OnPay Review

About OnPay

OnPay is the lean alternative to Gusto for SMB trades shops that want payroll done well at a flat price without the upsell tiers. The product is feature-comparable to Gusto's Plus tier — payroll + tax filing + direct deposit + employee self-service + year-end W-2/1099 + multi-state support — at a single price ($40 base + $6/employee) without the Simple/Plus/Premium upsell ladder. For contractors who looked at Gusto's pricing page and thought 'I just want payroll, not the bolt-ons,' OnPay is structurally appropriate.

The market position: OnPay has built a strong reputation among small trades shops (1-10 employees typically) that prioritize price discipline + clean product + responsive support. Reddit and forum sentiment is consistently positive. The platform doesn't have Gusto's marketing budget or brand recognition, but operators who have used both consistently describe OnPay as 'just as good as Gusto Plus at a lower total cost.'

The limitations are real but narrow. OnPay's integration breadth is smaller than Gusto's — QuickBooks and Xero are well-covered, but native FSM integrations (Jobber, Housecall Pro, ServiceTitan) are sparser. Zapier middleware fills most gaps but it's an additional step. Benefits administration is more basic — for contractors moving into health insurance + 401(k), Gusto's broker tooling has more polish.

The affiliate program is direct with documented per-signup payouts in the $100-$200 range — meaningfully smaller than Gusto's $300-$1,000 but still respectable for SMB software. Editorial recommendations of OnPay are unaffected by the smaller affiliate; the product genuinely deserves recommendation for the price-conscious SMB segment.