RUN Powered by ADP® vs. TriNet

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
RUN Powered by ADP®
Score 9.0 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
TriNet
Score 7.6 out of 10
N/A
TriNet provides small and medium size businesses (SMBs) with full-service HR and payroll solutions tailored by industry. TriNet also offers specialized services through client access to HR representatives for advice and notifications on impactful regulatory changes.N/A
Pricing
RUN Powered by ADP®TriNet
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
RUN Powered by ADP®TriNet
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
RUN Powered by ADP®TriNet
Considered Both Products
RUN Powered by ADP®
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.
TriNet
Chose TriNet
TriNet is great for clients who have employees in multiple state and need the entire PEO package to manage their HR and payroll needs.
Features
RUN Powered by ADP®TriNet
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
8.3
370 Ratings
0% above category average
TriNet
8.0
776 Ratings
2% below category average
Pay calculation9.5358 Ratings8.1751 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors8.6107 Ratings8.05 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment9.1264 Ratings7.7269 Ratings
Benefit plan administration7.7166 Ratings8.1760 Ratings
Direct deposit files9.6348 Ratings8.4708 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management8.8275 Ratings8.0626 Ratings
Reimbursement management5.138 Ratings7.3389 Ratings
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
TriNet
7.2
720 Ratings
12% below category average
Employee demographic data00 Ratings7.6513 Ratings
Employment history00 Ratings7.0546 Ratings
Job profiles and administration00 Ratings7.4517 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.00 Ratings7.3608 Ratings
Organizational charting00 Ratings6.7427 Ratings
Organization and location management00 Ratings7.0455 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)00 Ratings7.6574 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
TriNet
6.8
508 Ratings
18% below category average
Approval workflow00 Ratings7.2424 Ratings
Balance details00 Ratings6.6487 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment00 Ratings6.7397 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
TriNet
7.3
758 Ratings
12% below category average
View and generate pay and benefit information00 Ratings8.3735 Ratings
Update personal information00 Ratings8.0750 Ratings
View company policy documentation00 Ratings7.2643 Ratings
Employee recognition00 Ratings5.7233 Ratings
View job history00 Ratings7.2568 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
TriNet
1.0
1 Ratings
156% below category average
Tracking of all physical assets00 Ratings1.01 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
TriNet
6.8
640 Ratings
10% below category average
Report builder00 Ratings6.7553 Ratings
Pre-built reports00 Ratings7.3607 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data00 Ratings6.5312 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
TriNet
7.1
625 Ratings
12% below category average
New hire portal00 Ratings7.2623 Ratings
Manager tracking tools00 Ratings7.0390 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
TriNet
6.5
117 Ratings
21% below category average
Corporate goal setting00 Ratings6.4103 Ratings
Individual goal setting00 Ratings6.4113 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility00 Ratings6.5101 Ratings
Performance tracking00 Ratings6.6112 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
TriNet
6.4
198 Ratings
21% below category average
Performance plans00 Ratings6.5174 Ratings
Performance improvement plans00 Ratings6.4162 Ratings
Review status tracking00 Ratings6.5161 Ratings
Review reminders00 Ratings6.7170 Ratings
Multiple review frequency00 Ratings5.88 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
TriNet
7.0
93 Ratings
11% below category average
Candidate ranking00 Ratings8.21 Ratings
Candidate search00 Ratings6.588 Ratings
Candidate development00 Ratings6.382 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
-
Ratings
TriNet
7.0
132 Ratings
10% below category average
Job Requisition Management00 Ratings6.6101 Ratings
Company Website Posting00 Ratings5.51 Ratings
Publish to Social Media00 Ratings6.785 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting00 Ratings6.9103 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention00 Ratings9.11 Ratings
Applicant Tracking00 Ratings7.0110 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts00 Ratings6.9118 Ratings
Best Alternatives
RUN Powered by ADP®TriNet
Small Businesses
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.3 out of 10
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.3 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.1 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.1 out of 10
PeopleStrong
PeopleStrong
Score 10.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
RUN Powered by ADP®TriNet
Likelihood to Recommend
9.1
(388 ratings)
7.3
(778 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.1
(35 ratings)
8.5
(52 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(24 ratings)
7.4
(674 ratings)
Availability
9.5
(12 ratings)
8.2
(19 ratings)
Performance
9.7
(12 ratings)
6.9
(19 ratings)
Support Rating
8.4
(36 ratings)
7.2
(759 ratings)
In-Person Training
7.7
(7 ratings)
9.4
(6 ratings)
Online Training
9.3
(5 ratings)
9.0
(8 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.8
(20 ratings)
8.6
(28 ratings)
Configurability
7.5
(9 ratings)
2.9
(12 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
-
(0 ratings)
3.0
(4 ratings)
Ease of integration
10.0
(4 ratings)
2.2
(8 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.5
(13 ratings)
8.8
(18 ratings)
Professional Services
-
(0 ratings)
8.9
(5 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.8
(8 ratings)
7.8
(16 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.7
(9 ratings)
7.1
(16 ratings)
User Testimonials
RUN Powered by ADP®TriNet
Likelihood to Recommend
ADP
Anyone running a service or mobile business would love the ease of clocking in and out with GPS services. Small and medium sized businesses looking to offload some of their accounting and HR functionality would all appreciate it. I helped my brother-in-laws housecleaning business get set up with RUN Powered by ADP®, as well as a friend's dry cleaning company.
Read full review
TriNet
I truly believe TriNet is the best PEO out there. Our specialist, [...], was top notch and always made me feel special. I appreciate all the features available, not just for my employees but for me, as an HR specialist. The benefits I am now able to offer is why we joined but all the features and ease of use is what will keep us clients moving forward. My only issue was feeling a bit rushed through training. I was told I would get written procedures but they were pretty antiquated.
Read full review
Pros
ADP
  • Payroll runs are consistent, timely, and error‑free, even when handling multiple pay rates, deductions, or changes. Direct deposits process smoothly and predictably.
  • RUN Powered by ADP® manages federal, state, and local tax withholding, filings, and payments without requiring manual oversight. This significantly reduces compliance risk and administrative workload.
  • Common actions—running payroll, adding new employees, updating pay rates—are straightforward and guided, which helps prevent mistakes.
Read full review
TriNet
  • Customer support is great when working with Amy Hoffman. She's always very quick to respond and helpful. I'd say she's the thing that makes me want to stay with TriNet the most.
  • The webinars are very helpful. I utilize those frequently and our CFO has signed up for some as well.
  • The expense management system has been very helpful. There are a couple issues with it, but it's leaps better than what the company was doing before this system through TriNet.
Read full review
Cons
ADP
  • I do wish there were additional custom deductions available rather than a limited amount.
  • Sometimes employees have trouble accessing their account after the initial invite has been sent.
  • Sometimes employee accounts get locked due to a reused email if their profile is deleted before they've signed up. Only a call to support can correct it.
Read full review
TriNet
  • The online interface for the annual benefits strategy is difficult to navigate and not intuitive.
  • Sometimes the payroll processing division provides explanations that are not very clear or accessible to non-HR professionals.
  • The cost of the service is at the higher end of the market offerings.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
TriNet
This is one stop shopping perse. They provide tools for Benefits and 401k. There reports are easy to read and the support given from Trinet support is awesome. Having everything in one place is best then having multiple places for things. Why change if things are working well? All the information is all there when needed.
Read full review
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!
Read full review
TriNet
The platform is highly intuitive and user-friendly, making it easy to navigate for both admins and employees when handling everyday tasks like payroll processing, benefits enrollment, and HR reporting. The flexibility in HR and payroll features does not require a need for extensive training. The mobile app stands out as amazing, with a great interface that enables quick access to employee related items
Read full review
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
Read full review
TriNet
We had an issue with application errors - took TriNet 5 months to fix it, mean while we had someone manually tracking and keeping up with many requests and questions about the application error which affected time off. When we were all registering for Benefits during open enrollment there were lots of bugs that caused issues with registering for benefits or being able to see what benefits were available
Read full review
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.
Read full review
TriNet
For the most part pages load quickly. Working for a software company we understand performance is everything, even a few seconds delay can feel like a lifetime, that being said, we ran into a few times where pages didn't load, information didn't load correctly, and an influx in users (like open enrollment) cause things to slow down
Read full review
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
Read full review
TriNet
The support overall is very good. There seems to be a good number of customer support staff and they are knowledgeable and pleasant to deal with and it almost all cases are able to resolve the question or issue very quickly. My only complaint would be having to wait in some cases as I'm based in the UK and the correct department may not be open 24 hours.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
TriNet
it's been awhile, but I recall them being helpful. I got through a lot of it and when I needed help, they can walk me through it over the phone. It's also pretty user friendly in general at a platform. I don't really know what else to type, but they came and helped me in person and also when there was something new, they came and talked to me. They have not done that since with the new model that I hate
Read full review
Online Training
ADP
very easy to learn i think it took maybe one payroll to have it down and we were up and running
Read full review
TriNet
Since this was already implemented. I have another employee briefly train me. Then Trinet rep gave me some training as needed for things that came up. For one payroll preview report I figured it could be done, but I had asked the rep to be sure. One important training was when there was an employee leaving the company.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
TriNet
not applicable as I implementation was done 5 years ago and have no recollection of the details of the process. Above it says to skip question if not involved in the process but it will not allow me to skip it as it states explanation requitred thus making this process extremely frustrating.
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
ADP
Based on our experience, RUN Powered by ADP® was selected by our small business because our owner was seeking a robust, all-in-one payroll and HR solution that scales with our growth. It allowed us to move away from manual spreadsheets and our less sophisticated payroll systems to ensure accurate tax compliance.
Read full review
TriNet
I liked Rippling's software better than TriNet. However, the pricing on employee benefits was through the roof, and they don't offer many selections/options. If it was a software only decision, I would go with Rippling (the 2.0 version of Zenefits which TriNet offers). However, the software isn't a major need, compared to smooth payroll and benefits that I get from TriNet (and great service). I'm happy at TriNet long term as long as the health insurance rates aren't exhorbinant.
Read full review
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
ADP
No answers on this topic
TriNet
I was not part of the process
Read full review
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.
Read full review
TriNet
We are a small company, do we use it across departments and sites? Yes, we are all remote working, so there are as many sites as there are people. We also have our entire staff using TriNet, so every department from Accounting, Admin, HR, Development, QA, and Management are all using this. Can't say for sure how great the scalability is as we are only about 30 employees
Read full review
Professional Services
ADP
No answers on this topic
TriNet
Not sure it was used or not as the implementation was completed before I started working for the company
Read full review
Return on Investment
ADP
  • Time savings: Automated payroll and tax filing reduced manual processing by 40%, freeing staff for growth initiatives
  • Cost efficiency: Lowered compliance errors and penalties, saving an estimated $5,000 annually
  • Scalability: Supported onboarding across multiple states, enabling expansion without adding HR headcount
  • Accuracy & trust: Improved employee satisfaction with timely pay and reliable W‑2/1099 delivery
Read full review
TriNet
  • Stay within HR Compliance - when the new laws about Salary change came into effect I received an email on impacted employees and how to address.
  • More involvement in employee benefits. With greater benefit selection more employees were able to find plans that suited their needs.
  • The TimeClock took a little time to get used to. It is still a little frustrating at times for hourly employees to be able to track how many hours they actually have for the week/pay-period. The off the clock meals count towards "hours" and employees have to subtract that out to be able to see what they need for the rest of the week.
Read full review
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