Biweekly (every two weeks) is the most common US pay schedule; weekly pays faster but costs more to run; semimonthly simplifies accounting but fights the workweek; monthly is rare for hourly work. Here’s the whole comparison in one table, then the details that actually matter.
The four schedules at a glance
| Schedule | Paychecks/yr | Period length | Full-time hours/period | Typical users |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly | 52 | 7 days | 40 | Construction, restaurants, staffing |
| Biweekly | 26 | 14 days | 80 | Most US employers |
| Semimonthly | 24 | 13–16 days | 86.67 | Salaried/office payrolls |
| Monthly | 12 | 28–31 days | 173.33 | Executives, some salaried roles |
What changes for hourly workers
Cash flow. Weekly pay shortens the gap between work and wages — meaningful at lower wage levels. Biweekly means budgeting across 14 days, but two “three-paycheck months” arrive every year (26 = 12 × 2 + 2).
Overtime clarity. Overtime is legally computed per workweek regardless of pay schedule. Weekly and biweekly periods align perfectly with workweeks, so the math is transparent. Semimonthly periods split workweeks — a week can straddle two paychecks, with overtime trued-up on the second one. That’s not illegal, just confusing — and a common source of “my check looks short” questions.
Paycheck size illusion. The same $20/hour full-time job grosses $800 weekly, $1,600 biweekly, $1,733.33 semimonthly and $3,466.67 monthly. Nothing changed but the slicing — the annual gross is identical. The payroll hours calculator converts hours to gross for any of the four frequencies.
What changes for employers
- Processing cost & effort scale with run count: 52 runs vs 26 vs 24.
- Hourly + semimonthly is painful — partial workweeks force overtime estimates and corrections. Hourly teams overwhelmingly choose weekly or biweekly for this reason.
- State law sets the floor. Many states set maximum payday intervals (some require at least semimonthly pay for certain workers; a few allow monthly). Check your state’s payday requirements before choosing monthly.
Picking a schedule
- Mostly hourly staff, tight margins on labor: weekly or biweekly — overtime stays auditable per week.
- Mostly salaried: semimonthly maps neatly to monthly accounting.
- Mixed teams: biweekly is the compromise nearly everyone lands on.
Whatever the schedule, the underlying timesheet math is the same: track hours per workweek, split overtime inside each week, then price the period. The biweekly timesheet calculator does exactly that for the 14-day case, with per-week subtotals so nothing hides in the average.