Paylocity vs. ADP 2022 Comparison Review

Both Paylocity and ADP are cloud-based payroll systems, meaning you can access your account anywhere you have an internet connection. Where ADP offers several different plans based on the number of employees and features you’re looking for, Paylocity doesn’t have plans per se; rather you can choose from a variety of features and work with the Paylocity team to create a custom plan for your business.

» MORE: NerdWallet's best payroll software for small businesses

Paylocity offers a variety of features that you can choose from, but it doesn’t provide upfront pricing for its services, which makes it more difficult to compare options. After you request a demo of the product, Paylocity will provide you with a proposal based on the size of your business, payroll frequency and the number of services you need.

Some of the main features offered by Paylocity include payroll, benefits, human resources and talent management.

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ADP offers separate plans based on the number of employees you have and the features you need. Let's take a closer look at ADP’s solutions for small and midsize businesses: Do It Yourself, RUN and Workforce Now, as well as the packages within each of these.

Do It Yourself

The Do It Yourself plan from ADP was made for businesses with fewer than 10 employees on payroll. Unlike other ADP plans, Do It Yourself has upfront pricing of $79 per month plus an additional $4 per employee per month. ADP offers the first three months for free. Features of this plan include:

• Unlimited payroll runs.

• Calculation, filing and payment of state and federal payroll taxes.

• W-2 and 1099 management.

• Direct deposit.

• Data export to QuickBooks, Xero, Creative Solutions or a generic data file.

• Phone, email and chat support, 8 a.m.- 8 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.

• Employee access.

• New hire reporting.

• 24/7 access for your accountant.

RUN Powered by ADP

RUN is designed for businesses with one to 49 employees who want payroll and HR features. Within the RUN program, there are four plans for you to choose from. Each RUN plan increases in features, building on the previous ones and adding more functionality. The Essential and Enhanced plans are limited to mainly payroll, while the Complete and HR Pro plans also include HR features. Here’s a rundown of the features you can expect with each of the four ADP RUN plans.

Workforce Now

ADP’s midsize solution is Workforce Now, which is designed for businesses with 50 to 999 employees. It can help you with payroll, HR management, recruiting and employee performance and talent management. Here’s a rundown of the plans within Workforce Now and the features you’ll receive.

Here are some strengths and weaknesses of Paylocity to consider.

Paylocity pros

• Integrations: Paylocity offers over 300 integrations across 20 product categories, including benefits administration, time and attendance. This means you’ll likely be able to link any other business management systems you use to share data between platforms and reduce the need to manually import anything. This also allows you to further customize your software to get the most out of it.

• Streamlined processes: Beyond its standard offerings and integrations, Paylocity has a push notification feature that allows you to create a custom notification system triggered by certain events, including new hires, termination, time-off approvals or other changes. This means less manual work for your team, as well as less of a chance that something falls through the cracks.

Paylocity cons

• Pricing: Quote-based pricing makes it difficult to know whether you’re getting the same price as a similar-sized business with the same HR needs. We recommend getting quotes from several sources before you decide on one to ensure that you are getting a competitive price.

• Feature details: While Paylocity provides an overview of payroll, HR and benefit services offered, you won't find a detailed list of its features and add-on options like the one available on ADP’s website. Specific information such as paycheck delivery options, W-2s and 1099 forms, payroll tax filing and other features aren’t easy to find on the Paylocity website and make it difficult to determine if the product will fit your needs.

Now, let’s explore the pros and cons of using ADP.

ADP pros

• Scalability: With three separate plans available for small and midsize businesses, you are able to scale up with ADP as your business grows. A business with fewer than 10 employees can start with the Do It Yourself plan for basic payroll features. As it grows, it can move up to ADP RUN and potentially Workforce Now. Because ADP’s products are designed with business growth in mind, the service can easily become a long-term payroll and HR partner.

• Customer support: Unlike Paylocity, ADP offers phone and online payroll support 24/7 for its RUN and Workforce Now plans. A robust resource center is also available to all ADP customers regardless of the plan they select. The information provided is based on business size, and you’ll also find helpful tools such as calculators, tax guides and forms, as well as webinars and events.

ADP cons

• Pricing: The lack of transparent pricing available from ADP is a drawback (unless you’re interested in the DIY plan, which does have upfront pricing). Again, we recommend getting quotes from several products to fully compare your options.