Restaurant payroll · September 20, 2026
Best payroll software for restaurants (2026)
Tips, hourly crews, and a payday that files. Do not buy a SaaS HRIS because a barista asked about PTO in Slack.
By Gregory GreensteinUpdated September 20, 2026Affiliate disclosure
Restaurant payroll is not office payroll. You have tips, overtime, split shifts, and people who turn over before the handbook is printed. The job is: calculate wages and tips, withhold, file, and not surprise the crew on Friday.
This ranking is for US independents and small groups — one to a few locations — not a 200-unit enterprise HCM. Toast is here because the POS is often already Toast. Square and Homebase are here because the floor already lives in those apps. Gusto is here as the clean published-payroll default when the POS is not the system of record.
Prices as of September 20, 2026. Toast payroll is quote-shaped. Square and Homebase publish per-person math. This is not tax or tip-credit advice.
The short list
Public list prices as of September 20, 2026. Promos change. Confirm on the vendor page before you buy.
| # | Product | Best for | Public starting price | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toast Payroll | Restaurants already running Toast POS who want time and tips in one stack | Quote-based software plus hardware plus processing. Toast does not publish a single national self-serve payroll rate card. Get the payroll line in writing next to POS. | 8.3 |
| 2 | Square Payroll | Cafés and counters already taking cards on Square | Full-service $35/mo + $6 per person paid that month. Contractor-only $6 per contractor paid, no base fee. | 8.2 |
| 3 | Homebase | Shops whose actual leak is the schedule, then payday | Scheduling plans are published on joinhomebase.com/pricing (a free tier plus paid location plans; a $120/mo plan appears on the public card). Payroll add-on $39/mo + $6 per employee paid. | 8.0 |
| 4 | Gusto | Restaurants that want published full-service payroll and do not need POS-native time | Simple $49/mo + $6/person; Plus $80 + $12; Premium $180 + $22. Simple is single-state. | 7.8 |
01
Toast Payroll
Restaurants already running Toast POS who want time and tips in one stack
Public pricing: Quote-based software plus hardware plus processing. Toast does not publish a single national self-serve payroll rate card. Get the payroll line in writing next to POS.
Toast POS site (pos.toasttab.com), reviewed September 20, 2026.
Skip if
You are not on Toast. Buying Toast to get payroll is how you finance a restaurant platform you did not need. A gift shop should leave this page.
Why it ranks
- Time on the POS is the timesheet. That is the restaurant reason to stay in-family.
- Tips and service charges are a first-class problem, not an export.
- Staff already have a login. Another payroll app is another no-show.
- Useful when the kitchen display and the paycheck should share one employee record.
Watch-outs
- The contract and hardware bundle can outlive the lease. Read the term.
- You cannot compare Toast payroll to Gusto Simple without a quote.
- Switching POS to “save on payroll” is a renovation, not a toggle.
- We are not your tip-reporting advisor.
02
Square Payroll
Cafés and counters already taking cards on Square
Public pricing: Full-service $35/mo + $6 per person paid that month. Contractor-only $6 per contractor paid, no base fee.
Square Payroll pricing (squareup.com/us/en/payroll/pricing), reviewed September 20, 2026.
Skip if
You are not on Square and do not plan to be. Payroll alone is cheaper to compare against Gusto without dragging in a new POS.
Why it ranks
- Published math you can put next to Gusto on a napkin.
- Hours can come from Square Team Management / POS instead of a third timesheet.
- Contractor-only is honest if the “front of house” is still 1099s — classification is on you.
- Same login family as the register.
Watch-outs
- Per-person fees apply in months you pay them. Seasonal crews still show up on the bill.
- Multi-state and multi-EIN limits exist. Read Square’s current constraints.
- Benefits and workers’ comp are partner add-ons, not the $35.
- If the POS is Toast, do not dual-stack Square just for a $14 base-fee delta.
03
Homebase
Shops whose actual leak is the schedule, then payday
Public pricing: Scheduling plans are published on joinhomebase.com/pricing (a free tier plus paid location plans; a $120/mo plan appears on the public card). Payroll add-on $39/mo + $6 per employee paid.
Homebase official pricing (joinhomebase.com/pricing), reviewed September 20, 2026.
Skip if
You already have a schedule that works and only need tax filing. Homebase is a labor app that added payroll — buy it for the floor, not the logo.
Why it ranks
- The schedule is where restaurants actually bleed overtime. Payroll that sits on that schedule is the point.
- Hourly teams already live in Homebase for availability and shift swap.
- Payroll add-on math is public: $39 + $6 PEPM.
- Better default than a generic HRIS for a 25-person hourly crew.
Watch-outs
- Budget scheduling + payroll, not payroll alone.
- Location-priced plans add up at a second shop.
- Tax filing still needs clean setup. The app does not make you a multi-state expert.
- If you are already happy in Toast labor, stay there.
04
Gusto
Restaurants that want published full-service payroll and do not need POS-native time
Public pricing: Simple $49/mo + $6/person; Plus $80 + $12; Premium $180 + $22. Simple is single-state.
Gusto public pricing (gusto.com/product/pricing), reviewed September 20, 2026.
Skip if
Tips and clock-ins already live in Toast or Square and you will not maintain a second time source.
Why it ranks
- A napkin bill and full-service US filings — the reason Gusto wins our general payroll ranking.
- Benefits and new-hire forms sit next to payday if you actually hire managers.
- Contractor payments if you have a mixed shop.
- Integrations exist; they are not the same as native Toast time.
Watch-outs
- You will export hours from somewhere. That export is the failure mode.
- Simple is single-state. A second work state usually means Plus.
- Gusto is not a restaurant labor system.
- Do not buy Premium for a 12-person café.
How we picked
The job is US restaurant payday: hourly, tips, filings, and a time source the crew will use. We scored POS adjacency, published pricing honesty, scheduling, and setup friction. ADP RUN is omitted here because it is quote-only and not restaurant-shaped — see Gusto vs ADP RUN when that comparison is the question.