Paychex is a payroll processing solutions provider offering a product suite that includes payroll and benefits management software. Paychex and similar companies give businesses tools to manage onboarding, offboarding, payroll processing, benefits administration and other critical human resources tasks. Here’s a closer look at the best Paychex competitors to help you discover which may be best for your business.
Featured payroll software offers
Via OnPay’s website
Monthly fee
$40 per month plus $6 per employee
Direct deposit
Yes
Via Rippling’s website
Monthly fee
$35 per month + $8 per user
Direct deposit
Yes
Best Paychex competitors and alternatives
- Rippling: Best overall.
- Patriot: Best for brands on a budget.
- Gusto: Best for automation.
- QuickBooks Payroll: Best for integrations.
- Roll by ADP: Best mobile payroll solution.
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Best overall
Rippling
Blueprint Rating
Via Rippling's website
Monthly fee
Starting at $8 per month per user
Direct deposit
Yes
24/7 customer support
No
Why Rippling is the best
Ripplingis a software provider offering cloud-based human resources, IT and finance products. Its products include:
- U.S. and global payroll.
- Automated onboarding and offboarding.
- Compliance.
- Time tracking.
- Benefits administration.
- Recruiting tools.
- Learning management.
Rippling offers four Core plans which offer primarily workforce management, automation and HR tools. Plans start at $8 per user per month, but you have to work with a Rippling sales rep to get personalized pricing for your team.
On the other hand, Paychex offers three plans. The Select plan offers fewer features than the other two plans — Pro and Enterprise — but pricing information isn’t readily available on its website.
Rippling tools come as modules and add-ons you can mix and match to meet your company’s HR needs. Its features are accessible with a single sign-on. The combination of offerings and competitive pricing make it a top choice for businesses of all sizes.
Paychex does offer a lot of features, however, many of its features are only offered as an add-on, adding more costs on top of the monthly and per user fees. For example, advanced documentation features are included in Rippling’s plans, while it would incur an additional fee for Paychex users.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Rippling’s flexibility and customization make it great for global employers.
- Users say it’s easy to use, and you can onboard new employees in 90 seconds.
- Rippling integrates with over 500 third-party apps like QuickBooks and Xero.
Cons
- You’ll have to talk to their team and get a personalized pricing plan.
- Customer support isn’t available 24/7.
- It isn’t the most cost-effective for payroll on its own, and there’s no free trial.
Best for brands on a budget
Patriot
Blueprint Rating
Get estimates from participating partners
Monthly fee
Staring at $17 per month plus $4 per person
Direct deposit
Yes
24/7 customer support
No
Why Patriot is the best
Patriotcould be a better choice than Paychex if you’re looking to spend as little as possible. Patriot Software offers a competitively priced payroll system starting at $17 per month plus $4 per worker. If you want Patriot to handle payroll taxes for your business, the price jumps to $37 per month plus $4 per employee, which is still a good deal compared to similar plans from competitors.
If you want online payroll processing and tax filing features withPaychex, however, you have to at least purchase the Select plan. Prices for this plan aren’t readily available on the company’s website; it is customized based on your business.
Patriot payroll includes features like:
- Direct deposit.
- Workers’ compensation integration.
- Varying pay frequencies.
- Multi-location payroll.
- Time-off accruals.
- W2 generation.
- 401(k) integration.
It also works with 1099 contractors, as does Paychex in its basic plan.
Additionally, Patriot offers accounting software with competitive pricing. You can test out the software for 30 days for free to decide if it’s a good fit for your business. There’s also no long-term contract, so you can switch to another provider at any time. Paychex doesn’t offer a free trial or any accounting software add-ons.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Affordable, with a full service plan at only $37 a month.
- Unlimited payroll runs and users.
- Excellent customer service.
Cons
- Limited features for HR, reporting and benefits.
- Time tracking add-on costs extra.
- Limited integration capabilities.
Best for automation
Gusto
Blueprint Rating
Via Gusto's website
Monthly fee
Starting at $40 per month plus $6 per month per employee
Direct deposit
Yes
24/7 customer support
No
Why Gusto is the best
Gustois an excellent pick for small businesses looking to save time on payroll management, and is our pick as the best payroll provider for automation. Plans start at $40 per month plus $6 per person for businesses that only need to pay employees in one state. If you need to pay employees in two or more states, you will have to purchase the $80 per month plus $12 per person plan.
Gusto’s plans are a bit more expensive than Paychex’s, with Paychex plans starting at $39 per month plus $5 per employee. However, this is more difficult to determine since Paychex’s Select and Pro plans don’t offer pricing online.
The benefits add-on from Gusto helps you administer insurance, retirement plans, workers’ compensation,health savings accounts (HSAs)andflexible spending accounts (FSAs) accounts and commuter benefits. HR tools include job postings, applicant tracking, onboarding, performance reviews, employee handbooks and HR reporting.
Paychexdoes integrate your payroll with HR in its basic plan, however, its employee handbook builder is only available with its highest tier plan and not via an optional add-on. It does offer onboarding features on its basic plan, as well as offering job posting integration and applicant tracking as add-ons, among other features. But, unlike Gusto, the HR add-ons aren’t bundled together; rather, most of them are offered as a separate add-on with a separate cost.
Gusto works well for businesses with a single employee-owner, small businesses, mid-sized businesses or contractor-only payments. You can view a demo system to learn how it works, but you must provide your contact information to get in.
Learn more in ourGusto vs. Paychexcomparison.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Straightforward to use once set up.
- Payroll for international and domestic contractors.
- Payroll and tax filing automation.
Cons
- Lengthy setup process with manual data entry.
- Useful features are staggered over different plans.
- Can get expensive for larger businesses.
Best for integrations
QuickBooks Payroll
Blueprint Rating
Via QuickBooks' website
Monthly fee
Starting at $45 per month plus $6 per person
Direct deposit
Yes
24/7 customer support
Yes
Why QuickBooks Payroll is the best
QuickBooksis an industry leader for accounting software, acting as a de facto standard for many small- to mid-sized companies. It is our top pick for integrations, as QuickBooks comes with a huge marketplace of integrations with other software tools and has payroll built into the same software as used for accounting. Paychex only offers integrations as add-ons.
QuickBooks Payroll is a strong offering for small businesses using QuickBooks accounting, closely tied to the popular bookkeeping software. Paychex does offer accounting integrations, but only as add-ons, and it is unclear how robust those options are. It does, however, offer a QuickBooks Online package.
QuickBooks Payroll starts at $45 per month plus $6 per employee per month. The full-service payroll system includes tax filings and automatic payroll tools.
It’s not the cheapest option, but the close integration with QuickBooks makes it a reasonable choice for some businesses looking to keep their finances in one place. Other payroll features include partner-based tools for workers’ compensation coverage and tracking, health benefits and 401(k) plans.Paychexalso offers these products as add-ons.
Pros and cons
Pros
- More than 750 integrations available.
- Feature-rich platform.
- 30-day free trial.
Cons
- More expensive than some competitors.
- 24/7 support isn’t offered with the base plan.
- Only optimized for up to 50 employees with a cap of 150 employees.
Best mobile payroll solution
Roll by ADP
Blueprint Rating
Via ADP's website
Monthly fee
$39 per month plus $5 per employee
Direct deposit
Yes
24/7 customer support
Yes
Why Roll by ADP is the best
Roll by ADP is owned by ADP, one of the largest payroll providers for large enterprises. Roll by ADP is the small business version and costs $39 per month plus $5 per employee per month.
It comes with a mobile app, including a text-based assistant to run payroll cycles and ask questions. It’s our top pick for the best payroll mobile app. Paychex offers multiple apps, which might make it confusing.
Roll includes a huge feature list, with highlights including payroll tax withholdings and filings, payments for 1099 workers, payroll for workers who work and live in different states, accounting integration, tipped wage support, payroll reports for businesses and accountants and benefit and retirement deductions and garnishments.
Paychex only offers accounting software as an add-on instead of it being included in the basic plan. Roll by ADP also offers same-day and next-day direct deposit, which Paychex doesn’t offer.
New users can start with three months free, while Paychex doesn’t offer any free trials. It’s mobile-friendly, enabling you to handle payroll cycles using a chat-based app. Once you’re onboarded, you can run payroll in under a minute, and it takes about 15 minutes to install the app and enter your company information to get started.
Paychex does offer multiple apps, but it doesn’t offer a text-based assistant to run payroll. However, you can run payroll from your desktop or mobile device.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Robustly-featured mobile app.
- Three-month free trial.
- Automated tax filings and deposits.
- 24/7 customer support.
Cons
- No timekeeping feature.
- No PTO tracking.
- No benefits administration tools.
Featured payroll software offers
Via OnPay’s website
Monthly fee
$40 per month plus $6 per employee
Direct deposit
Yes
Via Rippling’s website
Monthly fee
$35 per month + $8 per user
Direct deposit
Yes
Top Paychex competitors overview
LOWEST MONTHLY PRICE FOR PAYROLL | MAIN FEATURES | BEST FOR | LEARN MORE | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Paychex | Custom quote | Payroll, benefits, HR and insurance | All-in-one payroll and HR solutions | – | ||||||
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Rippling | $8 per user | Cloud-based human resources, IT and finance | Overall | Via Rippling’s website | ||||||
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Patriot | $17 plus $4 per user | Payroll and accounting | Brands on a budget | Get estimates from participating partners | ||||||
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Gusto | $40 plus $6 per user | Payroll, benefits and HR | Automation | Via Gusto’s website | ||||||
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QuickBooks Payroll | $45 plus $6 per user | Full-service payroll and contractor payments and benefits tracking | Integrations | Via QuickBooks’ website | ||||||
| ||||||||||
Roll by ADP | $39 plus $5 per user | Payroll and contractor payment management | Mobile payroll solution | Via ADP’s website | ||||||
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Methodology
We extensively research the key competitors within an industry to determine the best products and services for your business. Our experts identify the factors that matter most to business owners, including pricing, features and customer support, to ensure that our recommendations offer well-rounded products that will meet the needs of various small businesses.
We collect extensive data to narrow our best list to reputable, easy-to-use products with standout features at a reasonable price point. And we look at user reviews to ensure that business owners like you are satisfied with our top picks’ services. We use the same rubric to assess companies within a particular space so you can confidently follow our blueprint to the best payroll software.
For most small businesses, cost, features and ease of use are factors to focus on when choosing a payroll provider. For many small businesses, going on cost alone could be reasonable, but note that the cheapest option here, Patriot, doesn’t file any payroll taxes for you with its cheapest plan.
Depending on your level of tech-savviness, you may prefer an easier-to-use system with more hands-off payroll features. Gusto and Roll by ADP are among the most straightforward systems for quickly approving payroll cycles.
Rippling is a standout option for the most robust cloud-based systems that work more like a complete enterprise resource planning (ERP) system with reasonable costs. If you want integration with QuickBooks, its built-in payroll system could be a good choice, but beware of higher prices.
How to choose a Paychex competitor
If you want to pick a Paychex competitor, consider costs and features. Most small businesses should consider a full-service payroll provider that handles quarterly and annual payroll filings with the IRS and your state. The more complex your business needs, the more critical it is to choose a robust payroll provider.
1. Understand your business needs
Every business is unique, and your needs from a payroll system are likely as unique as your business. Consider the following common factors:
- The number of employees and contractors you must pay.
- Your payroll frequency and schedule.
- Whether you need payment options by direct deposit, paper check or other methods.
- Benefits administration tool needs.
- Your required integration options with accounting and other tools you use.
- Whether you need to track payroll hours or if you pay everyone a salary or a fixed rate.
- Your budget against the software’s costs.
- Your online and mobile app access needs.
2. Compare Paychex and competitors with your needs
With your needs in mind, you can make a more educated decision about which payroll provider aligns with your needs. Some areas to look at include:
- Price: Payroll platforms typically charge a flat monthly fee for the business plus an additional amount per employee. The amount you pay varies by provider and the specific features you need.
- Payroll management: Features for tracking hourly and salaried employees, time off, sick time, commissions, taxes and other payroll-related needs are critical.
- Benefits: If you offer employee benefits, tracking retirement contributions and payments towards healthcare, other insurance, HSA or FSA accounts and other benefits is required for tax reporting.
- Support: If you need help, do you have someone available? Phone, chat and email support are commonly offered, but not all payroll companies give you all of those options. Also, look at support hours, as not all are staffed 24/7.
3. Test your options
When shopping around, you may notice several payroll software companies offer free trials, often around two weeks to one month. While you may not want to go through the full onboarding and data entry process for each, you can log in and poke around to find various features and test them to decide if it’s a good fit.
When should you look for Paychex alternatives?
If you’re using Paychex and don’t find it meets your needs, it’s a good opportunity to shop around for a competitor. You may find a similar product suite for a lower cost or a more robust product set for a comparable price.
- Number of employees and contractors: If your number of employees or contractors grows, your needs may evolve. With more people to pay, costs also tend to increase.
- Payroll tracking and payment methods: If you don’t need hourly payroll tracking or don’t need to track paid time off, you could have different payroll preferences than a business with more complex payroll needs.
- Monthly cost: Your monthly out-of-pocket cost is a big reason to choose one payroll company over another. There’s no reason to pay more for the same thing unless you need specific features.
- Benefits and other features: If you begin offering healthcare or other benefits, you could need to switch to a more robust payroll system with benefits tracking.
As your business grows, you may find your payroll provider limiting. Switching to a system including full-service payroll, benefits, HR management and integration with your other systems, such as an accounting app or ERP is sensible.
Featured payroll software offers
Via OnPay’s website
Monthly fee
$40 per month plus $6 per employee
Direct deposit
Yes
Via Rippling’s website
Monthly fee
$35 per month + $8 per user
Direct deposit
Yes
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
In our review of the best payroll companies, we picked Rippling as the best overall choice. Patriot, Gusto and Roll by ADP are also excellent Paychex alternatives.
Our analysis found Rippling to be the best payroll company. In addition to payroll services, Rippling offers IT and finance management tools.
The main Paychex competitors include:
- Rippling
- Patriot
- Gusto
- QuickBooks Payroll
- Roll by ADP
However, there are more options out there. Shopping around for a payroll software can help you find the best Paychex competitor for your business needs.
Paychex and ADP offer similar products and services. ADP is a larger payroll provider with a longer list of human resources offerings. However, depending on your business needs, ADP can be more expensive. Paychex offers lower introductory rates for smaller businesses than the primary ADP service. Roll by ADP offers lower pricing with easy-to-use tools for small businesses.