Payroll/Best of
I use GustoGusto is the best pick for one employee. Square Payroll is the cheapest with taxes filed for you, and Patriot Basic is cheapest if you file them yourself.
Shanin Drucquer, owner of Iconic LandscapingPrices checked September 2026
$100 after your first payroll, through my link
One employee carries almost the same paperwork as twenty. That’s why full-service payroll is worth it even at this size.
Withhold and deposit taxes
Federal income tax, Social Security, and Medicare, deposited on the IRS schedule, plus state income tax where it applies.
File quarterly and yearly
Form 941 each quarter (or 944 yearly), Form 940 for federal unemployment, and state unemployment returns.
Report the new hire
Every state requires new-hire reporting within a few weeks of the start date.
Send a W-2
By January 31, to your employee and the Social Security Administration, with a W-3.
Your first W-2 hire
More hires coming
Offer letter, onboarding, and every tax filing handled, so nothing slips.
You already sell on Square
Shops and restaurants
Hours come straight from your point of sale, and it’s the cheapest full service.
You want it all on your phone
No laptop needed
App-based payroll from ADP with tax filing included.
You’re comfortable filing taxes
Lowest bill
Basic Payroll pays and calculates; you file and deposit.
Best overall
From $49 + $6/person
It’s what I pay my crew with. Setup took about an hour, it files every payroll tax form, and both times a tax notice showed up, Gusto sorted it out.
Cheapest full service
From $35 + $6/person
The lowest price with tax filing included: federal and state taxes filed for you, and hours import from Square’s point of sale.
Best on your phone
From $39 + $5/employee
ADP’s app-based payroll, run almost entirely from your phone, with payroll taxes filed for you at a published price.
Cheapest if you file taxes
From $17 + $4/worker
Patriot Basic calculates pay and withholding and pays by direct deposit for the lowest price here. You deposit and file the payroll taxes yourself.
Drag to your team size. Entry plans, list prices checked September 2026.
List prices, before promotions. Patriot Basic leaves tax filing to you; its Full Service plan files for you at $37 + $5/worker.
Monthly cost, 1 employee
Files payroll taxes for you
Onboarding and offer letters
Run it from your phone
Standard deposit
A check marks the best option in that row. From each company’s pricing and help pages, checked September 2026. Blank cells weren’t listed.
Yes. You calculate withholding with the IRS tables, deposit taxes through EFTPS on your schedule, and file Form 941, Form 940, state returns, and the W-2 yourself.
The catch is the penalties. Late federal deposits cost 2% to 15% of the amount due depending on how late, and late or wrong forms bring letters of their own. For about $21 to $55 a month, software does the math and, on full-service plans, the filing.
If your business is an S corporation and you work in it, you’re expected to pay yourself a reasonable salary through payroll, with taxes withheld, before taking distributions.
That makes you a one-employee payroll. Any of these four can run it, and full service keeps the quarterly filings off your plate.
I run payroll for my landscaping crew on Gusto, so I know what a single missed filing costs in letters and penalties. I priced each option for one person using its current pricing page, checked September 2026, and compared what’s included versus what’s left to you.
Shanin Drucquer · How we research
About $21 a month a month if you file taxes yourself (Patriot Basic), and $41 a month to $55 a month for full service that files them for you.
Patriot Basic at $21 a month, if you file payroll taxes yourself. With filing included, Square Payroll at $41 a month is the cheapest here.
Not legally, but one employee still means tax deposits, quarterly Form 941, state filings, and a W-2. Software handles the math, and full-service plans file everything for you.
Yes. Gusto Simple is $49 + $6/person, so $55 a month for one person, with onboarding and every payroll tax filing included.
If you’re an S corporation owner who works in the business, yes: you’re expected to pay yourself a reasonable salary through payroll. Sole proprietors and single-member LLCs taxed that way take draws instead.
Sources: Gusto pricing, Square Payroll pricing, Patriot payroll pricing, Roll by ADP, IRS: failure to deposit penalty.
Gusto costs a little more at one person, but it’s the one you won’t outgrow. Sign up through my link and run your first payroll, and Gusto sends you a $100 Visa gift card.
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For teams of any size
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Cheapest full service, compared
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My pick: Gusto · from $49 + $6/person
$100 after your first payroll