8 Best PEOs for Health Insurance in 2026 (Reviewed & Compared)

Most benefits brokers will tell you they work for you, and technically, that's true. But in practical terms, their commission goes up when your premiums go up, their carrier relationships stay warm when they don't make waves at renewal, and their book of business stays intact when you don't ask too many questions.

I know this because I spent decades on the inside of this industry. Long enough to know within the first five minutes of looking at a company's current benefits setup whether they're overpaying, by roughly how much, and why their broker hasn't fixed it. 

The more interesting question, the one that eventually brought me to Ignition, is what you actually do with that knowledge, and who you decide to use it for.

I spent a long time using it for the carriers. Not because I was cynical about it — I genuinely believed I was doing good work. But there's a moment, and most brokers who've been in this industry long enough have it, where you sit across from a founder who has no idea how exposed they are and you realize the system you're part of isn't designed to tell them. I got tired of being part of that system. That's the short version of why I'm here.

When Nick finally started asking the right questions, what he found wasn't a bad broker. It was a system designed to make those questions hard to ask and harder to answer.

Nick has written about what that system costs founders. I want to explain what we actually do about it — and why the technology behind it changes the conversation entirely.

Many companies turn to a PEO because of the convenience they are promised. Everything from payroll to compliance sits in one place. Over time, that convenience wears thin. Renewal hikes come with no clear reason, visibility into health plans is limited, and exiting the PEO becomes a real challenge. 

The good news is you don't have to choose between convenience and control. The four alternatives in this guide cover the same ground a PEO does but with more transparency, less lock-in, and in most cases, a lower cost. Here's what each one does well and who it's right for.

alternatives in this guide cover the same ground a PEO does but with more transparency, less lock-in, and in most cases, a lower cost. Here's what each one does well and who it's right for.

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Top 4 PEO Alternatives: At a Glance

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1. Ignition Benefits: Best for Startups Exiting an Expensive PEO

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Ignition Benefits is an employee benefits brokerage built for startups and high-growth companies that want full visibility into what their benefits actually cost. It shows founders their team’s true risk profile and uses that insight to secure the best health coverage at a lower cost.

Ignition’s employer-first approach comes from its founder, Nick Taranto. While scaling Plated to 1,500 employees before its acquisition by Albertsons, he saw brokers earn commissions without ever shopping the market.

Ignition Benefits Key Features

• Benefits Assessment 

Ignition Benefits analyzes employee census to assess your team's actual benefits risk profile. Your workforce data (age, health demographics, and claims history) determines what you should be paying. But, most PEOs never show you this number. 

Ignition uses it as leverage to go to market on your behalf, benchmarking your current spend against companies of the same size, stage, and geography so you can see exactly where you're overpaying and by how much.

Find out if you’re overpaying for benefits. Start your free assessment today!

• Side-by-Side Market Comparison

Every option is laid out side by side with plan details, total cost, carrier, and Ignition Benefit's recommendation. There are no hidden commissions influencing what gets recommended. You can review these options yourself or schedule a call with an Ignition advisor at any point in the process.

• Zero Carrier Runaround 

Ignition Benefits takes care of every carrier call, form, and follow-up. You decide the direction and Ignition handles everything else, from assessment to your team’s first day of coverage.

Ignition Benefits Pricing

You pay no employer fee. Ignition earns through standard broker commissions, just like traditional brokers but with full visibility into what those commissions are.

Where Ignition Benefits Shines

• Full clarity into what's driving your health insurance cost: Ignition maps every cost component, so you know exactly what you're paying for and why. That puts founders in control of every boardroom conversation around benefits.
• Full fee transparency: Most founders don’t get a clear view of how brokers make money. Ignition changes that by showing every dollar upfront, including its own fees, so you can trust how decisions are made.

Where Ignition Benefits Falls Short

• Benefits-focused for now: Ignition's current focus is health coverage and it goes deeper there than any generalist platform on this list. If you need payroll, HRIS, or compliance support alongside it, Paylocity or CGO pair cleanly with Ignition and cover everything else.

Who Ignition Benefits Is Best For

• Business leaders at a 10-500 person company who owns the health benefits decision and wants to understand what they're actually paying for.
• Companies on an existing PEO that have never seen their carrier risk score and suspect their premiums don't reflect their team's actual health profile.

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Bambee: Best for Small Businesses Needing Fractional HR

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Bambee is a fractional HR solution that pairs small businesses with a dedicated HR manager without the overhead of hiring in-house or the co-employment model of a PEO. 

For companies under 100 employees that need compliance guidance, policy development, and ongoing HR support, Bambee is one of the most cost-effective options on the market.

Key Features

• Dedicated HR Manager: A real HR professional assigned to your account, reachable by phone, email, and chat.
• Custom HR policies: Bambee builds HR policies tailored to your company and state, covering PTO, anti-harassment, termination procedures, and more.
• Compliance audits: Routine HR audits to identify gaps and keep you aligned with federal and state labor laws.
• Onboarding and termination support: Guided workflows for hiring and offboarding employees, including risk assessments before terminations. 

Pricing

Bambee’s pricing plans are based on the number of employees you have. Full details are below: 

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Where Bambee Shines

• Compliance focus: Routine audits and proactive policy maintenance reduce the risk of employment law violations.
• No co-employment: You stay the sole employer. There is no shared liability, no PEO exit fees, and no contract lock-in. 

Where Bambee Falls Short

• Limited support availability: Bambee HR representatives are only reachable Monday through Friday, 9am to 6pm PST. When an urgent HR issue comes up after hours, like a compliance concern, small businesses are left to manage it themselves.
• Payroll accuracy issues: Users report recurring problems with Bambee’s payroll add-on, including incorrect pay calculations, missed benefits deductions, etc. If payroll accuracy matters, a dedicated tool like Paylocity offers more reliability.

Who Bambee Is Best For

• Small businesses that need HR guidance and compliance support without hiring in-house or joining a PEO.
• Founders in the pre-HR hire stage who want to build a solid HR foundation before committing to a full-time role.

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Paylocity: Best for Companies Building HR In-House

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Paylocity is an all-in-one HR and payroll platform for companies ready to bring HR in-house (without co-employment). It gives growing companies a full HRIS: payroll, time tracking, benefits administration, performance management, and employee engagement all in one system.

For companies exiting a PEO that want to own their HR function without starting from scratch, Paylocity is one of the most capable mid-market platforms available.

Key Features

• Automated payroll: Multi-state payroll processing with automated tax filing, direct deposit, and W-2 preparation across all 50 states.
• Benefits administration: Handles health insurance enrollment, FSA and HSA tracking, and COBRA with benefit changes automatically reflected in payroll deductions.
• Time and attendance: Native time tracking integrated directly with payroll, reducing manual reconciliations. 

Pricing

Paylocity does not publish its pricing publicly. Pricing is custom based on company size, location, and modules selected. Contact their sales team for a quote.

Where Paylocity Shines

• Full HRIS without co-employment: You own your HR function, data, and employee relationships with no shared liability. 
• Payroll depth: Tax compliance, multi-state payroll, and direct deposit are core strengths built over 25+ years of payroll-first development.
• Employee experience: Community tools, mobile app, and self-service portal consistently rank well in user satisfaction.

Where Paylocity Falls Short

• No health benefits included: Paylocity administers benefits but doesn't broker them. You'll need to source health insurance separately.
• Learning curve on implementation: Several users report the platform can feel complex during setup. Companies without a dedicated HR person may struggle the most early on.

Who Paylocity Is Best For

• Companies with 50-500 employees exiting a PEO who want to build an in-house HR function on a solid technology foundation.
• HR teams that are ready to own payroll and compliance without the overhead of a PEO contract.

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CGO: Best ASO Alternative to a PEO

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CGO (Connor & Gallagher OneSource) is an Administrative Services Organization (ASO) that explicitly positions itself as a PEO alternative. Founded in 1997 and serving over 2,000 clients across 46 states, CGO handles payroll, HR administration, employee benefits, workers' compensation, and 401k - all in one place, without co-employment. Your employees remain under your EIN, not theirs.

Key Features

• Pure ASO model: You remain the sole employer of record with full control over hiring, firing, benefits decisions, and company culture.
• À la carte service menu: You choose which services to include; payroll, HR admin, benefits administration, workers' compensation, 401k. You only pay for what you use.
• Full HRIS included: A state-of-the-art HR platform covering the entire employee lifecycle (recruiting, onboarding, terminations, etc.) are included in the service fee.
• Dedicated expert teams: CGO employs in-house consultants specializing in employee benefits, business insurance, HR, payroll, and retirement planning - not a generalist call center.

Pricing

CGO does not publish its pricing publicly. To get a quote, contact their sales team. 

Where CGO Shines

• You choose your own carriers: Unlike a PEO that assigns you to their master plan, CGO shops your health insurance, workers' compensation, and 401k across the open market using their network of 15+ A-rated carriers. 
• Full transparency: Every cost (payroll taxes, insurance premiums, and admin fees) is broken out line by line on a single invoice. No guessing what you're actually paying.

Where CGO Falls Short

• US-focused: CGO is headquartered in Illinois and primarily serves US-based companies. For companies with significant international workforce needs, a different solution is required.

Who CGO Is Best For

• Small and mid-sized companies that are exiting a PEO and want the same administrative support without co-employment. 

Reasons to Consider an Alternative to a PEO

PEOs solve a real problem for early-stage companies (HR infrastructure, benefits access, compliance support, etc.) without hiring a dedicated HR team. But the co-employment model comes with tradeoffs that compound as you grow. 

Here's what's driving companies to make the move.

You're Paying for a Pool, Not Your Team

When you join a PEO, your health insurance premium isn't based solely on your team's risk profile. It's partly determined by the claims history of every other company in that shared pool. Small, healthy startups often pay more than their team’s true risk profile would suggest. The extent varies with the PEO’s pool size and makeup though.

Ignition Benefits prices your coverage based on your team's actual Benefits Risk Score, not a pool average. For low-risk workforces, this difference is often significant.

You Can't Explain Your Renewal Increase

Most companies see premiums rise at renewal and pay because there's no data to push back with. The reason no one explains the increase is simple: explaining it would require showing you the risk score and claims data driving it - information that gives you negotiating leverage. Most PEOs don't shop across carriers at renewal. They renew you into the same pool at a higher rate and move on.

Ignition Benefits shows you that data before the renewal conversation starts. When you know what's driving your premium, you can negotiate. When you can negotiate, you have a real chance of getting the same benefits coverage at a lower cost.

Has your broker ever shown you options across carriers? If not, you're likely overpaying. See what your plan should really cost!

You're Paying for Services You Don't Use

Most PEOs bundle payroll, compliance, HR consulting, and benefits administration into a single per-employee fee. If you only need one or two of those things, you're paying for the rest anyway.

PEO alternatives let you pick the services that matter most. For employee benefits, one of the largest expenses on your P&L, Ignition guides you to the right coverage while lowering your bill. 

Done With PEO Guesswork? Take Back Control With Ignition Benefits

Employee benefits are usually the most expensive part of a PEO relationship and the least transparent. Most companies have no idea what their team's coverage should cost, whether their carrier is right for their workforce, or what alternatives exist. Ignition Benefits answers all those questions.

If you’re frustrated with your PEO and are wanting to leave, Ignition can also help with the transition so there are no coverage gaps.

Find the best health coverage for your team without overspending. Reach out today!

FAQs About PEO Alternatives

What Is a PEO?

A Professional Employer Organization (PEO) is a company that enters into a co-employment arrangement with a client. It acts as the employer of record for payroll, taxes, and benefits, while the client company retains control over daily operations. This provides small businesses with access to group benefits rates and compliance support they couldn’t get otherwise.

What Is the Difference Between a PEO and an ASO?

A Professional Employer Organization (PEO) operates through co-employment, becoming the employer of record and sharing legal liability with your business. An Administrative Services Organization (ASO) delivers similar HR support, including payroll, benefits administration, and compliance, without co-employment. You remain the sole employer of record with full control and responsibility.

When Does It Make Sense to Leave a PEO?

There are several moments when leaving a PEO makes sense: approaching or passing 50 employees, a renewal increase with no explanation, a board conversation about benefits spend, a new HR hire who starts asking what you're actually paying, and a funding round that puts benefits under CFO scrutiny. 

At any of these points, an independent benefits broker like Ignition Benefits can benchmark your current costs against the full market and show you whether you're overpaying on employee benefits.

Every year, founders open their benefits renewal and see the same thing: higher costs, more confusing plan options, and no clear explanation of what changed.

And in 2026, that pressure is getting worse. Mercer reports that total health benefit cost per employee is expected to rise 6.5% on average in 2026, the highest increase since 2010.

Some of that increase is market-driven. But that doesn’t mean every startup is paying the right price for the risk profile it has.

Behind the scenes, insurance carriers are constantly evaluating your team’s risk. The problem is, most startups never see that data, which makes it hard to know whether the increase is justified or your company is simply overpaying.

The lack of visibility is also one of the reasons many startups turn to professional employer organizations (PEOs). 

On paper, a PEO offers a simple answer: bundled HR, payroll, compliance, and benefits in one place. But as startups grow, especially in the 25-200 employee range, that convenience can become expensive. Rising premiums, limited visibility, and less flexibility can turn the PEO from a solution into part of the problem.

If a PEO still feels like the right fit for your stage, here are the best options to consider. Just go in knowing what you may be giving up in cost visibility.

This guide breaks down the best PEOs for startups in 2026, and when it may be time to look for an alternative.

8 Best PEOs for Startups: A Quick Overview

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Ignition Benefits: Best for Startups Looking to Leave Expensive PEOs

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Ignition Benefits is an employee benefits brokerage built for startups that are frustrated with, and want to leave, opaque PEOs. It shows founders how carriers assess their team’s risk, then uses that data to negotiate better rates and help them move to a setup that makes more financial sense.

Unlike platforms that bundle HR, payroll, and benefits into one system, Ignition focuses on one of the biggest cost centers on your P&L: employee benefits. 

This focus is shaped by founder Nick Taranto’s experience scaling Plated to 1,500 employees and leading the company through its acquisition by Albertsons, giving him firsthand insight into what benefits misalignment costs at scale.

It’s a strong option for founders researching PEO alternatives for startups or wondering how to leave a PEO without disrupting coverage.

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Ignition Benefits Key Features 

Here are a few of Ignition Benefits’ standout features.

1. Benefits Risk Score Visibility

The Benefits Risk Score is the internal rating insurers use to assess how risky your team is to cover. Ignition shows founders that score, so it’s easier to understand why costs are rising and whether those increases are actually justified. No need to rely on vague explanations from brokers or PEOs.

2. Renewal Negotiation Using Real Data

Instead of accepting renewal quotes at face value, Ignition uses your risk profile to shop the market and negotiate better pricing. The goal is to keep your coverage strong while reducing premiums, so you aren’t forced into unnecessary trade-offs.

3. PEO Exit Support and Transition Guidance

If you’re stuck in an expensive PEO, Ignition helps you plan and manage to transition out of it. This includes evaluating timing, avoiding coverage gaps, and setting up a more flexible benefits structure outside the PEO model.

Curious to see how much you could save on your current plan?
Contact us today.

Ignition Benefits Pricing

Ignition does not charge employers an out-of-pocket fee for its brokerage service. It is compensated through standard carrier commissions, like traditional benefits brokers.

What sets it apart is pricing transparency. Ignition is upfront about how broker compensation works and uses that visibility as part of its broader approach to helping startups better understand and reduce benefits costs.

Where Ignition Benefits Shines

• Savings-focused: Helps startups actively reduce benefits spend instead of accepting annual increases as a given.
• Strong fit for PEO exits: Ideal for teams re-evaluating whether a bundled PEO model still makes sense as they grow.
• Decision clarity: Gives founders the context they need to confidently choose between staying, switching, or fully leaving a PEO.

Where Ignition Benefits Falls Short

• Not built to replace your HR stack: Ignition isn’t trying to be your HRIS, payroll system, or compliance platform. It focuses specifically on helping startups understand, optimize, and reduce employee benefits costs, which means you may still need separate tools for broader HR operations.
• Less impactful for very small teams: If you have fewer than ~25 employees and no near-term hiring plans, you may not see the same level of savings or have the same pressure to reevaluate your current benefits setup.

Who Ignition Benefits Is Best For 

• Startups with 25-200 employees: Companies facing rising benefits costs or preparing for a renewal conversation.
• Teams looking to leave a PEO: Founders who feel locked into an expensive setup and want more flexibility and visibility.
• Founder-led companies: Operators who want to understand and actively manage the cost of their benefits.

Ignition focuses only on benefits rather than bundling everything into a single system. But if you’ve decided a PEO or a PEO-style solution is still the right fit, here are the best options to consider.

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1. Rippling

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Rippling is a workforce management platform that combines HR, payroll, benefits, and IT in a single system. It also offers a PEO model that provides companies with access to benefits, payroll, and compliance support under a co-employment arrangement.

Key Features

• Unified employee data and system management: Rippling keeps employee data synced across payroll, benefits, and IT systems automatically. This helps reduce manual work and keeps records consistent across the platform.
• Integrated IT and device management: Teams can assign laptops, manage software access, and control permissions directly within the platform (especially useful for remote onboarding and offboarding).
• Global payroll and contractor management: Companies can use Rippling to pay employees and contractors in multiple countries while managing local compliance requirements in the same system.

Pricing

Contact sales for a custom quote.

Where Rippling Shines

• Strong automation across workflows: Rippling automates tasks like onboarding, offboarding, and employee updates, reducing repetitive admin work.
• Modular and customizable setup: Companies can choose the modules they need, like payroll, benefits, or IT, instead of paying for everything upfront.
• Built for scaling operations: Rippling helps growing teams manage people, systems, and processes in one place as complexity increases.

Where Rippling Falls Short

• Benefits are bundled into a broader system: Rippling is built for operational convenience across HR, payroll, IT, and benefits. That works well for teams that want one platform, but it can make benefits feel like just one part of a larger stack instead of something you can independently audit, benchmark, and optimize.
• Less focused on cost transparency and renewal strategy: Rippling promotes access to large-group plans and easier administration, but its core value is simplicity, not helping founders understand what is driving their benefits costs or whether a renewal increase is actually competitive. For startups trying to lower spend, that can be a real limitation.

Who Rippling Is Best For

• Startups that want one system for everything: Teams looking to manage HR, payroll, IT, and benefits in a single platform.

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2. Sequoia One 

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Next on our list of the best PEOs for startups is Sequoia One. It combines HR, payroll, benefits, and compliance support into a single offering.

Key Features

• Access to curated benefits plans: Sequoia One provides startups with a range of health insurance plans designed for growing teams.
• Dedicated HR advisory support: Teams get access to HR experts who can help with compliance, policies, and people operations.
• Compensation and benchmarking insights: Sequoia offers compensation data and guidance to help startups make more informed hiring and retention decisions.

Pricing

Contact for a custom quote.

Where Sequoia One Shines

• Strong people strategy support: It goes beyond basic HR admin by helping startups think through compensation, benefits, and overall people spend as a strategic lever.
• Backed by deep startup experience: With decades of experience working with tech startups, Sequoia brings a level of pattern recognition and guidance that general PEOs don’t offer.

Where Sequoia One Falls Short

• Less flexibility outside the PEO model: Benefits, payroll, and HR are bundled together, making it harder to customize or optimize each area independently.
• More than what smaller teams need: Early-stage startups may not need the level of structure, advisory, and services included.

Who Sequoia One Is Best For

• Venture-backed startups: Companies that want a more structured approach to compensation, benefits, and people strategy as they scale.

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3. Justworks

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Justworks is a PEO that combines payroll, benefits, compliance, and HR support to help companies manage core people operations.

Key Features

• Simple payroll and benefits management: Justworks makes it easy to run payroll, manage benefits, and handle basic HR tasks.
• Compliance and HR support: It helps companies stay compliant with employment laws, taxes, and regulations. There’s also access to HR support when needed.

Pricing

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Where Justworks Shines 

• Ease of use: Justworks keeps things simple, from running payroll to managing benefits. Teams can handle day-to-day operations without dedicated HR staff.
• International hiring support: The platform also supports global hiring, which gives small teams a way to hire and pay workers outside the US.

Where Justworks Falls Short

• Limited flexibility for more complex setups: As companies grow or need more customization, the platform’s simplicity can start to feel restrictive.
• Less control over benefits optimization: With benefits embedded inside the PEO structure, founders have limited ability to shop the market, benchmark renewals, or adjust their setup based on their team’s specific risk profile. That can lead to rising costs without clear visibility into what’s driving them.

Who Justworks Is Best For

• Founders who want hands-off HR: Teams that prefer to outsource HR operations and rely on external support instead of building in-house processes.

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4. TriNet

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TriNet is a PEO that provides HR, payroll, benefits, and compliance support through a co-employment model. It combines a full-service HR setup with industry-specific expertise, so small and mid-sized companies can manage people operations with less internal overhead.

Key Features

• Industry-tailored support: TriNet adapts its HR services to different industries, which can be useful for companies that need more specialized support as they grow.
• Access to large-group benefits: Companies can offer employees benefits typically available to larger organizations, including medical, dental, vision, and retirement plans. 

Pricing

Contact sales for a custom quote.

Where TriNet Shines

• Depth of experience: With 30+ years in the PEO space and 330,000+ worksite employees, TriNet brings a level of operational maturity that newer providers don’t.
• Handles complexity well: As headcount grows or operations span multiple states, TriNet takes on more of the administrative and compliance burden, reducing internal HR strain.

Where TriNet Falls Short

• Less flexibility in benefits setup: Like most PEOs, you’re limited to the plans and carriers within TriNet’s network.
• Renewal costs can become harder to justify as you scale: As headcount grows, companies can face higher renewal increases without much clarity into what’s driving them.

Who TriNet Is Best For

• Growing SMBs with limited HR resources: Teams that want to outsource HR, payroll, and compliance as they scale.
• Companies operating in regulated or complex environments: Businesses that benefit from structured compliance support and guidance.

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5. Deel PEO

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Deel PEO is part of Deel’s global workforce platform. It helps companies hire, pay, and manage employees across the US and other countries.

Key Features

• Full-service payroll and tax handling: Deel manages payroll processing and handles federal, state, and local tax filings.
• Built-in compliance support: Dedicated HR experts help manage policies, filings, and regulatory requirements across states.

Where Deel Shines

• Global + US coverage in one platform: Useful for companies managing both domestic employees and international teams.
• Flexible setup compared to traditional PEOs: Companies can keep their existing benefits or move to Deel’s plans over time.

Where Deel Falls Short

• Less focused on benefits cost visibility: For companies focused specifically on reducing US benefits spend, Deel offers less visibility into what is driving renewal increases or whether their current setup is truly cost-efficient.

Who Deel Is Best For

• Companies hiring across borders: Teams managing US and international employees in one system.

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6. Gusto

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Next up is Gusto, an all-in-one payroll, HR, and benefits platform built for small and medium-sized businesses.

Key Features

• Automated payroll and tax filing: Run payroll in a few clicks while Gusto calculates wages, files taxes, and keeps everything compliant.
• Benefits management: Offer and manage health insurance, retirement plans, and financial benefits with built-in admin and advisor support.

Where Gusto Shines

• Simple, intuitive experience: Designed for non-HR users, making payroll and HR tasks quick and easy to manage.

Where Gusto Falls Short

• Limited visibility into cost drivers: Gusto simplifies plan selection and administration, but it doesn’t give founders much insight into why costs are rising or whether a renewal increase is competitive. If your goal is to actively reduce benefits spend, that lack of transparency can be a constraint.

Who Gusto Is Best For

• Small businesses and startups: Teams looking for a straightforward way to run payroll, manage HR, and offer benefits without heavy overhead.

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7. Engage PEO

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Engage is a full-service employer organization that helps small and mid-sized businesses manage HR, payroll, benefits, and compliance.

Key Features

• Payroll and tax administration: Engage offers payroll processing, time-and-attendance tracking, and tax-filing support.
• Employee benefits access: The platform provides medical, dental, vision, voluntary benefits, and a 401(k) program through national carrier partnerships

Where Engage PEO Shines

• Hands-on service model: Engage is built around outsourced HR support, which is why it appeals to businesses that want more guidance and less day-to-day admin.

Where Engage PEO Falls Short

• Less visibility into benefits cost drivers: Engage focuses on administering benefits, not exposing the underlying factors driving renewal increases or premium changes.

Who Engage PEO Is Best For

• Small and mid-sized businesses wanting hands-on HR support: Companies that prefer a traditional PEO with service-heavy support across payroll, benefits, and compliance.

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8. Paychex

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Paychex is a full-service payroll, HR, and PEO provider that combines software with dedicated support teams to help businesses manage employees, benefits, and compliance.

Key Features

• Dedicated HR support team: Access to a client advocate, HR business partner, and specialists for payroll and workplace safety.
• Benefits and insurance access: Offers health plans, retirement options, and business insurance through a centralized platform.

Where Paychex Shines

• Comprehensive risk and compliance coverage: Built-in support for workplace safety, workers’ comp, and multi-state compliance.

Where Paychex Falls Short

• Less streamlined than newer tools: The platform can feel more service-heavy and less intuitive compared to modern, software-first providers.

Who Paychex Is Best For

• Businesses that want hands-on support: Companies that prefer having a team of experts managing HR, payroll, and compliance alongside them.

What are the Signs Your Current PEO Setup Isn't Working?

PEOs can solve many early-stage problems. But as your team grows, the same setup can start to create new ones. Here are a few signs it may be time to rethink your approach.

1. Your Benefits Costs Keep Rising, but You Don’t Know Why

If you’re seeing double-digit renewal increases without clear reasoning or benchmarks, that’s a red flag. Most PEOs don’t show the underlying factors driving your pricing, so it’s hard to tell whether your rates reflect your team’s actual risk or whether you’re simply overpaying.

A good starting question: has your broker ever shown you the claims data and employee demographics your carrier is using to price your plan? If the answer is no, that’s your first sign. 

Ignition Benefits brings that information into view, so you can better understand and challenge your costs.

2. You’re Locked Into a Bundled System You Can’t Break Apart

PEOs bundle payroll, HR, compliance, and benefits into one system, which means you can’t always adjust or optimize your benefits without affecting the rest of your setup.

Ignition separates benefits from the broader stack, so you can fix one of your biggest cost drivers without overhauling everything else.

3. You Have No Way to Benchmark or Negotiate Your Renewal

When your renewal comes in, you should be able to ask:

• Is this increase reasonable?
• Could we get a better rate elsewhere?

Most PEOs don’t give you the tools or data to answer those questions. You’re left accepting the quote as-is.

Ignition uses your actual risk profile to shop the market and negotiate on your behalf, so you’re not taking renewal pricing at face value.

4. You’ve Outgrown Your PEO, but Don’t Know How to Leave

Transitioning out of a PEO can feel risky, especially when benefits are involved. That’s why many startups stay longer than they should.

Ignition helps startups move off PEOs without disrupting coverage, making that transition much more manageable.

The Marines taught me a lot of things. One of them stayed with me longer than the rest: never send someone into a situation without giving them the intelligence they need to survive it. You brief the mission and you make sure the person across from you understands the terrain, the risks, and the plan before they take a single step.

My benefits broker never got that memo.

Five years growing Plated from two people to 1,500 and raising nearly $100 million, and… No intelligence. No terrain map. Just a renewal notice and a handshake and a promise that this was the best available deal, every year. It cost me millions of dollars. 

The company builders I talk to every day are still getting that same briefing. I started Ignition Benefits to change it.

Here's the bigger reason why: healthcare is 20% of the US economy and growing at 2 to 3 times inflation. Most people assume that's a policy problem or a hospital system problem. It's not, or at least not only. A significant part of it is structural: the money moves through too many hands, with too little transparency, with too few people in the room who are actually working for the buyer. The middlemen aren't a side effect of the system. They're the system.

AI gives us a real shot at changing the math. Not by replacing the relationship between a founder and a benefits advisor, but by eliminating the inefficiency that made that relationship inaccessible to most companies, and the opacity that made it exploitable for everyone else. That's what Ignition is built to do. Cut costs. Deliver real transparency to company builders and their boards. And get better outcomes for the employees and families at the end of this chain who have no idea any of this is happening.

Every year for five years, I got robbed. Not by some shadowy entity or fine print I missed at 2am. By a system I never bothered to understand because I was too busy building something.

I grew Plated from two people to 1,500. Raised nearly $100 million. Moved fulfillment centers 14 times. Delivered what became the biggest exit in Shark Tank history. And the entire time — every single year — I was getting fleeced.

By my math — and a ProPublica investigation backs this up — the average 100-person company running competitive tech benefits is getting fleeced by $180K to $360K annually, a consequence of a commission structure that pays brokers 3 to 6 percent of your premium every year.

This is a story about what happens when founders trust a system they never examined. It happened to me. It's probably happening to you right now.

What Your Benefits Being "Handled" Actually Means

Here's how it starts for almost every scaling founder I know:

You go from two people to a dozen. At this scale, a PEO — a Professional Employer Organization, the outsourced HR bundle most early-stage companies start with — makes sense.

If you’re some mix of lucky and good, you quickly move from dozens to hundreds of employees, and at some point a sensible Head of HR looks at you and says: "It's time to move off the PEO." And you say, "OK, I guess," because you trust them. You have a hundred other fires. And benefits has always been one of those things that just gets handled.

So you get introduced to a broker. Nice enough person. Knows the industry. Shakes your hand, takes the meeting, answers your emails. You sign the broker of record letter. You move on with your life.