9 Best HR Software for Small Business Owners in 2026, Compared
Compare the 9 best hr software for small business owners on price, payroll, hiring and free plans, with every price checked November 6, 2026.
Shamim Mia, Founder, SerpAstraLast verified November 6, 202612 min readWe compare pricing pages, documentation and public reviews. We never accept payment for rankings.
Key takeaways
- Gusto ($49/month plus $6/person) is the easiest payroll-led starting point; OnPay matches it at the same price with one plan, and BambooHR ($250/month flat) is the best all-around HRIS.
- The single most important buying factor is the two-part price: a base fee plus a per-person rate. At ten people, Gusto and OnPay cost $109 a month, not $49, and BambooHR's flat rate works out at $25 a head.
- Homebase is genuinely free for one location with up to 10 team members, and Zoho People is free for up to 5 users — the two free plans that are actually usable.
- A PEO is a different purchase from software: Justworks PEO Basic costs $79 per employee a month against $130 a month for its Payroll plan at ten people, and only the PEO buys large-group benefits.
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Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gusto | US small businesses that want payroll handled first, with HR basics alongside | $49/mo + $6/person | No (free until first payroll) |
| BambooHR | Owners who want a real HRIS without enterprise complexity | $250/mo flat | No (7-day trial) |
| Rippling | Businesses that want HR, IT and finance on one employee record | $8/user/mo | No |
| Zoho People | Budget-conscious teams that still want a full HRIS | $1.25/user/mo (annual) | Yes (free plan) |
| Homebase | Restaurants, retail shops and other hourly teams at one location | Free; Essentials $30/mo | Yes (free) |
| Justworks | Small teams that want PEO benefits without PEO opacity | $50/mo + $8/employee | No |
| Deel | Startups hiring contractors or employees in other countries | $5/user/mo | No |
| OnPay | Owners who want one transparent price for payroll and HR basics | $49/mo + $6/worker | No (first month free) |
| Eddy | Local businesses moving off paper and spreadsheets | $50/mo + $4/person | No |
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Request a listingThe best hr software for small business owners
Gusto
Best for: US small businesses that want payroll handled first, with HR basics alongside
Gusto is the payroll-first pick in this list, and that suits owners whose first problem is paying people correctly. Simple costs $49 a month plus $6 per person and covers full-service payroll, automatic tax filings in all 50 states, unlimited pay runs, onboarding and employee self-service. You pay nothing until the first payroll runs, and there is no contract to sign.
The trade-off is that the HR side is thinner than the payroll side. Time tracking and advanced PTO wait for Plus at $80 a month plus $12 per person, and HR advice waits for Premium, which is custom-priced. Contractors are billed at the per-person rate only in months they are paid. Choose Gusto when payroll is the job and you want it handled with the least fuss; choose BambooHR when managing people matters more than running payroll.
What we like
- Full-service payroll with automatic tax filings in all 50 states on the Simple plan
- Free until the first payroll runs, with no contract and no setup fee
- Unlimited pay runs, plus onboarding and employee self-service included
- Health benefits and 401(k) administration available from the same account
Watch out for
- Time tracking and advanced PTO need Plus at $80/month plus $12/person
- HR advice is a Premium feature with custom pricing
- No free plan beyond the free-until-first-payroll period
BambooHR is the people-first system in this list: employee files, onboarding checklists, time-off balances, performance reviews and reports share one calm interface that an owner can learn in an afternoon. Core is a flat $250 a month for teams of 25 or fewer, or $10.25 per employee a month above that, and every plan includes an AI assistant.
Read the flat rate carefully before you buy. At ten people, Core works out at $25 per head, not $10.25, and payroll, benefits administration and time tracking are add-ons with their own quotes. There is no annual contract, and volume discounts apply automatically as headcount rises. Pick BambooHR when managing people is the job; pick Gusto or OnPay when running payroll is.
What we like
- The cleanest HRIS interface here, with hiring, onboarding and time-off tracking in one place
- AI assistant included on every plan
- No annual contract required, and volume discounts apply automatically as headcount grows
- Flat $250/month for teams of 25 or fewer keeps the bill predictable
Watch out for
- Payroll, benefits administration and time tracking are paid add-ons, not included
- A 10-person team pays $25 per head on the flat rate, not the $10.25 per-employee rate
- No payroll module included, so payroll means a second vendor or an add-on
Rippling
Best for: Businesses that want HR, IT and finance on one employee record
Rippling unifies what the other tools keep apart. HR, payroll, IT and finance share a single employee record, so one onboarding workflow can set up pay, accounts, apps and a laptop together. The base is $8 per user a month plus a monthly base fee, and payroll, benefits, device management and spend are modules you add on top.
Modular pricing cuts both ways: you pay only for what you use, but there is no complete rate card and no free trial, so the real monthly total only appears in a custom quote after a guided demo. Implementation also runs longer than the simpler tools here. Buy Rippling when scattered HR and IT systems already cost you hours every week.
What we like
- One employee record drives HR, payroll, IT and finance, so onboarding provisions accounts and devices automatically
- Automation and workflows are the deepest here, with hundreds of integrations
- Global payroll and employer-of-record options are built in for teams hiring abroad
Watch out for
- Every module beyond the $8 base is priced separately, so the real total needs a custom quote
- No free trial; evaluation runs through a guided demo
- Setup takes longer than the simpler tools here
Zoho People wins on price alone. Essential HR is $1.25 a user a month billed annually, and the ladder stays cheap: Professional $2, Premium $3, Enterprise $4.50. One subscription covers onboarding, attendance, time off, timesheets, performance reviews, a learning system and an HR help desk, and the free plan serves teams of up to 5.
Tiering decides the real price. Attendance, timesheets and performance appraisals sit above Essential, so the plan you need follows the modules you will actually use, and paid plans carry a 5-user minimum. US compliance depth is also thinner than the US-native tools. When budget is the binding constraint and the Zoho suite is already in place, nothing else here comes close.
What we like
- The cheapest full HRIS here at $1.25/user/month billed annually
- Free plan covers up to 5 users with an employee database and time-off management
- Attendance, timesheets, performance and an LMS are available on the higher tiers
- Connects with the wider Zoho suite, including Recruit, Payroll and Expense
Watch out for
- Attendance, timesheets and performance appraisals sit above the Essential HR tier
- US-specific compliance depth is thinner than the US-native tools
- Minimum 5 users on paid plans, and the interface is less polished than BambooHR
Homebase
Best for: Restaurants, retail shops and other hourly teams at one location
Homebase charges by location, not by headcount, and that single choice shapes the whole product. The Basic plan costs nothing for one location with up to 10 team members and still includes scheduling, a time clock, team messaging and POS integrations. Essentials is $30 a month per location, or $24 billed annually, and the price does not rise when the roster grows from 10 to 30.
The audience is hourly, shift-based work: restaurants, retail, salons and clinics. Office teams with salaried staff will find the HR features thin until All-in-One at $96 a month billed annually, which adds onboarding, labor-cost analytics and access to an HR advisor. Payroll is an add-on at $49 a month plus $6 per employee, on any plan.
What we like
- Basic plan is genuinely free for one location with up to 10 team members
- Per-location pricing means the bill stays flat as you hire more hourly staff
- Scheduling, time clock, team messaging and POS integrations in one mobile app
- Payroll can be added at $49/month plus $6/employee
Watch out for
- Built for shift-based hourly teams; salaried office HR is thin until All-in-One
- HR depth, onboarding and labor-cost analytics wait for All-in-One at $96/month billed annually
- A second location doubles the bill, since pricing is per location
Justworks sells two different things under one roof, and the distinction matters. Its Payroll plan is plain software at $50 a month plus $8 per employee. Its PEO plans go further: Justworks becomes a co-employer, taking payroll taxes, workers' comp and compliance onto its own tax IDs while you keep running the team day to day. PEO Basic is $79 per employee a month, and Plus is $109.
Compare the totals before you compare the features. Ten people cost roughly $130 a month on Justworks Payroll and $790 on PEO Basic, while Gusto Simple runs about $109. The PEO premium buys large-group health benefits and compliance work a ten-person company could not arrange alone. Buy the PEO when benefits are your hiring edge; buy the software-only tools when payroll and basic HR are all you need.
What we like
- Published, transparent pricing for both Payroll and PEO plans, with no hidden fees
- PEO plans bundle large-group health benefits and compliance under Justworks as co-employer
- Fast digital onboarding and strong customer support reviewers praise
Watch out for
- PEO Basic at $79/employee/month costs far more than software-only tools for the same headcount
- Health benefits only come with PEO Plus at $109/employee/month
- No free trial on any plan
Deel earns its place for one reason: it lets a small business hire people in other countries without opening a local entity. Employer-of-record service starts at $599 per employee a month across 130+ countries, contractors from $49 a month, and a US PEO at $125. The domestic HR Core plan is $5 a user a month, with US payroll from $19 per employee a month on top.
Fit is everything here. A team that hires only in the US gets the same HR basics for less from Gusto or OnPay, and Deel publishes no free trial and no currency-conversion margin on payroll funding. The $5 HR Core plan is a fair price for a directory, time off and approvals. Choose Deel when at least one hire sits abroad; otherwise the global machinery is cost you do not need.
What we like
- Hire employees and contractors in 130+ countries without setting up local entities
- HR Core at $5/user/month covers profiles, org charts, time off and approvals
- Month-to-month billing with no long-term commitment
Watch out for
- EOR at $599/employee/month is steep for teams that hire mostly in the US
- US payroll is a separate product from $19/employee/month
- No free trial, and currency-conversion margins are not published
OnPay has one plan and no upsell ladder: $49 a month plus $6 per worker buys unlimited pay runs, automated tax filings, W-2s and 1099s, onboarding and PTO tracking. The first month is free and needs no credit card, and the team helps with setup and migration instead of leaving you to import payroll history alone.
The extras are priced separately and add up. HR features cost $15 base plus $2 per worker, time tracking is $15 plus $4 per worker, and direct deposit takes four days where Gusto offers next-day pay. International contractors are not supported either. For a domestic business that wants payroll and HR basics at one predictable price, OnPay is the cleanest alternative to Gusto.
What we like
- One plan at $49/month plus $6/worker covers payroll, onboarding and PTO tracking
- First month free with no credit card required
- Expert-led setup and migration help included, with no long-term contract
Watch out for
- HR add-on costs $15/month plus $2/worker, and time tracking another $15 plus $4/worker
- Direct deposit takes 4 days, slower than Gusto's next-day option
- No support for international contractors
Eddy is built for local businesses moving off paper: the Starter plan at $50 a month plus $4 per person covers the core HR platform — employee directory, document storage, paperless onboarding with e-signatures, PTO and time tracking — without forcing you to buy payroll. Payroll and hiring are add-ons you switch on later.
That flexibility is the whole pitch, and the add-ons are where the bill grows: payroll is $50 a month plus $6 per person, and hiring is $199 a month. Reporting is also more limited than BambooHR or Rippling, and there is no free trial listed. Pick Eddy when you need a tidy HR record now and want to add payroll only when the business is ready for it.
What we like
- Core HR platform available without buying payroll, so small teams pay only for what they use
- Paperless onboarding with e-signatures, document storage and PTO tracking on Starter
- Hiring and payroll can be added later as the business grows
- Support reviewers rate highly, with a dedicated representative on higher tiers
Watch out for
- Payroll is a separate add-on at $50/month plus $6/person
- Hiring add-on costs $199/month, which is steep for occasional recruiting
- Reporting is more limited than BambooHR or Rippling
The best hr software for small business owners is the one that matches how your team actually works: payroll-led, people-led, hourly, or spread across countries. We ranked the nine tools below by fit for the most common buyer — a US owner with 2 to 50 people doing HR themselves — and every price was checked on the vendor's own pricing page on November 6, 2026.
How to choose the best hr software for small business owners
- Decide whether payroll or people come first. Gusto, OnPay and Justworks Payroll lead with pay; BambooHR, Zoho People and Eddy lead with the people record. Buying the wrong lead means paying for a second tool.
- Do the two-part math. Four tools here charge a base fee plus a per-person rate, so multiply before you compare: $49 plus $6 a head is $109 a month at ten people, not $49.
- Check the free plan's real limits. Homebase is free for one location with up to 10 team members; Zoho People is free for up to 5 users. Past those limits you pay, so count heads first.
- Ask what the entry plan leaves out. Time tracking, HR advice, payroll and benefits are add-ons on several tools here, and the add-on can cost more than the base plan.
- Think about where your people sit. Deel and Rippling are built for teams across borders; Homebase is built for one site with hourly shifts. A tool built for the other shape will fight you daily.
HR software is one system in your stack, not the whole stack. If the business also needs to be found online, our guide to marketing platforms for small business SEO covers the visibility side. And before you publish new pages for the services you sell, run your titles through the free SERP snippet preview tool — it shows exactly how the title and description will look in Google.
Whatever you shortlist, try it with real data before you pay. The free plans and trials in this list are long enough to run one genuine pay cycle — your hires, your time-off requests, your payroll — and that cycle tells you more than any review can. Check two things in the trial: that the reports match what your accountant expects, and that your employees can use the self-service side without asking you for help.
HR software for small business owners pricing: what you will actually pay
Take a 10-person business at one location. On list prices, the monthly bill is $12.50 on Zoho People Essential HR billed annually, $30 on Homebase Essentials billed monthly, $50 on Deel HR Core, $90 on Eddy Starter, $109 on Gusto Simple or OnPay, $130 on Justworks Payroll, $250 on BambooHR Core, and $80 on Rippling before its monthly base fee. Homebase Basic is $0 at this headcount, since the free plan covers up to 10 team members at one location.
Over a year, that is $0 on Homebase Basic, $150 on Zoho People, $288 on Homebase Essentials billed annually, $600 on Deel, $1,080 on Eddy, $1,308 on Gusto or OnPay, $1,560 on Justworks Payroll, $960 on Rippling before the base fee, and $3,000 on BambooHR. The same ten people cost $0 at the free end and $3,000 at the dear end — and BambooHR's flat rate is the reason it sits at the top: $250 a month for ten people is $25 a head, not the $10.25 per-employee rate that applies above 25 employees.
Three costs sit outside every number above. First, the per-person rate: Gusto, OnPay, Justworks and Eddy all add $4 to $8 per person on top of the base fee, so hiring moves the bill every month. Second, the add-ons: payroll on Homebase and Eddy, time tracking on Gusto and OnPay, and HR advice on Gusto Premium all cost extra. Third, the PEO step-up: Justworks PEO Basic is $790 a month for ten people, against $130 for its Payroll plan. If you run payroll rather than HR, see our guide to the best payroll software for small business.
Know the difference: HR software vs a PEO
The confusion in this category is between software and a service that employs your people. HR software is a tool: it keeps records, runs payroll, tracks time off and produces reports, and you stay the employer. A PEO is a co-employer: it hires your staff onto its own tax IDs, runs payroll taxes and workers' comp under its name, and sells you access to its large-group health benefits.
That difference explains the price gap. Software here costs $5 to $50 a head a month; Justworks PEO Basic costs $79 a head. What the extra $79 buys is benefits a ten-person company could not negotiate alone, plus compliance work the PEO takes off your desk. It also changes the relationship: leaving a PEO means re-onboarding your team onto a new employer's tax IDs, while leaving a software tool means exporting your data.
A third option sits between them: payroll-only software such as Gusto Simple or OnPay, which handles pay and taxes without touching benefits or co-employment. If benefits are your hiring edge, the PEO earns its fee; if they are not, software costs a fraction for the same payroll.
Quick comparison: tool type by need
| Buyer | Best pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Solo owner, payroll first | Gusto | Full-service payroll from $49/month plus $6/person, free until first payroll |
| Owner who manages people, not just pay | BambooHR | The cleanest HRIS, flat $250/month for teams of 25 or fewer |
| Hourly team at one site | Homebase | Free for up to 10 team members; Essentials is $30/month per location |
| Team hiring abroad | Deel | HR Core from $5/user/month, EOR in 130+ countries |
| Owner who wants benefits leverage | Justworks | PEO Basic from $79/employee/month, or Payroll from $50 plus $8/employee |
| Tightest budget, full HRIS | Zoho People | Free for up to 5 users; Essential HR from $1.25/user/month billed annually |
Mistakes to avoid
- Comparing base fees instead of totals. $49 a month is not the price when the plan adds $6 a head: at ten people Gusto and OnPay both cost $109 a month, and Eddy costs $90.
- Buying the flat rate without doing the per-head math. BambooHR's $250 flat rate is $25 a head for a ten-person team and only reaches $10.25 a head above 25 employees.
- Assuming payroll is included. BambooHR, Zoho People and Eddy sell HR without payroll, and Rippling prices payroll as a separate module. Check the plan before you assume pay runs are covered.
- Paying PEO prices for software needs. Justworks PEO Basic is $790 a month for ten people against $130 for its Payroll plan. Buy the PEO for the benefits, not for the payroll.
- Forgetting the second location. Homebase charges per location, so a second site doubles the bill even with the same headcount, and BambooHR's flat rate ends at 25 employees.
How we chose
We checked each vendor's own pricing page on November 6, 2026 and recorded the starting price exactly as shown, including the annual-billing figure where the page lists one, and we ranked the tools by fit for the most common buyer — a US small business owner running HR themselves — not by brand size. Ratings come from G2 listings checked the same day; Deel's rating is from its Deel Payroll listing on G2, the closest listing to the HR platform. Eddy's $50 plus $4 per person comes from Eddy's own comparison pages, since its pricing page text carried no figures when we opened it. No vendor paid for a place in this list, and none of the links here are affiliate links.
What to do next
Start with the free plan or trial of your top pick and run one real pay cycle through it: onboard one hire, approve one time-off request and run one payroll. Check that the reports match what your accountant expects before you commit to a year. If the HR side is sorted but new customers are not finding you, our monthly SEO service handles the visibility side — or compare providers in our guide to SEO companies for small business. Once your tools are in place, find out what's holding your rankings back.
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Get a free audit→Sources we checked (18)
- Gusto pricing — gusto.com/pricing (checked November 6, 2026)
- BambooHR pricing — bamboohr.com/pricing (checked November 6, 2026)
- Rippling pricing — rippling.com/pricing (checked November 6, 2026)
- Zoho People pricing — zoho.com/people/pricing.html (checked November 6, 2026)
- Homebase pricing — joinhomebase.com/pricing (checked November 6, 2026)
- Justworks pricing — justworks.com/pricing (checked November 6, 2026)
- Deel HR pricing — deel.com/plp/hr (checked November 6, 2026)
- OnPay pricing — onpay.com/payroll/software/paychecks-and-payroll (checked November 6, 2026)
- Eddy pricing — eddy.com/pricing (checked November 6, 2026)
- Gusto reviews — g2.com/products/gusto/reviews (checked November 6, 2026)
- BambooHR reviews — g2.com/products/bamboohr/reviews (checked November 6, 2026)
- Rippling reviews — g2.com/products/rippling/reviews (checked November 6, 2026)
- Zoho People reviews — g2.com/products/zoho-people/reviews (checked November 6, 2026)
- Homebase reviews — g2.com/products/homebase/reviews (checked November 6, 2026)
- Justworks reviews — g2.com/products/justworks/reviews (checked November 6, 2026)
- Deel Payroll reviews — g2.com/compare/deel-payroll-vs-run-powered-by-adp (checked November 6, 2026)
- OnPay reviews — g2.com/products/onpay/reviews (checked November 6, 2026)
- Eddy reviews — g2.com/products/eddy/reviews (checked November 6, 2026)
Shamim
Founder of SerpAstra
A full-stack SEO and digital marketer who spends most days on Local SEO for dental practices, AI search visibility and lead generation.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best HR software for small business owners?
Gusto is the best fit for most owners: full-service payroll from $49 a month plus $6 per person, with onboarding and benefits in the same account. BambooHR is the better pick when managing people matters more than payroll, and Homebase is the best free option for hourly teams at one location.
How much does HR software for a small business cost?
Entry prices run from $0 to $250 a month. Homebase Basic and Zoho People both have free plans, and the first paid plans cost $1.25 to $50 a month before per-person fees. A 10-person team typically pays $0 to $3,000 a year for the subscription alone, before payroll add-ons and benefits.
Is there really free HR software for small businesses?
Yes, with limits. Homebase Basic is free for one location with up to 10 team members and includes scheduling and time tracking. Zoho People is free for up to 5 users with an employee database and time-off management. Both are real products, not trials, but payroll costs extra on each.
What is the difference between HR software and a PEO?
HR software is a tool you use while staying the employer; a PEO becomes a co-employer and runs payroll taxes, workers' comp and benefits under its own tax IDs. Software here costs $5 to $50 a head a month, while Justworks PEO Basic costs $79 a head, which buys large-group benefits a small team could not get alone.
Does HR software include payroll?
Sometimes. Gusto, OnPay and Justworks Payroll include full-service payroll in the entry price, and Homebase and Eddy sell it as an add-on. BambooHR and Zoho People do not include payroll, and Rippling prices it as a separate module. Always check the plan before assuming pay runs are covered.
Can I switch HR software later?
Yes, but plan the move between pay cycles. Export employee records, time-off balances, pay history and open onboarding tasks from the old tool, then import them into the new one and run one parallel payroll before going live. Switching mid-cycle means paying two systems for the same month.
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