Justworks

Justworks is a technology company that provides an integrated HR platform combining payroll, employee benefits, compliance support, and HR tools for small and medium-sized businesses. Its core offering is a technology-enabled Professional Employer Organization (PEO), through which it aggregates employees across many customer companies to obtain access to large-company benefits such as medical, dental, and vision insurance, plus COBRA administration and 401(k) retirement plans. Alongside the PEO, the company sells a standalone payroll product (launched in 2023) that includes multi-state payroll, multiple pay rates, off-cycle and holiday pay, tip processing, digital pay stubs, employer payroll tax filings, W-2 and 1099 filings, onboarding/offboarding, PTO management, a document center, accounting integrations, and analytics.

The platform also supports contractor and international hiring: customers can pay US-based contractors and vendors, onboard and pay international contractors in more than 60 countries, and hire employees abroad through an employer-of-record arrangement without establishing a foreign entity. Add-on modules include time tracking, dedicated HR consulting, and benefits access. Customer support is delivered by phone, email, and in-platform chat, with a 24/7 resource center.

The company reports operating scale figures for 2025 of more than $31 billion in payroll processed, $8.9 billion in taxes processed, and over 268,000 W-2s generated for PEO customers, with support for more than 4,000 tax localities.

Founding story

Founder Isaac Oates experienced administrative, cost, and compliance burdens while running his first startup, Adtuitive. After Etsy acquired Adtuitive in 2009, Oates led Etsy's HR and payments group, working with remote, distributed, freelance, and part-time workers, and again observed the administrative and compliance burden on employers. In 2012 he left Etsy to build Justworks.

Business model

Justworks operates as a PEO and HR software provider, charging recurring per-employee and base subscription fees. Its published payroll plan is priced at $8 per employee per month plus a $50 monthly base fee, with additional fees for time tracking, international contractors, employer-of-record services, and other international products. The company emphasizes transparent pricing without hidden fees.

Subscription/service fees billed monthly, structured as a base fee plus per-employee-per-month (PEPM) pricing for salaried and hourly employees and domestic contractors, with separately billed add-ons such as time tracking, benefits access, international contractor payments, and employer-of-record services.

Traction

Licensed in all 50 US states as of 2016; over 86,000 employees on the platform as of January 2020; in 2025 the company processed more than $31 billion in payroll and $8.9 billion in taxes and generated over 268,000 W-2s for PEO customers. It cites a 4.6 G2 rating and publishes numerous customer case studies.

Latest developments

Company-reported 2025 volumes of $31 billion in payroll and $8.9 billion in taxes processed; a limited-time three-months-free payroll promotion for new payroll customers signing up between August 17 and September 14, 2026; and a July 2026 partnership with Thatch to offer ICHRA setup, administration, and compliance. Press items from March 2026 feature CEO Mike Seckler.