Accounting · head to head
MYOB vs Paychex

MYOB
Accounting
Australian accounting and business management software for small and mid-sized businesses
- From
- 12/year
- 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: MYOB every published price is promotional and reverts to a higher regular rate after an introductory period, for example Business Pro rises from AUD 21/month to AUD 70/month after 6 months; 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 MYOB 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 MYOB
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.
MYOB
- Tracking income and unlimited expenses for tax lodgementnot Paychex
- Processing payroll with automated superannuation contributionsnot Paychex
- Managing GST compliance and Business Activity Statement filingnot Paychex
- Reconciling bank transactions and monitoring cash flownot Paychex
Paychex
- A United States business with employees in several states that does not want to track differing withholding and unemployment rules internallynot MYOB
- A small employer whose accountant recommends outsourcing payroll tax filing so the penalty risk sits with a service providernot MYOB
- A growing company that wants payroll, benefits enrolment and a retirement plan administered together rather than through three vendorsnot MYOB
- A small employer seeking benefits pricing through a professional employer organisation that it could not negotiate on its own headcountnot MYOB
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
MYOB
- Every published price is promotional and reverts to a higher regular rate after an introductory period, for example Business Pro rises from AUD 21/month to AUD 70/month after 6 months
- Adding payroll employees beyond the included allowance costs an extra AUD 3/month per additional employee on top of the plan price
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
MYOB
12/year- Solo by MYOB$99/year
- First year $12 (70% off)
- Business Lite$315/year
- First year $94.50 (70% off)
- Payroll $3/month per employee max 2
- Business Pro$70/month
- First 6 months $21 (70% off)
- Unlimited payroll employees
- 14-day free trial
- Business AccountRight Plus$165/month
- First 3 months $66 (60% off)
- Unlimited payroll
- 14-day free trial
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 MYOB if
Nothing in the data separates MYOB 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 MYOB or Paychex better?
- Neither clearly leads. MYOB starts at 12/year and Paychex at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, MYOB or Paychex?
- MYOB starts at 12/year and Paychex at $29/month.
- Does MYOB or Paychex run on more platforms?
- MYOB runs on Web. Paychex runs on Web, Ios, Android.
- What is MYOB best used for?
- MYOB is most often used for tracking income and unlimited expenses for tax lodgement, processing payroll with automated superannuation contributions, managing gst compliance and business activity statement filing, reconciling bank transactions and monitoring cash flow. Of those, tracking income and unlimited expenses for tax lodgement and processing payroll with automated superannuation contributions are not what Paychex is typically brought in for.
- What can MYOB do that Paychex cannot?
- Paychex covers Payroll processing, Payroll tax filing, Year end forms, Multi state payroll.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
MYOB: How much does MYOB cost?
MYOB pricing starts at $12 AUD per year (first year only) for Solo, with plans ranging to $165 AUD per month for AccountRight Plus after introductory periods expire.
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.
MYOB: What is MYOB's introductory pricing?
MYOB offers 60-70% off introductory pricing for the first 3-12 months depending on plan selection, after which regular pricing applies with no lock-in contracts.
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.
MYOB: Does MYOB include payroll pricing?
Payroll starts at $3/month per employee (limited on lower tiers) and is included unlimited on Business Pro and AccountRight Plus plans.
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.
Paychex: 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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