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Make deciding between ADP and QuickBooks Payroll easier with our full comparison of ADP vs. QuickBooks' pricing, features, integrations, and more.
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Choosing between ADP vs. QuickBooks Payroll? Both ADP and QuickBooks Payroll offer full-service payroll, can grow with your small business, and feature HR integrations.
Despite the similarities between QuickBooks Payroll and ADP, the two payroll software options differ in pricing, payroll limits, add-on services, and much more. So when it comes to choosing between QuickBooks Payroll or ADP, your business’s unique needs will be the deciding factor.
Let’s dive into the biggest difference first.
Table of Contents
| ADP | QuickBooks | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Custom pricing | Starts at $50/month + $6 per employee |
| Number Of States Supported | 50 | 50 |
| Key Features |
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The biggest difference between ADP and QuickBooks Online Payroll is that ADP is more customizable and has more features than QuickBooks Online Payroll. However, QuickBooks Online Payroll offers faster payroll processing, a direct integration with the QuickBooks Online software suite, and unlimited payroll runs, which could make the software significantly more affordable for businesses that run payroll frequently.
However, compared to ADP, Intuit Online has received more negative reviews, especially regarding customer service. That being said, both software earn a spot on our list of the best small business payroll software, so in this payroll software battle, businesses are likely going to have to pick and choose what is most important to them as a company.
Some of these specifics might help, so let’s dive into how the biggest pros and cons of both ADP and QuickBooks Payroll compare.
ADP takes the cake when it comes to advanced features and customizability. The company also offers multiple ADP pricing plans catering to diverse business needs, even including a PEO option, so businesses posed for growth can benefit highly from ADP.
When compared specifically to QuickBooks, APD has:
The biggest area where ADP falls short is the lack of transparent pricing. Customer complaints mention frustration with hidden fees and undisclosed pricing for its various plans. It’s also worth noting that some customers have taken issue with difficulties terminating their contracts, which could be a huge factor for small businesses.
All in all, ADP’s main drawbacks include:
Since small businesses negotiate custom deals with ADP, they have been known to be accommodating with integration requests from their customers.
QuickBooks is well-known in the small business sphere for its accounting software. Now accounting and payroll can go hand in hand for QuickBooks Online users who purchase QuickBooks Online Payroll (also known as Intuit Online Payroll). This accounting focus is a huge advantage over ADP for business owners who want to manage these two elements of their business together.
QuickBooks also has a better pricing model than ADP — not only is QuickBooks Payroll actually transparent about its pricing, but the company uses a SaaS model, meaning customers are not locked into any contracts and can terminate their service at any time.
The main areas where QuickBooks wins over ADP include:
The biggest downfall of QuickBooks Payroll (and most QuickBooks products in general) is the company’s customer support. While we have seen customer support improve from years past, the company still has a long way to go to undo a reputation of negative customer support experiences.
Other downsides of QuickBooks include:
You’ll notice this is a small list of drawbacks to ADP, which is worth noting.
| Vendor | Price |
|---|---|
| QuickBooks | Starts at $50/month + $6 per employee |
| ADP | Custom pricing |
Intuit Online Payroll’s transparent pricing lets small businesses easily compare the cost of all three plans, which range from $50/month + $6/per person - $229/month + $11/per person.
Intuit Payroll’s pricing structure of a set monthly rate plus a flat fee per employee also makes it easy to project a long-term budget. ADP does not disclose its pricing information; you have to contact ADP’s sales team to get a custom quote for your business.
On ADP’s website, getting pricing for any of the ADP Run plans requires entering your business’s name, zip code, email, and number of employees.
The bottom line is that ADP does not make it easy to compare pricing. Both ADP and QuickBooks offer multiple pricing tiers for different business sizes and needs, but QuickBooks Online is more transparent, and its costs and fees are easier to plan for. However, many businesses are happy customers of ADP, so it may be worth contacting ADP to get a quote.
| Features | QuickBooks Intuit | ADP |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll Processing | ||
| Tax Filing | ||
| Direct Deposit | ||
| Employee Portal | ||
| Time Tracking | ||
| Benefits Administration | Complete & HR Plus plans | |
| New Hire Reporting | ||
| Reports | 20+ | 17+ |
| Employee Management |
Intuit Online and ADP payroll services have a comparable selection of features. However, there are some differences to be aware of before committing to either payroll starter. Let’s look closer at the features with the most significant disparities.
Learn more about each company’s complete feature set offering in our full ADP review and QuickBooks Payroll review.
Both ADP and QuickBooks Payroll can be good options for small businesses, so here are the use cases that work best with each option.
ADP is better suited for larger businesses, businesses looking to grow, or businesses that need customizable reporting and unique features like legal services and background checks. ADP is also the only one in the mashup to offer a PEO option if you ever want to outsource your payroll processes.
QuickBooks Payroll has better integrations than ADP, faster payroll processing times (same-day is available), and unlimited payroll runs., whereas ADP users have to pay per payroll run. This has the potential to make QuickBooks significantly cheaper than ADP. If you are an existing QuickBooks Online user, the direct QuickBooks integration is also a big perk.
If you think QuickBooks Payroll is right for your business, you can get started with QuickBooks Online Payroll. QuickBooks Payroll has a free trial and doesn’t have locked-in contracts like ADP, so you can leave the service at any time.
If you need the advanced features of ADP, you can get a quote for how much ADP would cost your business. While we aren’t a fan of ADP’s non-transparent pricing, the company has far more positive reviews than QuickBooks, so it must be doing something right. You can use this no-string-attached quote to truly compare ADP vs QuickBooks in terms of cost for your business.
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The vendors that appear on this list were chosen by subject matter experts on the basis of product quality, wide usage and availability, and positive reputation.
Merchant Maverick’s ratings are editorial in nature, and are not aggregated from user reviews. Each staff reviewer at Merchant Maverick is a subject matter expert with experience researching, testing, and evaluating small business software and services. The rating of this company or service is based on the author’s expert opinion and analysis of the product, and assessed and seconded by another subject matter expert on staff before publication. Merchant Maverick’s ratings are not influenced by affiliate partnerships.
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