Best Payroll Software for Mac Users in 2021

Gusto offers a cloud-based payroll software that works well for both Mac and Windows computers. It can process paychecks for employees and contractors, plus its full-service payroll covers all US states.

Gusto also has a wide range of plans that come with basic to robust tools for payroll, employee onboarding, health insurance and workers’ compensation administration, employee offers, and document management. And, if you’re employing mostly contractors, then Gusto’s contractor-only package is the least expensive option in our list of best Mac OS payroll solutions—costing only $6 per person, per month.

ADP Run provides a suite of cloud-based payroll and human capital management solutions. It has products and plans for all sizes of businesses, providing you with a wide selection of packages to fit your company’s growing HR and payroll software needs.

Its small business payroll solution, called RUN Powered by ADP, is an ideal option for those who employ up to 49 employees. It has all of the basic functionalities that you need to process employee salaries and payroll taxes. It even includes several HR tools, like employee onboarding, workers’ compensation and health insurance administration, and new hire reporting. Plus, ADP Run comes with background checks, time and attendance management, and access to ZipRecruiter for posting open positions to over 100 job boards.

For pricing, you have to contact ADP to request a quote. We were quoted a fee of around $14 to $15 per employee, per month for its base program. You also have to pay extra to access time tracking, workers’ compensation, retirement plans, and health insurance administration.

However, if you want to handle payroll yourself, ADP has a DIY option with a fee that starts at $59 plus $4 per employee monthly. Ideal for those who employ up to 9 staff, this package includes unlimited pay runs, payroll tax filings, Form W-2s and 1099s, direct deposits, new hire reporting, and an employee portal for viewing pay stubs.

Rippling offers a suite of cloud-based solutions for managing staff information, documents, payroll, benefits, devices, and apps. Its base program is an employee management platform with full-service payroll as an add-on module. It also comes with automatic tax calculations and filings (federal, state, and local) and a global payroll functionality that lets you process salaries of employees and contractors located across the world.

What’s also great about Rippling is that it has robust integration options, allowing you and your employees to connect to more than 500 software. You can purchase a device management add-on that lets you buy, set up, secure, and monitor software and company devices (like computers and mobile phones) that are issued to employees.

However, pricing isn’t transparent and you have to contact Rippling to request a quote. Moreover, it doesn’t provide advanced HR tools that enable you to manage employee performance, training, and compensation.

SurePayroll is an ideal payroll solution for small and microbusinesses, including household employers that want to pay their housekeeping staff and nannies. The provider offers a self-service payroll package (which costs $19.99 plus $4 per employee monthly) that includes unlimited payroll runs, payroll tax calculations, multiple pay rate and bonuses, direct deposits, and online pay stubs. However, you’ll have to handle tax filing yourself.

If you want automatic tax calculations, payments, and filings, then you may want to consider SurePayroll’s full-service plan (which is priced at $29.99 plus $5 per employee monthly). One of the advantages of this plan is that it offers a two-day payroll processing timeline. This is faster than the self-service package’s four-day timeline—although you can opt to upgrade that into a two-day option by paying $7.99 per month.

QuickBooks doesn’t have a desktop payroll software for Mac. Instead, what the provider offers are two online Mac payroll software, called QuickBooks Payroll for Mac and QuickBooks Online Payroll. Both are cloud-based, wherein the first solution integrates with QuickBooks for Mac (versions 2006 and higher). It can handle payroll for up to 150 employees and comes with instant paycheck calculations, free direct deposits, free support from payroll experts, and payroll tax payments and filings that cover multiple states.

Note that QuickBooks Payroll for Mac is one of the provider’s legacy products. It isn’t advertised online, but you can contact QuickBooks to request more information, including pricing details, about the said solution.

If you’re looking for full-service payroll, then you may want to consider QuickBooks Online Payroll. Compared to QuickBooks Payroll for Mac, it offers more features like automated taxes and forms, next-day and same-day direct deposit options, access to health benefits and 401(k) plans, and expert product support. You can also choose from three pricing plans that cost anywhere from $45 plus $4 per employee monthly to $125 plus $10 per employee monthly.

Unlike Gusto and most of the software mentioned in this article, Aatrix doesn’t offer a cloud-based solution. Instead, it provides downloadable software with a subscription to its tax-table service.

There are two programs, Top Pay and Ultimate Payroll. Each comes with direct deposit and check options, PTO tracking, payroll runs for unlimited number of employees, and free access to Aatrix’s “TimeCard” software for capturing employee time-ins/outs. Both programs cost $259.95 per year, with the Ultimate Payroll option having more features like small business forms (employee- and payroll-related) and a sample employee handbook.