PayHr vs Knit: payroll, HR and pricing

Which option fits your business?

PayHr Manual is worth evaluating when a small Ontario team can manage its own payments and wants to avoid a payroll subscription. Knit merits a closer look when a monthly payroll package or broader employee administration would replace work you already do elsewhere. For paid automation alone, its illustrated Lite fee is lower than PayHr’s at ten employees paid twice monthly.

Pricing and assumptions

Knit’s published plans show Lite at $40 monthly plus $6 per employee and Complete at $50 plus $8. Lite includes unlimited runs; Complete adds HR capabilities. The examples use Lite’s displayed dollar amounts; confirm billing currency and applicable charges with Knit.

PayHr Manual — Free ($0 service fee). Unlimited employees, contractors and manual pay runs, with manual T4/T4A and ROE workflows. Your team arranges and verifies wage payments, tax remittances and manual submissions; bank or adviser charges may still apply. Paid automation is optional.

Examples compare service fees before tax, wages, employer contributions and remittances. They exclude promotions, optional filings and extras unless stated. All employees are paid on every run; there are no contractors. These are budgeting examples, not equivalent service packages or provider quotes.

What PayHr includes

PayHr has free manual payroll and optional automated payments at $6 per person per automated run, plus a one-time $25 automation setup fee. Optional automated ROEs cost $5 each and T4/T4A filings $15 each. Manual document workflows remain free. Review the full PayHr pricing before choosing automation.

PayHr’s employee workflow is Ontario-first; Quebec payroll is not supported. A payment method is saved during workspace setup. Payroll approval records the run and does not itself transfer wages or remit taxes. Compare the work you retain as well as the fee.

Price the work beyond payday

Create a list of the employee records, approvals and leave requests your team handles every month. Mark which ones are already handled adequately elsewhere. Paying for a larger suite makes sense only if the functions solve a real need or simplify a handoff.

A useful demo starts with a new employee and ends with the accountant reconciling payroll. Ask the presenter to show who enters each detail, where approval happens and how a correction flows through the records. Do not assume that a feature name proves the workflow fits your business.

What to check before choosing

For a fair budget, record the payroll plan and every optional module separately. Ask whether all employees must be licensed for an add-on. Compare your existing bookkeeping process with the proposed export or integration before attributing savings to it.

For a broader shortlist, see our Canadian payroll pricing comparison and pay-frequency cost guide.

Separate payroll savings from HR savings

Imagine a ten-person agency that already keeps employee documents and leave requests in another system. The illustrated recurring payroll fees are $120 for PayHr automation and $100 for Knit Lite. Moving to Knit Complete would instead be $130 using the displayed rates.

The extra $30 over Lite needs its own justification: does the team retire another subscription, remove duplicate entry or gain a workflow it needs? If the agency keeps its existing HR system, those benefits may not materialise. Compare the proposed process with the current one before counting either software savings or staff time. Confirm Knit’s billing currency before treating the displayed dollar totals as a final budget.

Illustrative scenario, not a customer case study. Costs use the assumptions and source rates stated in this guide.

Frequently asked questions

Does a larger HR plan automatically make payroll better?

No. A larger plan is useful when its additional workflow solves a specific problem. Start with a new hire, leave request and pay change, then see which tier handles them the way your team needs.

Can PayHr Manual replace an HR suite?

Free payroll pricing does not establish that an entire HR suite can be replaced. Evaluate the employee records and payroll tasks you need separately from recruiting, leave management and other HR requirements.

Put your next payday in order

Explore PayHr’s payroll software and free manual payroll plan, or follow the workspace setup guide.