HR and payroll tools for nonprofits that employ hourly program or shift staff, comparing base fees and per-employee rates at Gusto, OnPay and Paycor against quote-based Paychex.
Nonprofits running shelters, clinics or community programs often pay a large share of staff by the hour, and grant budgets leave little room for software overruns. Payroll accuracy for variable hours is the first test. Implementation has to fit a lean team, since there is rarely a dedicated HR administrator.
OnPay charges a $49 monthly base plus $6 per employee on a single plan, suited to organizations with up to about 50 staff, though same-day direct deposit is not available. Gusto Simple costs $49 per month plus $6 per employee, but performance reviews only arrive on Premium at $180 per month base. Paychex no longer publishes prices; its last published plan, Flex Essentials, was $39 per month plus $5 per employee.
Paycor is positioned for nonprofit teams managing people operations with lean admin staff, with web, iOS and Android access for staff who are rarely at a desk. Paycor publishes four plans for organizations under 50 employees, from $99 a month plus $5 per employee, and offers no trial. Nonprofits that also need a records system can compare these payroll tools with broader HR Software, such as BambooHR, which includes time tracking.
Published price means the vendor shows a figure; quote only means it does not. The best-fit and tradeoff lines are each tool's own.
Showing 11 of 11
| Tool | Published price | Best for | Main tradeoff |
|---|---|---|---|
| ADP | $39/mo + $5 per employee (Roll) | ADP is best for HR directors, payroll managers, and operations leaders at companies with 50 to 1,000-plus employees that need a payroll-first HR platform backed by the most extensive integration marketplace and compensation benchmarking data in the industry. | ADP implementation takes eight to sixteen weeks, which is slow by modern standards |
| Paylocity | ~$18-$22 per employee/mo (est.) | HR and finance leads at companies of roughly 100 to 1,000 staff get the most from Paylocity, especially when they need compliance-grade payroll plus benefits administration, time tracking and basic talent management in one login. Pick it when payroll accuracy and tax compliance are hard requirements rather than preferences. | Paylocity implementation timeline is longer than most buyers expect |
| Paychex | ~$39/mo + $5 per employee (legacy) | Paychex is best for business owners and HR managers at companies with 10 to 500 employees who want a single vendor for payroll, retirement plans, and benefits administration. It is the right choice when 401(k) administration, workers' compensation, and employer liability management are on the requirements list alongside payroll and HR. | Paychex Flex desktop navigation lags Rippling and BambooHR |
| OnPay | $49/mo + $6 per worker | OnPay is best for small businesses with 1 to 50 employees that need reliable payroll processing, automated tax filing, and basic benefits administration without the complexity or cost of enterprise-grade HR platforms. | OnPay HR features are basic and do not extend beyond payroll-adjacent functionality |
| Paycor | $99/mo + $5 per employee | Paycor suits nonprofits, schools, clinics and services firms with roughly 10 to 1,000 employees that want payroll, time, benefits and hiring from a single vendor. | Paycor stops publishing prices at 50 employees |
| TalentHR | $0, up to 10 users | Nonprofits, small businesses and startups of up to roughly a hundred people that need records, leave, onboarding and reviews in one place, already have payroll handled elsewhere, and want to keep HR software spend in single-digit dollars per person. | No payroll |
| Personio | From ~$4 per employee/mo (est.) | Personio fits HR managers and people ops leads at European SMEs, typically 50 to 500 employees, who need one place for employee files, leave, working time and payroll preparation. | Personio quotes grow with add-ons and one-time fees |
| BambooHRSponsored | $10 per employee/mo ($250/mo minimum) | BambooHR is best for HR generalists and people operations managers at companies with 25 to 300 employees who need a single platform for employee records, onboarding, time tracking, and performance reviews. | BambooHR scalability ceiling hits hard around 300–500 employees |
| Gusto | $49/mo + $6 per person | Gusto is best for small business owners, startup founders, and office managers at companies with 1 to 100 employees who need reliable payroll with transparent pricing and do not want to negotiate custom quotes. It fits teams that handle HR part-time alongside other responsibilities and want a platform that works out of the box without dedicated HRIS staff. | Gusto base price increase from $40 to $49 signals rising costs for existing customers |
| RipplingSponsored | ~$8/employee/mo + $35-$40/mo (est.) | Rippling is best for technology-forward companies with 50 to 2,000 employees that want to manage HR, IT, and finance operations from a single platform. It fits teams with a technical operations mindset: the kind of company where the head of people operations thinks in systems and workflows rather than forms and approvals. | Rippling setup complexity requires significant implementation investment |
| Zoho People | $1.25 per user per month billed yearly, $1.50 monthly | Zoho People suits HR generalists at small and mid-sized companies who need leave, attendance and records in one place and whose finance team watches cost per head closely. | Zoho People key modules sit in upper tiers |
Want this HR software for nonprofits shortlist kept current?
We re-check every price on this page against the vendor's own rate card. Leave an email and we will tell you when a figure here moves.
Paychex. It is built for organizations of 10 to 500 employees that want payroll, retirement plans and benefits administration from one vendor, and it adds workers' compensation and OSHA services. It no longer publishes prices, so every package needs a quote.
