Best UK Payslip Generators Compared (2026/27): Free and Paid Options

Short answer: For one quick payslip with the basics worked out, Taxfly is free, unlimited and needs no signup. If you run payroll and report to HMRC yourself, HMRC's free Basic PAYE Tools makes payslips too. If you need a year-to-date column, hours, every tax code and a run of payslips at once, PayStub Guru charges £2.29 for 24 hours of unlimited PDFs. Payslipmaker.uk is pay-what-you-like from £1.99 per document and also makes P60s.

We make PayStub Guru, so we have an obvious interest. To keep this fair, every price and feature below comes from that tool's own website, checked on 31 October 2026, not from review sites. Where a site doesn't say something, we say so rather than guess. Taxfly is free and already does things we charge for; we say that too.

Comparison table

"Not stated" means we couldn't find it on the tool's own pages, not that the answer is no.

What 12 or 52 payslips cost

Most employers don't need one payslip. They need one every payday: 12 a year for monthly pay, 52 for weekly. Here is what each tool costs for one employee over a year.

The free tools are free, and for some employers that settles it. The difference is in what you have to work out or type yourself, which the next section covers.

The tools one by one

PayStub Guru

• Price: Unlimited previews and watermarked PDFs free, with no signup. £2.29 buys 24 hours of unlimited watermark-free PDFs; there is no subscription.
• What it works out: Income Tax from the tax code as written, including Scottish S codes, K codes and the flat-rate codes; employee NI for category A or C (over State Pension age); student loan Plans 1, 2, 4 and 5 and postgraduate loans, rounded down to the pound; the workplace pension by relief at source, net pay or salary sacrifice, on qualifying earnings or all pay. The employer pension is shown but not deducted. Statutory Sick Pay and the maternity, paternity, adoption and other statutory payments are worked out on 2026/27 rates and added as earnings lines.
• Also: Weekly, fortnightly, four-weekly and monthly pay, hours and rates, the tax period (Month 7, Week 30), year-to-date totals, a company logo, and up to 12 consecutive payslips in one PDF.
• What it doesn't do: No RTI submissions to HMRC, no P60s, no employer NI, and no check of who qualifies for statutory pay beyond the earnings limit. Each payday is worked out as an even share of the year, which matches cumulative PAYE within pennies for steady pay. Sales are final, which is why you can download a watermarked PDF first.
• Best for: Employers who want payslips with year-to-date totals and the less common tax codes, payslips for staff who live in Scotland, and company directors paying themselves a salary.

Taxfly

• Price: Free and unlimited, with no signup. Everything runs in the browser, and the site says the details aren't stored or sent anywhere.
• What it works out: Income Tax for England, Wales and Northern Ireland or for Scotland, employee NI, a pension as a percentage of gross pay, and student loan Plan 1 or 2. Pay can be monthly, weekly, fortnightly or annual, and there is a tax code box.
• Limits it lists itself: The figures are an estimate, with no cumulative PAYE, no employer NI and no statutory pay. It doesn't report to HMRC.
• Best for: A free payslip with the main deductions, when you don't need Plan 4 or 5 loans, a year-to-date column or hours.

Payslipmaker.uk

• Price: Pay what you think is fair, with a £1.99 minimum per document. Team packs: 16 PDFs for £24, 75 for £89 and 200 for £149, each valid for a year. There's a free draft to proofread first, and no account or subscription.
• What it works out: PAYE, NI, pension and student loan deductions on 2026/27 rates.
• Also: A P60 generator, payslip pages for company directors and mortgage applications, and other documents such as rent receipts and VAT invoices.
• Best for: Anyone who also needs a P60 or other UK documents from the same site.

Xero payslip generator

• Price: Free. You fill in a form with your name, email address, location, industry and number of employees, and Xero sends an editable PDF.
• What it works out: Gross and net pay add up automatically. Tax, NI, pension and other deductions are typed in, so you need the figures from somewhere else.
• Best for: A reusable template when you already know the deductions. Xero itself calls it a short-term option before payroll software.

HMRC Basic PAYE Tools

• Price: Free, for employers with fewer than 10 employees. You need to be registered as an employer with a PAYE Online login.
• What it does: It is real payroll software. It works out Income Tax and NI, sends the Full Payment Submission to HMRC, and creates payslips you save as a PDF. HMRC's guide says to get employees' agreement before emailing them.
• The catch: It's a desktop download for Windows, Mac or Linux, aimed at small employers rather than bookkeepers, and you keep and back up the data yourself.
• Best for: Small employers who have to report to HMRC anyway and want payslips from the same tool.

A payslip generator is not payroll software

Every employer with staff on PAYE has to report each payment to HMRC on or before payday, through payroll software, under Real Time Information (RTI). A payslip generator makes the document the employee gets. It doesn't send anything to HMRC.

So most small employers need both: payroll software for HMRC, and a payslip. Some payroll software, including Basic PAYE Tools, makes the payslip as well. GOV.UK warns that some payroll software doesn't produce payslips, and a generator fills that gap. What a payslip must show is set by the Employment Rights Act 1996; our UK payslip requirements guide lists it.

If you'd rather have one tool do everything, these are the options we checked:

• Free: HMRC lists seven free HMRC-recognised products for employers with fewer than 10 employees, including Basic PAYE Tools, FreePayroll and 1 A Simple Payroll (HMRC's list).
• QuickBooks Payroll: Standard Payroll is £4 a month plus £1 per paid employee, plus VAT, after its introductory offer (QuickBooks Payroll).
• BrightPay: Now cloud-only from 2026/27. It doesn't publish a price; you request one (BrightPay).
• Xero: UK plans are £18 to £70 a month excluding VAT after the first six months (Xero pricing); check the plan details for how payroll is included.

How to choose

1. One payslip, simple pay: Taxfly is free. Check its figures against your payroll if the employee has a student loan other than Plan 1 or 2.
2. You already run payroll: If your software makes payslips, use those. If it doesn't, a generator fills the gap; make sure the figures match what you reported to HMRC.
3. Year-to-date totals, hours or several payslips at once: PayStub Guru shows YTD totals and makes up to 12 consecutive payslips in one PDF, for £2.29 for 24 hours.
4. Scottish taxpayers: Check the tool uses the six Scottish bands. PayStub Guru, Taxfly and Basic PAYE Tools do; Xero's template leaves the tax to you. See the Scottish payslip generator for the 2026/27 bands.
5. A director's salary: The usual £12,570 salary has no Income Tax or employee NI. See payslips for company directors for how director NI and dividends work.
6. You need a P60: Payslipmaker.uk sells one; payroll software produces them. PayStub Guru doesn't.

For a country-neutral overview of making a payslip, see how to make a payslip.

Use a payslip generator honestly

A payslip records pay that was actually paid and reported to HMRC. A generator is for employers without payroll software that makes payslips, household employers paying a nanny or carer, directors recording their salary, and replacing a lost payslip with the real figures. Making a payslip for pay that wasn't received, to get a mortgage, a tenancy or a loan, is fraud, whichever tool you use. Leave out sites that sell "real" or "novelty" payslips.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is there a free payslip generator in the UK? A: Yes. Taxfly is free and unlimited with no signup, and works out Income Tax, NI, pension and Plan 1 or 2 student loans. Xero gives a free editable template if you fill in a sign-up form. HMRC's Basic PAYE Tools is free payroll software for employers with fewer than 10 employees and makes payslips. PayStub Guru's watermarked PDFs are free; watermark-free PDFs cost £2.29 for 24 hours.

Q: Does HMRC Basic PAYE Tools make payslips? A: Yes. HMRC's user guide says you can create a payslip for each employee from the Employee payments page and save it as a PDF to print or email. You need to be registered as an employer and have a PAYE Online login to use it.

Q: Which UK payslip generator shows year-to-date totals? A: Of the generators we checked, PayStub Guru shows YTD totals for taxable pay, tax, NI and other lines across the tax year. Taxfly's payslip doesn't show them, and Payslipmaker.uk and Xero don't say. Payroll software such as Basic PAYE Tools keeps them as part of the payroll.

Q: Which generators handle Plan 4 and Plan 5 student loans? A: PayStub Guru works out Plans 1, 2, 4 and 5 and postgraduate loans. Taxfly offers Plan 1 and Plan 2. Payslipmaker.uk says it works out student loan deductions without listing the plans on its pricing page.

Q: Do I still need payroll software if I use a payslip generator? A: Yes, if you employ staff on PAYE. Each payment has to be reported to HMRC through payroll software on or before payday. The generator only makes the payslip.

Q: How did you check these tools? A: We read each tool's own website on 31 October 2026, and HMRC's guidance on GOV.UK. Prices change, so check the provider's own page before you buy.

Want to see your own payslip first? Open the UK payslip generator, fill in the form and download a free watermarked PDF. There's no signup.