Best PEOs and HR consultancies (2026): payroll, benefits, and who actually advises
A PEO co-employs your US team so payroll, benefits, and some HR compliance run through their system. An employer of record is the closer idea when the person is in another country. A people consultancy redesigns how the organization works and does not run payroll.
Prices are mostly quoted per employee. Justworks has published flat per-employee pricing in the past. Confirm the current figure on their site, because this page does not repeat a number we could not read there on the day we checked. Recruiting the people onto that payroll is tech recruiting agencies and the specialist lists below.
Key takeaways
- TriNet, Justworks, Insperity, and Sequoia One are PEOs. Sequoia One aims at venture-backed technology startups. TriNet's site describes a full-service HR platform for payroll, benefits, and compliance.
- Rippling is a workforce system for HR, IT, and finance, with PEO available as part of that platform. Deel is an employer of record and global payroll product.
- ADP and Paychex sell payroll and HR, including PEO products (ADP TotalSource and Paychex's PEO).
- Mercer, which is moving under the Marsh name, consults on health, benefits, and retirement. The Ready consults on how organizations are designed.
- Do not compare a PEO's per-employee fee to a consultancy's project fee. They buy different things.
PEOs for US employees
A PEO is a fit when you want benefits and payroll administration without building an HR team. Ask whether you are a co-employer, what happens to the benefits if you leave, and how employee data is exported.
TriNet
PEO and HR platform. The site describes a full-service option for payroll, benefits, and compliance, plus a lighter HR Plus service for payroll processing and tax. It also sells benefits and HR support on their own.
Best for: Growing companies that want a PEO with industry-specific plans
Fees: Administrative fee is per employee. A standard public rate was not on the pages checked.
Justworks
PEO aimed at small and growing companies. It bundles payroll, benefits, and HR compliance. Public comparisons describe a flat per-employee price. Confirm the current Basic and Plus rates on Justworks' own pricing page before you budget.
Best for: Early teams that want a simple US PEO
Fees: Per employee per month. Read the live pricing page. This card does not restate a figure we could not fetch.
Insperity
PEO that assigns HR support alongside payroll and benefits. It is built for companies that want a person to call, not only a portal. Pricing is quoted.
Best for: Companies that want a dedicated HR contact with the PEO
Fees: Quoted. Not published as a single rate.
Sequoia One
PEO oriented to venture-backed technology startups. The site emphasizes benefits, payroll, HR, and equity compensation alongside the administrative work. This is not Sequoia Capital.
Best for: VC-backed startups competing on benefits and equity admin
Fees: Quoted. A standard public rate was not on the page checked.
Rippling
Workforce platform covering HR, IT, and finance. The PEO is one module on that system, so you can run HR and devices in the same product. The PEO price is quoted separately from software seats.
Best for: Teams that want HR, IT, and payroll in one system
Fees: Platform seats and the PEO are priced separately. PEO rate not published as a single number.
ADP TotalSource
ADP's PEO, sold next to ADP payroll. It is the option when you expect to grow into a larger, more complex US workforce and want the payroll infrastructure ADP already runs.
Best for: Companies that may outgrow a startup PEO
Fees: Quoted. Not published as a standard rate.
Paychex
Payroll and HR company that also sells a PEO. A fit when payroll is the main job and you may add co-employment later.
Best for: Payroll-first companies considering a PEO
Fees: Quoted.
Global employment and people consultancies
Deel is how many startups employ someone outside the US without opening an entity. Mercer and The Ready do not run your payroll.
Deel
Global payroll and employer-of-record platform. Companies use it to hire and pay people in countries where they do not have a legal entity. It is not a US PEO in the TriNet sense, even though the monthly fee can look similar.
Best for: Hiring employees or contractors outside your home country
Fees: Per-employee or per-contractor fees are on Deel's pricing flow. Confirm the country, because the price is not one global number.
Mercer
People and investments consultancy, in the process of moving under the Marsh name. Work includes health and benefits strategy, retirement plans, and related data. It advises. It does not co-employ your staff.
Best for: Benefits strategy once a PEO is too small
Fees: Consulting fees are quoted.
The Ready
Organization design consultancy. The work is how teams are structured and how HR operates, including operating-model and people-process design. It is not a payroll provider.
Best for: Redesigning how a people team works
Fees: Project fees are quoted.
Fees are from each firm's own site as of November 2026. Where a dollar rate was not visible, the card says so. This is an opinionated list, not a paid ranking, and nobody paid to be on it.
PEOs and HR consultancies compared
| Firm | Best for | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| TriNet | Growing companies that want a PEO with industry-specific plans | Per employee, rate not published |
| Justworks | Early teams that want a simple US PEO | Published per employee |
| Insperity | Companies that want a dedicated HR contact with the PEO | Not published |
| Sequoia One | VC-backed startups competing on benefits and equity admin | Not published |
| Rippling | Teams that want HR, IT, and payroll in one system | PEO quoted |
| ADP TotalSource | Companies that may outgrow a startup PEO | Not published |
| Paychex | Payroll-first companies considering a PEO | Not published |
| Deel | Hiring employees or contractors outside your home country | Varies by country |
| Mercer | Benefits strategy once a PEO is too small | Not published |
| The Ready | Redesigning how a people team works | Not published |
Fees as published on each firm's own site in November 2026. "Not published" means we did not see a current dollar rate.
How to choose a PEO
Compare the all-in cost, not the administrative fee alone. Benefits, workers' compensation, and the cost of leaving belong in the same spreadsheet.
- Ask if you are co-employed, and which party is the employer of record in each state or country.
- Ask for a benefits summary and the employee contribution, not only the admin fee.
- Ask how equity administration is handled. Sequoia One talks about this directly. Others may not.
- Ask for the data export and the notice period if you leave.
- If the problem is org design, buy a consultancy. A PEO will not redraw the operating model.
Payroll does not create pipeline
OneGTM does not sell PEO or HR consulting. We build outbound and CRM systems.
Once people are on payroll and the sales seats are filled, the system they need is on the outbound agency page.
- Benefits are sorted and the new sellers still have no account list.
- HR and sales disagree on what a ramped rep means.
PEO and HR consultancy FAQ
What is a PEO, and which firms sell one?
How much does a PEO cost?
Which PEO is aimed at startups?
What is the difference between a PEO and an RPO?
Does OneGTM offer HR or PEO services?
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