Kontrable: The Justworks alternative for contractor management without PEO complexity

Justworks is a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) built for full-time W-2 employees: they become the co-employer, handling payroll, benefits administration, HR consulting, compliance, and HR services. Their pricing reflects this: $79-$109/month per employee depending on service tier. Kontrable is built for contractor management: tracking projects, managing contracts, handling invoices, coordinating direct payments. These are fundamentally different needs requiring different tools.

If you're managing 1099 contractors who handle their own taxes and already have payment accounts, you don't need a PEO. You need contractor management.

Why Justworks isn't the right solution for contractors

Justworks is a PEO (Professional Employer Organization). A PEO becomes a co-employer of your staff. They take on employment responsibility: payroll processing, tax withholding, benefits administration, health insurance, HR compliance, and employment law consulting. Every service tier ($79/month for Basic PEO, $109/month for Plus PEO) assumes W-2 employment relationships.

If you use Justworks for contractors, you're paying for:

• Co-employer liability (contractors are independent, not employees)
• Payroll tax processing (contractors handle their own taxes)
• Benefits administration (contractors manage their own benefits)
• Health insurance coordination (contractors get their own insurance)
• HR compliance (contractors aren't part of your HR structure)
• Employment law consulting (contractors aren't subject to employment law)

Contractors don't need any of this. Justworks' entire value is built around becoming a co-employer for W-2 employees. Using it for contractors means paying per-employee PEO fees for services that don't apply to independent contractors.

What Kontrable actually solves for contractors

Contractor database: Store contractor information, payment details, business information, preferred payment methods in one organized place.

Contract and document management: Upload and organize contracts, statements of work, compliance documents. AI-assisted contract generation reviewed by your legal counsel. Track signatures and versions.

Project and milestone tracking: Create projects with specific milestones, deliverables, payment amounts. Track progress. Get alerts when milestones approach. Know what's pending.

Payment management with flexibility: Approve payments. Record transaction IDs and proofs from your chosen method (Wise, PayPal, Payoneer, or direct bank transfer). Track contractor confirmations. Complete audit trail.

Compliance organization: Centralize tax forms (W-9, W-8BEN), contractor status documentation, records for audits. Know what's on file.

Alerts and notifications: Automated reminders for deadlines, pending approvals, confirmations. No manual tracking.

Monthly reporting: Export contractor lists, payment records, status summaries for finance and operations.

This is what contractors actually need. Not co-employer services. Not tax withholding. Not benefits administration. Organization, tracking, and direct payment coordination.

Payment control—the fundamental difference

Justworks processes payroll through their PEO system. You pay their per-employee monthly fee. Money flows through Justworks' infrastructure.

Kontrable lets you choose how to pay each contractor:

Wise transfers: Low foreign exchange fees (0.35-1%), fast delivery (1-3 days), strong global coverage. Best for cost-efficient international payments.

PayPal: Instant wallet delivery, ubiquitous, higher fees. Best for contractors who prefer PayPal.

Payoneer: Mass payout support, popular in emerging markets, 2-5 day delivery. Best for large contractor bases.

Bank transfers (ACH/SEPA/wire): Direct to contractor bank accounts, universal, auditable, fully traceable. Best for formal relationships and large payments.

You maintain complete control. Your money doesn't flow through a PEO's infrastructure. No co-employer relationship. No employment liability.

The Justworks PEO model doesn't fit contractors

If you use Justworks for contractors, you're paying for a service designed specifically for employees:

Justworks PEO Basic: $79/month per employee

• Payroll processing
• Tax withholding and filing
• Workers' compensation insurance
• HR compliance
• HR support and consulting

Justworks PEO Plus: $109/month per employee

• Everything in Basic, plus:
• Health insurance administration
• 401(k) setup and management
• Comprehensive HR services

Example costs:

• 5 contractors: $395/month (Basic) or $545/month (Plus)
• 10 contractors: $790/month (Basic) or $1,090/month (Plus)
• 25 contractors: $1,975/month (Basic) or $2,725/month (Plus)

Kontrable costs:

• 5 contractors: $49/month
• 10 contractors: $49/month
• 25 contractors: $99/month

For 10 contractors, you save $741/month with Kontrable (Basic tier). For 25, you save $1,876/month. And that's before considering that Justworks' services are designed for employees, not contractors.

Who should choose Kontrable

Small agencies, remote startups, and growing teams managing 3-25 contractors who:

• Have contractors who are properly classified as independent (1099)
• Contractors already have their own payment accounts
• Contractors handle their own taxes in their jurisdiction
• Need contractor management tools (not PEO services)
• Want to pay contractors directly through Wise, PayPal, Payoneer, or bank transfers
• Need to avoid PEO per-employee fees
• Value simplicity and contractor-specific functionality
• Want direct control over contractor relationships

Key advantages of Kontrable as the Justworks alternative

Contractor-specific tools: Not PEO services adapted for contractors. Built for contractor relationships from the ground up.

No co-employer liability: Justworks becomes a co-employer. Kontrable just manages relationships. You maintain direct control.

No per-employee PEO fees: Justworks charges $79-$109 per employee per month. Kontrable flat pricing covers up to 10 or 25 contractors.

Milestone-based payments: Track deliverables. Pay when work is complete. Tie payments to specific outcomes. Justworks doesn't offer this for contractor workflows.

Project tracking: Create projects with milestones, deadlines, deliverables. Know what's pending. Justworks is payroll and HR-focused, not project-focused.

Direct payment control: Choose your payment method (Wise, PayPal, Payoneer, bank transfer) for each contractor. Justworks forces payment through their payroll system.

No employment infrastructure overhead: No tax withholding, no benefits administration, no health insurance setup, no 401(k) management, no co-employer liability. Clean contractor management.

Transparent pricing: $49/month for up to 10 contractors. $99/month for up to 25. No per-person charges. No hidden fees.

Understanding the Justworks model

Justworks makes money by:

• Charging per-employee monthly fees ($79-$109)
• Processing payroll for employees
• Managing benefits and health insurance
• Providing HR consulting and compliance support
• Becoming a co-employer and assuming employment liability

Their business model is built on managing W-2 employees. They profit by handling employment relationships at scale. The per-employee fee reflects the PEO services they provide.

If you use Justworks for contractors, you're paying this entire per-employee PEO fee structure for services designed for employees. You pay for co-employer liability you don't have. You pay for benefits administration contractors don't need. You pay for HR consulting for independent workers.

Kontrable reverses this: we built contractor management from the ground up. No co-employer relationship. No employment liability. No per-employee fees. Just straightforward pricing based on contractor count.

What you get with Kontrable

Contractor-specific management: Every feature designed for contractor relationships, not adapted from PEO systems.

No co-employer relationship: You manage contractors directly. No shared employment liability.

No per-employee fees: Flat pricing covers all contractors in your tier.

Milestone-based payments: Track deliverables. Pay when work is complete. Connect payments to outcomes.

Direct payment methods: Wise, PayPal, Payoneer, or bank transfers. You choose. Your money stays with you.

Complete audit trail: All approvals, payments, confirmations documented. Clean records for finance and compliance.

Contract automation: AI-assisted contract generation reviewed by your legal counsel. Professional contracts without expensive legal fees.

Payment flexibility: Choose the method that works best for each contractor based on location, preference, cost.

The real cost comparison

For 10 contractors:

• Justworks PEO Basic: $790/month
• Kontrable: $49/month
• Savings with Kontrable: $741/month ($8,892/year)

For 25 contractors:

• Justworks PEO Basic: $1,975/month
• Kontrable: $99/month
• Savings with Kontrable: $1,876/month ($22,512/year)

Plus, Justworks' services don't work for contractors. You're paying for PEO services (payroll, benefits, HR compliance) that don't apply to independent workers.

What contractors actually need vs what Justworks provides

What contractors need:

• Organization and tracking
• Contract management
• Project milestone tracking
• Payment coordination
• Tax form collection (W-9, W-8BEN)
• Payment history and audit trail

What Justworks provides:

• Payroll processing and tax withholding
• Benefits administration
• Health insurance coordination
• 401(k) management
• Co-employer employment services
• HR compliance and consulting
• Workers' compensation insurance

These are completely different. Contractors need the first list. Justworks provides the second list (designed for employees) and bills you per-employee.

Kontrable provides exactly what contractors need, nothing more.

Why Kontrable exists

We kept using Justworks for contractors and paying hundreds of dollars per month for PEO services we didn't need. Co-employer liability? Contractors were independent, not employees. Tax withholding? Contractors filed their own taxes. Benefits? Contractors managed their own benefits. HR consulting? Contractors weren't part of our HR structure.

We needed a platform built for contractor relationships. Not PEO services adapted for contractors. Not per-employee fees for independent workers. Not co-employer liability. Just clean contractor management.

So we built Kontrable: contractor-specific tools, direct payment control, no PEO fees, no per-employee charges, no co-employer relationship, transparent pricing.

Get started

If you're managing independent contractors and need contractor management without PEO complexity, co-employer liability, and per-employee charges—Kontrable is the alternative.

Contractor-specific tools. Direct control. No PEO overhead. Professional management.

Start organizing your contractor relationships today.