How this compares
Every paycheck calculator claims to be accurate, and none of them shows you why you should believe it. So this page compares the things you can actually check for yourself, and it says plainly where the bigger tools are the better choice.
What each one loads into your browser
| Calculator | Cookies | Third-party hosts | Account |
|---|---|---|---|
| PaycheckNewThe one third-party request is an analytics beacon the host injects, which the content security policy blocks before it runs. | 0 | 1, blocked | No |
| PaycheckCityThe largest measured on either count. This is what an advertising-funded free tool looks like. | 121 | 165 | No |
| SmartAssetFunded by referring visitors to financial advisers. | 51 | 61 | No |
| GustoA payroll company; the calculator is a route to the product. | 27 | 9 | Prompted |
| ADPA payroll company; the calculator is a route to the product. | 25 | 36 | Prompted |
Measured on 8 September 2026 by loading each calculator in a clean browser with no extensions, waiting six seconds, then counting the cookies set and the distinct outside domains contacted. Repeat it yourself with your browser's network tab. These figures move as companies change their tags, so treat them as a snapshot with a date on it rather than a permanent score.
What this site does that the others do not
Every figure names its source
Each state page links the department of revenue schedule its numbers come from, and the federal figures cite the IRS revenue procedure. You can follow one and check it in about a minute.
Mistakes are published
Every error found here is listed with its date and the before-and-after figures, including a state a full year out of date and one that overcharged every married couple. Most calculators fix quietly, so you never learn a figure moved.
The tables are tested against the departments' own documents
26 of the 51 jurisdictions reproduce a figure the department itself printed, inside a test that runs before the site is allowed to build.
Nothing you type is sent anywhere
The calculation runs in your browser. No salary you enter reaches a server, because there is no server to reach: the site is static files.
The code is public
The engine that produces every number is readable at github.com/Itsxhadi. If you disagree with a figure you can read the line that produced it.
Five tax years, not one
2022 to 2026, so you can work out a past year on that year's own tables rather than today's.
Where the bigger tools are the better choice
A comparison that wins every row is not worth reading. These are the cases where you should use something else, and they are real.
- They calculate withholding; this calculates what you owe
- ADP and Gusto run real payroll, so their calculators follow IRS Publication 15-T and your W-4 and can tell you what a specific cheque will be. This site spreads your annual liability evenly across pay periods, which answers a different question. If you need to match a payslip to the cent, use theirs.
- They handle situations this does not
- Self-employment income, multiple jobs with different withholding, mid-year starts, garnishments, and every benefit a real payroll system knows about. This site does wages.
- They have people you can ask
- There is a support line behind ADP and Gusto. Behind this there is one person and an email address.
- They have a track record
- These are established companies. This site launched in September 2026 and has no history for anyone to judge it on, which is a reasonable thing to hold against it.
So which should you use
If you are running payroll for a business, use a payroll company. If you want to know what a specific cheque will be after your W-4, use a withholding calculator, and the IRS publishes one free. If you want to know what a salary is really worth in 2026, compare two states before you move, or check whether the number on your payslip is roughly right, this site was built for that and shows you where every figure came from.
The methodology page sets out how the figures are produced and tested, and the corrections page lists everything that has been found wrong so far.
Other related calculators
- Paycheck calculatorTake-home pay after federal tax, FICA and state tax, for all 51 US jurisdictions.
- Payroll tax calculatorWhat an employee costs an employer, and what comes out of their pay. Both sides, one page.
- Bonus tax calculatorWhat lands in your account after the flat 22% withholding, and what comes back.
Hadi · Developer and maintainer
Federal tables checked against the IRS 2026 inflation adjustments on . State figures, where quoted, are each state's latest published schedule, 2025; federal figures are 2026.