Softwr

Payroll · head to head

Justworks vs QuickBooks

Justworks logo

Justworks

Payroll

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

From
$8/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
QuickBooks logo

QuickBooks

Accounting

Cloud accounting from Intuit with country specific editions, seat caps by plan and payroll charged separately

From
$30/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; QuickBooks plans cap the number of billed users, so an approver who signs off bills and a manager who only reads reports each consume a seat and can force an upgrade to a higher tier for reasons that have nothing to do with accounting complexity.
  • They diverge on capability: Justworks covers Co-employment PEO, QuickBooks covers General ledger.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Justworks and QuickBooks actually diverge.

Attributes where Justworks and QuickBooks differ
AttributeJustworksQuickBooks
Starting price$8/month$30/month
Pricing modelPer employee per monthsubscription
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, Ios, Android, Api
CategoryPayrollAccounting
FoundedUnknown1983

Identical on both: 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 Justworks

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

Only in QuickBooks

  • General ledger
  • Bank feeds
  • Reconciliation
  • Sales invoicing
  • Bills and expenses
  • Sales tax and value added tax
  • Multi currency
  • Inventory

What people use each for

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

Justworks

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

QuickBooks

  • A small business whose accountant works in QuickBooks and can take a free access seat rather than being sent exportsnot Justworks
  • An owner who wants to be able to replace their bookkeeper without also replacing the accounting systemnot Justworks
  • A service business needing project level profitability without buying a separate job costing toolnot Justworks
  • A company that wants a large third party app ecosystem to fill gaps rather than a system that must do everything itselfnot Justworks

Where each one falls short

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

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.

QuickBooks

  • Plans cap the number of billed users, so an approver who signs off bills and a manager who only reads reports each consume a seat and can force an upgrade to a higher tier for reasons that have nothing to do with accounting complexity.
  • Multi currency is confined to the higher tiers and, once enabled, cannot be turned off and the home currency cannot be changed, so a single foreign currency invoice permanently changes the shape of the file and the plan you must remain on.
  • Inventory is average cost only, with no first in first out or standard costing, so a business whose accounts or tax position depend on a different costing method has to track stock outside the ledger and post adjustments.
  • There is no multi entity consolidation, so a group runs a separate subscription and file per company and consolidates in a spreadsheet, and the cost and the manual consolidation both grow with each new entity.
  • The country edition is selected at setup and cannot be changed afterwards, and the editions differ in tax handling and features, so a business that redomiciles or discovers it chose the global edition rather than a localised one starts a new file rather than switching a setting.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

QuickBooks

$30/month
  • Simple Start$30/month
    • Income & expense tracking
    • Invoice & payments
    • Tax deductions
  • Essentials$60/month
    • Everything in Simple Start
    • Bill management
    • Time tracking
  • Plus$90/month
    • Everything in Essentials
    • Inventory tracking
    • Project profitability
  • Advanced$200/month
    • Everything in Plus
    • Dedicated account team
    • 25 users

Which should you pick?

Choose Justworks if

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

Choose QuickBooks if

  • You need general ledger.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
  • You also want bank feeds.
QuickBooks review

Questions people ask

Is Justworks or QuickBooks better?
Neither clearly leads. Justworks starts at $8/month and QuickBooks at $30/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Justworks or QuickBooks?
Justworks starts at $8/month and QuickBooks at $30/month.
Does Justworks or QuickBooks run on more platforms?
Justworks runs on Web, iOS, Android. QuickBooks runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
What is Justworks best used for?
Justworks is most often used for a twenty-person us startup that wants health insurance comparable to a large employer without an insurance broker relationship, a company hiring across several us states that does not want to register as an employer and file taxes in each of them, a founder replacing a bookkeeper-run payroll with something that will not produce a state tax penalty notice, a team that wants payroll and benefits administration only, without co-employment, at the $8 per employee tier. Of those, a twenty-person us startup that wants health insurance comparable to a large employer without an insurance broker relationship and a company hiring across several us states that does not want to register as an employer and file taxes in each of them are not what QuickBooks is typically brought in for.
What can Justworks do that QuickBooks cannot?
Justworks covers Co-employment PEO, Large-group benefits, Payroll and filings, Workers' compensation. QuickBooks covers General ledger, Bank feeds, Reconciliation, Sales invoicing.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

QuickBooks: Which country editions actually exist?

Intuit sells localised editions principally for the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, with a global edition for other markets that has lighter tax localisation. Check that your country has a genuine localised edition before assuming filing support, and note the edition cannot be changed after setup.

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.

QuickBooks: Does the subscription include payroll?

No. Payroll is a separate subscription with a per employee charge in every market that offers it. Price it alongside the plan rather than after you have committed.

Justworks: Can Justworks employ people outside the US?

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

QuickBooks: How many users do I get?

It depends on the tier, and the limits are lower than most buyers expect. Accountant access seats are free and separate, but internal approvers and read only reviewers count against the billed limit, so count everyone who needs to sign in before choosing a plan.

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.

QuickBooks: Can my accountant work directly in my file?

Yes, that is one of its main advantages. Accountants use a separate practice console and take a free access seat in your company, which is also why so many practices standardise on it.

QuickBooks: Is QuickBooks Desktop still available?

The desktop line persists in the United States for larger installations, but Intuit stopped selling new subscriptions of the smaller desktop products to new customers and the investment is in the online product. Treat desktop as a legacy path rather than a choice for a new business.

QuickBooks: How hard is it to migrate to or from QuickBooks?

Getting in from another system is well trodden and there are tools and specialists for it, though transaction history usually arrives partially rather than completely. Getting out is the harder direction, because your accountant's working knowledge, your app integrations and years of coded history all have to be reproduced. Most businesses move at a year end for that reason.

QuickBooks: Can it consolidate multiple companies?

No. Each legal entity needs its own subscription and file, and the consolidation happens outside the system. Groups with several entities should price that reality in from the start.

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