Namely vs. Paylocity

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
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
Paylocity
Score 7.8 out of 10
N/A
Paylocity provides 24/7 access to your online payroll and human resource data management. Paylocity offers highly customizable payroll functionality, as well as HR, benefits administration, and time and talent management programs.N/A
Pricing
NamelyPaylocity
Editions & Modules
Namely Now
$9
per month per user
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
NamelyPaylocity
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredNo setup fee
Additional DetailsNamely 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
NamelyPaylocity
Considered Both Products
Namely
Chose Namely
Paylocity was outdated and customer support was not helpful. The platform wasn't user friendly for administration or employees. Every small improvement was a big cost impact and the platform provided little to no flexibility in customization.
Chose Namely
I have only demoed with Paylocity (never used) but it seems superior to Namely in my opinion as far as time, HRIS, and payroll all communicating.

I demoed a couple others that I would not move away from Namely in favor of. I would say Namely is middle of the pack. They do …
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
BambooHR has eNPS, which is pretty helpful and allows us to send pulse surveys to employees to get an understanding of how they are doing. Namely doesn't have anything like that.
Chose Namely
We're currently evaluating alternatives, but there appear to be only features to gain no matter where we look.
Chose Namely
We chose Namely over these other products 2 years ago based on competitive pricing, better UX and all in one offering (Benefits, Payroll, Time, HRIS).
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 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 …
Paylocity
Chose Paylocity
Paylocity is hands down a better system to use than anything Asure has to offer.
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
NamelyPaylocity
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
Namely
6.3
143 Ratings
22% below category average
Paylocity
7.8
847 Ratings
0% below category average
Employee demographic data6.6132 Ratings8.5798 Ratings
Employment history7.1138 Ratings8.2779 Ratings
Job profiles and administration7.030 Ratings7.8716 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.7.0132 Ratings7.6727 Ratings
Organizational charting4.7134 Ratings7.1668 Ratings
Organization and location management5.7129 Ratings7.8650 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)6.282 Ratings7.5556 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Namely
7.2
127 Ratings
11% below category average
Paylocity
8.1
835 Ratings
1% above category average
Pay calculation8.8111 Ratings8.6811 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors6.953 Ratings7.3381 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment7.157 Ratings8.5581 Ratings
Benefit plan administration6.9109 Ratings7.2554 Ratings
Direct deposit files8.3113 Ratings8.9810 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management5.3100 Ratings8.2641 Ratings
Reimbursement management7.057 Ratings7.9395 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
Namely
7.7
124 Ratings
5% below category average
Paylocity
7.6
698 Ratings
6% below category average
Approval workflow7.2121 Ratings7.9619 Ratings
Balance details7.5116 Ratings7.4668 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment8.395 Ratings7.4518 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
Namely
7.5
141 Ratings
8% below category average
Paylocity
8.3
847 Ratings
2% above category average
View and generate pay and benefit information7.9129 Ratings8.5824 Ratings
Update personal information8.2140 Ratings8.6838 Ratings
View company policy documentation7.0127 Ratings8.0665 Ratings
Employee recognition7.3116 Ratings8.3581 Ratings
View job history7.3134 Ratings8.3703 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
Namely
5.7
53 Ratings
30% below category average
Paylocity
7.5
238 Ratings
3% below category average
Tracking of all physical assets5.753 Ratings7.5238 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Namely
6.9
121 Ratings
10% below category average
Paylocity
7.0
773 Ratings
8% below category average
Report builder7.4117 Ratings7.0739 Ratings
Pre-built reports7.7112 Ratings7.4753 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data5.874 Ratings6.5449 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
Namely
6.5
116 Ratings
21% below category average
Paylocity
8.2
721 Ratings
2% above category average
New hire portal7.4110 Ratings8.3717 Ratings
Manager tracking tools5.685 Ratings8.0559 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
Namely
5.0
96 Ratings
48% below category average
Paylocity
7.4
374 Ratings
10% below category average
Corporate goal setting6.086 Ratings7.4283 Ratings
Individual goal setting4.694 Ratings7.4345 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility4.272 Ratings7.3244 Ratings
Performance tracking5.189 Ratings7.4348 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
Namely
5.4
107 Ratings
38% below category average
Paylocity
7.4
480 Ratings
7% below category average
Performance plans5.296 Ratings7.2429 Ratings
Performance improvement plans3.668 Ratings7.2355 Ratings
Review status tracking6.595 Ratings7.4441 Ratings
Review reminders6.398 Ratings7.5443 Ratings
Multiple review frequency5.485 Ratings7.6362 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
Namely
5.6
21 Ratings
34% below category average
Paylocity
7.1
220 Ratings
10% below category average
Candidate search5.621 Ratings7.4200 Ratings
Create succession plans/pools00 Ratings6.7147 Ratings
Candidate ranking00 Ratings7.1180 Ratings
Candidate development00 Ratings7.4161 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
Namely
7.9
6 Ratings
2% above category average
Paylocity
7.7
453 Ratings
1% below category average
Job Requisition Management7.95 Ratings7.8372 Ratings
Company Website Posting7.55 Ratings8.1396 Ratings
Publish to Social Media7.55 Ratings7.7304 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting8.25 Ratings7.7371 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention7.75 Ratings7.0310 Ratings
Applicant Tracking8.05 Ratings8.0416 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts8.26 Ratings7.9414 Ratings
Best Alternatives
NamelyPaylocity
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
NamelyPaylocity
Likelihood to Recommend
7.4
(145 ratings)
7.7
(882 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(9 ratings)
8.9
(82 ratings)
Usability
7.1
(71 ratings)
8.5
(58 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(1 ratings)
8.8
(9 ratings)
Performance
10.0
(1 ratings)
9.4
(9 ratings)
Support Rating
8.0
(27 ratings)
7.2
(79 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
8.3
(10 ratings)
Implementation Rating
4.9
(85 ratings)
8.2
(33 ratings)
Configurability
9.0
(1 ratings)
8.3
(7 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
-
(0 ratings)
8.1
(4 ratings)
Ease of integration
8.0
(1 ratings)
6.6
(7 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.0
(1 ratings)
8.8
(8 ratings)
Professional Services
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(4 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.0
(1 ratings)
7.3
(7 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(6 ratings)
User Testimonials
NamelyPaylocity
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.
Read full review
Paylocity
Paylocity works well for our organization. Ease of use for our managers and employees is very important. Makes it easier for us in HR to manage. Time and attendance works very well. Efficient and effective. Payroll runs very smoothly. We appreciate the performance and compensation module for tracking employees performance, journals and getting feedback and annual compensation.
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
Paylocity
  • Customer Service is always helpful with little wait time.
  • Always improving; for example, the recent change to processing payroll. So much easier.
  • Onboarding makes it simple and the fact that the company can personalize the messaging to new hires allows us to make it more personalized.
  • Having an assigned account manager regardless of company size is definitely a plus.
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
Paylocity
  • Recruiting piece/ATS could be improved.
  • A candidate being able to save progress on their application is really a must as they can't leave and come back to their application without having to restart, i.e. if they need to get a phone number for a reference for example.
  • Could use more room in entering the job for internal notes.
  • Quirky when doing cut and paste of job details that leaves spaces that aren't in the document being pasted.
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.
Read full review
Paylocity
We have had many issues with the way our platform was set up at implementation that still continue to plague us. In addition, our benefits, in particular our FSA, have been mis-managed causing a balance due from an employee (and also a lot of work for our accounting and HR team, as well as stress for the employee). Our service rep continues to answer incorrectly on many fronts (original response is usually check out this paylocity article, vs. helping) and recently our COBRA management was mishandled (not adding Dental to a person on Cobra who had requested it). So- all in all...we are not particularly happy w/ Paylocity
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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.
Read full review
Paylocity
Overall, in my experience, Paylocity has been easy to use for both staff and administrators. First, the staff has an application and inputting Paid Time Off is easy to do. I then get an alert on my app and I am able to approve it on the spot from my app that gives me access as an employee and an administrator without having to use multiple apps or logins. As an administrator I think the portal is easy to use, Paylocity did a great job showing me tools and rolling out training classes before rollout.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Namely
No answers on this topic
Paylocity
Paylocity support is always available and I never have to wait endlessly on hold. If our dedicated account manage is not available, there is an entire team assigned to our account. Every one of them is knowledgeable about our organization and Paylocity's process.
Read full review
Performance
Namely
No answers on this topic
Paylocity
pages load in an acceptable amount of time, reports come back quickly, but integration is very complicated and hasn't been possible
Read full review
Support Rating
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
Paylocity
Everyone wants immediate assistance. Awaiting a response from an email only to ask 2-3 more questions is time consuming. Within the first six months of setup, I would rather respond back to the instructors who provided me the training in each category of my contract.
Read full review
Online Training
Namely
No answers on this topic
Paylocity
The training was live online, but was with a group of other companies. We did not receive any personalized training with our team. Whenever we would ask for training, we would be sent a peak article link or a video. It felt like the reps we dealt with didn't know the answer to the questions.
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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.
Read full review
Paylocity
I had gone through an implementation process of another HR platform (Paycom) in my previous job and was traumatized, it was painful. I was surprised how easy and fast it was with Paylocity, the team was very helpful and set us up for success
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
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
Paylocity
We honestly had a program that only kept track of our Demographics, salaries, etc. then all of our Payroll was done on paper with paper leave slips etc. When I saw Paylocity, I was very excited about how easy it is/would be to use. [...] Our Paylocity rep that I spoke to was super GREAT in the explanation of Paylocity and I didn't even shop around much.
Read full review
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Namely
No answers on this topic
Paylocity
I wasn't involved in the sales process. I joined the organization after Paylocity was implemented.
Read full review
Scalability
Namely
No answers on this topic
Paylocity
You have an account manager assigned to you on a daily basis but that person is barely available to you
Read full review
Professional Services
Namely
No answers on this topic
Paylocity
Support is quick and proffessional
Read full review
Return on Investment
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
Paylocity
  • Definitely more consistent processes. Everything is very user friendly and it reduces the amount of time it has taken us in the past before we started using Paylocity. Everything flows super smoothly.
  • We have an improved retention since we have used Paylocity. Before hand, many employees thought it was difficult to find anything like tax forms, pay stubs, benefit elections, etc. when we used other platforms before we implemented our data into Paylocity.
  • Costs have been reduced and the decision-making process has improved and got quicker. Before Paylocity, it would take at least a week to get a salary increase approved, or a job title change approved. Now, it take less than a day and is super easy.
Read full review
ScreenShots

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