BrightPay vs Xero Payroll
Verified ratings, real UK pricing and the compliance detail, weighed side by side — with a written verdict at the end.
BrightPay
Payroll Software
- United Kingdom
- Ireland
- Phone
- Knowledge Base
- Forum
Xero Payroll
Payroll Software
- United Kingdom
- Ireland
- Live Chat
- Knowledge Base
- Forum
Evenly matched on verified reviews — 4.1 against 4.1. Price and fit will decide this one, not the score.
The short version
What each one costs and how each one rates, side by side. Only the rows where leading means something are marked; vendor and availability are in the overview above.
| Detail | BrightPay | Xero Payroll |
|---|---|---|
| What it costs | ||
| Starting priceLowest paid tier, excluding VAT | On request | £1.50/user/month |
| Free version | NoNo | NoNo |
| Free trial | YesYes | YesYes |
| How it rates | ||
| Overall ratingMean of verified Assaylist reviews | 4.1 | 4.1 |
| Verified reviewsVolume is evidence, not a score — this row is not a contest | 235 reviews | 225 reviews |
How reviewers score them
Across the four dimensions we ask every reviewer about — and, below, the star split each average is built from.
- BrightPay
- Xero Payroll
| Dimension | BrightPay | Xero Payroll | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ease of use | 4.0 | 4.0 | Level |
| Value for money | 3.9 | 4.0 | 0.1 to Xero Payroll |
| Customer support | 4.0 | 4.0 | Level |
| Functionality | 4.0 | 4.0 | Level |
What each average is made of
Two products can share an average and not share a reputation. These bars show the star split behind each score.
| Product | 5 star | 4 star | 3 star | 2 star | 1 star |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BrightPay | 44% (104 reviews) | 31% (72 reviews) | 14% (34 reviews) | 9% (20 reviews) | 2% (5 reviews) |
| Xero Payroll | 44% (100 reviews) | 32% (72 reviews) | 16% (35 reviews) | 6% (14 reviews) | 2% (4 reviews) |
Feature by feature
Everything either vendor publishes, split into what separates them and what they share.
- Both products
- 212%
- Only BrightPay
- 847%
- Only Xero Payroll
- 741%
17 features listed across both products.
What only one of them does
BrightPay
8- Automatic enrolment and assessment
- Automatic legislative updates
- Batch and multi employer processing
- Bureau and practice workflows
+ 4 more in the table below
Xero Payroll
7- Annual legislative updates
- Automatic payroll journal posting
- Employee self service app
- Holiday tracking
+ 3 more in the table below
Showing 17 of 17 features
| Detail | BrightPay | Xero Payroll |
|---|---|---|
| Where they differ · 15 | ||
| Automatic enrolment and assessment | YesYes | NoNo |
| Automatic legislative updates | YesYes | NoNo |
| Batch and multi employer processing | YesYes | NoNo |
| Bureau and practice workflows | YesYes | NoNo |
| CIS where relevant | YesYes | NoNo |
| Employee payslip and document app | YesYes | NoNo |
| Multi user collaboration | YesYes | NoNo |
| Secure cloud hosting | YesYes | NoNo |
| Annual legislative updates | NoNo | YesYes |
| Automatic payroll journal posting | NoNo | YesYes |
| Employee self service app | NoNo | YesYes |
| Holiday tracking | NoNo | YesYes |
| Payslips and P60s | NoNo | YesYes |
| Pension auto enrolment and assessment | NoNo | YesYes |
| Pension provider connections | NoNo | YesYes |
| Where they match · 2 | ||
| RTI submissions to HMRC | YesYes | YesYes |
| Statutory sick and parental pay | YesYes | YesYes |
A dash means the vendor has not published a feature list — which is not the same as the feature being unavailable.
How they handle UK obligations
Checked against the vendor's own documentation or HMRC's published list. A dash means we have not verified it — never that it is missing.
| Detail | BrightPay | Xero Payroll |
|---|---|---|
| Verified against vendor documentation | ||
| RTI-compliant payroll | YesYes | YesYes |
| Pension auto-enrolment | YesYes | YesYes |
| CIS support | YesYes | Not listedNot listed |
| UK-based support | UK and Ireland support | UK support team |
What each tier costs
Both line-ups on one ladder, so the middle tier on one side sits next to the middle tier on the other.
BrightPay
Xero Payroll
BrightPay Cloud
Contact vendor
- Cloud only from the 2026/27 tax year
- HMRC recognised
- Multi employer and bureau workflows
On the Ignite plan
£1.50/user/month
- Priced per person
- RTI submissions
- Pension auto enrolment
No comparable tier listed
Included with Grow
Free
- Payroll for 1 person included
- Additional people charged per person
No comparable tier listed
Included with Comprehensive
Free
- Payroll for 5 people included
Rungs are matched by position in each vendor’s own line-up, not by what the tiers include — an entry plan on one side may cover more than the other. Prices exclude VAT unless stated, and per-seat plans are quoted per seat. Always confirm on the vendor’s own site.
Which should you choose?
Two answers, because there are two right ones depending on what you need.
Choose BrightPay if
- It lists 8 features Xero Payroll does not, including automatic enrolment and assessment.
- It covers more of the UK obligations we check — 4 of them against 3.
Choose Xero Payroll if
- It lists 7 features BrightPay does not, including annual legislative updates.
On verified Assaylist reviews, BrightPay currently rates 4.1 against 4.1 for Xero Payroll. That gap is not the whole story: BrightPay starts at a quoted price and Xero Payroll at £1.50/user/month, so the right answer depends on the tier you actually need and on which one handles your UK obligations. Read both profiles before you commit, and confirm current pricing on the vendor's own site.
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