Run your own payroll.Absolutely free.
The tools to do your own payroll: calculations, pay stubs, W-2s and every federal and state filing form your business needs — free for up to 10 employees, with no per-employee fee and nothing to install. Pro, for larger teams and extra features, is $20 per month.
No credit card. No contract. Accounts granted in application order.
Payroll, without the subscription
You already know your people and your hours. The only hard part is the arithmetic and the paperwork — so that is the part we give you the tools for. You stay in control and run payroll yourself, without needing anyone's help to do it.
Add your people
Enter employees once — pay rate, W-4 details, department. Employees can keep their own profile current from their own login.
Run the payroll
Enter hours and we calculate federal withholding, FICA, unemployment and state-specific items, then produce a pay stub for everyone.
File on time
We fill the official 941, 940, W-2 and state forms with your real numbers, and remind you before each deadline.
Forms generated for you, free
Federal Form 941 and 940 on the official IRS PDFs. W-2 and W-3 plus an EFW2 file for SSA e-filing. Washington L&I, unemployment insurance and Paid Family & Medical Leave. Georgia DOL-4, G-7 and G-1003. Quarterly and annual payroll summaries as PDF or CSV.
Pricing
The payroll itself is free — permanently, not as a trial. You only pay if you want us to do the filing and the paying for you.
Free
Everything below$0/month
Up to 10 employees. No per-employee fee.
- ✓Unlimited payroll runs, up to 10 employees
- ✓Federal, FICA and state tax calculation
- ✓Pay stubs as PDF
- ✓941, 940, W-2, W-3 and EFW2
- ✓All WA and GA state filing forms (FL, TX, WY, SD, AK, NV, TN and NH have no state income tax; the other added states, including PA's local Earned Income Tax and MI's city taxes, are calculation only for now)
- ✓Employee self-service logins
- ✓Filing deadline reminders
- ✓Payroll reports (PDF and CSV)
Pro
In development$20/month
Optional. Free stays free.
- ✓Everything in Free
- ✓New-hire reporting
- ✓More than 10 employees
- ✓Unlimited Manager accounts
- ✓Priority support
- ●Automatic tax filing and payment (in development)
- ●Direct deposit to employees (in development)
- ●Multi-state payroll (in development)
New sign-ups hear about Pro first
How we compare
Against the two options small businesses usually weigh up: Payroll4Free and Gusto.
Considering Patriot Software or Paychex instead? See that comparison →
| Feature | PayrollZero | Payroll4Free | Gusto |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base price per month | $0 (Pro: $20) | $0 for one payroll, then $15 | $49 to $180 by plan |
| Cost per employee per month | Free up to 10 employees; Pro $20/mo beyond that | $0, but per-run fees apply | $6 to $22 by plan |
| Runs in your browser, nothing to install | ✓Any device | —Windows software required | ✓ |
| Payroll runs included free each month | Unlimited | One, at 9 employees or fewer | Unlimited |
| Running payroll more than once a month | ✓Free, unlimited | ●$15/mo up to 9 staff; $10–$35 per run above | ✓Included |
| Federal + state tax calculation | ✓WA, GA, FL, TX, CA, OR, IL, NY, WY, SD, AK, NV, TN, NH, AZ, IN, ND, NC, UT, MI, PA, CO (several states: Pro, $20/mo) | ✓ | ●One state on $49; multi-state needs the $80 plan |
| Pay stubs (PDF) | ✓Free | ✓ | ✓ |
| Form 941 and 940 prepared | ✓Free, official IRS PDFs | ●$15 per quarter | ✓ |
| W-2, W-3 and EFW2 e-file export | ✓Free | ●Tax form fees apply | ✓ |
| State filings (WA L&I, UI, Paid Leave; GA DOL-4, G-7, G-1003) | ✓Free | ●$35/mo for 2 authorities, $15 each after | ✓ |
| New-hire reporting | ✓Pro, $20/mo | — | ✓ |
| Employee self-service portal | ✓Free | ●Limited | ✓ |
| Extra admin users | ●Owner only — Managers need Pro | $35 each | ✓Included |
| Setup, training and support fees | —None | $50 per half hour | —None |
| Filing deadline reminders | ✓Free | — | ✓ |
| Automatic tax filing and payment | ●Planned — Pro | ●$35/mo, first 2 authorities | ✓Included |
| Direct deposit | ●Planned — Pro | ●$35/mo, $15 bundled with tax service | ✓Next-day pay costs $15/mo + $3 each |
| States supported | WA, GA, FL, TX, CA, OR, IL, NY, WY, SD, AK, NV, TN, NH, AZ, IN, ND, NC, UT, MI, PA, CO — more coming | All 50 | All 50, multi-state from $80 |
| Long-term contract | None | None | None |
✓ included ● partial, planned or paid add-on — not offered
Competitor pricing and features as published by each vendor, checked September 2026. Payroll4Free figures are taken from its own published fee schedule. Gusto figures come from its published pricing page (Simple $49 + $6 per person, Plus $80 + $12, Premium $180 + $22); the $49 plan is single-state. Plans change — confirm current terms with each vendor before deciding. PayrollZero currently supports Washington, Georgia, Florida, Texas, California, Oregon, Illinois, New York, Wyoming, South Dakota, Alaska, Nevada, Tennessee, New Hampshire, Arizona, Indiana, North Dakota, North Carolina, Utah, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Kentucky, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Virginia, Wisconsin, Alabama, Arkansas, Nebraska, Montana, Ohio, New Mexico, West Virginia, Vermont, Maine, Connecticut, Delaware and Hawaii only, and automatic filing and direct deposit are in development rather than available today. Payroll4Free and Gusto are trademarks of their respective owners and are not affiliated with PayrollZero.
What a 10-person business actually pays
Ten employees, multiple payroll runs each month, tax filing forms included.
PayrollZero
$0
per month
Unlimited runs and all forms included. You file them yourself.
Payroll4Free
~$75
per month
$20 in batch fees, $35 tax service, $15 direct deposit, $15 a quarter for tax forms.
Gusto
~$109
per month
$49 Simple plan plus $6 per employee. Single state only; multi-state starts at the $80 plan.
“Free” payroll usually means one run a month for a very small team. Run payroll twice, add an admin, or file a 941 and the fees start. PayrollZero charges nothing for any of that — the trade is that you file the forms we prepare, instead of paying someone to submit them for you.
Questions
- Is the free tier really free?
- Yes — free for up to 10 employees, with unlimited pay runs and every form listed above at no charge. Not a trial, no card required. Pro — larger teams, multi-state payroll and more — is $20 per month, and the free tier stays free.
- Do I need to install anything?
- No. PayrollZero runs entirely in your browser on any device — there is no Windows-only desktop application to install, keep updated, or tie you to one computer.
- Do you do the payroll for me?
- No, and that is the point. PayrollZero gives you the tools to do it yourself: we do the arithmetic and fill in the forms, you review everything and file it. You never have to hand your payroll to a service or wait on someone else to run it.
- Which states can I run payroll in?
- Washington, Georgia, Florida, Texas, California, Oregon, Illinois, New York, Wyoming, South Dakota, Alaska, Nevada, Tennessee, New Hampshire, Arizona, Indiana, North Dakota, North Carolina, Utah, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Kentucky, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Virginia, Wisconsin, Alabama, Arkansas, Nebraska, Montana, Ohio, New Mexico, West Virginia, Vermont, Maine, Connecticut, Delaware and Hawaii today. Washington and Georgia include full state filing forms; Florida and Texas have no state income tax, so payroll runs there calculate the employer unemployment tax and track its payment; California runs calculate income tax withholding, SDI, UI and ETT and track the EDD payment (California DE 9 filing forms are not built yet); Oregon runs calculate income tax withholding, the statewide transit tax, Paid Leave Oregon, the Workers’ Benefit Fund and UI, and track both the Department of Revenue and Employment Department payments (Oregon filing forms and local transit taxes are not built yet); Illinois runs calculate income tax withholding and UI, and New York runs calculate income tax withholding, SDI, Paid Family Leave and UI (state filing forms and New York City/Yonkers local taxes are not built yet); Wyoming, South Dakota, Alaska and Nevada have no wage income tax, so runs there calculate the employer unemployment tax (plus Alaska's employee contribution) and track its payment, and Nevada's Modified Business Tax is not calculated; Tennessee and New Hampshire also have no wage income tax, so runs there calculate only the employer unemployment tax; Arizona runs calculate income tax withholding at the employee's elected Form A-4 percentage plus UI; Indiana runs calculate the flat state rate plus the employee's county income tax rate, plus UI; North Dakota, North Carolina, Utah and Michigan runs calculate income tax withholding plus UI (Michigan's city taxes aren't included); Pennsylvania runs calculate its flat income tax, the employee Unemployment Compensation contribution and the employer UC tax (local Earned Income Tax isn't included); Colorado runs calculate income tax withholding, FAMLI paid family and medical leave, and UI; Kentucky, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Virginia, Wisconsin, Alabama, Arkansas, Nebraska, Montana, Ohio, New Mexico, West Virginia, Vermont, Maine, Connecticut, Delaware and Hawaii runs calculate income tax withholding plus UI (plus Vermont's Child Care Contribution and the paid-leave contributions in Maine, Connecticut and Delaware) (Kentucky's local occupational license taxes, Iowa's school district surtax and the Kansas City and St. Louis earnings taxes aren’t included). Other states are on the way — the state you choose when applying tells us which to build next.
- Do you file and pay my taxes for me?
- Not yet. Today PayrollZero calculates what is owed and fills in the official federal and state forms so you can file them. Automatic filing and payment is the headline feature of the paid Pro tier, which is in development.
- Why do accounts need approval?
- Payroll is unforgiving — a mistake costs someone their paycheque or triggers a penalty. We approve new accounts in the order businesses sign up so each one gets checked properly.
- How is my data protected?
- Social Security numbers and bank details are encrypted in the database rather than stored as plain text, every account is individually password-protected, and employees only ever see their own records.
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