Homebase

Homebase Payroll is an add-on rather than a standalone product. It costs $49/mo plus $6/emp/mo, and Homebase charges only for employees actually paid in that month rather than everyone on the roster. The add-on can be attached to any Homebase plan, including the free Basic tier, so a single-location business with up to 10 employees pays only the payroll fees on top of nothing. The comparison table on this page shows the current figures and the calculator above estimates your monthly cost on your headcount.

Yes. Homebase states that payroll is available as an add-on on all plans, whichever Homebase plan you choose, and that includes the free Basic tier. Basic covers one location and up to 10 employees, so a small single-site team can run full payroll for the add-on fees alone. Once you pass 10 employees or open a second location you move up to a paid plan, which is charged per location, and your total rises accordingly.

Homebase Payroll is available to US-based businesses in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. It is not available outside the United States, so it does not suit businesses hiring internationally. If you need to pay staff in other countries, the global platforms in this comparison, such as Deel, Remote and Papaya Global, are built for that and Homebase is not.

Yes. Homebase says the payroll add-on includes automated tax calculation, filing and payment, along with tax amendments, and produces W-2s for employees and 1099s for contractors. It also runs unlimited payroll on a pay-as-you-go basis with no cancellation fees, and offers a free setup and payroll transfer service if you are moving from another provider.

It is built for them. Homebase started as scheduling and time tracking for hourly and shift-based businesses such as restaurants, retail and services, so hours, breaks and overtime flow from the time clock straight into the pay run without re-keying. That integration is its main advantage over a standalone payroll tool. Businesses that need employer group health plans or a full HR suite will find it thinner: Homebase offers individual health cover through Stride and a 401(k) through Vestwell, but no group health plan administration.

Homebase charges per location, not per employee, so hiring more staff does not raise the bill. The entry paid Essentials plan starts at $30/mo per location, with Plus and All-in-One tiers above it, and every plan covers unlimited employees, which is why the per-employee cost shows as $0/emp/mo in the table. Annual billing is cheaper than monthly, and payroll is a separate add-on on top of the plan. The calculator above estimates your monthly cost.

Yes, up to a point. The free Basic plan covers one location with up to 10 employees and includes scheduling and the time clock, which is enough for a small single-site team. Paid tiers add hiring, performance notes, PTO policies, and, on the top All-in-One tier, employee onboarding paperwork and HR support. Free plans this usable are rare in HR software, but the HR features most businesses want sit on the paid tiers.

Yes, Homebase Payroll is a first-party product, but it is a paid add-on rather than part of the plan price. It is charged as a monthly fee plus a fee for each employee paid, on top of whichever plan you are on, so a payroll-inclusive comparison should add it to the plan cost. Homebase also integrates with third-party payroll providers including Gusto, ADP, and QuickBooks if you would rather keep your existing payroll.

Partly. The All-in-One tier automates new-hire paperwork including Form W-4, W-9, and I-9 with e-signature and document storage. Homebase does not state E-Verify support or ACA (1095-C / 1094-C) reporting on its pricing page, so if either is a requirement, treat it as unconfirmed and check with Homebase directly. Gusto, Rippling, BambooHR, and Justworks all state explicit E-Verify and ACA coverage.

Hourly and shift-based US businesses: restaurants, retail, and services with a time clock, a roster, and staff turnover. Its per-location pricing makes it unusually cheap for a single site with a large crew, and it plugs into the POS systems those businesses already run, including Square, Clover, Toast, and Lightspeed. It is a poor fit for salaried, remote, or distributed teams, where Gusto, BambooHR, or Deel are better shaped.

Each location is billed separately, so a business with three sites pays three times the plan price. Homebase defines a location as a physical address that is your place of business. That makes the model excellent value for one busy site and progressively less so as you add locations, which is the mirror image of per-employee tools like Gusto or BambooHR, where cost rises with headcount instead. Compare on your own shape: many sites and few staff each favors per-employee pricing; one site and many staff favors Homebase.