Patriot Online Payroll review — payroll & tax filing

Whether Patriot is worth it depends heavily on what you already use and how many employees you're paying. Pick your role below to see the honest breakdown for your situation.

Community discussion around Patriot Online Payroll is notably thin online, which itself tells you something: this is a tool people use quietly and don't post about. The Reddit threads in r/smallbusiness asking for payroll recommendations mostly surface Gusto, QuickBooks, and Rippling as the go-to answers, with Patriot occasionally mentioned as the budget-friendly pick for tiny operations that don't need integrations. Across commercial review platforms, Patriot Payroll sits at a strong rating from well over three thousand verified reviews, with recurring praise for the price point and for US-based customer support that people describe as genuinely helpful rather than chatbot-routed. The most consistent criticism centres on limited third-party integrations, particularly the lack of a native QuickBooks sync for businesses already deep in that ecosystem, and some friction around the time and attendance add-on costing extra on top of an already-subscription-based model.

• Cloud-Based Platform with Mobile App: Access payroll from anywhere through the web portal or mobile app, letting you manage payments and let employees view pay stubs on the go.
• Automated Payroll Calculations: The software calculates gross pay, net pay, and taxes automatically based on employee hours, rates, and deductions you input.
• Unlimited Payroll Runs and Auto Payroll: Run payroll as often as needed without additional charges, or set up Auto Payroll for recurring salaried and hourly payments that process automatically.
• Free Employee Self-Service Portal: Employees can securely access pay stubs, W-2s, payment history, and update their own profile information through the portal or mobile app.
• Automated Tax Filing and Deposits: Full Service Payroll handles federal, state, and local payroll tax filings and deposits automatically, with year-end payroll tax filings included and tax filing reliability guaranteed.
• Free Direct Deposit: Pay employees with free direct deposit delivered in 2-4 business days, or print checks if preferred.
• Business Integrations: Connect with QuickBooks, Patriot Accounting, time and attendance systems, HR software, workers' compensation, and 401(k) plans to keep your business operations connected.
• Multi-State and Contractor Support: Handle multi-state payroll operations, pay 1099 contractors through the same system, manage pre-tax deductions, and process expense reimbursements all in one place.

• Basic Payroll costs $17 per month plus $4 per employee or contractor, offering unlimited payroll runs, free direct deposit, free employee portal, Auto Payroll, and robust payroll reports.
• Full Service Payroll is priced at $37 per month plus $5 per employee or contractor, with Patriot handling all federal, state, and local tax filings and deposits, plus year-end payroll tax filings at no additional fee and tax filing reliability guaranteed.
• Time & Attendance add-on is available at $6 per month plus $2 per employee for both Basic and Full Service plans.
• HR Software add-on costs $6 per month plus $2 per employee, providing tools for managing employee information on both plans.
• New customers can try Patriot Payroll with a free trial.
• Additional services like 1099 Electronic Filing start at $20 for the first five 1099s and $2 for each additional up to 35.
• Multistate Payroll Tax Filing is an extra $12 per month for each additional state beyond the first.