Quick answer: Most "free" payroll tools are limited trials. AIMM Payroll offers a genuinely free tier — 3 employees, full CPF/SDL/SHG compliance, payslips, and AIS file generation — with no time limit and no credit card required.
If you have searched for "free payroll software Singapore SME," you have probably noticed a pattern: almost every result leads to a 14-day trial that asks for a credit card, or to a pricing page where "free" means a marketing landing page, not a product tier.
This matters because the smallest employers — a three-person startup, a solo founder with two contractors, a family-run shop — still have the same statutory obligations as a 200-person company. CPF, SDL, Self-Help Group (SHG) deductions, itemised payslips, and IRAS Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS) filing do not scale down with headcount. A two-employee employer who miscalculates CPF faces the same 1.5% per month late-payment interest as anyone else.
This guide covers what free payroll software should include, why most "free" tiers are limited trials, how AIMM's free tier works, and how it compares to other options in 2026.
What free payroll software should include
A free payroll tool is only useful if it handles the compliance fundamentals. If you still have to manually calculate CPF, look up SDL rates, or format an IR8A file by hand, the software is not saving you the work that matters. Here is the minimum bar:
CPF calculation
CPF is the most error-prone part of Singapore payroll. The total contribution rate is 37% (17% employer + 20% employee) for employees under 55, with the Ordinary Wage (OW) ceiling at S$8,000/month. Rates change by age band (55-60, 60-65, 65+), and Permanent Residents in their first two years pay graduated rates. Getting the OW ceiling or age band wrong means underpaying CPF (penalties and interest) or overpaying (cash flow drag). Source: CPF Board. Any free payroll tool must auto-calculate CPF by age band, apply the OW ceiling, and handle PR graduated rates. See our CPF contribution rates guide for the rate tables.
SDL calculation
The Skills Development Levy is 0.25% of monthly remuneration per employee, minimum S$2, maximum S$11.25, payable by the employer for every employee — citizen, PR, or foreign worker. It is commonly forgotten because the amounts are small, but it compounds into a lump sum at year end if missed. Source: CPF Board / SSG.
SHG deductions
Self-Help Group funds — CDAC, MBMF, SINDA, and ECF — are collected alongside CPF from eligible employees based on ethnicity and income band. Source: CPF Board. Free payroll software should apply the correct SHG fund automatically. See our SHG funds guide for the rate tables.
Itemised payslips
Under the Employment Act, employers must issue itemised payslips within three working days of payment, containing 12 mandatory items including basic salary, itemised deductions (CPF, SDL, SHG), overtime pay, pay period dates, and net salary paid. Source: MOM. Free payroll software must generate compliant payslips automatically.
IR8A and IR21 file generation
Under the IRAS Auto-Inclusion Scheme, employers with 5 or more employees must submit employment income data to IRAS annually by 1 March, requiring IR8A forms (and Appendix 8A/8B where applicable) in the IRAS-specified format. IR21 tax clearance is required when an employee ceases employment. Source: IRAS.
Even on a free tier, payroll software should generate these files in the correct format. Generating the file is different from submitting it directly to IRAS via API. AIMM generates IR8A/IR21 files but does not yet have direct API submission — that is in progress. See our how to run Singapore payroll guide for the full year-end workflow.
GIRO bank files
Most Singapore banks accept GIRO bulk-payout files so you can pay your entire team in one upload. This is a feature that free tiers often gate behind a paid plan, because it involves bank-specific file formats.
Why most "free" tiers are limited trials
Genuine free tiers have nearly disappeared from the Singapore payroll market. What most vendors call "free" falls into one of three patterns.
The 14-day trial
The most common pattern. You sign up, get full access for 14 days, then the software locks unless you enter a credit card. This is a trial, not a free tier — useful for evaluating software, but it does not serve the three-employee employer who needs ongoing payroll at zero cost. QuickHR, JustLogin, SimplePay, and Swingvy all operate on this model.
Reduced features under a free label
Some vendors offer a "free plan" so stripped down it cannot run a compliant pay run — no CPF auto-calculation, no payslip generation, no SHG support, or a one-employee cap. If the free version cannot handle CPF, SDL, and SHG automatically, it is a demo.
Credit card required at signup
Even when a free tier exists, some vendors require a credit card "for verification" — the model being that most users forget to cancel before the trial converts to paid. A genuinely free tier should not need payment information at all.
Why vendors moved away from free
Running payroll software has real costs: CPF rate tables that update annually, IRAS format specifications that change, bank file formats that vary by institution. A free tier only makes economic sense if it serves as an acquisition channel. The vendors that dropped free tiers (most notably Talenox) decided the conversion rate did not justify the cost. AIMM has taken the opposite bet: conversion happens naturally when a business grows past three employees.
AIMM's genuinely free tier
AIMM Payroll offers a free tier that is not a trial. Here is exactly what it includes and what it does not.
What is included on the free tier
| Feature | Included on Free? |
|---|---|
| Up to 3 employees | Yes |
| CPF auto-calculation (all age bands, OW ceiling, PR graduated rates) | Yes |
| SDL auto-calculation | Yes |
| SHG deductions (CDAC, MBMF, SINDA, ECF) | Yes |
| Itemised payslip generation (MOM-compliant) | Yes |
| IR8A / IR21 file generation | Yes |
| eZpay support | Yes |
| No time limit, no credit card | Yes |
The free tier runs the same compliance engine as the paid tiers — CPF, SDL, and SHG calculations are identical whether you are on Free or Business. The limitation is headcount and advanced features, not compliance correctness.
What is not included on the free tier
GIRO bank files (Starter, S$9.90/mo), leave management, AI co-pilot, and audit trail (all Growth, S$29/mo), and more than 3 employees (Starter or above).
What AIMM is still building (stated transparently)
AIMM is a newer entrant, and several capabilities are in progress:
- IRAS AIS Category A certification: in progress. AIMM generates IR8A/IR21 files in the correct format, but direct API submission to IRAS is not yet available — prepare files in AIMM and submit via the IRAS portal.
- PSG pre-approval: in progress.
- Xero and QuickBooks Online integration: available.
- Mobile app: planned.
If any of these are a hard requirement today, that is a fair reason to evaluate another tool. But if your need is accurate CPF/SDL/SHG calculation, compliant payslips, and IR8A/IR21 generation for a small team, the free tier delivers today.
Feature comparison: what is free vs what requires paid
| Feature | Free (S$0, 3 emp) | Starter (S$9.90/mo, 10 emp) | Growth (S$29/mo, 50 emp) | Business (S$69/mo, 200 emp) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPF / SDL / SHG calculation | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Itemised payslips | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| IR8A / IR21 file generation | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| eZpay support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| GIRO bank files | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Employee limit | 3 | 10 | 50 | 200 |
| AI co-pilot | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Leave management | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Audit trail | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Full feature set | No | No | No | Yes |
The upgrade path follows natural growth triggers: free for 3 employees, Starter at S$9.90/month when you add a fourth (unlocks GIRO files), Growth at S$29/month for leave management and AI co-pilot, Business at S$69/month for up to 200 employees. Compliance never degrades — you pay for scale and convenience, not for correctness.
See our pricing page for full tier details.
What happened to Talenox's free plan
Talenox was, for years, the most well-known free payroll option in Singapore, widely recommended in SME forums and accountant blogs.
On 5 January 2026, Talenox announced the sunset of its free plan. New signups could no longer access a free plan. Existing free users were given until 31 March 2026 (Singapore and Malaysia) or 1 May 2026 (Hong Kong) before being moved to view-only access, with until 31 December 2026 to upgrade or export data. Talenox's pricing now starts at S$4.36 per employee per month (annual plan) — S$43.60/month at 10 employees.
This created a gap. The employers who relied on Talenox's free plan — very small teams, solo founders, early-stage startups — needed an alternative. AIMM's free tier fills this gap: the same use case (small team, full compliance, zero cost) that Talenox's free plan used to serve. If you are a former Talenox free-plan user, AIMM covers 3 employees with full CPF, SDL, SHG, payslips, and IR8A/IR21 generation. Sign up free and run your first pay run the same day.
Other free options comparison
Here is how the Singapore payroll software market looks on the question of free tiers, as of June 2026.
| Vendor | Free tier? | Trial? | Starting price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AIMM Payroll | Yes — 3 employees, full compliance, no time limit, no credit card | No trial needed (free tier is permanent) | S$0 (Free) / S$9.90/mo (Starter) | Only vendor in this list with a genuine free tier |
| Talenox | No — free plan sunset 5 Jan 2026 | No | S$4.36/emp/mo (annual) | At 10 employees: S$43.60/mo |
| QuickHR | No | 14-day trial | S$5/emp/mo | S$2 rate is promotional/UOB-exclusive |
| JustLogin | No | 14-day trial | S$5/emp/mo, min 5 employees | 25-year track record; AIS Category A certified |
| Payboy | No | No | S$3-3.50/emp/mo | PSG-eligible |
| Swingvy | No | No | S$5/user/mo | |
| SimplePay | No | Free trial | S$12 base (3 emp) + S$4/emp (4-25) + S$3/emp (26+) |
The pattern
Six of the seven vendors have no free tier. AIMM Payroll is the only one offering a permanent free tier with full statutory compliance. This is not a criticism of the others — per-employee pricing and mature feature sets have real costs — but if you are searching for "free payroll software Singapore SME," AIMM is the only option matching that query with an actual free product.
A note on PSG-eligible alternatives
If you want to offset cost with a grant, Payboy, QuickHR, and JustLogin are on the PSG pre-approved vendor list, which can fund up to 50% of qualifying costs for eligible SMEs. AIMM's PSG pre-approval is in progress. Verify eligibility on the GoBusiness grant directory before applying.
How to get started with AIMM free
The free tier is designed so you can go from signup to your first compliant pay run in about five minutes. No credit card, no sales call, no implementation project.
Step 1: Add your company
Sign up with your email and company name. The system applies standard CPF rates by default — nothing to adjust for most employers. PR graduated rates and senior-worker rates are handled based on the employee profile you create next.
Step 2: Add your first employee
Enter the employee's name, NRIC/FIN, date of birth, ethnicity (for SHG fund determination), citizenship status, and salary details. The system uses this to determine the correct CPF age band, PR graduated rate, SHG fund, and SDL amount.
Step 3: Run your first pay run
Select the pay period, confirm the employees, and run the pay run. The system calculates CPF, SDL, SHG, net pay, and generates compliant itemised payslips you can download as PDF.
That is the full workflow — about five minutes from signup to payslips in hand. See our how to run Singapore payroll guide for a detailed walkthrough including allowances, overtime, and deductions.
Sign up free — no credit card required.
When to upgrade from free
The free tier is permanent — no pressure to upgrade on a timer. You upgrade when your needs change. Here are the natural triggers.
You hire a fourth employee
The free tier covers up to 3 employees. When you add a fourth, upgrade to Starter at S$9.90/month (up to 10 employees). This is the most common upgrade path.
You need GIRO bank files
If manual transfers are becoming tedious, Starter (S$9.90/month) adds GIRO bank file generation so you can pay your whole team in one upload. At 8-10 employees, manual transfers are a monthly chore.
You need leave management or the AI co-pilot
Growth (S$29/month) adds integrated leave management so balances feed directly into each pay run, an AI co-pilot that flags potential errors before you finalise a pay run, and a full audit trail for internal controls.
You are scaling past 50 employees
At 50+ employees, move to Business (S$69/month) for up to 200 employees and the full feature set. Flat per-company pricing becomes a significant advantage here — S$69/month for 200 employees is S$0.35 per employee, compared to S$3-5 at competitors.
FAQ
Is AIMM Payroll really free, or is it a trial?
Genuinely free — not a time-limited trial. It covers up to 3 employees with full CPF, SDL, and SHG calculation, compliant payslips, and IR8A/IR21 file generation. No 14-day countdown, no credit card, no automatic conversion. You can use it indefinitely for up to 3 employees.
What is the catch with the free tier?
The free tier is limited to 3 employees and does not include GIRO bank files, leave management, the AI co-pilot, or audit trail — those require paid tiers. The compliance engine is the same as paid tiers. The model is that free-tier users who grow past 3 employees naturally convert to paid plans.
Can I run CPF, SDL, and SHG on the free tier?
Yes. The free tier auto-calculates CPF by age band with the OW ceiling of S$8,000/month, SDL at 0.25% (min S$2, max S$11.25), and SHG deductions for CDAC, MBMF, SINDA, and ECF. You do not need to look up rates manually. See our CPF contribution rates guide and SHG funds guide for the rate tables.
Does the free tier generate IR8A and IR21 files?
Yes, in the IRAS-required format. However, AIMM does not yet have direct API submission to IRAS — that is in progress. You generate the file in AIMM and submit it through the IRAS portal. IRAS AIS Category A certification is also in progress.
Is AIMM Payroll on the IRAS AIS vendor list?
Not yet. IRAS AIS Category A certification is in progress. AIMM generates IR8A/IR21 files in the correct format but is not yet on the IRAS AIS software developers list. Until then, prepare data in AIMM and submit via the IRAS portal. If being on the IRAS vendor list is a hard requirement today, Talenox, QuickHR, JustLogin, Payboy, Swingvy, and SimplePay are all listed.
Can I get PSG funding for AIMM Payroll?
Not yet. PSG pre-approval is in progress. If PSG funding is essential, Payboy, QuickHR, and JustLogin are PSG-eligible. Verify current eligibility on the GoBusiness grant directory before applying.
How does AIMM's free tier compare to Talenox's old free plan?
Talenox announced the sunset of its free plan on 5 January 2026, with existing users transitioned to view-only by 31 March 2026 (SG/MY) or 1 May 2026 (HK). AIMM's free tier covers a similar use case — up to 3 employees with full CPF/SDL/SHG compliance and payslips — plus IR8A/IR21 generation and eZpay support. The key difference: AIMM's free tier is active, Talenox's is not.
What happens when I need more than 3 employees?
Upgrade to Starter at S$9.90/month (up to 10 employees, adds GIRO bank files), Growth at S$29/month (up to 50 employees, adds AI co-pilot, leave management, audit trail), or Business at S$69/month (up to 200 employees, full feature set). Pricing is flat per company, not per employee. See our pricing page for details.
Summary
The Singapore payroll software market in 2026 has very few genuinely free options. Talenox removed its free plan in January 2026. QuickHR, JustLogin, Payboy, Swingvy, and SimplePay all require payment from day one, with some offering 14-day trials. The word "free" in most search results refers to a trial, not a product tier.
AIMM Payroll is the exception. Its free tier covers 3 employees with the same CPF, SDL, SHG, payslip, and IR8A/IR21 compliance engine as its paid tiers, with no time limit and no credit card. The upgrade path is tied to natural growth triggers, not a trial countdown.
AIMM is transparent about what is still in progress: IRAS AIS Category A certification, PSG pre-approval, direct IRAS API submission, and a mobile app are planned but not yet shipped. Xero and QuickBooks Online integration are available. If those in-progress items are blocking requirements today, a more mature vendor may be the right choice. But if your need is accurate, compliant Singapore payroll for a small team at zero cost, the free tier delivers that today. See our pricing page for the full tier comparison, or sign up free and run your first pay run in five minutes.
Run compliant Singapore payroll automatically with AIMM Payroll — free for 3 employees. Sign up free.