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Payroll · head to head

Immediate vs Justworks

Immediate logo

Immediate

Payroll

On-demand pay, off-cycle payments and digital tips for US hourly employers

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Justworks logo

Justworks

Payroll

Professional employer organisation with published per-employee pricing and a separate payroll-only tier

From
$8/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Immediate as with the whole category, the employee pays a fee for instant access, so a benefit sold internally as free to staff is not free to the staff using it.; Justworks the published per-employee fee is the platform charge, not your cost; health insurance premiums and workers' compensation are billed on top and are usually several times larger, so the transparent price is transparent about the smaller number.
  • They diverge on capability: Immediate covers Earned wage access, Justworks covers Co-employment PEO.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Immediate and Justworks actually diverge.

Attributes where Immediate and Justworks differ
AttributeImmediateJustworks
Starting priceOn request$8/month
Pricing modelquotePer employee per month

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web, iOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Payroll).

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 Immediate

  • Earned wage access
  • Digital tip disbursement
  • Off-cycle payments
  • Pay cards
  • Payroll deduction
  • Employer reporting

Only in Justworks

  • Co-employment PEO
  • Large-group benefits
  • Payroll and filings
  • Workers' compensation
  • Compliance support
  • Standalone payroll
  • International contractors
  • HR consulting

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Immediate

  • A restaurant group ending end-of-shift cash tip handouts and the cash handling that goes with itnot Justworks
  • An employer that must issue final pay quickly on termination in states with strict deadlinesnot Justworks
  • A hotel or care operator with unbanked staff needing pay cards alongside wage accessnot Justworks
  • A high-turnover hourly employer using same-day pay access as a recruiting messagenot Justworks

Justworks

  • A twenty-person US startup that wants health insurance comparable to a large employer without an insurance broker relationshipnot Immediate
  • A company hiring across several US states that does not want to register as an employer and file taxes in each of themnot Immediate
  • A founder replacing a bookkeeper-run payroll with something that will not produce a state tax penalty noticenot Immediate
  • A team that wants payroll and benefits administration only, without co-employment, at the $8 per employee tiernot Immediate

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Immediate

  • As with the whole category, the employee pays a fee for instant access, so a benefit sold internally as free to staff is not free to the staff using it.
  • It is a smaller provider than DailyPay or Payactiv, so the library of certified payroll and time system integrations is narrower and custom file work is more likely.
  • Earned wage access rules differ by US state and continue to change, which creates compliance work for multi-state employers that the vendor cannot remove.
  • Tips, off-cycle payments and advances are priced separately, so the apparent low headline cost fragments into several line items once you use the full bundle.
  • Pay card programmes attract regulatory and reputational scrutiny in the US, and an employer defaulting staff onto a card rather than a bank account risks complaints and state law problems.

Justworks

  • The published per-employee fee is the platform charge, not your cost; health insurance premiums and workers' compensation are billed on top and are usually several times larger, so the transparent price is transparent about the smaller number.
  • Leaving a PEO is a project, not a cancellation: you must source your own health plan, obtain your own state employer registrations and unemployment accounts, and time the switch to a plan year, which typically takes months.
  • Coverage is United States only, so the moment you hire your first employee in another country you are running a second system and Justworks handles them only as a contractor.
  • PEO Basic looks like a cheaper way in but excludes the Justworks health plans, which is the main reason companies choose a PEO at all, so most buyers end up on Plus.
  • Benefit plan choice is constrained to what Justworks has negotiated, and a company with strong preferences about carriers or network coverage in a specific region may find the options do not fit.

Pricing, plan by plan

Immediate

On request
  • Immediate$undefined/year
    • Employer pricing quoted, often minimal or per employee per month
    • Employee transaction fee for instant access to funds
    • Tip disbursement and off-cycle payments priced separately

Justworks

$8/month
  • Payroll$8/month
    • Plus a $50 monthly base fee
    • Payroll, tax filing and benefits administration
    • No co-employment, so no access to Justworks health plans at PEO rates
  • PEO Basic$79/month
    • Full co-employment PEO
    • Payroll, tax filing and compliance
    • Does not include access to Justworks-sponsored health plans
  • PEO Plus$109/month
    • Everything in Basic
    • Access to Justworks health, dental and vision plans
    • Premiums are billed separately and are the larger cost
  • Dedicated HR consulting$30/month
    • Add-on to PEO plans
    • Named HR adviser support

Which should you pick?

Choose Immediate if

  • You need earned wage access.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want digital tip disbursement.
Immediate review

Choose Justworks if

  • You need co-employment peo.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want large-group benefits.
Justworks review

Questions people ask

Is Immediate or Justworks better?
Neither clearly leads. Immediate starts at On request and Justworks at $8/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Immediate or Justworks?
Immediate starts at On request and Justworks at $8/month.
Does Immediate or Justworks run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Immediate best used for?
Immediate is most often used for a restaurant group ending end-of-shift cash tip handouts and the cash handling that goes with it, an employer that must issue final pay quickly on termination in states with strict deadlines, a hotel or care operator with unbanked staff needing pay cards alongside wage access, a high-turnover hourly employer using same-day pay access as a recruiting message. Of those, a restaurant group ending end-of-shift cash tip handouts and the cash handling that goes with it and an employer that must issue final pay quickly on termination in states with strict deadlines are not what Justworks is typically brought in for.
What can Immediate do that Justworks cannot?
Immediate covers Earned wage access, Digital tip disbursement, Off-cycle payments, Pay cards. Justworks covers Co-employment PEO, Large-group benefits, Payroll and filings, Workers' compensation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Immediate: What does the employer pay?

Pricing is quoted and often minimal or a small per-employee-per-month charge; most vendor revenue comes from employee instant transfer fees.

Justworks: What does co-employment actually mean?

Justworks becomes the employer of record for payroll tax and benefits purposes while you retain full control over hiring, management and day-to-day work. It is a legal arrangement, not an outsourcing of your team.

Immediate: Can it replace cash tip-outs?

Yes. Digital tip disbursement is one of its main draws for restaurants and hospitality.

Justworks: Is the $79 figure my total monthly cost per employee?

No. It is the platform fee. Health insurance premiums, dental, vision and workers' compensation are additional and typically dwarf it.

Immediate: Is Immediate still trading?

Yes. It is an independent Birmingham, Alabama company and joined the American Fintech Council in 2025.

Justworks: Can Justworks employ people outside the US?

No. It can pay international contractors, but it is not an employer of record abroad.

Justworks: What is the difference between the Payroll plan and the PEO?

The Payroll plan handles payroll and benefits administration under your own EIN at $8 per employee per month plus a base fee. The PEO adds co-employment and pooled large-group insurance at $79 or $109.

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