Biweekly vs semi-monthly pay
26 paychecks or 24. How the two schedules differ for hourly workers, salaried workers and overtime.
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The two most common U.S. pay schedules sound almost the same and behave quite differently. Knowing which one you are on explains why some months have three paychecks, why a salaried paycheck is bigger on one schedule, and why overtime on a semi-monthly stub can be hard to check.
Side by side
| Biweekly | Semi-monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Pay frequency | Every other week, same weekday | Twice a month, on set dates |
| Paychecks a year | 26 (occasionally 27) | 24 |
| Typical paydays | Every second Friday | The 15th and the last day of the month |
| Hours per period (full time) | 80 | 86.67 on average, varies with the calendar |
| Three-paycheck months | Two a year | Never |
| Lines up with workweeks | Yes, two whole workweeks | No, periods can start on any weekday |
For hourly workers
Hourly pay is hours × rate either way, so the schedule changes only when you are paid, not how much you earn over a year. On a biweekly schedule, each period covers exactly two workweeks, so you can check overtime on the stub directly: total the hours for each week and look for anything over 40. The biweekly time card calculator is laid out for this.
On a semi-monthly schedule, a pay period might run from a Wednesday to the following Thursday, so it cuts through workweeks. Overtime is still owed per workweek, not per pay period, which means a week split across two pay periods has its overtime settled in the second one. If a stub seems to be missing overtime, check whether the week straddled the period boundary.
For salaried workers
Salary is divided by the number of paychecks. On $52,000 a year, a biweekly check is $2,000 (÷ 26) and a semi-monthly check is $2,166.67 (÷ 24). The semi-monthly checks are bigger because there are fewer of them; the annual total is the same.
The 27th paycheck
A year has 52 weeks and one or two extra days, so roughly every 11 years a biweekly schedule fits 27 paydays into a calendar year. Salaried employers handle this either by paying 27 regular checks that year or by dividing the salary by 27 for that year. Hourly workers are simply paid for the hours worked in each period, so the extra payday does not change anything but the timing.
Budgeting on each schedule
A biweekly schedule gives two months a year with a third paycheck, which many people set aside for savings or larger bills, but monthly bills that fall due on fixed dates do not always line up with paydays. Semi-monthly pay lines up neatly with monthly bills and rent but gives no bonus months. Neither schedule changes your tax: withholding tables are built for each frequency.
Which employers use which
Biweekly is the most common schedule in the United States, particularly for hourly workforces, because it lines up with workweeks and makes overtime simpler. Semi-monthly is common for salaried office staff. Some states set a minimum pay frequency, often at least twice a month for hourly workers, so weekly, biweekly and semi-monthly all satisfy most state laws, while monthly pay is restricted for many hourly jobs.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better, biweekly or semi-monthly?
Neither pays more over a year. Biweekly gives two three-paycheck months and lines up with workweeks; semi-monthly lines up with monthly bills and gives slightly larger salaried checks.
How many hours are in a semi-monthly pay period?
For a 40 hour week, 86.67 hours on average (2,080 hours a year divided by 24). The actual number varies with how many workdays fall in each half of the month.
What months have three paychecks in 2027?
It depends on the date of your first payday. Count every 14 days from it; the two months that contain three of those dates are your three-paycheck months.