ADP vs QuickBooks Payroll pricing: which is cheaper for 15 employees?

At 15 employees, the gap between two payroll quotes can be the difference between a manageable subscription and a line item your bookkeeper flags every quarter. This is the headcount where the per-employee fee stops being trivia and starts driving the bill — and where the pricing model, not just the sticker price, decides who is actually cheaper.

This guide runs a pure total-cost showdown between QuickBooks Payroll Premium and RUN Powered by ADP — Complete at exactly 15 employees, using the same flat-base-fee + per-employee math as our Payroll Cost Estimator. The answer is more interesting than "Provider X wins": at this size the winner flips depending on how often you run payroll, because the two vendors price that completely differently.

Advertiser disclosure: PayrollGrade earns a commission when readers sign up for some products — including QuickBooks Payroll and ADP — through our links, at no extra cost to you. This never affects our A–F grades or how we rank products; compensation does not buy placement. This article is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice — confirm any pricing and compliance detail with the provider and a qualified professional before you buy.

The pricing models are not the same shape

Before any dollar figure, understand how each provider charges — it's the thing most "ADP vs QuickBooks" comparisons skip, and why a flat price-vs-price table can mislead you.

QuickBooks Payroll Premium charges a flat monthly base fee plus a flat per-employee fee, billed once per month — no matter how many payroll runs you do. Run payroll weekly, bi-weekly, or semi-monthly: the price is the same. Based on QuickBooks' published pricing (as of 2026, subject to change — confirm at quickbooks.intuit.com), Premium sits between Core and Elite, with a base fee in the roughly $80/month range plus a per-employee fee in the roughly $8–$9/employee/month range. Treat those as published-list figures, not a promise — Intuit revises them, and a first-3-months promo is frequently (but not always) running.

ADP RUN is quote-only, and historically prices per payroll run, not per month. ADP does not publish a public rate card for RUN Complete; pricing comes from a sales rep after a short consultation, and it has long included a charge tied to each payroll run rather than a single flat monthly fee. Based on reported user pricing, RUN Complete commonly lands in the rough range of $150–$190+ per month for a small team once base, per-employee, and per-run charges are added up — but this is an estimated range, not a quote. Your actual number depends on headcount, pay frequency, state, and whatever promotion the rep can offer. The only way to get a real ADP figure is to request an ADP RUN quote.

That structural difference — flat-monthly vs effectively per-run — is the whole ballgame at 15 employees.

Head-to-head at 15 employees

Here's how the two stack up on the dimensions that decide total cost for a 15-person team, with every figure labeled by how confident we can be in it.

Check current options: QuickBooks Payroll Premium — RUN by ADP Complete

Two honest caveats. The QuickBooks figure is arithmetic on published list pricing — the most concrete number here, but Intuit changes pricing and runs promos, so confirm it and re-run our calculator with the current rate. The ADP figure is an illustrative range from reported user pricing, not a binding quote; ADP's actual number could land above or below it. We deliberately don't declare "QuickBooks wins by exactly $X/month" — manufacturing that precision against a quote-only competitor would be dishonest.

The 15-employee math, worked out

To make the per-run gotcha concrete, take a 15-person team and hold everything constant except pay frequency.

QuickBooks Payroll Premium (flat monthly, published list — as of 2026):

• Base fee: ~$80/month
• Per-employee: ~$8.50 × 15 = ~$127.50/month
• Estimated total: ~$207.50/month — and it doesn't move whether you pay weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly.

That stability is the point: a weekly-payroll restaurant and a monthly-payroll agency with the same 15 heads pay QuickBooks the same amount.

RUN by ADP — Complete (estimated range; quote-only):

Because ADP's model has historically attached cost to each payroll run, pay frequency changes the picture:

• Monthly payroll (12 runs/year) keeps ADP's run-related charges low; a competitive quote can land near — or occasionally under — the QuickBooks flat figure.
• Weekly payroll (52 runs/year) processes 4×+ as many runs, so per-run charges stack up over the year and push the effective monthly cost upward.

So the defensible answer to "which is cheaper for 15 employees?" is: it depends on how often you run payroll, and ADP's number is a range until you get a quote. On published QuickBooks pricing versus reported ADP ranges — especially once frequent pay cycles multiply ADP's per-run charges — QuickBooks Payroll Premium tends to be both the lower and the more predictable total cost at 15 employees. ADP's premium can be worth it, but you pay it for full-service support and HR depth, not a cheaper bill. Always pull an actual ADP quote before assuming the range.

<a id="estimator"></a>

Price your own 15-person team with the Payroll Cost Estimator

Sticker comparisons break the moment your details differ from the example. Our Payroll Cost Estimator turns the universal pricing model — flat base fee + (per-employee fee × headcount) — into a real monthly and annual number for each tier, then ranks them for your team. Enter:

• Number of employees (set it to 15 for this scenario)
• Pay frequency (weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, or monthly) — this is what surfaces the ADP per-run effect
• Payroll-only vs payroll + HR support — this decides whether ADP RUN Complete's HR muscle is even relevant to you

The estimator outputs a live ranked table: estimated base + (per-employee × 15) = monthly total and annualized cost for each tier, highlights the lowest-total option matching your HR toggle, and surfaces estimated first-3-months promo savings where applicable. The output is clearly marked "illustrative estimate, not a quote" — ADP is quote-only, so its line is a range, and any promo is conditional. Treat it as a budgeting tool to narrow your shortlist, then confirm the final number on the provider's site or quote.

First-3-months promo math (read the conditions)

QuickBooks frequently runs a discount on the first three months of a new payroll subscription. If one is running when you sign up, the base fee is discounted for months 1–3 (per-employee charges usually still apply), then you pay the full published rate — ~$207.50/month in our example — from month four onward.

The takeaway: judge the decision on the standard monthly cost, not the promo. A three-month discount is a cushion, not a reason to pick a tool you'll overpay for all year. Promotions change constantly and aren't guaranteed — check current terms before counting on any discount. ADP discounts, when offered, come through the sales rep and are equally conditional.

So — which is cheaper for 15 employees?

• For the lowest, most predictable bill: QuickBooks Payroll Premium is usually the safer bet at 15 employees — its flat monthly pricing is published, visible upfront, and immune to pay-frequency surprises. It's especially compelling if you already use QuickBooks Online, since the native sync removes double data entry.
• For full-service support and deeper HR: RUN by ADP — Complete can be competitive — particularly for monthly payroll — and buys ADP's service model and HR-Plus features. But its cost is a range until you get a quote, and frequent pay cycles can push it above the QuickBooks flat figure.

If your priority is a cheap, predictable bill at 15 heads, lean QuickBooks. If you want hand-holding and compliance depth and don't mind paying a premium for service, get an ADP quote and compare it against the QuickBooks flat number. Either way, run both through the estimator with your real pay frequency first — that one input decides the winner at this headcount.

All pricing above is as of 2026 and subject to change. QuickBooks figures reflect published list pricing; ADP figures are estimated ranges from reported user pricing, not quotes. Confirm current pricing and terms directly with each provider.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is ADP or QuickBooks Payroll cheaper for 15 employees?

It depends on how often you run payroll. On QuickBooks' published list pricing, Premium runs roughly $207–$215/month for 15 employees and stays flat regardless of pay frequency. ADP RUN Complete is quote-only and has historically charged per payroll run, so weekly cycles can push it higher while monthly payroll can land it closer to QuickBooks. In most frequent-payroll cases QuickBooks tends to be the lower, more predictable cost — but get an ADP quote to confirm, since their figure is a range, not a published price.

Why can't I find ADP RUN's exact price online?

ADP does not publish a public rate card for RUN. Pricing is delivered by a sales representative after a brief consultation and varies by headcount, pay frequency, state, and current promotions. Any ADP price you see online (including our range) is an estimate based on reported user pricing — not a quote. The only way to get a real number is to request one directly from ADP.

Does paying employees weekly cost more than monthly?

With QuickBooks Payroll, no — its flat monthly fee is the same whether you run payroll weekly or monthly. With ADP RUN, it can, because ADP's model has historically tied cost to each payroll run. Running weekly means roughly 52 runs a year versus 12 for monthly, so per-run charges add up. If you run payroll frequently, that pricing difference is the biggest factor in which provider is cheaper at 15 employees.

How accurate is the Payroll Cost Estimator?

It's a budgeting tool, not a quote. For QuickBooks it applies published list pricing, so its output is close to what you'll actually pay before any promo. For ADP it shows an estimated range, because ADP is quote-only — your real number comes from a rep. Use it to ballpark your monthly and annual cost and narrow your shortlist, then confirm the final figure on the provider's site or quote. All outputs are labeled "illustrative estimate, not a quote."

Should I switch to the cheaper option to save money at 15 employees?

Not on price alone. At 15 employees the cheaper predictable option is often QuickBooks Payroll Premium, but ADP RUN Complete buys full-service support and deeper HR features that may justify the premium for some teams. Decide based on total cost and the support and compliance depth you actually need — and remember this is general information, not legal or tax advice. Confirm current pricing and terms with each provider before switching.