# Payroll for startups: which vendors AI models recommend (September 2026)

Source: Memetik Index, https://www.memetik.ai/index/startup-payroll
Field: Startup stack. Edition: 2026-09. Run: 2026-09-02.
Method: 5 fixed buyer prompts sent once each to 10 current models (GPT-5.6 Sol, GPT-5.6 Terra, GPT-5.6 Luna, Claude Opus 5, Claude Sonnet 5, Claude Fable 5, Gemini 3.6 Flash, Gemini 3.5 Flash, Sonar Pro, Sonar Reasoning Pro) via their APIs with web search enabled. 50 answers. Answer share = fraction of answers naming the vendor. Named first = fraction where it was the first tracked vendor named.

**Gusto leads** with 100% answer share (named in 50 of 50 answers) and was named first in 86%. Rippling follows at 98%. 14 vendors were named at least once.

## Answer share

| # | Vendor | Answer share | Named first | Mentions | Models |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gusto | 100% | 86% | 50/50 | GPT-5.6 Sol, ChatGPT, GPT-5.6 Luna, Claude Opus 5, Claude, Claude Fable 5, Gemini, Gemini 3.5 Flash, Perplexity, Sonar Reasoning Pro |
| 2 | Rippling | 98% | 8% | 49/50 | GPT-5.6 Sol, ChatGPT, GPT-5.6 Luna, Claude Opus 5, Claude, Claude Fable 5, Gemini, Gemini 3.5 Flash, Perplexity, Sonar Reasoning Pro |
| 3 | Deel | 84% | 6% | 42/50 | GPT-5.6 Sol, ChatGPT, GPT-5.6 Luna, Claude Opus 5, Claude, Claude Fable 5, Gemini, Gemini 3.5 Flash, Perplexity, Sonar Reasoning Pro |
| 4 | Justworks | 62% | 0% | 31/50 | GPT-5.6 Sol, ChatGPT, GPT-5.6 Luna, Claude Opus 5, Claude, Claude Fable 5, Gemini, Gemini 3.5 Flash, Perplexity, Sonar Reasoning Pro |
| 5 | QuickBooks Payroll | 56% | 0% | 28/50 | GPT-5.6 Sol, ChatGPT, GPT-5.6 Luna, Claude Opus 5, Claude, Claude Fable 5, Gemini, Gemini 3.5 Flash, Perplexity, Sonar Reasoning Pro |
| 6 | OnPay | 52% | 0% | 26/50 | GPT-5.6 Sol, ChatGPT, GPT-5.6 Luna, Claude Opus 5, Claude, Claude Fable 5, Gemini, Perplexity, Sonar Reasoning Pro |
| 7 | Patriot Payroll | 26% | 0% | 13/50 | Claude Opus 5, Claude, Claude Fable 5, Gemini, Gemini 3.5 Flash, Perplexity, Sonar Reasoning Pro |
| 8 | ADP | 22% | 0% | 11/50 | ChatGPT, GPT-5.6 Luna, Claude Opus 5, Claude, Claude Fable 5, Perplexity, Sonar Reasoning Pro |
| 9 | Square Payroll | 10% | 0% | 5/50 | ChatGPT, Claude Opus 5, Claude Fable 5, Perplexity, Sonar Reasoning Pro |
| 10 | Paychex | 8% | 0% | 4/50 | Claude Opus 5, Claude, Claude Fable 5 |
| 11 | Remote | 6% | 0% | 3/50 | GPT-5.6 Sol, Gemini, Gemini 3.5 Flash |
| 12 | Oyster | 2% | 0% | 1/50 | Sonar Reasoning Pro |
| 13 | Wave Payroll | 2% | 0% | 1/50 | Sonar Reasoning Pro |
| 14 | Zenefits | 2% | 0% | 1/50 | Claude Fable 5 |

## By model

- **GPT-5.6 Sol** (OpenAI, gpt-5.6-sol, 5 answers): Gusto 100%, Rippling 100%, Deel 80%, Justworks 60%, QuickBooks Payroll 40%
- **GPT-5.6 Terra** (OpenAI, gpt-5.6-terra, 5 answers): Gusto 100%, Rippling 100%, Justworks 80%, Deel 60%, QuickBooks Payroll 60%
- **GPT-5.6 Luna** (OpenAI, gpt-5.6-luna, 5 answers): Gusto 100%, Rippling 100%, Justworks 80%, Deel 60%, QuickBooks Payroll 40%
- **Claude Opus 5** (Anthropic, claude-opus-5, 5 answers): Gusto 100%, Rippling 100%, Deel 100%, Justworks 80%, QuickBooks Payroll 80%
- **Claude Sonnet 5** (Anthropic, claude-sonnet-5, 5 answers): Gusto 100%, Rippling 100%, Deel 100%, Justworks 80%, OnPay 80%
- **Claude Fable 5** (Anthropic, claude-fable-5, 5 answers): Gusto 100%, QuickBooks Payroll 100%, Rippling 80%, Deel 80%, OnPay 80%
- **Gemini 3.6 Flash** (Google, gemini-3.6-flash, 5 answers): Gusto 100%, Rippling 100%, Deel 80%, Justworks 60%, QuickBooks Payroll 40%
- **Gemini 3.5 Flash** (Google, gemini-3.5-flash, 5 answers): Gusto 100%, Rippling 100%, Deel 100%, Justworks 60%, QuickBooks Payroll 40%
- **Sonar Pro** (Perplexity, sonar-pro, 5 answers): Gusto 100%, Rippling 100%, Deel 80%, OnPay 80%, QuickBooks Payroll 60%
- **Sonar Reasoning Pro** (Perplexity, sonar-reasoning-pro, 5 answers): Gusto 100%, Rippling 100%, Deel 100%, OnPay 80%, QuickBooks Payroll 60%

## Sources the models cited

- youtube.com: 126
- valueaddvc.com: 118
- gusto.com: 105
- patriotsoftware.com: 44
- johngalt-finance.com: 39
- hrtechsaas.com: 35
- warp.co: 25
- karllhughes.com: 25
- recruiterslineup.com: 25
- withbridges.com: 24
- rho.co: 23
- rippling.com: 22
- oysterhr.com: 22
- reddit.com: 21
- adp.com: 19

## Prompts

1. What is the best payroll software for a startup with 10 employees? Name specific products.
2. Which payroll provider should a seed-stage US startup use?
3. Compare the top payroll tools for small tech companies.
4. I'm a founder hiring my first employees. What payroll service do you recommend?
5. Best payroll and benefits platform for a remote startup team?

## Tracked but never named

Paycor, Papaya Global

Raw answers: https://www.memetik.ai/index/startup-payroll (every answer published in full). Chart image: https://www.memetik.ai/charts/startup-payroll.png. Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit "Memetik Index".