For a US small business running weekly wages, the first Patriot Payroll decision is often whether to file payroll taxes yourself or pay Patriot to handle them. Its Basic and Full Service plans make that choice explicit. Neither choice answers a different question: who will employ your next hire abroad?
Patriot makes sense when you need payroll for your US workforce. Borderless AI becomes relevant when an overseas employee needs a legal employer and you do not want to establish your own local entity. A business may need both services for different workers.
What changes between the services?
Patriot's payroll FAQ establishes its US scope. Borderless's EOR service covers international employment, including agreements, onboarding, payroll, taxes and benefits.
Basic versus Full Service is a tax-filing decision
Patriot Basic calculates payroll taxes, but the customer handles deposits and filings. Full Service adds those tasks for the applicable taxes configured in the account. Its tax-service guidance also explains that customers must keep their assigned tax-deposit frequency current.
Buying Full Service does not finish the setup. Patriot says it cannot collect, deposit or file taxes until the customer completes the tax-filing setup. An owner switching plans should confirm when Patriot's filing responsibility starts, rather than assuming the subscription upgrade alone transfers the work.
That distinction matters for a small business with an accountant already handling filings. Basic can preserve that division of work. Full Service is the more relevant Patriot option when you want to delegate filing and deposits. You remain the employer in either case; Patriot's service terms distinguish its software and payment role from employment obligations.
How much does Patriot Payroll cost?
As checked on October 19, 2026, Patriot's regular payroll pricing was:
- Basic: $17 per month plus $4 per worker paid.
- Full Service: $37 per month plus $5 per worker paid.
- Full Service filing in additional states: $12 per month for each additional state.
The page also advertised a trial and introductory discounts. Budget using the ongoing rate and any optional products you need. Both payroll plans include unlimited runs; accounting, HR and timekeeping have separate product choices.
An EOR quote covers a different service scope from a payroll subscription. Ask for the EOR service fee and the employee's salary, employer taxes and benefits as separate cost components. Comparing only the two advertised monthly figures would hide the difference in what you are buying.
Do contractors require Patriot Accounting?
No. Patriot's contractor help applies to both Basic and Full Service Payroll. Contractors can be added in payroll; Accounting provides an additional vendor and payable-invoice workflow. Buying Accounting is not a prerequisite for paying contractors through payroll.
For year-end reporting, Full Service includes federal 1099 filing and participating combined federal/state filings, but customers must initiate the filing. Do not assume every contractor task runs automatically.
The accounting question still deserves attention if your team adds an international service. Patriot lists connections to its own Accounting and to QuickBooks accounting. Ask your finance team how overseas employment costs will enter the books and who will reconcile them. A payroll accounting connection does not, by itself, establish a connection to your EOR.
Can Patriot handle Canadian or UK employees?
Patriot's published scope is US payroll. Its FAQ says the software is available for employees working in the USA, so a buyer in Canada or the UK should not mistake access to a US product for support for local Canadian or UK payroll. Its terms also require a US-registered business and verified US business bank account for the service.
For an overseas employee, first establish whether your business already has an appropriate local employer. If so, evaluate payroll processing for that arrangement. If the missing piece is the legal employer, consider an EOR. Borderless offers global payroll and EOR as separate service scopes; confirm the required country and employment arrangement before selecting either.
Can you keep Patriot and add Borderless AI?
Keeping Patriot for the US workforce and adding Borderless for an overseas employee can be a sensible arrangement. Confirm that each provider accepts its part of your workforce. This approach avoids turning one international hire into an automatic domestic payroll replacement project.
Before proceeding, agree who owns employee changes, payroll approvals and the accounting records across the two services. Evaluate any data connection separately. For a business whose staff all work in the US, Patriot's Basic versus Full Service decision may be the only comparison it needs. For a business hiring abroad, the decisive issue is whether it needs payroll processing or a legal employer for that employee.