{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "salsa", "name": "Salsa", "vendor": "Salsa Software Inc.", "vendorUrl": "https://www.salsa.dev", "kind": "http-api", "category": "payroll", "summary": "Embedded payroll from Salsa Software Inc. for software platforms. A partner's backend onboards employers and workers, sends pay data, previews and confirms payroll runs and reads pay statements through a REST API, while Salsa files taxes and moves money.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/salsa", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/salsa.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/salsa.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/salsa.json", "license": "Proprietary service. The website Terms of Use are public and the partner agreement isn't. The browser library @salsa-payroll/salsa-js on npm is MIT", "transports": [ "http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.salsa.dev/api/rest/v1", "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "@salsa-payroll/salsa-js" } ], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "A partner receives two bearer API tokens from Salsa after a sales contact, one for the sandbox and one for production. The docs say these tokens grant many privileges. From them a backend mints user tokens (JWT) at POST /api/rest/v1/auth/token, each with one of 12 roles in three tiers (basic, admin, super-admin, with onboarding variants), a list of up to 125 employers and a lifetime of 60 minutes by default, or up to 30 days for onboarding roles. Role limits are enforced at the API. No self-serve key page or key rotation procedure was found in the docs. This is embedded-payroll partner access. Salsa has no route into an employer's existing payroll account at another provider.", "pricing": "paid", "pricingNotes": "No public prices. salsa.dev has no pricing page (www.salsa.dev/pricing returns 404) and access starts with a contact form. The sandbox is issued by Salsa on request, so an agent can't start without a person contacting sales, and no free tier or trial was found. A Usage API reports confirmed payroll runs, worker payments, workers paid and tax filings per employer so a partner can bill its own customers, with no unit price published (checked 2026-10-08).", "priceSummary": "Paid", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs index, the OpenAPI spec or the website (checked 2026-10-08).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": 435, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-08" }, "docsUrl": "https://docs.salsa.dev", "llmsTxt": "https://docs.salsa.dev/llms.txt", "openapi": "https://docs.salsa.dev/openapi/salsadev.yaml", "capabilities": [ "payroll.run", "payroll.embedded", "payroll.employees", "payroll.tax-filing", "payroll.contractors" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "closed-source", "api-key", "openapi", "llms-txt", "webhooks", "sandbox", "sales-led", "partner-access", "soc2" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-07", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 46.1, "grade": "D", "agentReady": false, "rank": 761, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 842, "categoryRank": 7, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 48, "maintenance": 50, "payments": 5, "reliability": 36, "schema": 73, "security": 56, "transparency": 51 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-08" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "Salsa is reached as an embedded-payroll partner, not through an employer's existing payroll account. The REST API has a public OpenAPI 3.1 spec with 123 operations, a payroll preview, a separate confirm step and short-lived user tokens limited by role. Access starts with a sales conversation, and no public price, self-serve sandbox, status page or API changelog was found.", "bestFor": "A software platform that wants to sell payroll to its own business customers and can sign a partner agreement, with Salsa handling tax filing and money movement.", "strengths": [ "Public OpenAPI 3.1 spec with 123 operations and 78 webhook events, last modified 7 October 2026, plus llms.txt and a Markdown copy of every docs page", "A payroll run is previewed, created as PENDING and paid only after a separate confirm call. A pending run can be deleted", "User tokens last 60 minutes by default, carry one of 12 roles in three tiers and name the employers they cover", "Audit entries record who changed what and when, with the actor shown as a user, an API client or the system", "Sandbox at api.sandbox.salsa.dev with mock-onboard endpoints that fill in employer and worker details for tests" ], "weaknesses": [ "API tokens come from Salsa after a sales contact. No self-serve signup, public price, free tier or trial was found", "No status page, SLA, API changelog or deprecation policy was found on salsa.dev or docs.salsa.dev", "No Idempotency-Key header. The rate-limit page names 429 with no Retry-After or backoff guidance", "No server-side SDK. The only official package is the browser library Salsa.js, last published on 11 December 2025", "The signup link used across the docs, www.salsa.dev/get-a-demo, returned 404 on 8 October 2026", "No security.txt, disclosure policy, DPA or subprocessor list was found. SOC 2 Type 2 appears only as a badge image" ], "agentNotes": [ "Use the sandbox token against https://api.sandbox.salsa.dev and the production token against https://api.salsa.dev. Each environment has its own token", "Call POST /payroll-runs/preview before creating a run, then confirm the PENDING run in a separate call. Confirming starts the employer debit", "Send your own externalId on every create. A repeat returns a uniqueness error, which is the only duplicate protection", "Make sure externalId values are unique across all employers, since each entity type has one namespace", "Mint a user token with the lowest role and the fewest employerIds the task needs, and keep the partner token on the server" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "D", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 46.1 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 48, "maintenance": 50, "payments": 5, "reliability": 36, "schema": 73, "security": 56, "transparency": 31 }, "provenanceScore": 70 }, "connect": { "http": "curl --location --request GET 'https://api.sandbox.salsa.dev/api/rest/v1/partner-pay-types' \\\n --header 'Accept: application/json' \\\n --header 'Authorization: Bearer ${YOUR_API_TOKEN}'" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/payroll.run", "tool": "https://letme.dev/salsa" }, "area": "domain-data", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Salsa Software Inc.", "domain": "salsa.dev", "domainRegistered": "2021-08-06", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://www.salsa.dev/terms-of-use", "privacy": "https://www.salsa.dev/privacy-policy", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://www.salsa.dev/blog-category/product-updates", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-08", "notes": [ "The privacy policy (last modified 24 September 2025) names Salsa Software Inc., 169 Madison Ave #38368, New York, NY 10016, and says it doesn't cover data processed on behalf of platforms, which is governed by Salsa's agreements with them.", "The Terms of Use are dated 7 April 2022 and governed by California law. The partner agreement that covers API use isn't public.", "www.salsa.dev/.well-known/security.txt and docs.salsa.dev/.well-known/security.txt return 404.", "No status page is linked from salsa.dev or docs.salsa.dev. status.salsa.dev didn't connect. salsa.statuspage.io exists with two components marked \"(example)\" and a last update of 4 November 2022, and nothing ties it to this company.", "The changelog link is the product updates category of the blog, whose newest entry is 11 February 2026. docs.salsa.dev/changelog returns 404.", "RDAP for salsa.dev gives a registration date of 2021-08-06 and Squarespace Domains II LLC as registrar." ], "score": 70 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/salsa.json", "live": { "slug": "salsa", "probe": { "target": "https://api.salsa.dev/api/rest/v1", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-09T10:14:26.227486133Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 401, "lastMs": 437, "lastNote": "asks for credentials", "authRequired": true, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 450, "p95ms24h": 483, "samples24h": 202, "samples30d": 202, "days": [ { "date": "2026-10-08", "probes": 93, "ok": 93 }, { "date": "2026-10-09", "probes": 109, "ok": 109 } ] }, "versions": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "@salsa-payroll/salsa-js", "version": "0.3.0", "seenAt": "2026-10-08T16:28:07.049435331Z" } ], "npmWeekly": 435, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://salsa.dev/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "none", "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T15:38:49.425969804Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://www.salsa.dev/blog-category/product-updates", "kind": "changelog", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:30:07.056601151Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "6c036ec0ed44" }, { "url": "https://www.salsa.dev/privacy-policy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:30:09.140715304Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "08a0e2898a35" }, { "url": "https://www.salsa.dev/terms-of-use", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:30:11.191316869Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "3bb24864bd0f" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-09T10:14:26.227486133Z" } }, "answer": "Salsa scores 46.1 (D) on agent readiness against Worklio's 38.6 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Worklio leads on payments \u0026 pricing.", "b": { "slug": "worklio", "name": "Worklio", "vendor": "Worklio, Inc.", "vendorUrl": "https://www.worklio.com", "kind": "http-api", "category": "payroll", "summary": "Embedded US payroll from Worklio, Inc. for software platforms, PEOs and payroll bureaus. A partner's backend creates companies and workers, runs payroll in steps and reads tax forms through a REST API, with white-label screens as an alternative.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/worklio", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/worklio.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/worklio.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/worklio.json", "license": "Proprietary service. The public Terms of Use date from 2014 and the partner agreement isn't public. The front-end library sits in a private repository", "transports": [ "http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.worklio.com", "packages": [], "auth": "oauth", "authNotes": "Every call takes a bearer JWT from `POST https://api.worklio.com/connect/token`. In the sandbox a developer registers at apiweb.worklio.com/RegisterDeveloper and uses the password grant with the account's username and password, scope `api`, and a client secret the docs print and describe as shared by all sandbox users. Tokens last 24 hours. Browser apps use an OpenID Connect redirect flow through `@worklio/sdk`, which isn't published and is requested from support. Production credentials, single sign-on and allowed origins are set up by Worklio. A System user has full rights over every company it created. This is embedded-payroll partner access, with no route into an employer's payroll account elsewhere.", "pricing": "paid", "pricingNotes": "A partner's price is set in its agreement and isn't public. The partner pages publish retail list prices per person per month ($10 for Full-Service Payroll, $81 for all 19 modules) and call them illustrative, not a quote, with base, setup and per-use fees excluded. The sandbox is self-serve after developer registration, so an agent's owner can start without a contract. Whether registration asks for a card was not read, because apiweb.worklio.com disallows crawlers (checked 2026-10-09).", "priceSummary": "Paid", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs index, the reference pages read or the website (checked 2026-10-09).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-09" }, "docsUrl": "https://apidocs.worklio.com/docs/overview", "llmsTxt": "https://apidocs.worklio.com/llms.txt", "capabilities": [ "payroll.run", "payroll.embedded", "payroll.employees", "payroll.tax-filing", "payroll.contractors" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "closed-source", "oauth", "openapi", "llms-txt", "webhooks", "sandbox", "partner-access", "soc2", "iso27001" ], "lastRelease": "2026-06-30", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 38.6, "grade": "E", "agentReady": false, "rank": 812, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 842, "categoryRank": 10, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 44, "maintenance": 25, "payments": 25, "reliability": 25, "schema": 71, "security": 48, "transparency": 48 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-09" }, "negative": -3, "negativeNotes": [ "30 June 2026. The changelog entry that announces the reworked Time-Off Requests API says the older `timeoffrequests` routes were replaced by hyphenated routes and tells integrators to update, in the same note and with no earlier notice found. Whether partners were told privately is unknown, so the smallest deduction applies (-3). https://apidocs.worklio.com/changelog/v1-api-updates" ], "verdict": "Worklio documents 853 REST operations with an OpenAPI fragment on every reference page, and a developer can register for the sandbox without a sales call. No rate limits or public SDK were found, the status page is password protected, and the payroll guide tells callers to treat an HTTP 500 as the signal to finalise.", "bestFor": "A software platform, PEO or payroll bureau that wants to sell US payroll under its own brand and can sign a partner agreement, with Worklio handling tax filing and money movement.", "strengths": [ "853 documented operations across 17 API groups, each reference page carrying an OpenAPI 3.0.4 fragment, plus llms.txt and a Markdown copy of every docs page", "Sandbox access is self-serve. A developer registers, uses a shared sandbox client secret printed in the docs and gets a bearer token", "A payroll run moves through steps with next, previous, discard, lock and finalise calls, and starting a scheduled run twice returns the same run", "Every operation states which user levels may call it (System, Admin, ClientAdmin, Employee, or anonymous with a link token)", "The security page claims SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001, ISO 27018 and ISO 9001, with third-party penetration testing" ], "weaknesses": [ "No rate limits, 429 handling or idempotency keys were found in the reviewed documentation", "status.worklio.com asks for a password, so no public incident history exists", "The Run Payroll guide says the `next` call answers HTTP 500 with an untranslated message when a run is ready to finalise", "No public SDK. `@worklio/sdk` and the component library sit in a private repository granted through support", "The public Terms of Use are dated 21 December 2014 and describe a small-business HR site. The partner agreement and production prices aren't public" ], "agentNotes": [ "Send `api-version: 2.0` on `/wep` calls. The reference marks the header as required", "Get a token from `POST https://api.worklio.com/connect/token` with the password grant and scope `api`. It lasts 24 hours, so fetch a new one daily", "Run payroll as start, `next` until it answers 500 with \"Next step operation is not allowed\", then `finalize`. Don't treat that 500 as a failure", "Don't retry bonus, off-cycle, void or termination payroll starts blindly. The reference says those calls are not idempotent", "Most `/wep` list endpoints return the whole result set. Paging, `filter` and `sort` work only under `/api/public`, and a `DataToken` expires after 60 seconds" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "E", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 38.6 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 44, "maintenance": 25, "payments": 25, "reliability": 25, "schema": 71, "security": 48, "transparency": 28 }, "provenanceScore": 67 }, "connect": { "http": "curl -s -X POST \"https://api.worklio.com/connect/token\" \\\n -H \"accept: application/json\" \\\n -H \"content-type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded\" \\\n --data-urlencode \"grant_type=password\" \\\n --data-urlencode \"username=$WORKLIO_USERNAME\" \\\n --data-urlencode \"password=$WORKLIO_PASSWORD\" \\\n --data-urlencode \"scope=api\" \\\n --data-urlencode \"client_id=wep_resourceowner.public.api\" \\\n --data-urlencode \"client_secret=$WORKLIO_CLIENT_SECRET\"" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/payroll.run", "tool": "https://letme.dev/worklio" }, "area": "domain-data", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Worklio, Inc.", "domain": "worklio.com", "domainRegistered": "2015-03-10", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "", "privacy": "https://www.worklio.com/privacy", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://apidocs.worklio.com/changelog", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-09", "notes": [ "The site footer reads \"© 2026 Worklio, Inc.\". The about page says Worklio LLC was established in 2017. No postal address was found on the pages read.", "No terms link is given. The only public terms are the Terms of Use at www.worklio.com/terms, last updated 21 December 2014, which describe an HR site for small businesses and predate the embedded API. The partner agreement that governs API use isn't public.", "www.worklio.com/privacy embeds a policy hosted at www.iubenda.com/privacy-policy/25719508. iubenda's robots.txt disallows that path, so the policy text was not read.", "status.worklio.com exists (an UptimeRobot page) and answers \"This status page is password protected\", so it is not recorded as a public status page.", "www.worklio.com/.well-known/security.txt returns 404.", "The changelog holds two entries, both dated 30 June 2026.", "RDAP for worklio.com gives a registration date of 2015-03-10." ], "score": 67 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/worklio.json", "live": { "slug": "worklio", "probe": { "target": "https://api.worklio.com", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-09T10:14:32.874135866Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 404, "lastMs": 457, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 468, "p95ms24h": 504, "samples24h": 28, "samples30d": 28, "days": [ { "date": "2026-10-09", "probes": 28, "ok": 28 } ] }, "updatedAt": "2026-10-09T10:14:32.874135866Z" } }, "facts": [ { "a": "HTTP API", "b": "HTTP API", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Salsa Software Inc.", "b": "Worklio, Inc.", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "https://api.salsa.dev/api/rest/v1", "b": "https://api.worklio.com", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP", "b": "HTTP", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "API key", "b": "OAuth", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Paid", "b": "Paid", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "Proprietary service. The website Terms of Use are public and the partner agreement isn't. The browser library @salsa-payroll/salsa-js on npm is MIT", "b": "Proprietary service. The public Terms of Use date from 2014 and the partner agreement isn't public. The front-end library sits in a private repository", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-10-07", "b": "2026-06-30", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "2022-04-07", "b": "no document linked", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "2025-09-24", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "435 npm/wk", "b": "none", "name": "Popularity" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "Salsa scores 46.1 (D) on agent readiness against Worklio's 38.6 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Worklio leads on payments \u0026 pricing.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Salsa or Worklio?" }, { "answer": "Salsa needs an API key. Worklio uses an OAuth sign-in.", "question": "Do Salsa and Worklio need an API key?" }, { "answer": "Yes. Salsa has a hosted endpoint at https://api.salsa.dev/api/rest/v1 and Worklio at https://api.worklio.com.", "question": "Can an agent call Salsa and Worklio without installing anything?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 36 against 25", "Security \u0026 auth, 56 against 48", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 50 against 25" ], "also": [ "No incidents deducted, where Worklio loses 3 points for them" ], "goodFor": "A software platform that wants to sell payroll to its own business customers and can sign a partner agreement, with Salsa handling tax filing and money movement.", "slug": "salsa", "watchFor": "API tokens come from Salsa after a sales contact. No self-serve signup, public price, free tier or trial was found" }, { "aheadOn": [ "Payments \u0026 pricing, 25 against 5" ], "also": null, "goodFor": "A software platform, PEO or payroll bureau that wants to sell US payroll under its own brand and can sign a partner agreement, with Worklio handling tax filing and money movement.", "slug": "worklio", "watchFor": "No rate limits, 429 handling or idempotency keys were found in the reviewed documentation" } ], "job": { "capability": "payroll.run", "name": "Payroll run" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/argyle-vs-salsa.json", "title": "Argyle vs Salsa", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/argyle-vs-salsa" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/argyle-vs-worklio.json", "title": "Argyle vs Worklio", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/argyle-vs-worklio" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/finch-vs-salsa.json", "title": "Finch vs Salsa", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/finch-vs-salsa" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/finch-vs-worklio.json", "title": "Finch vs Worklio", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/finch-vs-worklio" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paychex-vs-salsa.json", "title": "Paychex vs Salsa", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paychex-vs-salsa" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paychex-vs-worklio.json", "title": "Paychex vs Worklio", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paychex-vs-worklio" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/check-payroll-vs-salsa.json", "title": "Check vs Salsa", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/check-payroll-vs-salsa" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/check-payroll-vs-worklio.json", "title": "Check vs Worklio", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/check-payroll-vs-worklio" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/employment-hero-vs-salsa.json", "title": "Employment Hero Payroll vs Salsa", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/employment-hero-vs-salsa" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/employment-hero-vs-worklio.json", "title": "Employment Hero Payroll vs Worklio", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/employment-hero-vs-worklio" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/everee-vs-salsa.json", "title": "Everee vs Salsa", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/everee-vs-salsa" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/everee-vs-worklio.json", "title": "Everee vs Worklio", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/everee-vs-worklio" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gusto-vs-salsa.json", "title": "Gusto vs Salsa", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gusto-vs-salsa" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gusto-vs-worklio.json", "title": "Gusto vs Worklio", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gusto-vs-worklio" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/salsa-vs-zeal.json", "title": "Salsa vs Zeal", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/salsa-vs-zeal" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/worklio-vs-zeal.json", "title": "Worklio vs Zeal", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/worklio-vs-zeal" } ], "scores": [ { "by": 11, "edge": "salsa", "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "salsa": 36, "weight": 16, "worklio": 25 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 2, "edge": "salsa", "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "salsa": 73, "weight": 13, "worklio": 71 }, { "by": 4, "edge": "salsa", "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "salsa": 48, "weight": 13, "worklio": 44 }, { "by": 8, "edge": "salsa", "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "salsa": 56, "weight": 14, "worklio": 48 }, { "by": 20, "edge": "worklio", "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "salsa": 5, "weight": 10, "worklio": 25 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 25, "edge": "salsa", "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "salsa": 50, "weight": 7, "worklio": 25 }, { "by": 3, "edge": "salsa", "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "salsa": 51, "weight": 7, "worklio": 48 } ], "summary": "Salsa scores 46.1 (D) on agent readiness against Worklio's 38.6 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Worklio leads on payments \u0026 pricing. Both do payroll run.", "verdicts": { "salsa": "Salsa is reached as an embedded-payroll partner, not through an employer's existing payroll account. The REST API has a public OpenAPI 3.1 spec with 123 operations, a payroll preview, a separate confirm step and short-lived user tokens limited by role. Access starts with a sales conversation, and no public price, self-serve sandbox, status page or API changelog was found.", "worklio": "Worklio documents 853 REST operations with an OpenAPI fragment on every reference page, and a developer can register for the sandbox without a sales call. No rate limits or public SDK were found, the status page is password protected, and the payroll guide tells callers to treat an HTTP 500 as the signal to finalise." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/salsa-vs-worklio", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/salsa-vs-worklio.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/salsa-vs-worklio.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/salsa-vs-worklio.min.md" }, "markdown": "Salsa scores 46.1 (D) on agent readiness against Worklio's 38.6 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Worklio leads on payments \u0026 pricing. Both do payroll run.\n\n- Salsa: grade D, 46.1/100, rank #761 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/salsa.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/salsa.json\n- Worklio: grade E, 38.6/100, rank #812 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/worklio.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/worklio.json\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### Salsa (D)\n\nGood for: A software platform that wants to sell payroll to its own business customers and can sign a partner agreement, with Salsa handling tax filing and money movement.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 36 against 25\n- Security \u0026 auth, 56 against 48\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 50 against 25\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- No incidents deducted, where Worklio loses 3 points for them\n\nWatch for: API tokens come from Salsa after a sales contact. No self-serve signup, public price, free tier or trial was found\n\n### Worklio (E)\n\nGood for: A software platform, PEO or payroll bureau that wants to sell US payroll under its own brand and can sign a partner agreement, with Worklio handling tax filing and money movement.\n\nAhead on:\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 25 against 5\n\nWatch for: No rate limits, 429 handling or idempotency keys were found in the reviewed documentation\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Salsa | Worklio | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 36 | 25 | Salsa +11 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 73 | 71 | Salsa +2 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 48 | 44 | Salsa +4 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 56 | 48 | Salsa +8 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 5 | 25 | Worklio +20 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 50 | 25 | Salsa +25 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 51 | 48 | Salsa +3 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -3 | |\n| **Total** | | **46.1 · D** | **38.6 · E** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Salsa | Worklio |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |\n| Vendor | Salsa Software Inc. | Worklio, Inc. |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.salsa.dev/api/rest/v1` | `https://api.worklio.com` |\n| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |\n| Auth | API key | OAuth |\n| Pricing | Paid | Paid |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | Proprietary service. The website Terms of Use are public and the partner agreement isn't. The browser library @salsa-payroll/salsa-js on npm is MIT | Proprietary service. The public Terms of Use date from 2014 and the partner agreement isn't public. The front-end library sits in a private repository |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | yes |\n| Last release | 2026-10-07 | 2026-06-30 |\n| Terms last updated | 2022-04-07 | no document linked |\n| Privacy policy last updated | 2025-09-24 | couldn't be read |\n| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | |\n| Terms restrict automated access | yes | |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | |\n| Popularity | 435 npm/wk | none |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**Salsa.** Salsa is reached as an embedded-payroll partner, not through an employer's existing payroll account. The REST API has a public OpenAPI 3.1 spec with 123 operations, a payroll preview, a separate confirm step and short-lived user tokens limited by role. Access starts with a sales conversation, and no public price, self-serve sandbox, status page or API changelog was found.\n\n**Worklio.** Worklio documents 853 REST operations with an OpenAPI fragment on every reference page, and a developer can register for the sandbox without a sales call. No rate limits or public SDK were found, the status page is password protected, and the payroll guide tells callers to treat an HTTP 500 as the signal to finalise.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Salsa\n\n1. Use the sandbox token against https://api.sandbox.salsa.dev and the production token against https://api.salsa.dev. Each environment has its own token\n2. Call POST /payroll-runs/preview before creating a run, then confirm the PENDING run in a separate call. Confirming starts the employer debit\n3. Send your own externalId on every create. A repeat returns a uniqueness error, which is the only duplicate protection\n4. Make sure externalId values are unique across all employers, since each entity type has one namespace\n5. Mint a user token with the lowest role and the fewest employerIds the task needs, and keep the partner token on the server\n\n### Worklio\n\n1. Send `api-version: 2.0` on `/wep` calls. The reference marks the header as required\n2. Get a token from `POST https://api.worklio.com/connect/token` with the password grant and scope `api`. It lasts 24 hours, so fetch a new one daily\n3. Run payroll as start, `next` until it answers 500 with \"Next step operation is not allowed\", then `finalize`. Don't treat that 500 as a failure\n4. Don't retry bonus, off-cycle, void or termination payroll starts blindly. The reference says those calls are not idempotent\n5. Most `/wep` list endpoints return the whole result set. Paging, `filter` and `sort` work only under `/api/public`, and a `DataToken` expires after 60 seconds\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Salsa or Worklio?\n\nSalsa scores 46.1 (D) on agent readiness against Worklio's 38.6 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Worklio leads on payments \u0026 pricing.\n\n### Do Salsa and Worklio need an API key?\n\nSalsa needs an API key. Worklio uses an OAuth sign-in.\n\n### Can an agent call Salsa and Worklio without installing anything?\n\nYes. Salsa has a hosted endpoint at https://api.salsa.dev/api/rest/v1 and Worklio at https://api.worklio.com.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/salsa-vs-worklio.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/salsa-vs-worklio.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"salsa\", \"b\": \"worklio\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare salsa worklio`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/salsa.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/worklio.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Salsa or Worklio\n\n- [Argyle vs Salsa](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/argyle-vs-salsa.md)\n- [Argyle vs Worklio](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/argyle-vs-worklio.md)\n- [Finch vs Salsa](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/finch-vs-salsa.md)\n- [Finch vs Worklio](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/finch-vs-worklio.md)\n- [Paychex vs Salsa](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paychex-vs-salsa.md)\n- [Paychex vs Worklio](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paychex-vs-worklio.md)\n- [Check vs Salsa](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/check-payroll-vs-salsa.md)\n- [Check vs Worklio](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/check-payroll-vs-worklio.md)\n- [Employment Hero Payroll vs Salsa](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/employment-hero-vs-salsa.md)\n- [Employment Hero Payroll vs Worklio](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/employment-hero-vs-worklio.md)\n- [Everee vs Salsa](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/everee-vs-salsa.md)\n- [Everee vs Worklio](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/everee-vs-worklio.md)\n- [Gusto vs Salsa](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gusto-vs-salsa.md)\n- [Gusto vs Worklio](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gusto-vs-worklio.md)\n- [Salsa vs Zeal](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/salsa-vs-zeal.md)\n- [Worklio vs Zeal](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/worklio-vs-zeal.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-10-09", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.4", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "Salsa vs Worklio", "url": "" } ], "description": "Salsa scores 46.1 (D) on agent readiness against Worklio's 38.6 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Worklio leads on payments \u0026 pricing. Both do payroll run. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "Salsa D 46.1", "Worklio E 38.6", "scores" ], "h1": "Salsa vs Worklio", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-salsa-vs-worklio.png", "path": "/compare/salsa-vs-worklio", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Salsa vs Worklio for AI agents, D 46.1 vs E 38.6 | Anchor Terminal", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-09", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/salsa-vs-worklio" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2150, "slim": 680 }, "version": 1 }