Biweekly vs Semi-Monthly Pay

Watch: Biweekly vs semimonthly pay (1:08)

Updated October 25, 2026 · Sources linked in the text

Biweekly means every two weeks; semi-monthly means twice a month. The yearly pay is the same, but the number and size of paychecks differ.

	Biweekly	Semi-monthly
Paychecks a year	26	24
Typical paydays	Every other Friday (or another weekday)	The 15th and the last day of the month, or the 1st and 15th
Gross pay on a $60,000 salary	$2,307.69	$2,500.00
Three-paycheck months	Two a year	Never
Common for	Hourly workers	Salaried workers

Which is better?

Neither pays more over a year. Biweekly gives smaller paychecks, two "extra" paychecks in months with three paydays, and paydays that fall on the same weekday. Semi-monthly gives larger paychecks on the same dates every month, which lines up better with monthly bills like rent.

Taxes are the same over the year

Withholding tables have a version for each pay frequency, so each paycheck's taxes are scaled to it. Over a full year, federal and state withholding come out nearly the same either way. You can check with the paycheck calculator: change the pay frequency and compare the yearly take-home line.

Deductions and the third paycheck

Benefit premiums are often set per month. With biweekly pay, some employers take them from 24 paychecks and skip the third paycheck in a month, so those paychecks are larger; others spread them over all 26. Your pay stub shows which.

Overtime

Overtime under federal law is based on hours over 40 in a workweek, not a pay period. A biweekly paycheck covers two workweeks, each counted separately; a semi-monthly paycheck can include parts of three workweeks, so overtime may show up a paycheck later.

27 paychecks in a year

Because 26 biweekly paychecks cover 364 days, a calendar year occasionally has 27 paydays. Salaried employees may then get a slightly smaller paycheck that year, or one extra paycheck, depending on the employer.

Convert pay between frequencies with the Salary to Hourly Calculator.