Justworks vs TriNet: PEO fees, contracts and support compared

Justworks vs TriNet at a glance

Justworks

$79 / $124PEO Basic / Plus, per employee per month

TriNet

Quote only$150 used only as an illustration

Minimum size

TriNet has onenumber not published; Justworks answer not shown

PEO score

67 vs 50Justworks vs TriNet, out of 100

These are the two PEOs small companies most often shortlist together. The real differences are price visibility, support hours, how each handles benefits, and what reviewers complain about. Both run payroll under co-employment, both put your team on large-group plans, and both bill payroll taxes and health premiums on top of the per-employee fee. Our guide to what a PEO costs explains each invoice line.

Justworks and TriNet line by line

What the PEO fee comes to for 5, 10 and 25 employees

The last column is there to show the scale, not to predict your quote. TriNet's pricing page uses $150 per employee per month to explain how a PEPM fee works and says it does not publish list prices. What the table does tell you: if TriNet quotes you above $124 per employee, Justworks Plus is cheaper on the fee line, and you should check whether TriNet's health plans close the gap. One Capterra reviewer calls TriNet's "price per employee a little on the high side", and a Hacker News founder mentions "the hefty admin fee you pay Trinet" (HN, an older thread).

The rest of the bill

For 10 people earning $50,000 each, the employer tax lines are the same at either PEO: 7.65% x $500,000 = $38,250 in Social Security and Medicare, and $42 x 10 = $420 in net FUTA, for $38,670 a year before state unemployment tax. Add workers' comp (rates by industry), your state's SUTA (2026 SUTA rates) and the employer share of premiums. Premiums are where these two can differ most. Ask each for the same plan design, the employer contribution in dollars per month, and the last two years of renewal increases. About 10% of 2026 small group rate filings asked for increases of 20% or more, according to Nayya citing KFF (Nayya).

Choose Justworks if

• You want to budget the PEO fee from a public page before any sales call.
• You are a small team, possibly below TriNet's unpublished minimum headcount.
• You want to start on payroll only ($50 plus $8 per employee) and add the PEO later.
• You want priced add-ons such as HR consulting at $30 per employee or EOR at $599 per employee per month.

Choose TriNet if

• You want phone support with published hours, Monday to Friday from 6am to midnight Eastern, plus 24/7 chat.
• You run a venture-backed, tech or professional services firm and want an industry-specific benefits bundle.
• You want a contract without a long-term commitment; TriNet says most of its contracts offer that.
• You are willing to get a quote and compare the full invoice, not just the fee.

Contracts, leaving, and switching from one to the other

Neither PEO publishes an exit clause, notice period or fee for leaving. TriNet says "most of our contracts offer flexible terms without a long-term contract", which tells you some do not. Justworks shows only monthly prices and keeps its Customer Service Agreement private. Ask both for the agreement before you sign and find the notice period, any fee for leaving midyear, the record access period after you go, and who files the final quarter's returns.

Moving between them

• Wage bases carry over. Since both hold IRS certification, the successor rule in 26 USC 3511(b) means wages paid at one count toward this year's Social Security and FUTA caps at the other. Check that your contract names the exact certified entity (TriNet HR III-B, Inc.; Justworks Employment Group LLC or its numbered affiliates).
• Health plans end. Your team moves from one PEO's group plans to the other's. Switch on your renewal date so deductibles and out-of-pocket totals do not restart.
• 401(k) and FSA balances. The 401(k) has to move to the new plan, and FSA balances need a run-out date. A TrustRadius reviewer reports missed employer contributions during a TriNet 401(k) migration (Aug 23, 2026).
• Setup time. Plan for a long onboarding. A TriNet HR director wrote "We were not set up correctly in many ways", which took most of a year to fix (Capterra, Oct 2, 2026). A Justworks reviewer could not get paid for about 16 days after starting (Trustpilot, Aug 28, 2026).
• Several companies. One reviewer left TriNet for ADP "due to having multiple companies" (Capterra, Oct 20, 2025). If you run more than one entity, ask each PEO how it bills and reports them.

What customers and employees complain about

TriNet

• FSA claims rejected and repeated proof requests, the top recent theme: "stop making me prove that I bought an eligible item five different ways" (Aug 19, 2026), with similar reviews on Jul 28 and Aug 7, 2026. These come from your employees, not you.
• A per-employee price that "continues to go up year after year" (Capterra, Jul 29, 2026 and Dec 14, 2025).
• Poor implementation and slow compliance answers (Capterra, Oct 2, 2026; TrustRadius, Aug 17, 2026).
• Prior-period charges on invoices with no label (Capterra, Jul 13, 2026).

Sources: Trustpilot, TriNet (3.9 from 230 reviews), Capterra page 2, TrustRadius. G2: 4.2 from 1,988 (seen Oct 16, 2026). On the positive side, one employer wrote "We're able to offer our employees affordable benefits because of our relationship with TriNet" (Trustpilot, Aug 28, 2026).

Justworks

• Support that replies without resolving the issue, the most frequent theme (Trustpilot, Jun 6 and Feb 13, 2026; Mar 24, 2025).
• Late or held payroll and wrong tax filings (Feb 1, Aug 7 and Sep 24, 2026; Jul 7, 2025).
• 401(k) and FSA mistakes (Sep 18, 2026; Nov 22 and May 6, 2025).
• Billed at the wrong plan rate (Mar 6, 2026), and a paid upgrade needed for support in West Coast hours (Dec 2, 2025).

Source: Trustpilot, Justworks (2.1 from only 37 reviews). G2: 4.6 from 1,127 (seen Oct 16, 2026).

Next steps

See every PEO ranked by the same scale on our best PEO list, and check entity names on the IRS certified PEO list. Full vendor detail is in the Justworks review and the TriNet review; reasons people leave are in TriNet alternatives and Justworks alternatives. Other PEO matchups: TriNet vs Insperity and Rippling vs Justworks. If a PEO is more than you need, compare payroll software by score or HR and payroll suites.