Enter your business details to see what each option would cost you. Prices are live from our database and shown in US dollars.
How we chose. We priced every HR platform we list on its entry plan at 3, 15, 50 and 100 employees, through the same cost engine as the HR software comparison. The picks are the providers with a published price that suit a salaried, mostly office-based startup team. The table above ranks them live at your headcount. The cost table also prices Connecteam and Homebase, which are built for hourly and shift-based teams; our guide to HR software for small business covers them. Affiliate status never changes the order.
Founders tend to look at HR software at one of two awkward moments. Some sign up before the first offer letter, when the only system the law cares about is payroll. Others wait until the fifteenth hire, when I-9s live in a drawer, offer letters sit in three inboxes and the paid time off spreadsheet has two versions. This guide covers the stretch in between: what federal law asks of a new employer, what HR software costs from 3 employees to 100, and the headcounts where the rules change.
Do you need HR software before your first hire?
No. Your first hire needs an EIN, a payroll system that withholds and deposits federal tax, and a short stack of federal and state paperwork. HR software can wait until that paperwork becomes a weekly chore.
Here is what federal law asks of every new US employer, whatever software you use. State law adds to it, and the state rules vary, so treat this as the federal floor.
| Obligation | When | Source |
|---|
| Get an Employer Identification Number (EIN) | Before your first payroll. It is free from the IRS, and the online application gives you the number at once if it is approved | IRS |
| Collect Form W-4 | From each new employee, so you withhold the right federal income tax from their pay | IRS |
| Complete Form I-9 | The employee fills in Section 1. You check their documents and complete Section 2 within 3 business days of their first day of work for pay | USCIS |
| Report the new hire | To the state where the employee works, within 20 days of hire. Some states require it sooner | HHS Office of Child Support Services |
| Pay at least the minimum wage | The federal minimum is $7.25 an hour. Many states set a higher one, and you pay whichever is higher | Department of Labor |
| Pay overtime | Time and a half for hours over 40 in a workweek, for every employee who is not exempt | Department of Labor |
| Keep payroll records | Payroll records for at least 3 years, and time cards and other records wages are worked out from for 2 years | Department of Labor |
| Carry workers' compensation | Workers' comp is run by each state, and each state sets which employers must carry it and how. Start with your state's workers' comp office | Department of Labor |
| Pay state unemployment insurance tax | State unemployment insurance is also state-run: your state's agency sets the tax and how you sign up | Department of Labor |
| File Form 941 | Every quarter, by the last day of the month after the quarter ends | IRS |
| File Form 940 and give Forms W-2 | Form 940 by January 31 each year. Forms W-2 to employees, and to the Social Security Administration with Form W-3, by January 31 | IRS |
| Keep each Form I-9 | For 3 years after the date of hire, or 1 year after employment ends, whichever is later | USCIS |
Federal rules checked against the cited agency pages in October 2026.
Everything in this table applies to employees on a W-2. A 1099 contractor is a different relationship with different tax forms, and calling an employee a contractor does not make them one; our payroll guide for contractors covers paying contractors.
The W-4, the withholding, the 941, the 940 and the W-2 are payroll jobs, which is why payroll comes first. If you have not picked one, our guides to payroll software for small business and payroll for a single employee price the options. The I-9, the new hire report and the records are where HR software starts to earn its fee: one onboarding flow per hire, with the forms collected and stored, instead of a checklist you rebuild every time.
HR software pricing for startups at 3, 15, 50 and 100 employees
At 3 employees a base fee or a flat minimum can be most of the bill. By 100, the per-employee rate is most of the bill wherever a provider charges one. The table prices every HR platform we list at four team sizes, through the same cost engine as the comparison above.
| Provider | 3 employees | 15 employees | 50 employees | 100 employees |
|---|
| Connecteam | $0 | $29 min | $39 | $64 |
| Homebase | $0 | $30 min | $30 min | $30 min |
| Deel | $15 | $75 | $250 | $500 |
| Gusto | $67 | $139 | $349 | $649 |
| Rippling | from $71 | from $215 | from $635 | from $1,235 |
| Justworks | $237 | $1,185 | $3,950 | $7,900 |
| BambooHR | $250 min | $250 min | $512.50 | $1,025 |
| ADP | Get quote | Get quote | Get quote | Get quote |
| Multiplier | Get quote | Get quote | Get quote | Get quote |
| Oyster HR | Get quote | Get quote | Get quote | Get quote |
| Papaya Global | Get quote | Get quote | Get quote | Get quote |
| Payoneer Workforce Management | Get quote | Get quote | Get quote | Get quote |
Estimated monthly cost in US dollars on each provider's entry plan, at the price each provider publishes; we do not add sales tax. Some providers headline the monthly equivalent of an annual plan, and that is the figure we store for them. Plans and pricing checked October 2026. "from" means the provider publishes only a starting price, and your quote will be higher. "min" means a monthly minimum is the whole bill at that size. Get quote means the provider does not publish a price we can cost.
Of the 12 HR platforms we list, the table can price BambooHR, Connecteam, Deel, Gusto, Homebase, Justworks and Rippling. The rest price on request: ADP, Multiplier, Oyster HR, Papaya Global and Payoneer Workforce Management. Several of those are Employer of Record services with no standalone HR plan; the Pricing model row in the full HR software comparison says which.
The providers that publish a price use five pricing shapes, and for a team that is growing, the shape tells you more than any single figure:
- Free to a cap. Connecteam and Homebase are both free for a small team, and the free-plan limits are in the full comparison. Above its cap, Connecteam's paid HR hub is a flat $29/mo (Basic) for the first 30 users. Homebase then charges by location, not by head.
- Per head with no minimum. Deel's HR plan is $5/emp/mo from the first employee, with no base fee. Payroll is a separate Deel product.
- A base fee plus a per-head charge. Gusto's entry plan is $49/mo plus $6/emp/mo, with payroll included. Rippling publishes only a starting point: a $35/mo platform fee plus a per-user charge, before the modules it quotes, which is why its row reads "from".
- A flat minimum, then per head. BambooHR's entry plan has a monthly minimum of $250/mo, so a small team pays the same whatever its size, and the per-employee rate takes over once the team outgrows it.
- A PEO fee per head. Justworks charges $79-$124/emp/mo, depending on the plan, for payroll, tax filing and benefits administration together. That is a different purchase from HR software, so read its row with that in mind.
Free HR software for a startup: what the free plans cover
The platforms we list with a free plan are Connecteam and Homebase, and each one caps it:
| Provider | Free plan | Built for |
|---|
| Connecteam | Yes (up to 10 employees) | US deskless and shift-based teams (hospitality, retail, trades, healthcare) |
| Homebase | Yes (1 location, up to 10 employees) | US hourly and shift-based teams (restaurants, retail, services) |
Connecteam's free plan opens all of its hubs and features up to that cap, with exceptions it marks on its pricing page. Homebase's free plan covers basic scheduling and time tracking; employee onboarding and its HR and compliance tools sit on its top plan. Both are built around shift work rather than salaried office HR. A free plan is a cap, not a recommendation: check that its limits cover the team you expect in a year, and use the cost table above to see what each costs once you pass it.
Federal HR thresholds at 15, 20, 50 and 100 employees
Federal employment law adds duties as the team grows. Each one below is the federal rule only. Many states start earlier or add their own, so check your state as you approach each count.
- 15 employees. Title VII and the Americans with Disabilities Act apply once you have 15 or more employees for 20 or more calendar weeks in this year or last (EEOC).
- 20 employees. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act applies at 20 employees on the same 20-week test (EEOC), and COBRA generally requires an employer with 20 or more employees in the prior year to offer continuation coverage under its group health plan (Department of Labor).
- 50 full-time employees, counting full-time equivalents. You become an applicable large employer under the Affordable Care Act for the next calendar year, with its employer health coverage rules and reporting; full-time means an average of at least 30 hours a week (IRS).
- 50 employees. The Family and Medical Leave Act covers a private employer with 50 or more employees in 20 or more workweeks in the current or previous calendar year, and an employee qualifies only where you have 50 employees within 75 miles (Department of Labor). This count is employees, not full-time equivalents.
- 100 employees. Private employers with 100 or more employees file the annual EEO-1 Component 1 report of workforce demographics, and some federal contractors file from 50 (EEOC).
Counting toward these tests is fiddly. The ACA test runs on hours and full-time equivalents, while the EEOC and FMLA tests count employees week by week. Before you sign, ask the vendor how its headcount and hours reports handle part-time staff, because a spreadsheet tends to get exactly that wrong.
HRIS, payroll or a PEO: three ways a startup buys HR
A US startup can buy HR three ways. An HRIS holds the employee record and leaves payroll to another tool. A payroll provider with HR runs the pay and keeps the record beside it. A PEO goes further and becomes the co-employer, taking on payroll tax filing and offering its own benefits plans.
| Provider | Payroll | Benefits administration | PEO option |
|---|
| Deel | Native (US + global) | Yes | Yes (PEO) |
| Gusto | Native (US) | Yes | No |
| Rippling | Native (US) | Yes | Yes |
| BambooHR | Native (add-on) | Yes (add-on) | No |
| Justworks | Native (US) | Yes (large-group) | Yes |
The Payroll column says whether the company sells its own payroll, not whether the plan in the cost table includes it. Gusto's entry plan and Justworks' PEO fee include payroll; Deel, Rippling and BambooHR sell it as a separate product or add-on, so add it to their figures if you need it.
The choice mostly comes down to benefits. A startup that wants to offer group health insurance to a handful of people often finds a PEO such as Justworks the simplest route, because the PEO brings its own group plans. A startup that does not offer benefits yet, or already has a broker, pays less per head for an HRIS plus payroll, or for a payroll provider with HR such as Gusto. If you already run payroll, keep it and choose an HRIS that connects to it; our BambooHR vs Gusto comparison covers that pairing.
Exempt or non-exempt: the FLSA call HR software cannot make for you
Startups pay most early staff a salary and often assume that settles overtime. It does not. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, most exemptions from minimum wage and overtime require a salary of at least $684 a week and a duties test: the employee's actual work has to meet the test for that exemption, such as executive, administrative or professional. Job titles decide nothing. Not every exemption has the salary part: outside sales staff have a duties test but no salary test (Department of Labor).
A salaried office manager whose main work is routine and does not involve their own judgment on matters of significance can fail the duties test and be owed overtime. For a startup hiring engineers, the computer employee exemption is the one to read: it has its own duties test, and it can be met on a salary of at least $684 a week or an hourly rate of at least $27.63 (Department of Labor). Some states set a higher salary level or stricter duties tests than federal law, and you follow whichever protects the employee more.
HR software records the classification you choose and can keep the time records a non-exempt employee needs. It does not make the decision for you, so settle each role's classification before the first pay run, with an employment lawyer if a role is borderline. This guide is general information, not legal advice.
Applicant tracking starts to matter once several roles are open at the same time. Contract terms matter the day you want to leave.
| Provider | Applicant tracking | Contract |
|---|
| Deel | Add-on | No |
| Gusto | Via integration | No |
| Rippling | Yes | Annual |
| BambooHR | Yes | Annual |
| Justworks | Via integration | Monthly |
"Yes" here means the company offers applicant tracking, not that the plan in the cost table includes it; "Via integration" means you connect a separate recruiting tool. If you expect to hire steadily over the next year, price the plan that includes it now, because on a per-employee plan an upgrade raises the rate for the whole team.
Whichever you choose, keep your own copy of every signed offer letter and I-9, and export everything before you cancel. Your duty to keep payroll records for 3 years and each I-9 for its retention period does not end with the subscription.
What if your first hire is outside the US?
Then you need an Employer of Record, a company that employs your hire in their own country so you do not have to open an entity there. Deel's Employer of Record, on the same account as its HR plan, is $599/emp/mo. That is a different purchase from an HR seat, priced per person, so it does not show in the cost table above.
Our guide to HR software for hiring overseas compares the Employer of Record providers, the remote teams guide covers managing a team spread across countries, and the payroll guide for contractors covers paying people abroad who are not employees.