Square Payroll vs OnPay: Payroll Software Comparison (2026)

An independent side-by-side comparison of Square Payroll and OnPay for payroll software buyers — pricing, features, integrations, and how often each is cited by major AI engines.

AI Citation Scorecard

How often each is cited by major AI engines when buyers ask payroll software questions. Last 90 days across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, and Copilot.

OnPay leads overall45% cited vs Square Payroll 0% across 62 probes.
ChatGPT
Square Payroll
0 / 6 probes
0%
Invisible
OnPayLeads
1 / 6 probes
17%
Average
Perplexity
Square Payroll
0 / 7 probes
0%
Invisible
OnPayLeads
5 / 7 probes
71%
Excellent
Gemini
Square Payroll
0 / 6 probes
0%
Invisible
OnPayLeads
5 / 6 probes
83%
Excellent
Claude
Square Payroll
0 / 6 probes
0%
Invisible
OnPayLeads
1 / 6 probes
17%
Average
Copilot
Square Payroll
0 / 6 probes
0%
Invisible
OnPayLeads
2 / 6 probes
33%
Good
Scale:NoneLowFairStrongExcellent

Probes run hourly; each (engine × query) combo retests every ~3 days.

Pricing

Square Payroll
Starting price
$35/month + $6/user/month
Free tier
No
squareup.com/us/en/payroll
OnPay
Starting price
$49/month + $6/worker
Free tier
onpay.com

Key Features

Square Payroll
  • Unlimited pay runs
  • No long-term contracts
  • Simple onboarding
  • Auto payroll
OnPay
  • Direct deposit
  • Hiring and onboarding
  • Health insurance
  • Built-in reporting
  • PTO management
  • 401(k) retirement
  • Mobile friendly
  • Employee self-service

When to choose Square Payroll

Choose Square Payroll if your team prioritizes its strengths over OnPay's. Full guidance populates as Square Payroll's feature data is indexed.

When to choose OnPay

Choose OnPay if your team prioritizes its strengths over Square Payroll's. Full guidance populates as OnPay's feature data is indexed.

More Payroll Software Comparisons