Homebase vs. Patriot (2026): Best Payroll for Hourly Teams?

If your business runs on shifts, the choice between Homebase and Patriot comes down to one question: do you need payroll software, or do you need everything that makes payroll possible in the first place?

Patriot is a payroll-first tool—affordable, clean, and built for owners who want simple payroll without complexity. Homebase is built for hourly, shift-based teams where scheduling, time tracking, payroll, hiring, and team communication all need to work together. Neither is wrong. 

But if your team clocks in and out, trades shifts, and needs a new schedule every week, payroll software alone won't get you there.

TL;DR: Homebase vs. Patriot in 30 seconds.

Choose Homebase if:

• Your team works hourly shifts and you rebuild the schedule every week
• You want scheduling and time tracking included—free for up to 10 team members at one location
• Tips, overtime, and break premiums need to flow into payroll automatically
• You're managing labor cost as a percentage of sales, not just running pay
• You want to hire, onboard, and pay new team members without juggling separate tools

Choose Patriot if:

• You only need payroll—you already handle scheduling and time tracking elsewhere
• Keeping monthly costs as low as possible is the priority
• Your team is small, relatively stable, and doesn't work rotating shifts
• You don't need a full mobile app covering scheduling, time clocks, payroll, and team messaging
• You're fine self-filing taxes (Basic plan) or willing to pay more for automated filing (Full Service)

What is Homebase?

Homebase is the everything app for hourly teams. Scheduling, time clocks, payroll, hiring, and team communication are all connected—so what happens in the schedule flows through to timesheets, and timesheets flow straight into payroll. No spreadsheets. No manual re-entry. No exports.

Over 150,000 small businesses—cafés, retail stores, salons, gyms, service businesses—use it to run their teams day to day.

What's included:

• Scheduling — AI-assisted schedule building, open shifts, shift swaps, real-time labor cost tracking
• Time clocks — GPS, geofencing, photo verification, break compliance, overtime alerts
• Payroll — automatic timesheet sync, tips, multiple pay rates, automated tax filing
• Hiring — AI applicant screening, job board posting, digital onboarding, background checks
• Team messaging — built-in chat for managers and employees
• Free plan — scheduling and time tracking at no cost for up to 10 employees at one location

What is Patriot?

Patriot is payroll software for small businesses that want an affordable, no-frills way to pay their people.

Two plans: Basic Payroll, where you handle your own tax filings, and Full Service Payroll, where Patriot handles all federal, state, and local filings. Scheduling, hiring, and team communication aren't part of the product. Time tracking and HR tools exist as paid add-ons.

It's a well-reviewed payroll tool—popular with very small teams, office-based businesses, and owners who already have the rest of their operations covered.

What's included:

• Basic Payroll — unlimited payrolls, free direct deposit, employee portal, auto payroll, contractor payments, health benefit integration
• Full Service Payroll — everything in Basic, plus automated federal, state, and local tax filings, deposits, and year-end forms
• Time & Attendance — paid add-on for clock-in and timesheet tracking, including overtime and double-time calculations
• HR Software — paid add-on for document storage and basic HR management
• Free trial — 30 days on both payroll tiers

Compare payroll.

The two tools share a starting point—both run payroll for small businesses. Where they part ways is everything that happens before you hit "run."

Getting hours into the system.

Homebase: Hours flow automatically from the time clock into timesheets, and timesheets sync directly into payroll—overtime calculated, tips included, break premiums applied. There's nothing to re-enter before you run payroll.

Patriot: On the Basic plan, you enter hours manually each pay period. The Time & Attendance add-on ($3/month + $1/employee, currently 50% off) adds clock-in capability and timesheet tracking with overtime and double-time calculations. Patriot's public materials emphasize time cards and payroll processing more than advanced compliance controls or real-time attendance monitoring.

Tax filing.

Homebase: Automated federal, state, and local tax filing is included on every payroll plan.

Patriot: Tax filing depends on which plan you choose:

• Basic Payroll — you file your own taxes
• Full Service (currently $18.50/month + $2.50/worker paid, 50% off for 3 months) — Patriot handles all filings for you

As per the IRS, employers must withhold and deposit federal income tax, Social Security, and Medicare taxes on a set schedule. Deposits that are late, short, or made incorrectly are subject to the Failure to Deposit Penalty—ranging from 2% to 15% depending on how many calendar days overdue.¹

Payroll features side by side.

Homebase payroll includes:

• Timesheets sync automatically—no manual entry
• Overtime, tips, and break premiums calculated without extra steps
• Automated tax filing on every plan
• Multi-location payroll with multiple pay rates per employee
• Earned wage access through Cash Out
• Contractor payments supported
• Mobile payroll for managers

Patriot payroll includes:

• Unlimited payrolls with free direct deposit and employee portal
• Auto payroll and contractor payments
• Health benefit integration at no added cost
• W-2s and 1099s at year-end at no extra fee
• Tax filings on Full Service only—Basic requires self-filing
• Time & Attendance available as a paid add-on
• My Patriot employee app for pay info and time tracking; no full manager payroll app

Patriot pricing reflects current promotional rates (50% off for 3 months). Verify at patriotsoftware.com/payroll and joinhomebase.com/pricing before deciding.

Compare scheduling and time tracking.

This is where the gap between the two tools is most visible—and where the decision usually gets made for hourly businesses.

Scheduling.

Homebase: Scheduling is a core feature—included free on all plans.

• Build a week's schedule in minutes using AI recommendations, last week's copy, or a blank template
• Labor costs update as you add shifts—catch overtime or budget problems before publishing
• Team members are notified the moment a schedule goes live
• Open shift claims, time-off requests, and coverage swaps all happen in the app
• No separate login, no separate notification system

Patriot: Scheduling is not part of Patriot.

• No native scheduling tool on any plan
• Shift-based businesses need a separate scheduling tool—with its own login and notifications
• Hours from that tool won't move into Patriot's payroll automatically

Time clocks and attendance.

Homebase: Time clocks are built in—no add-on required.

• Clock in from phones, tablets, or POS devices
• GPS location confirmation and geofencing
• Photo verification on shared devices
• Automatic break tracking and compliance alerts
• Early clock-in prevention
• Overtime warnings before thresholds are hit
• Every time card edit logged with a full audit trail

Patriot:Time tracking is available as a paid add-on ($3/month + $1/employee, currently 50% off).

• Clock-in and clock-out with timesheet tracking
• Overtime and double-time calculations included
• Patriot's public materials don't highlight GPS verification, photo verification, or break compliance automation as features of the add-on

That matters for compliance. As per the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division, every employer covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act must maintain accurate records of hours worked and wages earned. The time cards and work schedules underlying wage computations must be kept for a minimum of two years.² Automated, tamper-evident time tracking makes meeting that standard easier to demonstrate.

Compare hiring and HR.

Turnover is a constant for hourly businesses. How each tool handles—or doesn't handle—bringing new people onto the team is another significant difference.

Homebase: Hiring is built into the same system as scheduling and payroll.

• Post a job to major boards in one click
• Every applicant screened automatically by AI—24/7, so strong candidates don't go cold
• Move top candidates to interview, run background checks, collect digital onboarding paperwork
• New hires sync straight into scheduling and payroll from day one

Patriot: HR tools are available as a paid add-on ($3/month + $1/employee, currently 50% off).

• Covers HR document storage and basic people management
• Not a hiring tool—no applicant tracking, no onboarding workflow
• No connection between a new hire and a first scheduled shift

Pricing.

Patriot and Homebase price their tools differently—and the structure matters as much as the number.

Patriot.

50% off for the first three months, with a 30-day free trial on both plans.

Basic Payroll — $8.50/month + $2 per worker paid. Unlimited payrolls, free direct deposit, employee portal, auto payroll, contractor payments, health benefit integration, and payroll reports. You handle your own tax filings.

Full Service Payroll — $18.50/month + $2.50 per worker paid. Everything in Basic, plus Patriot files and deposits all federal, state, and local taxes. Year-end payroll tax filings at no extra fee. Tax filing reliability guaranteed.

Add-ons (both plans):

• Time & Attendance — $3/month + $1 per employee
• HR Software — $3/month + $1 per employee

Homebase.

Homebase's team-management plans are priced per location; payroll adds a per-employee fee on top.

Basic — Free (1 location, up to 10 employees)Basic scheduling, basic time tracking, POS integration. Payroll add-on available.

Essentials — $24/month per location ($30/month month-to-month, unlimited employees)Advanced scheduling, advanced time tracking, team communication. Payroll add-on available.

Plus — $56/month per location ($70/month month-to-month, unlimited employees)Everything in Essentials, plus AI-powered scheduling, PTO and time-off controls, departments and permissions. Payroll add-on available.

All-in-One — $96/month per location ($120/month month-to-month, unlimited employees)Everything in Plus, plus employee onboarding, labor cost management, and HR and compliance. Payroll add-on available.

Payroll add-on — $39/month + $6/month per employee paid (add to any plan)Automated tax filing, tip management, earned wage access, and multi-location support.

Other add-ons:

• Tip Manager — $25/month per location
• Task Manager — $13/month per location
• Background checks — $30 each
• Hiring Assistant — from $30/post

Patriot's base price is lower, especially at the promotional rate. But layering on Full Service, Time & Attendance, and HR narrows that gap quickly—and none of those add-ons bring scheduling or hiring.

Pricing changes. Verify directly with each provider before committing.

What verified reviewers say.

Ratings tell part of the story. The patterns in what reviewers flag—good and bad—tell the rest.

Homebase.

G2: 4.5/5 — 478 reviews — 83% small business. Capterra: 4.6/5 — 1,147 reviews

What reviewers praise:

• Scheduling and shift management becomes measurably easier
• Having scheduling and payroll in one place—especially valued by restaurants and retail
• Strong mobile app for both managers and team members

What reviewers flag:

• More than some businesses need if payroll alone is the goal
• Some advanced features require paid plan upgrades
• Occasional mobile app performance issues noted

One Capterra reviewer who manages a food and beverage team described the before-and-after plainly: Homebase took the chaos of scheduling and turned it into an organized, team-wide communication system that noticeably improved daily operations.

Patriot.

G2: 4.8/5 — 618 reviews — 96% small business. Capterra: 4.8/5 — 3,941 reviews

What reviewers praise:

• Easy to set up and navigate
• US-based support that picks up the phone
• Transparent pricing with no surprises
• Full Service plan handles tax compliance cleanly

What reviewers flag:

• Direct deposit can take up to five business days—slower than some competitors
• Deduction management described as inflexible when corrections are needed
• No native scheduling for shift-based teams
• No full manager mobile app

A five-year Patriot customer on Capterra called it the easiest payroll software they'd used, pointing specifically to how well it handles tax compliance. A switcher from ADP put it plainly: the fixed, predictable cost was the whole reason they moved.

Payroll and labor law basics.

Whichever tool you choose, these obligations apply to your business regardless. Here's what the law actually requires—and where each tool helps.

Payroll tax deposits. As per the IRS, employers must withhold federal income tax, Social Security, and Medicare from wages and deposit those amounts on a monthly or semi-weekly schedule based on payroll size. The Failure to Deposit Penalty applies when payments are late, underpaid, or submitted incorrectly—at rates between 2% and 15% depending on how many calendar days overdue.¹ Both Patriot's Full Service plan and Homebase payroll automate this.

Overtime pay. As per the U.S. Department of Labor, non-exempt employees covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act are entitled to overtime pay at 1.5× their regular rate for every hour worked beyond 40 in a workweek.³ On hourly teams where weekly hours shift constantly, proactive overtime alerts—before thresholds are crossed—are what keep payroll accurate.

Recordkeeping. As per the DOL's Wage and Hour Division, payroll records must be retained for a minimum of three years. The underlying time cards, work schedules, and wage computation records must be kept for at least two years.² When records are incomplete, DOL enforcement typically favors the employee's account of disputed hours. Homebase maintains a timestamped, tamper-evident edit log on every time card.

State break laws and overtime thresholds vary. For anything jurisdiction-specific, talk to your state's labor agency or a qualified HR professional. No software makes you fully compliant—that accountability stays with you.

Who should use Homebase?

Homebase makes the most sense for businesses where staffing decisions happen every week—restaurants, cafés, retail shops, salons, gyms, clinics, and any team built around hourly shifts.

• Over 150,000 small businesses run their teams on Homebase
• Managers report saving 5+ hours per week on average
• 7 million+ paychecks and $5 billion in gross payroll processed since 2022
• Rated 4.8/5 on the Apple App Store

Try it free—no credit card, no commitment.

Who should use Patriot?

Patriot makes the most sense for business owners who need reliable, affordable payroll and aren't running shift-based teams.

Solo operators, very small office-based businesses, and anyone who already has scheduling handled elsewhere will find Patriot does exactly what it promises—clean payroll at a low price, strong support, and automated tax filing on the Full Service plan.

Why Homebase wrote this.

We created this page to help you make a clear-eyed decision about which payroll tool is right for your business—including the scenarios where Patriot is the better call.

Everything here draws from publicly available pricing, verified G2 and Capterra review data, and firsthand discussions in small business communities. We update it when pricing or features change.

We built Homebase, so we're not a neutral party. We've worked to represent Patriot accurately and fairly, because a page that helps you pick the wrong tool doesn't help anyone.

The bottom line.

Patriot is a well-built, affordable payroll tool. If that's all you need, it earns its reputation.

But if your business runs on shifts—if the schedule changes every week, labor costs need watching, and you're tired of moving data between tools that don't talk to each other—payroll software alone won't solve that. Homebase was built to handle the full picture: scheduling, time clocks, payroll, hiring, and team communication in one place, starting free.

Pick the tool that matches how your team actually works. If it's Patriot, go with confidence. If you need more than payroll, give Homebase a try for free—no credit card required.

Sources.

1. Internal Revenue Service. Failure to Deposit Penalty. U.S. Department of the Treasury. https://www.irs.gov/payments/failure-to-deposit-penalty
2. U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division. Fact Sheet #21: Recordkeeping Requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/21-flsa-recordkeeping
3. U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division. Wages and the Fair Labor Standards Act. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/flsa