PEO payroll companies, compared on what they publish

Advertised prices, verified

How PEO payroll works once you sign

1. Census and quote. The PEO prices your workforce from a census: headcount, states, salaries, claims history where workers' compensation is included. Pricing is per employee per month or a percentage of payroll; get the same census priced by more than one vendor, since fee structures differ more than headline numbers suggest.
2. The co-employment agreement. You sign a client service agreement establishing co-employment. Read it for what the arrangement covers, which employer obligations move to the PEO, what stays with you, and the exit mechanics, because leaving a PEO means re-establishing your own benefit plans, workers' compensation cover and employer accounts.
3. Payroll cutover. Employees are onboarded to the PEO's payroll platform and benefit plans, and payroll runs move to the PEO's calendar and systems. Employment taxes are filed through the PEO's arrangement, which is where certification matters; a certified PEO files under its own liability for federal employment taxes on wages it pays.
4. Ongoing runs, filings and renewals. The PEO runs each payroll, remits and files employment taxes, administers benefits and issues year-end forms. Fees and benefit rates are repriced at renewal, typically annually; renewal is the moment to re-shop the census, because switching costs are real but repricing drift is how PEO relationships get expensive.

What moves to the PEO, and the liability fine print

The industry association NAPEO describes the product as handling back-office administrative work, payroll, benefits, compliance assistance and other HR services, through co-employment, so small employers get access to benefits and expertise usually priced for large ones. What the marketing rarely spells out is the tax liability position. The IRS is explicit that a company using a third party for employment tax functions may remain solely liable, become jointly and severally liable, or be relieved of liability depending on the arrangement, and that employers who outsource payroll remain ultimately responsible if a provider defaults.

The exception the IRS names is the certified PEO: CPEOs, certified under section 7705 of the Internal Revenue Code after demonstrating financial responsibility, organizational integrity and tax compliance, can relieve the customer of liability for federal income tax withholding and social security and Medicare taxes in certain situations. Whether a PEO payroll company holds CPEO certification is therefore a concrete, checkable differentiator, not a marketing badge; the IRS publishes the requirements and maintains the program.

How to compare vendors on price

Two structures dominate: flat per-employee-per-month fees, and a percentage of total payroll. Flat fees are easier to audit and do not rise with raises; percentage pricing scales with salary levels and can quietly outgrow the service's value. In either structure, ask what sits outside the fee, benefits premiums always do, and state unemployment rates, workers' compensation premiums and setup fees often do, so the administrative fee is the comparable unit, not the total invoice.

This site's index compares PEO and EOR vendors on prices verified against each vendor's own published pricing page, quoted verbatim and dated, with the median shown in the table and a link beside every figure. Vendors that publish nothing are listed as quote-only rather than estimated. For hiring outside the US, note that co-employment is a US structure; international coverage from these vendors is delivered through employer of record entities and priced separately. Service agreements and plan documents control; nothing here is legal or tax advice.

Common questions

What does a PEO payroll company cost?

Vendors price per employee per month or as a percentage of payroll, with benefits premiums on top. The vendors that publish figures are shown in this site's comparison table verbatim with the median; many others quote only after a census, which makes multi-vendor quotes worth the effort.

Does a PEO take over my employment tax liability?

Only a certified PEO can relieve the customer of liability for certain federal employment taxes, per the IRS; with non-certified arrangements the client may remain solely liable or share liability. Checking CPEO status is the fastest due diligence step available.

Is a PEO the same as a payroll service?

No. A payroll service processes pay while you remain sole employer on your own accounts; a PEO establishes co-employment, moves staff onto its platform and plans, and bundles benefits and HR support. The PEO is harder to exit and covers far more.

Can a PEO payroll company handle employees abroad?

Not through co-employment, which is a US construction. Vendors offering global coverage deliver it via employer of record entities in each country, priced separately; this site compares those EOR prices in the same verified format.

Coverage by country

• Employer of record vendors covering Singapore
• Employer of record vendors covering Mexico
• Employer of record vendors covering Spain
• Employer of record vendors covering Colombia
• Employer of record vendors covering United Kingdom
• Employer of record vendors covering France
• Employer of record vendors covering Hungary
• Employer of record vendors covering New Zealand