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Justworks runs two genuinely different pricing paths, and confusing them is the single most common mistake buyers make when comparing quotes. There is a standalone payroll-only plan priced per employee on top of a flat monthly base fee, and a separate PEO (Professional Employer Organization) tier — co-employment, with access to big-company-grade health benefits — priced per employee at a materially higher rate. This guide breaks down both, with real per-head cost ranges as reported by Justworks and third-party pricing trackers as of August 2026, and explains which one actually fits a given team.
Tip: try code CASRAI at checkout for 15% off, if the offer is currently active for this program — codes vary by vendor and aren’t guaranteed.
Justworks Payroll Pricing
The payroll-only plan is the cheaper, simpler path: Justworks itself remains software, not an employer of record. Reported pricing as of August 2026 (Justworks’ own pricing page returned an access error to automated verification; the figures below are corroborated across multiple independent pricing trackers, most recently updated the week of August 5, 2026):
- $50/month base platform fee, plus
- $8 per employee, per month
That base plan covers payroll administration, tax filing, and core HR tooling. It does not include health insurance premiums, employer retirement contributions, workers’ compensation, or employment practices liability insurance — those remain separate, pass-through costs, and your company stays the legal employer of record with the compliance liability that comes with it. If your actual need is “run payroll accurately and file the taxes,” this tier is the cheap, correct answer. If your need is “give my team access to affordable group health benefits without negotiating them myself,” it is the wrong tier — that’s what the PEO plans exist for.
Justworks PEO Pricing
The PEO plans put Justworks in a co-employment relationship with your company: Justworks becomes a co-employer of record, which is what lets it pool your employees into its own large-group health, dental, and vision plans — the same mechanism that lets small companies offer benefits comparable to what a 500-person employer could negotiate on its own. Two tiers, listed pricing as of August 2026:
- PEO Basic — $79 per employee, per month
- PEO Plus — $109 per employee, per month (adds enhanced benefits options and additional HR support)
Some third-party aggregators report lower, headcount-tiered rates for larger teams (for example, Basic near $49-59/employee and Plus near $79-99/employee for 100+ employee groups) — we could not independently confirm volume tiering directly against Justworks’ own pricing page (it blocked automated verification), so treat the $79/$109 figures as the reliable baseline and confirm any volume discount directly with Justworks sales if you’re quoting 100+ heads. Either way, health insurance premiums, workers’ comp, and state unemployment insurance sit on top of the per-employee platform fee as pass-through costs — the per-employee number is Justworks’ fee for administering the arrangement, not your total payroll-and-benefits spend.
| Plan | Price | Employer of record | Health benefits access | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payroll-only | $50/mo + $8/employee/mo | You stay EOR | Not included | Teams that already have benefits sorted or don’t need group health access via the vendor |
| PEO Basic | $79/employee/mo | Co-employment with Justworks | Large-group health, dental, vision | Small US teams that want affordable, big-company-style benefits without negotiating a carrier directly |
| PEO Plus | $109/employee/mo | Co-employment with Justworks | Enhanced benefits + more HR support | Teams that want the fullest PEO service layer |
PEO vs. Payroll-Only: Which Should You Choose?
The decision usually comes down to one question: do you need help sourcing and administering group health benefits, or do you just need payroll run correctly?
- Choose PEO if you’re a small-to-mid-size US company that wants employees to have access to large-group health insurance rates and don’t want to negotiate a carrier relationship yourself, and you’re comfortable with co-employment (Justworks becomes a joint employer of record for tax/compliance/benefits purposes).
- Choose payroll-only if you already have benefits sorted through another route (a broker, a spouse’s plan population, a fully remote/international team that doesn’t use US group health at all), and you just need accurate, compliant payroll processing without paying the PEO premium.
See Deel’s global payroll plans →
Where Deel Fits — and Where It Doesn’t
Deel is a global payroll, EOR (Employer of Record), and contractor-management platform built primarily for hiring and paying people across borders — full-time employees in other countries via its own international EOR entities, plus contractor payments and compliance in 150+ countries. It overlaps with Justworks on domestic US payroll administration, but the two products are not solving the same problem, and this is where the honest tradeoff actually matters:
If your real need is affordable, big-company-grade health benefits for a US-only workforce via PEO co-employment, Justworks is the correct tool and Deel is not. Deel does not offer domestic US PEO co-employment — it has no product that pools your US employees into a large-group health plan the way Justworks’ PEO tiers do. Buying Deel for that specific need means you’d still have to source US group health benefits somewhere else entirely, which defeats the point of wanting a single vendor to handle it. Companies in that exact situation — a US-based team wanting bundled, affordable health benefits without a separate broker relationship — should sign up with Justworks, not Deel.
Where Deel earns its place instead: hiring internationally without setting up your own foreign legal entities, paying a distributed contractor workforce compliantly across many countries, and consolidating global payroll/compliance under one platform. If your hiring is genuinely international or contractor-heavy, Deel’s EOR and contractor infrastructure covers ground Justworks doesn’t reach at all — Justworks is a US-focused PEO/payroll platform, not a global employment infrastructure company.
Compare Deel’s plans and pricing →
FAQ
What is Justworks’ payroll pricing?
As of August 2026, Justworks’ standalone payroll plan is priced at a $50/month base fee plus $8 per employee, per month. This tier does not include health benefits, workers’ compensation, or PEO co-employment — it’s payroll software and core HR administration only, with your company remaining the sole employer of record.
What is Justworks’ PEO pricing?
Justworks’ PEO plans are priced per employee, per month, with no separate base fee: PEO Basic at $79/employee/month and PEO Plus at $109/employee/month, as listed by Justworks and corroborated by third-party pricing trackers as of August 2026. Some aggregators report lower rates for 100+ employee groups; confirm any volume pricing directly with Justworks sales.
Does Justworks PEO pricing include health insurance premiums?
No. The per-employee PEO fee covers Justworks’ administration of the co-employment arrangement, payroll, and HR support. Health insurance premiums, workers’ compensation, and state unemployment insurance are separate, pass-through costs that vary by the specific benefits your employees select.
Is Deel a substitute for Justworks PEO?
Not for the core reason most buyers want a PEO: Deel does not offer domestic US PEO co-employment or pool US employees into a large-group health plan. If bundled US health benefits access is the actual need, Justworks is the right tool. Deel’s strength is international EOR employment and cross-border contractor payments — a different job than a domestic PEO does.
