Free Payroll Software UK 2026

Seven UK payroll tools are genuinely free in 2026 – but only a few handle auto-enrolment, payslips, and RTI submissions without charging a penny. HMRC’s Basic PAYE Tools covers the legal minimum for up to 9 employees, while Collegia FreePayroll offers unlimited employees with cloud access and a 4.9 Trustpilot rating.

This guide covers every free payroll option available to UK businesses, what each one actually includes, and at what point the limitations force you into paid software. All features and availability verified February 2026.

Free Payroll Software Comparison

Collegia FreePayroll is a genuinely free UK payroll tool with unlimited employees, auto-enrolment, payslips, and HMRC RTI – no hidden fees or time limits.

Collegia FreePayroll handles unlimited employees, RTI, auto-enrolment, payslips, and P60s at no cost – the standout free payroll option for UK businesses in 2026.

Collegia FreePayroll is genuinely free with no employee cap, no time limit, and no hidden upgrade requirement. It launched in 2023 as a cloud-based alternative to HMRC’s Basic PAYE Tools and has rapidly built a strong reputation, holding a 4.9/5 Trustpilot rating from 191 reviews.

The free tier includes everything a small business needs: HMRC RTI submissions (FPS and EPS), automatic tax and NIC calculations, payslip generation (email and PDF), auto-enrolment pension management, P45/P60 production, and year-end reporting. It supports weekly, fortnightly, four-weekly, and monthly pay schedules.

FreePayroll makes money through optional add-ons – bureau tools for accountants (£1/payslip) and a premium support tier. The core payroll product stays free. This model means the software is sustainable without pushing free users onto paid plans.

Limitations: No phone support on the free plan (email and live chat only). No HR features – this is payroll-only software. No BACS payment integration on the free tier (you process payments manually through your bank). The interface is clean but basic compared to premium tools like Sage or Employment Hero.

HMRC Basic PAYE Tools is free government software for up to 9 employees that handles RTI submissions but cannot generate payslips or manage auto-enrolment.

HMRC provides Basic PAYE Tools (BPT) as free payroll software for UK employers. It is a desktop application (Windows, Mac, and Linux) that handles the core legal requirements of running PAYE payroll – calculating tax and National Insurance, submitting Full Payment Submissions (FPS) and Employer Payment Summaries (EPS) to HMRC, and recording employee starter and leaver details.

BPT is limited to 9 employees. If you have 10 or more, HMRC directs you to commercial payroll software. Even within the 9-employee limit, the tool is bare-bones: it does not generate payslips (you must create these separately – a legal requirement), does not handle auto-enrolment pension duties, does not process CIS returns, and does not manage BACS payments.

For sole traders employing 1-3 people who only need to stay compliant with HMRC reporting, BPT is adequate. For any business with pension obligations or more than a handful of employees, the limitations make it impractical. Collegia FreePayroll does everything BPT does plus payslips, auto-enrolment, and unlimited employees – also for free. If you are new to running payroll, our step-by-step payroll guide walks through the full process from HMRC registration to year-end.

Employment Hero offers a free HMRC-recognised payroll plan with no employee limit; for new customers from 1 November 2026, its Core Payroll plan is £4/employee/month (£40/month minimum), and its separate paid HR plans start at £6/employee/month (10-user minimum).

Employment Hero offers a genuinely free, HMRC-recognised payroll tier, with paid HR plans available separately – useful because many businesses searching for free payroll also need HR management. Our combined HR and payroll software guide compares the platforms that handle both functions in one tool. The free payroll plan covers automated payslips, allowances and basic pay run automation, with pension integration through PensionSync.

Core Payroll (£4/employee/month, £40/month minimum) adds multi-PAYE, single sign-on and live webchat, and Employment Hero’s value is in bundling HR and payroll together. Its HR plans are paid, so a business that wants HR software as well as free payroll should price both before committing.

For businesses that plan to grow beyond 10-20 employees, starting with Employment Hero’s free payroll plan and moving up to its paid plans later avoids the disruption of switching systems. The platform scales from 1 to 1,000+ employees without changing software.

Primo Payroll is free for up to 10 employees (leavers count towards the limit), offering cloud-based RTI and payslips – ideal for new micro businesses.

Primo Payroll offers an ad-supported free tier (Essentials Free Plus) for up to 10 employees, including leavers. It is cloud-based (accessible from any browser), HMRC-recognised, and includes RTI submissions, and payslip generation, with 5 payment and 5 deduction elements and low-priority email support.

The free plan is more generous than HMRC’s Basic PAYE Tools in terms of features – you get payslips – and its 10-employee allowance is no tighter than BPT’s limit of fewer than 10 employees. For businesses with 1-10 employees, Primo is a strong option, though the free plan is ad-supported and counts leavers towards the cap.

Paid plans start at £24.99/year (Essentials 25), then pay-as-you-go from £0.60 per payslip with an £8/month minimum. Primo is popular with accountants running payroll for multiple small clients – the bureau features allow managing several employers from one dashboard.

Shape Payroll offers a free tier within its cloud payroll product, aimed at new startups. We could not independently confirm its current employee limit or feature list, so check Shape’s own pricing page before relying on it.

Shape Payroll is a cloud-based payroll platform with a free tier. It is on HMRC’s recognised list under the paid-for products, because the free tier sits inside a paid product.

Shape targets accountants and bookkeepers as well as small businesses. Paid plans apply beyond the free tier, so confirm the limits that apply to your headcount.

The platform includes a clean, modern interface and email support on all plans. For startups who want a simple cloud solution, Shape is worth checking alongside Primo and Collegia.

EnrolPay is a free auto-enrolment management tool for unlimited employees – useful if you already run payroll but need help with pension compliance.

EnrolPay is not a full payroll solution – it is a free tool specifically for managing auto-enrolment pension duties. If you already run payroll through another system (including HMRC BPT) but struggle with auto-enrolment compliance, EnrolPay handles assessment, communication, and pension provider submissions at no cost.

The tool covers employee assessment (who qualifies for auto-enrolment), opt-in/opt-out processing, pension contribution calculations, and submissions to major pension providers including NEST, The People’s Pension, and NOW: Pensions. There is no employee cap – it works for any size of business.

This is a niche tool rather than a payroll replacement. It pairs well with HMRC Basic PAYE Tools, which handles RTI but cannot manage auto-enrolment. Together, the two free tools cover PAYE compliance and pension duties – though you still need separate payslip generation.

1st Money is a free RTI submission tool with no employee limit, but it lacks payslips and auto-enrolment – primarily useful for HMRC reporting only.

1st Money provides free RTI submission software for unlimited employees. It is HMRC-recognised and handles Full Payment Submissions (FPS) and Employer Payment Summaries (EPS). Unlike HMRC’s Basic PAYE Tools, there is no 9-employee cap – you can submit RTI for any number of employees.

The software is web-based (no installation required) and includes basic tax and NIC calculations. However, it does not generate payslips, manage auto-enrolment, or handle CIS. It is essentially a more scalable version of HMRC BPT – useful if you have 10+ employees and only need RTI compliance, but you will need additional tools for payslips and pensions.

For most businesses, Collegia FreePayroll is a better choice because it handles RTI, payslips, and auto-enrolment in one place – also for free. 1st Money is worth considering only if you have a specific workflow that requires a standalone RTI tool.

Which free payroll software is HMRC-recognised?

HMRC publishes a list of payroll software recognised for reporting PAYE online, split into free and paid-for products. The free list names ten products, all recognised for businesses with fewer than 10 employees: 1st FREE+ Payroll & HR, Primo Payroll, Collegia FreePayroll, Employment Hero Free Payroll, Enrolpay Small Payroll, RTI Lite, HMRC’s own Basic PAYE Tools, IRIS Payroll Basics, 1 A Simple Payroll and Stansoft Linux.

Six of the seven tools in this guide are on it. Shape Payroll is recognised under the paid-for list, because its free tier sits inside a paid product. Recognition means the software can file Real Time Information submissions correctly, nothing more. HMRC says it cannot recommend one product over another and takes no responsibility for problems with software you buy, so a listing says nothing about payslip quality, pension integration or support. Check the gov.uk list before you commit; it was last updated on 25 August 2026.

When Free Payroll Software Is Not Enough

Free payroll software works for businesses under 20 employees with simple pay structures – upgrade to paid software when you need BACS, HR features, or phone support.

Free payroll tools handle the basics well – tax calculations, RTI submissions, payslips, and auto-enrolment. But there are clear signs you have outgrown them:

• You need BACS payments: No free tool processes BACS. If you are manually transferring salaries through your bank each month, paid software automates this completely.
• You have complex pay structures: Multiple pay rates, overtime rules, commission, or shift allowances are difficult to manage in basic free software.
• You need HR features: Absence tracking, document management, performance reviews, and onboarding workflows require paid HR or combined HR/payroll platforms.
• You want phone support: Free tools typically offer email or chat support only. When payroll goes wrong on payday, phone support matters.
• You employ 20+ people: The administrative overhead of manual processes (bank transfers, individual payslip distribution) becomes unsustainable at this scale.

A low-cost paid upgrade is Moneysoft Payroll Manager at £95/year + VAT (£7.92/month ex VAT, 12-month licence). For cloud payroll, Sage Payroll starts at £12/month (Essentials, 5 employees included, then £2.40 per extra employee), Xero Payroll is £1.50/employee/month as an add-on to Xero accounting, and Staffology starts at £43/month with API-first integrations. See our cheap payroll software guide for a full cost comparison.

Free vs Cheap Paid Payroll: Cost Comparison

Moneysoft at £95/year is a low-cost paid step up that adds BACS, CIS, and phone support, none of which Collegia FreePayroll includes.

For most businesses under 20 employees without CIS or BACS requirements, Collegia FreePayroll delivers genuine value at zero cost. When you need those extras, Moneysoft at £95/year is a low-cost step up. Cloud-first businesses should look at Sage Payroll from £12/month.

How to Choose the Right Free Payroll Software

Choose Collegia FreePayroll for all-round free payroll, HMRC BPT for RTI-only compliance, or Primo if you have up to 10 employees.

Picking the right free payroll tool depends on three factors: how many employees you have, what features you need, and whether you plan to grow.

Under 5 employees: Any free tool works. Primo Payroll offers full-featured payroll (RTI and payslips) within its free tier for up to 10 employees. Collegia FreePayroll also works but offers no additional features at this scale.

5-9 employees: Primo Payroll (free up to 10 employees) and Collegia FreePayroll (no employee cap) both include payslips, and Collegia also includes auto-enrolment. HMRC BPT handles RTI but you would need separate tools for payslips and pensions.

10+ employees: Collegia FreePayroll and Employment Hero Free Payroll are the free options without an employee cap. HMRC BPT caps at 9 and Primo at 10. If Collegia’s limitations (no BACS, no phone support) are dealbreakers, consider budget paid software from £95/year.

Planning to grow: Start with Employment Hero’s free payroll plan, which has no employee limit, and move to its paid payroll and HR plans when your budget allows. This avoids switching platforms later.

Our Verdict

Collegia FreePayroll is the best free payroll software in the UK for 2026 – unlimited employees, full RTI, payslips, and auto-enrolment at genuinely zero cost.

Collegia FreePayroll stands out as a truly free UK payroll tool with no meaningful restrictions. Unlike HMRC’s Basic PAYE Tools (9-employee cap, no payslips) or Primo Payroll (10-employee cap, ad-supported), Collegia handles unlimited employees with all the features a small business needs – RTI, payslips, auto-enrolment, and year-end reporting.

If you only need RTI compliance for 1-9 employees and are comfortable creating payslips manually, HMRC Basic PAYE Tools is the most established option. For businesses that want HR management alongside payroll, Employment Hero bundles both, with a free payroll plan and paid HR plans.

When you outgrow free software – typically when you need BACS payments, CIS returns, or phone support – a low-cost paid option is Moneysoft at £95/year. For cloud payroll, Sage starts at £12/month. For a full comparison, see our best payroll software UK guide, or check what payroll software actually costs at different company sizes. If running payroll yourself is too much hassle, our review of the best outsourced payroll companies covers fully managed alternatives, and our payroll costs guide breaks down what UK businesses typically spend on bureau services.

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