Paychex vs Paylocity Pricing (2026)
Compare / Paychex vs Paylocity
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Team size
25 seats

Paychex vs Paylocity

HR/HRIS pricing comparison · 2026

Paychex uses custom pricing, while Paylocity ranges from $20–$40/user/month. These products use different pricing models ( vs Per-seat subscription), so a direct price comparison isn't meaningful — costs depend on usage volume and mix.

Visit
See pricing on each vendor's site
Above-the-fold path — each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
Visit Paychex pricing
Discount programs →
Visit Paylocity pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Compare
2 products · HR/HRIS
Side-by-side · live
Paychex
Paychex does not publish public pricing.
verified 5d ago
$480 $42K
View pricing →
Paylocity
Paylocity is a cloud-based HCM and payroll software platform designed for mid-sized busine
verified 7w ago
$480 $42K
View pricing →
Verdict · Vendr median · year 1
Paychex saves $42K vs Paylocity · 25 seats
Cheapest $480
Spread 99%
Estimated license cost
at 25 seats
List price × seats. Click a tier below to lock it.
Custom pricing
Custom
all tiers are quote-only
Professional
$9.0K/yr
year 1 license · $30/seat
What buyers actually pay
median, annual
Vendr deal-flow data. The real benchmark, not list price.
↓ Lowest median
Median annual
$480/yr
Vendr · n=45
Median annual
$42K/yr
Vendr · n=13
REF · 01

Sources & confidence

Every dollar amount and contract clause below traces back to a sourced fact. We don't manufacture composite scores.

Where this data comes from
Vendr · TrustRadius · Reddit · BBB · official docs
Sources 3 sourced facts
1 contract · Vendr median · 1 review platform
Last verified 5d ago
Confidence Limited confidence
Sources 17 sourced facts
11 hidden-cost · 3 contract · Vendr median · 2 review platforms
Last verified 1mo ago
Confidence High confidence
REF · 02

Plans at a glance

Every tier per product. Lock one to drive the cost row above and reveal a tier-specific outbound CTA.

Tier ladder
Click a tier to lock the cost row to it. Locking surfaces a tier-specific Visit CTA.
REF · 03

Hidden costs

Each cost is severity-ranked, with the dollar range quoted from its source (Vendr, Reddit, TrustRadius, BBB, official docs) — never our estimate.

Beyond the sticker
Severity-ranked, sourced
No hidden costs documented
5 documented
  • Annual Price Increases
    5-10% of license costs
    1 source
  • BaseHR Package Requirement
    $1,000-$3,000
    1 source
  • Implementation Support Time
    $5,000-$15,000
    2 sources
  • Customer Service Delays
    10-20% additional labor time
    3 sources
  • FSA Administration Issues
    5-10 hours/month administrative time
    2 sources
REF · 05

What users say

Aggregated, with sample sizes. We use whichever review platform has data.

User reviews
TrustRadius · Trustpilot · G2
TrustRadius
7.6/5 (5)
Best for
Small businesses with 1-10 employees needing simple payroll
Watch out
Unresponsive customer service with long wait times
TrustRadius
9.2/5 (5)
Trustpilot
1.2/5 (25)
Best for
Small to mid-sized businesses needing payroll and basic HR
Watch out
Extremely long customer service hold times (1.5+ hours)
Decide
Get a quote from each vendor
Each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
Visit Paychex pricing
Discount programs →
Visit Paylocity pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
License cost is computed from publicly listed plans (real math, list price × seats). Median annual cost is from Vendr's deal flow when available — see source badges. Hidden costs and contract terms each cite their own sources. We do not invent composite scores.
HR/HRIS

Paychex

Custom pricing
/month
4 plans
Full pricing breakdown →
VS
HR/HRIS

Paylocity

$20–$40
/user/month
3 plans
Full pricing breakdown →
⚖

Different Pricing Models

Direct price comparison isn't meaningful here — Paychex uses pricing while Paylocity uses Per-seat subscription pricing. Your actual cost will depend on usage volume, team size, or both. Here's each product in its native unit.

Paychex

Custom pricing
See full Paychex pricing →
vs
Per-seat subscription

Paylocity

$20–$40 / user/month
See full Paylocity pricing →

Paychex and Paylocity both operate in the hr/hris category. This page compares their list pricing.

Plan-by-Plan Pricing

Plan Paychex Paylocity
Paychex Go Custom $20 /user/month
Paychex Flex Essentials Custom $30 /user/month
Paychex Flex Select Custom $40 /user/month
Paychex Flex Pro Custom —

Market Intelligence

Paychex

Median annual cost
$480
Based on
45 deals

Paylocity

Median annual cost
$42,240
Based on
13 deals

Contract Terms

Term Paychex Paylocity
Auto-renewal — No
Cancellation — No official renewal required
Minimum commitment — Typically 1 year
Price escalation — Standard annual increase around May, amount varies. Can be avoided with multi-year lock-in.
Can downgrade — Yes

Continue researching

Paychex

Paylocity

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