Human Interest vs. Paychex

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Human Interest
Score 8.8 out of 10
N/A
Human Interest headquartered in San Francisco offers their cloud-based 401k administation platform for employers featuring flexible plan design and a dedicated account manager.
$80
per month
Paychex
Score 6.9 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.N/A
Pricing
Human InterestPaychex
Editions & Modules
Essentials
$80 + $5 per eligible employee
per month
Complete
$180 + $7 per eligible employee
per month
Concierge
$280 + $9 per eligible employee
per month
Paychex Flex Pro
Custom Pricing
per month/+$4 per employee
HR Pro
Custom Pricing
HR PEO
Custom Pricing
Paychex Flex Select
Custom Pricing
Paychex Flex Enterprise
Custom Pricing
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Human InterestPaychex
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup Fee$499 one-time feeRequired
Additional DetailsEmployees pay a recordkeeping services and custody-related asset-based fee of 0.05% to Human Interest Inc., an investment advisory fee of 0.01% to Human Interest Advisors, plus underlying fund fees. Asset-based fees are deducted monthly from the employee’s account according to the HII Terms of Service and HIA Terms of Service. All prices are exclusive of applicable taxes. If the plan sponsor elects to hire an external investment advisor, the plan sponsors will pay such advisor as agreed between the plan sponsor and advisor. All prices are exclusive of applicable taxes and are subject to a $499 startup fee. See Terms of Service for additional details. Refer to humaninterest.com/payrolls for a list of integrated payroll providers. For non-rollover distributions, shipping and handling fees may apply to requests for check issuance and delivery.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Human InterestPaychex
Considered Both Products
Human Interest
Chose Human Interest
It's not even close. Paychex Flex is expensive, confusing, and the customer service is abominable. Human Interest is better across every front, at least so far.
Chose Human Interest
Paychex Flex was a terrible experience from start to finish. Bad communication, no follow-through, incorrect setups, etc... HI has been the opposite of all those things so far.
Chose Human Interest
Human Interest integrates with our payroll provider, and makes it so easy for team members to sign up when they are eligible.
Chose Human Interest
Well, we picked Human Interest to go with and it's been suiting us well for the most part except for the reporting.
Chose Human Interest
Human Interest is priced lower or competitively against the other companies. Human Interest requires much less work on my end than the other services demand.
Chose Human Interest
We selected HI because they claimed to solve all the issues we were having with our previous provider, that turns out to not be the case though.
Chose Human Interest
Very similar product and quality
Chose Human Interest
In my other profession, CPA, I have worked with and been involved with numerous other 401K Plan providers. Paychex, Ascensus, Modern Woodman, etc. Some have been very time consuming from implementation to ongoing contributions. Human Interest is a quality organization and has a …
Chose Human Interest
I moved my payroll from Paychex and needed to also move my company's 401k. Human Interest offers much better communication and customer support. I appreciate the consistency of having an account representative long term, and not a revolving door of contacts.
Chose Human Interest
We were switching payroll and 401(k) at the same time. We evaluated both ADP and Paychex for both solutions and, in the end, opted for a different payroll provider and the 401(k) only made sense if payroll was through the same provider. Vanguard has a nice platform, and it was …
Chose Human Interest
My experience with Paychex was not great. They did not communicate with me at all and during the transition charged me astronomically for services I was trying to transfer without much explanation. Human Interest completed the paperwork for Paychex and did it with a smile and …
Paychex

No answer on this topic

Features
Human InterestPaychex
401(k)
Comparison of 401(k) features of Product A and Product B
Human Interest
9.0
107 Ratings
16% above category average
Paychex
-
Ratings
Payroll Integration9.095 Ratings00 Ratings
Compliance Maintenance9.0102 Ratings00 Ratings
Plan Flexibility8.999 Ratings00 Ratings
Filings and Disclosures8.999 Ratings00 Ratings
Ease of Enrollment9.3104 Ratings00 Ratings
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
Human Interest
-
Ratings
Paychex
6.7
272 Ratings
19% below category average
Employee demographic data00 Ratings7.8219 Ratings
Employment history00 Ratings8.1242 Ratings
Job profiles and administration00 Ratings7.8177 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.00 Ratings7.8172 Ratings
Organizational charting00 Ratings1.01 Ratings
Organization and location management00 Ratings7.5158 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)00 Ratings6.8146 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Human Interest
-
Ratings
Paychex
7.7
313 Ratings
5% below category average
Pay calculation00 Ratings8.0295 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment00 Ratings7.2153 Ratings
Benefit plan administration00 Ratings6.9174 Ratings
Direct deposit files00 Ratings8.4294 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management00 Ratings8.0209 Ratings
Reimbursement management00 Ratings7.7118 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
Human Interest
-
Ratings
Paychex
7.3
159 Ratings
11% below category average
Approval workflow00 Ratings7.3113 Ratings
Balance details00 Ratings7.5151 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment00 Ratings7.0119 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
Human Interest
-
Ratings
Paychex
7.8
270 Ratings
5% below category average
View and generate pay and benefit information00 Ratings7.8248 Ratings
Update personal information00 Ratings7.9260 Ratings
View company policy documentation00 Ratings7.7121 Ratings
View job history00 Ratings7.9184 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
Human Interest
-
Ratings
Paychex
5.0
43 Ratings
47% below category average
Tracking of all physical assets00 Ratings5.043 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Human Interest
-
Ratings
Paychex
5.9
177 Ratings
25% below category average
Report builder00 Ratings6.3147 Ratings
Pre-built reports00 Ratings6.3165 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data00 Ratings5.191 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
Human Interest
-
Ratings
Paychex
6.4
173 Ratings
22% below category average
New hire portal00 Ratings6.7165 Ratings
Manager tracking tools00 Ratings6.1108 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
Human Interest
-
Ratings
Paychex
5.2
70 Ratings
40% below category average
Job Requisition Management00 Ratings5.536 Ratings
Company Website Posting00 Ratings5.334 Ratings
Publish to Social Media00 Ratings4.828 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting00 Ratings5.235 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention00 Ratings4.834 Ratings
Applicant Tracking00 Ratings4.839 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts00 Ratings5.964 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Human InterestPaychex
Small Businesses
OnPay
OnPay
Score 9.9 out of 10
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.3 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies

No answers on this topic

Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises

No answers on this topic

PeopleStrong
PeopleStrong
Score 10.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Human InterestPaychex
Likelihood to Recommend
8.8
(202 ratings)
6.4
(323 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(10 ratings)
1.2
(44 ratings)
Usability
9.2
(196 ratings)
6.7
(264 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(3 ratings)
5.6
(12 ratings)
Performance
10.0
(3 ratings)
7.1
(12 ratings)
Support Rating
8.1
(35 ratings)
6.2
(265 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
4.5
(1 ratings)
Online Training
10.0
(1 ratings)
8.3
(4 ratings)
Implementation Rating
10.0
(5 ratings)
5.4
(13 ratings)
Configurability
10.0
(1 ratings)
5.0
(9 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
10.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
10.0
(2 ratings)
9.1
(3 ratings)
Product Scalability
10.0
(3 ratings)
6.1
(12 ratings)
Professional Services
10.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
10.0
(3 ratings)
2.3
(33 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
10.0
(3 ratings)
3.2
(34 ratings)
User Testimonials
Human InterestPaychex
Likelihood to Recommend
Human Interest
Actually you guys serve a lot of variety of clients that we have. So everything from simple clients on your 316 and then you got your 338 platforms to some more of the complex clients that want to carve out their own funds. You guys integrate well with financial advisors if they wish to use that, but a lot of times it's, those aren't necessary if clients want to save money.
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
Paychex is great option for smaller employers as the site offers perk benefits to employees at no cost to the employer. I don't see anything like this being offered at competitors such as ADP RUN/Total Source, Bamboo, Trinet, Justworks or Gusto. Also, the initial set up is relatively easy and the dedicated support for set up is great along with our regular dedicated payroll support.
Read full review
Pros
Human Interest
  • So as a user of it, since I was being paid by these companies, being able to manage my level of risk, being able to manage how much I was putting in from a percentage standpoint was always super easy. Even in a situation where my last company was acquired, we had to go through transferring over to different solutions was super useful. The team was always very open, honest about, Hey, what can we do? How can we work with them? And accommodating in that way. I think as a provider it was so easy to get team members set up. I never had any complaints. I never had anybody worry. I never had somebody come to me and go like, I don't understand Human Interest.
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.
Read full review
Cons
Human Interest
  • The only thing I can think of right off hand is that there's a day delay when we look at our total. So for instance, we heard the other day that there was a rally in the markets on Friday and that everybody had supposedly recouped all of their losses from March. We actually had to wait the whole weekend until Monday to log in to actually see what those were. And I know real time is really, really hard, but anytime we could get something faster, that would probably be my only.
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
  • I understand logging you out is a security function, but I'd prefer it not to log you out so soon.
  • The training we received for the team's meeting was subpar, in my opinion. Probably better geared for people with little to no computer experience. Very slow pace; we could have easily received all of this from some tutorials in a few minutes.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Human Interest
We will drop Human Interest as soon as they rectify their error in withdrawing $3600 in additional fees earlier this year
Read full review
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
Read full review
Usability
Human Interest
It's really easy to get, well, first of all, they get enrolled automatically so they get added to the platform automatically. They get removed from the platform automatically and everything is really easy to understand for someone who doesn't have a lot of experience. And that's actually a lot of our employees have never had a retirement benefit before. They don't know anything about it. They really don't understand how it works. There's also a little bit of a fear factor with deducting money from their paycheck to be able to contribute to this. And so how easy it is for them to get it set up and then the information that Human Interest gives them about what the benefit is, how it works, all that, it's great
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
Employee usability is very good and user-friendly. For the most part, the employer usability is good, but for complicated rules and policies, it requires technical assistance, which in our case, was clunky and slow in implementation. Once is place, everything works as it should
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Human Interest
no issues so far
Read full review
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.
Read full review
Performance
Human Interest
Easy to navigate
Read full review
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.
Read full review
Support Rating
Human Interest
So we had a designated rep and he was fantastic. I don't remember his name at the moment, but he was almost immediately responsive. And you guys also partnered with us for client knowledge webinars and he was great. Great at that too.
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
Chat has been helpful but the person I chat with isn't always able to help me with my questions. Phone support is ok, depending on your payroll specialist. We have a great one currently, but the few before that were never available and did not return calls.
Read full review
In-Person Training
Human Interest
No answers on this topic
Paychex Inc.
We did online training only
Read full review
Online Training
Human Interest
super easy to get going
Read full review
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.
Read full review
Implementation Rating
Human Interest
A key insight from our implementation of Human Interest is that early coordination across finance, HR, and leadership is critical. The platform itself is straightforward, but ensuring payroll integration, compliance documentation, and employee education are aligned from the start makes the rollout smoother and increases adoption. Another insight is that employees respond best when given clear, simple communication about how to enroll and the benefits of participation—this minimizes confusion and builds trust in the program. Finally, dedicating time up front to review compliance and reporting features helps avoid issues later and gives leadership confidence in the plan’s long-term stability.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
Human Interest
Insperity was horrible. Expensive, hidden fees at every corner, not communicative. They messed up my plan and didn't include the requested Safe Harbor provision and I had to pay the piper for their mistake. Nothing Insperity did was customer first, fiduciary, or even compliant. I have had the exact opposite experience with Human Interest and they cleaned up Insperity's mess without any complaints and dealt with Insperity dragging their feet on the conversion over a $1k offboarding fee I refused to pay after they screwed up my plan
Read full review
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.
Read full review
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Human Interest
it was all great
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
No answers on this topic
Scalability
Human Interest
we are only using it for one employee but when we hire more, it will be easy to expand already setup
Read full review
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
Read full review
Professional Services
Human Interest
Very professional
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Human Interest
  • It's been super positive because everyone wants payroll to be streamlined and not have to go into different systems. And I solved at Coastal, our platform is fully integrated with Human Interest and there's no fee to the customer for that. So that's definitely the best.
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
  • With Paychex Flex we have been able to improve our compliance with required documentation for new/rehires
  • Moving everyone to direct deposit and mobile clock in/out eliminated lines at punching stations and paycheck pickup stations
  • Lost checks is a thing of the past
Read full review
ScreenShots

Human Interest Screenshots

Screenshot of the Admin Portal - A summary page offers a snapshot of the plan.Screenshot of the Admin Portal - Employee List: See employees at a glance and information such as contribution rate, participation, balance, risk setting, etc.Screenshot of the Employee Dashboard - History View: Employees have the ability to view their YTD contribution amount and account related activity on this page.Screenshot of the Employee Dashboard - History View: Employees have the ability to view their YTD contribution amount and account related activity on this page.

Paychex Screenshots

Screenshot of Paychex Payroll DashboardScreenshot of Employee Background ChecksScreenshot of Paychex HR DashboardScreenshot of Paychex Flex Perks