PEO vs. In-House Payroll Cost Comparison
Estimate and compare the true cost of outsourcing to a Professional Employer Organization versus managing payroll and HR in-house.
Company Information
Enter your company details to start the comparison.
Typically included in PEO fees:
- Workers' compensation coverage
- Benefits administration
- HR support & compliance
- Payroll processing & tax filing
Multi-Year Projection
| Year | In-House | PEO | Difference |
|---|
Which Is Right for You?
- Full control over payroll processes
- Direct employee relationships
- Custom benefits design flexibility
- No shared employer liability
- Cost-effective at larger scale (100+ employees)
- Requires dedicated HR expertise
- Higher compliance burden
- Software licensing and update costs
- Workers' comp risk stays internal
- Scaling costs increase per employee added
- Bundled HR, payroll, and compliance
- Access to better benefits rates
- Reduced administrative burden
- Built-in compliance and risk management
- Ideal for small to mid-size companies
- Less control over HR decisions
- Co-employment relationship complexity
- Potentially higher cost at scale
- Contract lock-in periods possible
- Standardized (not custom) benefit plans
- HR staff turnover and recruiting costs
- Payroll software upgrades and migrations
- Audit preparation time and expense
- Penalty risk for compliance errors
- Multi-state registration and filing fees
- Time spent on benefits open enrollment
- Employment practices liability exposure
- Ongoing HR training and certifications
This comparison tool provides estimates for informational and educational purposes only. Actual PEO and in-house payroll costs vary significantly based on industry, location, company size, benefits package, and specific PEO provider terms. This tool does not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice and should not be the sole basis for business decisions. Consult qualified professionals and obtain actual PEO quotes for accurate comparisons. ReVerify LLC is not affiliated with any PEO provider and is not liable for decisions made based on these estimates.