Trying to compare HR outsourcing prices is genuinely confusing, and not by accident. One provider quotes per employee, another quotes a percentage of payroll, a third quotes a flat monthly fee, and none of them are directly comparable until you do the math against your own headcount. Here is how to cut through it.
The three pricing models
Fractional HR: flat monthly retainer
Typically $1,800 to $6,500/month depending on the scope and your size, but flat regardless of headcount. You pay the same whether you have 20 employees or 50. Predictable, and it does not punish you for growing.
PEO: per employee per month
Usually $100 to $200 per employee per month, or sometimes a percentage of total payroll. This scales directly with your team. A 30-person company at $125/employee pays about $3,750/month, or roughly $45,000/year in admin fees, separate from the benefits themselves.
Payroll services: base plus per-employee
A base fee (roughly $40 to $150/month) plus a per-employee charge. Cheapest sticker price, but it only covers payroll, leaving every other HR function and its cost on you.
What it costs at different sizes
| Company size | Fractional HR (flat) | PEO (~$125/emp/mo) |
|---|---|---|
| 15 employees | ~$1,800/mo | ~$1,875/mo |
| 30 employees | ~$3,500/mo | ~$3,750/mo |
| 50 employees | ~$3,500–$6,500/mo | ~$6,250/mo |
| 75 employees | ~$6,500/mo | ~$9,375/mo |
The pattern: at the small end they are close, and as you grow the flat retainer pulls ahead on cost. A PEO may still justify its fee through pooled benefits, but on administration alone, flat wins at scale.
The hidden costs to ask about
- PEO setup and exit: onboarding fees, benefit markups, and the real cost of migrating everyone off the PEO if you leave later.
- Payroll add-ons: charges for additional states, off-cycle runs, or year-end filings.
- Fractional scope creep: confirm the retainer is truly flat and what it includes versus what is billed separately.
Versus a full-time hire
A full-time HR manager runs $70,000 to $90,000 a year fully loaded (salary, benefits, taxes, tools). Outsourced fractional HR at $1,800 to $6,500/month is roughly a quarter of that, and you only pay for the senior time you actually use rather than filling a forty-hour week. For most companies under about 75 employees, that math favors outsourcing. (Full breakdown in fractional vs full-time HR cost.)
The bottom line
HR outsourcing costs range from cheap-and-narrow (payroll) to scaling-with-headcount (PEO) to flat-and-full (fractional HR). Convert every quote to annual cost at your real size before comparing, and watch the hidden fees. Bevel HR keeps it simple: flat retainers from $1,800/month, no per-employee surprises.
Written by the Bevel HR team, 10+ years of HR inside startups, SaaS, and Fortune 500 brands. Bevel HR provides HR consulting, not legal advice.