OnPay Review 2027: Pros, Cons and Verdict

Who OnPay suits

OnPay fits a small business that wants one price, every tax filed and no plan to outgrow. There is a single payroll plan, Payroll Essentials, at $49/mo plus $6 per worker. It covers W-2 employees and 1099 contractors, every state and unlimited pay runs, and it runs month to month.

That makes it a good match if you have staff in more than one state, or expect to soon. Most rivals charge for each extra state or push you to a higher tier for it. OnPay includes multi-state payroll at no extra cost and handles state tax registrations for you.

This review is based on OnPay's pricing page, terms of service and help center, checked November 12, 2026.

Who should skip it

If your workers expect their pay fast, look elsewhere. OnPay lists up to a 4-day turnaround for direct deposit and no faster option, and turning on direct deposit requires a risk assessment of the company and its primary signer.

Teams that want built-in time tracking or PTO approvals will pay for add-ons. Time Tracking is $15/mo plus $4 per worker and HR is $15/mo plus $2 per worker, so the low headline price climbs once you add them.

What it costs at 5, 20 and 50 employees

These figures use OnPay's regular published price for employees in one state. Extra states don't change them.

Employees	Monthly cost
5	$79
20	$169
50	$349

Your first month is free, and OnPay lists no setup, implementation or data migration fees. If you want everything bundled (time tracking, HR, compliance resources and live HR support), the biggest bundle is $130/mo plus $10 per worker, down from $154 plus $12 bought separately.

What it files and what it leaves to you

Per the pricing page, OnPay files and pays federal, state and local payroll taxes on the base plan, supports both Form 941 and Form 943, and includes W-2s, 1099s and year-end filings. It also does new-hire reporting to all 50 states plus DC, typically every Friday.

What stays with you is the accuracy of what you enter. The terms make you responsible for penalties and interest that come from inaccurate information you supply. OnPay's own promise covers its mistakes: "If we make a mistake, we'll take care of the tax agency for you." You also need to send enrollment documents at least 10 business days before your first payroll.

Fees and traps

• The "starts at $55 per month" headline is the $49 base plus one $6 worker.
• Every worker in a pay run that month is billed the $6 fee, even if paid $0.
• Mailing W-2s or 1099s costs $10 per form. Printing them yourself is free.
• Sales tax may be added to your subscription in many states unless you give OnPay a tax-exemption certificate.
• Cancelling takes 30 days' written notice.
• The terms let OnPay change fees at any time. It says it will try to give 30 days' notice but isn't obligated to.
• Live HR Support is $65/mo and Compliance Resources $10/mo on top.

On the plus side, pay runs are unlimited with no per-run fee, and you can cancel a pay run free until 11:30 pm on the business day before funds are drafted.

Support runs by phone, chat and email for all clients, Monday to Friday 9am to 8pm ET. OnPay's support FAQ describes the phone line as being for account recovery, so expect chat and tickets for most questions. We couldn't load OnPay's Trustpilot page, so we have no independent rating to report.

Verdict

OnPay is our top pick, with a score of 9.1. At $79/mo for 5 employees it costs the same as Gusto Simple, but Gusto Simple covers one state and OnPay covers all of them on its only plan, with federal, state and local filing included. The trade-offs are slow direct deposit and extras like time tracking that cost more. If 4-day deposit works for your team, OnPay gives you the most filed for the price.