PEO Comparison — Compare PEOs on Data, Not Marketing Copy
Independent, sourced comparison of US professional employer organizations — pricing structure, certification, state registration and contract terms, with every field linked to its primary source.
Get matched with up to three PEOs Estimate what a PEO will cost you
Start where the decision actually gets made
Nobody chooses a PEO by reading a definition. They choose by working out whether a PEO beats what they do today, what it will really cost once the administrative fee is separated from the insurance, and which providers can legally operate where their people are.
- What a PEO costs — how the fee is structured, what gets bundled
into it, and the questions that force an unbundled quote out of a sales team.
- Estimate your own numbers — arithmetic on the rate
you were quoted, with an explicit list of what it cannot tell you.
- Is it a PEO you need? — four questions that separate
a PEO from an EOR, an ASO, or just a better payroll service.
- PEO laws by state — registration, bonding and payroll-tax
rules, published free, with sources.
- PEO providers directory — every provider we track, with
certification status, pricing model and contract terms, each field linked to its primary source.
- PEO vs EOR — the comparison most buyers get wrong,
decided by one question about your legal entity.
What we publish, and what we refuse to publish
Every factual field on this site carries a link to the record it came from and the date we checked it. Where we have not verified something, the page says "Not verified" instead of showing a confident guess.
That sounds like a small thing. It is the entire difference between this site and the listicles currently ranking above it, most of which cannot tell you where a single number came from.
We also gate our own scale. Provider, comparison and state pages are generated from a structured dataset, and a generated page stays out of search indexes until it has real sourced data, a differentiating element, and a named human sign-off. You can still read the drafts — they say what is missing.
Independence, stated plainly
Peolet is not a PEO. We do not co-employ anyone, run payroll, or place insurance. We are paid a flat, rate-carded fee by providers when we introduce a qualified buyer who agreed to be contacted — the same fee for every provider, no bidding, no commission on what you eventually buy.Providers cannot pay for a ranking, a score, or a place on a list. The full commercial model is here, and the scoring rubric is here.
Understand the arrangement before you price it
- What a PEO is, and who it is genuinely wrong for
- Co-employment, explained without the diagram nobody reads
- PEO vs EOR · PEO vs ASO ·
- What IRS certification (CPEO) actually changes
- What a PEO is worth for a small business
- The PEO terms you will meet
When you are ready to talk to providers
Six questions, and you choose which providers may contact you before anything is sent. We shortlist on whether a provider can actually serve your headcount and your states — sending you to one that cannot costs us money, which is the only kind of alignment worth relying on.
Get matched with up to three PEOs
Frequently asked
What is a PEO?
A professional employer organization co-employs your staff so it can run payroll, provide benefits and take on defined employment obligations. You keep control of hiring, firing and the work itself. See the full explanation of what a PEO is and who it suits.
How much does a PEO cost?
PEOs charge either a flat fee per employee per month or a percentage of gross payroll, and quotes bundle the administrative fee with insurance and statutory pass-throughs. The number is only comparable once the provider separates the administrative fee in writing.
Is a PEO worth it for a small business?
A PEO is usually worth evaluating from roughly five employees up, when better benefit pricing and multi-state compliance outweigh the administrative fee. Below five employees, a payroll service is usually the right answer.
How does Peolet make money?
Peolet is paid a flat, rate-carded fee by providers when we introduce a qualified buyer who agreed to be contacted. The fee is the same for every provider and cannot buy a ranking, a score or a place on a list.
How do I know which PEO to choose?
Compare the administrative fee stated separately, IRS certification status, state registration where you employ people, and the cost of leaving. Every field we publish links to its primary source so you can check it yourself.