Best Payroll 2026
The top paye, uif & sdl for South African SMEs.
Ranked by editors using local pricing, POPIA posture, SARS/compliance fit and community reviews. Updated quarterly.
- 1
SimplePay
Editor's Choice POPIAPainless SARS-ready payroll built in South Africa.
4.8R50 / employee / month- EMP201 export
- ETI handled
- Human support
- 2
Sage Payroll
POPIAEnterprise-grade payroll with deep HR ties.
4.6R120 / employee / month- Sage HR bundle
- IRP5s built-in
- Local compliance
- 3
PaySpace
POPIAMulti-country African payroll and HR.
4.5Custom quoted- Pan-African
- Strong HR
- Compliance updates
Frequently asked
Does payroll software submit to SARS for me?
It generates the files. Submission still happens in eFiling / e@syFile, but the export is one click.
How is ETI handled?
Reputable SA platforms (SimplePay, Sage, PaySpace) calculate ETI automatically for qualifying employees.
Can I run payroll for one director?
Yes — every platform above supports single-employee payroll.