Free quiz · 6 questions
Headcount, benefits, and workers' comp decide this one. Six questions and you will know which model suits you, and what you give up either way.
Your result
This quiz is a guide for planning only. It is not tax, legal, insurance, or accounting advice. Get written quotes and read any co-employment agreement before you commit.
Behind the quiz
Three things decide this choice for almost every business. The quiz scores each answer toward one model or the other, then reads the gap.
Under about five employees, most PEOs will not quote you. Between roughly twenty and one hundred, the pooled buying power is worth the most. Past a few hundred, you can usually buy benefits directly for less. Every extra state you pay in pushes the answer toward a PEO.
These two lines carry the most weight, because they are the things a payroll service does not solve. A PEO puts your team on its master medical plan and its comp policy. If benefits are already good or comp is cheap, that advantage mostly disappears.
A PEO is a co-employer, so HR advice, handbooks, and part of the employment risk move with it. That is the appeal, and it is also the cost: less control, a higher blended price per employee, and real friction if you ever want to leave.
The quiz gives you a direction and the reasons behind it. Get written quotes for both before you sign anything.
A direction is useful. Two real numbers on paper are better. Compare vetted providers side by side, free, with no obligation to switch.