Home / Payroll & HR Software / Rippling vs Justworks
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Rippling vs Justworks pricing
Justworks publishes its payroll prices and Rippling does not, which is the main difference for small teams. This page compares them using StackScope's payroll and HR report, last verified October 2026.
Justworks Payroll is $8 per employee per month plus a $50 base, which is $90 per month for 5 employees, $210 for 20 and $450 for 50. Rippling's live pricing page does not publish a self-serve payroll price, so StackScope does not estimate one, though Rippling's own 2026 content cites a reference of $35 per month base plus $8 per employee per month, not a checkout price. Justworks also sells PEO Basic at $79 per employee per month, a separate co-employment model rather than a pricier payroll tier, and advertises 3 months free for Payroll as a promotion. Rippling has no permanent free plan, and its add-on modules are priced separately.
| Tool | Free plan | Entry tier | Mid tier | Top tier / public price | Aggregated sentiment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rippling | No permanent free plan — trial/promotion only. [VENDOR] Current pricing page routes to custom quote for full configurations. G2 currently says Rippling does not offer a free trial, while Capterra currently labels it as having one — a direct source conflict, not resolved here. [3P — G2 vs Capterra] | Quote required for Payroll[VENDOR] Rippling's live pricing page still does not publish a self-serve Payroll price. Rippling's own 2026 Payroll/HRIS content separately publishes reference figures — $35/mo base + $8/employee/mo — but these are not shown as a checkout/self-serve list price on the current pricing page; see footnote below the table. | Modular — no named mid tier[VENDOR] Additional modules (benefits, time tracking, IT) are priced separately; module-level rate card is not fully public. Rippling's own 2026 content cites Expense Management at $14/employee/mo as one example — not extrapolated into a universal bundle price. | No public top-tier price[VENDOR] Full multi-module configurations route to custom quote | Catch: [3P — G2 + Capterra] Modular add-ons can raise cost and the breadth of features can create a learning curve. Review sentiment from G2 and Capterra; praise centers on unified HR/payroll, automation and intuitive workflows. Capacity: [VENDOR] Supports multi-state U.S. payroll and employee/contractor payroll; no public numeric cap found in current vendor documentation. AI: Current platform markets "Ask Rippling AI" across all data plus automation/custom dashboards; this is bundled platform functionality under the same quote-based packaging, not a separately priced payroll AI add-on. [VENDOR] |
| Justworks | No ongoing free plan publicly listed. [VENDOR] Current pricing page lists paid Payroll, PEO Basic, PEO Plus and EOR. Current page also advertises "3 Months Free!" for Payroll — a promotion, not a permanent free tier; full eligibility terms aren't exposed on the page. [VENDOR] | $8/mo/employee + $50 basePayroll · [VENDOR]. 5 employees — Monthly: $90; Annualized equivalent: $1,080; separate annual-billing list price: not published. 20 employees — Monthly: $210; Annualized equivalent: $2,520; separate annual-billing list price: not published. 50 employees — Monthly: $450; Annualized equivalent: $5,400; separate annual-billing list price: not published. [DERIVED — VENDOR] $50 + $8×employees. New add-ons confirmed on current pricing page: Time Tracking $8/employee/mo, International Contractors $39/contractor/mo. Important: PEO Basic/Plus below are NOT pricier tiers of Payroll — they're a separate co-employment model bundling benefits access, not a feature upgrade path. | $79/mo/employeeAlternative model: PEO Basic (not a Payroll upgrade) · [VENDOR]. 5 employees — Monthly: $395; Annualized equivalent: $4,740. 20 employees — Monthly: $1,580; Annualized equivalent: $18,960. 50 employees — Monthly: $3,950; Annualized equivalent: $47,400. [DERIVED — VENDOR] Separate annual-billing list price: not published. | $124/mo/employeeAlternative model: PEO Plus · [VENDOR] public price; benefits administration included. EOR is separate at $599/employee/mo. | Catch: [3P — G2 + Capterra] Reviewers cite limited reporting/customization and some benefits/pricing limitations. Review sentiment from G2 and Capterra; praise centers on simple HR/payroll administration and support. Capacity: [VENDOR] Payroll includes multi-state payroll and contractor payments; PEO tiers add compliance, HR and benefits — no public numeric cap found in current vendor documentation. AI: New — Justworks MCP connects live Justworks data (headcount, payroll, time off, deductions) to AI tools like Claude and ChatGPT; no separate price is published for it on the current public page. [VENDOR] |
Figures are aggregated from vendor pricing pages and independent third-party pricing research as of October 2026 and reflect published list prices. This page shows two of the four tools in the full Payroll & HR Software report, which carries the complete footnotes and every source conflict we flagged. Confirm current pricing directly with each vendor before purchasing. This is not a recommendation to buy any specific product.
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FAQ
Common questions
Is Justworks cheaper than Rippling?
Justworks Payroll is $90 per month for 5 employees and $210 for 20. Rippling publishes no self-serve price, so StackScope can't compare directly.
What is Justworks PEO?
A separate co-employment model, not a pricier payroll tier. PEO Basic is $79 per employee per month.
Do either have free plans?
Neither has a permanent free plan. Justworks advertises 3 months free for Payroll as a promotion.
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See all four tools in the full Payroll & HR Software report →
Vendor pricing: Rippling pricing · Justworks pricing