Free Salary Paycheck Calculator: An ADP, Gusto & PaycheckCity Alternative for 2026

Short answer: ADP, Gusto, and PaycheckCity are all accurate 2026 salary paycheck calculators, but each is a lead-gen surface for a paid payroll product. The US State Paycheck Calculator returns the same 2026 federal, FICA, and state withholding numbers — free, no signup, all 50 states, no upsell.

What is a salary paycheck calculator?

A salary paycheck calculator estimates your net (take-home) pay from an annual salary by applying 2026 federal income tax brackets, FICA (Social Security + Medicare), state income tax, and any pre-tax deductions you enter. The output is dollars per paycheck at your chosen pay frequency.

Every mainstream calculator — ADP, Gusto, PaycheckCity, and ours — runs the same core equation:

1. 1. Gross pay per period = annual salary ÷ periods per year.
2. 2. Subtract pre-tax deductions (401(k), HSA, Section 125 health premiums).
3. 3. Apply 2026 federal brackets (10% – 37%) using your W-4 filing status.
4. 4. Add Social Security 6.2% (up to $184,500) + Medicare 1.45% (+0.9% above $200k).
5. 5. Apply your state's 2026 withholding table.

Side-by-side comparison

The four calculators are near-identical on math; they differ on friction, coverage, and how hard they push a paid product.

ADP Salary Paycheck Calculator

Best for: anyone already evaluating ADP as a payroll vendor. ADP processes payroll for roughly one in six US workers, so its withholding logic mirrors real pay stubs on the ADP platform.

Strengths

• • All 50 states, salary and hourly modes, clean per-check breakdown.
• • Withholding math matches an ADP-run pay stub to the cent.

Trade-offs

• • Wrapped in ADP's corporate site — header nav, cookie banners, "Get pricing" CTA above the fold.
• • On mobile you scroll past three ADP marketing modules before reaching the form.

Gusto Salary Paycheck Calculator

Best for: small-business owners modeling payroll cost, or anyone who values a polished UI over depth of options.

Strengths

• • Cleanest interface of the three legacy tools.
• • Employee / employer view toggle for full loaded-cost modeling.

Trade-offs

• • Persistent "Start with Gusto" funnel on the results screen.
• • Pre-tax deduction UI treats all 401(k) as traditional — Roth changes the tax math materially.

PaycheckCity Salary Calculator

Best for: power users who need bonus, supplemental-wage, or garnishment math the mainstream calculators hide.

Strengths

• • Separate salary, hourly, bonus, and 401(k) calculators.
• • Exposes voluntary deductions, supplemental wage rates, and state disability.

Trade-offs

• • Free tier is heavy on display ads and interstitials.
• • Polished workflow gated behind PaycheckCity Payroll's paid product.

How our calculator matches — and goes further

On core math, US State Paycheck Calculator matches ADP, Gusto, and PaycheckCity within a dollar on any standard salaried scenario. We use the same 2026 federal brackets (10% – 37%), the same $184,500 Social Security wage base, the same 1.45% Medicare rate, and each state's official 2026 withholding tables. What's different is the surface around the math:

• • No signup, no email capture, no upsell. The homepage is the calculator; there is no paid tier.
• • One page per state. Every state has its own /state-paycheck-calculator page — deep-linkable and shareable.
• • Companion tools. The salary-increase, hourly-to-salary, and overtime calculators run on the same engine.
• • Side-by-side state comparison. /compare-states puts two states next to each other on the same salary — a workflow ADP and Gusto don't offer.

Worked example — $85,000 salary, biweekly, Texas vs. California

Run the same inputs through ADP, Gusto, or PaycheckCity — results land within $2. Bookmark the state pages: Texas · California.

When to use which tool

• • Checking a job offer or a raise: use our calculator or the state-specific page.
• • Shopping payroll providers: ADP or Gusto's calculators double as product tours.
• • Bonus, supplemental, or garnishment math: PaycheckCity's specialty tools are the best free option.
• • Sharing a permanent per-state link (blog, HR doc, offer letter): use our per-state pages.

Sources & methodology

• • Federal brackets: IRS Publication 15-T (2026) — percentage-method tables.
• • Social Security wage base: SSA 2026 announcement, $184,500.
• • Medicare: 1.45% flat + additional 0.9% above $200,000 (single-filer threshold).
• • State tables: each state department of revenue's 2026 employer withholding guide.
• • Privacy: all math runs client-side — your salary inputs never leave your browser.

FAQ

Related guides

• • Salary-increase calculator — model a raise or promotion in any state.
• • Hourly-to-salary calculator — convert wages before running a paycheck estimate.
• • Compare state take-home pay — a workflow the big three don't offer.
• • How to fill out the 2026 W-4 — pair with any paycheck calculator for accurate withholding.