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Payroll · head to head

OnPay vs Openwage

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
Openwage logo

Openwage

Payroll

UK earned wage access charging a transparent 1 percent transfer fee, free for employers

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: OnPay onPay operates only in the United States, so the first international hire means a second payroll vendor and a separate compliance model.; Openwage it is UK-only, tied to UK payroll cycles and regulation, so it is not usable for international workforces.
  • They diverge on capability: OnPay covers Single plan, Openwage covers On-demand pay.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which OnPay and Openwage actually diverge.

Attributes where OnPay and Openwage differ
AttributeOnPayOpenwage
Pricing modelquotePer-transfer fee, paid by the employee
PlatformsWebWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: starting price (On request), free tier (No), 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 OnPay

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

Only in Openwage

  • On-demand pay
  • Transparent per-transfer fee
  • Payroll and T&A integration
  • No credit impact
  • Automatic payday reconciliation
  • Employer-free deployment

What people use each for

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

OnPay

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

Openwage

  • A UK employer with shift or hourly staff wanting an on-demand pay benefit at no cost to the businessnot OnPay
  • An employee wanting to know the exact cost of an advance before requesting one, rather than an opaque feenot OnPay
  • A company already running standard UK payroll and time and attendance systems wanting straightforward integrationnot OnPay
  • An HR team comparing earned wage access providers on published unit economics rather than sales quotesnot OnPay

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Openwage

  • It is UK-only, tied to UK payroll cycles and regulation, so it is not usable for international workforces.
  • Even a published, low fee still means employees effectively pay to access their own earned money, and frequent use compounds that cost over a year.
  • The 50% cap on gross (not net) earned pay can overstate what an employee can actually draw once tax and deductions are accounted for, creating confusion at the point of request.
  • As with all earned wage access, dependency on the product is a symptom of insufficient pay cadence or amount that the advance itself does not fix, and can mask a deeper compensation problem an employer should address directly.
  • Accuracy is entirely dependent on the employer's payroll and time and attendance data being current, so errors upstream produce incorrect available-balance figures for employees.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Openwage

On request
  • Openwage$undefined/month
    • Free for employers to offer
    • 1% fee per transfer, minimum £1, paid by the employee
    • No interest and no credit check

Which should you pick?

Choose OnPay if

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

Choose Openwage if

  • You need on-demand pay.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want transparent per-transfer fee.
Openwage review

Questions people ask

Is OnPay or Openwage better?
Neither clearly leads. OnPay starts at On request and Openwage at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, OnPay or Openwage?
OnPay starts at On request and Openwage at On request.
Does OnPay or Openwage run on more platforms?
OnPay runs on Web. Openwage runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is OnPay best used for?
OnPay is most often used for a farm running agricultural payroll that needs form 943 rather than the standard quarterly filing, a church or nonprofit with clergy compensation rules that mainstream providers decline to handle, a restaurant group needing tip credit and minimum wage make-up calculated correctly each pay period, a small business that wants one price for payroll rather than a tiered plan it has to keep upgrading. Of those, a farm running agricultural payroll that needs form 943 rather than the standard quarterly filing and a church or nonprofit with clergy compensation rules that mainstream providers decline to handle are not what Openwage is typically brought in for.
What can OnPay do that Openwage cannot?
OnPay covers Single plan, Tax filing and payment, Vertical payroll support, Benefits brokerage. Openwage covers On-demand pay, Transparent per-transfer fee, Payroll and T&A integration, No credit impact.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Openwage: Who pays the fee?

The employee, at 1% of the amount transferred with a minimum of £1; the employer benefit itself is free.

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.

Openwage: Is it a loan?

No, Openwage states it is not a loan or credit product; there is no interest and no credit score impact.

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.

Openwage: How much can an employee access?

Up to 50% of gross wages already earned in the current pay period.

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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