PayHr vs Rise: base fees and HR scope

Which option fits your business?

Evaluate PayHr Manual if your priority is free payroll software and your Ontario business can own the payment process. Evaluate Rise when payroll and people-management work belong in the same buying decision. For paid plans, do not compare Rise’s employee component with PayHr’s complete usage charge: the missing base fee can change which total is lower.

Pricing and assumptions

Rise’s pricing page lists Start at $8 CAD per employee per month and says all tiers have a base fee. Grow and Optimize require pricing enquiries. Start combines payroll and people management. The base fee must be added to every Rise example below.

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.

Resolve the missing base fee first

For ten employees, $80 is the employee component, not the final Rise bill. Request the base fee, minimum commitment and any implementation charge in writing. Ask for the same quote with and without optional modules so you can see what changes the total.

Next, identify the employee lifecycle work you want to centralise. A business growing its hiring and HR processes may value a wider platform differently from an owner running a small, stable payroll. Compare outcomes such as fewer duplicate records rather than counting menu items.

What to check before choosing

Give each vendor a sample new hire, pay change and departure. Check whether your province and payment schedule are supported and who handles year-end adjustments. Until the base fee is known, do not treat this table as proof that either product has the lower total.

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

The base fee can reverse the comparison

For ten employees paid twice monthly, PayHr automation has a $120 recurring usage fee. Rise Start’s published employee component is $80. Let the quoted monthly base be B: the recurring comparison is $120 against $80 + B. Before extras, the totals meet when B is $40.

A lower base would put Rise below the PayHr automation example; a higher base would put it above. This is a break-even calculation, not a claim about Rise’s actual base fee. Setup, optional modules and document work still belong in the final budget.

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

Frequently asked questions

Is Rise Start $8 per employee with nothing else to pay?

No. Its pricing page states that a base fee applies. The employee amount can be calculated, but the complete bill requires that additional figure.

Can I decide from the five-person table?

You can compare the known employee component and PayHr’s two options. You cannot determine the full paid-plan price difference until Rise confirms its base fee and any required extras.

Put your next payday in order

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