Best Wave Payroll Alternatives in 2026
Wave Payroll is free to run in 14 US states (tax service costs extra elsewhere) but its limited features push most growing businesses toward paid alternatives.
Quick verdict
Best paid upgrade from Wave: Gusto Simple or OnPay. Best if staying in Wave ecosystem: Wave Plus (bundled accounting and payroll). Best for contractors only: Wave Payroll free tier.
Why teams look beyond Wave Payroll
Wave Payroll is genuinely free to run payroll in 14 self-service states (you handle tax deposits and filings yourself). In the remaining states, Wave charges $35 per month plus $6 per employee for tax service. The product covers basic payroll for W-2 employees and contractor payments.
Teams leave Wave for three reasons: they want full tax service in states where Wave does not offer it, they need features Wave lacks (time tracking, PTO management, HR tools, benefits integration), or they have grown beyond 10 employees and the manual processes around Wave become too time-consuming.
Gusto Simple: best overall upgrade
Gusto Simple at $40 per month plus $6 per employee provides full tax filing in all 50 states, automated tax deposits, next-day direct deposit, and basic HR document management. For teams in states where Wave requires manual tax filing, the $40 base fee plus per-employee cost is often comparable to the time cost of filing manually.
Gusto also integrates with Wave Accounting, so teams already using Wave for bookkeeping can keep that while switching to Gusto for payroll.
OnPay: best for agricultural and restaurant payroll
OnPay at $40 per month plus $6 per employee covers payroll in all 50 states with full tax service and includes contractor payments at no extra charge. It is one of the few platforms that explicitly handles agricultural payroll with FUTA agricultural exception handling, and supports tip credits for restaurant payroll.
Customer service reviews for OnPay are consistently better than Wave. For growing businesses that will have compliance questions, having access to reliable support matters.
Patriot Payroll: best if cost is paramount
Patriot Full Service at $37 per month plus $4 per employee is consistently the cheapest paid option that includes full tax service. For teams in states where Wave charges $35 per month anyway for tax service, Patriot is often a better value because it handles all 50 states and has more features.
Patriot's interface is no-frills and customer service reviews are more mixed than OnPay, but the core payroll function is reliable.
How to choose
If you are on Wave and just need to add full-service tax filing: compare OnPay or Patriot at $40 to $77 per month for a team of 10 against the cost and time of handling taxes manually in your state. If you need HR features in the same platform: Gusto Simple or Plus. If you are a Wave Accounting user and want to stay in the ecosystem: Wave Plus includes both accounting and payroll for $16 per month plus per-employee fees.
Frequently asked questions
Is Wave Payroll actually free? Free to run payroll in 14 states where you file your own taxes. In the remaining states, tax service is $35 per month plus $6 per employee, which is competitive but not free. Contractor payments are free in all states.
What states does Wave Payroll free tier cover? Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. For all other states, the $35 per month tax service applies.
Does Wave Payroll integrate with Wave Accounting? Yes, and this is the main reason teams stay. Journal entries from payroll automatically sync to Wave Accounting. If you are not using Wave Accounting, this integration benefit disappears.