Paychex pricing operates on a custom basis, meaning that its two payroll-focused plans, Flex Select and Flex Pro, do not have public pricing. Flex Select is geared towards smaller businesses with basic needs, while Flex Pro is more suitable for growing teams.
Paychex also offers payroll and HR bundles, and several paid add-ons, for businesses looking for more advanced features.
Read on to learn more about how much Paychex costs, whether it’s right for your business, and how it compares with other available payroll platforms.
Why Should You Trust Us? Our Research Methodology
Honed over years of market and user research, our research methodology scores each product (eight in total) across 56 areas of investigation.
Once the research team has gathered all of this information, it is handed over to our talented team of (human) writers, who turn it into the reviews and guides that you’ll find across our site. This is one of them.
For a full breakdown of how we research the best payroll products on the market, head to our methodology section.
| Price | Cost per payee | Highlights | Support | Time tracking | Advanced analytics | Expense management | ||
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| Select | Pro | |||||||
| Custom pricing | Custom pricing | |||||||
| Custom pricing | Custom pricing | |||||||
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| Available as add-on | Available as add-on | |||||||
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Does Paychex Have Any Hidden Costs or Fees?
Yes, Paychex has several hidden costs and add-ons, which I’ll break down below.
Paychex Flex Select
- Garnishment Payment Service
- General Ledger Service
- Pre-Employment Screening
- Employee Handbook Builder
- State Unemployment Insurance Service
- Workers’ Compensation Report Service
- Enhanced Support
- Premium Support
All Paychex Flex Select add-ons have custom pricing.
Paychex Flex Pro
- Enhanced Support
- Premium Support
All Paychex Flex Pro add-ons have custom pricing.
For a full list of Paychex add-ons, head to their website.
Pros of Paychex
- Excellent data compliance protection and security protocols
- Modular pricing so you only pay for what you need
- Access to over 160 reports
- Self-service mobile app for employees
- Library of compliance resources
- 24/7 chat support
Cons of Paychex
- Lots of key features are only available as add-ons
- Platform is quite clunky to operate
Paychex Key Features
Now, let’s turn our focus to the provider’s key features.
Payroll features
Across its two plans, Paychex covers the payroll essentials, with processing, tax administration, and flexible payment options. Impressively, Paychex is the only major payroll provider to offer real-time payments.
Reports
Paychex lets you creates over 160 reports on a range of HR and payroll metrics. Standout examples include new hire reports, which enables you to meet state-level reporting requirements for new and rehired employees.
You can also access change reports, which is a feature lacked by both ADP and Gusto.
User experience
One area in which Paychex falls down is its user experience. The platform is notoriously rigid, with a lengthy manual setup process and visible disconnect between its payroll and HR modules.
Ultimately, Paychex is a frustrating tool to operate, which should deter agile, fast-moving startups.
Help and support options
Unlike Square Payroll, Paychex provides 24/7 chat support. However, if you want multi-channel support, or access to a dedicated specialist, you’ll have to pay extra for either the Enhanced or Premium Support add-ons.
HR features
Paychex bundles HR features into its core payroll packages. You’ll be able to access analytics and reports, new hire reporting, and a state unemployment insurance service on the Paychex Flex Pro plan.
While you’ll need to opt for one the dedicated payroll and HR packages for more advanced features, these additions should be sufficient for small businesses with low headcount.
| Starting price | Rating | Key features | |||
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| SPONSORED  | BEST OVERALL  |  |  |  |  |
| Not yet rated | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.3 | Not yet rated |
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| Compare Quotes | Try Rippling | Compare Quotes | Try Paychex | Compare Quotes | Compare Quotes |
We take our impartial research and analysis seriously, so you can have complete confidence that we're giving you the clearest, most useful product recommendations.
After conducting an initial exploration to identify the most relevant, popular and established tools in the market, we put them through their paces to see their real strengths and weaknesses. In this case, we put eight payroll software platforms to the test across 56 areas of investigation.
Based on years of market and user needs research, we've established a payroll software research methodology that scores each product in five main categories of investigation and 10 subcategories; this covers everything from levels of data security and user control, to the customer support each provider offers, and much more.
Our main research categories for payroll software are:
- Control: The level of customization and flexibility provided by the payroll software in managing and processing payroll. It includes features such as the ability to define pay periods, customize earnings and deductions, set up tax withholding rules, and manage employee data.
- Data security: The measures and protocols implemented by the payroll software to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of sensitive payroll information. This includes encryption of data, secure data storage, access controls, backup and disaster recovery procedures, and compliance with data protection regulations.
- Expertise: The level of knowledge and guidance provided by the payroll software vendor or support team. This can include resources such as documentation, tutorials, training materials and access to payroll experts who can assist users with payroll-related questions.
- Scalability: The ability of the payroll software to accommodate the growth and changing needs of a business. It includes factors such as the capacity to handle an increasing number of employees, support multiple locations or entities, and adapt to evolving payroll requirements, including HR-related functionality and employee benefits.
- Customer support: The various channels and methods available for users to seek assistance and support from the payroll software vendor. This can include email or ticket-based support, phone support, live chat, community forums and self-help resources
When it comes to calculating a provider's final score, not all research areas are weighted evenly, as we know some aspects matter more to our readers than others. After hundreds of hours, our process is complete and the results should ensure you can find the best solution for your needs.
At Tech.co, we have a number of full-time in-house researchers, who re-run this research process regularly, to ensure our results remain reflective of the present day.