Software directory
8 ADP Run alternatives for 2026
The tools buyers compare with ADP Run, side by side on price, pricing model and what each one is built for.
Why teams look beyond ADP Run
- Wait times for support in some comparisons.
- Benefits management scores lower.
- Buyers who need published prices.
- Very small teams sensitive to add-on and weekly-run cost.
From ADP Run's published plan limits and recurring themes in public reviews. See the ADP Run review for sources.
ADP Run vs. its alternatives
| Tool | Pricing model | Starting price | G2 rating | Pricing model | Target company size | Tax filing and compliance | Time tracking and PTO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 ADP Run Current | base fee plus per employee | Contact sales | 4.6 (5,122 reviews) | Quote; base plus per employee, higher cost with weekly runs. | Small businesses. | Tax filing in all tiers per vendor positioning; details not verified. | |
 Paychex Flex | base fee plus per employee | Contact sales | 4.1 (1,724 reviews) | Quote; base plus per employee. | Small to enterprise. | ||
 Gusto | base fee plus per person | $49/month plus $6 per person (Simple) | 4.6 (9,000 reviews) | Base fee plus per-person fee per plan. | Small businesses (about 84% of G2 reviews) | Automatic federal, state and local filing on all plans. | Plus adds time tracking and PTO. |
 Paycor | custom | Contact sales | 3.9 (1,363 reviews) | Quote only; per employee per month plus base fee reported by third parties; promo of about 50% off first 6 months reported. | Small to mid-size, plus upmarket push after Paychex deal. | Included in payroll product (not verified in detail) | Time and attendance module. |
 QuickBooks Payroll | base fee plus per employee | $44/month + $6.50 per employee (Payroll + Simple Start, 50% promo for 3 months shown; list $88) | 4.4 (501 reviews) | Base plus per employee, bundled with accounting. | Small businesses. | Full-service payroll calculates, files and pays payroll taxes. | Scheduling in all bundles; time tracking with Premium and Elite. |
 Justworks | per user | $50/month base plus $8 per employee (Payroll plan) | 4.6 (1,126 reviews) | Flat per employee per month; Payroll plan has $50 base fee. | Small business. | Time Tracking add-on. | |
 Paycom | custom | Contact sales | 4.5 (6,244 reviews) | Quote only; per payroll plus per employee fees. | Mid-market; about 39,200 clients per 10-K summary. | Included. | Included. |
 Paylocity | custom | Contact sales | 4.4 (6,080 reviews) | Quote only; per employee per month plus modules. | Mid-size (about 44,400 clients FY2026) | Time and labor module. | |
 TriNet | per user | Contact sales | 4.2 (1,944 reviews) | Quote based per employee per month. | Small to mid size business. | Handled by TriNet as co-employer (PEO model) |
The alternatives in detail
Paychex Flex
Paychex's tiered payroll and HR platform for small to mid-size businesses, priced by quote.
- Starting price
- Contact sales
- Pricing model
- base fee plus per employee
- G2 rating
- 4.1 (1,724 reviews)
- Pricing model
- Quote; base plus per employee.
- Target company size
- Small to enterprise.
- Accounting integrations
- QuickBooks sync may cost extra on lower tiers (third-party)
Choose it if
- Mid-size employers wanting a full-service provider with HR and benefits options.
- Teams that accept negotiated quotes.
Skip it if
- Buyers wanting transparent pricing.
- Teams worried about annual-contract exit fees.
Worth knowing
- No public price; entry estimate $39 + $5 per employee is third-party and may be withdrawn.
- Contracts reportedly annual with early termination fees (unverified)
- Prices are described as negotiable.
Gusto
Small-business payroll platform that bundles tax filing, benefits and basic HR tools, priced as a base fee plus a per-person fee.
- Starting price
- $49/month plus $6 per person (Simple)
- Pricing model
- base fee plus per person
- G2 rating
- 4.6 (9,000 reviews)
- Pricing model
- Base fee plus per-person fee per plan.
- Target company size
- Small businesses (about 84% of G2 reviews)
- Tax filing and compliance
- Automatic federal, state and local filing on all plans.
- Multi-state payroll
- Plus and Premium; Simple is single-state.
Choose it if
- Small US businesses of 1 to a few dozen people wanting simple setup.
- Companies that pay a mix of W-2 employees and 1099 contractors.
Skip it if
- Large enterprises needing SCIM or deep identity controls.
- Companies that need global payroll.
Worth knowing
- Multi-state payroll only starts on Plus ($80 + $12)
- Simple's price excludes benefits costs and add-ons.
- SAML SSO is not self-service: reportedly enabled via Gusto support, and SCIM is reportedly unavailable (third-party Stitchflow)
Paycor
HCM suite with payroll, HR, time and talent modules aimed at small and mid-size US employers, now owned by Paychex.
- Starting price
- Contact sales
- Pricing model
- custom
- G2 rating
- 3.9 (1,363 reviews)
- Pricing model
- Quote only; per employee per month plus base fee reported by third parties; promo of about 50% off first 6 months reported.
- Target company size
- Small to mid-size, plus upmarket push after Paychex deal.
- Tax filing and compliance
- Included in payroll product (not verified in detail)
- Time tracking and PTO
- Time and attendance module.
Choose it if
- US employers with roughly 10 to 1,000 staff that want payroll and HR from one vendor.
- Teams that value a broad module list and will negotiate a quote.
Skip it if
- Buyers who need public list prices to compare before talking to sales.
- Teams that need guaranteed vendor independence, since the owner changed in 2025.
Worth knowing
- Paychex completed the Paycor acquisition on 2025-04-14 (all cash, $22.50 per share, about $4.1B enterprise value); expect roadmap and contract changes.
- Public pricing page was removed in 2025 per Pin; every deal is now quoted.
- New customers are reported to get about 50% off the first 6 months, so year-two cost is the number to negotiate.
QuickBooks Payroll
Intuit's payroll sold as bundles with QuickBooks accounting, with tax filing and 1099 e-filing included.
Rebranded: Now marketed as QuickBooks Workforce (Payroll bundles); G2 page titled QuickBooks Workforce.
- Starting price
- $44/month + $6.50 per employee (Payroll + Simple Start, 50% promo for 3 months shown; list $88)
- Pricing model
- base fee plus per employee
- G2 rating
- 4.4 (501 reviews)
- Pricing model
- Base plus per employee, bundled with accounting.
- Target company size
- Small businesses.
- Tax filing and compliance
- Full-service payroll calculates, files and pays payroll taxes.
- Accounting integrations
- Native QuickBooks bookkeeping bundle.
Choose it if
- Businesses already on QuickBooks Online.
- Employers wanting payroll bundled with bookkeeping.
Skip it if
- Teams that need Elite pricing in public.
- Buyers wanting benefits admin included.
Worth knowing
- Pricing page now sells payroll+accounting bundles named Workforce, not the old Core/Premium/Elite lineup.
- Listed prices are 50% off for 3 months; list is double.
- Same-day direct deposit requires the Essentials bundle or above.
Justworks
PEO and payroll platform for small US businesses that bundles HR, benefits and payroll under co-employment, or payroll only.
- Starting price
- $50/month base plus $8 per employee (Payroll plan)
- Pricing model
- per user
- G2 rating
- 4.6 (1,126 reviews)
- Pricing model
- Flat per employee per month; Payroll plan has $50 base fee.
- Target company size
- Small business.
- Time tracking and PTO
- Time Tracking add-on.
- Benefits administration
- Benefits included via PEO co-employment.
Choose it if
- Small US companies that want a PEO with benefits and compliance handled for them.
- Startups needing a single per-employee price.
Skip it if
- Companies that want to keep their own benefits broker and plans.
- Teams outside the US.
Worth knowing
- PEO plans mean co-employment: Justworks becomes co-employer for payroll tax and benefits.
- Payroll plan starts at $58/month for one employee ($50 base + $8)
- Plus plan price reportedly rose from $99 to $109.
Paycom
Single-database HCM and payroll platform for mid-size US employers, quote-based and billed per payroll run.
- Starting price
- Contact sales
- Pricing model
- custom
- G2 rating
- 4.5 (6,244 reviews)
- Pricing model
- Quote only; per payroll plus per employee fees.
- Target company size
- Mid-market; about 39,200 clients per 10-K summary.
- Tax filing and compliance
- Included.
- Time tracking and PTO
- Included.
Choose it if
- Mid-size US employers that want one database for payroll, HR, time and talent.
- IT teams that need SAML 2.0 and strong security attestations.
Skip it if
- Small teams that want public prices.
- Buyers who dislike per-payroll-run fee structures.
Worth knowing
- Paycom bills per payroll run plus per employee, so PEPM quotes understate or hide the structure.
- Implementation fees are generally 10 to 30% of annualized value (10-K)
- Revenue retention 91% in 2025.
Paylocity
Cloud HCM suite covering payroll, HR, time, benefits and talent for mid-size US employers, sold by quote only.
- Starting price
- Contact sales
- Pricing model
- custom
- G2 rating
- 4.4 (6,080 reviews)
- Pricing model
- Quote only; per employee per month plus modules.
- Target company size
- Mid-size (about 44,400 clients FY2026)
- Time tracking and PTO
- Time and labor module.
- Benefits administration
- Benefits administration module.
Choose it if
- Mid-size US employers that want payroll, HR, time and benefits in one platform.
- Teams that want a large pool of Okta/SSO-ready integrations.
Skip it if
- Small teams that need transparent per-employee pricing.
- Buyers who need responsive support, a top G2 complaint theme.
Worth knowing
- Fiscal 2026 (year to 2026-06-30): revenue $1.771B, about 44,400 clients, per the company's results release.
- Okta's Paylocity listing (updated 2026-07-02) shows SAML, OIDC and SCIM with group push and deactivation.
- Implementation fees reported at 10 to 20% of annual software fees (third party), so budget year one separately.
TriNet
Professional employer organization that bundles payroll, benefits, compliance and HR software under co-employment.
- Starting price
- Contact sales
- Pricing model
- per user
- G2 rating
- 4.2 (1,944 reviews)
- Pricing model
- Quote based per employee per month.
- Target company size
- Small to mid size business.
- Tax filing and compliance
- Handled by TriNet as co-employer (PEO model)
- Benefits administration
- Benefits via PEO group plans, billed separately.
Choose it if
- Small and mid size employers wanting benefits and compliance outsourced.
- Companies without an in house HR team.
Skip it if
- Companies wanting software only without co-employment.
- Price sensitive teams (reviews cite high fees)
Worth knowing
- Co-employment: TriNet becomes employer of record for tax and benefits purposes.
- Fee is per employee and excludes benefits premiums, wages, payroll tax and workers comp.
- Minimum worksite employee count exists but is not published.
When to stay with ADP Run
- Small businesses wanting a large provider with tax filing and add-on HR/benefits.
- Employers who want guided support and tiered service.