QuickBooks® Payroll pricing
Published pricing Verified . See the pricing page ↗
Run your own numbers
Enter your business details to see what QuickBooks® Payroll would cost you per year.
Plans
| Simple Start | Essentials | Plus | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base fee | $88/month source | $125/month source | $203/month source |
| Per employee | $6.50 per employee/month source | $6.50 per employee/month source | $10 per employee/month source |
| Per contractor | Billed like an employee source | Billed like an employee source | Billed like an employee source |
| Per payroll run | None source | None source | None source |
| Additional states | None source | None source | None source |
| W-2 forms | Not published source | Not published source | Not published source |
| 1099 forms | $0 per form source | $0 per form source | $0 per form source |
| Monthly minimum | None source | None source | None source |
| One-time setup | None source | None source | None source |
What's included on each plan
| Simple Start | Essentials | Plus | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employees in more than one state | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified |
| 1099 contractor payments | Included | Included | Included |
| Files federal and state payroll taxes for you | Included | Included | Included |
| Time tracking | Not available | Not available | Included |
| Health benefits administration | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified |
| Workers comp administration | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified |
| HR tools (documents, onboarding) | Not available | Not available | Included |
| Next-day direct deposit | Included | Included | Included |
| City or local payroll tax filing | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified |
| Tipped employees | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified |
| Accountant access | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified |
Worked examples
1 employee, 1 state
$1,134/year on Simple Start. Simple Start is the entry plan and covers everything you need.
5 employees, 1 state
$1,446/year on Simple Start. Simple Start is the entry plan and covers everything you need.
10 employees, 2 states
No plan fits this profile.
25 employees, 1 state
$3,006/year on Simple Start. Simple Start is the entry plan and covers everything you need.
Compare QuickBooks Payroll
Frequently asked questions
Does QuickBooks Payroll publish its pricing?
Yes. QuickBooks Payroll Simple Start: $88/month + $6.50 per employee/month. Every figure on this page links to the page it was read from and shows the date we last checked it.
What does QuickBooks Payroll cost for a business with 5 employees?
About $1,446 a year on the Simple Start plan for 5 employees in one state paid biweekly, based on prices verified on September 13, 2026. Enter your own headcount in the calculator for a figure that matches your business.
Which QuickBooks Payroll plan do I need?
It depends on what your business requires. Multi-state payroll, contractor payments, time tracking and similar needs are only on some tiers. The calculator picks the cheapest plan that meets your requirements and tells you which requirement ruled the others out.
Prices are the regular (post-promotion) rate. Tax filing is confirmed at the product level ("We'll calculate, file, and pay your federal and state payroll taxes for you") but the fetched pages did not say whether it applies identically to every tier, nor confirm W-2 e-filing specifically (only 1099 e-filing and employee portal access to W-2 copies were confirmed). Both are marked unknown pending a tier-by-tier features page. Multi-state, local filing, benefits/workers-comp administration, tipped wages and accountant access were not addressed and are marked unknown.