Top 6 Paylocity Competitors and Alternatives for 2023

Paycom: Best overall Paylocity competitor

Paycom offers many of the same features as Paylocity, and has a similar pay structure. With this platform, you can manage everything from payroll to talent acquisition and benefits, and Paycom’s excellent mobile app and employee self-service portal make it easy for employees to submit requests and check their work hours. Paycom is also known for having excellent customer support, as evidenced by its 4.2 rating on G2 at the time of writing.

This isn’t the most affordable platform for small businesses that don’t need Paycom’s whole host of features. But for midsize to larger organizations, Paycom can make employees’ lives easier.

Pricing

Paycom doesn’t list its pricing online, which means you have to set up a demo or ask for a custom quote before you can know how much it will cost. On the bright side, this means a representative can help you find the best plan for your business. But it does make it harder to tell upfront whether or not Paycom fits your organization’s budget.

Features

• Finance, HR and IT management features.
• Talent acquisition management.
• Existing employee performance management.
• Time tracking and labor management.
• Single sign-on (SSO).
• Automatic compliance updates in response to regulatory changes.
• ISO- and SOC-certified cybersecurity standards.

Pros

• Offers a broad range of features that work well for midsize or larger businesses that need support for payroll processing, HR management, mobile app, compliance guidance and hiring.
• Housed in a single software platform that contains all Paycom features, which reduces the number of apps needed.
• Offers a mobile app with employee self-service options that makes it easy for employees to check their personal information, correct errors and record accurate hours worked.
• Maintains an excellent customer support system and online knowledge base.

Cons

• Pricing is not listed online.
• No free trial period.
• Talent acquisition features are limited.

For more information, read the full Paycom review.

Workday: Best HCM alternative

In the same vein as Paylocity and Paycom, Workday offers top-notch payroll and HR management features for midsize or larger companies. It also offers features for other aspects of workforce management, including compliance updates, real-time reporting and highly customizable analytics.

Workday gives employees access to a self-service mobile app where they can view their records, edit details and communicate with the HR team. They can also access on-demand payment through Workday, which lets them get paid on earned hours early without affecting your business’s cash flow.

Pricing

To get pricing info, Workday requires you to set up a demo or request a custom quote. You won’t find Workday’s prices listed online, so there’s no way to get an idea of how much the system will cost unless you reach out to Workday’s sales reps.

Features

• Finance, HR and IT management.
• Real-time audits and reporting.
• Continuous compliance monitoring and alerts.
• Cloud-based, single-platform solution.
• International payroll support.
• Mobile app with employee self-service options.
• Excellent customer support.

Pros

• Built-in AI can help make predictions and monitor your HR functions.
• Highly customizable reporting and analytics, including real-time and visual reports.
• Excellent employee-centric features, such as a self-service mobile app and on-demand pay.
• Dedicated customer success manager to guide implementation and ensure a smooth transition.

Cons

• Pricing is not listed online.
• No automatic tax filing.

For more information, read the full Workday review.

Gusto: Best payroll software alternative

Gusto is an easy-to-use platform that also offers payroll software features for hiring, compliance and HR management. Notably, Gusto also has transparent pricing, which isn’t always a given with these types of software packages. You don’t have to set up a demo and get a custom quote for Gusto — it clearly lists its basic pricing info online.

Small businesses may prefer Gusto over more complex, expensive options, such as Paylocity and Paycom. Gusto is generally more affordable, and it still offers rich features that can save your HR team time, such as form templates and an employee self-service mobile app.

Pricing

Unlike some other brands, Gusto has fairly transparent pricing. Gusto lists its starting rate at $40 per month, plus $6 per month per employee. That’s on the high end of the baseline payroll pricing listed in this review, but we appreciate that Gusto makes this information available online, rather than requiring you to set up a demo with a sales rep to get a quote.

Features

• Finance and HR management.
• Transparent pricing.
• Mobile app with employee self-service options.
• Third-party integrations.
• Automatic tax filing and compliance monitoring.
• HR template forms.
• Customizable reports.

Pros

• Mobile app and cloud-based interface makes it easy for both HR staff and employees to interact with the platform.
• Compliance support, including tax filing and tax regulation alerts.
• HR form templates that save time for HR employees and cover things such as offer letters and performance evaluations.
• Investing and retirement offerings that go beyond simple payroll software.
• Customer support via phone, live chat and email.

Cons

• Some third-party integrations can be buggy.
• Limited benefits management offerings.

For more information, read the full Gusto review.

ADP Workforce Now: Best for midsize companies

ADP Workforce Now is great if you’re looking for an all-in-one solution for your midsize business, including HR, payroll and talent acquisition tools. This software offers not only an employee self-service mobile app, but also self-service options through its desktop website.

This full-service payroll platform can also automatically file your company’s taxes, and it offers hiring tools like job board integrations.

Pricing

ADP Workforce Now doesn’t list its pricing online. Instead, you have to go through a demo to get a custom price quote. Fortunately, ADP Workforce Now offers a self-guided demo option, so you don’t have to wait for an appointment with a sales rep to get started with the custom quote process.

Features

• HR and finance management.
• Talent acquisition management.
• Automated time tracking.
• HR outsourcing.
• Third-party integrations.
• Multiple pricing tiers.

Pros

• Four-month free trial.
• Cybersecurity features help protect HR data.
• Editable HR forms can save time for smaller HR teams.
• Job-board integration makes it easy to work with ZipRecruiter.

Cons

• Iffy customer service.
• No pricing listed online.

For more information, read the full ADP Workforce Now review.

Rippling: Best for growth

Rippling gets impressive customer ratings (at the time of writing, 4.8 out of 5 on G2, for starters). That’s likely because Rippling offers a multitude of automations that can save some time for HR professionals and help keep growing companies in particular running smoothly.

This payroll platform does more than just manage time tracking and paychecks — it also offers HR and IT features that can save time for teams outside the finance department.

Pricing

Rippling uses a single-price subscription model that makes it simpler than other brands. It also doesn’t require a custom quote for pricing. Rippling lists its starting price at $8 per month, per user. That seems low, but your final cost will be higher if you want anything beyond the bare-minimum feature package.

Features

• HR and finance management.
• Error-free guarantee.
• Automatic tax filing.
• Mobile app with employee self-service options.
• Compliance monitoring and alerts.
• Customizable reports.
• Third-party integrations.

Pros

• Extremely customizable and scalable for growing companies.
• Easy-to-use interface with a large number of available features.
• Built-in reporting is powerful and highly customizable.
• Transparent pricing.

Cons

• Iffy customer support options.
• No trial period.

For more information, read the full Rippling review.

Paychex: Best HR/payroll packages

Paychex offers a few different software solutions, but Paychex Flex is centerstage. Paychex Flex is payroll software that keeps things simple for users. If you don’t need all the extra components that complex platforms like Paylocity offer, then Paychex gives you a more straightforward collection of core features.

You can use Paychex Flex to complete standard payroll tasks, as well as add additional features depending on your company’s needs. If you just need a software solution to automate your payments and generate reports, then you can do that. If you’d also like a learning management system and wage garnishment features, then you can add them on.

Pricing

Paychex offers various pricing bundles based on which features you need. It lists its starting price at $39 per month (plus $5 per employee) for its Essentials bundle. You’ll need to ask for a custom quote if you want one of the higher-priced bundles.

Features

• Automated payroll management.
• Some HR management features.
• Time and attendance tracking.
• Talent acquisition features.
• Retirement planning options.

Pros

• Three-month free trial.
• Offers a simpler and more affordable system compared to some other payroll providers.
• Tends to be more affordable than some other payroll platforms.
• Transparent pricing.
• Employee-facing mobile app with self-service options.

Cons

• Not all reports are customizable.

For more information, read the full Paychex review.

Papaya Global: Best international payroll

Papaya Global offers payroll software for businesses with an international workforce. Not all payroll platforms support payroll and compliance functions in multiple countries — and those that do tend to limit themselves to a handful of options. But Papaya Global supports over 160 countries.

This payroll platform is not a standard HR management system, it’s technically a professional employer organization (PEO) that makes it possible for international companies to stay compliant and keep track of hundreds of regulatory details around the world.

Pricing

Papaya Global has the lowest listed base price on our list. You can get the Papaya Global Payroll Platform License starting at $3 per month, per employee. But the Payroll Platform License is a bare minimum solution that doesn’t offer any of the extra features you typically get with an automated payroll platform.

The next step up is the Full Service Payroll option, which starts at $12 per month, per employee.

Features

• Global payroll support in over 160 countries.
• Automated payments in employee’s local currency.
• Third-party integrations.
• Single sign-on (SSO).
• Automatic compliance notifications.

Pros

• Payroll management options at various price points that support different levels of function, including a basic Payroll Platform License plan.
• Transparent pricing.
• Global support for international workforces.

Cons

• Tends to be pricey.

For more information, read the full Papaya Global review.