Best 5 ADP Payroll Competitors 2023

If you’re after a strong alternative to ADP, Rippling is the best piece of software we reviewed, offering businesses a greater level of control over their payroll process, and also boasting stronger help and support options than ADP. Rippling’s pricing is a lot more transparent than ADP’s too, which is a massive bonus for businesses managing their costs.

With strong features, great analytics, and broad functionality that extends to HR resources and payroll, ADP does offer businesses a solid way to pay their employees’ salaries. Yet, with run-of-the-mill help and support and a fairly opaque pricing structure, the solution won’t be a perfect fit for every business.

If you’re looking to move on from the tool, or are just curious about how similar options compare, read on for our full list of ADP alternatives. Or, if you’d rather us do the heavy lifting, take our free payroll quiz and get matched to a provider in under a minute.

The best ADP competitors are:

1. Rippling – Best for payroll overall
2. Paychex Flex – Most flexible payment options
3. Gusto – Best for maintaining compliance
4. Zenefits – Excellent data security
5. Onpay – Transparent contract and pricing

In this guide:

• Best ADP Competitors
• What About QuickBooks and Square?
• Methodology: How Do We Compare Payroll Providers?
• Which Is The Best ADP Alternative?
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Best ADP Payroll Competitors

ADP has five high-quality competitors for payroll software: Rippling, Paychex Flex, Gusto, Zenefits, and Onpay. Depending on your business needs, any one of these might be a more appealing option for you. As technology evolves — in 2023, AI is the latest game-changer — new opportunities might make one payroll solution more attractive than the next.

We don’t mean to say that ADP isn’t worth getting: It remains one of our favorite payroll services. But you should consider all your options.

Here’s our look at why each competitor’s service might be worth getting instead, based on the thorough research and testing conducted by our expert team.

1. Rippling: Best for Payroll Overall

Rippling software offers popups in order to walk users through key functions.

Rippling is a versatile payroll software that performed extremely well in our independent testing. In fact, Rippling was the best small business payroll software we reviewed.

Due to its customizable packages and its assortment of unique features — including automated legal compliance alerts, open AI, and international payment capabilities — we gave it an overall star rating of 4.6/5, outperforming every provider we reviewed.

Rippling also shines when it comes to payroll expertise. The software provides useful resources on payroll-related tax requirements and offers in-depth training material to new users too – earning its knowledge base a perfect score of 5/5 in our research.

Yet, despite its accolades, Rippling lacks ready-made integrations with large-scale HCM platforms like SAP and Oracle. This makes it less suited than ADP for businesses looking to scale to a large HR platform.

Rippling’s Pricing

Rippling’s pricing structure is unique, as businesses are able to build custom packages to fit their particular needs.

Ripplings’ main Unity plan costs $35 per month plus $8 per user, per month. This plan includes onboarding and offboarding features, time tracking, and full-service payroll capabilities.

Businesses can also add on extra modules for the following prices:

• Global payroll for $20 per user, per month
• Global contractor payroll for $20 per user, per month
• An employee of Record (EOR) for $599 per user, per month
• Benefits administration for custom prices
• App, device, and computer inventory management for $8 per user per month

Ripping Pros

• Customizable packages
• Transparent payment processes
• App for clocking in and out
• Global payment features
• Labor law compliance alerts

Rippling Cons

• No integrations with HCM platforms like SAP and Oracle
• Lacks 24/7 support via phone or live chat
• No money-back guarantee
• 12 months minimum contracts

Read our full Rippling review for more information on pricing and features.

ADP vs Rippling

When we put Rippling and ADP head to head, Rippling came out on top — but there’s not much in it.

Both providers excel at data security and offer a ton of subject expertise. But Rippling gives users better control over their payroll than ADP because of its customizable plans and its presence of highly specialized tools like change reports and employee apps. Rippling continues adding features, too, like an August 2023 update that rolled out a “Recruiting” tool to better track job applicants.

Rippling offers better customer support options than ADP too, letting businesses resolve queries through a variety of channels including email. Since ADP lacks email support, we were only able to give it a help & support score of 3.8/5, compared to Ripplings’ 4.3 /5.

ADP is by no way out of the running though. Unlike Rippling, the platform integrates with a variety of HCM tools like SAP and Oracle, making it the superior option for businesses looking for a scalable option.

2. Paychex Flex: Most Flexible Payment Options

Paychex includes an option for automatic pay runs.

Paychex Flex is a slick piece of payroll software that lets employers pay their staffers in real-time – a feat that no other provider we’ve reviewed was able to achieve.

But its accolades don’t stop there. Paychex Flex is also the only payroll vendor to receive a perfect 5/5 for control, thanks to its collection of over 20 reporting options, and its real-time report designer. Paychex Flex shines when it comes to help and support too, letting businesses answer queries through email, phone, or live chat options.

However, unlike ADP, Gusto, and Zenefits, Paychex Flex doesn’t have an employee-focused app for clocking in and out of shifts, limiting its benefits for workers. Paychex Flex lacks live and video-based training material too, and has a data policy that leaves much to be desired, which is why it’s not able to top our frontrunners Rippling or ADP.

Paychex Flex’s Pricing

This payroll system uses three plans, one with fixed pricing, and two quote-based ones, each with more features than the last. As with Gusto, HR functionality becomes available on the higher plans.

• Essentials – $39 per month, plus $5 per employee per month
• Select – Custom price; quote needed
• Pro – Custom price; quote needed

Check out our full guide to Paychex pricing for more.

Paychex Pros

• Real-Time Payments option
• Accounting integrations with QuickBooks and Sage
• Live training sessions
• In-depth training material
• Useful payroll tax resources

Paychex Cons

• No international wage payment feature
• No labor law compliance alerts
• No free trial or money-back guarantee
• Average expertise score (3.5/5)

ADP vs Paychex Flex

Toe to toe, ADP is likely just a little better on the whole than Paychex Flex, although it’s a close call. The two services both have great data analytics and reporting options, but ADP pulls slightly ahead when it comes to features, scalability, and even pricing.

That doesn’t mean that ADP is the clear choice, though. Any small business that needs tax prep help will appreciate the free service Paychex provides, and it offers such a great range of features and reporting abilities that they won’t lack for anything else. If you need payroll tax guidance, Paychex Flex is for you.

Learn more about ADP pricing here.

3. Gusto: Best for Maintaining Compliance

Gusto makes it easy to edit healthcare plan information for each employee.

Gusto is a Human Capital Management (HCM) platform for small businesses – basic plans focus on payroll features, but if you upgrade to a higher plan down the road you’ll be able to handle general HR functions through the interface as well.

It’s a good interface, too: Gusto ranks at or near the top of our charts when it comes to core features, including analytics. It’s easy to use, letting users cancel at will and offering free support for data migration, aiding users who are switch providers.

Gusto’s payroll, HR, and tax knowledge base is also very impressive. The vend offers educational resources on taxes, in-depth training material, and even notifies businesses if they’ve breached local or federal labor law. Because of these features, we gave it a perfect score of 5/5 for payroll expertise, placing it in the ranks of Rippling and ADP.

Gusto’s Pricing

Gusto’s pricing uses four payment plans, although one is aimed entirely at paying contractors, not employees:

• Contractor– $6 per contractor per month (no upfront fee)
• Simple – $40 per month, plus $6 per employee per month
• Plus – $80 per month, plus $12 per employee per month
• Premium – Exclusive pricing

Simple will give you the basic features, while Plus adds next-day direct deposit, time tracking and project management tools, and Premium bundles in HR resources. The cost for the Plus plan has risen in 2023, up from $60 per month and $9 per additional employee, while the Simple plan costs have remained stable.

Gusto Pros

• No minimum contract length
• Live training sessions
• Employee app for clocking-in
• Integration with accounting tools like FreshBooks and QuickBooks
• Labor law compliance alerts

Gusto Cons

• No global payroll options
• Lacks integrations with HCM platforms like SAP and Oracle
• No learning management software
• No changes report

ADP vs Gusto

Adding up all our research categories, we’d say that Gusto is a decent alternative to ADP, but it’s still not as strong across the board. The two services are evenly matched for features and industry expertise, but ADP is a lot easier to scale with the evolving needs of businesses.

Gusto is better when it comes to the costs, though, as its transparent pricing structure puts it ahead of ADP’s very opaque pricing, and since neither of them has a money-back guarantee, that’s a wash. Gusto scored better for its support options too (4.3/5 vs 3.8/5), compared to ADP which lacks basic capabilities like email support.

Check our our in-depth Gusto vs. ADP Payroll guide for more.

4. Zenefits: Excellent data security

Zenefits lists all employees on the payroll, even including a big red “remove from payroll” button.

Zenefits is a multifaceted HR and payroll solution that gives businesses a granular level of control over their payroll processes. Just like Rippling, the platform has its own employee app which lets employees clock in and out of shifts. This tool makes it easy for workers on hourly contracts to keep a clear record of their payroll history.

Zenefits takes data security very seriously too. The provider boasts SOC II certification – signifying they’re following industry-standard security measures to keep user information as safe as possible. Because of valuable features like this, our team of researchers gave Zenefits a perfect score for security.

But the software doesn’t stop at payroll. Zenefits is also able to scale into a comprehensive HR solution, which makes the solution an asset to businesses looking to expand into the area in the future and gives it the edge over providers like Rippling and OnPay.

Zenefits’s Pricing

Zenefits offers three core pricing plans: Essentials, Growth, and Zen.

• Essentials – $8 per user, per month
• Growth –$16 per user, per month
• Zen – $21 per user, per month

However, these are HR plans: To add payroll, you’ll need to get the $6 per month per employee add-on.

If you’re only interested in basic payroll capabilities like time off tracking, analytics, and scheduling, Essentials and the add-on will be more than enough.

Zenefits Growth plan includes extra compensation and performance management tools for businesses with slightly more advanced needs, Zen users can benefit from the provider’s People Hub — a communication platform for employees and managers.

Zenefits pros

• Perfect research score for data security
• Transparent payroll processes
• Integrates with accounting tools like Xero and Quickbooks
• Helpful tax payroll resources

Zenefits cons

• Lacks live training courses
• No labor law compliance alerts
• No change reports
• Lacks 24/7 support through phone or chatbox

Zenefits vs ADP

ADP payroll and Zenefits both have top-notch security safeguards and let businesses fine-tune their payroll processes to their unique needs. However, with an overall score of 4.5/5 compared to Zenefits’ 3.8/5 our researchers found that ADP was stronger overall because it offers a higher level of payroll expertise and is much easier to scale with growing businesses.

ADP offers stronger setup and training tools too including live training courses too. Since Zenefits lacks this capability, it will likely take businesses more time to get to grips with the software.

5. OnPay Payroll: Transparent Contract and Pricing

OnPay’s dashboard offers quick links to upcoming pay runs, important dates, and charts of recent activity.

OnPay is affordable payroll software with a feature set that gives top dogs like Rippling and ADP a run for their money. The solution offers everything small businesses need to manage and streamline employee payments, including a self-serve mobile app, and an assortment of payment and reporting tools.

OnPay is one of the best options for employees as well, since the platform lets workers access payment details like pay stubs and tax forms easily, enabling full transparency over the payroll process.

However, because OnPay hasn’t achieved any data security certifications, we were only able to give it a research score of 3.9/5 for data security, falling short of every other provider on this list. The platform lacks 24/7 support tools as well, making it best suited for businesses that are still getting to grips with payroll software.

OnPay’s Pricing

OnPay doesn’t offer traditional pricing tiers. The service costs businesses a base rate of $40 per month, and an additional $6 per user, per month.

OnPay offers a 30-day free trial, allowing businesses to test the software before committing to a lengthy contract.

OnPay pros

• Custom integrations with API
• Accounting add-ons with Xero and QuickBooks
• Useful payroll-related tax resources
• No minimum contract length

OnPay cons

• No live or pre-recorded training videos
• No global payment options
• Lack of applicant tracking systems
• No data security certifications
• No 24/7 live support

OnPay vs ADP

If you’re torn between OnPay and ADP, we recommend ADP. The payroll software outperformed OnPay in most of our research categories, offering stronger data protection, more specialist options like a unique employee app, and more hands-on training features.

Also, OnPay‘s service takes two to four days for a payment to reach an employee’s bank account, compared to under 24 hours with ADP. However, if you aren’t willing to commit to a 12-month minimum contract, OnPay has no minimum contract length, allowing businesses to drop the software at any time.

What About QuickBooks and Square?

You may have noticed that big names like QuickBooks and Square haven’t appeared on our list. This isn’t an oversight. After collecting swathes of data on the leading payroll providers — and speaking to businesses on the ground to understand their pain points — we found that the payroll solutions were not worthy alternatives to ADP Run.

Both QuickBooks and Square offer limited HR capabilities and are ill equipped for scaling with businesses as their payroll needs evolve. This won’t be a dealbreaker for all businesses, especially smaller ventures with no future plans for expansion. However, it rules the providers out from standing as viable ADP alternatives, since ADP Run is the best software we reviewed for growing firms, earning a near-perfect scalability score of 4.8/5 in our in-house research.

Read our full guides to QuickBooks Payroll’s pricing and Square Payroll’s pricing here.

Methodology: How Do We Compare Payroll Providers?

With each piece of payroll software offering its own strengths and suitabilities, comparing the market is no easy feat. To make sure we make the most informed recommendations possible, we’ve created our own unique research framework for ranking and reviewing payroll providers.

After talking to US businesses directly and finding out their biggest pain points, we focused on five main touchpoints when researching the services:

• Control: We examined tools including automatic sick pay & holiday calculations, time-tracking, auto salary deductions, multiple pay rates, off-cycle payments, automatic payroll runs, payment timings, and non-employee payments.
• Data security: We looked into user permissions, encryption type, certifications, data center locations, and data breaches from the past two years.
• Employee experience: We evaluated what it’s like to use each provider’s mobile apps, website logins, and viewable payslips.
• Scalability: We asked whether the vendors offer related services like international payments, HR support, an applicant tracking system, benefits management and learning management?
• Customer support: We considered the type of support available, (phone, email, chat, knowledge base) and whether live support is 24/7

We then gave each provider a mark out of five for each respective category and used an aggregate of these scores to give them an overall rating. These ratings help us compare payroll services against each other (i.e, how ADP stacks up to its fellow competitors) and indicate their suitability for different types of businesses.

We research every type of business technology a little differently at Tech.co. You can learn more about our rigorous research process here.

Why haven’t we included a price score?

We decided not to score the payroll providers on price, because your business’s long-term ROI will ultimately depend on finding the best fit for your business, rather than securing a low price initially. Most payroll providers operate bespoke pricing too (over flat rates) which makes comparing their value side by side nearly impossible.

But if it is direct quotes you’re looking for, we’ve got you covered. Our team of experts has developed a free payroll quiz that helps businesses whittle down the market by getting matched to a solution. It takes less than a minute, so get started today!

Frequently Asked Questions