HR and payroll software is commonly priced as a base platform fee plus a per-employee-per-month (PEPM) charge, a PEPM plan without a separate base fee, modular add-ons, or a custom enterprise quote. The lowest headline price is not necessarily the lowest total cost: payroll, benefits, recruiting, time tracking, support, implementation, integrations and international employment can sit outside the core plan.

Compare equivalent capabilities, contract periods and employee populations. A payroll-first small-business platform, a modular workforce platform, an HRIS and an employer-of-record service solve different problems even when all four appear in an “HR software” shortlist.

HR & Payroll Pricing Models Compared

Vendor	Pricing model	Published price / quote status	Major modules	Best-fit evaluation	Important caveat
Gusto	Monthly base + PEPM	Simple $49 + $6/person; Plus $80 + $12; Premium $180 + $22	Payroll, benefits, HR and time add-ons	US teams prioritizing published payroll pricing	Plan scope and add-ons materially change cost
Rippling	Required platform + modular products; mostly PEPM, with some monthly base fees	Custom quote	Payroll, HR, benefits, time, recruiting, finance and IT	Teams evaluating workforce-system consolidation	Request module-by-module pricing; no official universal starting price
BambooHR	PEPM above 25 US employees; flat monthly rate for 25 or fewer	Core $10, Pro $17, Elite $25 PEPM; small teams from $250/month	Payroll, benefits administration and time & attendance are add-ons	Small and midsize organizations evaluating a broader HRIS	Published list pricing is for US employees; discounts and add-ons affect the quote
Deel	Per worker/service per month	Contractor $49; Contractor of Record $325; US PEO $125; EOR $599	Contractors, PEO, EOR, global payroll and talent	International hiring or US PEO evaluation	Compare the correct employment service, not just the platform name
Workday	Custom enterprise quote	Custom quote	HCM, payroll, workforce management, talent, analytics and adjacent suites	Complex or global HCM transformation	Separate subscription, implementation and required-module costs in the RFP

Current Vendor Pricing and Packaging

Gusto

Published base + per-person pricing

Gusto currently lists Simple at $49 per month plus $6 per person, Plus at $80 plus $12, and Premium at $180 plus $22. Contractor Only is normally $35 plus $6 per contractor; a temporary promotion may alter the base fee for eligible new accounts.

For an RFP, specify payroll states, pay schedules, time tracking, HR support, benefits setup and any existing-broker integration. Do not compare Simple with a broader competitor bundle as though their included capabilities were identical.

Rippling

Custom quote

Rippling requires its core platform and lets buyers add HR, payroll, time, benefits, recruiting, finance and IT products. Its official pricing page says most products use PEPM billing, while some may carry or include a monthly base fee; it does not publish one universal starting price.

Ask Rippling to itemize the required platform, every selected product, implementation, support, integrations and price treatment as headcount changes. For a focused vendor decision, use the existing Rippling vs Gusto comparison.

BambooHR

$10–$25 PEPM list pricing for applicable US employees

BambooHR publishes Core at $10, Pro at $17 and Elite at $25 per US employee per month for organizations above 25 employees. Organizations with 25 employees or fewer start at a $250 monthly flat rate. Automatic volume discounts can lower the list price.

Payroll, Benefits Administration and Time & Attendance are add-on solutions. Request a quote containing the selected plan, each add-on, employee count, billing term and any bundle discount instead of treating the core PEPM price as the complete HR/payroll cost.

Deel

Published per-service pricing

Deel lists contractor management at $49 per contractor per month, Contractor of Record at $325, US PEO at $125 per employee and EOR at $599 per employee. These are different employment arrangements, not interchangeable plan tiers.

For international hiring, request country-specific employment, statutory-benefit, payroll, currency and termination details. The published service fee alone is not the worker's total employment cost.

Workday

Custom quote

Workday does not publish a universal HCM subscription price. Its HCM portfolio can include core human capital management, payroll, workforce management, talent, analytics and other products, depending on the deployment.

Do not apply an unsupported per-employee estimate or minimum contract. Ask Workday and implementation partners to separate software subscriptions, required modules, implementation, data migration, integrations, support and ongoing services. The existing Workday vs ADP vs BambooHR comparison owns that specific vendor intent.

Company-Size and Use-Case Fit

Small US payroll team

Start with vendors that publish the base fee, PEPM charge and included payroll scope. Gusto is easy to model from public prices; BambooHR can enter the shortlist when the need extends beyond payroll into a broader HRIS. Compare equivalent payroll, time and benefits capabilities before deciding.

Growing or mid-market organization

Prioritize module fit, reporting, integrations, implementation and support. BambooHR provides public HRIS list pricing, while Rippling requires a modular quote. The better fit depends on whether the organization primarily needs an HR system or wants HR, payroll, finance and IT products on one platform.

International hiring

Separate contractor management, payroll in owned entities, PEO and EOR requirements. Deel publishes different rates for these services. Country-specific statutory employment costs still need to be included in the budget.

Complex or global enterprise

Use an RFP that covers HCM scope, regions, payroll, security, data migration, integrations, support and implementation responsibility. Workday is quote-based; compare the complete proposed solution rather than an invented PEPM benchmark.

HRIS Total Cost of Ownership Checklist

Ask every shortlisted vendor to quote the same scope and employee population. Capture each answer in writing:

Core subscription: base fee, PEPM charge, minimums, currencies and billing frequency.
Payroll: included countries and states, payroll runs, tax filing, year-end forms and corrections.
HR modules: benefits, recruiting, onboarding, time, scheduling, performance and compensation.
Implementation: configuration, data migration, training, project ownership and partner services.
Support: included channels, response commitments, named support and premium tiers.
Integrations: included connectors, API access and ongoing third-party costs.
Contract: term, renewal mechanics, headcount reconciliation, minimum commitments and exit/data-export terms.
International scope: entities, contractors, PEO/EOR, statutory benefits, currencies and local compliance.

How to Compare HR and Payroll Quotes

Define one employee census: active employees, contractors, countries, states and expected growth.
Define one required-module list so every vendor prices the same business outcome.
Separate recurring software, usage-based charges and one-time implementation.
Calculate first-year and steady-state cost rather than multiplying the headline PEPM price alone.
Record all custom-quote assumptions and exclusions before presenting the comparison to finance or the board.

The previous interactive calculator has been removed because several vendors use custom or modular quotes. A single formula would produce false precision rather than a defensible TCO comparison.

Track HR and Payroll Pricing Changes

Use PricePulse to review current pricing records and monitor public pricing-page changes while your shortlist is active.

View current pricing →

Know your HR platform costs

Use the Team Cost Dashboard to track BambooHR, Gusto, Workday, and other HR tools — see which have raised prices and your total HR spend by team size.

View HR costs →