Juvy Vallescas

The best free time tracking software not only monitors hours worked from multiple platforms but also allows GPS tracking and geofencing, PTO tracking, break options, and overtime or early clock-in/out alerts. Some even have productivity and invoicing tools, enabling users to view idle/inactive times and bill clients easily. In this article, we evaluated 18 providers and narrowed the list down to our nine top recommendations: : Best overall free time tracking software : Best for restaurants and retailers needing POS integration : Best for iOS users : Best for freelancers and teams on a budget : Best for businesses that need to bill clients and get paid quickly : Best for improving productivity and tracking team performance : Best for consulting and law firms wanting expense recording and billing tools : Best for accounting, manufacturing, and design businesses : Best for construction and other companies needing geofencing for off-site work Note that the above solutions also offer paid plans with advanced tools. If you need more time tracking options, here are some low-cost paid time tracking solutions apart from the paid solutions offered by the above tools: : Best for seasonal businesses : Best for contractors needing project management tools Best Free Time Tracking Software Compared See fullscreen table × *Get discounts on annual plans. **Some features may be found in only paid plans. Low-cost Timekeeping Software Compared Quiz: Which Free Time Tracking Software Is Right for You? Want to know which free time tracking software is right for your business? Answer this three-question quiz and find out. Hubstaff: Overall Best Free Time Tracker , an all-in-one time tracking and employee monitoring solution, earns the No. 1 spot on our list for its strength of features for individuals and companies. Its free plan has both time tracking and reporting functionalities, including idle detectors and a simple-to-use online timesheet, which allows you to log hours and activities. You can also set a schedule to automatically send reports to yourself, your client, or even stakeholders so that everyone is updated. The paid plans offer scheduling, invoicing, and payroll. In our evaluation, Hubstaff earned 4.4 out of 5. It got perfect marks on employee time tracking and reporting and high scores for pricing, ease of use, and popularity. Its employee monitoring tools and geofencing and GPS trackers raised its score as well. It took a hit for lacking phone support, having some billing features only in paid plans, and complaints of glitches in the mobile app. Hubstaff Features Read our Hubstaff review Homebase: Best Free Timekeeping Software for Restaurants & Retail free plan offers excellent time-tracking tools and top-rate scheduling tools. In fact, it ranks No. 1 on our lists of the best retail scheduling software and best restaurant scheduling software. Your employees and contractors can review schedules, trade shifts, request time off, and communicate with co-workers. The system also helps you stay compliant by tracking paid and unpaid breaks, as well as keeping tabs on missed shifts, breaks, clock-outs, and overtime. It also integrates with point-of-sale (POS) systems. Built for locations rather than projects, it lacks client invoicing capabilities. It earned 4.38 out of 5 in our rubric, with top marks for reporting and ease of use. Users on third-party user review sites rated it 4.57 out of 5 overall—which was a high score, but not the highest (AccountSight, for example, earned 4.86 out of 5). However, it took a hit because the mobile app received a lot of complaints for glitches. It also lost points for lacking invoice capability. Homebase Features Read our Homebase review TimeTrack: Best Free Time Tracking Software for iOS Users The German-created has been around since 2014, but it’s not popularly known in the US. Nonetheless, it offers a lot in terms of functionality, even in the free plan. Designed for iOS, it works for desktop, iPad, iPhone, and even Apple Watch. You can use voice commands to work it through Siri, something no other software on our list does. You can track time and expenses, create invoices, run reports of your working hours, view time sheets, manage projects, and more. TimeTrack earned 4.35 out of 5 in our rubric. It took a big hit in popularity, with very few reviews for the software or the phone app (TimeTrack itself says it has 500,000 users). It only offers its Enterprise app in Android, so you’ll need to look to other providers’ apps if you don’t use iOS. One other drawback is the free version is limited to 60 time entries. However, for a one-time fee of $3.99, you can get unlimited entries, and the range of features and flexibility is remarkable. The free plan is meant for freelancers, but the paid plans for businesses are reasonably priced. TimeTrack Features TimeTrack’s free plans include all these features (lacks cloud store and sync) but are limited to one user and 60 time entries. The paid plans also get premium support. Clockify: Best Free Timekeeping Software for Freelancers & Teams on a Budget is an affordable, full-featured time tracking software. Its free version is good for freelancers (it is our top recommendation for best freelancer time tracker) as it's easy to use and available on web, desktop, and mobile. It also allows unlimited users and projects, which is why we especially recommend it for employers on a tight budget needing to manage teams. Aside from basic time tracking, you get unlimited detailed reports, API access, multiple customer support options (email, chat, and phone), and over 80 third-party software integrations for project management and productivity (though few for payroll or accounting). In our evaluation, the system earned an overall score of 4.31 out of 5. It got perfect marks on pricing and reporting features and excellent scores for employee tools, ease of use, and popularity. It offers break tracking and noted that PTO tracking is coming soon. It lost points for billing and job costing only because those tools are in the paid plans. Users find it easy to use, but its Android app is not as good as most on our list. Clockify Features Read our Clockify review Harvest: Best Free Time Tracker for Free Invoicing & Billing stands out for its invoicing and billing because it offers integration with Stripe and PayPal. It offers free time tracking, invoicing, and expense reporting for one user and two active projects. The free plan is ideal for freelancers who don’t need to give other users access to their data. Harvest also integrates with other popular software like QuickBooks, Google Workspace, Trello, and Slack, so you can easily export hours. Like TimeTrack, it lets you take photos of receipts for expenses, and it works great with Android and Apple. With a 4.18 out of 5 per our evaluation, it stands out for billing features because it offered everything on our rubric in its free plan, where others charged for some tools. It also got a perfect score for reports. It is well rated by users but lost points because it lacks scheduling (Homebase is your best choice for that). The Pro plan only differs from the Free option in that it has unlimited seats and projects. Harvest Features Harvest’s packages only differ by the number of seats and projects you get. Read our Harvest review TMetric: Best Free Timekeeping Software for Improving Productivity We recommend the free version of for freelancers and solopreneurs who need a little help with productivity. That’s because TMetric, unlike most on our list, offers idle alerts and collects data on websites and applications that you visit. However, its paid plans are great for running projects with teams, with everything from budgeting tools to PTO tracking and time-sync with other apps. TMetric has an overall score of 4.14 out of 5 in our evaluation. It earned perfect marks for pricing and reporting, and users gave it an excellent score for the software itself. However, the mobile app did not fare as well as those from Clockify, Paymo, Homebase, and others. It also lost points for limited integrations and only offering many billing features in paid plans. TMetric Features AccountSight: Best Free Time Tracking Software for Consultants cloud-based time tracking, expense recording, and invoicing software make it ideal for professional services companies, consultants, and freelancers. With the system, you can capture work hours by manually filling up online time sheets or using the stopwatch timer to track your projects in real time. It has the best time sheet management of all the software on our list, and the system integrates seamlessly with QuickBooks Online products and PayPal. With an overall score of 4.14 out of 5 in our evaluation, it received top scores for billing and reports. However, compared with other providers like Clockify, Hubstaff, and TMetric, it has limited time clock options. It also lacks employee productivity tools like alerts for overtime and going past budgeted hours in a project. In addition, although some users praised AccountSight for how user-friendly it is, it has limited user feedback, which affected its score on popularity. AccountSight Features The Free Plan allows all features but limits to one user, five clients, and five projects. Paymo: Best Free Time Tracker for Accountants, Manufacturing & Design The project management tools of , like Gantt charts and Kanban boards, especially in the paid plans, make it a great choice for accounting, manufacturing, and creative companies like web designers. It also allows you to create multilingual invoices, which incorporate more than 85 currencies, and lets you get paid faster by automating payments with PayPal, Payoneer, Stripe, and Authorize.net. Only Harvest also integrates with payment processing. It earned 4.05 out of 5 on our rubric, with top scores in billing tools and reporting. It did well in popularity, with a user satisfaction score of 4.64 out of 5. It lost some points for not having an offline option, geofencing, or over time/budget alerts. Paymo Features Timesheet: Best Free Time Tracking Software for Construction & Other Companies With Off-site Workers is a free time tracker that can start tracking time automatically using WLAN and geofencing technology, making it suitable for construction companies and others that employ off-site workers. It will also stop tracking automatically when an employee leaves their assigned location, a function TimeTrack also has. Scheduling is part of Projects, but you can also add breaks, expenses, and notes and record working hours with a simple push of a button. In our rubric, the system earned a 4 out of 5, with perfect marks for pricing, billing and job labor costing, and reporting. However, it lost points because of complaints about the mobile app and the lack of employee productivity tools and offline mode functionality. Timesheet Features How We Evaluated the Top Free Time Tracking Software We started with 18 timekeeping software and narrowed our list down to the best nine with free plans. We compared each product’s pricing and ease of use. We also looked for essential features, like secure clock-ins/outs, geolocation tracking, invoicing, prebuilt reports, mobile apps, and the ability to allocate hours to jobs. We also considered the providers’ integration options with third-party software, like payroll and project management solutions. Based on our evaluation, is the best free time tracking software. It earned an overall score of 4.4 out of 5, with perfect marks for employee and reporting features and high marks for pricing, ease of use, and popularity. Hubstaff’s free version also includes paying employees. To see our full evaluation criteria for the best free time tracking software, click through the tabs in the box below. Bottom Line The best free time tracking software offers a variety of tools in addition to helping you track time on a project. These work on mobile and desktop and may provide scheduling, invoicing, and even project management tools. Some allow for teams, but many free plans are geared toward the solopreneur. Overall, we found the best overall free time tracking software. It maxed our rubric for time management features and is the only one that lets you pay your team from the software itself. Its paid plans offer greater functionality and start at $14/month for two users. Try it free or get a free trial today.

TimeTrex is a workforce management platform that helps businesses manage human resources (HR) and payroll processes. Its features include time and attendance tracking, staff scheduling, recruiting, expense reporting, payroll, and employee information management. A “community” version of the platform is available for those wanting free time tracking, scheduling, and pay processing tools. More robust product packages are available at a custom price. The platform scored a fair 3.73 out of 5 stars in our best time and attendance guide due to its effective time tracking features. It also has strong reporting tools and comes with other features that help track attendance. However, its score was pulled down due to few user reviews—and those who left TimeTrex reviews found the interface a bit outdated and cluttered. What We Recommend TimeTrex For TimeTrex is a good option for small and midsize businesses (SMBs) that have mostly hourly employees and need the peace of mind provided by hands-off, biometric time clock software. It offers a wide range of HR and non-HR solutions for managing your workforce, payroll, expenses, and client billings. You also have the option to use either its cloud-hosted version or have it deployed on-site. However, there are some drawbacks. It lacks payroll tax filing services and has limited integration options. Also, some of its online tools look dated, plus its main dashboard is a bit cluttered and can be overwhelming for new users. Overall, TimeTrex is best for: Businesses with hourly or remote employees: TimeTrex’s time clock apps (for iOS and Android) enable you to turn any tablet and smartphone into a time tracking device, provided there’s an available internet connection. It can even monitor your staff’s GPS location, perfect for employers wanting to capture the actual work hours of remote teams and field-based staff. Organizations with strict hygiene protocols, such as healthcare and food manufacturing companies: TimeTrex’s time clock software can be used with tablets and smartphones, and its hands-free design makes it a safe option for employees. Instead of entering a PIN code or typing information on a touch screen, employees can clock in just by positioning their face in front of the device’s camera. This helps reduce the spread of bacteria and infectious diseases while preventing time theft and buddy punching. Employers who want to automate HR and client billing processes: TimeTrex’s feature-rich platform makes it easy to streamline essential HR processes—from tracking applicants and managing employee information to planning work shifts and monitoring performance reviews. What’s more, employers can use TimeTrex to generate invoices to bill customers for actual hours that employees spent working on client projects. Budget-conscious business owners who need time tracking and payroll tools: You can use its open-source community edition to create employee work schedules, track attendance, and pay your staff—all at no cost. It topped our list of the best free payroll software for its advanced payroll system that computes—federal, state, and local—vacation and sick leave accruals, and custom deductions for benefits and garnishments automatically. When TimeTrex Would Not Be a Good Fit Employers who need payroll tax filings: TimeTrex’s payroll tax services only cover tax calculations and generating tax forms—you have to handle tax filings yourself. If you’re looking for software that can calculate, remit, and file payroll taxes for you, check out our guide to the best small business payroll systems. Businesses that want extensive integrations: While TimeTrex integrates with payroll providers, the selection is limited. If you want robust integration options, consider Rippling. It connects with more than 400 business apps and has a feature-rich platform with HR, payroll, and IT tools. Administrators looking for an intuitive interface: If you prefer a streamlined user experience when using cloud-based software, you’ll want to look elsewhere. Some of TimeTrex’s modules look dated and are confusing to use. We recommend Gusto if you need an intuitive payroll system with time tracking and basic HR tools. TimeTrex Top Alternatives TimeTrex didn’t get a perfect score for pricing because it doesn’t publish prices online. It offers a free-to-use community edition and a paid version with three product packages (Professional, Corporate, and Enterprise). You can request a quote via the “Get Quote” page on its website. Based on the quote we received, TimeTrex’s pricing depends on the number of employees and the software deployment option. Monthly fees for its cloud-hosted service start at $3 per employee, and the price decreases at 26 employees. For new users, TimeTrex offers two custom-priced startup plans: Installation Support and Initial Setup Support. Both grant you access to its implementation services team who will help you install the software, set up policies, configure tax formulas, and add employee information into the system. For this criterion, TimeTrex received a good mark. The only thing that prevented it from getting a higher score was its lack of time clock options, as it only offers software you can install on devices; TimeTrex doesn’t have a physical time clock option. It has a mobile app and a self-service portal, and it lets you send alerts for overtime or clock-ins, save and export digital timesheets, and monitor paid time off (PTO), overtime, and breaks. Although primarily a time and attendance tracking platform, it also provides tools to help streamline payroll, HR, and client invoicing processes. Here are some of its essential functionalities. TimeTrex has excellent reporting tools given that it has many helpful templates to choose from. You can also customize these reports with the specific information you need and then sort, save, and share the custom reports with others. You can even filter reports according to your needs. Once you’ve generated a report, you can save it as a PDF file and email it to employees or other people in your business. TimeTrex almost got a perfect mark in this criterion. It offers geofencing and geotracking tools and lets you set up approvals on employee timesheets—and the only thing it lacks is the ability to limit early clock-ins. Note, however, that you can still set up parameters that will let you pay employees only at the time their shift starts. So, even if they clock in early, you won’t pay for extra time prior to their shifts. Personalized demos let you see how features can help your business Implementation support plans Live online training Workflow automations How-to guides and help articles Customer support via phone, email, and chat You may purchase implementation support plans designed to help you get TimeTrex up and running. If you have a limited budget, installing its cloud-hosted version is also relatively easy—follow the instructions and let its install tool do all the work. The sign-up process may be easy, but the initial setup can be overwhelming. While TimeTrex has online how-to guides you can access, navigating through all of the modules to add all the information needed like employee data, leave accrual types, overtime rules, and break policies can be difficult and confusing. It also doesn’t help that some of its tools aren’t intuitive. For example, its scheduling solution lacks a drag-and-drop functionality that lets you quickly move work shifts without having to click several buttons. In 2022, TimeTrex released a new software version with a simplified and modern design—although some of its online tools still look dated. Its menu options also moved from the top to the left side of the screen, making it a bit easier to navigate through the system. Setup challenges aside, TimeTrex is relatively easy to use, especially on the employee side. Its workflow automation makes online transactions, like leave requests and approvals, easier to manage. If you need assistance with a feature, you can access its help center or contact customer support via email, phone, and chat. There are only a handful of up-to-date TimeTrex reviews online, which is why it scored low in this criterion. Many of these are positive, with users praising its efficient time tracking and payroll solutions. However, some find setting up and navigating its interface difficult, adding that the number of features is intimidating. Here are some things that users like and dislike about TimeTrex: At the time of publication, TimeTrex earned the following scores on popular review sites: G2: 3.8 out of 5 stars based on 10-plus reviews Capterra: 4.6 out of 5 stars based on 10-plus reviews Bottom Line For business owners needing a robust but low-cost time tracking and payroll platform, is a good fit. It provides extensive HR tools and has a community version that’s free to use and paid product packages that are affordably priced. Both editions come with facial recognition online time clocks, mobile apps, and all the essential solutions for managing employee attendance, staff schedules, and payroll. However, you have to handle payroll tax filings yourself. Interested to learn more about TimeTrex’s features? Sign up for its 30-day free trial today—no credit card necessary.

Homebase and When I Work both offer employee scheduling and time and attendance functions. Yet, Homebase stands out due to its additional hiring and payroll tools, plus it offers a free unlimited scheduling plan for businesses with one location. Although When I Work doesn’t offer a free plan, it comes with affordable pay-as-you-go pricing. When selecting one for your business, we recommend the following: : Best for businesses with hourly workers in one location or those wanting payroll services in addition to staff management : Best for growing businesses with employees across multiple locations looking for an easy-to-use and scalable staff management solution Homebase vs When I Work At a Glance When to Choose Homebase vs When I Work Best for Pricing: Tied If your business is in one location, you can use Homebase’ basic plan to track employee hours and create and manage employee schedules for free. Also, because of its per-location pricing, Homebase is more practical if you have many employees spread across a few locations. However, When I Work’s per-user monthly pricing of $2.50—plus another $1.50 to $2 per user if you need time and attendance—is more practical when you only have a few employees spread across many locations. Homebase also has more plan options and optional add-ons, which businesses can use as needed. Should a business need other features such as onboarding, document storage, and hiring advisers, its All-in-One plan is a good choice, regardless of the number of employees. With When I Work, you have to pay per user, which translates to higher expenses for more employees. Homebase vs When I Work Calculator Would you like to compare costs? Use our online calculator to compute the monthly and annual fees for Homebase and When I Work’s most affordable plans. Best for Time Tracking & Attendance: Homebase When it comes to time tracking and attendance, Homebase and When I Work have similar capabilities—but when we talk about value for money, Homebase comes out on top. Both programs include time clocks to let employees clock in and out during their shifts and a mobile app for employers and employees. However, to access time and attendance features with When I Work, you need to purchase its add-on, which costs $1.50 per user monthly for the Standard plan and $2 per user monthly for the Advanced plan. Homebase and When I Work let you: Clock in with GPS enforcement and photos Prevent early clock-ins Receive overtime alerts Receive clock-in/out reminders Track breaks Request time off (for employees) Prepare time sheets for payroll Best for Employee Scheduling: When I Work For employee scheduling, When I Work has an edge over Homebase due to its broader range of scheduling capabilities. Although both providers allow automatic scheduling, have convenient schedule templates, and notify employees and employers of schedule changes and approvals, only When I Work allows managers to schedule tasks and monitor progress. I also love When I Work’s simple yet effective scheduling feature that lets managers create schedules by matching qualified people to open schedules and automatically calculate labor costs to ensure the business stays within budget. The calendar sync and management features allow integrated scheduling, time tracking, and team messaging, so managers and employees send and receive real-time notifications. When to Consider Homebase for Employee Scheduling If you don’t really need to create, schedule, and monitor task progress among your employees, then Homebase is a viable solution. We recommend Homebase for single-location businesses, as users can use its basic features for an unlimited number of employees for free. Although Homebase is our top pick for best employee scheduling software, our evaluation included not only features but also other factors such as pricing, ease of use, and reporting. (When I Work didn’t make it to the list due to a lack of reports customization and phone support; here, we are just comparing features.) Best for Ease of Use, Customer Support & Integrations: Homebase When comparing the two providers’ ease of use, customer support, and integrations, Homebase has the upper hand. Both have user-friendly interfaces and integrate with both payroll and point-of-sale (POS) apps, but only Homebase has live phone support for immediate concerns available during business hours—9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Central time Mondays through Fridays. Users can also check their video tutorials and guides for troubleshooting. When I Work only allows users to send tickets via live chat. In case of troubleshooting, you can check its library of how-to guides or read articles in its knowledge base. In terms of third-party app integrations, Homebase also connects with more apps. Unlike Homebase, which allows integrations for all its plans, integrations with When I Work are only available when you purchase its time and attendance add-on. Homebase vs When I Work: What Users Think Homebase: Most Homebase users left positive reviews and pointed out that setting it up is easy. It was credited for its intuitive user interface and easy-to-navigate schedule builder, as well as robust scheduling and time-tracking features and responsive customer support. However, on the flip side, some users noted mobile app glitches and issues when integrating with other apps. It has 4.6 and 4.2 out of 5 stars in Capterra and G2, respectively. When I Work: Many users who left positive When I Work reviews online highlighted its ease of setup, affordability, and efficient scheduling tools as its best features. They added that it helps them easily create schedules for multiple employees and work locations. However, some reviewers said that its mobile app can be glitchy at times. It earned 4.5 and 4.4 out of 5 stars on Capterra and G2, respectively. Bottom Line It’s not easy choosing between and because both are affordable and have similar features. If you have a few employees spread over multiple locations, When I Work’s robust employee scheduling options with per-employee pricing might make it the best fit. However, if you’re looking for an employee scheduling and time tracking software for a business in one location, then Homebase is a perfect choice as you can use its basic features for free. Homebase also offers fixed monthly pricing by location that’s optimal for businesses with many employees across a few locations.

Wave Payroll is a highly intuitive payroll software add-on to Wave’s free accounting system. Best suited for small businesses, it lets you pay employees and contractors, offers workers’ compensation insurance, and has an employee portal. It’s quick to set up and easy to use but files taxes only for 14 states and has limited HR features. Praised for its user-friendly interface, Wave Payroll scored 3.41 out of 5 in our best payroll software reviews rubric. Just shy of making our list, it took a hit for HR features, as the provider doesn’t support online onboarding, has no expert staff to consult with on compliance issues, and doesn’t offer health insurance. However, it is a cost-efficient solution, especially if you run payroll in the 14 states where it offers tax filings and payments—you only pay $40 plus $6 for every active employer or contractor monthly. You can also use its self-service payroll with do-it-yourself tax filings for only $20 plus $6 per active employee or contractor per month. Wave Payroll Overview *Wave Payroll’s tax service states cover Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin What We Recommend Wave Payroll For We compared Wave Payroll against several payroll systems and found it a good option for very small businesses with simple payroll needs. It offers a solution that’s easy to learn and use. The tool lets you run payroll in a matter of minutes and provides you with the information you need for filing taxes—or, if you are in one of the 14 states it services, it files them for you. It has an employee portal for viewing pay stubs and tax forms (if applicable). However, it’s not optimal for managing benefits and HR. In short, Wave Payroll is best for: Small businesses using Wave’s free accounting software: If you already use Wave Accounting or are looking for free accounting software that handles invoices and more, this program integrates natively with the payroll software. Small businesses that don’t have complex payroll needs and haven’t yet purchased accounting or invoicing software will find this to be a good starter option. Companies that hire seasonal staff: Changing the status of an employee (from active to inactive) is a straightforward process in Wave Payroll. You also don't have to pay during months when employees don't work, making it a good choice for businesses that hire seasonal employees such as restaurants and retailers at beach towns and ski resorts. Small startups experiencing volatile demand: With Wave Payroll, you can opt to temporarily pause your payroll subscription. Its Limited Access subscription comes with a discounted monthly fee, plus you can still access its self-service portal, view previous payroll journal entries, and even enter direct deposit details for new hires. When Wave Payroll Would Not Be a Good Fit Businesses that need HR tools and benefits options: Wave Payroll doesn’t have HR features like hiring, onboarding, and time tracking. Plus, as your business grows, health insurance plans become essential. If you need any HR services and benefits, check out our top picks for the best HR payroll software. Companies that rely on labor and job costing reports: Wave Payroll only offers basic reports and does not provide data breakdowns for job costing or dividing payroll by departments. This makes it a poor option for companies that heavily rely on this data, like manufacturers. would be a better option because its reporting and analytics tools are pretty robust and easy to customize. Multistate employers: Wave Payroll’s tax filing service is very limited (only covers 14 states). If your employees are in more than one state, it will become difficult to manually keep track of multiple payroll tax payments and filings. Check our guide to the best payroll software for alternatives. Wave Payroll Top Alternatives Wave Payroll earned a high mark of 4.5 out of 5 for pricing due to its affordability and transparency. It also doesn’t charge any setup fees and offers unlimited pay runs. What kept it from getting a perfect mark in this criteria is its lack of plan options. The cost of Wave Payroll is based on your business’s location. If your company is in one of the 14 states where it offers automated tax services, then you get full-service payroll. If not, then you’re under its self-service option, in which you handle tax payments and filings yourself. Both packages come with the same payroll features like multiple pay schedules, free direct deposits, and tax payment reminders. Payroll with automated tax filing services: $40 per month plus $6 per active employee or contractor paid Self-service payroll with do-it-yourself (DIY) tax filings: $20 per month plus $6 per active employee or contractor paid An active employee is one that’s currently employed and not on leave. To ensure that you don’t pay for inactive employees, update your employee records accordingly. Wave’s payroll features aren’t as strong as those from competitors like . You can pay both contractors and employees, and the software lets you file and calculate payroll taxes. However, it only allows you to pay employees via direct deposit and lacks a pay-on-demand option. With it, you can’t run payroll on mobile (providers like QuickBooks Payroll, Square, or ADP Run allow this). Also, its tax services are limited to 14 states, and preparation and delivery of year-end tax reports cost extra. While Wave Payroll has limited HR features and lacks the benefits options most small business payroll software offers, it has efficient payroll tools to help you pay both employees and contractors accurately and on time. Here are some of its essential features. Wave Payroll got perfect marks for reporting because it lets users generate basic payroll reports to help provide meaningful business insights. You can track the wages and taxes you’ve paid or access payroll benefits and deductions report from the dashboard. If you use Wave Accounting, you can view even more reports, such as profits and loss, cash flow, sales tax, and account transactions. You may also use filters and choose the data you need to customize the reports you need. Wave Payroll scored lowest for HR features because it only has an employee access portal. Although you can create deductions for employee benefits, you should purchase and manage their administration separately. In comparison, Gusto and OnPay offer both health insurance and workers' compensation plans. Wave Payroll also lacks expert compliance advisers and support for online onboarding. Wave Payroll is easy to use, with simple menus and straightforward processes for setting up and running payroll. And, because it doesn’t have a lot of extra features, the interface is straightforward and features are easy to find. While it only handles payroll tax payments and filings in 14 states, it provides the necessary information for filing in the other 36. It also has sick pay policies preloaded for several states. The system is quick to set up, and if you have trouble using it, you can check its how-to guides or consult the 24/7 chatbot. For live support, you can chat and send an email to its customer representatives on Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time. What prevented Wave Payroll from getting a higher score is its lack of integration support to common HR software that small businesses are using. Here are the things that support Wave Payroll’s ease of use: User-friendly interface Easy to set up Files taxes in 14 states Preloaded sick pay policies for some states 24/7 support via chatbot Live chat and email support Help center and community forum Automatic integration with Wave Accounting For some of its features, the software will walk you through the process (such as setting up your account). Wave Payroll also has help buttons and a community forum where you can communicate and consult with other Wave users. It even has a library of help articles, plus it provides live chat and email support. However, some of Wave Payroll’s online tools, while simple, take more steps or clicks than with other payroll software. While it has an online help center, not all of the articles contain step-by-step details. Wave Payroll received generally good feedback from users based on popular review sites. However, Wave Payroll doesn’t have a lot of user reviews (an average of 40 on Capterra and G2), bringing its score down. Users who left Wave Payroll reviews online raved about its intuitive interface and ease of use. They also appreciate its affordable plans and seamless integration with Wave Accounting. However, others wished that it offered more features and robust reporting. Some said that its software runs sluggishly from time to time and that its support team isn’t responsive—with wait hours that can be quite long. At the time of publication, Wave Payroll earned the following scores on popular user review sites: Capterra: 4.1 out of 5 based on about 60 reviews G2: 4.2 out of 5 based on more than 20 reviews In our expert review, Wave Payroll scored a modest 2.88 out of 5. The system is easy to explore and master, plus it is cost-effective for businesses located in states where it offers tax filings and payments. However, it didn’t score well for the payroll features criterion because of its location limitations. Also, its HR tools are only limited to its self-serve employee access portal; it files new hire reports in 14 states only. If you’d like strong pay processing tools along with affordable plans, we suggest Gusto because of its feature-rich system that not only lets you manage payroll and payroll taxes but also has useful HR tools such as time tracking, hiring, performance reviews, and even benefits administration. Bottom Line is best for small businesses with very simple payroll needs. As a Wave add-on, it integrates all the information into your Wave Accounting software, making bookkeeping and payroll accounting a breeze. Users love its intuitive and simple-to-use interface, even if some features take a few more steps to complete. And while it offers workers’ comp and an employee portal, it lacks benefits options and HR tools that similar providers offer. However, it’s still a good option for Wave Accounting users who need efficient payroll tools. Sign up for a Wave Payroll plan today.

OnPay has a suite of easy-to-use HR, payroll, and benefits solutions optimal for small and midsize businesses (SMBs). It is affordable ($40 plus $6 per employee monthly), files payroll taxes, and caters to religious and nonprofit organizations and several industries, like restaurants, agriculture, dental, and healthcare. OnPay obtained a 4.19 out of 5 rating in our evaluation of best payroll software. It has strong HR and payroll features to help manage your workforce. It didn’t get a higher score because it lacks multiple plan options and has limited third-party software integrations, personalization options, and user reviews on popular review websites. OnPay Overview What We Recommend OnPay For OnPay has a cloud-based system that enables you to quickly calculate and finalize payroll for both employees and contractors. It provides all the essential tools for managing new hire onboarding, benefits, paid time off (PTO), and employee information. It also offers full-service payroll, which includes unlimited pay runs, year-end W-2/1099 tax reports, and payroll tax payment and filing services. It can even handle the payroll and tax requirements of agriculture companies, churches, and nonprofit organizations. In short, OnPay is best for: Small companies needing to switch from complex software: Many businesses that use OnPay have fewer than 50 employees and swear by it because it’s easy to use and handles important payroll-related tasks (paying workers and tax agencies). If you have a low-maintenance business, you’ll find it less cluttered (meaning fewer extraneous payroll and HR services) and more affordable than some of the big-name and popular payroll providers. It is even one of our leading Gusto competitors, providing access to all its tools for its $40 plus $6 per employee monthly fee (Gusto and others require upgrades for full tool access). Small agricultural companies: OnPay processes separate tax filing reports for farm and non-farm workers. Plus, if you have employees on an H-2A visa, it can also process payroll and taxes for them. Not all providers have this functionality, which is why OnPay is an excellent option for farms and agricultural companies that need Form 943 filings. Small businesses requiring HR support: Rated as one of our best human resources payroll software, OnPay offers small business owners access to various HR tools—such as employee offer letters, self-onboarding, PTO management, in-app messaging, and compliance auditing. It also provides benefits administration and will connect you with several top-notch benefits providers so that your employees can sign up for retirement, health insurance, life, disability, FSA, HSA, and commuter benefits. When OnPay Would Not Be a Good Fit International payroll operations: OnPay does not support large businesses needing payroll for foreign employees or even those assigned in US territories. Check out our guide on the top international payroll providers to find providers better suited for this need. Businesses that need 24/7 live customer support: If you need on-demand phone support to get quick answers to payroll, benefits, and HR-related questions, especially during weekends and holidays, OnPay may not be the right provider for you. Its customer support team is available only on weekdays. Some providers, such as , offer 24/7 support—or you can check out our top payroll services picks for more options. Top OnPay Alternatives Onpay’s transparent and straightforward pricing scheme helped it earn an almost perfect mark for this criterion. It offers one plan that costs $40 plus $6 per employee monthly, and OnPay will charge you only for the actual number of workers paid in a month. System setup and data migration of prior wages and employee information come at no extra cost for new users. Plus, your first month with OnPay is free. However, you need to pay for the following services: Non-sufficient funds (NSF) returns: $50 per returned item, in case you don’t have sufficient funds to cover a pay run; same amount as the returned item if it is less than $50 W-2 and 1099 forms: $5 per W-2/1099, if you want OnPay to print and mail the forms to employees (free, if you print the forms yourself) Employee benefits plan premiums: Premium payments vary depending on the benefits plans selected What prevented OnPay from getting a perfect mark in this area is its lack of a pay on-demand option and only covering the penalty for mistakes that it makes. Other than that, you can use OnPay to run payroll on mobile devices and pay employees via direct deposit, check, or pay card. It can also pay both employees and contractors; handle state, federal, and local taxes; and prepare year-end tax reports and online delivery. OnPay offers essential tools for managing employees, including a self-service portal and online onboarding. It also helps file state new hire reporting and offers health insurance, as well as benefits. The only thing we found lacking was access to expert advisers on compliance issues. Here are some of OnPay’s HR tools. OnPay’s reporting tools not only give you basic payroll reports templates, you can also customize these reports to give you better insights into employee and payroll concerns. As such, OnPay obtained a perfect score in this criterion. With OnPay, payroll reports can be viewed in real time, downloaded as a PDF or spreadsheet, and exported to your existing accounting software. It has a report designer for creating custom reports, although you can also use one of its pre-built reports. OnPay received an average score for the ease of use criterion. It offers live phone support and help articles for troubleshooting. OnPay is easy to set up and navigate, even for those with no payroll background. Its interface is not overwhelming for beginners, and the learning curve isn’t steep. While it’s generally easy to use, it lacks personalization options, and setting it up for the first time can take more than a day. Here are some things that support OnPay’s ease of use: System setup and data migration support User-friendly with an intuitive dashboard Mobile responsive platform to run payroll anywhere FAQ with how-to articles Online library of HR guides and document templates Self-service portal Customer Support Apart from free system setup and data migration services for new clients, OnPay has a support team that can help set up your third-party software integrations. You can also get weekday assistance from payroll experts through phone and chat from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern time and via email (starts at 7 a.m. Eastern time). However, only emergency email support is available during weekends. The one thing that kept OnPay from getting a perfect score for popularity is its now number of user reviews on popular websites like G2 and Capterra. Many reviewers who left positive OnPay reviews online like that it is easy to use and navigate, even for new users. Others highlighted its affordability, good customer support, and efficient onboarding tools. Some, however, wish for additional third-party integration options, more robust PTO tracking features, and an option to run payroll automatically. At the time of publication, OnPay earned the following scores on popular reviews sites: G2: 4.8 out of 5 based on more than 210 reviews Capterra: 4.8 out of 5 based on 400 reviews For this criterion, OnPay benefited from its affordability and user-friendliness. Its strong suite of payroll tools will help small businesses conveniently and quickly pay employees. Because it doesn’t have limits to payroll runs, you can set up different pay schedules for different types of employees or process payroll on a different day due to a holiday. However, its HR tools aren’t as robust as other providers like Gusto, Paycor, or Rippling, which hurt its score. Bottom Line is a cloud-based payroll software accessible to small businesses and organizations in several industries. It lets you process employee and contractor payroll, automate tax payments and filings, streamline new hire onboarding, and more. Overall, it is a comprehensive and flexible payroll system that’s affordable and easy to use. Sign up with OnPay for a 30-day free trial—no credit card required.

Indeed and CareerBuilder are popular job posting sites with a wide international reach. Their job ads reach millions of job seekers, and both offer resume searches as well. While Indeed has a wider reach and is more popular among a broader audience of job hunters, CareerBuilder, with its monthly plans and stronger set of applicant tracking tools, is better for companies with higher-tier hiring needs. : Best for free job posting, retail and hourly workers, teens, and starting positions : Best for degreed positions, plus companies that hire regularly and need to track employees from job post to onboarding CareerBuilder vs Indeed at a Glance Takeaway: Indeed is less expensive and has a broader reach, but CareerBuilder has more applicant tracking features. When to Choose Indeed vs CareerBuilder Want to find other options apart from Indeed and CareerBuilder? Answer this three-question quiz and find one that best fits your business’ needs. Most Affordable: Indeed Takeaway: You can’t beat Indeed’s free job posting, and its pay-per-click promotions are reasonable too. Why Indeed Is Best for Budget-minded Businesses Not only is Indeed free for job posting but also for unlimited resume searches. It’s top on our list of best free job posting sites. Indeed makes its money in two ways: Contact through the app: If you want to contact passive job seekers (i.e., those you find through resume searches) and track them through the process, it costs $100/month for 30 messages and $250/month for 100 messages. You get two additional messages for each candidate who responds back that they are interested. Job ad promotion: Indeed’s pay-per-click ad promotion costs 25 cents–$5 per click with a minimum of $5 a day. CareerBuilder Pricing CareerBuilder offers more features than Indeed, but at a higher price. To post a single ad costs $425. This may be a good choice for infrequent users. The monthly plans run $349–$749 for additional job ad slots, although the number of resume searches stays at 500. CareerBuilder previously offered a 10% discount for annual plans but has removed such discounts. However, it now offers a five-day free trial. It has add-ons, but does not list prices. You can sign up for a demo. Best for Job Postings: Indeed Takeaway: Indeed has the greater reach, plus extras to make your ad stand out, some of which are free. Why Indeed Is Best for Job Posting Reach: Indeed offers a greater reach than CareerBuilder, with over 250 million unique visitors each month. It operates in over 60 countries and in 28 languages. If you want to cast a wide net, this is the venue for it. Newsletter outreach: Indeed sends newsletters to job seekers with new job alerts in the areas in which they are interested. People request these newsletters, so you know you are reaching an interested audience in your area. CareerBuilder lets you create your own, or you can pay to have them send out alerts. Company page: You can create a company page with Indeed that lets job seekers learn more about your company and what it offers. Indeed also offers advanced customization plans that include reviews, Q&A response, rich media, and more. Collaboration with Glassdoor: In July 2020, Glassdoor and Indeed joined forces—you can now post job ads to Glassdoor through Indeed while being able to access reviews and ratings from Glassdoor. CareerBuilder does not have this option. When to Use CareerBuilder Jobs requiring college degrees: While Indeed is used for all kinds of jobs, it does attract more job seekers who are teens, need part-time work, or don’t have a college education. CareerBuilder, on the other hand, has a higher focus on positions that require advanced degrees. Posting for multiple company profiles: CareerBuilder offers a “job skin,” which lets you brand a job ad to a particular company profile. Indeed only offers a single company page. Different profiles let you highlight the advantages or unique aspects of different departments or locations—the manufacturing plant vs sales headquarters, for example. Niche jobs: CareerBuilder can post to 10 niche networks, including EnergyJobSearch, eRecruit.com, Oil and Gas JobSearch, and international job boards. Best for Resume Search: Indeed Takeaway: Indeed’s paid plan competes well against CareerBuilder, but it also offers a free plan that may be enough for many users. Why Indeed Is Best for Resume Search Free search: Indeed has over 175 million resumes you can search, with over 6 million being updated or added each month. You can conduct as many searches as you like and as often as you like. Excellent search tools: In addition to keyword search, you have over 25 filters to help you narrow down candidates, including a sliding scale for distance from the place of employment, as well as availability, experience, military service, and even how many Indeed assignments they’ve taken in the past. CareerBuilder’s filters are not as numerous or simple. Inexpensive advanced plan: At $250/month, Indeed’s advanced plan is cheaper than CareerBuilder, but still lets you view unlimited resumes. It limits how many you can contact in the system, but if you only have a few positions to fill, 30 or 100 candidates may be plenty for your needs. When to Use CareerBuilder Higher-qualified candidates: CareerBuilder attracts higher-qualified candidates in terms of experience and degrees, and its AI learns your preferences to bring you better candidates. Even with the filters, Indeed has been said to bring up less-than-qualified candidates. Drill down: Once you’ve searched for resumes, CareerBuilder guides you through narrowing down the results with suggested related keywords and location drill-downs. It will remember your preferences for future searches. Talent Gather: This CareerBuilder add-on lets you take snapshots of resumes gathered at live recruiting events. It converts the information into searchable text so you can add it to your pool of talent. Best for Applicant Tracking: CareerBuilder Takeaway: CareerBuilder offers more applicant tracking tools and features, but it costs extra. Why CareerBuilder Is Best for Applicant Tracking Job posting and customized emails: You can send branded emails to applicants to invite them to interview, request background checks, and even invite passive job seekers to apply. You can send bulk emails too. Notices can also be sent to an applicant’s mobile device, and the app allows them to respond, fill out forms, and sign documents on their phone. Indeed has some communications tools, but not as many. Screening: While both Indeed and CareerBuilder have pre-screening questions, CareerBuilder’s Employment Screening lets you order background checks or drug screening. Invites are sent to applicants who fill out state-specific forms that keep you on the right side of the law. You can track progress on these through the app or your integrated applicant tracking system (ATS). Additional documents: CareerBuilder offers document management as part of its applicant tracking. It lets you create and save documents such as W4s, I-9s, offer letters, and other documents a candidate needs to review, fill out, or sign. Note on cost: CareerBuilder’s ATS is an add-on to its job posting tools. Contact CareerBuilder for a quote. When to Use Indeed Automated declines: To help you manage time and prevent applicants from slipping through the communications cracks, you can set Indeed to automatically decline candidates. You set a time frame, and if you’ve not taken action on the candidate after that time, Indeed sends a polite note to say that you are not interested in them at this time. Skill assessments: While CareerBuilder has a wider range of assessments, Indeed’s skills testing feature is more straightforward and easier to use. You can find skills assessments when editing a job. It recommends three topics based on the job or you can choose your own from its list. Each topic comes with questions to test the skill. Best for Job Seekers: Indeed Takeaway: While they both offer a great set of features for employees, Indeed has a broader range. Why Indeed Is Best for Applicants Multinational: Indeed is available in about 30 languages to reach a diverse, worldwide job-seeking audience. CareerBuilder is focused on nine nations. Job tools: Indeed offers articles on the job market, salary analysis, career advice (including videos), and more. It has a section for certifications and schools for job seekers who want to better themselves. CareerBuilder has an advice site, mostly composed of articles. Events: It also has live and webcast events that connect job seekers and employers. CareerBuilder does not have events. Mobile app: Indeed has an extremely popular mobile app, with millions of users. It lets seekers search and apply for jobs, post resumes, follow companies, and even track the status of multiple applications. When to Use CareerBuilder Resume builder: CareerBuilder has a free resume builder for applicants, or they can upload their own. Mobile: The mobile app on Android is not as highly rated or popular as Indeed’s—but it is nonetheless easy to use. It lets applicants upload their resumes or use its resume builder, scan and save jobs, apply with a tap, create custom job alerts, and more. It does not have tracking but does alert the applicant when the application has been received. CareerBuilder’s mobile app lets applicants do everything on their smartphone that they can do on the website. (Source: Google's Play store) Best for Ease of Use: Indeed Takeaway: Both services offer knowledge bases and live customer support. Both have good ratings from users, although Indeed scores slightly higher. Indeed also has a more easily navigable knowledge base and help videos. Indeed Ease of Use Interface: Indeed is extremely easy to use, making it a good tool for occasional users as well as those who have multiple jobs to post on a regular basis. While it discontinued its mobile app for employers in December 2020, the website is mobile-friendly, and you can easily post jobs on your phone. Real-world user feedback: Real-world users on third-party review sites like Capterra rate it an average of 4.5 out of 5 and G2 users rate it 4.2 out of 5 at the time of this writing. Employers say the interface is easy to use (if sometimes simplistic) and offers a wide range of qualified candidates. Several say they’ve hired multiple employees through Indeed. Live support: Indeed offers phone support during extended business hours, or you can submit a form. You can also contact Indeed Support via Twitter. Knowledge base: Indeed’s knowledge base is easily searchable. Its articles vary from simple text to how-tos illustrated with images or videos. CareerBuilder Ease of Use Interface: CareerBuilder has a bright, easy-to-use interface that works on mobile as well as desktop. Real-world user feedback: Users rate CareerBuilder somewhat lower than Indeed at the time of this posting, with 4.2 out of 5 on Capterra and 3.7 out of 5 on G2. However, it earned high praise for its intuitive platform and customer support. Employers called out workflows and applicant tracking tools in particular. Live support: You can contact live support during business hours. It also has some small user groups. Some are active, while others have not had postings in a couple of years. It offers some webinars for training and topics of interest. Knowledgebase: We found CareerBuilder’s knowledge base thorough yet problematic. The search system is simply broken, which makes it hard to find answers to specific questions. However, the articles themselves are illustrated and complete. Bottom Line Both and are highly rated job posting and recruiting software solutions. They offer posts, alerts, resume searches, applicant tracking tools, and more. While Indeed has the greater breadth and is mostly free, CareerBuilder has stronger applicant tracking and focus on higher-tier jobs and more educated job seekers. Which you choose depends on your budget and goals.

Square Payroll and QuickBooks Payroll are both great for small businesses; they are widely used, offering full-service payroll (filing and paying your payroll taxes) and benefits like health insurance and retirement. Square Payroll is cheaper—especially if you’re only paying contractors—but limited in specialized reporting capability. It’s ideal if you’re using Square POS. On the other hand, QuickBooks Payroll syncs seamlessly with QuickBooks accounting software and is a great fit if you need to pay employees quickly. Here’s when we particularly recommend Square Payroll vs QuickBooks Payroll: : Best for retail, restaurant, appointment-based, and seasonal small business owners (especially if they are Square POS users) wanting affordable but easy-to-use payroll software with some HR benefits : Best for small businesses needing fast direct deposits and those already using QuickBooks Accounting There are times when neither Square nor QuickBooks is the best payroll solution. In general, the best alternative to Square vs QuickBooks Payroll for employee payment processing is: : Best payroll service for companies with remote employees or a global workforce Square Payroll vs QuickBooks Payroll Compared When to Use Each Best for Value: Square Payroll *Special promotions may change from time to time. Check the providers’ websites for the latest promos on offer. When comparing Square Payroll vs QuickBooks Payroll for pricing, the former is more reasonably priced than the latter for two reasons. First, it has a low-cost contractor-only plan, which is great if you only employ contractors. QuickBooks doesn’t offer a similar plan. Second, while you do get more functionalities (such as same-day direct deposits and local tax filings) with QuickBooks Payroll’s higher tiers, you end up having to pay more—its most premium plan, which is its complete payroll package, costs $125 + $10 per employee monthly. With Square Payroll, you get all its features for only $35 + $5 per employee monthly. When to Consider QuickBooks Payroll If you are using or plan to use QuickBooks Accounting, then getting QuickBooks Payroll makes more sense. Given the seamless integration between these two products, you won’t have to manually input or upload payroll-related data into your accounting system’s ledger. You also get fast direct deposits with QuickBooks Payroll. All plans come with a next-day option, unlike Square Payroll’s standard four-day direct deposits. Square vs Quickbooks Payroll: Compare Fees Need a quick way to compare monthly and annual subscription costs? Use our online calculator to compute the estimated fees for Square Payroll vs QuickBooks Payroll. Best for Payroll: QuickBooks Payroll *You print paychecks yourself **Covers penalties and fines from tax filing errors and mistakes In terms of pay processing, both QuickBooks Payroll and Square Payroll have solid features. These two providers allow you to run payroll as many times as you need in a month without having to pay extra. Both can also handle employee and contractor payments with ease, including the payroll tax and tax filing requirements (such W-2/1099 reports at year-end) needed for both. While these two providers are closely matched, QuickBooks beats out Square for payroll features because it offers next-day payroll (same-day with its more expensive plans). Square, meanwhile, takes four days to process direct deposit payments. And, if you need to track your employees’ work hours by project, QuickBooks Payroll’s Elite plan has project and time tracking tools—Square doesn’t have project time tracking capabilities. Plus, QuickBooks Payroll’s tax penalty protection program is more robust than Square’s. Both may be willing to pay the associated fines and penalties for their tax filing mistakes, but QuickBooks Payroll takes this up a notch. It covers all tax filing error penalties (up to $25,000 a year) regardless of who made the mistake—provided you get its Elite plan. When to Consider Square Payroll If you want local tax filings, consider Square Payroll. QuickBooks Payroll calculates local taxes but will only file them if you subscribe to its higher plans. Square Payroll also lets you pay employees instantly with its Instant Payment program. So, if your business accepts customer payments through Square and maintains funds in a Square account, you can pull payroll from your account (or associated credit card if you go over the amount in your account) to pay employees quickly—instantly, if you have a Cash App account, or otherwise, the next day. If you’re not signed up for the Square Instant Program, payroll takes four days. QuickBooks offers next-day payroll or same-day with its more expensive plans, regardless of where you store your funds. Best for HR & Employee Benefits: QuickBooks Payroll When comparing Square Payroll vs QuickBooks Payroll for HR and employee benefits, QuickBooks squeaks ahead because its higher tiers include access to HR support (through Mineral). Premium and Elite plan holders can get customizable job descriptions and onboarding checklists. In addition, Elite users are granted access to a personal HR Adviser they can call to consult regarding employee issues and ask for assistance in creating policies and handbooks. With Square, you need to pay extra to get similar HR services via its partner, Bambee. In terms of employee benefits, Square Payroll and QuickBooks Payroll are closely matched. Both offer health insurance through SimplyInsured, 401(k) through Guideline, and workers’ comp through AP Intego. Employees can also enroll in benefits online through their employee portal. With Square Payroll, however, employers using non-partners for benefits have to send the payments themselves. In comparison, QuickBooks Payroll sends payments directly to the providers. When to Consider Square Payroll If you need full-service HR support, Square may be the better choice. It partners with Bambee, which provides a dedicated HR specialist who can help with compliance, onboarding and employee terminations, automated staff training, and more. Pricing depends on the number of employees you have and costs anywhere from $99 to $499 per month. It also charges a one-time HR audit fee that ranges from $0 (for businesses with four employees) to $750 (for companies with 50 up to 99 employees). The HR audit is a standard service that Bambee offers to its new clients. This allows it to do a deep dive into your HR needs and develop a customized solution with a dedicated manager to get your company up to speed and compliant with regulations. QuickBooks Payroll’s HR support (via Mineral) isn’t as extensive. Available only for higher tier subscribers, this feature provides access to job descriptions, onboarding checklists, and performance tools. If you subscribe to the highest tier, you can talk to HR and compliance experts for critical HR concerns. Best for Reporting: Tie In our evaluation of Square vs QuickBooks Payroll on reporting features, we found they offer similar tools. Both providers let you create, customize, and download reports—plus, both have a sufficient set of standard reports that you can easily access. While these providers may have similar reporting capabilities, QuickBooks has more premade payroll reports, including a greater capacity to create specialized reporting. If you are in a highly regulated industry or simply need more data crunching, QuickBooks Payroll is the best choice. Best for Ease of Use & Customer Support: Square Payroll When it comes to ease of use, Square Payroll beats QuickBooks Payroll—but only by a small margin. Although both have live support, extensive help sections, and intuitive platforms, Square is the easier interface. Plus, it offers setup help, something QuickBooks only does in its Elite plan. Square Payroll’s how-to articles are also easier to understand and search. QuickBooks lumps together its help articles for all its products and versions, making it difficult to navigate. Further, Square Payroll’s third-party software integration options, while still limited, are a bit more extensive than those of QuickBooks Payroll. Its partner systems include QuickBooks Online and time tracking solutions like Homebase. With QuickBooks Payroll, you need its accounting solution if you want full access to its partner systems. What Users Think: Square Payroll vs QuickBooks Payroll How We Evaluated Square Payroll vs QuickBooks Payroll To evaluate Square vs QuickBooks Payroll, we looked at the most common areas of concern for small businesses—from pricing and pay processing features to ease of use and user reviews. We also checked for additional tools, like HR features and access to experts in case you have questions about payroll in your state. In our evaluation of these two providers, QuickBooks Payroll beats out Square Payroll by a slight margin. QuickBooks earned an overall rating of 4.38 out of 5 vs Square’s 4.34 score. Click through the tabs below to see the full evaluation criteria. Bottom Line When comparing vs for payroll, take stock of the features you want and whether its pricing fits your budget. Square Payroll is great if you only employ contractors, as it has a contractor payroll plan that’s very affordable. Restaurant and retail shop owners will also find it a good payroll solution to use given its seamless integration with Square POS, making it easy to capture and process tip payments. Small businesses with seasonal highs and lows will also find Square Payroll’s inactivity feature a suitable option. On the other hand, QuickBooks Payroll is optimal for small businesses that plan to or are already using QuickBooks Accounting. Its native integration with its accounting solution enables payroll accountants to easily track and record pay-related transactions in your company’s general ledger. It even offers fast direct deposits, with a next-day option available even in its starter Core plan. You May Also Like… How to Do Payroll in QuickBooks Online Gusto vs QuickBooks Payroll How to Switch Payroll Providers

ZipRecruiter and Indeed are two of the most popular job boards employers use to find top talent. Both platforms are well-reviewed by job seekers and employers, with many finding them user-friendly and efficient in bridging the gap between potential employers and a large number of job-seeking professionals. Although they have similar job posting and recruiting tools, some differences in functionalities may help you choose between ZipRecruiter vs Indeed. Here’s a quick look at our recommendations before we dive into our reasoning: : Best for growing businesses with plans to scale and hire regularly : Best for free job postings and recommended for companies with small recruiting budgets needing to hire quickly ZipRecruiter vs Indeed At-a-Glance ZipRecruiter vs Indeed: Key Differences Indeed is a job board, while ZipRecruiter is a web-based software that lets you post jobs to 100+ job boards. ZipRecruiter doesn’t have a free plan, while Indeed has one that lets users post jobs to appear on the general results page. Indeed’s sponsored jobs charge you per click, but ZipRecruiter has pay-per-post plans. Both offer job templates, but only ZipRecruiter’s templates are customizable. While Indeed has a built-in ATS, ZipRecruiter lets you manage the recruitment process via integration with a third-party app. When to Use ZipRecruiter vs Indeed When Neither Is a Good Fit If you’re a startup needing a recruiting platform,  offers a free plan with all the tools you need to find employees for your business. It also offers scalable and affordable plans with transparent pricing details so you’ll know which tools you get should you decide to shift to a paid subscription. Paid plans start at a base fee of $71 plus $1.20 per employee monthly. Best for Affordability: Indeed *The number of candidate contact credits vary depending on the plan selected. However, this feature isn’t available in the basic Usage and Monthly plans. With Indeed, small business owners can make unlimited job posts in its general search results for free. The free option lets employers accept hundreds of applications and manage potential candidates using their Indeed accounts. However, these free job posts will fall out of search results as they become less relevant unless employers get its pay-per-click “Sponsored Jobs” option. Employers and recruiters can set a budget as low as $5 per day (max of $499 daily), making Indeed a flexible and affordable option for those with a tight recruitment budget. Sponsored postings can be viewed by job seekers on desktop and mobile, and you only pay when a candidate clicks on your listing. You can also create a hiring campaign with a custom budget. Plus, you are granted access to Instant Match, which lets you view resumes of qualified candidates and invite them to apply. ZipRecruiter Pricing Unlike Indeed, ZipRecruiter does not offer free job postings. It has two plans: Usage, which follows a pay-per-job post pricing scheme, and Monthly. Usage Plans With Usage, you can make as many job postings as you need. Users are charged per post, per day. Standard: $16 per job post daily Premium: $24 per job post daily Note that you get billed monthly when your account hits $500 or upon cancellation—whichever comes first. Monthly Plans ZipRecruiter’s Monthly plans are based on the number of reusable job slots you need (1, 3, 4, 10, 20, or 20+) and the distribution level (Standard, Premium, and Pro). *These credits promote your job post to the top job boards for 30 days. Best for Job Postings: ZipRecruiter When comparing Indeed vs ZipRecruiter for job postings, they have several similar features, like one-click job postings that send your ads to their networks of partner job boards and sites. However, ZipRecruiter has a few functionalities that are slightly more robust than those of Indeed—it even topped our list of best job posting sites. When it comes to job postings, ZipRecruiter provides access to 500+ customizable templates that make it easy for you to write the position’s details, including the job description. Templates are available for a variety of industries and roles, so you are more likely to find content that matches your job postings. You can also add to your job description time-saving screening questions to weed out unqualified applicants. Once submitted, it will be instantly posted to leading job boards, social networks, and veteran job sites. Job slots are also reusable. If you fill one of the jobs you are posting, you can take that post out, save it in drafts, and post a completely unique position in its place to run the remainder of the 30-days or end of billing. When to Consider Indeed for Job Postings Those with limited recruiting budgets can upload unlimited job posts in Indeed’s general search results for free. It advertises the ad to millions of job seekers and enables employers to accept hundreds of applications. While it also has job description templates that you can use when creating job ads, it isn’t customizable like ZipRecruiter. Plus, as the job posts get older and less relevant, the ads will fall to the bottom of Indeed’s search results. You can improve job posting reach and visibility by having your ads sponsored (daily PPC costs range from $5 to $499 per job post). Best Recruitment Features: Indeed While Indeed and ZipRecruiter both have resume parsing, search filters, candidate management, and artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help you find qualified applicants who best fit your job hiring requirements, Indeed has a better set of recruiting features. It is mainly because of its extensive resume bank (over 200 million vs ZipRecruiter’s 32+ million), large marketplace of job seekers (10 million vs 250 million), and robust ATS integrations. Business owners can also use Indeed to create a free company page with information about the company, photos and videos, and basic performance metrics. This can help you promote your employer brand to job seekers, allowing them to know more about your business’ corporate culture and work environment. When to Consider ZipRecruiter for Recruitment Features Unlike Indeed, which requires you to purchase its resume solution to view and search through candidate profiles, ZipRecruiter lets you search its resume bank at no extra cost. The platform offers unlimited previews that show you the resume details without the applicant’s contact information. If you subscribe to its non-starter Usage and Monthly plans, you get candidate contact view credits that start at 25 per month. Best for Ease of Use & Customer Support: ZipRecruiter When comparing ZipRecruiter vs Indeed for customer support, only ZipRecruiter provides customer service that’s available 24/7. However, we found that both have extensive libraries of how-to articles that you can access online. Both also offer phone, chat, and email support. Both also have user-friendly platforms—employers and job seekers reported that they make the job posting and application processes more efficient. Users also like that they proactively filter resumes and send interview invites to highly qualified candidates, saving them time. How We Evaluated ZipRecruiter vs Indeed We evaluated ZipRecruiter and Indeed using their pricing structures, job posting tools, and capabilities. We also considered both providers’ reputations among job seekers, including customer reviews. Their customer support was also a major consideration since a lot of small business owners may need assistance in navigating through their systems. Bottom Line and offer robust tools for recruiters and job seekers. Both have helped countless employers find highly-qualified candidates that were perfect for their jobs. Hence, choosing either of them could be difficult for a business owner since they both ranked high in many reviews. Before you choose, consider your budget and the number of postings you need each month. For companies with a larger budget, ZipRecruiter’s job posting and recruiting tools may be worth the extra cost. Alternatively, companies with a smaller budget may be better served by Indeed’s pricing structure—plus, you can post jobs for free.