Patriot Payroll
Contractor payment software
Payroll software
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
- Affordability
- Market presence
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$17 per month
Free Trial
Free version unavailable
Small
Medium
Large
- Agriculture, fishing, and forestry
- Construction
- Real estate and property management
What is Patriot Payroll
Patriot Payroll is a small-business payroll software product used to calculate wages, run payroll, and manage payroll tax filings and payments. It supports paying employees and contractors and produces common payroll reports and year-end forms. The product is typically used by US-based small businesses that want payroll functionality integrated with basic HR and accounting workflows. It is offered in tiers that include a self-service payroll option and a full-service option where the vendor handles tax filing on the customer’s behalf.
Built for US small businesses
The product focuses on core US payroll workflows such as pay runs, withholdings, and payroll tax handling. It supports common small-business pay scenarios and provides standard payroll reporting and year-end documentation. This scope aligns with organizations that do not need complex global payroll or enterprise workforce management.
Full-service tax filing option
Patriot offers a tier where it files and pays federal, state, and local payroll taxes for the employer, reducing administrative effort. This can help businesses that lack in-house payroll expertise or want to reduce compliance tasks. The separation between self-service and full-service tiers provides a clearer choice between cost and outsourcing.
Contractor payment support
The platform supports paying contractors in addition to employees, which helps businesses with mixed workforces. It also supports contractor-related reporting needed for year-end compliance in the US. This makes it usable for companies that primarily need payroll plus basic contractor payments rather than a dedicated contractor marketplace or global contractor compliance stack.
Limited global payroll coverage
Patriot Payroll is primarily oriented to US payroll requirements and does not position itself as a multi-country payroll and employer-of-record solution. Organizations paying workers across many countries typically need localized compliance, in-country payments, and country-specific reporting beyond US payroll. This can require additional systems or providers for international expansion.
Less suited to complex enterprises
The product targets small businesses and may not meet needs such as advanced workforce analytics, complex approval chains, deep role-based controls, or extensive integrations required in larger organizations. Companies with multiple entities, complex benefits administration, or highly customized payroll rules may outgrow the feature set. In those cases, a broader HCM/payroll suite is often required.
Contractor tooling is basic
While it can pay contractors and support related forms, it is not designed as an end-to-end contractor management platform. Features such as contractor onboarding workflows, global contractor compliance, milestone-based payments, and consolidated multi-provider payouts are typically outside the core payroll focus. Businesses with heavy contractor operations may need separate contractor management and payment tooling.
Plan & Pricing
| Plan | Price | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| Basic Payroll | $17 per month + $4 per worker/month | Free direct deposit; free employee portal; unlimited payrolls; auto payroll; pay contractors; pay employees and contractors; free 30-day trial and promotional 50% off for first 3 months (as advertised). |
| Full Service Payroll | $37 per month + $5 per worker/month | Everything in Basic, plus federal, state, and local tax filings & deposits; year-end payroll tax filings included; tax filing reliability guarantee; free 30-day trial and promotional 50% off for first 3 months (as advertised). |
| Add-on — Time & Attendance | $6 per month + $2 per employee/month | Time tracking add-on. |
| Add-on — HR Software | $6 per month + $2 per employee/month | HR features add-on. |
| Notes | Additional fees: $12 per additional state for Full Service multistate filings; Patriot offers partner/accountant discounts and premium support fees (see vendor site for details). |
Seller details
Patriot Software, LLC
Canton, Ohio, USA
1990
Private
https://www.patriotsoftware.com/
https://x.com/patriotsoftware
https://www.linkedin.com/company/patriot-software-llc/
