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HR · head to head

Insperity vs OnPay

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
OnPay logo

OnPay

Payroll

Single-plan United States payroll with unlimited pay runs and support for awkward tax situations other providers avoid

From
On request
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.; OnPay onPay operates only in the United States, so the first international hire means a second payroll vendor and a separate compliance model.
  • They diverge on capability: Insperity covers Co-employment PEO, OnPay covers Single plan.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Insperity and OnPay actually diverge.

Attributes where Insperity and OnPay differ
AttributeInsperityOnPay
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb
CategoryHRPayroll

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), 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

  • Co-employment PEO
  • Master health plan
  • Assigned HR specialists
  • Payroll processing
  • Insperity Premier portal
  • Retirement plan
  • Recruiting services

Only in OnPay

  • Single plan
  • Tax filing and payment
  • Vertical payroll support
  • Benefits brokerage
  • Contractor payments
  • Basic HR tools
  • Accounting integrations

Both cover

  • Workers compensation

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 OnPay
  • A firm hiring across several states that does not want to open and maintain employment tax registrations in each onenot OnPay
  • A founder-run business with no HR function that needs defensible advice on terminations and classificationnot OnPay
  • A company that wants workers compensation, benefits and payroll under one contract rather than three vendorsnot OnPay

OnPay

  • A farm running agricultural payroll that needs Form 943 rather than the standard quarterly filingnot Insperity
  • A church or nonprofit with clergy compensation rules that mainstream providers decline to handlenot Insperity
  • A restaurant group needing tip credit and minimum wage make-up calculated correctly each pay periodnot Insperity
  • A small business that wants one price for payroll rather than a tiered plan it has to keep upgradingnot 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.

OnPay

  • OnPay operates only in the United States, so the first international hire means a second payroll vendor and a separate compliance model.
  • There is no native mobile application, only a responsive web interface, which employers with field or shift-based staff notice immediately.
  • The HR functionality is administrative and does not replace an HRIS, so performance, learning and any real workflow automation need another product.
  • Time and attendance is handled through integrations rather than natively, meaning hours arrive from a third-party system that has to be reconciled when it disagrees with payroll.
  • Reporting is functional but limited, and companies that want cost analysis by department, project or location generally export to a spreadsheet rather than build it in the product.

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

OnPay

On request
  • OnPay$undefined/month
    • One published plan combining a flat monthly base fee with a per person charge
    • No feature tiers, upgrades or add-on modules
    • Unlimited pay runs and multi-state filing included

Which should you pick?

Choose Insperity if

  • You need co-employment peo.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want master health plan.
Insperity review

Choose OnPay if

  • You need single plan.
  • You also want tax filing and payment.
OnPay review

Questions people ask

Is Insperity or OnPay better?
Neither clearly leads. Insperity starts at On request and OnPay at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Insperity or OnPay?
Insperity starts at On request and OnPay at On request.
Does Insperity or OnPay run on more platforms?
Insperity runs on Web, iOS, Android. OnPay runs on Web.
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 OnPay is typically brought in for.
What can Insperity do that OnPay cannot?
Insperity covers Co-employment PEO, Master health plan, Assigned HR specialists, Payroll processing. OnPay covers Single plan, Tax filing and payment, Vertical payroll support, Benefits brokerage. Both handle Workers compensation.

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.

OnPay: How is OnPay priced?

As a single published plan with a flat monthly base fee plus a charge per person paid, with no feature tiers. Contractors are charged at the same per person rate as employees.

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.

OnPay: Does it handle payroll outside the United States?

No. It is US-only, in all fifty states, including multi-state filing at no extra cost.

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.

OnPay: Why do farms and churches use it?

It supports Form 943 agricultural filing, clergy housing allowance and Social Security exemption rules, and 501(c)(3) nonprofit payroll, which several larger providers do not.

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.

OnPay: Is there a mobile app?

No. Employers and employees use a responsive web interface, which is a genuine gap for shift-based workforces.

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