IRIS bought our closest competitor. Here's the bigger company we're still smaller than.
IRIS Software Group is a $1B+ business management company rooted in the UK and now expanding US payroll aggressively — they own AccountantsWorld / Payroll Relief, and they offer a separate IRIS Payroll product line targeting accounting firms and payroll bureaus. Pricing is sales-led and not publicly published in the US market. The honest framing is: IRIS is the incumbent enterprise option for accountant-focused payroll software; Payrollix is the modern challenger built in 2025 with native mobile and in-house IRS e-filing.
$12/client/mo flat. 5 employees included; $2/mo each additional.
Quote-based (sales-led). No publicly published US pricing tier. Historical IRIS US pricing has been per-employee + per-client + setup fee.
Hard to publish a delta when the competitor doesn't publish their rate. What we can say: we publish ours, and there are no setup fees, contracts, or implementation fees.
Side by side — honestly, including where IRIS Payroll comes out ahead.
| Feature | Payrollix | IRIS Payroll |
|---|---|---|
| Published pricing | On the website | Quote-based |
| Setup / implementation fee | None | Typically applies |
| Multi-client dashboard | Native | Native (mature) |
| IRS e-filing | Yes — e-filed directly with the IRS | Via IRIS |
| Mobile app (iOS + Android) | Employee + client portals | Limited / browser-first |
| Dedicated client portal | Yes | Yes |
| Modern UI | Built 2025 | Enterprise-style, functional |
| In-house ACH partner | Moov | Multiple, depending on product line |
| Onboarding packet (8655 + state POAs) | One e-sign | Piecemeal |
| Free trial | 14 days | Demo only |
| Bureau heritage | Built 2025 for accountants | Decades of payroll-bureau DNA |
| Parent company scale | Bootstrapped startup | $1B+ revenue; 80,000+ customers globally |
| Product suite breadth (HR, accounting, CRM) | Payroll-focused | Full accounting / practice management suite |
| Reference customer base | Building | 21,000+ accountancy firms (combined IRIS + AccountantsWorld) |
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