Payroll Software Pricing in Singapore: Flat vs Per-Employee (2026 Guide)

Quick answer: Singapore payroll software pricing follows two models: per-employee (S$2-S$15/employee/month) and flat per-company (S$0-S$69/month regardless of headcount). For SMEs under 50 employees, flat pricing is dramatically cheaper. Here's the full breakdown.

If you are shopping for payroll software in Singapore, the pricing model matters more than the headline rate. Two vendors can both quote "S$5 per employee" and end up at completely different annual costs depending on base fees, minimum seats, module add-ons, and whether the price scales with your headcount at all. This guide breaks down every major Singapore payroll vendor by pricing model, shows you the real cost at 5, 10, 25, and 50 employees, and explains where the hidden costs hide.

All pricing figures were verified against each vendor's published pricing page in June 2026. We use S$ throughout, as is standard in Singapore English.

The two pricing models explained

Singapore payroll software falls into two pricing architectures. Understanding which one a vendor uses is the single biggest predictor of your total cost.

Per-employee pricing (cost scales with headcount)

Under the per-employee model, you pay a rate for each active employee each month. Some vendors charge a pure per-head rate; others combine a base fee with a per-head rate on top.

This model is used by Talenox, Payboy, QuickHR, JustLogin, Swingvy, and SimplePay. The per-head rate in Singapore typically ranges from S$3 to S$5 per employee per month.

The key characteristic: your bill grows every time you hire someone. A company at 50 employees pays roughly five to ten times what the same vendor charges a company at 5 employees.

Flat per-company pricing (one price regardless of headcount)

Under the flat per-company model, you pay a single monthly fee covering all employees within a defined tier. Whether you have 11 employees or 49, the price is the same.

AIMM Payroll is the only Singapore payroll vendor using this model. Tiers are structured by headcount bands: Free (up to 3), Starter (up to 10), Growth (up to 50), and Business (up to 200).

The key characteristic: your per-employee cost drops as you grow within a tier. At 50 employees on AIMM's Growth plan, you pay S$0.58 per employee per month. At 10 employees on a per-employee vendor at S$5/head, you pay nearly nine times that.

Price comparison: all major vendors at 5, 10, 25, and 50 employees

The table below shows the monthly cost for each vendor at four common SME headcounts. All figures are in S$ per month, payroll module only, before add-ons or discounts.

Notes on how these figures were derived:

• AIMM Payroll: Flat pricing stays constant within each tier. At 5 and 10 employees: Starter at S$9.90/month. At 25 and 50: Growth at S$29/month.
• Talenox: S$4.36/employee/month on annual billing, S$21.80 base covering first 5. At 10: S$4.36 x 10 = S$43.60. At 50: S$218.
• Payboy: Approximately S$3-S$3.50/employee/month for payroll module.
• QuickHR: Essential plan at S$5/employee/month, no base fee.
• JustLogin: S$5/employee/month, 5-employee minimum. At 5: S$25. At 50: S$250.
• Swingvy: S$5/user/month, linear scaling.
• SimplePay: S$12 base (3 emp) + S$4/emp (4-25) + S$3/emp (26+). At 10: S$12 + (7 x S$4) = S$40. At 50: S$12 + (22 x S$4) + (25 x S$3) = S$175.

Per-employee vendors cluster between S$40-S$50 at 10 employees and S$175-S$250 at 50. AIMM sits at S$9.90 and S$29 respectively.

Hidden costs to watch for

The advertised per-employee rate is rarely the full picture. Singapore payroll vendors commonly layer on charges that surface during onboarding or when you need a specific feature.

Setup and onboarding fees

Some vendors charge a one-time setup fee to configure your company profile, import employee data, and set up CPF and IRAS filing. These range from S$200 to S$1,000. Always ask whether setup is included.

Training fees

Some vendors charge for training sessions beyond a basic onboarding call. Factor in S$100-S$300 per session if your HR team needs hands-on training.

Per-payslip pricing

A few vendors charge per payslip generated rather than per employee. If you run payroll semi-monthly, this doubles your effective cost. Confirm whether the price covers unlimited pay runs.

API access fees

API access for integrating with accounting software (Xero, QuickBooks Online) or HR systems may be gated behind a higher tier or charged as an add-on.

Minimum seat requirements

JustLogin requires a minimum of 5 employees. If you have 3, you still pay for 5, raising your effective per-head cost.

Add-on modules

The base payroll module may exclude leave management, claims, time attendance, or performance reviews. Each add-on typically adds S$1-S$3 per employee per month. A "S$3/employee" plan can become S$8-S$10/employee once you add needed modules.

Multi-company charges

If you operate multiple entities, some vendors charge per company entity. This can double or triple your cost for group companies.

Total cost of ownership over 12 months

The monthly rate is only part of the story. To compare vendors fairly, look at the 12-month total cost of ownership (TCO), including setup fees and assuming no add-on modules.

12-month TCO at 10 employees

At 10 employees, AIMM's 12-month TCO is S$118.80. The next cheapest option (Payboy) is roughly 3 times that.

12-month TCO at 50 employees

At 50 employees, the gap widens dramatically. AIMM's annual cost is S$348 versus S$1,800-S$3,000 for per-employee vendors, a difference of S$1,500-S$2,700 per year.

Why flat pricing wins for small SMEs

The math speaks for itself. At 50 employees:

• AIMM Payroll (Growth): S$29/month = S$348/year
• Talenox: S$218/month = S$2,616/year
• QuickHR (Essential): S$250/month = S$3,000/year
• JustLogin: S$250/month = S$3,000/year
• Swingvy: S$250/month = S$3,000/year

The difference between AIMM at S$29 and Talenox at S$218 is S$189 per month, or S$2,268 per year. Against the S$250/month vendors, the saving is S$221/month or S$2,652/year.

This is an order-of-magnitude difference, and it exists because of the pricing model, not a promotional discount. Per-employee pricing is inherently linear: double your headcount and you double your cost. Flat pricing is step-based: your cost only changes when you cross a tier boundary.

For a 50-employee SME, the per-employee cost on AIMM's Growth plan is S$0.58/employee/month. On QuickHR, it is S$5.00. That is nearly nine times the cost for the same function: running a compliant Singapore pay cycle. The marginal cost of adding one employee to a payroll system is close to zero. Per-employee pricing exists because it is the industry norm, not because it reflects the vendor's cost structure.

When per-employee pricing makes sense

Flat pricing is not always the winner. There are scenarios where per-employee pricing is actually cheaper.

Very small teams (under 5 employees)

If you have 1-4 employees, the per-employee model can be cheaper if the per-head rate is low and there is no base fee. A vendor charging S$3/employee with no base fee would cost S$9/month at 3 employees. However, AIMM's Free tier (S$0, up to 3 employees) makes this edge case largely irrelevant. No per-employee vendor can beat S$0.

Very low per-head rates with no base fee

If a vendor offers a per-head rate below S$2 with no base fee and no minimum seats, the crossover point where flat pricing becomes cheaper moves further out. But in the current Singapore market, the lowest verified per-head rate is around S$3 (Payboy), and most vendors cluster at S$4-S$5. At those rates, the crossover happens by 5-6 employees.

Short-term or seasonal headcount

If you have a seasonal business and only need payroll for a few months a year, a per-employee vendor with no annual contract may be more flexible. Check whether the vendor allows month-to-month billing without an annual lock-in.

AIMM Payroll's transparent pricing table

AIMM Payroll publishes all four tiers openly with no hidden fees, no setup charges, and no per-employee add-ons within each tier.

Every plan includes CPF auto-calculation, SDL computation, itemised payslip generation, GIRO bank file export, leave management, and IRAS filing support. There are no module add-ons or per-employee surcharges within a tier. See the full feature breakdown on our pricing page.

The core advantage of flat per-company pricing is budgeting certainty: you know exactly what you will pay next month, regardless of whether you hire 2 new people or 12.

PSG grant impact on pricing

The Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG) is a government funding scheme that helps Singapore businesses adopt pre-approved IT solutions. For payroll software, PSG can cover up to 50% of the cost, capped at S$30,000 per company per year.

PSG funding can materially change the effective cost, but only for vendors that are PSG-pre-approved:

What this means in practice

If PSG funding is a hard procurement requirement, Payboy, QuickHR, and JustLogin are your eligible options today. A 50% grant on a S$250/month plan brings the effective cost to S$125/month at 50 employees, still significantly higher than AIMM's S$29/month Growth plan, but more competitive than the headline price suggests.

For AIMM, PSG pre-approval is in progress. We want to be transparent: if you need PSG funding today, AIMM is not yet on the list, and you should evaluate Payboy, QuickHR, or JustLogin instead.

PSG eligibility does not change the vendor's pricing model. A PSG-eligible per-employee vendor is still a per-employee vendor. The grant halves the cost but your bill still scales with headcount, and the scaling problem returns as you approach the S$30,000 annual cap.

How to evaluate payroll software value (not just price)

Price is the most visible factor, but a cheap tool that fails an IRAS audit or costs your HR team 10 extra hours per month is more expensive than a pricier tool that runs cleanly.

Compliance coverage

The minimum bar is accurate auto-calculation of CPF (by age band and PR status), SDL, SHG contributions, and Foreign Worker Levy. See our guides on Singapore CPF contribution rates and Singapore SDL. A vendor that gets CPF wrong is not a bargain at any price.

For IRAS Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS) filing, check whether the vendor is on the IRAS AIS software developers list. Category A vendors submit directly via API; Category B generate files for manual upload. AIMM is not yet IRAS AIS Category A certified, so verify current status if direct API submission is a requirement.

Support quality

When a pay run goes wrong on the 25th of the month, you need responsive support. Check whether the vendor offers local Singapore-based support, available channels (email, phone, chat), and response time SLA. Some vendors only offer email support on lower tiers.

Time saved per pay cycle

The real cost of payroll includes the hours your team spends running each cycle. A tool that automates CPF, SDL, and payslip generation can cut a full-day pay run to under an hour. At S$40-S$60/hour for an HR administrator, saving 6 hours per month is worth S$240-S$360 in time alone, often exceeding the software cost.

Scalability and integration

If you plan to grow from 10 to 50 employees, model the cost at both headcounts. Per-employee vendors that look reasonable at 10 may become a budget line item at 50. Check whether the payroll tool syncs journal entries to Xero or QuickBooks Online automatically. For a broader comparison, see our best payroll software for Singapore SMEs guide.

FAQ

What is the cheapest payroll software in Singapore?

AIMM Payroll's Free plan (S$0 for up to 3 employees) is the cheapest. For 4-10 employees, AIMM's Starter at S$9.90/month is cheapest. Among per-employee vendors, Payboy's payroll module at S$3-S$3.50/employee/month has the lowest per-head rate, though total cost still exceeds AIMM's flat pricing past 5-6 employees.

Is per-employee or flat pricing better for Singapore SMEs?

For most SMEs with more than 5 employees, flat pricing is cheaper because cost does not scale with headcount. At 50 employees, AIMM's flat Growth plan (S$29/month) costs less than one-eighth of per-employee vendors (S$150-S$250/month). Per-employee pricing only wins for very small teams where the per-head total is lower than the flat tier price.

Does PSG funding apply to payroll software?

Yes, PSG can cover up to 50% of pre-approved payroll solutions. Payboy, QuickHR, and JustLogin are PSG-eligible. AIMM Payroll's PSG pre-approval is in progress. Talenox is not PSG-eligible. If PSG funding is a procurement requirement today, consider Payboy, QuickHR, or JustLogin.

Are there hidden fees in Singapore payroll software?

Common hidden fees include setup charges (S$200-S$1,000), training fees, per-payslip pricing, API access fees on higher tiers, minimum seat requirements (e.g., JustLogin requires 5), and add-on module charges for leave, claims, or time attendance. Always ask for the full fee schedule before committing.

How much does payroll software cost per employee in Singapore?

Per-employee rates range from S$3 to S$5/employee/month for the payroll module. Payboy charges S$3-S$3.50, Talenox charges S$4.36 (annual), and QuickHR, JustLogin, and Swingvy charge S$5. SimplePay uses a base-plus-per-head model. AIMM's flat pricing means the effective per-employee cost ranges from S$0.58 (Growth at 50 employees) to S$0.99 (Starter at 10).

Can I switch payroll software mid-year in Singapore?

Yes, but it requires careful planning. The main risk is splitting employee YTD income data across two systems, complicating IRAS AIS filing. Ensure the new vendor can import YTD data and that IR8A data will be complete for the full tax year. The best time to switch is at the start of a calendar year or after filing the previous year's AIS submission.

Does AIMM Payroll support IRAS AIS filing?

AIMM Payroll supports IRAS filing and is working toward IRAS AIS Category A certification (direct API submission). AIMM is not yet IRAS AIS Category A certified. If your organisation requires Category A direct API submission today, verify the current status or consider a vendor already on the IRAS AIS software developers list.

What is the minimum number of employees for payroll software in Singapore?

Most payroll software has no strict minimum, but some vendors impose one. JustLogin requires 5 employees. AIMM's Free plan supports up to 3 at no cost. If you have even one employee in Singapore, you have CPF and SDL obligations, so payroll software is worth adopting early.

Summary

Singapore payroll software pricing comes down to one choice: do you want your cost to scale with headcount, or stay flat within a tier?

For most SMEs with 5 or more employees, flat per-company pricing from AIMM Payroll delivers the same core functionality at a fraction of the per-employee cost. At 50 employees, the difference is S$2,300-S$2,700 per year.

Per-employee pricing remains valid if PSG funding is a procurement requirement (Payboy, QuickHR, JustLogin are eligible today), or if you have a very small team where the per-head total is lower than the flat tier price.

Model your cost at your current and projected headcount 12 months out, include any add-on modules you will need, and compare the 12-month total. The vendor with the lowest headline rate is not always the cheapest in practice.

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