Square Payroll vs Paylocity: Payroll Software Comparison (2026)

An independent side-by-side comparison of Square Payroll and Paylocity 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.

Paylocity leads overall13% cited vs Square Payroll 0% across 62 probes.
ChatGPT
Square Payroll
0 / 6 probes
0%
Invisible
PaylocityLeads
1 / 6 probes
17%
Average
Perplexity
Square Payroll
0 / 7 probes
0%
Invisible
Paylocity
0 / 7 probes
0%
Invisible
Gemini
Square Payroll
0 / 6 probes
0%
Invisible
Paylocity
0 / 6 probes
0%
Invisible
Claude
Square Payroll
0 / 6 probes
0%
Invisible
PaylocityLeads
2 / 6 probes
33%
Good
Copilot
Square Payroll
0 / 6 probes
0%
Invisible
PaylocityLeads
1 / 6 probes
17%
Average
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
Paylocity
Starting price
Free tier
paylocity.com

Key Features

Square Payroll
  • Unlimited pay runs
  • No long-term contracts
  • Simple onboarding
  • Auto payroll
Paylocity
  • Automated payroll workflows
  • 24/7 self-service portal
  • AI-powered expense management
  • Employee experience dashboard
  • Marketplace integrations
  • Customizable HR workflows
  • Real-time access auditing
  • Mobile access for employers and employees

When to choose Square Payroll

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

When to choose Paylocity

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

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