The two products at a glance
| Product | Who it fits | Who should skip it | Published entry price | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OnPay | Small employers and accountant-managed businesses comparing a focused payroll and HR workflow. | Your requirements center on enterprise workforce planning or a broad international employee system. | $49/month + $6 per workerPayroll Essentials planVendor pricing page, checked Oct 27, 2026 ↗ | No |
| RUN Powered by ADP | Small employers comparing a payroll-led system backed by a broad US HR services organization. | Your team wants a product-led buying process with every requirement confirmed before a sales conversation. | Quote only: no public priceFour packages, each with a “Get pricing” requestVendor pricing page, checked Oct 27, 2026 ↗ | No |
Prices are the entry list prices each vendor publishes on its own US pricing page, read on Oct 27, 2026. They exclude taxes, payment processing unless stated, hardware, add-ons and negotiated discounts; a promotion appears only in the notes, labeled as one. Prices change. No vendor paid for a place or a price in this table.
Verdict: OnPay for a small team that wants to know the bill in advance; RUN Powered by ADP when round-the-clock support and ADP's add-on services matter more than a published price.
Both run full-service payroll for small businesses: they calculate pay, withhold and file federal, state and local payroll taxes, and produce W-2s and 1099s. The difference is how they sell it. OnPay publishes one price and folds every filing into it. ADP sells RUN in four packages, Essential, Enhanced, Complete Payroll & HR+ and HR Pro, aimed at businesses with 1 to 49 employees, and asks you to request pricing for each. We read both pricing pages on October 28, 2026. Nothing here comes from a hands-on trial.
What you can compare before talking to sales
| OnPay | RUN Powered by ADP | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Payroll Essentials, $49 a month + $6 per worker | Quote only, for each of four packages |
| Ten workers | $49 + 10 x $6 = $109 a month, $1,308 a year | Not knowable without a quote |
| Tax filings | Federal, state and local filings and payments included | RUN deducts and files federal, state and local payroll taxes |
| W-2 and 1099 | Included | Created and delivered; ADP can e-file them |
| Pay runs and states | Unlimited pay runs; pay workers in as many states as needed | Not itemized on the RUN page |
| Support | Phone, chat and email | 24/7 support from payroll experts |
| Extras | HR, time tracking, workers' comp, 401(k) and health insurance as add-ons | Enhanced adds state unemployment insurance and garnishment payment service; higher packages add HR support; workers' comp through Pay-by-Pay |
Why OnPay takes the verdict
A business with ten employees can budget OnPay to the dollar before signing: $109 a month, with every tax filing in the price and no fee for adding a state. That predictability is worth a lot to a small employer; if you do get an ADP quote, ask in writing how its price is set at renewal. OnPay's add-ons, from HR to workers' comp, are listed with the plans, so growth does not force a switch.
When RUN is worth the quote
RUN wins when service is the product. ADP states 24/7 support from payroll experts, which matters if you run payroll at night or on weekends, or if nobody in the business is comfortable with payroll. Its Enhanced package adds a garnishment payment service and state unemployment insurance handling, and ADP's Pay-by-Pay workers' comp runs inside the same payroll. If those services replace work you would otherwise do yourself, get the quote and compare it with OnPay's $109 for ten workers.
The deciding test
Write down what you need beyond running pay: weekend support, garnishments, workers' comp, HR help. If the list is short, choose OnPay and keep the published price. If it is long, ask ADP to quote the package that covers it, ask OnPay to price the same add-ons, and compare the two totals. If you outgrow 49 employees, see payroll for 50 to 199 employees.
Traceable evidence
Sources for this decision
- vendorOnPay official product siteOnPay · checked Aug 5, 2026 · supports: Vendor-published product scope used to verify capabilities relevant to this buyer context: Small employers and accountant-managed businesses comparing a focused payroll and HR workflow.. It does not prove the guide's fit verdict, configured performance, current pricing or compliance.Open source ↗
- vendorRUN Powered by ADP official product siteRUN Powered by ADP · checked Aug 5, 2026 · supports: Vendor-published product scope used to verify capabilities relevant to this buyer context: Small employers comparing a payroll-led system backed by a broad US HR services organization.. It does not prove the guide's fit verdict, configured performance, current pricing or compliance.Open source ↗
- vendorOnPay pricing pageOnPay · checked Oct 27, 2026 · supports: OnPay's own pricing page as read on 2026-10-27, supporting the entry list price of its Payroll Essentials plan ($49/month + $6 per worker), and whether a free plan exists. It does not prove the total cost for a given buyer, later price changes, promotions, negotiated discounts or taxes.Open source ↗
- vendorOnPay main pricing pageOnPay · checked Oct 27, 2026 · supports: OnPay's main pricing page as read on October 27, 2026: a base fee plus a per-worker fee, Form 941 and 943 filings supported, end-of-year filings, W-2s and 1099s, all federal, state and local tax filings and payments, an error-free guarantee described as taking care of the tax agency if OnPay makes a mistake, automatic state tax registrations listed under multi-state payroll, and a first-month-free offer without stated terms; it does not name Form 940 or state the guarantee's terms.Open source ↗
- vendorOnPay pricing page, inclusions and add-onsOnPay · checked Oct 28, 2026 · supports: OnPay's pricing page as read on October 28, 2026: Payroll Essentials at $49 a month plus $6 per worker; W-2s, 1099s and year-end filings, unlimited pay runs and schedules, federal, state and local tax filings, paying workers in any number of states and expert support by phone, chat and email included with all plans; HR, time tracking and bundles priced separately; Compliance Resources, Live HR Support, health insurance, workers' comp and 401(k) listed as add-ons; no implementation or integration fees; it does not state add-on prices for workers' comp or direct deposit timing.Open source ↗
- vendorRUN Powered by ADP pricing pageRUN Powered by ADP · checked Oct 27, 2026 · supports: RUN Powered by ADP's own pricing page as read on 2026-10-27, supporting that no list price is published (quote only) and the page details recorded with it (Four packages, each with a “Get pricing” request), and whether a free plan exists. It does not prove the total cost for a given buyer, later price changes, promotions, negotiated discounts or taxes.Open source ↗
- vendorRUN Powered by ADP product page, packages and supportADP · checked Oct 28, 2026 · supports: ADP's RUN page as read on October 28, 2026: four packages (Essential; Enhanced, adding ZipRecruiter, state unemployment insurance and garnishment payment service; Complete Payroll & HR+, adding basic HR support; HR Pro, adding enhanced HR support), RUN deducting and filing federal, state and local payroll taxes, W-2 and 1099 creation and delivery with IRS e-filing, 24/7 support from payroll experts, quote-only pricing and navigation placing it under small business payroll for 1-49 employees; it does not publish prices.Open source ↗
- vendorADP Pay-by-Pay workers' compensation premium payment programADP · checked Oct 28, 2026 · supports: ADP's Pay-by-Pay page as read on October 28, 2026: premiums are calculated each time the client runs payroll and forwarded to the carrier, traditional programs can require 25-100% of estimated premium as an upfront binder that Pay-by-Pay may eliminate with most carriers, eligibility requires ADP payroll with ADP tax filing, consistent payroll and a policy with a participating carrier with ADP's agency as agent of record, a premium report by employee, class code and check date is produced, and in Ohio ADP's agency remits premiums to the Ohio BWC; it does not state premium rates and mandatory state assessments may still apply.Open source ↗