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

## In short

On 2026-10-28, Claude (Anthropic) with web search was asked "best payroll software for small businesses". It named 8 brands, in this order: Gusto, OnPay, QuickBooks, QuickBooks Online, Homebase, ADP RUN, Paychex and Paychex Flex.

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Question | best payroll software for small businesses |
| Asked on | 2026-10-28 |
| Engine | Claude (Anthropic) with web search |
| Model | claude-opus-5 |
| Brands named | 8 |
| Sources cited | 7 |
| Audience | small businesses |
| Coverage | Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included. |
| Last verified | 2026-10-28 |

Page: https://bikoosh.com/answers/s/payroll-software-small-businesses-2026-10-28
Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included.

## The answer, as recorded

Asked on 2026-10-28 through Claude (Anthropic) with web search (model claude-opus-5).

> Here's who I'd actually point you to, roughly in the order I'd name them:
> 
> **1. Gusto - the default recommendation for most small businesses.** $49/mo + $6/employee. Easiest onboarding of the bunch, genuinely pleasant interface, and it handles the things that bite small employers: automatic federal/state/local tax filing, multi-state payroll, contractor (1099) payments alongside W-2s, and built-in benefits administration if you ever add health insurance or a 401(k). If you have no strong reason to pick something else, pick this.
> 
> **2. OnPay - the best value if you want full features without the upsell ladder.** $49/mo + $6/employee for *everything* - no tiered plans where tax filing or HR tools are locked behind a higher price. It's also the strongest of the cheap options for odd payroll situations: farms (Form 943), churches/clergy, restaurants with tip credits, nonprofits. Less slick than Gusto, more complete per dollar.
> 
> **3. QuickBooks Payroll - only if you're already on QuickBooks Online.** $50/mo + $6.50/employee. The accounting integration is the entire reason to choose it; payroll data lands in your books with no reconciliation work. If you're *not* a QuickBooks user, there

## Brands named, in the order the engine gave

| Position | Brand | How it was named |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gusto | recommended |
| 2 | OnPay | mentioned |
| 3 | QuickBooks | mentioned |
| 4 | QuickBooks Online | mentioned |
| 5 | Homebase | mentioned |
| 6 | ADP RUN | mentioned |
| 7 | Paychex | mentioned |
| 8 | Paychex Flex | mentioned |

## Sources the engine cited

- https://www.nerdwallet.com/business/software/best/payroll (review)
- https://gusto.com/resources/guides/best-cheap-payroll-services (vendor)
- https://www.patriotsoftware.com/payroll/best-payroll-software-for-small-businesses/ (other)
- https://www.joinhomebase.com/blog/best-payroll-software (other)
- https://peoplemanagingpeople.com/tools/gusto-vs-onpay/ (other)
- https://www.techrepublic.com/article/patriot-payroll-alternatives/ (other)
- https://www.paycom.com/blog/best-payroll-software-for-small-businesses-in-2026/ (other)

The question page: https://bikoosh.com/answers/q/payroll-software/small-businesses

Alerts and membership: Answer Watch Pro, 79 USD per month: https://bikoosh.com/answers. Bikoosh is monitoring assistance, not complete protection.

Answer Watch records what one AI answer engine said on one date, nothing more. Each page names the engine and the model, carries the date the question was asked, and lists the brands that appeared in the answer in the order the engine gave them, with the sources it cited. It is a measurement, not a ranking, not a recommendation and not a claim about the world. Brands that did not appear in an answer are not named on any public page. Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included.