Payroll · Legacy payroll, PEO or reputation warning
Justworks Review
PEO and payroll provider for small businesses: co-employment that bundles payroll, benefits, workers' comp and HR
Quick verdict
Who Justworks suits: Small trades businesses with mostly W-2 staff and no HR person that want group health benefits, workers' comp and HR compliance bundled with payroll, and accept co-employment. Pricing: Payroll plan $50/mo base + $8/employee; PEO Basic $79/employee/mo and PEO Plus $124/employee/mo with no base fee; global EOR $599/employee/mo; add-ons such as time tracking ($8/employee/mo) cost extra. Co-employment model, per-employee fees that add up for a crew, benefits and workers' comp tied to Justworks' programs, and no confirmed construction-specific payroll features; a payroll-only service may cost less for shops that only need payroll.
About Justworks
Justworks is a New York company, incorporated in 2012 as Clockwork Solutions, that sells a professional employer organization (PEO) service for small businesses. In a PEO, the provider becomes a co-employer of your staff: Justworks' 2021 IPO filing (the IPO was later withdrawn) explains that a PEO groups the employees of many small businesses under its own federal employer identification number and files employment taxes on a consolidated basis. Justworks markets both a PEO and a payroll service, and in 2023 it agreed to acquire Via, an international employment platform, to expand hiring outside the US.
According to that 2021 filing, the Justworks PEO covered payroll, benefits, compliance and risk management, including workers' compensation coverage, payroll tax filings, W-2 processing, employment practices liability insurance and state unemployment insurance filings. It offered access to national health insurance from three major carriers plus dental, vision, 401(k), FSAs and HSAs, 24/7 support, and tools for onboarding, paid time off and time and attendance. At the time Justworks reported over 8,000 customers in all 50 states. Check Justworks' current plan pages for what each plan includes today.
Justworks publishes its prices. Its Payroll plan, without co-employment, is $50/mo plus $8 per employee; PEO Basic is $79 and PEO Plus $124 per employee per month with no base fee; and its global employer-of-record service is $599 per employee per month. Add-ons include time tracking at $8 per employee and US contractor payments at $8 per paid contractor. Because the per-employee PEO fee covers benefits access, insurance and HR support as well as payroll, the monthly total for a crew can be well above a payroll-only service, so compare the full monthly bill for your headcount.
The trade-off: a PEO can give a small shop access to group health benefits and bundled workers' comp and HR compliance without hiring HR staff, but you share the employer role with Justworks, your benefits come from its plans, and your workers' comp runs through its program. Before signing, ask how Justworks classifies your trade for workers' comp and how it handles a mix of W-2 employees and 1099 subcontractors.
How it works
Choose a Justworks plan and move your employees onto its platform. On a PEO plan, Justworks becomes a co-employer: it runs payroll and files employment taxes under its own federal employer ID, and provides access to its health, dental, vision and 401(k) plans, workers' comp coverage and HR compliance support. You keep running your business and directing your crew. Fees are charged per employee per month.
Pros & cons
What works
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One vendor for payroll, benefits and HR
On a PEO plan, payroll, tax filings, benefits access, workers' comp coverage and HR compliance support come from one provider on one monthly bill.
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Access to group health benefits
Justworks' 2021 filing described access to national health insurance from three major carriers plus dental, vision, 401(k), FSAs and HSAs, which a very small employer may struggle to arrange alone.
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Round-the-clock support
Justworks has described 24/7 support as part of its service.
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Published pricing
Justworks posts its per-employee rates on its pricing page instead of quoting each company, so you can estimate costs before talking to sales.
What doesn't
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Co-employment changes the employer relationship
In a PEO, Justworks becomes a co-employer and files taxes under its own federal ID. Leaving later means moving payroll, benefits and workers' comp to new providers at once.
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Per-employee fee adds up for a crew
PEO fees are charged for every employee every month: at list price, PEO Basic for a 10-person crew is $790/mo, against $130/mo on Justworks' own Payroll plan. Compare the full monthly bill.
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Benefits and workers' comp come from its programs
Your health plans and workers' comp coverage run through Justworks' arrangements, so check how your trade's workers' comp class codes are handled and priced.
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Not built around construction payroll
We could not confirm certified payroll, prevailing-wage reporting or job costing from Justworks' own materials. Ask directly if you bid public work.
Pricing
Payroll plan $50/mo base + $8/employee; PEO Basic $79/employee/mo and PEO Plus $124/employee/mo with no base fee; global EOR $599/employee/mo; add-ons such as time tracking ($8/employee/mo) cost extra.
Starting base: $50/mo + $8/employee
Affiliate disclosure: The link to Justworks on this page goes to its own site and is not an affiliate link.
Integrations
Reviews and complaints at the source
We do not copy third-party review scores onto this page: they change often and we could not verify them. Read Justworks's current reviews at the source.
Frequently asked
Should a trades shop use Justworks?
Only if you want a PEO. Justworks makes sense for a shop that wants group health benefits, bundled workers' comp and HR support without hiring HR staff, and accepts co-employment. If you just need to pay a crew and file payroll taxes, a payroll-only service may cost less.
What is co-employment?
In a PEO, the provider becomes a co-employer of your staff. Justworks' 2021 IPO filing explains that a PEO groups the employees of many small businesses under its own federal employer ID and files employment taxes on a consolidated basis. You still direct the work.
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