Comparison

Payrollguru vs Hourly Payroll

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Payrollguru

This app calculates net pay and applicable taxes from gross wages for both salary and hourly employees. It supports unlimited employee profiles, customizable deductions, and detailed tax breakdowns for all 50 states and D.C. View paycheck distributions and email details.

Highlights
  • Salary and hourly paycheck calculation
  • Unlimited employee profiles
  • Up to 8 pre-tax/post-tax deductions
  • Federal, state, and local tax calculation
  • Year-to-date gross wage tracking
  • Paycheck pie chart visualization
  • Email paycheck details
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Payroll Guru calculates paychecks with net pay amount and applicable taxes from gross wages. Salary and Hourly calculations of paycheck ----------------------------------------- Important Note: For Salary calculation just enter Gross Pay Amount in the appropriate field, do not enter anything else. For Hourly calculation please enter rate and hours (OT, DT) and the Gross Pay amount will be automatically calculated! ----------------------------------------- Unlimited profiles ----------------------------------------- Payroll Guru app allows for unlimited number of profiles to cover every employee or a group of similarly taxed employees. Profiles can be saved and edited and include state, marital status, pay period, allowances and deductions information. 8 pre-tax or post-tax deductions ----------------------------------------- Payrollguru app allows up to 8 pre-tax and/or post-tax deductions, which are setup as a fixed amount deduction or a % of gross pay. Deductions are customizable and can differ from one profile to another. The deductions can be modified to accommodate various taxing scenarios. For example for 401K deduction - select pretax and turn ON Federal and State switches to exclude it from being taxed on federal and state levels. Once you enter all information and include year-to-date gross paid wages, Payroll Guru will calculate your net paycheck amount and will show you the appropraite taxes. Payroll Guru calculates the following taxes: - Federal WIthholding, - Social Security, - Medicare, - State Withholding, - State Unemployment (where applicable), - State Disability Insurance (where applicable). Calculated paychecks can be viewed as a pie chart showing the percentage distribution of your gross pay. Paycheck details can be emailed to an employee, employer or a payroll service provider. Payrollguru app is a must have for any self-employed person or employer in the US to calculate paychecks and verify accuracy of issued paychecks. Payrollguru app will also be useful to any employee looking to improve financial planning, budget spending and estimate impact of personal changes (i.e. marital status, number of dependents) on net take home amount. Employees can also use Payroll Guru app to compare net paycheck amounts (after tax) in different states. This will be useful for employees considering job or relocation to a different state. For small business owners and payroll service providers Payrollguru will help estimate net and gross paycheck amounts in a particular payroll situation, and will provide a pretty accurate assessment of applicable payroll taxes. Payrollguru app calculates payroll taxes for all 50 states and District of Columbia. If you have any improvement suggestions or would like to report a problem please email us directly at support@payrollguru.mobi. We also appreciate your positive feedback and reviews. Thank you for using Payroll Guru app. Enjoy it!

About

Hourly Payroll

Streamline your business operations by replacing manual time tracking and payroll processes. This app offers real-time employee time tracking, seamless payroll integration, and powerful reporting tools to save administrative time and boost productivity.

Highlights
  • Real-time employee time tracking
  • Mobile clock-in/out with GPS
  • Seamless payroll integration
  • Automated overtime calculations
  • On-demand reports (CSV, PDF)
  • W2 and 1099 payroll processing
  • Employee self-service pay stub access
Read full description

Stop using paper timesheets and Excel to run your business. Use Hourly to track time in real-time instead. We help you save hundreds of hours on admin, increase productivity, and take control of your business. _________________________ “The guys who created Hourly are solving a problem they know firsthand, and it shows…” Bader Khalil at Mediterranean Wraps “I love that my employees can see their pay stubs any time on their phone.” Mavell Sagastume at Gladiator Repipe “Onboarding everyone was simple with video tutorials available in English and Spanish.” Shawn Gordon at S-G-Electric, Inc. _________________________ Replace paper time sheets and make payroll faster. See where your employees are and who’s doing what in real time. Mobile time tracking for employees on the move: clock in, clock out, change jobs, and edit timesheets. Seamless integration with payroll On the clock GPS tracking even when employees are out of service. Save on payroll costs and eliminate hours of manual entry. Powerful, real-time reports in multiple formats (CSV, PDF). Safe data storage and detailed logs to protect you during labor disputes and audits. Unlimited free phone, email, text and chat support. TRACK TIME • Track employee hours automatically down to the second • Easily switch between jobs and tasks, pause, and take a break • Enforce mandatory start times, breaks and 8 hour days • Get notified if your employee doesn’t clock in to a job • Automatic daily and weekly overtime earnings calculations MANAGE TIME • Edit, delete or approve timesheets • See who’s working and where • Track vacation, sick or holiday accruals REPORTS • See day, week and monthly report totals at a glance • Easily access hours by employee, job, customer or location • Audit friendly, keeps a history of all edits and deletions PAYROLL • Create accurate paychecks for your employees and contractors (W2 and 1099) • Direct deposits, print at home checks, mailed checks • Get reminders about upcoming payday and tax deadlines • View past paychecks • Rest easy with bank-level security EMPLOYEE VIEW • See how much you earned in real time • Easily clock in and out and change tasks on the fly • Handy notifications and reminders to take breaks

Screenshots

Payrollguru4 screens
Hourly Payroll4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Hourly Payroll at Free against Payrollguru's $4.99. Hourly Payroll also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.3) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 12 months). Payrollguru's advantage is chart position (#37 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (13.2 vs 16.0). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Hourly Payroll is free to download; Payrollguru costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Hourly Payroll holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Hourly Payroll has 209 ratings behind it against 40, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 39% of Payrollguru's written reviews are positive against 58% of Hourly Payroll's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Payrollguru ships an update every 12 months, Hourly Payroll every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Payrollguru versus Hourly Payroll: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPayrollguruHourly Payroll
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating3.3 (40 ratings)4.7 (209 ratings) — better
Positive reviews39.4% of reviews58.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings40209 — better
Update frequencyEvery 12 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank#37 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.2 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB70 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPayrollguru, Inc.Hourly, Inc.

Customer experience

Payrollguru

All ratings39 ratings
Positive48.7%
Neutral10.3%
Negative41.0%
Written reviews66 reviews
Positive39.4%
Neutral10.6%
Negative50.0%

Hourly Payroll

All ratings209 ratings
Positive91.9%
Neutral2.9%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive58.3%
Neutral8.3%
Negative33.3%

Bugs and requests

Payrollguru

Reported bugs

18 issues
  • App crashes instantly
  • App crashes
  • App crashes after update
  • App doesn't work after payment
  • No connection error
Show 13 more
  • State tax calculation bug over $3500
  • Social security deduction incorrect (max limit)
  • App is all black after update
  • App doesn't save entries or YTD
  • App not compatible with device
  • Error: request timed out
  • App doesn't work on iPhone 5C
  • App doesn't calculate hours correctly
  • Federal/state tax not calculated
  • 401k not calculated properly
  • Does not update YTD
  • Removed salary calculator feature
  • Tax rates are off

Requested features

20 requests
  • Add section for bonuses
  • Add holiday pay section
  • Ability to print checks and W2s
  • Save data to be exported
  • Add YTD functionality
Show 15 more
  • Add local (city) tax tables
  • Add percentages for pre-taxes
  • Include flat dollar amounts for special projects
  • Add PA local taxes automatically
  • Add additional withholdings
  • Add 401k functionality
  • Add salary calculator feature
  • Ability to email pay check details with pay period
  • Update for new tax rates
  • Add decimals for hours worked
  • Update WA State WAPFML tax
  • Update California SDI percentage
  • Add more options for wages and deductions
  • Allow changing state in settings
  • Add support for older iPhones

Hourly Payroll

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Payrollguru

No in-app purchases

None

Hourly Payroll

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Payrollguru free?
Payrollguru costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Hourly Payroll free?
Hourly Payroll is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Payrollguru or Hourly Payroll?
Hourly Payroll is rated higher. Payrollguru averages 3.3 out of 5 from 40 ratings, while Hourly Payroll averages 4.7 from 209 ratings.
Do Payrollguru or Hourly Payroll have ads?
Neither Payrollguru nor Hourly Payroll shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Payrollguru or Hourly Payroll?
Payrollguru ships an update every 12 months, and Hourly Payroll every 2 weeks. Most recently, Payrollguru was updated on October 26, 2026 and Hourly Payroll on October 24, 2026.

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