How much does it cost to outsource HR
Asking how much it costs to outsource HR is only half a question, because the answer only means something against the cost of not doing it. That second number is the one nobody computes, because most of it is owner hours that never appear in the accounts, and it is usually the number that decides the case.
- median advertised base subscription, per month
- $39
- providers with a price they will print
- 2
- states with measured demand and evidenced cover
- 5
Figures on this page come from the price record on this site: 2 providers checked against their own published pages, median advertised base subscription $39 a month among those that publish one.
- 2 provider pages checkedevery figure matched verbatim to the provider's own page
- Quoted and dated, never estimatedlast verification pass 2026-09-09
- 5 states with evidenced coverevidenced by the provider's own live state page
Advertised prices, checked
| Provider | Base price | Per worker | What it covers | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ExtensisHR | |||||
| FrankCrum | |||||
| Gusto | |||||
| Insperity | |||||
| Justworks | |||||
| OnPay | |||||
| Patriot Software | |||||
| Paychex | |||||
| Rippling | |||||
| SurePayroll | |||||
| TriNet | |||||
| VensureHR |
Working out the comparison honestly
- Count the hours actually spent. Pay run, filings, starter and leaver paperwork, benefits questions, chasing timesheets. Two hours a week is a conservative estimate for a twenty-person business and it is rarely two hours.
- Price those hours at what they displace. Not at a notional HR salary. If the person doing it is the owner, the right rate is what the owner would otherwise be doing, which is usually selling.
- Add the cost of the errors you have had. Late deposits, penalties, a mis-filed return, a starter enrolled a month late. Most businesses have had at least one and remember what it cost.
- Then compare with a real quote. A published provider's rate at your headcount, or a quote from several providers for the same described job.
Why the usual comparison is the wrong one
Providers compare their fee against the salary of an HR manager, which flatters the arrangement enormously and describes almost no real buyer. Businesses looking at this are rarely choosing between outsourcing and hiring; they are choosing between outsourcing and continuing to absorb the work.
That makes the honest comparison harder and the answer less flattering to the provider, and it is still the comparison to make. In many cases outsourcing wins anyway once owner hours are priced properly. In some it does not, and knowing which you are in is worth the twenty minutes it takes.
Where the answer usually lands
For businesses under about ten people in one state, a published-price payroll platform is frequently cheaper than the hours it saves, and the case is straightforward. Between ten and fifty, and especially across several states, the administrative load grows faster than headcount and the case strengthens.
Above that the question usually changes shape entirely: it becomes whether to hire an internal HR person as well, and the answer is often both, with the provider taking the administration and the hire doing the work that needs to know your people.
Common questions
- How much does it cost to outsource HR?
- Where a provider publishes a rate, it is usually a base monthly subscription plus a per-worker charge; the figures published by providers checked here are quoted with the date read. Most providers publish nothing.
- Is outsourcing HR cheaper than doing it in-house?
- Compared against an HR salary, almost always, but that is rarely the real alternative. Compared against owner hours priced at what they displace, it usually still wins between ten and fifty employees, and less clearly below ten.
- What is the honest comparison?
- Your actual hours on payroll and paperwork, priced at what those hours would otherwise be doing, plus the cost of errors you have already had, against a real quote for the same described job.
Get quotes for your payroll
Coverage by state
Cite or embed this figure
The advertised base monthly subscription for a US payroll service in the US payroll and PEO market was $39 in September 2026, across 2 checked provider pricing pages recorded in Payroll Services Quotes Price Record.
Cite as: "Payroll Services Quotes Price Record", updated 2026-09-09, https://payrollservicesquotes.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-outsource-hr/.