Pay44 vs Payroll Guru: We Compared Both Paycheck Calculators
Quick Answer: Which Should You Use?
Pay44 is the better choice for most people. It's free to download, includes budgeting and scenario planning tools, and with Pro lets you compare multiple paychecks side-by-side. Payroll Guru costs $4.99 and focuses on basic calculations.
Choose Payroll Guru if you need year-to-date wage tracking or want to email paycheck details directly to employees or your payroll provider. Pay44 doesn't support those features.
Disclosure: Pay44 is our app. This comparison is written honestly, including the places where Payroll Guru is the better fit. We tested the calculators in January 2026. Ratings and pricing are from the US App Store and Google Play as of October 2026.
Key Differences at a Glance
- Price: Pay44 is free to download, with an optional Pro subscription. Payroll Guru costs $4.99 once, with no in-app purchases.
- Planning tools: Pay44 has budgeting, scenario simulation, and paycheck comparison. Payroll Guru is calculation-only.
- Year-to-date: Payroll Guru tracks YTD wages. Pay44 does not.
- Email sharing: Payroll Guru can email results. Pay44 exports to text, or to PDF, CSV, or image with Pro, instead.
- Ratings: Pay44 has 4.87 stars on iOS. Payroll Guru has 3.2 stars.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Pay44 | Payroll Guru |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | iOS, Android | iOS, Android |
| iOS Rating | 4.87 | 3.2 |
| Android Rating | 4.7 | 3.2 |
| Price | Free (optional Pro) | $4.99 |
| Offline Mode | Yes | Not stated |
| Year-to-Date Tracking | No | Yes |
| All 50 States | Yes | Yes |
| Local/City Taxes | No | No |
| Account Required | No | Not stated |
| Unlimited Profiles | Yes | Yes |
| Save Calculations | Yes | Yes |
| Email Results | No | Yes |
| Export Results | Text; PDF, CSV, image with Pro | Email only |
| Pay Breakdown Charts | Yes | Yes (pie chart) |
| Monthly Budgeting | Yes (with charts) | No |
| What-If Scenarios | Yes (with deltas) | No |
| Compare Paychecks | Yes (Pro) | No |
| Hourly vs Salary Compare | Yes (Pro) | No |
Pay44 (Paycheck Calculator US) Our Pick
Pay44 is a mobile paycheck calculator available as a free download on iOS (4.87 stars) and Android (4.7 stars). It also includes budgeting, scenario simulation, and paycheck comparison tools missing from Payroll Guru and most other calculators.
Budgeting Tool
Payroll Guru calculates your paycheck, but Pay44 helps you plan what to do with it. Combine multiple paychecks with custom income and expense items, then visualize your budget with waterfall charts, allocation donut charts, and top expenses breakdown.
Simulate Scenarios
Unlike Payroll Guru, Pay44 includes scenario planning. Adjust salary, hourly rate, or hours worked to instantly see deltas for gross pay, taxes, deductions, and net income, then save the ones worth exploring.
Compare Paychecks (Pro)
Payroll Guru saves profiles, and its listing mentions comparing net pay in different states, while Pay44 with Pro shows multiple saved calculations side-by-side in a normalized table with gross income, taxes, deductions, and net pay, including hourly vs salary positions.
Other Features:
- State tax brackets for all 50 states and DC
- Salary and hourly with multiple pay frequencies
- Pre-tax deductions (401k, HSA, health insurance)
- Post-tax deductions and additional withholding
- Works offline (no internet required)
- Export as text, or as PDF, CSV, or image with Pro
Pros
- Free to download, with an optional Pro subscription
- Budgeting with visual charts
- What-if scenario simulation
- Side-by-side paycheck comparison (Pro)
- Text export, plus PDF, CSV and image export with Pro
- Higher app store ratings
- No account required
Cons
- No year-to-date wage tracking
- No email sharing
- No local/city tax support
- Estimates only (not actual payroll data)
Best for: Job offer comparisons, monthly budgeting, what-if planning, anyone who wants a free core calculator with optional Pro tools.
Payroll Guru Since 2006
Payroll Guru is a $4.99 paycheck calculator app from PayrollGuru, Inc., a company founded in 2006. The app launched in 2011 and focuses on straightforward payroll calculations with year-to-date tracking and email sharing features that small business owners and HR professionals find useful.
Key Features:
- Salary and hourly paycheck calculations
- Federal and state tax withholding for all 50 states
- State unemployment and disability insurance
- Up to 8 pre-tax or post-tax deductions
- Year-to-date wage tracking
- Unlimited employee profiles
- Pie chart visualization of pay breakdown
- Email results to employees or payroll providers
Some user reviews mention calculations can be off by up to $10. This is likely due to differences in how deductions and withholdings are configured. Double-check results against actual pay stubs when precision matters.
Pros
- Year-to-date wage tracking
- Email paycheck details directly
- One-time $4.99 purchase (no ads)
- Long track record (company founded 2006, app since 2011)
- Responsive customer support
Cons
- Costs $4.99 upfront
- No budgeting tools
- No scenario comparison
- No side-by-side paycheck comparison
- Lower app store ratings (3.2 stars)
- May be off by up to $10 per reviews
- No bonus or holiday pay calculations
Best for: Small business owners who need year-to-date tracking and want to email paycheck details to employees. Users who prefer a one-time purchase over a subscription.
When to Use Each Calculator
Choose Pay44 if you:
- Want a free paycheck calculator, with advanced tools in an optional Pro tier
- Are comparing job offers (side-by-side comparison with Pro)
- Want to compare hourly vs salary positions on equal footing (Pro)
- Need to build a monthly budget with visual charts
- Want to test "what if" scenarios (raises, new jobs, different states)
- Need to export results as text, or as PDF, CSV, or image files with Pro
- Prefer higher-rated apps with modern interfaces
Choose Payroll Guru if:
- Need to track year-to-date wages across pay periods
- Want to email paycheck details directly to employees
- Prefer a one-time purchase over a subscription
- Are a small business owner managing multiple employee profiles
- Value long-established apps with responsive support
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Pay44 more accurate than Payroll Guru?
Pay44 calculates federal and state income tax from the federal and state tax brackets. Some Payroll Guru reviews mention calculations being off by up to $10, while Pay44's higher ratings suggest fewer accuracy complaints. That said, no calculator replaces verifying against actual pay stubs.
Why is Pay44 free when Payroll Guru costs $4.99?
Pay44 is free to download and sells an optional Pro subscription (weekly, monthly, or yearly) that unlocks extras such as PDF, CSV, and image export and side-by-side job comparison. Payroll Guru is a one-time $4.99 purchase with no in-app purchases. Both approaches have tradeoffs: Pay44 lets you use the core calculator before paying anything, while Payroll Guru costs nothing more after the first purchase.
Can I track year-to-date wages in Pay44?
No. Pay44 focuses on per-paycheck calculations and scenario planning. If year-to-date tracking is essential for your workflow, Payroll Guru is the better choice for that specific feature.
Which is better for comparing job offers?
Pay44. It saves multiple calculations, and with a Pro subscription it compares them side-by-side in a normalized table, including hourly positions against salaried positions on equal footing. Payroll Guru's listing mentions comparing net pay in different states, but not a side-by-side comparison of saved paychecks.
Do either support local taxes like NYC or Philadelphia?
No. Both Pay44 and Payroll Guru support federal and state taxes only. If you work in a city with local income tax, you'll need to calculate that separately and adjust your results manually.
Why does Payroll Guru have lower ratings?
Payroll Guru's lower ratings reflect a mix of long-time users who praise its reliability and newer users who find the interface dated or experience accuracy issues. The company has been around since 2006, with the mobile app launching in 2011, and the design hasn't changed much. Pay44's 4.87 rating reflects more recent development with modern UX patterns.
Related Reading
References
- Pay44 Paycheck Calculator . Mobile app with tax tables for all 50 states and DC, and offline support.
- Payroll Guru on App Store . $4.99 iOS app with YTD tracking and email sharing.
- Payroll Guru on Google Play . Android version of the Payroll Guru calculator.
- PayrollGuru, Inc. . Company website with payroll services and calculator apps.
Try Pay44 Free
Offline access. Budgeting tools. Scenario comparison. All 50 states.