Is free payroll software still free after the first few months?
Summary
Usually not. Almost every “free” payroll offer is either a few discounted or free months at the start or a narrow plan that leaves out tax filing for employees. For a five-person business, those promotions save somewhere between one and six months of the normal price in year one, and year two is billed at the full rate.
What the offers actually say
Patriot Software gives 30 days free and then 50% off for three months, and the discount applies to both the base fee and the per-worker fee. Its Full Service plan returns to $37 a month plus $5 per worker after that. QuickBooks halves only the base fee for three months: Workforce Payroll + Simple Start drops from $88 to $44, while the $6.50 per employee stays the same. Roll by ADP offers three months free before its $39 plus $5 per employee. Homebase makes its payroll add-on free for six months, then charges $49 plus $6 per employee paid. Wave has a 30-day free trial ahead of its $40 base fee.
None of these is free forever.
The same five employees, year one and year two
At list prices for five employees:
- QuickBooks Workforce Payroll + Simple Start: $120.50 a month normally, $76.50 during the three discounted months. Year one comes to $1,314 and year two to $1,446. The promotion saves $132, about one month's bill.
- Roll by ADP: $64 a month. Three free months make year one $576; year two is $768.
- Homebase payroll: $79 a month. Six free months make year one $474; year two is $948.
Homebase is cheapest in year one and not in year two. The three are also not the same purchase. The QuickBooks price includes Simple Start accounting, and Homebase payroll is added to one of its scheduling plans, which has its own per-location fee.
Plans with no base fee and a smaller job
Square's contractor-only plan has no base fee at all, just $6 a month per person paid. Federal and state payroll tax filing is listed as a full-service feature and is not included. Gusto's Contractor Only plan creates and files Forms 1099 but excludes backup withholding and other contractor withholding required by state agencies. Wave files payroll taxes in all 50 states, but 1099 filings are excluded from that service. A contractor plan is cheap because it is not employee payroll.
Sources
- https://www.patriotsoftware.com/pricing/
- https://quickbooks.intuit.com/payroll/pricing/
- https://www.rollbyadp.com/pricing
- https://www.joinhomebase.com/pricing
- https://gusto.com/pricing
- https://www.waveapps.com/payroll
- https://squareup.com/us/en/payroll/pricing
Related on this site
- Payroll software cost calculator
- How to read a payroll pricing page without being misled
- What payroll software pricing includes
- What payroll software costs, and where the money goes
- What should you compare before picking a payroll provider?
Written by Kaz, independent publisher. No commercial relationship with the companies named unless it is listed on the disclosure page.
Published September 27, 2026. The figures above come from the government and vendor pages listed under Sources.
I have not used these products. Nothing here is a personal test result.
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