Homebase review 2024: Cost, plans, features and more

Best for managing hourly workers

Homebase

Blueprint Rating

Learn More

Via Homebase's website

Monthly fee

$39 per month plus $6 a month per person

Direct deposit

Yes

24/7 customer support

No

Pros

• Allows up to 20 employees on its free plan.
• Time tracking and scheduling capabilities for hourly employees.
• Large number of useful payroll features.

Cons

• Payroll is only available as an add-on, not included in any plan.
• Reports of bugs and glitches in the app.
• Expensive for growing businesses with multiple locations.

Featured payroll software offers

OnPay

Learn More

Via OnPay’s website

Monthly fee

$40 per month plus $6 per employee

Direct deposit

Yes

SurePayroll

Learn More

Via SurePayroll’s website

Monthly fee

$29.99 per month plus $5 per employee

Direct deposit

Yes

Gusto

Learn More

Via Gusto’s website

Monthly fee

Starting at $40 plus $6 per month per employee

Direct deposit

Yes

Rippling

Learn More

Via Rippling’s website

Monthly fee

$35 per month + $8 per user

Direct deposit

Yes

Homebase payroll software review

Pricing and plans

Ensuring you’re getting the best value for your money is always important, especially for small businesses. We’ve looked into Homebase’s pricing plan structure to determine if it offers a good deal. Here’s what we found.

Homebase Payroll is an add-on to its existing plans, and no matter which plan you choose, it costs $39 a month plus $6 per employee. 

The plans you can add it onto are as follows:

BASIC	ESSENTIALS	PLUS	ALL-IN-ONE
Free	$20 per location (annual), $24.95 monthly	$48 per location (annual), $59.95 monthly	$80 per location (annual), $99.95 monthly
One location	Unlimited locations	Unlimited locations	Unlimited locations
Up to 20 employees	Unlimited employees	Unlimited employees	Unlimited employees
Features include: Scheduling Time tracking Employee management Point-of-sale integration Payroll add-on available	Features include everything in Basic, as well as: Advanced scheduling Advanced time tracking Team communication	Features include everything in Essentials, as well as: Hiring Retention and performance Track PTO and set time-off limits Add permissions and policies	Features include everything in Plus, as well as: Onboard new hires Store employee documents HR and Compliance features Labor cost management Business insights

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Thanks to its strong and intuitive time-tracking and scheduling features, we recommend Homebase as a cost-effective option for businesses with hourly workers. At a monthly base cost of $39 a month for its payroll add-on, plus $6 per employee alongside its free Basic plan, Homebase Payroll represents an affordable way to manage your workers if your business is in its infancy. Even if you require some extra features found in the higher-tired plans, so long as your location count is low, you will likely find its plans to be economical.

	HOMEBASE	PATRIOT	PAYROLL4FREE	WORKFUL
Cheapest plan	Free Basic plan for scheduling and time tracking, plus $39 a month and $6 per employee for payroll	$17 a month, plus $4 per employee for its Basic plan	Free if paying 25 or fewer employees	$35 a month, plus $6 per team member per month
Why choose this provider?	Its time tracking software is excellent for hourly workers and businesses with limited locations	Its payroll software has an excellent array of features in its Basic plan, but only its Full Service plan offers tax assistance	When paying fewer than 25 employees, all of its basic features are free, making it a great option for startups	It offers fantastic HR services alongside its payroll and time-tracking features for a single price

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However, Homebase’s per-location price policy means prices can increase steeply as you expand your business. If you’re looking for a company that offers a full suite of HR and accounting features as well as payroll, there are better alternatives that provide more for the price you pay.

	HOMEBASE	PATRIOT	RIPPLING	GUSTO
Premium plan	$80 per location a month for unlimited employees	$37 a month plus $4 per employee	$8 a month per user, plus an undisclosed base price. It requires a quote for cost details	Exclusive pricing. The next plan down is $80 a month plus $12 per person
Why choose this provider?	Homebase’s All-in-one plan includes a full suite of HR features, time tracking and payroll	Patriot adds automated tax assistance to its already-powerful payroll software	Rippling offers a bespoke plan of payroll, accounting, HR and IT. While a little pricey, it offers an exceptional range of features	Gusto gives you access to a dedicated success liaison and priority support alongside its strong suite of payroll and HR features

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Features and add-ons

Homebase’s payroll software is a separate add-on, available for integration into all plans. At an add-on price of $39 a month, plus $6 per person, you’ll get access to the following features:

• Wages: Wage calculations, blended overtime and multiple wage rates for employees, as well as bonus and commission payments.
• Time tracking: Time clocks, scheduling and online timesheets, as well as instantly calculated breaks, overtime and time-off, all automatically synced to payroll.
• Time off: Introduce custom policies for PTO and track all time off, as well as shift trading for flexibility. 
• Direct deposit and checks: Direct deposit in two days for qualified companies as well as printable checks — with notifications for direct deposits, and emails for payday.
• Self-onboarding: Employees can onboard themselves, and e-sign payroll forms including W-4, I-9, W-9 and direct deposit forms.
• Communication: In-app messaging and team communication on the Homebase mobile app.
• Team roster: Store employee details like emergency contacts, qualifications and certifications, birthdays and more.
• Hiring: Post jobs, track applicants, onboard new hires and create new hire reports.
• Payroll transfer: Transfer all information automatically without the need for data entry for a seamless transition to Homebase software.
• Team access: Schedules, hours, messages, wages, pay stubs and W-2 accessible for team members.
• Tax: Automated tax filing and payments on individual, state and federal level, with pre- and post-tax deductions, and FLSA-compliant record keeping.
• Integration: You can integrate QuickBooks Online accounting into your payroll software.

This is an extensive range of payroll features. The main missing features are support for different currencies and the ability to add wage garnishments and benefits. However, it’s less likely you’ll need these if your business model aligns with Homebase’s target client base of businesses that employ hourly workers. 

However, you can only get Homebase Payroll as an add-on to its main software plans — and these include some of the above features anyway. Here’s what you’ll get for each plan:

	BASIC	ESSENTIALS	PLUS	ALL-IN-ONE
Price	Free	$20 per location (annual), $24.95 monthly	$48 per location (annual), $59.95 monthly	$80 per location (annual), $99.95 monthly
Messaging between groups and individuals, and a mobile app for employees to check hours, wages and more	✔	✔	✔	✔
Employee happiness features with team shout outs, employee feedback and pay advances at no cost	✔	✔	✔	✔
Keep a team roster with employee information including roles, wages and contact details	✔	✔	✔	✔
Tracking tools for remote and field teams	✔	✔	✔	✔
Autoschedule your team, with automatic notifications and reminders, and set up manager permissions		✔	✔	✔
Hiring portal with job posts, applicant tracking, interviews and more			✔	✔
Track employee performance, attendance, certifications and require manager approval for availability changes			✔	✔
Track and control PTO with blackout dates, advance notice requirements, employee limits per day and custom PTO policies			✔	✔
Set up permissions for managers, general managers and teams, organize departments for schedules and reports, and record and share manager’s logbook			✔	✔
Manage labor costs and budgets with overtime alerts, prevent early clock-ins and set up automatic clock-outs and track multiple roles and wage rates				✔
Onboard new hires and contractors, with automatic W-4, W-9, I-9 and direct deposit forms, and the ability to add custom documents				✔
Keep employee paperwork organized and stored securely, with e-signing for employees				✔
Stay compliant with advice from certified HR advisors, have your policies reviewed and receive notifications of changes to labor laws				✔

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While there isn’t a great deal of flexibility here, useful HR and staff management features are abundant. The free plan stands out with several features that other providers charge for, but you’ll need to pay the add-on fee for the full payroll package anyway.

To get an idea of whether it’s the right company for you, we’ve compared Homebase’s features to some of the other top payroll software providers on the market.

	HOMEBASE	RIPPLING	PATRIOT	GUSTO	PAYROLL4FREE
Third party integration	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Multi-currency support	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Tax compliance	Yes	Yes	Yes, in their full service	Yes	Yes
Direct deposit	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Contractor payments	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Time tracking	Yes	Yes	Yes, in their full service	Yes, via integrations	Yes
Benefits	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Cheapest price	Free with one location and up to 20 employees	Not provided	$17 a month plus $4 per user	$40 a month plus $6 per person	Free if paying 25 or fewer people
Our overall rating	4.4	5	4.7	4.4	4.1

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We recommend Homebase as a provider if your staff largely consists of hourly workers. With free basic management software and a relatively affordable payroll add-on, it offers a great solution for small businesses with one location. However, as your business grows, you might find your needs outstripping what Homebase provides for a lower price.

To keep things even more affordable for companies remaining on the smaller side, Payroll4Free offers (as its name implies) free payroll software if you pay 25 or fewer employees. You’ll get basic features like time tracking, direct deposits, tax compliance, and third-party software integrations.

If you’re looking to scale up your business and want a more powerful suite of features while keeping costs affordable, we’d recommend Patriot. It offers multiple features, including unlimited payroll for multiple locations, HR, time and attendance tools and more, all for its starting price of $17 a month, plus $4 per employee or contractor.

Finally, Rippling is likely to offer the best package for businesses with ambitious expansion in their headlights. It’s our best overall payroll provider with a bespoke pricing plan that lets you build your own software bundle. 

Customer support and experience

You can get help from the Homebase customer support team by phone, email and live chat, while it also offers a help center with multiple guidance pages. Here are some details about each option:

• Phone: You can contact its sales team by phone for support with using its tools or if you want to switch to or start from scratch with its payroll software. The team is available on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. 
• Email: You can email Homebase’s support team by filling out a form on its site at any time, and Homebase promises a reply within 24 hours, although it says it will usually reply much sooner.
• Live chat: You can also contact the team through its live chat feature, which is always a welcome addition. Live chat support is available from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

In addition, Homebase’s help center is expansive, with guides covering all parts of the software and a search function that allows you to find information easily. While the overall lack of 24/7 support isn’t ideal, an abundance of help is available through a variety of channels.

It’s always helpful to see what other customers say about their experiences with Homebase. We’ve looked into its scores on G2 and Capterra to get more insight into what real-life customers think of the provider, as well as its app reviews for both iOS and Android apps.

	G2	CAPTERRA	APPLE APP STORE	GOOGLE PLAY STORE
Score	4.2	4.6	4.8	4.4
Number of reviews	100+	900+	44,000+	18,000+

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These are overall very good scores, though there is a bit of variation in how good. Considering the lower number of user reviews, it’s worth taking the G2 and Capterra reviews with a pinch of salt. Capterra also offers separate scores for customer service, for which Homebase earns 4.5 out of five stars.

Many of Homebase’s positive reviews cite how efficient and straightforward the software is to use, while others praise specific features such as scheduling, timesheets, swapping shifts and clocking in. However, some of the negative user reviews revolve around software bugs, glitches and instability, losses of connection and the software’s cluttered user interface. 

Our testing team also had the chance to use Homebase’s software. Initial setup took some effort, requiring the user to verify bank account information, perform state tax setups and filing authorizations. However, it was relatively easy to add team members once the initial setup was complete.

Note: You should request the necessary information from your team to save time and improve accuracy. Homebase, like many payroll software providers, can also help you set up your account for free.

We found it a bit more complicated to edit certain fields; the ‘role’ and ‘wages’ fields could not be edited when adding team members and editing timesheets for individual members brought up a confusing pop-up box.

There are opportunities to save time with Homebase using its automation features, which we found useful. For example, you can set the software to automatically award team members additional paid hours for missing breaks, helping your business to stay in compliance with break laws and avoid penalties for breaking them.

Homebase vs. the competition

Homebase offers a strong payroll software solution with plenty of useful features and a range of pricing options. Its time-tracking approach makes it ideal for employees with a large hourly workforce. But it’s not the only provider on the market; it’s always worth comparing it with the competition to find the best fit for your needs.

Pricing comparison

If you aim to keep costs as low as possible while still having capable and well-rounded payroll software, Homebase is a good option. However, while its prices are competitive, it is not on the low end of the market’s price range.

For example, Patriot’s full service payroll software comes in at $37 a month plus $4 per employee or contractor, a little less than Homebase, while providing a huge array of features. Payroll4Free is a good option, particularly for smaller businesses, as it offers its basic features entirely free if you employ 25 or fewer people.

Feature comparison

In terms of offered features, Homebase’s payroll software is well equipped. However, some advanced HR tools are behind several staggered paywalls. The software’s free basic version is fairly limited and likely won’t be useful for businesses looking to expand.

While Patriot does provide an excellent suite of tools and features, our number one pick is Rippling. Its sheer abundance of capabilities and flexibility around building a customized product, make it worth the slightly premium cost for companies with more complex needs, such as those with global workforces.

Is Homebase right for your business?

Homebase offers a strong scheduling software package, and its payroll add-on certainly sports plenty of useful features. However, its overall capabilities make it a better choice for smaller businesses with fewer locations and more hourly employees. Homebase’s pricing plans tend to become less economical for growing companies looking to expand locations and access its more premium features.

Homebase echoes this use case: “From the beginning, our mission was to help local businesses and their teams,” said John Waldmann, Homebase’s founder and CEO. “In the world of work, the experience just looks different with technology.”

As many of these features are behind different paywalls, you’ll find better providers with a more complete overall offering if you’re looking to grow your workforce and, consequently, your HR capabilities.

Featured payroll software offers

OnPay

Learn More

Via OnPay’s website

Monthly fee

$40 per month plus $6 per employee

Direct deposit

Yes

SurePayroll

Learn More

Via SurePayroll’s website

Monthly fee

$29.99 per month plus $5 per employee

Direct deposit

Yes

Gusto

Learn More

Via Gusto’s website

Monthly fee

Starting at $40 plus $6 per month per employee

Direct deposit

Yes

Rippling

Learn More

Via Rippling’s website

Monthly fee

$35 per month + $8 per user

Direct deposit

Yes

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)