ADP Workforce Now vs. Namely

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
ADP Workforce Now
Score 8.0 out of 10
Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
ADP Workforce Now is a cloud-based HR platform for mid-sized businesses. It features customizable modules of various HR services that businesses can tailor to their specific needs, as well as regulatory monitoring and alerts to help businesses remain compliant.N/A
Namely
Score 7.3 out of 10
N/A
Namely offers a cloud-based HR platform for integrated core and specialized HR services, including time and employee performance management and onboarding processes.
$9
per month
Pricing
ADP Workforce NowNamely
Editions & Modules
Essential
Contact sales team
Enhanced
Contact sales team
Complete
Contact sales team
HR Pro
Contact sales team
Payroll Essentials
Contact sales team
HR Plus
Contact sales team
Hiring Advantage
Contact sales team
Performance Plus
Contact sales team
Namely Now
$9
per month per user
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
ADP Workforce NowNamely
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredRequired
Additional DetailsPlease contact ADP for a product demo and ask about a hands-on "test drive" of Workforce Now.Namely Now offers small-businesses an HCM including payroll and HR at a budget conscious price. For growing companies we have Namely Plus which includes payroll and HR, talent, time, and other tools to engage and enrich their employees. For companies looking to free up more time internally for strategy, Namely offers Namely Plus People, including managed Payroll and Benefits. And for the business who wants to expand while minimizing risk and liability, our white-glove comprehensive PEO solution is Namely Complete.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
ADP Workforce NowNamely
Ask people about this product

See helpful people who have experience with this product

Considered Both Products
ADP Workforce Now

No answer on this topic

Namely
Chose Namely
So much easier to use and better adapted to employees who are looking for a good UI.
Chose Namely
The reason I continued to choose Namely at multiple employers is due to the continuity of employee experience. And the features have continued to grow since I initially onboarded in 2014. Also, through the years, I have had terrific benefits teams. The customer service has been …
Chose Namely
We're currently evaluating alternatives, but there appear to be only features to gain no matter where we look.
Chose Namely
I did not select Namely. I inherited it. My predecessors chose it because they thought it "looked good" and that employees would like it. ADP and Ultipro are both better. Namely might be fine for 50-100 per some employers, but it gets painful beyond that point.
Chose Namely
I did not choose Namely, the previous head of HR selected it. I do not find Namely to be better in any area than the tools Ive used in the past. Specifically the user interface - some of my employees have limited experience with technology and this system is not intuitive.
Chose Namely
I have forever loved ADP, since they are, after all, the gold standard for payroll and HCM. Namely is now top of my list, followed by ADP. Namely's reporting is extremely helpful and easy to create, which is why for me, it's ranked above ADP. Plus, it is easy to navigate …
Chose Namely
Namely is a for sure improvement in capability, time commitment and ease of use over the systems I have used in the past. I would prefer not to share other systems I looked at while assessing Namely. The reasons for not choosing other platforms had to do with price or not …
Chose Namely
ADP is really limiting, and not appealing to look at.
Chose Namely
We now use one platform instead of a mix of old technologies
Chose Namely
Namely helped us ditch ADP Workforce and Zenefits. We were using a combination of both of them to meet the needs of time off reporting and payroll. Namely does both and so much more! It's been an awesome resource for managers and employees to have better visual on all things HR.
Chose Namely
Namely's reporting capabilities are easier to utilize. Also, compliance maintenance has been maintained since implementation.
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
ADP Workforce NowNamely
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
7.7
1022 Ratings
2% below category average
Namely
6.3
143 Ratings
22% below category average
Employee demographic data8.1903 Ratings6.6132 Ratings
Employment history8.2939 Ratings7.1138 Ratings
Job profiles and administration8.0890 Ratings7.030 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.7.5917 Ratings7.0132 Ratings
Organizational charting6.7643 Ratings4.7134 Ratings
Organization and location management7.5704 Ratings5.7129 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)7.6648 Ratings6.282 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
8.0
1034 Ratings
0% below category average
Namely
7.2
127 Ratings
11% below category average
Pay calculation8.7995 Ratings8.8111 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors7.5389 Ratings6.953 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment7.9294 Ratings7.057 Ratings
Benefit plan administration7.9798 Ratings6.9109 Ratings
Direct deposit files8.7983 Ratings8.3113 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management7.9769 Ratings5.3100 Ratings
Reimbursement management7.7468 Ratings7.057 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
7.7
844 Ratings
5% below category average
Namely
7.7
124 Ratings
5% below category average
Approval workflow8.0766 Ratings7.2121 Ratings
Balance details7.6800 Ratings7.5116 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment7.6648 Ratings8.395 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
8.0
1014 Ratings
1% below category average
Namely
7.5
141 Ratings
8% below category average
View and generate pay and benefit information8.3977 Ratings7.9129 Ratings
Update personal information8.6968 Ratings8.2140 Ratings
View company policy documentation8.2782 Ratings7.0127 Ratings
Employee recognition7.0366 Ratings7.3116 Ratings
View job history7.732 Ratings7.3134 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
6.0
12 Ratings
25% below category average
Namely
5.7
53 Ratings
30% below category average
Tracking of all physical assets6.012 Ratings5.753 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
7.1
944 Ratings
7% below category average
Namely
6.9
121 Ratings
10% below category average
Report builder7.4927 Ratings7.4117 Ratings
Pre-built reports7.6923 Ratings7.7112 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data6.4550 Ratings5.874 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
7.2
116 Ratings
11% below category average
Namely
6.5
116 Ratings
21% below category average
New hire portal7.6112 Ratings7.4110 Ratings
Manager tracking tools6.892 Ratings5.685 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
7.8
311 Ratings
4% below category average
Namely
5.0
96 Ratings
48% below category average
Corporate goal setting7.9240 Ratings6.086 Ratings
Individual goal setting7.9291 Ratings4.694 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility7.5238 Ratings4.272 Ratings
Performance tracking7.9284 Ratings5.089 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
7.3
402 Ratings
8% below category average
Namely
5.4
107 Ratings
38% below category average
Performance plans7.3361 Ratings5.296 Ratings
Performance improvement plans7.2309 Ratings3.668 Ratings
Review status tracking7.5366 Ratings6.595 Ratings
Review reminders7.3378 Ratings6.398 Ratings
Multiple review frequency7.2313 Ratings5.485 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
6.0
7 Ratings
27% below category average
Namely
5.6
21 Ratings
34% below category average
Create succession plans/pools5.86 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate ranking5.86 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate search6.37 Ratings5.621 Ratings
Candidate development6.26 Ratings00 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
ADP Workforce Now
6.8
421 Ratings
13% below category average
Namely
7.9
6 Ratings
2% above category average
Job Requisition Management7.6366 Ratings7.95 Ratings
Company Website Posting8.1358 Ratings7.55 Ratings
Publish to Social Media7.1287 Ratings7.55 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting7.3321 Ratings8.25 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention2.38 Ratings7.75 Ratings
Applicant Tracking7.1362 Ratings8.05 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts8.3383 Ratings8.26 Ratings
Best Alternatives
ADP Workforce NowNamely
Small Businesses
Patriot Software
Patriot Software
Score 9.0 out of 10
Patriot Software
Patriot Software
Score 9.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.5 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.5 out of 10
Enterprises
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.3 out of 10
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.3 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
ADP Workforce NowNamely
Likelihood to Recommend
8.3
(1089 ratings)
7.4
(145 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
7.3
(82 ratings)
9.1
(9 ratings)
Usability
6.2
(78 ratings)
7.1
(71 ratings)
Availability
7.3
(14 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Performance
6.4
(13 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
7.1
(463 ratings)
8.0
(27 ratings)
In-Person Training
8.1
(9 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
5.8
(17 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
5.8
(34 ratings)
4.9
(85 ratings)
Configurability
6.4
(10 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
6.1
(8 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
7.5
(751 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
5.2
(8 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
6.1
(8 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
ADP Workforce NowNamely
Likelihood to Recommend
ADP
If you are looking to automate processes and have the system handle administrative, boring tasks this is the system for you. They are continuing to evolve and are coming out with improvements constantly. Have a suggestion on an improvement they will listen and consider implementing.
Read full review
Namely
Namely is aesthetically very pleasing and navigates like other social media platforms which can be appealing to potentially a remote workforce who interacts more online than in person. Unfortunately, it did not serve our population well as we are primarily manufacturing where people are not as interested in utilizing the HRIS for interactions when they would rather connect in person.
Read full review
Pros
ADP
  • HRIS that is personalized for the employee and addresses DE&I needs.
  • Payroll, of course! The system addresses all needs, such as deductions, additional pay, premium OT, and shift differentials.
  • Onboarding is an excellent way to stay in compliance and have all documents completed.
  • Tax and Banking and resolution to any issues.
Read full review
Namely
  • Namely has helped with our COVID sick leave response. It has made a major difference both with the weekly payroll and the 941 tax filing
  • Keeping track of our multiple PTO plans. Thank goodness for Namely, I have shredded my old PTO spreadsheets.
  • Employees like the convenience of the cell phone app. As a payroll administrator, I like the Geo Tracking tool where I can see where some are when the clock is in or out.
  • The flexibility inside of the payroll system both as you are finalizing an employee profile and when you are processing payroll is a major advantage.
  • The reports I get out of Namely in Excel format work well for me.
Read full review
Cons
ADP
  • I would like it if better communication was sent out about new product updates. Sometimes, I go into a screen and things are different and I have to relearn it on the fly.
  • Editing the mobile app - I would like it if what is shown on the desktop version was automatically on the app. WAY more of my employees use the app, but I put the most important information on the desktop version because it is easier to update.
Read full review
Namely
  • Limits to custom reporting
  • No direct feed for Ohio Workers Comp (now a manual process on our end)
  • No option to place an employee on Leave of Absence and exclude them from payroll while they are "inactive"
  • No option to suppress certain deductions for certain pay types (i.e. allow 401K for commissions but block remaining deductions - also now a manual process to uncheck the suppress box for 401K for each commission check)
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
ADP
Due to the lack of support from the sales and service center we are looking at other options outside of ADP. Again it is a good system, it just lacks the support it deserves from the company employees. It is just unimaginable that you will need to reach out to a service provider several times for the same issue and not get it resolved.
Read full review
Namely
Administrators and employees love Namely. It is very easy to use and streamlined. Employees stay engaged with news feed updates and enjoy all the self service options. The time cards are very easy to access and clocking in and out for non-exempt employees is a breeze. Namely is part of our family.
Read full review
Usability
ADP
I would give it a 10 however I do not like when ADP does facelifts in Workforce Now which does not add any value other than having to relearn navigation. I am also not a big fan of being forced to refer to the Bridge. We have Google which gives the same results. If I understood the answer I would not contact our Account Rep.
Read full review
Namely
It is very simple to use for myself, the HR team, and our employees. I find the payroll process very user-friendly. Reporting is simple to navigate and produce the required information requested. I know our employees enjoy the self-service feature and use it on a regular basis, which saves me time.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
ADP
ADP outages are very rare
Read full review
Namely
No answers on this topic
Performance
ADP
Overall, I think the functionality of the program works pretty well. Sometimes, certain browsers do not work well for the policy function of ADP, but that is the only issue thus far
Read full review
Namely
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
ADP
I have contacted support multiple times and have always been happy with the results. ADP's support staff is always helpful and makes easy work of solving problems. I love my Payroll Account Manager, as well as my Enhanced Time Account Manager.
Read full review
Namely
Unfortunately, in more recent years we've had a lot of difficulty with Namely as they've undergone a lot of internal changes. It took 4 returned emails saying the person no longer worked at Namely to find someone to help me (I finally called payroll) and it took a while to get connected with a direct source of help. Namely now has set up their "pod" feature of communication which works well for the most part, but is different. I felt spoiled when we first started with Namely, but now it feels very much like working with most large companies' help centers. There is a system to go through and you do have the option to click "urgent". In general the help is efficient, but it still takes a few days and it's hard to speak with someone directly. It is all done via online communications and is difficult to actually speak to someone on the phone. This works well for most cases, but I do feel frustrated more often than I'd like to with this type of communication. (2019/2020)
Read full review
In-Person Training
ADP
In-person training was pretty good - I think this significantly depends on the trainer. Our trainer was really good and showed what ADP can do - but I know that all trainers are not the same - and this truly makes such as difference. Overall, our training went pretty well.
Read full review
Namely
No answers on this topic
Online Training
ADP
At the time training was not as expansive as it is now. If it could go wrong it did for me so the process was difficult and lengthy. I needed to have more in person walkthroughs of things to ensure the transition was done correctly. Not sure what else I can say, we were part of the initial move to Workforce Now when it was introduced.
Read full review
Namely
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
ADP
Either assign more than one specialist to the implementation process, or assign less clients to the implementation specialist. The process requires attention to detail and the ability to test and re-test as well as verify the information. It also requires a lot of back and forth between the client ant the implementation specialist, so they need to be readily available during the whole implementation process.
Read full review
Namely
Implementation was a bit complicated and our company had to carry most of the weight. It often felt like our implementation manager was giving us extra work that she did not want to do herself. It also took much longer than expected - I believe almost 2 months. I believe our company carried a bit too much of the weight.
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
ADP
Although this SAS takes longer to perform the everyday functions related to payroll and HR data input, the difference in this software and our previous software is like night and day. We were on a very old server platform and had too many issues with continuous need for backup.
Read full review
Namely
Namely has a robust suite of offerings, and fallows for a la carte selection of add-ons (rather than a single bundled option). This has allowed our company to save money by not purchasing options / functionalities that we dont need, but may drive up the cost for other companies who need more a la carte selections. In all, the size of the company, the size & capabilities of the internal HR team, and considerations like managed payroll and benefits should be key drivers in selection.
Read full review
Scalability
ADP
It handles very well with very sensitive data of a company especially of employees. Even provides HR services regarding recruitment services like recruitment, providing notification, even handles increment cycle of employee, any awards achieved by employees. All of this services are handled by them in very efficient way.
Read full review
Namely
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
ADP
  • ADP WorkforceNow has provided a positive ROI for our company. It has saved me countless hours in the time I used to spend preparing reports, managing benefits, and annual enrollment, recruitment tracking, and much more.
  • The integration with Payscale has allowed our company to take every position in our organization and benchmark it to industries and job titles. This has allowed us to be more competitive on recruitment and retention.
  • We have used the new DE&I dashboard to provide valuable information on the landscape of our workforce, as well as areas of our organization that may not be as diverse.
Read full review
Namely
  • When we were over 100, it provided a huge benefit to us due to the accuracy of payroll, benefits integration and management, and org chart and performance tracking. Having all of that in one place was a huge improvement from the former disjointed user experience.
  • When we dropped below 100 due to covid, our insurance rates went up 93% to offer comparable plans, and we had to move over to a PEO for benefits which meant we also had to move payroll. It was hugely disruptive, and now our employees have a bad experience when trying to manage their HR lives in multiple places. It is confusing and, again, disjointed.
Read full review
ScreenShots

ADP Workforce Now Screenshots

Screenshot of ADP Workforce Now: a simple and complete human capital management solutionScreenshot of Benchmarking by ADP DataCloud: an application with an extensive data set ... available to ADP Workforce Now clientsScreenshot of ADP Workforce Now clients can equip their employees with the ADP Mobile self-service app

Namely Screenshots

Screenshot of Namely News Feed: The home base to make announcements, express appreciation, and to celebrate important milestones.Screenshot of HR Analytics: data to drive confidence in an active people strategy and to encourage pride in provable resultsScreenshot of Talent & Performance Management: connects, engages, and develops the workforce in a platform designed so that employees actually want to use itScreenshot of Benefits Administration: modern, integrated benefits technology makes it easy for employees to enroll and easier to manageScreenshot of Payroll Administration: integrated with HR data and coupled with full payroll tax servicesScreenshot of Namely Mobile App: request time off and access paystubs and benefits information from anywhere