Choosing the Best Payroll Software (UK) – Comparison guide
Choosing payroll software is part practicality, part compliance insurance. Below I compare the main payroll packages used in the UK, what they do well, where they trip up, and who they’re best for.
How I judged them
• Compliance and RTI/HMRC support
• Ease of use and employee self-service (reduces admin).
• Integrations (accounting, pensions, HR).
• Scalability, support and cost (small business vs enterprise).
Sage Payroll
• Best for: medium to large businesses that want an integrated accounting and payroll vendor with long presence in the UK market.
• Strengths: deep product ecosystem (accounting, payroll, HR), cloud and desktop options, investing in AI assistants (Sage Copilot) to automate tasks.
• Weaknesses: occasional large-scale outages have been reported; can be pricier and more complex than single-purpose payroll tools.
• Good if you already use Sage accounting/HR or need enterprise features and global capability.
QuickBooks Payroll (Intuit)
• Best for: small–medium businesses already using QuickBooks accounting who want a tightly integrated payroll experience.
• Strengths: simple onboarding, automation for PAYE/NI/pension, regular updates for tax-year changes.
• Weaknesses: can be less feature-rich for complex payroll scenarios compared with dedicated enterprise vendors; pricing varies by plan.
• Good if you want one vendor for accounting and payroll and straightforward small-business payroll.
Xero Payroll
• Best for: micro to small businesses that prioritise clean UX and bookkeeping integration.
• Strengths: strong accounting integration, clear guidance on payroll features to watch for, easy user experience.
• Weaknesses: some advanced payroll features (complex pension scenarios, multi-country payroll) may be limited versus big enterprise vendors.
• Good if you already use Xero accounting or want accountant-friendly reporting.
BrightPay
• Best for: small businesses and accountants who want a dedicated UK payroll package that’s simple and HMRC-compliant.
• Strengths: UK-focused features, strong auto-enrolment support, regular tax-year releases.
• Weaknesses: primarily payroll-first (fewer native accounting features), desktop and cloud combinations may differ by plan.
• Good if you want a no-frills, compliant payroll tool with good pension/auto-enrolment workflows.
IRIS
• Best for: payroll bureaus and larger UK employers needing advanced compliance, reporting and bureau features.
• Strengths: long-standing payroll product line, bureau-level tooling, extensive HMRC guidance and factsheets for each tax year.
• Weaknesses: interface and onboarding can be more technical; aimed at professionals rather than solo founders.
• Good if you run payroll for multiple employers or need advanced payroll reporting.
ADP
• Best for: large organisations / multinational employers that need global payroll, complex compliance and strong payroll outsourcing options.
• Strengths: enterprise-grade global payroll, reporting, and outsourcing; strong resourcing for multinational compliance.
• Weaknesses: cost and complexity can be overkill for small UK firms.
• Good if you have international payroll needs or want a fully managed payroll service.
Moorepay
• Best for: UK mid-market employers who want payroll and HR services from a UK vendor.
• Strengths: payroll calendars, legislative updates and support resources geared to UK employers; combined HR/payroll services.
• Weaknesses: mid-market focus means smaller firms may find it pricier than lean cloud-only alternatives.
Payfit
• Best for: small to medium-sized, growth-oriented UK businesses that want modern, cloud-native payroll and people management.
• Strengths: modern UX, payroll automation, built-in people/HR features and payroll trend reports for UK businesses.
• Weaknesses: may be more mid-market priced than the cheapest options; integrations depend on package.
HMRC Basic PAYE Tools (free)
• Best for: micro-businesses (very few employees) that need a free, HMRC-supplied way to calculate PAYE and submit RTI.
• Strengths: free, HMRC-compliant, works across platforms; covers the essentials (PAYE, NI, student loan, RTI).
• Weaknesses: dated interface, no automation or cloud self-service, minimal support, and not a long-term option if you want automation.
Who should pick what?
• Sole trader / micro business (1–5 people): HMRC Basic PAYE Tools (free) or BrightPay for low-cost UK-focused features.
• Small business (5–50 people): QuickBooks or Xero if you want tight accounting integration; PayFit or BrightPay if you want stronger payroll features.
• Mid-market (50–500 people): Moorepay, Sage or IRIS all offer stronger HR/payroll combos and bureau features.
• Large / multinational: ADP or Sage enterprise offerings for global payroll and outsourcing.
Final tips before you choose
• Check RTI / pension automation and how the vendor handles tax-year changes.
• Try to test the actual payroll run and get a trial or demo that walks through a full pay run and RTI submission.
• Don’t underestimate support and uptime: outages and bugs happen (even big vendors), verify support SLAs and backups.
• Integrations matter: if you already use Xero/QuickBooks/Sage accounting, staying in that family often reduces friction.
