8 Payroll Services in the United Kingdom for 2026: Providers, Pricing & Reviews

Payroll Services in the United Kingdom: What They Include and Why They Matter

Any credible UK payroll provider should handle the fundamentals seamlessly because the fundamentals are compliance-critical. That starts with calculating gross-to-net pay accurately under progressive PAYE tax bands, applying the correct employee and employer National Insurance contributions, and ensuring minimum pension auto-enrolment thresholds are met.

It also includes submitting Real Time Information (RTI) filings to His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), generating compliant itemised payslips, and producing statutory year-end forms such as P60s and P11Ds.

Most providers also manage statutory payments – including statutory sick pay, maternity pay, paternity pay, and other family-related leave entitlements – and generate payroll journals for your accounting system. These are not administrative extras. They sit inside UK employment law and must be calculated correctly to avoid disputes, arrears, or regulatory scrutiny.

In the United Kingdom, running payroll correctly matters because UK payroll reporting is event-based, not period-based.

What this means in practical terms is that the “event” is each time you pay an employee. The moment salary, bonus, commission, statutory sick pay, or any taxable payment is processed, you are legally required to submit a Full Payment Submission (FPS) to His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs under the Real Time Information system. The FPS must be sent on or before the date the employee is paid. It cannot be submitted at month-end, after the funds have cleared, or at a later administrative convenience date.

This is important because HMRC uses RTI data in real time to:

• Track income tax and National Insurance liabilities
• Update employee tax codes
• Administer Universal Credit and other state benefits
• Monitor employer compliance

If you pay someone but fail to submit the FPS on time, HMRC automatically flags the discrepancy. Late submissions trigger monthly penalties based on employer size, and late PAYE payments accrue interest and percentage-based surcharges. Pension contributions are also linked to payroll timing, so errors can cascade into The Pensions Regulator’s enforcement process.

Check out our compliance hub for all the details you need on UK payroll and hiring.

What Should You Consider When Choosing a Payroll Provider in the United Kingdom?

With all of that in mind, here’s what our team would look for when evaluating a payroll provider in the UK:

• Local Payroll Compliance Coverage: Your provider must manage the full statutory framework – including PAYE scheme registration, Real Time Information submissions (both Full Payment Submissions and Employer Payment Summaries), employer National Insurance, apprenticeship levy where applicable, pension auto-enrolment reporting, and year-end filings such as P60s and P11Ds. Ask how they handle amendments, late corrections, and HMRC enquiries.

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• Entity vs No-Entity Support: If you already operate through a UK Ltd company, confirm the provider offers payroll-only services under your PAYE scheme. If you are entering the UK market without a local entity, check whether they can support an Employer of Record model and more importantly, whether you can transition between models without disrupting your workflow..

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• Employment Types Supported: UK payroll can involve salaried employees, hourly workers, zero-hour contracts, directors, apprentices, and contractors caught under IR35 rules. Ensure the provider can process bonuses, commissions, equity, salary sacrifice arrangements, statutory leave pay, and benefits-in-kind reporting. Complexity increases quickly once you move beyond fixed monthly salaries.

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• Payments and Cut-Off Times: Most UK payroll is paid through BACS (Bankers’ Automated Clearing Services) which requires advance processing timelines. Confirm payroll cut-off deadlines and funding timelines – particularly if you are remitting funds from overseas. Ask whether Faster Payments are supported and whether foreign exchange rates and transfer fees are transparent.

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• Reporting and Audit Trail: You should have access to digital payslip archives, payroll journals, general ledger exports, HMRC submission confirmations, and year-end compliance reports. For multinational groups, audit readiness is essential. Finance teams need clean, reconcilable payroll data every month.

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• Support Quality and Responsiveness: Ask whether you’ll have a dedicated payroll specialist and what the service-level agreement looks like near payroll deadlines. UK payroll operates on strict RTI timelines – delayed responses close to pay day can create immediate compliance exposure.

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• Pricing Transparency: Look beyond the per-employee headline fee. Clarify implementation charges, off-cycle payroll costs, pension administration add-ons, year-end filing fees, benefit reporting fees, and FX markups. The lowest advertised price often excludes the services you actually need to stay compliant.

Want the Full Picture on UK Payroll?

From income tax and National Insurance to pensions and year-end reporting, our UK Payroll Guide breaks it all down clearly step by step.

Read the Full Guide

Estimated Cost of Payroll Services in the United Kingdom

In 2026, most UK payroll services range from £15 to £40 per employee per month for standard payroll. Smaller bureaus may charge per payroll run, while software-led providers typically use a per-employee subscription model. Enterprise providers price based on complexity.

For example:

• 1 Employee: £20–£40 per month
• 3 Employees: £60–£120 per month

Standard pricing usually includes payroll calculations, RTI filings, and digital payslips. Implementation fees – often £100–£500+ – off-cycle runs, pension administration, and year-end processing may be additional.

Run UK Payroll with Full HMRC Compliance

Playroll manages your UK payroll end-to-end, including accurate calculations, RTI filings, and pension compliance, for a simple $10 per employee per month.

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Leading Payroll Service Providers in the United Kingdom in 2026

Choosing a payroll provider in the UK means finding a partner you can trust to handle compliance properly, respond when deadlines are tight, and scale with you as your team grows. The “best” option really depends on your situation – how big your team is, whether you already have a UK entity, and whether you’re hiring locally or managing the UK as part of a global workforce.

Below, we’ve outlined some of the leading UK payroll providers in 2026, along with who they’re typically best for, what they do well, how long onboarding usually takes, and how they price their services. This should give you a clearer sense of which direction makes the most sense for your stage of growth and compliance needs.

1. Playroll: Best for global companies hiring in the UK

Playroll is designed for international businesses that need UK payroll seamlessly integrated into a broader multi-country setup. We support fully compliant UK payroll processing while also enabling you to pay international hires through an Employer of Record model if your workforce strategy evolves. Its compliance-first infrastructure helps foreign employers manage RTI submissions, pension auto-enrolment, statutory payments, HMRC reporting, and cross-border payroll funding with confidence.

Beyond processing payroll, Playroll includes built-in payroll reporting and workforce analytics software, giving finance and HR teams real-time visibility into payroll costs, headcount trends, tax exposure, and multi-country workforce data from a single dashboard. The platform layers seamlessly into your existing tech stack, integrating with leading HRIS and accounting systems while consolidating global payroll data into standardized, decision-ready reports.

• Key Strengths: Multi-country payroll infrastructure, UK RTI compliance expertise, automated statutory calculations and pension administration, real-time payroll reporting and workforce analytics, consolidated global payroll dashboards, seamless HRIS and accounting integrations, contractor payments in 60+ currencies, and local payroll + EOR flexibility.
• Time to first payroll: ~2–4 weeks depending on registrations; faster for individual employees but extended for complex global setups.
• Pricing model: $10 per employee per month; Employer of Record services start at ~$399/employee or (£265-499 equivalent and includes payroll services), $35/contractor; transparent with no hidden fees or long-term contracts.

Hiring in the UK? Let’s Make Payroll Simple

We run UK payroll for our own team, so we know HMRC, RTI, pensions, and what it takes to pay people on time. For compliant, locally supported payroll built for global growth — we’ve got you covered.

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2. Moorepay: Best for UK SMEs seeking domestic compliance expertise

Moorepay is a veteran UK provider with extensive HMRC and pension compliance knowledge, ideal for domestic SMEs (50-250+ employees) needing managed services focused on statutory requirements rather than international features. It's award-winning for sectors like healthcare and tech.

On the downside, parts of the interface still feel dated and not especially intuitive, customization is fairly restricted, reporting remains quite basic for anything beyond standard needs, and there’s no live chat or support outside the UK.

• Key Strengths: UK compliance depth, pension integration, HR add-ons; including 24/7 HR advice, employee engagement tools, and Microsoft Azure security integrations.
• Time to First Payroll: ~2–3 weeks; quick for SMEs with low complexity.
• Pricing Model: Per employee per month – custom quote; starts at ~£3/user/month (or £36/user/year annualized), bundled options like Managed Payroll Premium.

3. ADP UK: Best for enterprise and multinational organisations

ADP UK leverages its global infrastructure for large multinationals, providing scalable payroll in 140+ countries with robust ERP integrations and enterprise-level reporting. It also supports smaller businesses but excels in complex, high-volume scenarios.

However, cost is frequently cited as a pain point, especially for mid-sized firms or high-frequency runs, pricing lacks transparency, and users occasionally run into sluggish performance, login glitches, and overly intricate permission settings.

• Key strengths: Enterprise automation, global integrations, compliance scale; featuring AI error detection, time/attendance tracking, analytics, and BACS/HMRC approvals.
• Time to First Payroll: ~4–8 weeks; longer for intricate configurations, though employee onboarding is ~7 days.
• Pricing Model: Custom enterprise pricing; starts ~£26/month for basics, quote-based on modules and size.

4. Sage Payroll: Best for businesses already using Sage accounting

Sage Payroll is popular among UK SMEs, especially those integrated with Sage accounting software, streamlining finance and payroll for straightforward structures. It supports cloud and desktop options with free onboarding support.

The main drawbacks are its limited mobile experience, an interface that can feel somewhat dated next to newer cloud-native competitors, and noticeably slower performance once payroll volumes or complexity increase.

• Key strengths: Accounting integration, SME-friendly tools, established UK brand; including payslips, RTI, pension auto-enrollment, and departmental analysis.
• Time to First Payroll: ~1–3 weeks; facilitated by a simple 4-step process.
• Pricing Model: Tiered subscription plans; starts ~£7/user/month for basic, or £41+ VAT/month for Sage 50 Payroll; annual licenses ~£1.25/month per employee depending on edition.

5. IRIS Software Group: Best for accountants and mid-sized UK employers

IRIS dominates the UK accounting and payroll bureau sector, serving mid-sized employers and firms with advanced statutory reporting tools. It caters to over 120,000 organizations with sector-specific solutions like education.

That being said, support quality varies considerably with some users encountering slow or unhelpful responses. On top of that, several legacy products (including the free Basics option for very small teams) are being phased out in 2026, forcing a migration. The day-to-day experience can also come across as a bit rough around the edges.

• Key Strengths: HMRC reporting expertise, bureau tools, compliance reporting; plus automation for legislative updates, HR integrations, and API connectivity.
• Time to First Payroll: ~2–4 weeks; smooth for compliant transitions.
• Pricing Model: Per employee per month or bureau licensing; starts ~£20/month for HR Professional; note: Free IRIS Payroll Basics (for <10 employees) ends April 2026, migrate to paid plans.

6. PayFit: Best for tech-forward SMEs and startups

PayFit emphasizes automation and self-service for startups and scaling SMEs (up to 300 employees), automating RTI filings, pension calculations, and HR tasks with a modern interface.

While the core experience is clean, many find the price tag high relative to the depth of functionality, customization and advanced reporting are quite constrained, and time/attendance capabilities often require bolting on external tools.

• Key Strengths: Automation, intuitive interface, self-service adjustments; including onboarding, performance reviews, and integrations for leave/expenses; plus health insurance add-ons.
• Time to First Payroll: ~2–3 weeks; guided setup accelerates the process.
• Pricing Model: Per employee per month – transparent tiers; starts ~£34/user/month, no hidden costs.

7. Cintra: Best for complex payroll structures and high-volume employers

Cintra focuses on UK payroll for organizations with intricate pay groups, multi-sites, and high volumes, delivering 99.99% accuracy and compliance expertise.

Making mid-process adjustments( like changing pay rates, adding new allowance types, or tracking unpaid hours) can prove surprisingly cumbersome and a few users have reported occasional miscalculations. The support consistency has also been uneven since recent ownership changes.

• Key Strengths: Complex payroll handling, compliance focus, high-volume processing; with retro calculations, real-time reports, integrated HR, and strong cybersecurity (£500k annual investment).
• Time to First Payroll: ~3–6 weeks; supported by high first-call resolution rates.
• Pricing Model: Custom pricing based on complexity; per payslip (~£1-5), lower for longer contracts or higher headcounts.

8. MHR: Best for larger UK enterprises needing payroll and workforce management

MHR provides an integrated HR and payroll platform for mid-to-large UK enterprises, emphasizing long-term consolidation with AI-enabled insights and 99.98% accuracy.

Implementation and third-party integrations tend to be involved and time-consuming, reporting lacks some of the more powerful filtering options users expect at this level, the solution can feel oversized (and correspondingly pricey) for anything below mid-market scale, and public user commentary is relatively sparse.

• Key Strengths: Integrated HR + payroll suite, analytics, workforce planning; including talent management, real-time data, and integrations with SAP/Microsoft.
• Time to First Payroll: ~4–8 weeks; due to scalable enterprise onboarding.
• Pricing Model: Enterprise subscription model; ~£7-9.75/employee/month, quote-based on modules and headcount (e.g., £2.25/user for public sector).

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Insights from Real Users

Playroll:

“What I like most about Playroll is how simple and reliable it makes everything. It takes away the stress of complex processes and lets me focus on what really matters. The platform feels intuitive, the support is responsive, and overall it gives me confidence that things are being handled the right way. It’s refreshing to use a solution that’s both efficient and genuinely user-friendly.”

- Verified G2 User

ADP Payroll:

I like ADP because it provides reliable payroll, an easy-to-use system, strong customer support, and mobile access, helping save time and simplify payroll management. There are, however, some software navigation issues, and problems with payroll accuracy or timely corrections.

- Verified G2 User

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What the Onboarding Process Looks Like With a Payroll Provider in the United Kingdom

Setting up UK payroll is really about building the right operational structure from the start. Before the first payslip is issued, you’re aligning systems, confirming registrations, mapping pay elements correctly, and making sure responsibilities are clearly divided between you and your provider. It’s a short window of setup work that determines how smooth payroll will feel long term.

Here’s how a well-managed onboarding process should unfold, and what both sides should be responsible for along the way.

Step 1: Getting Your PAYE Scheme in Place

Everything starts with PAYE registration. If you already have a UK entity, you should have a PAYE reference from HMRC. If not, you’ll need to register before payroll can legally run. No PAYE registration means no compliant payroll, so this step is critical.

• Your responsibility as the employer: You’ll need to make sure your company is properly registered and provide your PAYE reference numbers and HMRC details.
• Your payroll provider’s role: They’ll configure your PAYE scheme in their system and make sure reporting is set up correctly under Real Time Information.

Step 2: Setting Up Your Employees Correctly

Next comes gathering employee information. This is where accuracy really matters because UK payroll works cumulatively, meaning mistakes follow you through the tax year.

• Your responsibility as the employer: You’ll provide details like National Insurance numbers, tax codes (or starter forms), employment contracts, salary details, bank accounts, and any benefits or bonuses.
• Your payroll provider’s role: Your provider will then configure earnings, deductions, National Insurance categories, and tax codes. A good provider will flag anything missing or inconsistent before payroll goes live.

If you’re switching from another provider, they’ll also request year-to-date payroll data to ensure tax calculations stay correct.

Step 3: Pension Auto-Enrolment Setup

In the UK, pensions are not optional. Every employer must comply with auto-enrolment rules.

• Your responsibility as the employer: You’ll need to select a qualifying pension scheme and confirm contribution levels.
• Your payroll provider’s role: Your provider should handle eligibility assessments, contribution calculations, and reporting to the pension provider. They should also explain minimum thresholds (at least 8% total contributions, with 3% funded by you as the employer).

This is one of the most commonly mishandled areas in UK payroll – so it deserves proper attention during onboarding.

Step 4: Your First Live Payroll

Once everything is validated, your first live payroll is processed.

Monthly payroll is calculated by your provider, reports are shared for your sign-off, payslips are issued digitally, and payroll journals are provided for accounting.

On or before pay day, your provider submits a Full Payment Submission (FPS) to HMRC under the Real Time Information system.

From this point forward, every payroll run becomes a real-time compliance event.

What an Ideal Onboarding Experience Feels Like

A good onboarding process should feel structured and calm, the opposite of chaotic and disorganized. If you feel unsure about what’s happening, that’s usually a sign the process isn’t being managed tightly enough.

You should receive:

• A clear checklist of what’s needed
• A defined payroll calendar with cut-off dates
• Dedicated implementation support
• Clear explanations of pensions and statutory obligations
• Confirmation once your first RTI submission is accepted

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Checklist for Compliantly Running Payroll in the United Kingdom

Below is what must happen every pay cycle:

Payroll Tax Withholding

• Deduct PAYE income tax under the correct HMRC tax code
• Withhold employee National Insurance
• Submit FPS under RTI on or before pay date
• Pay HMRC monthly – typically by the 22nd if paying electronically

Statutory Contributions

• Employer NIC at 13.8% above threshold
• Auto-enrolment pension contributions – minimum 3% employer
• Apprenticeship levy at 0.5% if annual payroll exceeds £3 million

Payslip Requirements

Payslips must include:

• Gross pay
• Itemised deductions
• Net pay
• Tax code
• Pay period
• Hours worked where pay varies

Payslips must be provided on or before payday – electronic delivery is permitted.

Leave and Holiday Pay

• 5.6 weeks statutory annual leave
• Holiday pay must reflect normal remuneration – including regular overtime or commission in many cases

Termination and Final Pay

• Final salary payment including accrued but unused holiday
• Statutory or contractual notice pay
• Redundancy pay after two years’ service where applicable
• P45 issued upon termination

Common Pitfalls for Foreign Employers

• IR35 misclassification risk
• Confusion around permanent establishment exposure
• Incorrect taxation of benefits-in-kind
• Missing pension compliance deadlines
• Assuming UK payroll reporting works like EU monthly declarations

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Key Takeaways

Running payroll in the United Kingdom means operating inside a tightly regulated system where tax reporting, pensions, and employment rules all connect. The right payroll partner becomes part of your operational backbone, keeping you compliant, organised, and confident every time pay day comes around.

That’s where Playroll stands out. With boots on the ground in the UK and experience running payroll in the same system we use to pay our own team, we combine local expertise with global infrastructure. You get hands-on support, real-time compliance coverage, and a solution designed to scale as your business grows.

To see how this would work for your UK team, book a demo and speak with experts who know UK payroll inside out.