BrightPay
- Per employee
- Get quote
- Base fee
- Get quote
- CIS
- Yes (free)
- Global hiring
- No
- RTI filing
- Yes
- Est. monthly cost
- —
BrightPay
Top-rated UK payroll software with a banded annual licence, free CIS module and pension auto-enrolment included, and a free tier for up to three employees.
- Per employee
- Get quote
- Base fee
- Get quote
- CIS
- Yes (free)
- Global hiring
- No
Best for
Small UK businesses and payroll bureaus wanting top-rated, great-value payroll with CIS and auto-enrolment built in.
Pricing breakdown
All prices in GBPSourced from provider's published pricingEvery fee we track, grouped by where it applies.
Strengths and trade-offs
Pros
- Top-rated UK payroll software (Capterra 4.9)
- Banded licence is excellent value for small teams
- CIS module and auto-enrolment included free
- Free for up to three employees
Cons
- Self-service and cloud backup need the paid Connect add-on
- Moving to cloud-only subscription pricing from 2026/27
- Desktop-first heritage (cloud is newer)
- No deep native HR suite
About BrightPay
BrightPay is consistently the highest-rated UK payroll software, used by small businesses and bureaus alike. It is priced as a banded annual per-employer licence (free for up to three employees, then a flat fee by employee band) rather than per employee, which makes it excellent value for small teams. It is HMRC-recognised, files RTI directly, handles pension auto-enrolment with one-click submissions to NEST, The People's Pension, Smart Pension and others, and includes a CIS module and statutory pay at no extra cost. The optional BrightPay Connect add-on adds cloud backup and an employer and employee self-service app. From the 2026/27 tax year BrightPay is moving to a cloud subscription model.
BrightPay was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Duleek, Ireland.
How BrightPay compares
Side-by-side with the closest alternatives by estimated cost.
Base fee plus per-employee costs, based on 4 employees. Quote-only providers are excluded.
Sage
£10/mo est.
- Per employee
- £2/emp/mo
- Base fee
- £10/mo (Essentials, 5 emp)
- CIS
- Yes (Standard)
- Global hiring
- No
- RTI filing
- Yes
- Est. monthly cost
- £10/mo
QuickBooks Online
£27/mo est.
- Per employee
- £1.50/emp/mo
- Base fee
- £21/mo (sub + payroll)
- CIS
- Yes
- Global hiring
- No
- RTI filing
- Yes
- Est. monthly cost
- £27/mo
Employment Hero
£30/mo est.
- Per employee
- £3/emp/mo
- Base fee
- £0
- CIS
- Yes
- Global hiring
- No
- RTI filing
- Yes
- Est. monthly cost
- £30/mo
Common questions about BrightPay
The same questions UK merchants ask before signing up.
Yes. BrightPay is on HMRC's recognised payroll software list, submits RTI Full Payment Submissions, and handles workplace pension auto-enrolment with a wider range of pension providers than most competitors, including NEST, TPP, Smart Pension, and Aviva. Statutory pay and P60/P45 issuance are included as standard.
Yes, and it is included free rather than as a paid add-on. BrightPay handles Construction Industry Scheme deductions and HMRC reporting for subcontractors alongside standard PAYE payroll, a strong value option for small construction businesses that need both employee payroll and CIS in one subscription.
No, not as a general contractor-payment feature. BrightPay's contractor handling is scoped to CIS deductions and reporting for construction subcontractors specifically, rather than broader freelancer or international contractor payments. Businesses that need to pay non-CIS contractors will need a separate tool for that side of the business.
BrightPay suits micro to mid-sized UK businesses and payroll bureaus that want strong compliance at a low cost. Rated 4.9 out of 5 on Capterra from 345 reviews, it is sold on an annual licence rather than a rolling monthly subscription, and its Connect module adds a mobile app and employee self-service.
BrightPay includes Oscar AI, a native AI tool focused on onboarding new employees and simplifying setup. Beyond onboarding, integration with external AI agents and automation tools is via API access rather than a published MCP server, so deeper AI-agent connections currently require developer work rather than a plug-and-play connector.
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