Best Payroll Software in the UK 2026

Sage's dedicated product for managing employee taxable benefits and filing P11D and P11D(b) returns with HMRC.

• Online P11D submission to HMRC
• Company car benefit calculation
• Class 1A NI calculation
• Annual tax year updates

A newer UK payroll platform built for in house teams rather than bureaus, with heavy automation and clean integrations into accounting and HR systems.

• Heavy automation for in house teams
• Clean accounting and HR integrations
• Modern, clear interface
• Posts to the ledger automatically

An Australian built platform that has grown fast in the UK, bundling HR, payroll and employee benefits. Notable for a free payroll option and per employee pricing.

• Genuinely free payroll tier
• HR, payroll and benefits in one
• Well built employee app
• Per employee pricing that starts low

Sage's cloud payroll for start ups and small businesses. Three tiers, five employees included on each, with pension auto enrolment and HMRC notices built in.

• Pension auto enrolment built in
• Payroll anomaly detection
• Automated HMRC notices
• HR features at every tier

A straightforward UK cloud payroll product with a free Basic tier and a low cost Pro plan, aimed at small employers who want RTI and auto enrolment without complexity.

• Genuinely free Basic tier
• Simple and quick to run
• Very low cost Pro plan
• UK cloud payroll with auto updates

A modern European payroll and HR platform popular with growing UK companies, combining automated payroll with light HR features. Per employee pricing on top of a base fee.

• Heavy payroll automation
• Light HR bundled alongside
• Modern, clear interface
• Employee self service

A newer UK platform combining payroll and HR in one place, aimed at scaling companies that want both handled together with heavy automation and a clean interface.

• Payroll and HR in one platform
• Heavy automation
• Modern, clean interface
• Posts to accounting automatically

A long standing favourite of UK and Ireland payroll bureaus, now moving fully to the cloud for the 2026/27 tax year. Deep, HMRC recognised, and built for people who run payroll for a living.

• Trusted by a large share of UK bureaus
• Ready on day one of each tax year
• Strong multi employer processing
• HMRC recognised every year

Xero's UK payroll, included with the Grow plan and above and priced per person on Ignite. Auto enrolment, RTI and employee self service in the same system as the ledger.

• Posts the payroll journal automatically
• Auto enrolment assessment built in
• Employee self service app
• Shares one audit trail with the ledger

One of the longest established UK payroll bureaus, offering managed and part managed payroll alongside HR support. A service as much as a piece of software.

• Payroll taken off your desk entirely
• Bundled HR and employment law advice
• Decades of UK bureau experience
• Managed compliance