What Claude (Anthropic) with web search answered for payroll software (freelancers) on 2026-10-28

Claude (Anthropic) with web search claude-opus-5 asked 2026-10-28

Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included.

The question asked, verbatim: best payroll software for freelancers

Brands named, in the order the engine gave

1. Gusto mentioned
   Gusto - my default pick.
2. OnPay mentioned
   OnPay - best if you want one flat price with nothing gated.
3. Patriot Payroll mentioned
   Patriot Payroll - the cheap option, ~$17/mo + $4/person on Basic.
4. SurePayroll mentioned
   SurePayroll - good "set it and forget it" autopilot for a one-person S-corp with an unchanging salary, ~$20/mo + $4/person.
5. Collective mentioned
   Collective - not software exactly;
6. Wave mentioned
   Wave - if you mostly need invoicing and want payroll bolted on cheaply for a solo operation.
7. Square Payroll mentioned
   Square Payroll - best contractor-only economics: $0 base, ~$6 per contractor, 1099s auto-filed.
8. QuickBooks mentioned
   QuickBooks Payroll - the obvious choice if your books are already in QuickBooks;
9. Deel mentioned
   Deel - for international contractors: multi-currency payouts, local contracts, compliance.
10. Rippling mentioned
    Rippling - if you expect to scale and want payroll sitting next to device/app management.
11. Wise mentioned
    Wise Business - not payroll, but the cheapest way to batch-pay overseas freelancers if you don't need contracts or 1099 automation.
12. Wise Business mentioned
    Wise Business - not payroll, but the cheapest way to batch-pay overseas freelancers if you don't need contracts or 1099 automation.

Sources the engine cited

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The answer, as recorded

Short framing first, since "payroll for freelancers" means two different things - I'll cover both. ## If you *are* the freelancer (paying yourself) A caveat worth one sentence: if you're a sole proprietor or single-member LLC with no employees, you don't need payroll at all - you take owner's draws and pay quarterly estimated taxes. Payroll only becomes necessary once you've elected S-corp status and have to pay yourself a W-2 salary. Assuming that's you: 1. **Gusto** - my default pick. It's the one built with owner-employees in mind: reasonable-salary guidance, S-corp election help, auto-filed W-2s and 1099s. Starts around $49/mo + $6/person. Costs more than the budget options, but S-corp compliance is exactly where you don't want to improvise. 2. **OnPay** - best if you want one flat price with nothing gated. ~$40/mo + $6/person, and multi-state payroll and year-end filings are included rather than upsold. Most predictable bill of the group. 3. **Patriot Payroll** - the cheap option, ~$17/mo + $4/person on Basic. Tax filing is an add-on, so price the full-service tier before comparing. 4. **SurePayroll** - good "set it and forget it" autopilot for a one-person S-corp with an unchanging salary, ~$20/mo + $4/person. 5. **Collective** - not software exactly; it's a bundled S-corp formation + payroll + bookkeeping + tax service for solopreneurs. Worth a look if you'd rather hand off the whole thing than run it yourself. 6. **Wave** - if you mostly need invoicing and want payroll bolted on cheaply for a solo operation. ## If you're hiring freelancers (paying 1099 contractors) 1. **Square Payroll** - best contractor-only economics: $0 base, ~$6 per contractor, 1099s auto-filed. Hard to beat if contractors are all you pay. 2. **Gusto** - best if you pay contractors *and* employees in one place; contractor-only runs ~$35/mo + $6/person, billed only in months you actually pay someone. 3. **QuickBooks Payroll** - the obvious choice if your books are already in QuickBooks; from ~$15/mo including 20 contractors. 4. **Deel** - for international contractors: multi-currency payouts, local contracts, compliance. Overkill for domestic-only. 5. **Rippling** - if you expect to scale and want payroll sitting next to device/app management. 6. **Wise Business** - not payroll, but the cheapest way to batch-pay overseas freelancers if you don't need contracts or 1099 automation. Two things to verify before you commit: all pricing above moves frequently, so check the vendor page directly; and note the **1099-NEC threshold rises from $600 to $2,000 for 2026 payments**, which changes who you actually have to file for. Sources: - [10 Best Payroll Apps for Freelancers in 2026](https://work-club.com/best-payroll-apps-freelancers-2026/) - [8 Best Contractor Payroll Software for 2026 - Gusto](https://gusto.com/resources/guides/best-contractor-payroll-software) - [11 Best Contractor Payroll Software for US Employers in 2026 - Wise](https://wise.com/us/blog/batchtransfer-contractor-payroll-software) - [8 Best Affordable Payroll Services for Single Employee Business in 2026 - Gusto](https://gusto.com/resources/guides/best-payroll-service-for-one-employee) - [Payroll solutions for solopreneurs: a comparison guide - Collective](https://www.collective.com/blog/money-management/payroll-solutions-for-solopreneurs-a-comparison-guide) - [Best Payroll Software for Small Businesses - Patriot](https://www.patriotsoftware.com/payroll/best-payroll-software-for-small-businesses/)

Near this answer

The same question, recorded on other dates: 2026-10-25, 2026-10-23, 2026-10-21, 2026-10-18, 2026-10-15, 2026-10-13, 2026-10-10, 2026-10-08, 2026-10-06, 2026-10-05, 2026-10-03.

payroll software, asked for other audiences: small businesses (asked 2026-10-28), nonprofits (asked 2026-10-28).

Other categories with a recorded answer: accounting software, accounts payable automation, audit management software, bookkeeping services.

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