The 7 Best ADP Alternatives

Gusto is a relative newcomer to the payroll game but has quickly built a reputation in the small business community. Gusto can do it all at an affordable price. While other ADP alternatives are best suited for smaller businesses, Gusto can handle larger companies and has added features such as HR support and benefits. The system is very user-friendly for employees and employers alike and has a solid reputation for strong customer support.

When it comes to Gusto vs. ADP, Gusto’s main advantage is the ability to perform unlimited payroll runs without charging extra. Situations involving bonuses, commissions, and employee termination may require running payroll outside the normal pay schedule. To plan ahead, Gusto AutoPilot lets users automate payroll to run according to whatever schedule works best for them.

A Quick Look At Gusto Pricing

Gusto offers four plans: Simple, Plus, Premium, and Contractor Only. Pricing is disclosed up front and follows the breakdown below:

• Simple: $40/month + $6/month per person
• Plus: $80/month + $12/month per person
• Premium: Custom pricing
• Contractor Only: $6/month per person

QuickBooks Online Payroll integrates directly with QuickBooks Online, meaning that if you’re already a QuickBooks Online user for accounting, you might want to strongly look into this software as well. It offers full-service payroll across all of its pricing platforms along with benefits and retirement plan options.

As an ADP alternative, QuickBooks Online Payroll shines when it comes to integrations, as it can sync with over 400 apps, including numerous POS, time tracking, and project management programs. A drawback of QuickBooks Online Payroll vs ADP is the level of reporting. For some small businesses, QuickBooks Online Payroll’s reporting on payroll, taxes, employee benefits, and PTO may be sufficient. On the other hand, ADP can deliver more detailed reports on everything from employee performance reviews to wage garnishments, as well as custom reporting.

A Quick Look At QuickBooks Online Payroll Pricing

This ADP alternative has three plans from which to choose: Core, Essentials, and Elite. Intuit Online Payroll pricing includes a base fee and variable cost per employee. Here’s how it works out for each plan:

• Core: $70/month + $4/month per employee
• Essentials: $95/month + $4/month per employee
• Elite: $155/month + $8/month per employee

Paychex is a solid payroll option for small businesses with an exceptionally easy-to-use platform and excellent employee management. It has a robust feature set that includes more than 100 reports and also comes with great customer service. There have been complaints about missing tax filings, and the fact that the majority of its pricing plans are variable isn’t ideal, but Paychex still checks most of the boxes for strong payroll software.

When it comes to Paychex vs. ADP, Paychex stands out with its employee management tools. ADP may still be a slightly better option for much larger businesses, but Paychex also comes with a dedicated payroll specialist and, even though both have plenty of add-ons that can quickly add up, Paychex is generally more affordable.

A Quick Look At Paychex Pricing

The Essentials Plan starts at $39/month + $5/month per employee which is reasonable and comes with strong features including direct deposit, tax services, and reports. It has three other pricing tiers with additional features but you will have to talk to a sales representative to get the complete pricing.

Square offers an assortment of business software and services. Overall, Square’s products have a reputation for being easy to use and adaptable to a customer’s needs. Square Payroll is ideal if you’re using any of the company’s other services, like the Square point-of-sale platform. Square Payroll can be up and running in a matter of minutes and takes minimal training time, even if you’re not overly familiar with payroll software.

Square covers core payroll functions, such as direct deposit, tax withholdings, and the ability to automate payroll runs. Businesses interested in more complex features, such as benefits administration and employee management, can tack them on a Square plan for an additional cost. Compatibility with other Square products, like Square POS and Square Appointments, for example, makes it easy to coordinate payroll, sales, and scheduling in one place. Square may not be a strong ADP alternative when it comes to the variety of integrations, but the payroll provider does support a handful of third-party apps, including QuickBooks, ZipRecruiter, SimplyInsured, and QuickBooks Time.

A Quick Look At Square Payroll Pricing

Square payroll has two aptly named plans: the Pay Contractors Only Plan and Pay Employees & Contractors Plan. Businesses employing independent 1099 workers will pay just $5 per contractor paid each month. Any customer with both W-2 and 1099 employees will pay a base fee of $29 a month + $5 per person paid.

True to its name, Zenefits is foremost an HR and benefits provider. However, small businesses can include payroll services as an add-on feature within a larger HR software package.

Zenefits offers three plans: Essentials, Growth, and Zen. Tacking on payroll services will cost an extra $6 per employee across all three plans. Although Zenefits may not boast the same level of hands-on customer support as ADP, its HR platform can automatically synchronize numerous payroll functions to streamline business operations. This includes new hire reporting, time tracking, and benefits deductions.  Zenefits is a strong ADP competitor in terms of integrations too. Between productivity apps, accounting, learning software, and employee management programs, Zenefits has small businesses covered.

A Quick Look At Zenefits Pricing

The Essentials plan costs $10/month per employee and is the most basic in terms of workforce management. Its main features are employee onboarding, document management, scheduling, and a mobile app for recording hours worked and accessing HR information. Upgrading to the Growth plan increases the per-employee cost to $18/month, but provides compensation and performance management for employees. Upgrading to the Zen plan, which costs $27/month per employee, gives access to top-level HR management tools and employee benefits.

Patriot Payroll is tailor-made for small businesses with fewer than 100 employees that are on a tight budget. Patriot has upfront pricing and its plans come with a strong feature set that should be more than functional for smaller to mid-sized organizations. It has simple onboarding, an employee portal, and built-in HR functionality.

The biggest difference between Patriot and ADP is going to be the overall cost. If you simply have basic payroll needs, Patriot isn’t going to set you back a significant amount and its tax support is on par with ADP’s. ADP does have Patriot beat when it comes to benefits administration but, for the money, Patriot has one of the more generous feature offerings around, along with an interface that is extremely easy to use.

A Quick Look At Patriot Payroll Pricing

Patriot’s Basic Payroll plan starts at $17/month + $4/month per employee and comes with unlimited payroll runs, direct deposit, and multistate processing. The Full Service plan starts at $37/month + $4/month per employee and comes with tax filing.

OnPay is an excellent piece of HR software with just one simple and affordable pricing plan. OnPay features automated tax support and has a solid number of integrations, including strong accounting platforms like QuickBooks and Xero. One of its more unique features is that it has a Report Designer, which allows you to save custom payroll reports. It also has employee self-service functionality and a built-in HR platform, giving you everything a small business would need from payroll software.

OnPay’s biggest benefit over ADP is in how simple its pricing structure is. While figuring out exactly what ADP might cost you can be like pulling teeth, OnPay has a flat fee and even a tool on its website to calculate the cost for your business. ADP is definitely more of a powerhouse and better suited for larger businesses, but OnPay’s customizable reports are a really nice feature and its integrations hold up with any of its competitors.

A Quick Look At OnPay Pricing

OnPay’s pricing is extremely simple. It starts at $36/month + $4/month per employee with no additional hidden fees.