Best Payroll for One Employee
When you're paying exactly one employee, the base fee dominates the bill, so the lowest-cost full-service option usually wins: Patriot's Full Service plan has one of the lowest base prices available and files your federal, state, and local payroll taxes. If you'd rather pay a bit more for a better experience, OnPay and Gusto both charge $49/month plus $6 per person.
Do the arithmetic before you decide on features. At one employee, a $49 base plus $6 per person is $55 a month — the base fee is nearly the entire cost, so a provider with a lower base saves proportionally much more here than it would at ten employees.
This page also covers the most common version of this question: an S corporation owner paying themselves a reasonable salary. That's still a W-2 employee with real withholding and filing obligations, and getting the salary amount right is a tax question for your own advisor, not a software question.
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Our ranked picks
We earn a commission from Patriot, OnPay, and Gusto, and nothing from SurePayroll or Square. Our top pick is ranked on lowest total monthly cost for one employee, which is the factor that matters most at this size.
- 1Lowest total cost for one employee
Patriot Payroll
Owners who want full-service filings at the smallest possible bill
At one employee, the base fee is the bill, and Patriot's base is among the lowest available for full-service payroll. Its Full Service plan files federal, state, and local payroll taxes, issues W-2s and 1099s, and carries a tax filing accuracy guarantee — everything a one-employee payroll actually needs.
Over a year, the difference between Patriot's base and a $49 base is real money for a business paying one person. That's the entire case, and at this size it's a strong one.
Where it falls short- Do not buy Basic Payroll by mistake — it leaves the filings and deposits to you.
- Benefits, HR tooling, and employee experience are thin compared with Gusto.
- Basic Payroll is $17/month plus $4 per worker paid, but you handle the tax filings and deposits yourself; Full Service Payroll is $37/month plus $5 per worker paid (pricing verified August 2026).
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- 2Best flat price with nothing withheld
OnPay
One-employee businesses that want full capability in one plan
OnPay is $49/month plus $6 per person — $55 for one employee — and includes everything in a single plan: unlimited pay runs, federal, state, and local filings, W-2 and 1099 filings, multi-state payroll, health benefits in supported states, 401(k) integrations, and workers' comp.
For an S corp owner paying themselves, unlimited pay runs and included multi-state coverage mean nothing about the plan has to change if the situation gets more complicated.
Where it falls short- No reduced tier for a single employee: you pay the full base.
- More expensive than Patriot at this headcount.
- Interface is more functional than polished.
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- 3Best experience for one employee
Gusto
Owners who want the smoothest setup and self-service portal
Gusto's Simple plan is $49/month plus $6 per person with full-service federal, state, and local filings, and it's the easiest of these to set up without help — which matters when you're running payroll for the first time. Gusto also markets a solo option aimed at one-person S corporations; confirm the current terms before assuming it applies to you.
If you expect to hire a second person, offer benefits, or add a 401(k), starting here avoids a switch later.
Where it falls short- Simple is single-state only; multi-state requires Plus at $80/month plus $12 per person.
- Costs more than Patriot for a single employee.
- being verified: confirm current Gusto solo/one-person S corp plan pricing and eligibility.
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- 4Best simple option, including household employers
SurePayroll
Single-employee payrolls that never change, including nannies
SurePayroll's Full Service plan handles payroll, tax filing, direct deposit, and W-2 and 1099 filings without a platform attached, which fits a payroll that's one person on the same salary every period. It also offers a Household plan with Schedule H support if your single employee is a nanny or caregiver.
We earn nothing from SurePayroll. It's here because a small, static payroll doesn't need a growth platform.
Where it falls short- Limited benefits and HR functionality.
- Less suited to a business expecting to grow or add states.
- Small business payroll is $29/month plus $7 per worker, and multi-state payroll is a $9.99/month add-on (pricing verified August 2026).
- 5Best if your one worker is a contractor
Square Payroll
Businesses paying a single 1099 contractor rather than an employee
If the person you're paying is genuinely a 1099 contractor and not an employee, Square Payroll's contractor-only plan has a $0 monthly base with a per-contractor fee and includes 1099-NEC filings. That's dramatically cheaper than any employee plan.
The word "genuinely" is doing a lot of work in that sentence. Classification is determined by the nature of the working relationship, not by preference or paperwork.
Where it falls short- Only applies to true 1099 contractors — misclassifying an employee is expensive.
- Adding a W-2 employee moves you to Square's paid employee plan.
- Full-service payroll is $35/month plus $6 per person paid; contractor-only is $6 per person paid with no base fee (pricing verified August 2026).
Compare the picks side by side
| Provider | Starting price | Per person | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patriot Payroll | Full Service: $37/mo base | $5 / worker paid / mo | Owners who want full-service filings at the smallest possible bill |
| OnPay | $49/mo base | $6 / person / mo | One-employee businesses that want full capability in one plan |
| Gusto | Simple: $49/mo base | $6 / person / mo | Owners who want the smoothest setup and self-service portal |
| SurePayroll | $29/mo base | $7 / worker / mo | Single-employee payrolls that never change, including nannies |
| Square Payroll | $0 base (contractors only) | $6 / person paid / mo | Businesses paying a single 1099 contractor rather than an employee |
Prices shown come from each provider's review page on this site. Confirm current pricing with the provider before signing up — payroll pricing changes often.
Pricing verified August 2026
How we picked
At one employee the ranking logic is unusually simple: total monthly cost, given that the plan is genuinely full-service. Because per-person fees barely register at this size, the monthly base fee decides the winner, which is why the lowest-base full-service provider ranks first.
We then weight setup difficulty, since a one-employee payroll is usually run by an owner with no payroll background, and we weight whether the provider can handle a second employee or a second state without a migration.
We deliberately do not rank self-service plans highly here. A single-employee payroll still has federal deposit deadlines and quarterly filings, and one missed deposit can cost more than a year of the price difference.
Every provider is scored against the same criteria. Read our payroll software review methodology.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best payroll service for one employee?
The lowest-cost full-service option usually wins, because the monthly base fee is nearly the entire bill at one employee. Patriot's Full Service plan has one of the lowest base prices and files federal, state, and local payroll taxes; OnPay and Gusto both cost $49/month plus $6 per person, or $55 for one employee.
Do I need payroll software for just one employee?
You need something that files and deposits your payroll taxes on schedule and issues a W-2, and payroll software is the cheapest reliable way to get that. Running one employee's payroll manually is possible but exposes you to deposit deadlines and quarterly filings you have to track yourself.
What is the best payroll for an S corp owner paying themselves?
Any full-service provider on this page works, since you're a W-2 employee of your own company. Gusto markets a solo option aimed at one-person S corporations, and Patriot is typically the lowest-cost full-service route — but confirm current terms and pricing directly, and set your reasonable salary with your own tax advisor.
How much does payroll for one employee cost?
With OnPay or Gusto's Simple plan, $49/month plus $6 per person, which is $55 a month for one employee. Patriot's base price is lower, and Square's contractor-only plan has a $0 base if the person you're paying is genuinely a 1099 contractor rather than an employee.
Can I use a cheaper self-service plan for one employee?
You can, but you then own the federal, state, and local filings and deposits yourself — that's the case with Patriot's Basic Payroll at $17/month plus $4 per worker paid. For a single employee, the monthly saving is small and the penalty exposure isn't.
Should I pay my one worker as a contractor instead?
Only if the relationship genuinely meets the standard for independent contractor status, which depends on the facts of how the work is controlled and performed, not on what's convenient. Misclassification can result in back taxes and penalties well beyond any software savings, so check with a tax professional first.
The bottom line
For one employee, buy on base price as long as the plan is full-service: Patriot for the lowest bill, OnPay or Gusto at $55 a month if you want a better product and room to grow.
The one mistake to avoid is buying a cheaper self-service plan and not realizing the filings are still yours. Confirm in writing that your plan includes federal, state, and local payroll tax filings before your first pay run.
Read how we research and score payroll providers in our payroll software review methodology.