Hourly Review 2026: Payroll + Pay-As-You-Go Workers' Comp
Hourly's insight is that workers' comp and payroll are the same data problem. If you already know exactly what you paid every worker this week, you can bill workers' comp on those real wages — no annual estimate, no big deposit, no year-end audit surprise. So Hourly built payroll and pay-as-you-go workers' comp into one platform. This is an independent profile from QuoteSweep, which maps the modern commercial insurance landscape. QuoteSweep does not compete with Hourly.
TL;DR: Hourly (hourly.io) combines payroll, time tracking, HR, and workers' comp in one platform for hourly-worker businesses. Because premium is calculated from real-time wages each pay run, it's true pay-as-you-go — no big deposit, no year-end audit surprise. Per reporting it raised a $27M Series A in 2022 (~$34M total) and serves 500+ businesses.
What Hourly is
Hourly is a platform that runs payroll, time tracking, HR, and workers' compensation together. The workers' comp piece is the differentiator: instead of estimating annual payroll up front and reconciling at a year-end audit, Hourly uses real-time wage data so the premium is always accurate. One customer says the model "saved us $6,500 yearly." Hourly also lets other workers' comp insurers integrate with its payroll app to make billing "seamless, accurate and automatic."
Who Hourly is for
Hourly targets businesses that employ hourly workers across trades like construction, maintenance, transportation, manufacturing, landscaping, sanitation, food service, and energy services. It serves 500+ businesses. The fit is strongest for companies that want to run payroll and workers' comp in the same place.
Coverage lines
- Workers' Compensation — pay-as-you-go, billed on real-time wages
- Payroll, time tracking & HR — the platform the WC billing runs on
What Hourly reports about itself
From Hourly's site (company-stated) and third-party sources:
- Model: integrated payroll + workers' comp; premium billed per pay run on real wages
- Value: removes annual estimates, big deposits, and year-end audit surprises
- Scale (site): 500+ businesses
- Funding (third-party): a $27M Series A in 2022 led by Glilot Capital Partners (with MS&AD, S Capital, Vintage); roughly $34M total
- Founded: 2018; Palo Alto
Company-reported figures are not independently audited.
How Hourly compares
- vs. Pie: Pie is a standalone workers' comp carrier with a fast quote; Hourly ties workers' comp to its own payroll platform for real-time pay-as-you-go billing — best if you want both in one system.
- vs. Cerity: Cerity is a direct-buy WC channel backed by EMPLOYERS; Hourly is a payroll-native platform where WC billing is automatic.
- See the whole category: compare workers' comp players side by side on the workers' comp insurtech hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes Hourly's workers' comp "pay-as-you-go"?
Premium is calculated from your real-time payroll each pay run instead of an annual estimate, so you pay based on actual wages — no large upfront deposit and no year-end audit true-up.
Do I have to use Hourly for payroll?
Hourly's value is highest when you run payroll on its platform, since that's what powers the real-time workers' comp billing. It also lets other WC insurers integrate with its payroll app.
Who is Hourly built for?
Businesses that employ hourly workers — construction, transportation, manufacturing, food service, and similar trades.
What does Hourly cost?
Workers' comp premium is quote-based and billed per pay run on real wages; platform pricing is shown when you sign up or book a demo.
Get a quote from Hourly
If you employ hourly workers and want payroll and pay-as-you-go workers' comp in one place, Hourly is worth comparing.
For the model explained, see pay-as-you-go workers' comp, or compare the field on the workers' comp insurtech hub.
Sources: hourly.io (platform, pay-as-you-go model, target trades, scale); PR Newswire (funding, founding). Company-reported figures are not independently audited.
