Index › Core HR and payroll › Payroll software › Small business › September 2026 Edition

Payroll software for small business buyers

Asked as “payroll software”, and as “payroll provider”, on behalf of a small B2B company. 42 first choices recorded across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, twelve models each.

Standing

Gusto

Clear leader

57% of first choices, clear leader.

ShowinginAll 50 categories in the September 2026 Edition →

By buyer segment

The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment; they sit side by side and are never added together.

Small business

Gusto57%Clear leaderThis page Mid-market

Rippling28%ContestedStanding →Enterprise

ADP30%ContestedStanding →

01The standing

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, over all twelve models, for a small B2B company. Ordered by share.

ProductFirst-choice shareNegative rateLabelsQuadrant

Gusto10%59endorsed leader

Patriot Payroll5%40accepted challenger

Rippling11%28accepted challenger

OnPay0%44accepted challenger

ADP RUN10%20accepted challenger

Show the five products at 0%, ordered by negative rate

Paychex Flex57%21criticized challenger

ADP56%18criticized challenger

SurePayroll40%10criticized challenger

QuickBooks Payroll23%39accepted challenger

Square Payroll9%11accepted challenger

Bars are the share of first choices, 0 to 100Every product with at least 10 labels here. Every product name links to its vendor page.

Head to head

Rippling vs Patriot Payroll Rippling vs Paylocity Patriot Payroll vs Paylocity

Recommended versus criticized

Every product with at least 10 labels here, on both axes. The 30% line names a quadrant, not the verdict above: that one needs more than 40%.

Criticized challengerCriticized default

Negative label rate →

Accepted challengerEndorsed leader

0%First-choice share → · lines at 30% share and 25% negative70%

Key

Gusto57%

Patriot Payroll29%

Rippling5%

OnPay2%

ADP RUN2%

QuickBooks Payroll0%

Square Payroll0%

SurePayroll0%

ADP0%

Paychex Flex0%

02What they warned about

Eight of twelve models held their first choice under the paraphrase. Claude Haiku 4.5, Llama 4 Maverick, Kimi K2 and GLM 4.7 FlashX changed. A high negative share on a product with few labels is a warning. A low share on a product with many labels is salience, not sentiment.

Paychex Flex

57%

12 of 21 labels negative · 11 of 12 models · 7 hard negative

“Here are the specific platforms to avoid and the reasons why: ### 1. Paychex ... frequently cited as a poor choice for small businesses” GLM 4.7 FlashX, negative prompt

ADP

56%

10 of 18 labels negative · 9 of 12 models · 6 hard negative

“Many small businesses report feeling trapped after signing. Consider only if you need enterprise-level features and have negotiating power.” Kimi K2, negative prompt

QuickBooks Payroll

23%

9 of 39 labels negative · 7 of 12 models · 5 hard negative

“Who should avoid: Businesses with employees in multiple states... it's not a fully managed service despite the marketing.” DeepSeek V4 Flash, negative prompt

Paycor

75%

6 of 8 labels negative · 6 of 12 models · 5 hard negative

“Who should avoid: Small businesses with 1–50 employees who don't have a dedicated HR person to fight billing disputes.” DeepSeek V4 Flash, negative prompt

03What they cite

Citations exist only for the models that return a source list: twelve of the twelve in this edition, and all six flagship models on the expanded tier.

Sites the answers cite

63 of 72 answers in this category came back with a source list, from 12 of 12 models: citations where the model returns them, or the search results it consulted. 5 of those lists are Google grounding redirects that name no site and are left out of the counts. 744 links across 193 sites, every framing counted. Ranked by the number of answers carrying the site or page.

forbes.com

49 answers · 59 citations · 11 models

fitsmallbusiness.com

26 answers · 30 citations · 9 models

adp.com

vendor site · ADP23 answers · 28 citations · 10 models

gusto.com

vendor site · Gusto20 answers · 37 citations · 9 models

pcmag.com

19 answers · 19 citations · 9 models

technologyadvice.com

19 answers · 19 citations · 8 models

onpay.com

vendor site · OnPay18 answers · 19 citations · 8 models

cnbc.com

17 answers · 18 citations · 8 models

learn.g2.com

17 answers · 17 citations · 8 models

reddit.com

vendor site · Reddit14 answers · 47 citations · 9 models

patriotsoftware.com

vendor site · Patriot Software14 answers · 18 citations · 9 models

joinhomebase.com

12 answers · 16 citations · 6 models

Pages the answers cite

The ten pages named in the most answers, by full address. A page here is one the models returned with a recommendation, not one the index endorses.

forbes.com/advisor/business/software/best-payroll-services

47 answers · 10 models

adp.com/resources/articles-and-insights/articles/t/the-best-payroll-softwar…

20 answers · 9 models

fitsmallbusiness.com/best-payroll-software-reviews

19 answers · 8 models

onpay.com/insights/best-small-business-payroll-software-picks

18 answers · 8 models

pcmag.com/picks/best-payroll-services

18 answers · 9 models

cnbc.com/select/best-payroll-services-small-business

17 answers · 8 models

technologyadvice.com/payroll-software

17 answers · 7 models

learn.g2.com/best-payroll-software

15 answers · 7 models

patriotsoftware.com/payroll/best-payroll-software-for-small-businesses

12 answers · 7 models

equalpaytoday.org/best-payroll-software-small-businesses

10 answers · 6 models

04How they answered

Six framings of the same buying question, each sent to every model in a fresh session with search on. One row per model, so a row shows whether it held its answer under rewording, what it named when cost was the constraint, and what it argued against. Computed from the raw judge labels.

ModelDirect“What is the best payroll software for a small B2B company?”Paraphrase“Which payroll provider would you recommend to a small business that sells to other businesses?”Comparative“What are the top payroll platforms for a small team and how do they differ?”Budget-constrained“What is the best payroll software for a small company with a tight budget?”Scale-constrained“We are a 30 person company evaluating a payroll software. What should we look at?”Negative“Which payroll platforms should a small business avoid or be cautious about?”

Claude Haiku 4.5ADP RUN, GustoGustoChanged

Two alternatives

OnPay, Patriot Payroll

Gusto

Four alternatives

Homebase, OnPay, Patriot Payroll, QuickBooks Payroll

Patriot Payroll

Two alternatives

OnPay, Wave Payroll

no first choiceagainst: Gusto, Patriot Payroll, Paychex Flex, Paycor, QuickBooks Payroll

GPT-5.4 miniGusto

Three alternatives

ADP RUN, QuickBooks Payroll, Rippling

GustoHeld

Two alternatives

ADP RUN, Paychex Flex

Gusto

Four alternatives

ADP RUN, OnPay, Patriot Payroll, QuickBooks Payroll

Patriot Payroll

Two alternatives

OnPay, Square Payroll

against: Gustono first choiceagainst: Paychex Flex, Paycor, Payroll4Free, SurePayroll

Gemini 3.5 FlashGusto

Five alternatives

Deel, OnPay, QuickBooks Workforce, Remote, Rippling

GustoHeld

Two alternatives

QuickBooks Payroll, Rippling

Gusto

Four alternatives

OnPay, Patriot Payroll, QuickBooks Workforce, Rippling

Patriot Payroll

Three alternatives

Gusto, Payroll4Free, Zoho Payroll

against: SurePayrollGusto, Ripplingagainst: ADP RUN, Paychex Flex, QuickBooks Payrollagainst: ADP, Excel, Justworks, Patriot Payroll, Paychex Flex, QuickBooks Payroll, Rippling

Perplexity SonarGusto

Five alternatives

ADP RUN, OnPay, Patriot Payroll, QuickBooks Payroll, Rippling

GustoHeld

Five alternatives

ADP, OnPay, Patriot Payroll, QuickBooks Payroll, Rippling

Gusto

Seven alternatives

ADP RUN, Homebase, OnPay, Patriot Payroll, QuickBooks Payroll, Rippling, Square Payroll

Patriot Payroll

Two alternatives

OnPay, QuickBooks Payroll

against: Gustono first choice

Two alternatives

Gusto, QuickBooks Payroll

against: ADP, Paychex Flex, Square Payroll

Grok 4.1 FastGusto

Three alternatives

OnPay, Patriot Payroll, QuickBooks Payroll

against: ADPGustoHeld

Four alternatives

ADP RUN, OnPay, Patriot Payroll, QuickBooks Payroll

Gusto

Three alternatives

OnPay, Patriot Payroll, QuickBooks Payroll

against: ADP RUNPatriot Payroll

Three alternatives

Gusto, OnPay, Wave Payroll

Gusto

Two alternatives

OnPay, QuickBooks Payroll

against: ADP, Gusto, Paychex Flex, Paycor, Wave Payroll

Mistral SmallGusto

Two alternatives

OnPay, Patriot Payroll

GustoHeld

Two alternatives

ADP, Paychex Flex

Gusto, Patriot Payroll

Four alternatives

ADP RUN, Deel, Paychex Flex, Rippling

Patriot Payroll

Two alternatives

OnPay, Payroll4Free

no first choiceagainst: ADP, Papaya Global, Paycom, Paycor, Rippling, SurePayroll, Workday

DeepSeek V4 FlashGusto

Three alternatives

OnPay, Patriot Payroll, QuickBooks Payroll

GustoHeld

Two alternatives

OnPay, QuickBooks Payroll

Gusto

Seven alternatives

ADP RUN, OnPay, Patriot Payroll, Paychex Flex, QuickBooks Payroll, Rippling, Square Payroll

Patriot Payroll

Three alternatives

OnPay, Payroll4Free, QuickBooks Payroll

no first choiceagainst: ADP, Paychex Flex, Paycom, Paycor, QuickBooks Payroll, SurePayroll

Llama 4 MaverickGusto

Three alternatives

OnPay, Patriot Payroll, QuickBooks Payroll

no first choiceChangedGusto

Nine alternatives

ADP RUN, HiBob, Justworks, OnPay, Patriot Payroll, Paylocity, QuickBooks Payroll, Remote, Rippling

Patriot Payroll

Three alternatives

OnPay, QuickBooks Payroll, Rippling

no first choiceagainst: ADP, Namely, Paychex Flex, QuickBooks Payroll, Rippling, Wave Payroll

Qwen 3.7 FlashGusto

Four alternatives

Deel, QuickBooks Payroll, Remote, Rippling

GustoHeld

Two alternatives

ADP RUN, QuickBooks Payroll

Gusto

Four alternatives

Deel, QuickBooks Payroll, Rippling, Square Payroll

Patriot Payroll

Three alternatives

Homebase, OnPay, SurePayroll

against: Gustono first choiceagainst: ADP, Dayforce, Excel/Sheets, Gusto, Paychex Flex, QuickBooks Payroll

Kimi K2Gusto, OnPay

Two alternatives

Patriot Payroll, QuickBooks Payroll

GustoChanged

Two alternatives

ADP RUN, Paychex Flex

Gusto, OnPay

Four alternatives

ADP RUN, Patriot Payroll, QuickBooks Workforce, Square Payroll

Patriot Payroll

Two alternatives

OnPay, Square Payroll

no first choiceagainst: ADP, Paychex Flex, Paycom, QuickBooks Payroll

GLM 4.7 FlashXBrightPay, Rippling

Three alternatives

Gusto, Moneysoft PM100, Staffology

GustoChanged

Five alternatives

ADP, OnPay, Patriot Payroll, Square Payroll, Wave Payroll

Gusto

Eight alternatives

ADP RUN, Homebase, OnPay, Patriot Payroll, QuickBooks Workforce, Rippling, Square Payroll, SurePayroll

Patriot Payroll, Payroll4Free

Two alternatives

Gusto, OnPay

against: QuickBooks Payrollno first choiceagainst: ADP, Justworks, Paychex Flex, QuickBooks Payroll

MiniMax M2.5Gusto

One alternative

OnPay

GustoHeld

Four alternatives

ADP, Paychex Flex, QuickBooks Payroll, Rippling

Gusto

Four alternatives

ADP RUN, OnPay, Patriot Payroll, QuickBooks Payroll

Patriot Payroll

Three alternatives

Gusto, SurePayroll, TimeTrex

no first choiceagainst: Complete Payroll Solutions, Justworks, Paychex Flex, Paycor, Paylocity

Bold is the first choiceAlternatives are counted; the count opens them.What the answer argued against

05The record

One row per call: the version string exactly as returned, whether the model searched, sources cited, and latency. Full answer text is in the free responses file. Download the record

Seventy-two rows: every prompt, every model, every answer.

Prompt	Model	Version string	Time (UTC)	Searched	Sources	Latency
Direct recommendation	Claude Haiku 4.5	`claude-haiku-4-5-20251001`	2026-09-17 18:21	no	0	4 s
Direct recommendation	GPT-5.4 mini	`gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17`	2026-09-17 19:53	yes	6	6 s
Direct recommendation	Gemini 3.5 Flash	`gemini-3.5-flash`	2026-09-17 18:50	yes	9	18 s
Direct recommendation	Perplexity Sonar	`sonar`	2026-09-17 18:29	yes	19	7 s
Direct recommendation	Grok 4.1 Fast	`spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex`	2026-09-17 20:10	yes	14	8 s
Direct recommendation	Mistral Small	`mistral/mistral-small via mistral`	2026-09-17 20:22	yes	5	4 s
Direct recommendation	DeepSeek V4 Flash	`deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks`	2026-09-17 21:23	yes	8	9 s
Direct recommendation	Llama 4 Maverick	`meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock`	2026-09-17 19:24	yes	5	3 s
Direct recommendation	Qwen 3.7 Flash	`alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba`	2026-09-17 19:18	no	0	28 s
Direct recommendation	Kimi K2	`moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita`	2026-09-17 18:43	yes	10	21 s
Direct recommendation	GLM 4.7 FlashX	`zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai`	2026-09-17 18:53	yes	22	67 s
Direct recommendation	MiniMax M2.5	`minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax`	2026-09-17 21:22	yes	5	16 s
Paraphrase	Claude Haiku 4.5	`claude-haiku-4-5-20251001`	2026-09-17 19:52	yes	17	10 s
Paraphrase	GPT-5.4 mini	`gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17`	2026-09-17 18:24	yes	3	4 s
Paraphrase	Gemini 3.5 Flash	`gemini-3.5-flash`	2026-09-17 22:07	yes	5	53 s
Paraphrase	Perplexity Sonar	`sonar`	2026-09-17 18:13	yes	20	5 s
Paraphrase	Grok 4.1 Fast	`spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex`	2026-09-17 18:54	yes	22	12 s
Paraphrase	Mistral Small	`mistral/mistral-small via mistral`	2026-09-17 18:49	yes	10	7 s
Paraphrase	DeepSeek V4 Flash	`deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks`	2026-09-17 21:20	yes	9	11 s
Paraphrase	Llama 4 Maverick	`meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock`	2026-09-17 21:13	yes	5	3 s
Paraphrase	Qwen 3.7 Flash	`alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba`	2026-09-17 19:18	yes	5	27 s
Paraphrase	Kimi K2	`moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita`	2026-09-17 18:46	yes	10	18 s
Paraphrase	GLM 4.7 FlashX	`zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai`	2026-09-17 18:56	yes	9	19 s
Paraphrase	MiniMax M2.5	`minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax`	2026-09-17 18:27	yes	5	21 s
Comparative	Claude Haiku 4.5	`claude-haiku-4-5-20251001`	2026-09-17 18:20	yes	15	11 s
Comparative	GPT-5.4 mini	`gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17`	2026-09-17 19:51	yes	3	9 s
Comparative	Gemini 3.5 Flash	`gemini-3.5-flash`	2026-09-17 22:06	yes	25	72 s
Comparative	Perplexity Sonar	`sonar`	2026-09-17 21:33	yes	20	12 s
Comparative	Grok 4.1 Fast	`spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex`	2026-09-17 18:17	yes	21	11 s
Comparative	Mistral Small	`mistral/mistral-small via mistral`	2026-09-17 19:05	yes	10	10 s
Comparative	DeepSeek V4 Flash	`deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks`	2026-09-17 19:19	yes	23	29 s
Comparative	Llama 4 Maverick	`meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock`	2026-09-17 18:25	yes	5	3 s
Comparative	Qwen 3.7 Flash	`alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba`	2026-09-17 18:47	no	0	26 s
Comparative	Kimi K2	`moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita`	2026-09-17 19:36	yes	10	24 s
Comparative	GLM 4.7 FlashX	`zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai`	2026-09-17 21:06	yes	16	60 s
Comparative	MiniMax M2.5	`minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax`	2026-09-17 20:12	yes	25	42 s
Budget constrained	Claude Haiku 4.5	`claude-haiku-4-5-20251001`	2026-09-17 17:58	yes	9	9 s
Budget constrained	GPT-5.4 mini	`gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17`	2026-09-17 20:43	yes	3	4 s
Budget constrained	Gemini 3.5 Flash	`gemini-3.5-flash`	2026-09-17 21:55	yes	17	39 s
Budget constrained	Perplexity Sonar	`sonar`	2026-09-17 21:30	yes	20	5 s
Budget constrained	Grok 4.1 Fast	`spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex`	2026-09-17 21:32	yes	12	7 s
Budget constrained	Mistral Small	`mistral/mistral-small via mistral`	2026-09-17 21:25	yes	5	4 s
Budget constrained	DeepSeek V4 Flash	`deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks`	2026-09-17 19:04	yes	8	11 s
Budget constrained	Llama 4 Maverick	`meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock`	2026-09-17 19:32	yes	5	2 s
Budget constrained	Qwen 3.7 Flash	`alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba`	2026-09-17 19:26	yes	15	43 s
Budget constrained	Kimi K2	`moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita`	2026-09-17 18:21	yes	10	22 s
Budget constrained	GLM 4.7 FlashX	`zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai`	2026-09-17 20:51	yes	19	38 s
Budget constrained	MiniMax M2.5	`minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax`	2026-09-17 20:59	yes	5	9 s
Scale constrained	Claude Haiku 4.5	`claude-haiku-4-5-20251001`	2026-09-17 18:43	no	0	7 s
Scale constrained	GPT-5.4 mini	`gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17`	2026-09-17 18:37	no	0	9 s
Scale constrained	Gemini 3.5 Flash	`gemini-3.5-flash`	2026-09-17 18:04	no	0	13 s
Scale constrained	Perplexity Sonar	`sonar`	2026-09-17 18:30	yes	20	12 s
Scale constrained	Grok 4.1 Fast	`spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex`	2026-09-17 19:29	yes	12	9 s
Scale constrained	Mistral Small	`mistral/mistral-small via mistral`	2026-09-17 19:51	no	0	6 s
Scale constrained	DeepSeek V4 Flash	`deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via deepinfra`	2026-09-17 19:00	yes	9	49 s
Scale constrained	Llama 4 Maverick	`meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock`	2026-09-17 21:45	yes	5	3 s
Scale constrained	Qwen 3.7 Flash	`alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba`	2026-09-17 18:56	no	0	27 s
Scale constrained	Kimi K2	`moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita`	2026-09-17 20:34	yes	10	21 s
Scale constrained	GLM 4.7 FlashX	`zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai`	2026-09-17 20:58	yes	9	78 s
Scale constrained	MiniMax M2.5	`minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax`	2026-09-17 21:35	no	0	9 s
Negative framing	Claude Haiku 4.5	`claude-haiku-4-5-20251001`	2026-09-17 21:01	yes	18	13 s
Negative framing	GPT-5.4 mini	`gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17`	2026-09-17 20:31	yes	4	4 s
Negative framing	Gemini 3.5 Flash	`gemini-3.5-flash`	2026-09-17 21:54	yes	16	44 s
Negative framing	Perplexity Sonar	`sonar`	2026-09-17 21:37	yes	20	6 s
Negative framing	Grok 4.1 Fast	`spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex`	2026-09-17 19:44	yes	42	17 s
Negative framing	Mistral Small	`mistral/mistral-small via mistral`	2026-09-17 18:32	yes	15	15 s
Negative framing	DeepSeek V4 Flash	`deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks`	2026-09-17 19:05	yes	29	41 s
Negative framing	Llama 4 Maverick	`meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock`	2026-09-17 20:46	yes	5	4 s
Negative framing	Qwen 3.7 Flash	`alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba`	2026-09-17 21:09	yes	15	31 s
Negative framing	Kimi K2	`moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita`	2026-09-17 18:37	yes	30	41 s
Negative framing	GLM 4.7 FlashX	`zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai`	2026-09-17 21:45	yes	23	79 s
Negative framing	MiniMax M2.5	`minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax`	2026-09-17 19:37	yes	10	28 s

Normalization in this category

Every judgment call made between the raw labels and the numbers above, listed so it is visible and reversible.

Category-scoped readings

Ceridian read as Dayforce

Patriot read as Patriot Payroll

Patriot Software read as Patriot Payroll

Paychex read as Paychex Flex

Paychex (specifically Paychex Flex) read as Paychex Flex

QuickBooks read as QuickBooks Payroll

QuickBooks Online Payroll read as QuickBooks Payroll

RUN Powered by ADP read as ADP RUN

Wave read as Wave Payroll

Unresolved, counted raw

Moneysoft PM100

Staffology

Discontinued, still offered

No shut-down product was recommended here.

Payroll software for small business buyers

By buyer segment

01The standing

Recommended versus criticized

02What they warned about

03What they cite

Sites the answers cite

Pages the answers cite

04How they answered

05The record

Normalization in this category

Also in core hr and payroll