Pinwheel

At a glance

• Editor score
  6.6 / 10
• Pricing
  Pricing on request
• Best for
  Fintechs accessing payroll data and paystubs
• Free plan
  No
• Payroll data access
  Yes
• Founded
  2018 · New York, NY, USA
• Facts checked
  29 Sep 2026

• Where it wins

  • Retrieves income, employment, historical paystubs, and payroll tax forms
  • Supports direct-deposit allocation updates with user permission
  • Link SDK, webhooks, and sandbox and development modes support integration

• Where it doesn't

  • API access requires contacting Sales or a Client Success Manager
  • Production API calls are billable
  • Integration depends on supported payroll employers and platforms

Our verdict on Pinwheel

Pinwheel provides payroll connectivity infrastructure for banks, fintechs, lenders, and other financial platforms. With a consumer’s permission, its APIs retrieve income, employment, current and historical paystub data, and payroll tax data and forms. They can also update direct-deposit allocations. This makes Pinwheel a fit for financial products that need payroll information or deposit-change capabilities; it is less suited to teams looking for a self-serve, free payroll API.

Integration centers on a REST API and the Link SDK, which connects users to payroll accounts. Pinwheel handles retrieval and requested actions through jobs, with webhooks delivering asynchronous updates. Teams can search supported employers and platforms and test integrations in sandbox and development modes. The product supports web, iOS, and Android alongside its API, making its connection flow relevant to mobile as well as web financial applications. Its scope also includes connected-account features for bill switching and management, beyond data retrieval alone.

Access is obtained by contacting Sales or a Client Success Manager, and production API calls are billable, so teams should plan for a commercial conversation and usage costs rather than a public self-serve tier. The company identifies SOC 2, ISO 27001, and PCI DSS compliance, which may be relevant when assessing a financial-data integration. Email is the listed support channel. Pinwheel is a reasonable candidate for mid-market and enterprise financial platforms seeking payroll connectivity, but teams that need public list pricing, free production access, or payroll processing as their primary product should compare alternatives.

Pinwheel pricing

Pinwheel fact sheet

Alternatives to Pinwheel

• ADP Workforce NowA broad payroll and HR suite for established teams that need connected workforce workflows.8.6
• GGustoA full payroll and HR suite for small and mid-market U.S. employers.7.8
• WWorklioA broad embedded payroll stack for providers that need multi-client and multi-EIN operations.7.7

See all Pinwheel alternatives →

Pinwheel vs the competition

• PPinwheel vs ADP Workforce Now
• PGPinwheel vs Gusto
• PWPinwheel vs Worklio
• PPinwheel vs Deel
• PPinwheel vs Moonworkers
• PPinwheel vs Argyle

Compare Pinwheel with any tool side by side →

Featured on iTechGuides

Pinwheel is listed in our Payroll APIs directory. Add the badge to your site — it links back to this page.

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Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Sep 2026

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Last updated 29 Sep 2026 · How we research and update