Paylocity and ADP both offer a wide suite of HR and payroll solutions for managing the entire employee lifecycle—from hiring to retiring. When comparing Paylocity vs ADP, the main difference is the automation and HR services features. ADP shines in the flexibility of the HR solutions and services it provides, while Paylocity has better smart tools that can help save you time from having to manually process HR and payroll tasks.
In short, here’s when we recommend each:
- Paylocity: Best for mid sized and large businesses wanting smart tools to automate HR, payroll, and employee communications
- ADP: Best for growing businesses needing scalable HR payroll solutions and a wider range of HR services
There are instances where neither Paylocity nor ADP is the best option. If you’re looking for HR payroll software with 24/7 customer support, we recommend:
- Justworks: Best for companies that need low-cost PEO services to outsource HR and payroll administration
Don’t have an in-house HR team or need expert help managing day-to-day HR and payroll tasks? Consider Justworks |
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Paylocity vs ADP Compared
Both providers offer full-service payroll with automated tax calculations, deductions, and filings. Basic to advanced HR solutions are available, such as employee information management, new hire onboarding, paid time off (PTO) tracking, and global payroll—although, you may need to pay extra for some of these tools.
Here are a few of the standout features, including each provider’s basic pricing details.
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Starter Monthly Pricing | $9 per employee + $200 base fee* | $2.50 per employee, per weekly pay run + $49 base fee** |
Multiple Pricing Plans | Has one customizable plan | Multiple plans for different HR and payroll products |
Recruiting | Included in quote | Applicant tracking and ZipRecruiter job postings available in higher tiers |
New Hire Reporting | Included in quote | ✓ |
Time Tracking | Included in quote | Paid add-on |
Health Insurance Services | Via third-party partners | ✓ (Paid add-on) |
HR Solutions | HR advisory services | HR advisory, legal, and professional employer organization (PEO) services*** |
Other HR Tools |
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Dedicated Account Manager | ✓ | ✕ |
Customer Support | Weekday support via phone, email, and chat | 24/7 support via phone, email, and chat |
*Pricing is based on a quote we received for a business with 25 employees **Pricing is based on a quote we received for the starter tier of ADP Run, ADP’s payroll and HR solution for small businesses ***A PEO is a co-employer solution that helps you manage day-to-day HR, payroll, and benefits processes. To know more, read our ultimate PEO guide. | ||
When to Consider Paylocity & ADP
Paylocity’s feature-rich HR payroll platform makes it a great option for midsize to large businesses that want an integrated solution to streamline basic to advanced HR processes. Its wide suite of HR solutions can handle everything—from hiring and staff scheduling to employee surveys and compensation planning. Plus, you get a dedicated account manager to help you with all of your system and setup queries.
Compared to ADP, Paylocity has a more robust set of smart solutions for handling payroll audits, generating analytics, and tracking compliances. It even has a generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool called AI Assist. It can help you create ready-to-distribute company announcements and employee communications directly from Paylocity’s cloud-based platform—a functionality that ADP doesn’t offer.
Pros
- Customizable HR payroll plan; you can select the solutions that you want
- Dedicated account manager
- Has a wide range of HR tools, including global payroll and HR advisory services
- Offers smart tools for running payroll audits and creating company announcements
Cons
- Pricing isn’t transparent; you have to call Paylocity to set up a demo and request a quote
- Can get pricey as you add more features
- Lacks 24/7 support (only offers weekday support)
- Year-end tax filings cost extra
What makes ADP great for growing companies is its flexible HR and payroll plans, which allow users to easily upgrade to more comprehensive product packages with the HR features and solutions they need. You can start with its solopreneur plan and then switch to its other HR products (such as ADP Run for small business payroll) once you start growing your workforce.
Unlike Paylocity, ADP has a wider suite of HR services that even includes PEO and large business outsourcing for HR, time, and talent management. Instead of managing HR operational tasks, these services enable you to spend more time working on business-building strategies.
Pros
- Multiple product and pricing plans with scalable HR and payroll solutions (including global payroll)
- Has a payroll plan for solopreneurs or one-employee businesses
- Robust HR services include PEO, legal assistance, HR advisory services
- Job postings to more than 25,000 job sites (via ZipRecruiter)
Cons
- Pricing isn’t transparent; you have to call ADP to request a demo and pricing details
- Some of its HR tools (like learning management and recruiting) are available in higher tiers
- Time tracking and benefits are paid add-ons
- Year-end tax filings cost extra
Unsure whether Paylocity or ADP is a good fit? See our other top recommendations in our best HR payroll software guide.
Alternatives to Paylocity & ADP
If neither Paylocity nor ADP appeals to you or you’re looking for more reasonably priced HR payroll solutions, you may want to consider the following alternatives.
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Best For | Tech-heavy companies needing HR, payroll, finance, and IT tools | QuickBooks users and small businesses that want fast direct deposits | Businesses in highly regulated industries looking for solid compliance support |
Starter Monthly Pricing | $8 per employee plus a $35 base fee* | $6 per employee plus $50 base fee | $16 per employee** |
*Pricing is based on a quote we received **Includes payroll add-on ($6 per employee monthly); requires at least five employees | |||
Looking for something else? Read our guide to the best payroll services and best payroll software for small businesses to find a service or software that’s right for your company.
Best for Value
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Pricing Transparency | ✕ | ✕ |
Free Trial | ✕ | None, but offers three months free payroll for new clients* |
Starter Monthly Pricing | $9 per employee + $200 base fee** | $2.50 per employee, per weekly pay run + $49 base fee*** |
Multiple Pricing Plans | Has one customizable plan | Multiple plans for different HR and payroll products |
Solopreneur Payroll Plan | ✕ | ✓ (Call for quote) |
Setup Fees | $700** | $200, often waived for new customers*** |
*This may change at any time. Visit the provider’s website to see the latest promos on offer. **Pricing is based on a quote we received for a business with up to 25 employees. ***Pricing is based on a quote we received for ADP Run’s starter tier; rates can vary depending on the payroll frequency. | ||
It is difficult to compare ADP vs Paylocity in terms of pricing because both offer custom-priced plans. The monthly fees also vary, depending on the features you want. ADP even has a different pricing scheme for its small business payroll solution, ADP Run, where it charges fees for every pay run.
For the purpose of establishing which option is reasonably priced for small businesses, we compared the two providers on pricing for 10 employees.
- Paylocity: We received a quote of $9 per employee plus a $200 base fee monthly. This package includes hiring, onboarding, new hire reporting, PTO and time tracking, payroll, wage garnishments, learning management, performance reviews, and employee self-service tools. There’s also a $700 fee for system setup and implementation. After setup, Paylocity will charge you $290 for 10 employees in one month.
- ADP: For its basic ADP Run plan, we received a quote of $2.50 per employee, per weekly pay run plus a $49 base fee monthly. The solutions included are primarily for processing payroll (plus wage garnishments), with basic HR solutions for onboarding, background checks, new hire reporting, and employee self-service. There’s also a $200 setup fee, but the rep waived this in our quote. After setup, ADP will charge you $149 for 10 employees in one month.
Based on the above computation, ADP appears to be more affordable than Paylocity. The provider even has a lower setup fee ($200 vs $700), and offers special promotions (like three months of free payroll) for new clients from time to time. This is great for businesses that want to save on setup and payroll costs. You can expect to save more if you only pay employees once or twice a month.
However, while ADP (specifically its ADP Run product) may seem less expensive, Paylocity’s package comes with more HR solutions, such as hiring, time tracking, performance reviews, and learning management—functionalities that are either paid add-ons or included in the higher tiers of ADP Run. If your business needs these HR features, subscribing to a Paylocity plan makes more sense because you may end up paying the same (if not higher) monthly fee with ADP. Plus, you can easily add other HR solutions (like global payroll) to your Paylocity plan without getting a different product plan (with ADP, you have to choose from three international payroll products).
Best for Payroll: ADP
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Employee and Contractor Payroll | ✓ | ✓ |
Automatic Pay Runs | ✕ | ✓ |
Multistate Payroll | ✓ | ✓ |
Automatic Tax Calculations, Payments & Filings | ✓ (Year-end reporting costs extra) | ✓ (Year-end reporting costs extra) |
International Payroll | Over 100 countries (Via Blue Marble) | Over 140 countries |
Pay Options | Via direct deposits and pay on-demand | Via direct deposits, Wisely pay card, and pay on-demand |
Pay Check Signing, Stuffing & Delivery Services | ✕ | ✓ |
Wage Garnishment Services | ✓ | ✓ |
Expense Management Tool* | ✓ | ✕ |
Payroll Audits | More than 30 pay audits with automatic alerts | Pay discrepancy alerts |
*Lets you add business expense reimbursements to pay runs (this tool also includes online expense claim submissions and approvals) | ||
While both providers have similar payroll features, ADP wins in this category mainly because of its automatic pay runs (which is helpful if you don’t expect any changes to payroll) and multiple employee payment options that even include check signing, stuffing, and delivery services. Paylocity doesn’t have auto-pay run capabilities and paycheck signing/stuffing services.
The coverage of its international payroll services is also more extensive. ADP can handle payroll for more than 140 countries, whereas Paylocity’s global payroll is only available in 100+ countries.
With ADP Run, you can input work hours and bonus amounts directly into its system. (Source: ADP)
Paylocity is a better choice if you want a payroll system with robust audit tools. ADP may have similar payroll compliance features with pay error alerts, but Paylocity takes it a step further with its 30 automatic payroll audits. An example is its tax geolocation audit, which looks at the employees’ tax calculations based on their work location. This ensures that you’re deducting and paying the correct payroll taxes.
In addition, Paylocity’s built-in expense tracking tool makes it easy to submit, approve, and process employee reimbursements for business expenses. ADP may also process employee reimbursements, but the approved transactions come from a partner expense management solution.
With Paylocity, you can submit and approve expense claims through its online platform and mobile apps for iOS and Android devices. (Source: Paylocity)
Best for HR Features: Paylocity
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Hiring |
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New Hire Reporting and Onboarding | ✓ | ✓ |
Time Tracking & Scheduling | ✓ | ✓ |
Benefits Administration | ✓ (Health and retirement plans offered through third-party partners) | ✓ (With access to health and retirement plans) |
Learning Management | ✓ (With training creation tools) | ✓ |
Performance Reviews | ✓ | ✓* |
Compensation Planning | ✓ | ✓* |
Employee Engagement |
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HR Services |
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*Feature is unavailable in ADP Run; requires getting a different ADP product like ADP Workforce Now, which is an HR payroll solution for midsize to large businesses | ||
Paylocity shines in the width and depth of HR features that it provides. Aside from basic tools for hiring employees and tracking attendance, it has advanced solutions for managing learning courses, compensation, and performance reviews. You even get candidate messaging and training customization tools, as well as a collaboration hub with chat capabilities. It even has a ChatGPT-like tool, called AI Assist, to help you create employee communications and company announcements.
ADP may have similar HR functionalities, but if you’re on its ADP Run product, which is an HR payroll solution for small businesses, you will need to upgrade to its other products to access the advanced HR tools that midsize to large companies require. Plus, ADP doesn’t have a social collaboration hub and a generative AI content creation tool like Paylocity’s AI Assist.
If you want to offer standard and non-standard benefits, ADP provides access to health, retirement, and workers’ compensation plans, including employee discounts with partner retail shops. While it lacks candidate messaging tools that you can directly access from its platform, ADP’s integration with ZipRecruiter enables you to post jobs to 25,000 job boards (Paylocity doesn’t integrate with the said solution).
ADP also has a wider range of HR services. Aside from consultations with HR professionals, it offers legal assistance (via its partner Upnetic Legal Services) if you need contract reviews and expert advice in handling debt collection and employment matters. PEO services are also available (through its ADP TotalSource product) for those who want a co-employer solution for managing HR, payroll, and benefits—a service that Paylocity doesn’t offer.
Best for Ease of Use & Customer Support: ADP
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Learning Curve | Moderately easy | Relatively easy |
Ease of Use | Good | Good |
Dedicated Representative | ✓ | Dedicated support team available in higher tiers |
24/7 Customer Service | Weekdays only | ✓ |
Support Type | Chat, email, and phone | Chat, email, and phone |
How-to Guides | ✓ (With a library of online videos and webinars) | ✓ |
Integration Options | Connects with:
| Connects with:
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In our evaluation of Paylocity vs ADP for ease of use, we found ADP more user-friendly and intuitive than its competitor. Plus, its platform isn’t as glitchy—with Paylocity, you sometimes have to refresh the system or go back to the previous page in order for the current page to load. While ADP may not assign dedicated account managers to all of its clients, you can easily contact its 24/7 support team either through phone, chat, or email.
While it may be a bit difficult to navigate through all of Paylocity’s features (because it has a lot of HR and payroll solutions), it has robust how-to materials for new users. Aside from an online knowledge base, it offers webinars and has a library of videos that tackle Paylocity’s different functionalities. This makes it a good option for businesses with an in-house HR staff who’s tech-savvy and adept in handling HR software.
Paylocity also offers the services of a dedicated account manager who can help clients with their system setup needs and answer their queries about the software. ADP doesn’t have this, although it provides 24/7 customer support.
Best for User Popularity
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User Feedback | Mostly positive | Mostly positive** |
Customer Service Quality Trend | Fair to good | Great overall** |
Average User Ratings* | 4.35 out of 5 | 4.5 out of 5** |
Average Number of User Reviews* | 1,517 | 968** |
*Data from third-party review sites like G2 and Capterra (as of this writing) **Reviews and ratings are for ADP’s small business HR payroll product, ADP Run | ||
To compare ADP vs Paylocity on user popularity, we looked at each providers’ average overall ratings and the number of reviews on popular review sites like G2 and Capterra. In terms of ratings from actual reviewers, ADP received a higher average score than Paylocity (4.5 vs 4.35). In addition, most of the feedback about its customer support quality is very positive, unlike that of its competitor.
Here’s what users have to say about these two providers.
How We Evaluated Paylocity vs ADP
We evaluated Paylocity vs ADP by checking the width and depth of HR and payroll solutions offered, including the customer support options available. We also looked at pricing, ease of use, third-party software integrations, and user reviews.
Bottom Line
Deciding whether to get Paylocity vs ADP for your business can be difficult because both have similar HR and payroll functionalities. In identifying which one is right for you, take into consideration all of the HR solutions that you’ll need now and in the coming years.
If you need HR solutions that can easily scale with your business, ADP’s multiple and flexible HR payroll products are designed to support your growth plans. It even provides a wide variety of HR services if you need expert assistance in managing HR operational tasks. Paylocity, on the other hand, is a great choice for those looking for an all-in-one HR system with smart solutions for streamlining HR processes and tracking payroll compliances.
