Accounting · head to head
Fiken vs Paychex
Fiken
Accounting
Norwegian accounting software for sole proprietors and small companies
- From
- 219/month
- 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
- Each has a real cost: Fiken bank integration available only as add-on (69 NOK/month); 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 30 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Fiken and Paychex actually diverge.
Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), 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 Fiken
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.
Fiken
- Solo accounting and invoicing for small businessesnot Paychex
- Multi-user accounting collaboration at no extra costnot Paychex
- Invoice management with EHF e-invoice supportnot Paychex
- Bank integration for transaction trackingnot Paychex
Paychex
- A United States business with employees in several states that does not want to track differing withholding and unemployment rules internallynot Fiken
- A small employer whose accountant recommends outsourcing payroll tax filing so the penalty risk sits with a service providernot Fiken
- A growing company that wants payroll, benefits enrolment and a retirement plan administered together rather than through three vendorsnot Fiken
- A small employer seeking benefits pricing through a professional employer organisation that it could not negotiate on its own headcountnot Fiken
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Fiken
- Bank integration available only as add-on (69 NOK/month)
- Project accounting requires separate add-on (69 NOK/month)
- Payroll and employee features cost extra (69 NOK/month)
- Physical mail invoicing costs 25 NOK per invoice
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
Fiken
219/month- Base Plan$219/month
- Complete accounting functionality
- Unlimited invoice sending via email and EHF
- Unlimited user accounts
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 Fiken if
Nothing in the data separates Fiken from Paychex on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.
Choose Paychex if
- You need payroll processing.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android.
- You also want payroll tax filing.
Questions people ask
- Is Fiken or Paychex better?
- Neither clearly leads. Fiken starts at 219/month and Paychex at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Fiken or Paychex?
- Fiken starts at 219/month and Paychex at $29/month.
- Does Fiken or Paychex run on more platforms?
- Fiken runs on Web. Paychex runs on Web, Ios, Android.
- What is Fiken best used for?
- Fiken is most often used for solo accounting and invoicing for small businesses, multi-user accounting collaboration at no extra cost, invoice management with ehf e-invoice support, bank integration for transaction tracking. Of those, solo accounting and invoicing for small businesses and multi-user accounting collaboration at no extra cost are not what Paychex is typically brought in for.
- What can Fiken do that Paychex cannot?
- Paychex covers Payroll processing, Payroll tax filing, Year end forms, Multi state payroll.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Fiken: Is there a free trial for Fiken?
Yes, Fiken offers a 30-day free trial with no credit card required. After the trial, the base plan costs 219 NOK per month.
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.
Fiken: Do additional users cost more on Fiken?
No, Fiken includes unlimited user accounts at no extra cost on the base plan.
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.
Fiken: What add-ons are available and how much do they cost?
Monthly add-ons include bank integration, project accounting, KID number system, and API access (69-99 NOK each). Time tracking, payroll, and expense reimbursements also cost 69 NOK per month. Annual tax filing costs 1,290 NOK for sole proprietors or 1,590 NOK for limited companies.
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.
Fiken: What are the per-transaction costs?
SMS invoicing costs 3 NOK, e-invoicing via Vipps costs 5 NOK, physical mail invoicing costs 25 NOK, and credit checks cost 15 NOK per transaction.
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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