If you bid public work, one feature decides everything: certified payroll at the prevailing wage. Get it wrong and a Davis-Bacon audit costs more than years of subscriptions. We reweighted the rubric around compliance and job costing, then ranked six — and named when the cheap, simple option is the right one.
Same five criteria, retuned for the trade. Certified payroll and prevailing-wage compliance lead, because they decide whether you can legally run a public job; job costing and multi-state follow. Slick UI matters least when a WH-347 is on the line. See the full rubric →
Certified payroll & prevailing wage30%
Job costing & time tracking25%
Multi-state & workers’ comp20%
Value15%
Ease of use10%
01
RANK
★ Editor’s Choice
ADP
Best for public & union work
The most complete answer to certified payroll: built-in prevailing-wage databases that update automatically, WH-347 generation pulled straight from timekeeping, plus union and fringe handling and job costing. For a contractor living on Davis-Bacon jobs, this removes the compliance risk that a single audit would dwarf. It is heavier and pricier than the modern tools, and that is the trade.
Handles prevailing-wage management and certified payroll reporting at federal, state and municipal level, with a construction-compliance app and a published entry price. If you want a dedicated compliance partner but found ADP's sales process heavy, this is the close substitute. Like ADP, the real cost depends on the modules you bolt on.
For a small contractor doing occasional prevailing-wage work, Gusto generates WH-347 reports and runs compliance checks at a fraction of the cost and pain of the heavyweights — and the Plus plan covers multi-state. It is lighter on deep job costing and union fringe, so if public, union jobs are your bread and butter you will outgrow it. For everyone else, it is the smart-money pick.
Modern, automation-heavy and strong if you run both an office and field crews and want HR, payroll and devices in one system. Certified payroll typically comes through an integration rather than natively, so confirm the prevailing-wage workflow fits before you commit. Best for a growing multi-entity builder, not a compliance-first specialist.
The PEO model bundles payroll, benefits and workers' compensation — genuinely valuable in a high-risk trade — under one clean platform. But it is not built for certified payroll or prevailing-wage reporting, so it suits a private-work crew that wants big-company benefits and easy comp, not a public-contract builder.
Excellent at global and contractor payroll — and the wrong tool for a domestic construction firm. The word "contractor" here means international independent workers, not your subcontractors, and there is no Davis-Bacon certified payroll. Listed so you do not mistake its branding for a construction fit; it is not one.
Pricing verified as of June 2026. Vendors change plans often · check the vendor for current pricing.
The verdict
If you bid public or union work, run ADP — the built-in wage databases and WH-347 automation buy you out of real audit risk, and Paychex is the close substitute if its sales process suits you better. If your jobs are mostly private, do not over-buy: Gusto on the Plus plan handles the occasional certified payroll for a fraction of the cost and none of the bloat.
The trap cuts both ways. Pick a sleek modern tool for its app and you may find it cannot produce a compliant WH-347 or union fringe when a public job lands — discovered, always, at the worst moment. But buy an enterprise compliance engine when you never touch prevailing wage, and you are paying for machinery you will never run. Match the tool to whether public work is actually in your pipeline, and revisit the choice the day that changes.
At a glance
✓ full · ∼ partial · — none
CapabilityADPPaychexGustoRipplingJustworksDeel
Certified payroll / WH-347✓✓∼∼——
Prevailing-wage databases✓✓————
Job costing✓✓∼∼——
Workers’ comp built in✓✓✓∼✓—
Published entry price—✓✓✓✓✓
Questions contractors ask
What is the one feature we actually need?
Certified payroll with prevailing-wage support. Any federally funded job over $2,000 falls under Davis-Bacon, meaning weekly WH-347 reports at the correct rate, with fringe and often union dues. If your work touches public contracts, a tool that cannot produce compliant certified payroll is not an option.
Does Gusto handle certified payroll?
It generates WH-347 reports and runs compliance checks, which covers many smaller contractors, but it is lighter on deep job costing and union fringe than ADP or Paychex. For occasional prevailing-wage jobs it is sensible and affordable; for heavy union or multi-agency work, the dedicated tools earn their cost.
Is ADP worth the premium for a small contractor?
If you regularly bid Davis-Bacon or state prevailing-wage work, yes — the wage databases, WH-347 automation and union handling remove risk a fine would dwarf. If you never touch public contracts, ADP is more machine than you need and Gusto serves you for far less.
What is the wrong-fit trap?
Choosing a slick tool on its interface and finding it cannot produce compliant certified payroll or union fringe for public jobs. The opposite trap is over-buying an enterprise PEO when you only run private residential work and never need prevailing wage.