8 ADP Payroll Alternatives

8 ADP alternatives

These ADP Payroll alternatives could save your business money without compromising on features.

1. Gusto

Whether you hire employees or contractors — or a combination of worker types — Gusto’s easy-to-use interface and powerful features will likely work well.

Gusto doesn’t require an annual contract, so you can feel confident trying the service and getting a feel for the platform. Gusto also offers free support to help you migrate data from another payroll provider — a significant plus if you’re switching payroll services. 

Consider the following overview of Gusto’s key features and pricing. For more information, check out our in-depth Gusto Payroll review.

Key features of Gusto

• Unlimited payroll: Do you run payroll daily or at random times? Gusto can handle your payroll, no matter the schedule, without extra costs.
• Onboarding: It can be cumbersome and inconsistent to have existing staff members onboard new employees. Gusto helps you implement onboarding best practices, starting by sending a job offer letter to your potential employee and cycling them through the onboarding process after they’ve accepted the offer. Gusto can communicate with new hires to complete I-9 and W-4 forms, relay initial company information, and self-onboard payroll.
• Benefits: Gusto provides licensed insurance brokers to help small businesses develop excellent employee benefits packages, including robust and affordable health insurance options. Gusto makes it easy to add, remove and edit employees’ health insurance benefits via cloud software. Other supported employee benefits include 401(k) plans, commuter benefits, dental, vision, paycheck splitting and workers’ comp.
• Taxes: Gusto can automatically file and pay your federal, state and local payroll taxes. Plus, Gusto auto-generates payroll forms like W-2s and 1099s, so you and your employees will have digital copies handy.
• Employee portal: Gusto is just as intuitive for employees as it is for employers. With a self-service portal, workers can see the breakdown of individual paychecks and time-off requests.

Gusto pricing

• Contractor Only: $6 per contractor per month (no upfront fee; only for working with contractors)
• Simple: $40 per month, plus $6 per employee per month (basic features)
• Plus: $80 per month, plus $12 per employee per month (includes next-day direct deposit, time tracking and project management tools)
• Premium: Custom pricing (includes a dedicated customer success manager, priority support and more)

2. OnPay

OnPay Payroll is one of the best ADP payroll alternatives for businesses that work primarily with hourly and contract employees. Because hours and project lengths can vary, running payroll for these workers is more complex than running payroll for salaried employees.

OnPay can also scale with your business, as it caters to companies with one to 1,000 employees. There are no wasted fees; OnPay charges only for the employees you pay in a certain month. The cloud software isn’t automated, so you can run and edit payroll as often as needed.

Here’s a look at OnPay’s key features and pricing. For more information, read our in-depth OnPay Payroll review.

Key features of OnPay

• Unlimited payroll: Run payroll anytime and pay only for the employees you’re paying in a given month.
• Multistate payroll: Take advantage of OnPay’s multistate payroll feature to pay employees in multiple states.
• Employee portal: Workers can self-onboard and access tax documents, pay stubs and company documents.
• Taxes: OnPay guarantees 100 percent accuracy and will take responsibility for tax errors, including covering fines if it was responsible for the mistake.
• Benefits: OnPay is a licensed healthcare insurance broker in all 50 states and can help you select and manage a plan. The software can also add retirement benefits, such as a 401(k) retirement plan.

OnPay pricing

OnPay has one straightforward fee: $40 per month, plus $6 per worker per month.

3. Paychex Flex

Paychex Flex caters to small businesses, but it also has offerings for midsize businesses and large enterprises. This cloud-based payroll service can accommodate businesses with employers and contractors. Its higher-level plans come with robust support, analytics and performance management features. It also has an impressive array of add-ons for all packages, allowing businesses to create a custom solution. 

Here’s a look at Paychex Flex’s key features and pricing. For more information, read our in-depth Paychex Payroll review.

Key features of Paychex Flex

• Mobile app: The Paychex Flex mobile app is available for administrators and employees.
• Integrations: Paychex supports dozens of integrations, including QuickBooks Online, Indeed, Xero, BambooHR, AIG, banks and health insurance companies.
• Payment options: With Paychex, you can pay your employees by direct deposit, check or a Mastercard prepaid payroll card.
• Payroll processing: Paychex lets you log your payroll hours via the website or mobile app. Or, you can call your Paychex account manager with the information, and they’ll do it for you.
• Paychex Promise: For an additional fee, you can sign up for Paychex Promise, which protects against payroll interruptions by extending the collection of payroll funds from a business’s bank account for up to seven days.
• Self-service portal: Offerings include employee onboarding, benefits management, reports and same-day direct deposit.
• Taxes: Paychex Flex includes tax prep tools, tax forms and automated tax calculation and filing (federal and state).

Paychex Flex pricing

Paychex has three pricing tiers. However, it doesn’t list pricing online. Instead, it encourages businesses to contact the company for a custom quote based on specific needs.

• Select: Online payroll processing, tax filing, essential features
• Pro: Additional HR tools, expert help, full-service setup
• Enterprise: Custom analytics, support for hiring and onboarding

4. QuickBooks Payroll

Most businesses are familiar with QuickBooks products, especially for general accounting. QuickBooks Payroll is a full-service payroll integration with unlimited payroll runs. With QuickBooks, you can automate payroll and taxes and run reports that reveal accurate labor costs.

Here’s a look at QuickBooks Payroll’s key features and pricing. For more information, read our in-depth QuickBooks Payroll review.

Key features of QuickBooks Payroll

• Unlimited payroll: You can easily see detailed labor costs and employee hours, as well as run payroll (with optional automation) as often as you need, with no restrictions.
• Taxes: QuickBooks Payroll auto-calculates and files federal and state taxes.
• Employee portal: Employees can log in to the system to view time off, W-2 forms and pay stubs, wage garnishments and deductions.
• Powerful reporting: QuickBooks allows you to create custom payroll reports for specific days, individual employees and bank transactions.
• Direct deposit: The Core plan offers a next-day direct deposit option, and both the Premium and Elite plans offer same-day direct deposit.

QuickBooks Payroll pricing

You can add payroll to your QuickBooks accounting solution anytime and pay a bundle fee. Stand-alone rates for payroll are as follows:

• Core: $45 per month, plus $6 per employee per month
• Premium: $80 per month, plus $8 per employee per month (includes same-day direct deposit, expert review, on-the-go time tracking, an HR support center and workers’ comp administration)
• Elite: $125 per month, plus $10 per employee per month (includes expert setup, 24/7 expert product support, tax penalty protection, a personal HR advisor, an HR support center and workers’ comp administration)

5. Rippling

Rippling says running payroll takes just 90 seconds because all payroll information syncs with its system.

The software has standard payroll features, including a mobile app, automatic tax filing, employee onboarding, workers’ compensation, garnishments and time tracking. Rippling can also scale with your business, providing a quick way to pay employees in the U.S. and abroad.

Here’s a look at Rippling’s key features and pricing. For more information, read our in-depth Rippling Payroll review.

Key features of Rippling

• Global payroll: You can run payroll for all employees, whether they’re stationed at the main office or work remotely in another country.
• Time tracking: Rippling is a great choice if you’re interested in creating a custom paid-time-off (PTO) policy. You can approve employee PTO requests with one click; the software automatically syncs time off with the payroll run. Use the time-tracking feature to view costs by location, client or task. When you promote an employee, change their pay rate within Rippling, and the software will automatically take care of the rest.
• Detailed reporting: Rippling has various prebuilt reports. You can also create custom reports for your specific business needs.
• Integrations: Rippling syncs with more than 600 apps. If you already use another software platform for accounting or time tracking, it will most likely integrate with Rippling’s payroll, making it one of the more flexible ADP payroll alternatives.

Rippling pricing

Rippling doesn’t list specific pricing. However, it says payroll plans start at $8 per user per month. Contact Rippling for a custom quote based on your specific needs.

6. Justworks

The Justworks payroll solution covers a diverse range of worker types, including salaried employees, hourly workers and remote contractors. Justworks can handle your payroll needs across all 50 states and 28 countries.

The platform’s integrated professional employer organization (PEO) interface makes it easy to add and edit employee information, and integrations help bridge the gap with existing software.

Here’s a look at Justworks’ key features and pricing. For more information, read our in-depth Justworks review.

Key features of Justworks

• International compliance: Besides advanced payroll capabilities nationwide, Justworks supports international employees in 28 countries with no additional fees.
• HR solutions: The software allows you to create a company directory and employee handbook. You can also use the secure document management system and employee onboarding solutions.
• Employee benefits: In addition to standard employee health benefits, Justworks supports 401(k) plans and alternative wellness programs, like gym memberships, health savings accounts (HSAs) and Affordable Care Act (ACA) filings.

Justworks pricing

Justworks has three plans:

• Payroll: $50-per-month base fee, plus $8 per employee per month (essential payroll features)
• PEO Basic: $59 per employee per month (includes consulting, compliance tools, 24/7 support and time tracking)
• PEO Plus: $109 per employee per month (includes HSA and FSA accounts, health advocacy services and more)

7. isolved 

isolved is perfect for businesses that prefer a custom approach to payroll. You don’t have to pay for features that aren’t right for your company, and you can pick different tools as your needs change.

The software also features an integrated HR and Payroll module for centralized recordkeeping. Robust tools such as scheduling, time tracking and benefits create a well-rounded system.

Here’s a look at isolved’s key features and pricing. For more information, read our in-depth isolved Payroll review.

Key features of isolved

• Alternative payment methods: isolved supports additional payment methods beyond direct deposit, such as payroll cards.
• Payroll reports: The platform includes a report writer that helps you record and distribute data among locations. Time-tracking modules allow you to budget for hourly wages.
• Automated HR reporting: isolved tracks ACA and COBRA (continuation of health coverage) regulations by sending administrators alerts when deadlines are approaching.

isolved pricing

You must contact isolved for a custom quote based on the features you need. Pricing is typically per employee, per month. 

8. TriNet

TriNet is a comprehensive HR platform with numerous features and services that can help businesses with all aspects of human resources management, including payroll. With its easy-to-navigate user interface, small businesses can be up and running with TriNet in as little as two weeks. Industry-specific customer service is available 24/7 via online chat for HR representatives and employees. 

Prebuilt HR, benefits and payroll reports are at your fingertips. Custom reporting can be implemented at no extra cost. You can quickly set up direct deposit for employees by entering banking information before a payroll run.

Here’s a look at TriNet’s key features and pricing. For more information, read our in-depth TriNet review.

Key features of TriNet

• Quick onboarding: When you choose TriNet, you can be up and running in two weeks, on average. TriNet account executives efficiently set up the online portal to fit your team’s workflow.
• Integrated scheduling system: The system can notify employees of new shifts — a feature we didn’t see with other payroll solutions we reviewed.
• Mobile app: TriNet’s easy-to-use mobile app allows HR admins and employees to access benefit plans and request time off.

TriNet pricing

You must contact TriNet for a custom quote for PEO payroll services. However, you can add payroll to TriNet’s HR platform, which has transparent pricing with three tiers (all of which have a five-employee minimum): 

• Essentials: $10 per employee per month ($8 if you pay annually). You’ll pay an additional $6 per employee per month to add payroll. This package includes employee management, automated onboarding, time-off tracking and integrations.
• Growth: $20 per employee per month ($16 if you pay annually). You’ll pay an additional $6 per employee per month to add payroll. This package includes compensation and performance management tools and analytics functions.
• Zen: $33 per employee per month ($27 if you pay annually), including payroll. Features include a “people hub” and employee engagement surveys. 

You can add these tools to any HR platform: 

• Payroll tax compliance manager: Starts at $20 per employee per month (includes the ability to set up payroll tax jurisdictions)
• Payroll manager: Starts at $30 per employee per month (includes workers’ comp payroll reporting, payroll tax calculations, and tax compliance oversight)
• HR manager: Starts at $50 per employee per month (includes onboarding and offboarding, unemployment claims administration and more)