Namely vs. Paychex

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Namely
Score 7.8 out of 10
N/A
Namely is an end-to-end HR, benefits, and payroll solution for mid-sized businesses. The cloud-based platform can be used to manage the entire HR process.N/A
Paychex
Score 6.8 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
NamelyPaychex
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
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
NamelyPaychex
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredRequired
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
NamelyPaychex
Considered Both Products
Namely
Chose Namely
Paychex Flex offered more support for the payroll side. All of the disadvantages that Namely has stem from the fact that Paychex Flex provided these benefits for us before. We selected Namely because it had more features in one place than Paychex Flex did. The feel for the …
Chose Namely
We had used Namely in conjunction with Wurk for payroll and Ease for benefits enrollment. Unfortunately the "fraken-system" was very cumbersome to manage. The fraken-system was used due to the limited options in the cannabis industry for providers who were willing to work with …
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 selected Namely because it offered the most functions and integration that I was looking for at the time (two years ago). It was not the most affordable option, but worth the extra features.
Chose Namely
Namely is much more user friendly than other HR and payroll products I've used. They also have much better integrations.
Chose Namely
I have used other payroll companies that are much better in customer service and really taking the time to help out the client. That is not what Namely does-- it doesn't feel like they value their clients. They are just trying to sell you the next level up, and you don't hear …
Chose Namely
We now use one platform instead of a mix of old technologies
Chose Namely
Namely was simply the best value considering how robust the features are. Nothing is perfect but Namely continually strives to be and we appreciate that! They've taken a dozen or more feature requests from me and I'm optimistic that they'll come through :)
Paychex

No answer on this topic

Features
NamelyPaychex
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
Namely
9.6
144 Ratings
17% above category average
Paychex
6.7
272 Ratings
19% below category average
Employee demographic data8.0133 Ratings7.8219 Ratings
Employment history9.9139 Ratings8.1242 Ratings
Job profiles and administration9.931 Ratings7.8177 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.9.9133 Ratings7.8172 Ratings
Organizational charting9.8135 Ratings1.01 Ratings
Organization and location management9.9130 Ratings7.5158 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)9.983 Ratings6.8146 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Namely
9.2
128 Ratings
12% above category average
Paychex
7.7
313 Ratings
5% below category average
Pay calculation10.0112 Ratings8.0295 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors10.054 Ratings00 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment9.858 Ratings7.1153 Ratings
Benefit plan administration8.0110 Ratings6.9174 Ratings
Direct deposit files10.0114 Ratings8.3294 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management9.9101 Ratings8.0209 Ratings
Reimbursement management6.657 Ratings7.7118 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
Namely
9.9
125 Ratings
19% above category average
Paychex
7.3
159 Ratings
11% below category average
Approval workflow9.8122 Ratings7.3113 Ratings
Balance details9.9117 Ratings7.5151 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment10.096 Ratings7.0119 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
Namely
7.2
142 Ratings
13% below category average
Paychex
7.8
270 Ratings
5% below category average
View and generate pay and benefit information9.9130 Ratings7.8248 Ratings
Update personal information10.0141 Ratings7.9260 Ratings
View company policy documentation7.0128 Ratings7.7121 Ratings
Employee recognition2.3117 Ratings00 Ratings
View job history7.1135 Ratings7.9184 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
Namely
5.9
53 Ratings
31% below category average
Paychex
5.0
43 Ratings
47% below category average
Tracking of all physical assets5.953 Ratings5.043 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Namely
7.9
122 Ratings
5% above category average
Paychex
5.9
177 Ratings
24% below category average
Report builder8.0118 Ratings6.3147 Ratings
Pre-built reports8.0113 Ratings6.3165 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data7.574 Ratings5.191 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
Namely
6.5
117 Ratings
20% below category average
Paychex
6.4
173 Ratings
22% below category average
New hire portal8.0111 Ratings6.7165 Ratings
Manager tracking tools5.086 Ratings6.1109 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
Namely
6.2
97 Ratings
26% below category average
Paychex
-
Ratings
Corporate goal setting5.087 Ratings00 Ratings
Individual goal setting3.194 Ratings00 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility9.973 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance tracking7.090 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
Namely
6.3
108 Ratings
22% below category average
Paychex
-
Ratings
Performance plans5.097 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance improvement plans5.069 Ratings00 Ratings
Review status tracking7.096 Ratings00 Ratings
Review reminders7.099 Ratings00 Ratings
Multiple review frequency7.485 Ratings00 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
Namely
5.9
21 Ratings
28% below category average
Paychex
-
Ratings
Candidate search5.921 Ratings00 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
Namely
8.8
6 Ratings
12% above category average
Paychex
5.2
70 Ratings
40% below category average
Job Requisition Management8.95 Ratings5.536 Ratings
Company Website Posting8.85 Ratings5.334 Ratings
Publish to Social Media8.85 Ratings4.728 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting8.95 Ratings5.235 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention8.85 Ratings4.834 Ratings
Applicant Tracking8.95 Ratings4.839 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts8.66 Ratings5.964 Ratings
Best Alternatives
NamelyPaychex
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
PeopleStrong
PeopleStrong
Score 10.0 out of 10
PeopleStrong
PeopleStrong
Score 10.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
NamelyPaychex
Likelihood to Recommend
7.0
(145 ratings)
6.3
(322 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.0
(10 ratings)
1.2
(44 ratings)
Usability
8.4
(71 ratings)
6.7
(264 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(1 ratings)
5.6
(12 ratings)
Performance
10.0
(1 ratings)
7.1
(12 ratings)
Support Rating
6.0
(28 ratings)
6.2
(264 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
4.5
(1 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
8.3
(4 ratings)
Implementation Rating
5.5
(85 ratings)
5.4
(13 ratings)
Configurability
9.0
(1 ratings)
5.0
(9 ratings)
Ease of integration
8.0
(1 ratings)
9.1
(3 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.0
(1 ratings)
6.1
(12 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.0
(1 ratings)
2.3
(33 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.0
(1 ratings)
3.2
(34 ratings)
User Testimonials
NamelyPaychex
Likelihood to Recommend
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.
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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
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
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
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
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
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.
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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
Read full review
Usability
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.
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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
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Reliability and Availability
Namely
No answers on this topic
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
Namely
No answers on this topic
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
Namely
Namely platform has pretty good support: knowledgeable and relatively fast response times. Namely Payroll and Namely Benefits are very much depending on the quality of the support agent or CSM: we have had knowledgeable and attentive ones, but also ones that have provided erroneous information or failed to respond to urgent asks in a timely manner
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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.
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In-Person Training
Namely
No answers on this topic
Paychex Inc.
We did online training only
Read full review
Online Training
Namely
No answers on this topic
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
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.
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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
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 the worst part of the experience outside of the benefits team.
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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
Namely
No answers on this topic
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
Namely
  • We were able to transition to a fully digital onboarding process which saved us hours in time per new hire and made the process smoother for the new hire.
  • Namely is our first HRIS and has helped the HR department to find data and information quickly.
  • Namely helped us digitize our performance management process which the company undergoes on an annual basis.
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

Namely Screenshots

Screenshot of the Namely employee dashboard. This creates a central hub to access payroll and benefits info, share announcements, celebrate milestones, and navigate everything HR, from a desk or on the go.Screenshot of Namely Payroll, which is backed by automation and built-in compliance.Screenshot of the Onboarding interface, for new hires.Screenshot of the Applicant Tracking interface, which supports processes from job posting to onboarding with tools for hiring teams and candidates.Screenshot of the Benefits Administration interface, which supports open enrollment, plan changes, and employee elections.Screenshot of the Workforce Management interface. From here, viewers can track time, manage schedules, and handle complex workforce needs.

Paychex Screenshots

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