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HR · head to head

Insperity vs Justworks

Insperity logo

Insperity

HR

US professional employer organisation providing co-employed HR, payroll and pooled benefits for small and mid-sized companies

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: Insperity insperity employs staff only in the United States, so the moment you hire a person abroad you need a separate employer of record and end up running two employment models side by side.; 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: Insperity covers Master health plan, Justworks covers Large-group benefits.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Insperity and Justworks actually diverge.

Attributes where Insperity and Justworks differ
AttributeInsperityJustworks
Starting priceOn request$8/month
Pricing modelquotePer employee per month
CategoryHRPayroll

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

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 Insperity

  • Master health plan
  • Assigned HR specialists
  • Payroll processing
  • Workers compensation
  • Insperity Premier portal
  • Retirement plan
  • Recruiting services

Only in Justworks

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

Both cover

  • Co-employment PEO

What people use each for

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

Insperity

  • A 40 person US company that cannot get competitive medical rates on its own and wants pooled large-group covernot Justworks
  • A firm hiring across several states that does not want to open and maintain employment tax registrations in each onenot Justworks
  • A founder-run business with no HR function that needs defensible advice on terminations and classificationnot Justworks
  • A company that wants workers compensation, benefits and payroll under one contract rather than three vendorsnot Justworks

Justworks

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

Where each one falls short

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

Insperity

  • Insperity employs staff only in the United States, so the moment you hire a person abroad you need a separate employer of record and end up running two employment models side by side.
  • Benefit plan design, carrier and network are set across the whole pool, so a client cannot chase a better local network or a cheaper plan without leaving the PEO entirely.
  • Leaving mid-year restarts state unemployment wage bases in several states, which produces an unbudgeted tax bill in the year you exit and effectively locks clients into January transitions.
  • Pricing is quoted per employee per month or as a percentage of payroll and is repriced annually alongside pooled medical renewals, so a good first-year number tells you very little about year three.
  • The Insperity Premier technology has lagged standalone HRIS products on reporting, workflow and integrations, which is why the company has turned to a joint build with Workday rather than closing the gap alone.

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

Insperity

On request
  • Workforce Optimization$undefined/year
    • Full-service co-employment PEO
    • Master medical, dental and vision plan
    • Payroll and employment tax filing
  • Workforce Synchronization$undefined/year
    • Lighter co-employment for larger organisations
    • Client retains more benefit plan control
    • Payroll and compliance administration

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 Insperity if

  • You need master health plan.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want assigned hr specialists.
Insperity review

Choose Justworks if

  • You need large-group benefits.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want payroll and filings.
Justworks review

Questions people ask

Is Insperity or Justworks better?
Neither clearly leads. Insperity 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, Insperity or Justworks?
Insperity starts at On request and Justworks at $8/month.
Does Insperity or Justworks run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Insperity best used for?
Insperity is most often used for a 40 person us company that cannot get competitive medical rates on its own and wants pooled large-group cover, a firm hiring across several states that does not want to open and maintain employment tax registrations in each one, a founder-run business with no hr function that needs defensible advice on terminations and classification, a company that wants workers compensation, benefits and payroll under one contract rather than three vendors. Of those, a 40 person us company that cannot get competitive medical rates on its own and wants pooled large-group cover and a firm hiring across several states that does not want to open and maintain employment tax registrations in each one are not what Justworks is typically brought in for.
What can Insperity do that Justworks cannot?
Insperity covers Master health plan, Assigned HR specialists, Payroll processing, Workers compensation. Justworks covers Large-group benefits, Payroll and filings, Workers' compensation, Compliance support. Both handle Co-employment PEO.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Insperity: Does Insperity publish its pricing?

No. It quotes per employee per month or as a percentage of payroll after reviewing your headcount, state mix and claims history, and it reprices at each annual renewal.

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.

Insperity: Am I still the employer?

You direct the work and decide who is hired and fired. Insperity is co-employer for tax, benefits and certain compliance purposes, and it holds the registrations that wages are reported under.

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.

Insperity: Can Insperity employ people outside the United States?

No. It is a US-only PEO. International hiring needs a separate employer of record such as Deel or Velocity Global.

Justworks: Can Justworks employ people outside the US?

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

Insperity: What happens to my benefits if I leave?

You have to source your own carriers and plans from scratch and your employees move to new networks, which is why most exits are timed for 1 January.

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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