G2, the world's largest and most trusted software marketplace, has seen over 30,000 new reviews in its Payroll Software category in the past 12 months, marking a 90% year-over-year increase—the highest growth in the category's history. RemotePeople, Employment Hero, and Keka lead in review growth and buyer engagement, reflecting a major shift toward advanced payroll solutions driven by evolving global regulations.
Quick Intel
The dramatic rise in reviews aligns with increasing regulatory demands on global employers. The EU Pay Transparency Directive (2023/970), effective June 2026, mandates pay gap data publication for companies with 100+ employees. In the U.S., 16 states have enacted pay transparency laws as of January 2026, per Paycor's 2026 Pay Transparency Report. These requirements demand payroll platforms with robust pay equity tools, audit-ready reporting, and seamless integration across HR, time tracking, and benefits systems.
G2's Market Movers series highlights the top three products showing the strongest momentum based on review volume, profile views, and verified buyer intent signals from the past year.
RemotePeople An international recruitment agency and Employer of Record (EOR) that simplifies global hiring without local entities. Its EOR model supports multi-jurisdiction pay reporting essential for transparency compliance. G2 Rating: 4.9/5 (96 reviews, 188% YoY increase) G2 Page Views: 24,900 (3314% YoY increase)
Employment Hero An all-in-one Employment Operating System bundling payroll, HR, benefits, and recruitment to streamline employment processes. G2 Rating: 4.3/5 (760 reviews, 548% YoY increase) G2 Page Views: 12,500+ (17% YoY increase)
Keka A global People and Project Operations Platform for growing businesses, featuring real-time dashboards for compensation visibility and audit readiness. G2 Rating: 4.5/5 (1,849 reviews, 59% YoY increase) G2 Page Views: 12,500+ (16% YoY increase)
G2 identifies Market Movers through a weighted average of review volume, profile traffic, and buyer intent signals. Trending products in this category show faster ROI, higher daily usage, and superior customer loyalty compared to benchmarks.
"As pay transparency expands, payroll platforms are expected to deliver greater accuracy, visibility, and compliance at scale," said Inia Debnath, G2's Market Research Analyst covering the Payroll software category. "Buyers are gravitating toward solutions that can adapt quickly to regulatory change, integrate seamlessly with broader HR systems, and provide real-time insights into compensation and workforce costs. This shift is driving increased engagement and faster innovation across the payroll software market."
Overall Payroll Software Category Benchmarks for 2026
About G2
G2 is the world's largest and most trusted software marketplace. More than 100 million people annually—including employees at all Fortune 500 companies—use G2 to make smarter software decisions based on authentic peer reviews. Thousands of software companies partner with G2 to build their reputation and grow their business—including Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoom, and Adobe.
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