Enter your business details to see what each option would cost you. Prices are live from our database and shown in US dollars.
Small business HR software takes the people admin, onboarding, PTO, employee records, scheduling, off spreadsheets and group texts, without paying for an enterprise system you will not use. For a US small business the entry point is cheap, and in several cases free, and the right pick depends heavily on whether your team is salaried and office-based or hourly and shift-based. Below are our ranked picks, then a live comparison table and calculator so you can cost each at your own headcount.
How we chose
Small businesses weigh HR software on cost first, then on how much real work it removes: onboarding a new hire, tracking time off, scheduling shifts, storing records, and keeping W-2 and 1099 paperwork and state filings straight. We ranked on the real monthly cost at a small team size, the depth of core HR, whether payroll is included or separate, and how well the tool fits your kind of workforce, salaried or hourly. Pricing is live from our database in US dollars.
What small businesses should prioritise
Start with two questions: do you run payroll, and is your team salaried or hourly. If you want payroll and HR in one system, Gusto is built for that, with automatic federal and state tax filing. If you want structured HR without a monthly bill and will handle pay separately, Deel HR is free to 200 employees. If your team is hourly, the job is really scheduling and time tracking, and Homebase (single location) or Connecteam (across sites) fit better than an office-first HRIS. Cost the software at the headcount, and the number of locations, you expect within a year.
Payroll included, or HR on its own
The biggest fork for a US small business is whether HR software should also run payroll. Gusto puts payroll, tax filing, benefits and HR in one system, which removes the seam between hiring someone and paying them, and files federal and state taxes automatically. Deel HR, Homebase and Connecteam are HR and workforce tools first: cheaper or free at small scale, but you either add payroll separately or, in Homebase's case, turn on its payroll add-on. If a single joined-up system for pay and people is what you want, start with Gusto; if you already have payroll handled, the free HR tools win on cost.
The verdict
For most US small businesses, Gusto is the pick: one system for payroll, benefits and HR at $40 a month plus $6 an employee. Deel is the value choice, a real HRIS free to 200 employees, when you handle pay elsewhere. For an hourly team, choose Homebase for a single busy location, free to start and priced per location, or Connecteam for a workforce spread across sites, free to 10. Use the calculator above to cost each at your employee count.
Running payroll too?
If payroll is the core of what you need, our guide to the best payroll software for small business ranks the options on cost per employee, including full-service filing of federal and state taxes.