8.7
SpotScore
Top 10 Wave Payroll Alternatives 2026
Effortless payroll management made simple.
Trusted by 2M+ software buyers annually.
Main Features
- Benefits Management
- Check Printing
- Direct Deposit
- Multi-country
Wave Payroll is a Payroll Software platform. Teams looking for alternatives typically need better pricing flexibility, easier deployment, or a closer feature fit for their specific use case. Below you'll find 10 vetted Payroll Software alternatives ranked by user rating, with filters to narrow by pricing, platform, and features — so you can find the right fit for 2026.
Wave Payroll vs Top Alternatives at a Glance
Side-by-side comparison of pricing, user rating, and free trial availability to help you decide faster.
| Tool | Best For | Pricing | Rating | Free Option |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wave Payroll Current | Payroll Software | Free plan available | No reviews | ✓ Yes |
 WavePayroll | Payroll Software | Free plan available | 4.0 ★ | ✓ Yes |
 ADP Payroll Services | Payroll Software | Free trial | 4.3 ★ | ✓ Yes |
 EPAY HCM | Payroll Software | Custom pricing | 4.7 ★ | ✗ No |
 PrimePay | Payroll Software | Custom pricing | 4.6 ★ | ✗ No |
 APS Payroll | Payroll Software | Custom pricing | 4.7 ★ | ✗ No |
Showing 1-10 out of 10
List of the Top Wave Payroll alternatives as of September 2026
Compare business software, products, and services to find the best solution for your business or organization. Use the filters on the left to drill down by category, pricing, features, market segment, user ratings, and more.
8.7
SpotScore
WavePayroll
Effortless payroll and invoicing at your fingertips.
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What is WavePayroll?
WavePayroll is a payroll and invoicing platform that lets businesses send professional invoices, collect credit card payments, and set up automatic billing for recurring clients. It syncs invoicing, payment records, and accounting data in one dashboard with client history tracking.
Read moreCommon Features
-
W-2 Preparation
-
Self Service Portal
-
Multi-country
+ 4 more
Unique Features
No unique features
7.6
SpotScore
ADP Payroll Services
Efficient HR solutions at your fingertips.
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What is ADP Payroll Services?
ADP Payroll Services offers a comprehensive suite of tools designed to help businesses of all sizes comply with payroll, taxes, and other HR regulations. The latest tools from ADP provide access to a live HR support team, a job description wizard, employee handbook guidelines, proactive ...
Read moreCommon Features
-
W-2 Preparation
-
Multi-country
-
Direct Deposit
+ 3 more
Unique Features
-
Attendance Tracking
Pricing
Free Trial available, Try Now
ADP Payroll Services offers custom pricing plan
Spotsaas Buyer Intelligence
Own the software buyers are comparing here? See who's weighing you against rivals — and who's comparing your competitors while you're not in the running.
8.5
SpotScore
EPAY HCM
Streamline your payroll with EPAY - anytime, anywhere.
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What is EPAY HCM?
EPAY Handheld payroll software is the easiest way to view, manage and produce paychecks on the go. EPAY was developed with you in mind by people who believe convenience is number one. Every feature of EPAY payroll has been developed with a purpose to help you be more efficient, save time, ...
Read moreCommon Features
-
Self Service Portal
-
Multi-country
-
Direct Deposit
+ 3 more
Unique Features
-
Wage Garnishment
-
401(k) Tracking
Pricing
EPAY HCM offers custom pricing plan
8.6
SpotScore
PrimePay
Streamline your payroll with ease.
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What is PrimePay?
PrimePay is payroll software that offers a full payroll for small and mid-sized businesses. It is designed to be simple and easy to use, while maintaining the requirements needed for a company's payroll. Both new companies just starting on Payroll and companies already on Payroll will benefit ...
Read moreCommon Features
-
W-2 Preparation
-
Self Service Portal
-
Direct Deposit
+ 3 more
Unique Features
-
Wage Garnishment
-
401(k) Tracking
Pricing
PrimePay offers custom pricing plan
8.7
SpotScore
APS Payroll
Efficient payroll management, with precision and security.
Add to compare
What is APS Payroll?
APS Payroll is a payroll and HR management platform for mid-sized businesses that need customizable reporting, employee self-service, and third-party integrations alongside core payroll processing. Its report builder lets HR teams generate custom outputs for workforce cost analysis without ...
Read moreCommon Features
-
W-2 Preparation
-
Self Service Portal
-
Multi-country
+ 4 more
Unique Features
-
Wage Garnishment
-
Leave Tracking (Vacation)
-
Deductions Management
+ 2 more
Pricing
APS Payroll offers custom pricing plan
7.9
SpotScore
Pilot
Streamline your business with expert payroll management.
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What is Pilot?
Pilot offers companies with remote and distributed teams an effortless solution for payroll, compliance, and benefits. With the help of a knowledgeable expert and a dedicated account manager, you can leave bookkeeping and paperwork to the professionals, and redirect your attention to what ...
Read moreCommon Features
-
Self Service Portal
-
Multi-country
-
Benefits Management
+ 1 more
Unique Features
No unique features
Pricing
Starts from $29
9.4
SpotScore
OnPay
Streamline your payroll process and save time and money.
Add to compare
What is OnPay?
OnPay is an intuitive online payroll software designed to meet the needs of supervisors, managers, payroll specialists and people who manage pay for hourly or salaried staff. OnPay helps companies of all sizes reduce costs for processing payroll checks, making tax reports, tracking down pay ...
Read moreCommon Features
-
W-2 Preparation
-
Self Service Portal
-
Multi-country
+ 4 more
Unique Features
-
Wage Garnishment
-
Leave Tracking (Vacation)
-
Deductions Management
+ 3 more
Pricing
Free Trial available, Try Now
Starts from $40/Month
9.2
SpotScore
SurePayroll
Efficiency meets accuracy in one payroll solution.
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What is SurePayroll?
SurePayroll is a cloud-based, Payroll Software with Time Tracking Service. The software can be accessed from any device and is hosted by SurePayroll in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) data center for fast processing and performance.It automates most employee related tasks including accurate and ...
Read moreCommon Features
-
W-2 Preparation
-
Self Service Portal
-
Direct Deposit
+ 3 more
Unique Features
-
Wage Garnishment
-
Leave Tracking (Vacation)
-
Deductions Management
+ 1 more
Pricing
Free Trial available
SurePayroll offers custom pricing plan
8.7
SpotScore
Fingercheck
Effortless payroll management with a swipe.
Add to compare
What is Fingercheck?
The FingerCheck payroll software does everything the other payroll programs do but with a finger swipe. Timesheets, employee punch times and attendance reports are just a few of the functions offered by FingerCheck payroll software. Attempting to enter information while on the move works ...
Read moreCommon Features
-
Self Service Portal
-
Direct Deposit
-
Check Printing
+ 2 more
Unique Features
-
Wage Garnishment
-
401(k) Tracking
Pricing
Free Trial available, Try Now
Starts from $23/Month
8.1
SpotScore
CheckWriters
Effortlessly streamline your payroll process.
Add to compare
What is CheckWriters?
CheckWriters is a payroll and HR platform for small and mid-sized businesses that want managed payroll processing paired with dedicated account support. It handles tax filings, employee onboarding, timekeeping, and compliance updates, with users consistently noting the responsiveness of their ...
Read moreCommon Features
-
W-2 Preparation
-
Self Service Portal
-
Check Printing
+ 2 more
Unique Features
-
Compensation Management
-
Attendance Tracking
Pricing
CheckWriters offers custom pricing plan
Which Wave Payroll Alternative Is Right for You?
- If you need a free or low-cost option: WavePayroll — offers a free plan or trial suitable for small teams.
- If user satisfaction is your top priority: OnPay — holds the highest user rating (5.0★) among Wave Payroll alternatives.
- If you want a mid-range option: Pilot — sits in the middle of the list by rating and may fit teams with mixed requirements.
Free switching kit
Switching from Wave Payroll? Get the migration checklist
A step-by-step payroll software migration checklist so you can move off Wave Payroll without losing data or momentum.
- Pre-switch data & access audit
- Migration timeline and owners
- Go-live cutover checklist
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Stuck on something? We're here to help with all the questions and answers in one place.
The top-rated alternatives to Wave Payroll for Payroll Software are OnPay (5.0★), SurePayroll (4.9★), Pilot (4.8★). Compare all 10 alternatives side-by-side above.
When evaluating alternatives to Wave Payroll, prioritize: Tax Management, Benefits Management, Check Printing, Direct Deposit, Multi-country, transparent pricing, free trial availability, and integrations with tools you already use. Use the filters above to compare by feature, budget, and team size.
For small businesses, the best Payroll Software tools are Paycom, BambooHR, Gusto. Look for affordable per-seat pricing, quick setup (under 1 day), no long-term contracts, and strong onboarding support to reduce time-to-value.
Migration difficulty depends on how deeply Wave Payroll is integrated into your workflows. Most alternatives offer data export/import tools and dedicated onboarding support. We recommend narrowing to 2–3 options, running a free trial, and checking each vendor's migration guides before committing.
About the reviewer
Rajat Gupta is the founder of Spotsaas. Over the past two years, he has reviewed 2,000+ tools across CRM, HR, AI, and finance — applying hands-on product research and a background in commerce and the CFA program to evaluate software through a business and ROI lens. His goal: help teams make software decisions they won't regret.
Disclaimer: This research has been collated from a variety of authoritative sources. We welcome your feedback at [email protected].