Accounting · head to head
Conta vs Paychex
Conta
Accounting
Norwegian accounting software for small and growing businesses
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Paychex
Accounting
Outsourced United States payroll, tax filing, benefits and HR services with an assigned service representative
- From
- $29/month
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Conta has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Conta norwegian pricing only: displayed in NOK without multi-currency support for international comparisons; Paychex pricing is quoted rather than published and varies between clients and between renewals, with separate charges for each payroll run, off cycle payments and year end processing, so two similar businesses regularly pay very different amounts for the same service and comparing quotes is difficult by design.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 2 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Conta and Paychex actually diverge.
Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Accounting).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Conta
Nothing recorded that Paychex does not also cover.
Only in Paychex
- Payroll processing
- Payroll tax filing
- Year end forms
- Multi state payroll
- Garnishments
- Time and attendance
- Benefits administration
- Retirement plans
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Conta
- Norwegian small business accounting and invoicingnot Paychex
- Project and department cost trackingnot Paychex
- EHF/eInvoice generation for Norwegian regulatory compliancenot Paychex
Paychex
- A United States business with employees in several states that does not want to track differing withholding and unemployment rules internallynot Conta
- A small employer whose accountant recommends outsourcing payroll tax filing so the penalty risk sits with a service providernot Conta
- A growing company that wants payroll, benefits enrolment and a retirement plan administered together rather than through three vendorsnot Conta
- A small employer seeking benefits pricing through a professional employer organisation that it could not negotiate on its own headcountnot Conta
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Conta
- Norwegian pricing only: displayed in NOK without multi-currency support for international comparisons
- Annual billing required: no monthly-pay option for either tier, forcing yearly commitment
- Pro tier vaporware: listed as 'coming soon' with no pricing or feature roadmap provided
- Limited feature differentiation: Smart tier is 'most selected' by customers but does not clearly explain what additional business value justifies 62% price premium over Standard
Paychex
- Pricing is quoted rather than published and varies between clients and between renewals, with separate charges for each payroll run, off cycle payments and year end processing, so two similar businesses regularly pay very different amounts for the same service and comparing quotes is difficult by design.
- Charging per payroll run rather than per month penalises employers who pay weekly or who run frequent off cycles, so a business with hourly staff on a weekly cycle pays several times what a monthly salaried business of the same size pays.
- Migrating mid year requires transferring year to date wage and tax figures for every employee in every jurisdiction, so in practice companies switch only at a calendar year end, which leaves you locked to the incumbent for the rest of the year whatever the service is like.
- The service model depends on an assigned representative, and reported experience varies sharply with who that person is and how often the assignment changes, which means the quality of what you bought is not a property of the product you evaluated.
- It is a United States service, so a company with employees abroad still needs a separate payroll provider in each country, and the group has no single view of employment cost without building one outside the system.
Pricing, plan by plan
Conta
Free- Conta Regnskap Standard$209/month (billed annually)
- Conta Regnskap Smart$339/month (billed annually)
- Conta Regnskap Pro$undefined/mo
Paychex
$29/month- Flex Essentials$39/month
- Payroll
- Tax administration
- Direct deposit
- Flex Select$59/month
- HR administration
- State unemployment insurance
- New hire reporting
Which should you pick?
Choose Paychex if
- You need payroll processing.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android.
- You also want payroll tax filing.
Questions people ask
- Is Conta or Paychex better?
- Neither clearly leads. Conta starts at Free and Paychex at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Conta or Paychex?
- Conta has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Conta and $29/month for Paychex.
- Does Conta or Paychex run on more platforms?
- Conta runs on Web. Paychex runs on Web, Ios, Android.
- Can I use Conta for free?
- Yes. Conta has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Paychex starts at $29/month.
- What is Conta best used for?
- Conta is most often used for norwegian small business accounting and invoicing, project and department cost tracking, ehf/einvoice generation for norwegian regulatory compliance. Of those, norwegian small business accounting and invoicing and project and department cost tracking are not what Paychex is typically brought in for.
- What can Conta do that Paychex cannot?
- Paychex covers Payroll processing, Payroll tax filing, Year end forms, Multi state payroll.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Conta: How much does Conta cost per month?
Conta Regnskap Standard costs 209 NOK/month and Smart costs 339 NOK/month, billed annually. Both exclude VAT and include a 30-day free trial option.
SourcePaychex: How much does it cost?
Paychex quotes per client rather than publishing rates, and the structure typically includes a base fee plus a per employee per payroll charge with extras for year end and off cycle runs. Get the full fee schedule in writing, including what a mid year change of plan costs.
Conta: Can I pay monthly instead of annually?
No. Both Standard and Smart tiers require annual billing at a fixed monthly rate. Monthly-payment options are not available.
SourcePaychex: Who is liable if payroll taxes are filed late or wrongly?
Contractually the provider generally accepts responsibility for errors it makes, but the employer remains the party the tax authorities pursue. Read the specific indemnity language rather than relying on the sales description.
Conta: What is included in the Standard vs. Smart plan?
Standard includes accounting, invoicing, unlimited receipts, mobile app, and EHF/eInvoice. Smart adds KID numbers, unlimited EHF, project/department management, free chat/phone support, and exclusive equipment discounts.
SourcePaychex: Can I switch providers mid year?
Technically yes, but you must carry year to date figures across for every employee and jurisdiction, and errors there surface at year end on employee tax forms. Most businesses switch effective 1 January for that reason.
Conta: When will the Pro plan be available and what will it cost?
The Pro tier is listed as 'coming soon' on the pricing page with no published pricing or launch date provided.
SourcePaychex: What is the difference between the standard service and the professional employer organisation option?
Under the professional employer organisation arrangement Paychex becomes a co-employer for tax and benefits purposes, which changes your benefits access and some of your employment administration. It costs more and it is harder to unwind, so treat it as a different decision from buying payroll.
Paychex: Does it work with my accounting software?
It exports a general ledger file and connects to the mainstream accounting products. Confirm the mapping to your chart of accounts during onboarding, because a generic export means your bookkeeper recodes every run.
Paychex: Is it suitable if we only have a few employees?
It will serve you, but very small employers often find the per run charges and the service tiering expensive relative to self service payroll products. The case improves once multi state complexity or benefits administration enters the picture.
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