Best Payroll Software UK 2026: 11 Apps Compared

The best payroll software for UK small businesses in 2026 is Sage Payroll at £20/month for up to 10 employees – it handles RTI, auto-enrolment, payslips, and CIS without requiring any other software. If budget is the priority, Moneysoft Payroll Manager at £90/year is the cheapest fully featured option (see our cheap payroll software roundup for more sub-£200/year picks), though it runs on Windows only.

This guide compares 11 UK payroll software options across price, features, and suitability. All pricing verified February 2026 against provider websites. For outsourced payroll services (where a bureau runs payroll for you), see our separate best outsourced payroll companies guide.

Best Payroll Software Compared

The best UK payroll software for SMEs is Sage Payroll (£20/month), Moneysoft (£90/year), Xero Payroll (£1.50/emp/month), Staffology (£39/month), and Employment Hero (£4/emp/month).

Sage Payroll costs from £20/month for up to 10 employees and includes RTI, auto-enrolment, CIS, payslips, and UK-based phone support.

Sage Payroll is the most established cloud payroll software in the UK. It runs as a standalone product – no Sage accounting subscription required – and covers everything a small business needs to process payroll in-house.

Our AI payroll software guide covers this in more detail.

Pricing (excl. VAT):

• Essentials: £20/month – up to 10 employees (+£1.30/additional employee)
• Standard: £40/month – up to 10 employees (+£3.30/additional employee)
• Premium: £60/month – up to 10 employees (+£5.30/additional employee)

Sage regularly offers 90% off for the first 3 months. The Essentials plan covers RTI, auto-enrolment, payslips, and CIS – most small businesses will not need Standard or Premium.

Key features: HMRC RTI submissions, workplace pension auto-enrolment, CIS for construction, payslip generation, P45/P60 production, multi-pay schedules, UK-based phone support.

Moneysoft Payroll Manager costs £90/year + VAT for up to 20 employees – the cheapest paid UK payroll software with RTI, auto-enrolment, and CIS included.

Moneysoft Payroll Manager is a Windows desktop application that costs a fraction of cloud alternatives. Three tiers cover different business sizes:

• PM20: £90/year + VAT – up to 20 employees, 1 employer
• PM100: £180/year + VAT – up to 100 employees, unlimited employers
• PM250: £270/year + VAT – up to 250 employees, unlimited employers

All tiers include RTI, auto-enrolment, CIS, payslip generation, P45/P60/P11D production, and direct HMRC submissions. A business with 15 employees pays £7.50/month (£90/year) compared to £20+/month for Sage or £39/month for Staffology.

Xero Payroll costs £1.50/employee/month as an add-on to any Xero accounting plan – the cheapest per-employee cloud payroll if you already use Xero.

Xero Payroll is a per-employee add-on to Xero’s accounting plans. It is not a standalone product – you need a Xero accounting subscription (from £16/month) before adding payroll.

Payroll add-on pricing:

• Ignite, Grow, Comprehensive plans: £1.50/employee/month
• Ultimate plan: £1.00/employee/month
• Maximum: 200 employees

Total cost example (10 employees on Ignite): £16/month accounting + £15/month payroll = £31/month total (£372/year).

The standout feature is accounting integration – after each pay run, Xero automatically posts journal entries for employer NI, pension contributions, net pay, and PAYE liabilities into your accounts. No double entry.

Staffology (part of IRIS Software) costs from £39/month for up to 19 payslips – a modern API-first cloud payroll platform built for integration.

Staffology is a modern cloud payroll platform acquired by IRIS Software Group in 2022. It stands out for its developer-friendly API and bureau mode – making it popular with accountancy practices and software companies that embed payroll into their own products.

Pricing:

• Lite: £39/month – up to 19 payslips
• Standard: £59/month – up to 49 payslips
• Professional and Bureau: contact for pricing

Staffology handles all UK payroll requirements (RTI, auto-enrolment, payslips, year-end) with a clean, modern interface. Its API is the main differentiator – if you need payroll data to flow into other business systems automatically, Staffology is the most integration-friendly option on this list.

Employment Hero offers combined HR and payroll from £4/employee/month (£90/month minimum) – the best all-in-one platform for UK SMEs needing both functions.

Employment Hero is an all-in-one HR and payroll platform built for SMEs. Unlike most providers on this list that handle payroll only, Employment Hero covers the full employee lifecycle – recruitment, onboarding, absence management, document storage, performance reviews, and UK payroll processing in a single system.

Pricing: From £4/employee/month with a £90/month minimum. HR and payroll are bundled in higher-tier plans. Contact Employment Hero for exact pricing based on your headcount and requirements.

If you need both HR and payroll software, Employment Hero eliminates the need to run two separate systems. Employee changes in HR (starters, leavers, salary changes) automatically update in payroll. For businesses that only need payroll, Sage or Moneysoft offer better value. For those prioritising HR, our HR software comparison covers the full market.

Moorepay is a fully managed UK payroll service from around £5-£8 per employee per month, with a dedicated CIPP-qualified payroll consultant handling RTI, auto-enrolment, CIS and HMRC compliance for you.

Moorepay sits between DIY software like Sage and full outsourcing like RSM UK. You upload hours and changes; their payroll team runs the calculations, files RTI, and produces payslips. Pricing is bespoke (not published on the website), but managed payroll typically falls in the £5-£8 per employee per month range, with software-only options starting around £50/month for 10 employees and bundled HR + payroll plans from roughly £100/month.

Pricing: Bespoke quote. Managed payroll typically £5-£8/employee/month, plus a one-time setup fee of £150-£300. Bundled payroll + HR plans from ~£100/month. Contact Moorepay for a tailored quote.

Moorepay is part of the Zellis Group and has been running UK payroll since 1966, with a strong track record among SMEs that want managed payroll without the Big 6 price tag of RSM UK or Cintra.

PayFit costs from £29/month base plus £5 per employee on the Light plan, with built-in HR features (expenses, performance reviews, P11Ds) on Standard and Premium tiers.

PayFit is a modern cloud payroll platform aimed at growing UK SMEs (typically 5-50 employees). It pairs HMRC-compliant payroll with a polished employee self-service app and CIPP-certified expert support on its higher-tier plans, making it a credible alternative to Sage or Xero Payroll for businesses that want HR features built in rather than bolted on.

Pricing (excl. VAT):

• Light: £29/month base + £5/employee/month – core payroll, RTI, auto-enrolment, employee self-service
• Standard: £59/month base + £6/employee/month – adds expenses, 1-2-1s, automated P11Ds, CIPP expert support
• Premium: £119/month base + £7/employee/month – adds performance reviews and priority support
• Faster Payments add-on: £1/employee/month (optional)

For a 10-employee business, PayFit Light works out at £79/month (£948/year), Standard at £119/month (£1,428/year), and Premium at £189/month (£2,268/year). That puts PayFit roughly 3-4x the cost of Sage Payroll for payroll-only use, but cheaper than buying separate HR and payroll tools if you genuinely need both.

BrightPay desktop costs £69–£259/year for businesses and £299–£629/year for bureaux – but desktop is being discontinued after the 2025/26 tax year.

BrightPay is a well-regarded desktop payroll application with strong bureau features. It has been a popular choice for accountants running payroll for multiple clients due to its unlimited-employee licensing model.

Desktop pricing (2025/26 tax year – final year):

• 3 employees: £69/year + VAT
• 10 employees: £119/year + VAT
• 25 employees: £189/year + VAT
• Unlimited employees: £259/year + VAT
• Bureau (10 employers): £299/year + VAT
• Bureau (unlimited employers): £629/year + VAT

Important: BrightPay has announced that the desktop version will be discontinued after the 2025/26 tax year. From 2026/27, BrightPay will be cloud-only with custom pricing. If you are choosing payroll software now, factor in the transition to cloud pricing before committing.

QuickBooks Payroll costs £5/month plus £1.30/employee/month as an add-on to QuickBooks Online – a natural choice for existing QuickBooks accounting users.

QuickBooks Payroll is an add-on to QuickBooks Online accounting software. Like Xero Payroll, it requires an accounting subscription (from £16/month for Simple Start) before you can add payroll.

Payroll add-on pricing:

• Core: £5/month + £1.30/employee/month
• Advanced: £10/month + £1.30/employee/month

Total cost example (10 employees, Core + Simple Start): £16/month accounting + £5/month payroll base + £13/month (10 × £1.30) = £34/month total (£408/year).

QuickBooks Payroll handles RTI, auto-enrolment, and payslips, with payroll data flowing into your QuickBooks accounts automatically. It is a solid choice if you already use QuickBooks for accounting, but is not cost-effective as a standalone payroll solution.

Dayforce (formerly Ceridian) is an enterprise HCM platform with payroll across 200+ countries – best for UK businesses with 100+ employees needing global capability.

Dayforce (rebranded from Ceridian in 2024) is an enterprise-grade Human Capital Management platform. It combines payroll, HR, workforce management, benefits, and talent in a single system with a continuous calculation engine that processes payroll in real time.

Pricing: Bespoke – contact Dayforce sales for a quote. Enterprise pricing typically starts from £8-15/employee/month with implementation fees.

Dayforce is HMRC-recognised and handles payroll across 200+ countries. It is the right choice for businesses with 100+ employees or multi-country operations. For SMEs with under 50 employees, Dayforce is overkill – Sage Payroll or Staffology covers everything you need at a fraction of the cost.

HMRC Basic PAYE Tools is free for up to 9 employees and handles RTI submissions – but it does not generate payslips, manage pensions, or process CIS.

HMRC provides free payroll software called Basic PAYE Tools (BPT). It covers the minimum legal requirements for running UK payroll – calculating tax and National Insurance, submitting Full Payment Submissions (FPS) and Employer Payment Summaries (EPS) to HMRC, and recording employee starters and leavers.

What it does NOT do:

• Generate payslips (you must create these separately)
• Handle auto-enrolment pension management
• Process CIS returns
• Manage BACS payments to employees
• Scale beyond 9 employees

Basic PAYE Tools is functional for sole traders with 1-3 employees who are comfortable creating payslips manually. For most businesses, spending £90/year on Moneysoft saves significant time and provides proper payslip generation, auto-enrolment, and CIS support.

Annual Cost Comparison

A 10-employee business pays £90/year with Moneysoft, £240/year with Sage, £372/year with Xero Payroll, or £468/year with Staffology. For a full breakdown by company size, see our payroll software costs guide or our payroll costs guide if you are weighing bureau fees alongside software.

*Xero and QuickBooks totals include the cheapest accounting plan + payroll add-on. If you already pay for their accounting, your payroll-only cost is lower.

Moneysoft is the cheapest at every employee count, but requires Windows and lacks cloud access. Among cloud options, Sage Payroll offers the best value at the lower end. Xero Payroll becomes competitive only if you already use Xero for accounting (since you are already paying the base subscription).

What to Look For in Payroll Software

Essential UK payroll features are HMRC RTI compliance, auto-enrolment management, payslip generation, and tax year-end processing – check all four before buying.

For more on this, see our HMRC payroll compliance guide.

Every UK payroll software must handle these basics:

• HMRC RTI submissions – Full Payment Submissions after each pay run are legally required
• Auto-enrolment – workplace pension management and assessment of eligible employees
• Payslip generation – employers must provide payslips by law
• Year-end processing – P60s, P45s, and final HMRC submissions

Beyond the essentials, consider which of these matter for your business:

Cloud vs Desktop Payroll Software

Cloud payroll (Sage, Xero, Staffology) costs more but offers anywhere access, automatic updates, and employee self-service. Desktop (Moneysoft) is cheaper but Windows-only.

The main choice is between cloud-based and desktop payroll software:

Cloud payroll (Sage, Xero, Staffology, QuickBooks, Employment Hero) runs in your browser. You can access it from any device, updates happen automatically, and employee self-service features let staff view payslips and request leave online. Monthly subscription pricing means higher ongoing costs.

Desktop payroll (Moneysoft, BrightPay) installs on your computer. It is cheaper (annual licence vs monthly subscription) and your data stays on your machine – but you can only run payroll from that computer, updates require manual installation, and there is no employee self-service.

If you’re weighing up these two, our BrightPay vs Moneysoft comparison lays out the key differences.

For most businesses in 2026, cloud payroll is the better choice – the convenience of anywhere access and automatic compliance updates outweighs the cost difference. Desktop remains a good option for budget-conscious businesses with a dedicated payroll computer and no need for employee self-service.

Our Verdict

Sage Payroll at £20/month is the best all-round UK payroll software. Moneysoft at £90/year is best for businesses on a tight budget.

Sage Payroll is our top pick for most UK small businesses. At £20/month for up to 10 employees, it offers standalone cloud payroll with RTI, auto-enrolment, CIS, and UK-based phone support – everything you need without buying additional software. It is the most widely used payroll software in the UK, which means your accountant will almost certainly know how to work with it.

Moneysoft is the best value option at £90/year. If you use Windows, do not need cloud access, and want to keep costs minimal, it handles everything Sage does (including CIS) for a fraction of the price.

Xero Payroll is the right choice only if you already use Xero for accounting. The integration is excellent, but the mandatory accounting subscription makes it poor value as a standalone payroll solution.

For combined HR and payroll, see our combined HR and payroll software guide – Employment Hero is the strongest option. For enterprise-grade payroll (100+ employees), see our Dayforce review or SAP Payroll review. Accountants running multiple client payrolls should look at our payroll software for accountants roundup, Mac users will find native alternatives in our payroll software for Mac guide, and businesses still modelling PAYE in spreadsheets can see our payroll projections in Excel walkthrough.

Clara Wenslow

Finance & Business Services Editor

Clara analyses SME finance and procurement markets, covering business loans, invoice finance, payroll, and related B2B services. She ensures each comparison and guide is transparent and data-driven.

Reviewed by

Sarah Mitchell

B2B Commerce & Finance Reviewer