OnPay Payroll Review 2024: Features, Pricing, Pros & Cons

Known for its powerful features and inexpensive price, OnPay is one of the most popular payroll providers on the market. But does it live up to the hype?

In this OnPay payroll review, you’ll find out. Read on to discover everything you need to know before purchasing OnPay for your business: its price, features and how it compares to other leading providers like Gusto and ADP.

Table of Contents Table of Contents

1. OnPay Plans & Pricing
2. OnPay Overview
3. Standout Features
4. Integrations
5. OnPay Customer Reviews
6. What is OnPay Good For?
7. OnPay vs Top Competitors
8. Verdict - is OnPay Worth it?
9. How We Test Payroll Software
10. How to Choose the Best Payroll Software
11. FAQs

Show Full Guide

Table of Contents

1. OnPay Plans & Pricing
2. OnPay Overview
3. Standout Features
Show Full Guide
4. Integrations
5. OnPay Customer Reviews
6. What is OnPay Good For?
7. OnPay vs Top Competitors
8. Verdict - is OnPay Worth it?
9. How We Test Payroll Software
10. How to Choose the Best Payroll Software
11. FAQs

OnPay Plans & Pricing

OnPay’s pricing plan is refreshingly simple and transparent. Instead of having to comb through different plans to find what’s right for you, there’s only one option–and it comes at an affordable base fee of $40 per month. From there, you’ll pay an additional $6 per month per employee. There are no hidden extras or costly add-ons.

Compared to the likes of Gusto and ADP, OnPay is undeniably cost-effective. Gusto’s mid-tier plan costs $80 per month and ADP’s starts at $79 per month–double the price of OnPay.

Even though OnPay is comparatively inexpensive, it still packs in a range of powerful features. With the platform, you can perform unlimited payroll runs, incorporate 401(k) plans, and also pay 1099 contractors and W-2 employees during the same pay run.

The only downside we noticed with OnPay’s flat pricing structure is its scalability. While it’s great for startups and small and medium-sized businesses, larger corporations may find the platform too simplistic. Saying that, for SMEs, the platform has almost everything you could need for an affordable price tag.

OnPay Overview

Standout Features

All finance professionals know just how tedious and error-prone managing payroll can be. OnPay changes that. Thanks to its intuitive interface, powerful reporting capabilities, and slick automations, this platform is a dream for finance and HR personnel looking to boost efficiency.

Here are the key features to know about.

Payroll

OnPay’s user experience is one of the best we’ve seen. The platform’s use of widgets, visuals, and charts makes for an easy, intuitive user experience. We loved how easy it was to enter hours and approve pay runs–taking only a few clicks.

But that’s not to say the platform is simplistic either. OnPay’s payroll capabilities rival that of higher-priced competitors, including multi-state payroll and multiple pay rates, which is fantastic for companies that employ workers in multiple states or work with contractors.

The only downside of OnPay’s payroll we found is that there isn’t currently an auto-pay feature, meaning you can only execute payroll for the time period at hand, not a future one.

While it would be great to see OnPay add this capability in the future, it’s unlikely to be a deal breaker for most businesses since activating payroll takes just a few clicks–and can even be done via mobile app if you’re an iPhone user.

Employee Portal

OnPay’s employee portal stands out of the crowd for its ease of use and impressive functionality. For employees, the portal is a useful way to access payroll data, HR documents and make time-off requests, and we found it very easy to use.

While some employee portals feel outdated and clunky, OnPay’s portal is responsive, modern, and enjoyable to use.

For HR and finance personnel, the employee portal is also extremely helpful, taking away a lot of the administration associated with employee requests.

For example, employees can update their personal information, set up their bank account select their preferred payment method, and access historical HR documents and payslips. All of this means that HR and finance professionals can spend less time on admin, and more on strategic tasks.

Tax features

Calculating tax fills many financial professionals with dread. Thankfully, though, OnPay does the hard work for you. The platform has been built with powerful automation capabilities that automatically withhold payroll taxes during each pay run, including quarterly 941s and annual forms of W-2, W-3, and others.

The payroll taxes page also makes it simple to set up taxes relating to the states your people are based through a simple drop-down menu. Once you’ve configured everything, OnPay will handle all filings and payments for you.

HR capabilities

We were really impressed with the depth and breadth of HR capabilities. While some payroll providers solely offer payroll functionality, OnPay has branched out into HR, offering features to automate employee onboarding, e-sign corporate documents, and book PTO.

We think this is a smart move from OnPay. It makes sense for employees to be able to check their pay slips, book time off, and onboard from one central platform.

However, to say that OnPay is a full-suite HR software provider would be a stretch. The platform doesn’t offer features like learning and development or performance management, for example. Still, for many SMBs, OnPay’s HR features will be robust enough to do the job.

Benefits Administration

Another unique selling point of OnPay is its benefits plans. The provider has teamed up with a number of reputable insurance agents to make it easier for businesses to offer benefits such as health, dental, and retirement.

This is a great addition to the platform, streamlining the process of offering insurance by bringing it in-app. Note, though, that these benefits cost an additional monthly fee and a participant fee. Before you commit to anything, we recommend reviewing the options carefully to make sure you’ve gone for the right price point.

Customizable reporting

We found OnPay’s reporting features to be stellar. Whether you want to run payroll or benefits-related reports, you can do so with ease, and there are plenty of customization options.

In fact, we’d go as far as to say that OnPay’s reporting capabilities are one of the most powerful on the market. However, the reporting function isn’t overly technical either. If you’re not that tech savvy, OnPay also automatically generates a wealth of valuable reports without you having to spend time on configuration.

Integrations

OnPay’s range of integrations helps organizations enhance finance and HR management. The platform syncs with two of the most popular accounting platforms out there: Xero and QuickBooks. When you use OnPay with one of these platforms, you can easily manage the entire finance function: payroll, expenses, invoicing, and so forth.

Beyond accounting, OnPay also integrates with a selection of HR and time-tracking platforms. These integrations make up for the HR features that OnPay lacks, enabling companies to manage performance, training, and compliance through a centralized interface.

OnPay Customer Reviews

We’ve been really impressed by OnPay. Not only is the platform cheaper than most competitors, but it’s also got all the features SMBs need to make payroll simple and hassle-free.

As well as reviewing OnPay for ourselves, we also wanted to see what other customers thought of the platform, so we took to TrustPilot and TrustRadius to collect first-hand user reviews.

On TrustPilot, OnPay reviews were overwhelmingly positive. It currently has a 4.3 out of 5 star rating. Customers praised the platform for being easy to use, and for its excellent customer service.

It’s worth noting that there were a minority of negative reviews also relating to customer support. However, these are only 5% of the total review. The other 95% are positive.

On TrustRadius, user reviews were also positive. Customers praised the cost-effectiveness of the platform and its excellent reporting capabilities. The major downside noted was the lack of an auto-pay feature. Still, this hasn’t appeared to put off the majority of customers who use the platform.

What is OnPay Good For?

If you’re a small to medium-sized business looking to streamline your payroll function, OnPay is a cost-effective option that’s a joy to use. With a great range of integrations, an intuitive employee portal, and a range of solid HR features, the platform is the perfect addition to a mid-sized company’s technology stack.

OnPay vs Top Competitors

OnPay vs Gusto

Gusto and OnPay have a lot in common. They both offer payroll functionality, solid HR features, and custom reporting. However, OnPay slightly stands above Gusto for its flat pricing structure. While Gusto’s basic plan costs the same as OnPay, its mid-tier plan is double the price at $80.

It’s only with this plan that you can unlock features like employee onboarding and multi-state payroll support, which OnPay already offers for $40. Saying this, Gusto’s mid-tier plan does have some capabilities that OnPay does not, including time tracking, employee performance management tools, and workforce costing reports.

OnPay vs Paychex

Paychex and OnPay are also similarly priced and, at first glance, appear to have a lot of the same features. However, for trying Paychex in the past, we know that the two platforms have some key differences. For one, Paychex doesn’t offer unlimited pay runs like OnPay does. Tax support and multi-state payroll also come in at an additional cost.

If you do have the extra budget, however, Paychex’s HR features are superior to OnPays. Still, they come at a much higher price point. Depending on the features you choose, you could end up paying anywhere from $60-$160 per month.

OnPay vs ADP

OnPay and ADP target slightly different audiences. In our view, ADP is aimed at bigger, international companies. It’s the perfect solution for organizations with complex structures and employees in several countries. However, it’s also a lot more expensive. $59 per month only gets you the most basic features.

For companies based solely in the US and looking for a cost-efficient payroll software provider, OnPay is a better option.

Verdict – is OnPay Worth it?

OnPay is a powerful payroll platform with a plethora of excellent features. From its powerful custom reports to its simplified payroll and excellent employee portal, OnPay makes the entire payroll process efficient and easy–and all for a formidably low price per month.

How We Test Payroll Software

When we test payroll providers, we look at a range of key success factors, including:

• Pricing – We compare the price of the payroll software compared to other leading providers in the market.
• Features – We explore the features available in each plan, testing essentials like custom reporting, payroll automations and tax filing services.
• Integrations – We analyze the integrations offered by each provider to assess how it supports information sharing and team efficiency.
• Automation – We test the platform’s automation features, looking at ease-of-use, accuracy, and speed.
• Ease of use – We use each platform with the mindset of someone who is relatively new to payroll software, bringing you our honest thoughts on how easy the platform is to use.
• Third-Party Reviews – We compare and contrast our reviews with third-party reviews to bring you a more cohesive, robust view of the platform.

How to Choose the Best Payroll Software

Choosing payroll software is something you don’t want to do often. Before you commit, you’ll want to make sure you’ve made the right choice. Here’s the critical factors to keep in mind:

• Price – Look for a platform that meets your pricing expectations. Be wary of hidden costs or big jumps between pricing plans.
• Features – Does the platform have all the features you need?
• Scalability – Can the platform scale with your business as it grows?
• Ease of use – Is the platform easy to use? If training is required, can you access it for free?
• Integrations – is the platform compatible with the other finance and HR applications you use?
• Customer support – Does the customer support function suit your needs, be it phone, chat or email?

FAQs