Square Payroll pricing
Published pricing Verified . See the pricing page ↗
Run your own numbers
Enter your business details to see what Square Payroll would cost you per year.
Plans
| Contractor-Only Payroll | Full-Service Payroll | |
|---|---|---|
| Base fee | $0/month source | $35/month source |
| Per employee | None source | $6 per employee/month source |
| Per contractor | $6 per contractor/month source | Billed like an employee source |
| Per payroll run | None source | None source |
| Additional states | None source | Included source |
| W-2 forms | Included source | $0 per form source |
| 1099 forms | $0 per form source | $0 per form source |
| Monthly minimum | None source | None source |
| One-time setup | None source | None source |
What's included on each plan
| Contractor-Only Payroll | Full-Service Payroll | |
|---|---|---|
| Employees in more than one state | Not verified | Included |
| 1099 contractor payments | Included | Included |
| Files federal and state payroll taxes for you | Not available | Included |
| Time tracking | Included | Included |
| Health benefits administration | Not available | Add-on, price not published |
| Workers comp administration | Not available | Add-on, price not published |
| HR tools (documents, onboarding) | Not verified | Not verified |
| Next-day direct deposit | Not available | Included |
| City or local payroll tax filing | Not available | Not verified |
| Tipped employees | Not available | Included |
| Accountant access | Not verified | Not verified |
Worked examples
1 employee, 1 state
$492/year on Full-Service Payroll. Full-Service Payroll because you need payroll tax filing. Contractor-Only Payroll is for contractor-only businesses and has no payroll tax filing.
5 employees, 1 state
$780/year on Full-Service Payroll. Full-Service Payroll because you need payroll tax filing. Contractor-Only Payroll is for contractor-only businesses and has no payroll tax filing.
10 employees, 2 states
$1,140/year on Full-Service Payroll. Full-Service Payroll because you pay employees in 2 states and you need payroll tax filing. Contractor-Only Payroll is for contractor-only businesses, is not verified for multi-state payroll, and has no payroll tax filing.
25 employees, 1 state
$2,220/year on Full-Service Payroll. Full-Service Payroll because you need payroll tax filing. Contractor-Only Payroll is for contractor-only businesses and has no payroll tax filing.
Compare Square Payroll
Frequently asked questions
Does Square Payroll publish its pricing?
Yes. Square Payroll Contractor-Only Payroll: $0/month. Every figure on this page links to the page it was read from and shows the date we last checked it.
What does Square Payroll cost for a business with 5 employees?
About $780 a year on the Full-Service Payroll 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 Square 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.
Multi-state is explicitly "Included" in full-service ("Multiple tax jurisdiction support") but not addressed for the contractor-only plan, marked unknown there. Tipped-wage support inferred from "Import timecards and tips from Square POS." This is strong evidence for a restaurant-heavy customer base, not a direct capability statement, but it is treated as confirmed given the specificity. Local/city tax filing was not addressed on either fetched page.