Ascent Payroll vs. Cornerstone Galaxy vs. Paycor

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Ascent Payroll
Score 3.0 out of 10
N/A
N/AN/A
Cornerstone Galaxy
Score 7.9 out of 10
N/A
Cornerstone Galaxy is a cloud-based application for talent management. Cornerstone offers suites for recruiting, training, performance monitoring and planning, learning, and HR data management. It is scaled for enterprises.N/A
Paycor
Score 7.5 out of 10
N/A
Paycor provides core HR functions scaled towards small and mid-sized businesses. Paycor offers an integrated benefits platform for interfacing directly with insurance carriers and an adaptable time management platform.N/A
Pricing
Ascent PayrollCornerstone GalaxyPaycor
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Ascent PayrollCornerstone GalaxyPaycor
Free Trial
NoNoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYesYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeRequiredOptional
Additional DetailsPaycor's pricing for small, mid, and enterprise companies varies based on product bundle and company size. Because Paycor HR software is built to help businesses scale and grow, plans are based on the mix of HR products needed, and company size. Payroll is at the core of Paycor's offering, and their products are sold as a part of their payroll and HR platform.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Ascent PayrollCornerstone GalaxyPaycor
Features
Ascent PayrollCornerstone GalaxyPaycor
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
Ascent Payroll
-
Ratings
Cornerstone Galaxy
7.7
131 Ratings
5% above category average
Paycor
-
Ratings
New hire portal00 Ratings7.968 Ratings00 Ratings
Manager tracking tools00 Ratings7.8113 Ratings00 Ratings
Compliance tracking and reporting00 Ratings7.4124 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
Ascent Payroll
-
Ratings
Cornerstone Galaxy
7.9
113 Ratings
8% above category average
Paycor
-
Ratings
Corporate goal setting00 Ratings7.794 Ratings00 Ratings
Subordinate goal setting00 Ratings8.097 Ratings00 Ratings
Individual goal setting00 Ratings8.4105 Ratings00 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility00 Ratings7.893 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance tracking00 Ratings7.7108 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
Ascent Payroll
-
Ratings
Cornerstone Galaxy
7.4
118 Ratings
9% above category average
Paycor
-
Ratings
Performance plans00 Ratings7.692 Ratings00 Ratings
Plan weighting00 Ratings7.279 Ratings00 Ratings
Manager note taking00 Ratings7.468 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance improvement plans00 Ratings7.380 Ratings00 Ratings
Review status tracking00 Ratings8.095 Ratings00 Ratings
Rater nomination workflow00 Ratings7.463 Ratings00 Ratings
Review reminders00 Ratings7.892 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow restrictions00 Ratings7.084 Ratings00 Ratings
Multiple review frequency00 Ratings6.881 Ratings00 Ratings
Reporting00 Ratings7.3112 Ratings00 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
Ascent Payroll
-
Ratings
Cornerstone Galaxy
7.9
57 Ratings
14% above category average
Paycor
-
Ratings
Create succession plans/pools00 Ratings7.148 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate ranking00 Ratings8.048 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate search00 Ratings7.951 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate development00 Ratings8.548 Ratings00 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
Ascent Payroll
-
Ratings
Cornerstone Galaxy
7.3
65 Ratings
1% above category average
Paycor
-
Ratings
Job Requisition Management00 Ratings7.844 Ratings00 Ratings
Company Website Posting00 Ratings7.940 Ratings00 Ratings
Publish to Social Media00 Ratings6.537 Ratings00 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting00 Ratings6.437 Ratings00 Ratings
Customized Application Form00 Ratings7.839 Ratings00 Ratings
Resume Management00 Ratings6.542 Ratings00 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention00 Ratings6.839 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate Search00 Ratings6.540 Ratings00 Ratings
Applicant Tracking00 Ratings7.640 Ratings00 Ratings
Collaboration00 Ratings7.835 Ratings00 Ratings
Task Creation and Delegation00 Ratings7.337 Ratings00 Ratings
Email Templates00 Ratings7.558 Ratings00 Ratings
User Permissions00 Ratings7.859 Ratings00 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts00 Ratings7.454 Ratings00 Ratings
Reporting00 Ratings7.662 Ratings00 Ratings
Learning Management
Comparison of Learning Management features of Product A and Product B
Ascent Payroll
-
Ratings
Cornerstone Galaxy
7.3
186 Ratings
4% above category average
Paycor
-
Ratings
Course authoring00 Ratings4.8137 Ratings00 Ratings
Course catalog or library00 Ratings8.2184 Ratings00 Ratings
Player/Portal00 Ratings8.0171 Ratings00 Ratings
Learning content00 Ratings8.2146 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile friendly00 Ratings8.7134 Ratings00 Ratings
Progress tracking & certifications00 Ratings7.8167 Ratings00 Ratings
Assignments00 Ratings8.0180 Ratings00 Ratings
Compliance management00 Ratings7.1161 Ratings00 Ratings
Learning administration00 Ratings6.4183 Ratings00 Ratings
Learning reporting & analytics00 Ratings6.2182 Ratings00 Ratings
Social learning00 Ratings7.0115 Ratings00 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Ascent Payroll
-
Ratings
Cornerstone Galaxy
-
Ratings
Paycor
8.1
396 Ratings
2% below category average
Pay calculation00 Ratings00 Ratings8.4384 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors00 Ratings00 Ratings8.25 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment00 Ratings00 Ratings8.1180 Ratings
Benefit plan administration00 Ratings00 Ratings7.6272 Ratings
Direct deposit files00 Ratings00 Ratings8.8379 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management00 Ratings00 Ratings7.9316 Ratings
Reimbursement management00 Ratings00 Ratings7.6102 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Ascent PayrollCornerstone GalaxyPaycor
Small Businesses
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.4 out of 10
Paycor
Paycor
Score 7.5 out of 10
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.4 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.7 out of 10
Engagedly
Engagedly
Score 8.6 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.7 out of 10
Enterprises
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.1 out of 10
PeopleStrong
PeopleStrong
Score 9.9 out of 10
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Ascent PayrollCornerstone GalaxyPaycor
Likelihood to Recommend
-
(0 ratings)
9.8
(257 ratings)
7.3
(420 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
9.9
(37 ratings)
7.9
(21 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
9.9
(38 ratings)
7.8
(389 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(5 ratings)
10.0
(3 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(5 ratings)
10.0
(3 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
6.6
(36 ratings)
4.4
(58 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
8.6
(4 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(10 ratings)
9.0
(3 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(10 ratings)
8.0
(19 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
7.1
(114 ratings)
10.0
(4 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
8.5
(3 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
9.5
(4 ratings)
10.0
(3 ratings)
Professional Services
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
7.0
(3 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(3 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
User Testimonials
Ascent PayrollCornerstone GalaxyPaycor
Likelihood to Recommend
Eilisys Technologies
No answers on this topic
Cornerstone OnDemand
I feel Cornerstone OnDemand is a great solution for companies that have a large amount of compliance training that needs to be assigned and closely tracked. The features of dynamic groups (based on specific user criteria) allows you to target very specific audiences. The assignment functionality gives you great flexibility on when the assignment runs and how often, and also provides many options for due dates (static date or dynamic date - x days from hire date, date assigned, etc.). This has allowed us to have a clear and consistent user experience for both our newly hired employees and our seasoned employees.
Read full review
Paycor Inc
Paycor is well suited for an organization with a strong implementation team or who has the budget to hire a consultant to implement Paycor. Once the system is implemented, Paycor is great. If you are a smaller organization, we suggest starting with just 1-2 modules and working your way up from there as setting up everything takes time and resources
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Pros
Eilisys Technologies
No answers on this topic
Cornerstone OnDemand
  • Automatic recurring assignments are easy to get that refresher training out without needing to assign it fresh each time.
  • Reporting 2.0 makes it easy to write and share your reports with just selected filters. Making it easy for people receiving it to just change what they need to see.
  • Learning Admin Console makes it easy to peek at what is going on in your portal and open up connected reporting when needed.
  • Success Center is a great resource for getting peer answers to questions and learning about the releases and suggesting changes that should be added to the roadmap.
Read full review
Paycor Inc
  • Open enrollment-their software is user friendly and has good features for end users and administrators
  • Onboarding-entering new hires is easy
  • Mass Template Upload-you can easily upload mass changes, the system is easy to use.
  • Reporting-their reporting tool is improving and AI is incorporated into it.
Read full review
Cons
Eilisys Technologies
No answers on this topic
Cornerstone OnDemand
  • Sometimes finding the right answer to your support question can be a bit more difficult than it should be.
  • I would like to see more OSHA related courses.
  • At times, the administrative interface seems to need to be updated, but the tradeoff honestly might be the absolute rock-solid stability of the platform.
Read full review
Paycor Inc
  • The reporting capabilities of Paycor Recruiting are lacking. While there are some great features I would like to see more options for customization. The options to build my own report from SCRATCH with whatever fields I want/need would be a huge improvement. At this time, I have to finagle the reports to try and get what I need and often times I have to pull multiple reports and then do extra work outside of the system to end up with metrics close to what I’m looking for in the data.
  • The candidates search feature could use some improvement. In theory, the tagging system is a great idea but it leaves room for inconsistency and trying to search for a previous candidate who interviewed well isn’t always easy. This makes it harder to re-engage with people who could be a strong match for a new job opening.
  • Although the platform is very user friendly as far as ease of use and intuitiveness it can be VERY slow at times. There are days where the system moves at a snails pace and when there are multiple clicks to have to get to a specific spot in the system this can be very frustrating. This is especially try for navigating through job postings and candidate details.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Eilisys Technologies
No answers on this topic
Cornerstone OnDemand
As long as pricing stays reasonable, we will likely stay with Cornerstone for at least one more contract renewal. It would be a large task to migrate all of our content to a new system. However, the LMS landscape is diversifying with new startups that are showing some real innovation.
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Paycor Inc
Price point is the biggest driving factor. Paycor has made some strides in the customer service area and we've seen enough improvements that renewing our contract has become more a reality than a pipe dream. The system functions well and our employees are familiar with how it works, so to make a change would be a huge lift for our team
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Usability
Eilisys Technologies
No answers on this topic
Cornerstone OnDemand
Easy to use, easy to learn, lots of support during the learning process. There are a few parts of the system we don't use and I'm hesitant to begin using because other clients have said they're difficult and cumbersome (certifications) or outdated (libraries)
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Paycor Inc
Glitches. So many glitches. The customer service number provides basic troubleshooting, which doesn’t help; some issues take weeks to resolve, with no apparent reason why they occur. The system does not work on Safari. We have dealt with Payroll not working, which has caused a manual payroll to be run. Paycor representatives do not provide any assistance.
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Reliability and Availability
Eilisys Technologies
No answers on this topic
Cornerstone OnDemand
I haven't really had any major availability problems. The service is practically impeccable but it is true that at times, due to server and latency problems, the application has been slower. But these have been specific issues that have resolved themselves.
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Paycor Inc
I feel like Paycor is always up and running! If they are planning downtime, they communicate it clearly. Every once in a while, I get something that says the system isn't working but it is usually back up within the hour. I typically find by the time that the employees complain about it, that it is resolved within the system.
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Performance
Eilisys Technologies
No answers on this topic
Cornerstone OnDemand
Pages do not load quickly. Often times any action or selection of a box, drop down, check, pretty much ANY Javascript interaction causes the whole entire page to load/reload/start doing something in the background. This makes a nightmare for having to mass edit courses or upload ILT sessions. It's the one of the archaic web designs they use that really bugs me as an admin and makes working in the portal at times intolerable and insufferable
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Paycor Inc
For the most part, everything moves super fast. There are a few sections (Expense Management) that sometimes take a bit to load correctly. Or if they are interesting, it takes a minute to talk to each other! But reports are quickly downloaded and available! Even data heavy reports run fairly fast!
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Support Rating
Eilisys Technologies
No answers on this topic
Cornerstone OnDemand
Its always important to have support when you are facing problems and when you are the main admin of the organization. Cornerstone Support is very supporting when you have not found the answer in the help guide. its very useful to have a team support to guide you.
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Paycor Inc
I feel like support will transfer you back and forth between departments and put you on hold forever. I believe it is very difficult to see the status of an open ticket. During my experience, it feels like the client has to push all communication and request updates from support regularly.
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In-Person Training
Eilisys Technologies
No answers on this topic
Cornerstone OnDemand
we use also to admin all our training in person events and sessions. Its easy to admin this kind of trainings and automatize some processes we have. Also de user experience and the integration with other systems helps to the employees to use more. All modules integrated oriented to develop people is the principal reason to have CSOD. The training administration is very complete and allows to automate many processes.
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Paycor Inc
No answers on this topic
Online Training
Eilisys Technologies
No answers on this topic
Cornerstone OnDemand
The online modules are pretty good. You can access them at any time, which we have done. You learn a lot in the beginning, but having the ability to retake short lessons when you are working on those items was very helpful.
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Paycor Inc
The online trainings are super helpful. They have user guides that you can read through, interactive training that will walk you through it as well as plain web based ones. I've actually never had an in-person training but all of the information you need can be found online. They also will do individual support training if you are struggling with a certain area.
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Implementation Rating
Eilisys Technologies
No answers on this topic
Cornerstone OnDemand
The implementation was pretty difficult. We felt they (Cornerstone) didn’t properly allocate the resources to complete our implementation in the timetable we wanted.

For example, we worked on Workday and SSO integrations - work that we had specifically contracted for in advance. When we were ready to work on that project, they didn’t have the people ready to help us, so it took a lot longer than necessary. That was my biggest pain point.

The implementation approach we went with was a self-led implementation. We would speak to the implementation manager once per week, and self-trained. We met with implementation manager to discuss issues, review things that we’d learned for 1 hour. We found that wasn’t enough. Other things would come up outside that one hour window that we couldn’t get answers to. We didn’t have anyone to ask about those things and we had to wait to ask during our weekly meeting.

The advantage of the self-led implementation approach was that it was really inexpensive – significantly less than the implementation cost for the other systems that we looked at. I also liked that we could pace ourselves. There were however big roadblocks. We would have to make sure the right resources were available. We had an implementation/project manager with a lot of experience and felt that the person was knowledgeable but missed on a few things.

In hindsight, I would still go with the self-led implementation, but knowing what I know now, I would ask for the integration person to be available more. I would work that into the contract. With single sign-on, we needed deep linking to build direct links through a Single Sign-On tool, e.g. when someone gets an email, it directs them to training. But it has to go through SSO to get them to the correct link. Deep linking wasn’t turned on in our system and they had to activate it. We encountered little things like that – sequencing pre-requisites which were problematic. We tried to troubleshoot ourselves.

I recommend you consider contracting for some extra implementation hours and determine when they are going to be available. Work it into the contract that you have the ability to call tech support during implementation. In addition to weekly implementation meetings, they have technical webexes – 4 every week, but 2 didn’t apply to us – one as we were using SSO. The challenge is they were not always relevant – we had specific questions that didn’t fall into those categories
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Paycor Inc
Implementation of any new software is going to be challenging, especially if you are maintaining an existing program concurrently. When it is time for dual-processing (both old and new software) prior to going live, be prepared to be stressed. But trust the process and it will be over soon.
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Alternatives Considered
Eilisys Technologies
No answers on this topic
Cornerstone OnDemand
The user experience is a lot better than using SumTotal as an admin CSOD makes working easy. Without having workarounds. Reporting is a lot better than both platforms. Reporting in CSOD is complex however easy to manage and create when you understand the data points collected
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Paycor Inc
They seemed similar but Paycor was cheaper at the time. However, Paycor has so many fees they tack onto every invoice that may not be the case anymore. The support services supposedly were better at ADP but that was an unknown
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Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Eilisys Technologies
No answers on this topic
Cornerstone OnDemand
It is important to be familiar with the terms and annual increases in licenses and other aspects of the contract. I recommend analyzing this from the beginning and the permanence is relevant because Cornerstone updates its modules and brings out new features that may allow you to leave a module to acquire another
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Paycor Inc
No answers on this topic
Scalability
Eilisys Technologies
No answers on this topic
Cornerstone OnDemand
It's a great product with some pieces that are set but many things that can be customized as needed for individual needs
Read full review
Paycor Inc
I gave it a 10 because we only use it across one organization. However, it has allowed us to break it into multiple departments and layers of management. It is also easy for us to utilize across different locations but still under one master company. They have always provided us support when we decide to change something on an organizational level
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Professional Services
Eilisys Technologies
No answers on this topic
Cornerstone OnDemand
As I have said before, I have no doubt that the services of the Cornerstone sales people were very good. In particular, our salesperson spent a lot of time in contact with us to make the process go smoothly. Perhaps being a large company in some cases the times were slowed down but it is something normal to take into account.
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Paycor Inc
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Eilisys Technologies
No answers on this topic
Cornerstone OnDemand
  • We are in the process of trying to increase employee engagement through content expansion. We are in the early stages of this.
  • The Edge Import Tool, in conjunction with Reporting 2.0, has done a great job of helping to automate/semi-automate tasks for huge time savings.
  • Maintaining compliance. Achieved through dynamic/automated groups, assignments, communication, and reporting.
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Paycor Inc
  • We can process Payroll in a 25% of the time that we previously could.
  • Scheduling takes 2 or 3 times as much effort as it did before.
  • Onboarding allows employees to do self-service but comes with a lot of questions from team members so it is net the same amount of time at the end of the day.
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ScreenShots

Cornerstone Galaxy Screenshots

Screenshot of A personalized, modern user experience and self-service capabilities to engage employees, ensure productivity, and centralize employee dataScreenshot of With Cornerstone Learning, go beyond compliance and training - truly develop an engaged and collaborative workforce.Screenshot of Cornerstone Recruiting takes care of all talent acquisition needs and provides candidates with an amazing experience.Screenshot of With Cornerstone Performance, benchmark your people's performance, align them with your strategy, and provide feedback that matters.Screenshot of Cornerstone HR offers a personalized, modern user experience and self-service capabilities to engage employees, ensure productivity, and centralize employee data.Screenshot of With Content Anytime, quickly deliver hundreds of eLearning courses covering key soft-skills such as communication, time management, leadership, teamwork, and emotional intelligence.

Paycor Screenshots

Screenshot of the real-time data insights that support critical business decisions.Screenshot of Paycor's expense reportingScreenshot of the recruiting processes streamlined in PaycorScreenshot of workforce scheduling in PaycorScreenshot of Paycor's mobile app, that allows employees to punch in and out from their phonesScreenshot of the Paycor Home Screen