In short:
- There is no universal best payroll software. This comparison ranks PayFit, Kelio, Silae, Nibelis and Sage on verifiable criteria, taken from the vendors’ French websites on 12 October 2026.
- PayFit comes first on these criteria: payroll is the core of its offer, a price is published and the offer starts from the first employee.
- Only PayFit publishes a payroll price list: 20 to 30 euros excluding VAT per employee per month plus a 49 euro subscription, or 26 euros with no subscription for a first payroll (checked on 5 November 2026). The other vendors work on a quote basis or do not price their payroll module.
- When choosing, the first criterion is regulatory: the software must be compatible with the DSN and follow the company’s collective agreement.
Comparison table of the best payroll software
The information below was taken on 12 October 2026 from the vendors’ public pages. PayFit’s prices were updated on 5 November 2026. “Not found” means the information did not appear on the pages consulted.
| Criterion | PayFit | Kelio | Silae | Nibelis | Sage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payroll product | Online payroll software and service | 123Paie, the payroll module of the Kelio suite | mySilae Paie | Online payroll and HR suite | Sage Business Cloud Paie and Sage 100 Paie & RH |
| Payroll price | €20 to €30 excl. VAT per employee per month, plus a €49 monthly subscription, or €26 with no subscription for a first payroll | Not found for the payroll module | Not found | Not found | Not found |
| Payslips and DSN | Payslips, DSN and event-based declarations | Payslips, monthly and event-based DSN | Payslips, variables and DSN | Payroll, digital safe | Payslips and online declarations, including the DSN |
| Collective agreements announced | Not found | More than 200 | 900 | Not found | Automated updates announced, number not found |
| Payroll run by the vendor | Yes, payroll service run by its experts | Yes, outsourcing offered | Not found, distributed through partner firms and integrators | Yes, delegated management | Outsourcing offer mentioned |
| Companies targeted | From 1 to more than 1,000 employees | Price list published from 50 employees | Very small and small businesses, through partners | SMEs with 50 to 250 employees and mid-caps with more than 250 | Small businesses on one side, SMEs and mid-caps on the other |
| Key point | Payroll specialist, public entry price | Payroll linked to time management | The accounting firms’ software | Three levels of service | Two products depending on size |
This comparison is not based on a test of the software. Parole de RH has not used any of these tools and has no commercial link with any vendor. The ranking relies on what each vendor publishes.
Best payroll software: how this ranking is built
Naming the best payroll software means saying on which criteria. User reviews and comparison-site ratings are not used here, because their origin cannot be checked. The ranking uses four criteria that anyone can check by opening the vendor’s website.
The four criteria
- The published price: does the vendor display a payroll price without requiring a quote?
- The payroll scope announced: payslips, DSN, event-based declarations, collective agreements.
- The level of service: software only, support, or payroll run by the vendor.
- The companies targeted: is the offer available from the first employee or reserved for a given size?
The resulting ranking
| Rank | Software | Main reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | PayFit | Payroll at the core of the offer, the only published payroll price list, offer from 1 employee, payroll service run by the vendor |
| 2 | Kelio | Detailed payroll scope, more than 200 collective agreements announced, public price list for the rest of the suite |
| 3 | Silae | 900 collective agreements announced, but software distributed by partners and no published price |
| 4 | Nibelis | Three clearly described levels of service, no published price |
| 5 | Sage | Two products depending on company size, no price found on the pages consulted |
This rank measures the amount of verifiable information published, not the quality of the software in use. A company whose payroll is produced by an accounting firm will first look at that firm’s tool, whatever its rank here.
PayFit: payroll as the core of the offer
PayFit presents itself as online payroll software and a payroll service. It is the only one of the five vendors whose main product is payroll, complemented by HR modules.
What the vendor publishes
- Payroll: payslips with automatic calculations, DSN and event-based declarations, a dashboard with payroll indicators.
- Related modules: leave and absences, time tracking, expense reports, reviews.
- Offers: one offer for companies with 1 to 9 employees, another for those with 10 to more than 1,000 employees.
- Price found: on 5 November 2026, the offers page publishes a price list excluding VAT. The Starter plan, reserved for companies running their first payroll, costs 26 euros per employee per month, with no subscription. The Payroll, Advanced payroll and HR+ plans cost 20, 27 and 30 euros per employee per month, plus a 49 euro monthly subscription. For 3 employees, the page calculates from 78 euros (Starter) to 139 euros (HR+) per month. The vendor announces plans with no commitment and free set-up.
- Service: the vendor also offers payroll “fully carried out” by its experts, including collecting variables, generating payslips and dealing with the social security bodies.
- Security: according to its security page, consulted on 29 October 2026, ISO 27001 certification and data hosted in France. Details are in the PayFit review.
Limits of the data
The price list had not been found on 12 October 2026. It was taken on 5 November 2026 from the offers page. The number of collective agreements supported is not stated on the page consulted. PayFit reports 22,000 client companies, a figure that has not been checked against an independent source.
Kelio: payroll linked to time management
Kelio is first of all a time and attendance vendor. Its payroll module, called 123Paie, is added to that suite.
What the vendor publishes
- Payroll: payslip generation, final pay statements, transmission of monthly and event-based DSN, sending of the pre-hiring declaration.
- Link with working time: variable pay items and absences are taken from the time management module, which avoids double entry.
- Collective agreements: more than 200 agreements supported, according to the vendor.
- Service: support based in France, legal watch and a payroll outsourcing offer.
A public price, but not for payroll
Kelio’s pricing page publishes a price list excluding tax, per employee per month: from 3.05 euros for 50 employees, 1.75 euros for 200 employees and 1.10 euros for 1,000 employees. These amounts are for the first plan, focused on time management. Payroll appears among the “other modules available”, with no price. The cost of payroll produced with Kelio is therefore available on request.
Kelio reports more than 20,000 clients. The price list starts at 50 employees, which places the offer on the side of SMEs and large companies.
Silae: the software of accounting firms and integrators
Silae presents itself as “payroll and HR software for firms and integrators”. The company therefore does not primarily address the employer, but the professionals who produce payroll on the employer’s behalf.
What the vendor publishes
- Payroll: mySilae Paie covers payslip production, entry of variables and bonuses, DSN generation and a digital safe.
- Collective agreements: 900 agreements built in, updated every week according to the vendor.
- Distribution: the software is deployed by 6,000 partners for their clients, very small and small businesses.
- Reported volume: 8 million payslips per month.
What this means for the employer
A small company most often uses Silae without having chosen it: it is its accountant’s tool. No price is published on the pages consulted, as the cost is included in the firm’s service or set by the partner. The figures above are those reported by the vendor.
Nibelis: three levels of service
Nibelis offers an online payroll and HR platform. Its distinctive feature, among the pages consulted, is that it clearly describes three ways of working.
| Level of service | Who produces the payroll |
|---|---|
| Autonomous management | The company uses the software on its own |
| Supported management | The company runs its payroll with the help of a dedicated expert |
| Delegated management | The company entrusts its payroll to the vendor |
Around payroll, the vendor lists a digital safe for payslips, electronic signature, a mobile app and generation of the BDESE (economic, social and environmental database). One offer is aimed at chartered accountants. No price was found on 12 October 2026.
Sage: two products depending on company size
Sage distinguishes two payroll products on its French website.
- Sage Business Cloud Paie, for small businesses: an online solution to produce payslips and declarations, with online filing of the DSN, automated updates of collective agreements and generation of the bank transfer file. The vendor states that it requires no installation.
- Sage 100 Paie & RH, for SMEs and mid-caps: software combined with a telephone helpline, presented as suited to companies that have payroll skills in-house.
The vendor also mentions a payroll outsourcing solution. No price and no number of collective agreements were found on the pages consulted.
Payroll software: how to choose it?
The ranking above compares published information. The choice itself starts from the employer’s obligations and the way the company is organised. Five points should be checked before signing.
1. Compatibility with the DSN
This is the only criterion imposed by the rules. According to Entreprendre.Service-Public, payroll software compatible with the DSN is needed: it “translates” the information on the payslip into declaration data. The DSN (déclaration sociale nominative) is produced every month, no later than the 5th of the following month for companies with 50 or more employees, the 15th for the others. The software must also handle event reports, such as sick leave or the end of a contract.
2. The collective agreement
The number of agreements announced by a vendor matters less than whether the company’s own agreement is covered. The question to ask is specific: is the applicable agreement configured, and who updates it when it changes?
3. Who produces the payroll
Three set-ups exist, and they do not lead to the same tool.
| Set-up | What the company does | Type of offer |
|---|---|---|
| In-house payroll | It enters, checks and files | Software only |
| Supported payroll | It produces payroll with the help of an expert | Software and service |
| Outsourced payroll | It sends the variables, a third party produces and files | Vendor or accounting firm |
The official guide on the DSN also provides that the employer can entrust all or part of its declarations to a third-party filer, for example a chartered accountant.
4. Delivering and storing payslips
The software must produce a compliant payslip, which means knowing the mandatory information on a French payslip. According to Service-Public, the employer keeps a copy of each payslip for 5 years. When the payslip is delivered in electronic form, its availability must be guaranteed to the employee for 50 years or until 6 years after retirement. A digital safe, offered by several vendors in this comparison, meets this need. An employer who does not hand over the payslip risks a fine of up to 450 euros per payslip.
5. The link with other HR tools
Payroll is fed by leave, absences and hours worked. If this data is entered elsewhere, how it reaches payroll needs checking. Some companies prefer a single suite, others a payroll tool linked to HR management software. The comparison of the best HR software details the vendors that prepare payroll without calculating it.
A last point concerns data: a payslip contains sensitive personal information. The rules that apply to HR software and personal data also apply to payroll.
Which payroll software for which situation?
- A company hiring its first employees: PayFit publishes an offer for 1 to 9 employees, and Sage an online solution for small businesses. Entrusting payroll to a chartered accountant remains another route, often with Silae.
- An SME that already tracks working time in a tool: the automatic transfer of variables is the key point. Kelio puts this argument forward for its own suite.
- A company that no longer wants to produce its payroll: PayFit, Kelio, Nibelis and Sage mention a managed or outsourced payroll offer.
- A company with an uncommon collective agreement: each vendor should be asked whether it is supported, before any price comparison.
Limits of this comparison
- No software was tested: the comparison describes what vendors publish, not what the tools do in use.
- Client numbers, payslip volumes and numbers of collective agreements are reported by the vendors.
- The prices found do not cover the same scope and can change: they should be confirmed by a quote.
- Other vendors exist. Some websites could not be consulted on 12 October 2026 and are therefore not mentioned.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best payroll software in France?
There is no single best payroll software: it depends on the size of the company and on who produces the payroll. On the verifiable criteria used here (published price, payroll scope announced, level of service, companies targeted), PayFit comes first, ahead of Kelio, Silae, Nibelis and Sage. This ranking is based on the information published by the vendors on 12 October 2026, not on a test of the software.
How do you choose payroll software in France?
Five points need checking: compatibility with the DSN, which is required in order to file, support for the company’s collective agreement, the level of service wanted (payroll produced in-house, with support, or outsourced), the delivery and storage of payslips, and the link with leave and working time tools. Prices are then compared on a like-for-like scope.
Is payroll software mandatory in France?
According to the Entreprendre.Service-Public guide on the DSN, payroll software compatible with the DSN is needed to make this declaration. A company can also entrust its declarations to a third-party filer, for example a chartered accountant, who then uses their own software.
How much does payroll software cost in France?
Few vendors publish a price. On 5 November 2026, PayFit published a price list excluding VAT: 20 to 30 euros per employee per month depending on the plan, plus a 49 euro monthly subscription, or 26 euros with no subscription for a company running its first payroll. Kelio published a price list starting at 3.05 euros excluding tax per employee per month for 50 employees, but for its time management plans: the price of the payroll module was not shown. No price was found on the pages consulted for Silae, Nibelis and Sage.
Sources
- Entreprendre.Service-Public, Déclaration sociale nominative (DSN), guide checked on 4 May 2026, consulted on 12 October 2026.
- Service-Public, Fiche de paie, guide checked on 1 June 2026, consulted on 12 October 2026.
- PayFit, home page, consulted on 12 October 2026, and offers page, consulted on 5 November 2026.
- Kelio, Logiciel de paie and Tarifs, pages consulted on 12 October 2026.
- Silae, home page, consulted on 12 October 2026.
- Nibelis, home page, consulted on 12 October 2026.
- Sage, Logiciels de paie, page consulted on 12 October 2026.