RUN Powered by ADP® vs. Paychex

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
RUN Powered by ADP®
Score 9.1 out of 10
Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
The RUN Powered by ADP® cloud-based solution is used to pay employees. It also includes HR and hiring tools, as well as benefits, helping small businesses grow and manage their teams.N/A
Paychex
Score 6.6 out of 10
N/A
Paychex Flex, of Paychex' Online Payroll Services, is a cloud-based human resource management and payroll platform. Paychex offers core and specialized services, and scales to meet the needs of small businesses, SMBs, and large enterprises.
$59
per month/+$4 per employee
Pricing
RUN Powered by ADP®Paychex
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Paychex Go
$59
per month/+$4 per employee
Paychex Flex Service
Contact sales team
Paychex Flex Enterprise
Contact sales team
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
RUN Powered by ADP®Paychex
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeRequired
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
RUN Powered by ADP®Paychex
Considered Both Products
RUN Powered by ADP®
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
While Paychex Flex was a decent payroll processing product, the customer service support was terrible. We were unable to reach our assigned payroll support team member constantly. If we had issues that were not pressing, we would send a quick email to get insight or to be …
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
RUN Powered by ADP® is much better than Paychex Flex. We used to have to run payroll via phone every time.
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
RUN Powered by ADP® blows Paychex Flex out of the water. The ease of using the app and the website is so much better! The detail we are able to see in the payroll section is much improved. Probably the biggest improvement between the two is the customer service. We feel …
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
We've previously used Paychex Flex, RUN Powered by ADP®, INFINITI HR then back to RUN Powered by ADP®. Paychex created huge nightmares with taxation. Switched to RUN Powered by ADP® when current Controller/payroll person came on board because she had retired from ADP MAS after …
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
We transferred over from Paychex back in 2018. Why? Why not? Although we had a personal payroll specialist, that person often changed. When we encountered tricky payroll issues due to new regulations, the administration process was cumbersome and unreliable. When we onboarded …
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
I used Paychex and found it very frustrating- my rep was constantly changing and the customer service I received was inadequate for my needs.
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
Paychex and Paylocity may be slightly less expensive, but do not compare to RUN Powered by ADP® in practicality, function, ease, etc. QB is a nightmare. It's a no brainer to move to RUN Powered by ADP®.
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
Customer service was my biggest reason for moving, plus integrating our 401k with ADP. There are features on Paychex that I missed initially but have learned to navigate around and do not notice it as much now. We have only been on since January 1, 2025.
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
We have a great relationship with ADP for other clients. It was kind of a no brainer to switch to them. Big difference with customer support and ease of use.
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
RUN Powered by ADP® allows more control over the payroll, easy to adjust time settings, and much better phone support.
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
Switched because ADP reached out to me, and they had a better pricing option, along with the integrated PTO tracking. I had MUCH higher hopes for the "flawless" transition, which has demanded way too much of my time to discover and fix the issues (which is still ongoing). So I …
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
I selected RUN Powered by ADP after a detailed demonstration from one of the executives in the franchise team. It seemed to do what I needed it to do and I was not happy with the payroll providers at other companies I had worked for before. So I went with ADP right from the …
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
We started the business almost 20 years ago and used a different service platform. Due to continuous errors with both PayRoll & 401k we switched to ADP for both services. ADP RUN made the switch as painless as possible and we have been happy for many, many years since. ALL …
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
I used to use Paychex, but RUN Powered by ADP® helped me with my workers comp tracking in a more efficient way and I am saving money with using RUN Powered by ADP® versus competitors. Their customer service used to be more accessible, but then you started offering 24/7 access, …
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
We selected RUN Powered by ADP because it was much more efficient to run bi-weekly payrolls and were having customer service issues with the prior vendor.
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
RUN Powered by ADP® is miles easier than any other system that we have used. The cost is better, the reporting is better, and the user interface is much simpler. The search bar is a HUGE timesaver.
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
I have looked at both of these products and they both have great services but the support I have received from ADP really keeps me here. My rep is amazing and I honestly have not seen anything on another platform that would make me change at this time.
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
RUN Powered by ADP® is quicker and easier to navigate and understand, with fewer hoops to jump through when needing to complete a task. RUN Powered by ADP® also allows to faster help when needed to get you back on track and not falling behind.
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
Far easier to use and obtain information without having to contact the company
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
Looking at the features offered (even if we don't utilize them all), we felt that RUN Powered by ADP was a better value for us. We liked the idea of having the support of a well-tenured business at our fingertips. Other payroll providers do not have the longevity or the scope …
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
ADP is more user friendly overall. ADP also sets you up for success with their training portal, the Bridge, online communities, and often provides training based on your organizations individual needs. ADP really tries to build you up for success.
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
ADP is very predictable in their cost and services. I did not see this beeing the case with Paychex as their cost increased without notice and constant attempt at selling other services.
Paychex
Chose Paychex
Honestly, when I assumed the role of administering our payroll, I almost immediately switched from ADP to Paychex because of my familiarity with Paychex. A previous Office Administrator had used Paychex for years, and their successor for some reason left Paychex and started …
Chose Paychex
The ADP software is similar, but the customer service provided by Paychex is why they are better. I get answers from my Payroll Specialist in minutes, not days like ADP.
Chose Paychex
ADP is more user friendly and the customer service is better than Paychex Flex. The sales rep. marketed Paychex Flex as being just like RUN but they still need to grow by leaps and bounds to catch up to RUN's reports, interface, and customer service.
Features
RUN Powered by ADP®Paychex
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
8.4
360 Ratings
2% above category average
Paychex
7.5
310 Ratings
8% below category average
Pay calculation9.5349 Ratings8.0292 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors8.6104 Ratings00 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment9.1254 Ratings6.6150 Ratings
Benefit plan administration7.8161 Ratings6.8171 Ratings
Direct deposit files9.6339 Ratings8.2291 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management8.8266 Ratings7.7207 Ratings
Reimbursement management5.138 Ratings7.6116 Ratings
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
Paychex
6.5
268 Ratings
22% below category average
Employee demographic data00 Ratings7.6215 Ratings
Employment history00 Ratings8.0239 Ratings
Job profiles and administration00 Ratings7.5173 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.00 Ratings7.4168 Ratings
Organizational charting00 Ratings1.01 Ratings
Organization and location management00 Ratings7.4155 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)00 Ratings6.5144 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
Paychex
7.1
158 Ratings
14% below category average
Approval workflow00 Ratings7.0112 Ratings
Balance details00 Ratings7.3150 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment00 Ratings7.0119 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
Paychex
7.7
267 Ratings
6% below category average
View and generate pay and benefit information00 Ratings7.7245 Ratings
Update personal information00 Ratings7.8257 Ratings
View company policy documentation00 Ratings7.5119 Ratings
View job history00 Ratings7.7181 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
Paychex
5.2
43 Ratings
42% below category average
Tracking of all physical assets00 Ratings5.243 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
Paychex
6.0
175 Ratings
23% below category average
Report builder00 Ratings6.4145 Ratings
Pre-built reports00 Ratings6.3164 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data00 Ratings5.291 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
Paychex
6.2
171 Ratings
25% below category average
New hire portal00 Ratings6.8164 Ratings
Manager tracking tools00 Ratings5.6106 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
Paychex
5.2
68 Ratings
38% below category average
Job Requisition Management00 Ratings5.636 Ratings
Company Website Posting00 Ratings5.434 Ratings
Publish to Social Media00 Ratings4.928 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting00 Ratings5.335 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention00 Ratings5.034 Ratings
Applicant Tracking00 Ratings5.039 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts00 Ratings5.262 Ratings
Best Alternatives
RUN Powered by ADP®Paychex
Small Businesses
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.4 out of 10
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.4 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.2 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.2 out of 10
Enterprises
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.1 out of 10
PeopleStrong
PeopleStrong
Score 9.9 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
RUN Powered by ADP®Paychex
Likelihood to Recommend
9.1
(390 ratings)
6.6
(323 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.2
(35 ratings)
1.4
(44 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(24 ratings)
6.9
(264 ratings)
Availability
9.5
(12 ratings)
5.9
(12 ratings)
Performance
9.6
(12 ratings)
7.1
(12 ratings)
Support Rating
8.4
(36 ratings)
6.5
(265 ratings)
In-Person Training
7.7
(7 ratings)
4.5
(1 ratings)
Online Training
9.3
(5 ratings)
8.3
(4 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.9
(20 ratings)
5.6
(13 ratings)
Configurability
7.5
(9 ratings)
5.1
(9 ratings)
Ease of integration
10.0
(4 ratings)
9.1
(3 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.5
(13 ratings)
6.5
(12 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.7
(8 ratings)
2.5
(33 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.7
(9 ratings)
3.5
(34 ratings)
User Testimonials
RUN Powered by ADP®Paychex
Likelihood to Recommend
ADP
RUN Powered by ADP has proven very flexible with creating a salary for certain hourly staff who have repeating hours so hours do not have to be input each payroll. Also, some staff earn pto like full time staff though they do not work full time. Creating these categories, inputting and tracking is easy. Separating the hours worked from the pto area would make things more clear.
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Paychex Inc.
For the most part, Paychex Flex is a very good payroll system and is well suited for a small business. Most basic features are simple and user friendly. For businesses that have hourly employees, its timeclock system is a good feature. For businesses that have a large number of employees and more complicated rules and policies, it might not be as appropriate because of the difficulty to set up for these rules and policies
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Pros
ADP
  • Payroll - special categories, pay circumstances, and tracking.
  • Onboarding - the ease of getting your team in the know.
  • Workers Compensation - not having to do the reconciliation!
  • State specific mandatory training for our staff - done through the APP!
  • Record keeping - tracking PLAWA, Vacations.
  • The many ways you can stay connected - the Podcasts, Advisory Circle, and webinars are fabulous.
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
  • It provides a well account of Retirement Plan Account Information.
  • Alerts are sent to email when there is new information to access.
  • Employee access both online and thru app.
  • Paperless options.
  • Easy and quick access to paystubs and tax forms.
  • Easy employee retirement management.
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Cons
ADP
  • When processing bonuses, it would be nice to have a NET pay selection, in addition to the GROSS pay selection.
  • I receive WAY too many emails asking me to purchase additional services, including some that we already have through ADP.
  • I receive(d) daily requests for our Section 125 Compliance documentation, which I sent over four times to each different individual who requested them. ADP "mentioned" they'd charge us $350 for this compliance plan, even though we have it and proved it by submitting the "required submission" of the policy multiple times. It's very frustrating, and it causes me to worry about (A), the validity of the request and (B) ADP's recordkeeping, since they can't keep up with the document I've sent multiple times.
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Paychex Inc.
  • When it comes to audit reports, Paychex Flex could improve on helping clients locate the correct reports for audit purposes more easily
  • When a client receives a discount, it would be helpful if the discount were automatically provided each year, or if the Paychex rep proactively reached out to the client first, versus the client having to call and request that the discount continue.
  • It would be helpful if the invoice was emailed to the client versus the client logging in to access invoices.
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Likelihood to Renew
ADP
It is much better than the payroll system I used previously. The integrations that RUN has for on-boarding new hires are very convenient when they work properly. It saves a tremendous amount of time being able to email a link to new employees that allows them to enter much of their own demographic information. Payroll feature alerts me when someone's pay is significantly less or more than usual.
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Paychex Inc.
Overall I like the features that Paychex Flex offers. I am sure that there are other features that I am unaware of, so I am excited to see if there is more that Flex is capable of to make my job easier. The basic features are really user friendly and easy to access. If there ever is an issue customer service is great
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Usability
ADP
I have been using this system for years and they have actually made it easier and easier. The system is always making great upgrades that don't necessarily require any additional information or training. I love when I log in and see a new feature or button that I get to use to make my life easier!
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Paychex Inc.
Some things could be streamlined. For example, we could do custom options for the "add items" tab which has so many options that we never use. "Medical Pay" could be something that the system remembers for the applicable employees. Salaried employees' salaries should definitely be auto-filled. Overall the system works well but I think it could be improved to be easier to use and read.
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Reliability and Availability
ADP
We've had very little issue with RUN availability, only a couple times there were outages when least expected which occurred on our actual payroll due date
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Paychex Inc.
We have not experienced any difficulties with unplanned outages. Notifications are always made for outages, and they do not effect normal business operations.
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Performance
ADP
ADP Run loads a bit slowly at times, once I put in my credentials. However, that said, I think my perception of the time it takes is impacted by our "instant gratification" expectation of being able to get into everything quickly.
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Paychex Inc.
Unless there is lag time within the internet, the Paychex Flex website loads exceptional fast, pages load quickly and reports that I need to print or download load quickly. If I need to create a specialized report, once I complete it I receive an e-mail telling me my report is ready to be downloaded. Changing between web pages is fast as well.
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Support Rating
ADP
I appreciated having that issue finally take care of. it was extremely disheartening to see the issue had not been resolved. I also had my employees looking to me and thinking I was not trying to resolve the issue so it reflected poorly on my character. I do not know if i was because of a miscommunication, but nonetheless I was happy it was taken care of
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Paychex Inc.
Our dedicated representative is one of the main reasons we are sticking with Paychex Flex. If it were not for this person, other platforms could provide the same/similar functionality. It is the ability to speak with someone that understands our business and is willing to get questions answered in a timely fashion that keeps us with Paychex Flex.
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In-Person Training
ADP
they helped up with the 1st payroll after that we were fine - it is very user friendly- they wanted to be sure everything had imported correctly.
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Paychex Inc.
We did online training only
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Online Training
ADP
very easy to learn i think it took maybe one payroll to have it down and we were up and running
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Paychex Inc.
It was easy to understand and follow along. I do like the informational videos that we can utilize before we opt to call in for customer service support. It has made a difference since sometimes that resolves the issue I may have had and saved myself a phone call to Paychex support.
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Implementation Rating
ADP
Make sure there's plenty of time between payrolls for the implementation and be sure to test all the manually inputted fields.
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Paychex Inc.
Implementation was very smooth. The most cumbersome task was entering the current employees into the system during initial set up, but Paychex staff handled most of that and verified against prior system reports as well as internal reports provided to ensure 100% accuracy.
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Alternatives Considered
ADP
RUN Powered by ADP® is stronger than QuickBooks Online for payroll and HR because it offers advanced HR tools (job postings, compliance support, employee handbooks), friendly, extended hours live support, and integration with numerous platforms. QuickBooks focuses mainly on payroll/accounting, while ADP provides broader HR capabilities, scalability, and compliance expertise along with extensive training.
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Paychex Inc.
We still use QB Desktop Pro to maintain a Check Register / Overall Balance for the company, but once having tried QB Payroll Online for about 3 months prior to finding Paychex Flex I can tell you that there's just no comparison. QB online is VERY EXPENSIVE and not so user-friendly. I hated every minute of those 6 payrolls we ran through QB online.
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Scalability
ADP
Every summer, we hire three new college interns who have to be entered into the system. They can enter their information themselves, which takes a load off me. The onboarding is quite straightforward, and today's college kids are techy enough to be able to understand it.
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Paychex Inc.
I generally do payroll at the office, however I have had to go remote due to internet issues and also had to take payroll on vacation with me. Very easy to log in wherever you are and manage your TAA and payroll
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Return on Investment
ADP
  • I will say ADP in general is not cheap, I think the cost to implement and use RUN Powered by ADP® is higher than some of the other products out there
  • I like the fact that RUN Powered by ADP® can handle payroll deductions for other vendors easily (401k, Insurance plans)
  • Wish we would use RUN Powered by ADP® more when it comes to job costing - trying to determine if a job we are managing is profitable or not
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Paychex Inc.
  • I do not believe we have saved anything additionally. The time we've had to spend to get things to hopefully work is sad. This is the reason we've had to turn off all extra "products" of Paychex Flex. Time and Attendance is horrible. Benefits management is horrible. The user experience is horrible.
  • One thing I do not understand is why are updates for states, cities, counties, school districts, etc. not automatically updated? Should we not get a big red flag if we have an employee living/working, being paid in CA, but they aren't set up for CA sick time? If it is required to be on the paycheck stub to show the balance of the sick time, why would we not be notified that we are out of compliance?
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ScreenShots

RUN Powered by ADP® Screenshots

Screenshot of the RUN Dashboard with the business' key info front-and-centerScreenshot of the payroll interfaceScreenshot of access to payroll reports and liability amountsScreenshot of the RUN Powered by ADP mobile app, used to process payroll on the goScreenshot of the ADP mobile app, where employees can access their historical payroll statements and year-end tax documents

Paychex Screenshots

Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of