Paychex vs. Rippling

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
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
Rippling
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
Rippling HR is a human resources platform for managing employee records, onboarding, benefits, time and attendance, compliance, and other core people operations in one system. It serves as the HR layer of the broader Rippling platform, giving companies a central place to manage the employee lifecycle while connecting HR data to payroll, IT, and finance workflows when needed.
$8
starting price per user, per month
Pricing
PaychexRippling
Editions & Modules
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
Recommended
$8.00
starting price per user, per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
PaychexRippling
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredNo setup fee
Additional DetailsFor additional pricing details visit the Rippling pricing page.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
PaychexRippling
Considered Both Products
Paychex
Chose Paychex
Paychex is much more user friendly than ADP Run or ADP Total Source. However, I do like that ADP has an option to upload documents related to payroll such as notices from the state (DOR, UI, etc) and creates a case where notes from their rep are added and a case # is provided. …
Chose Paychex
NA - Am not using other Paychex services
Chose Paychex
I used Bangor Payroll prior to Paychex and they were better than Paychex. I didn't select Paychex, it was already at the organization when I joined it.
Chose Paychex
I think the Paychex reporting menus are easier to use and navigate than ADP.
Chose Paychex
They were alright, some of the same issues. Lots of turnover with payroll consultants.
Chose Paychex
Both ADP and Paychex are very good at informing businesses of the latest changes regarding payroll. Not sure which one is better, but very much get the most out of each. Both are informative and always looking at additional topics in a world that is constantly changing. …
Chose Paychex
Paychex has been around for a long time and have used it at other organizations. The payroll functionality is the best out of the other systems I have used. They all are great with handling the HR needs of our organization but Paychex is the most streamlined.
Chose Paychex
We use BambooHR in tandem with Paychex. BambooHR is our timesheet service, and Paychex issues the checks/payments to our employees. Ideally we would use one service instead of two to achieve our payment and timesheet needs.
Chose Paychex
More accessible and cost effective for our small business.
Chose Paychex
I far prefer Rippling to Paychex Flex, with its easy to navigate interface and user friendly model. I also appreciate the payday emails from Rippling and the paystub breakdown. It is also very easy and simple to request and view PTO in Rippling. I really dread having to use …
Chose Paychex
Paychex Flex has some room for improvement, I would choose ADP out of the different HRIS's I have used in the past
Chose Paychex
More user friendly works better for self service
Chose Paychex
I'm unable to give you a comparison because Paychex is the only payroll service I've used since I started my business over ten years ago. I've had no reason to explore other payroll services or make a change. I trust it will remain that way for as long as I'm in business.
Chose Paychex
In addition to the ones listed above, we also used BenePay, a local payroll company. We found Paychex Flex priced in the middle, with ADP the most expensive and too complicated, with many features that were unnecessary for us. We found that Paychex Flex's features and reporting …
Chose Paychex
I did not select Paychex. It was at 2 companies I started with and ended up having them switch out
Chose Paychex
Looking to switch over to ADP.
I think they are much less expensive
Chose Paychex
Based on what I've noticed, Paychex is comparable to DayForce, which has similar timekeeping functions. I think DayForce has a few easier-to-navigate tools from an Employee Self Service standpoint. iSolved is much better all around from my personal usage. If my company had more …
Chose Paychex
Gusto is more intuitive than Paychex and easier for smaller companies. Paychex has better customer support than Paylocity. Paychex is easier to navigate than Paycom.
Chose Paychex
Paychex offers much more than just tracking employee attendance and managing employee records. It offers Payroll services, Human Resource Services, Retirement Services, On-Boarding Services, Employee-Self Services, Employee Benefits Management, Employee Handbook Services, …
Chose Paychex
The could not match the price we pay for the same service.
Chose Paychex
I have not used any flex pay options only for payroll and tax situations.
Rippling
Chose Rippling
Rippling is hands down the best in the competition. ADP can be slow and laggy while Rippling makes it seamless. It was almost impossible to find time off and paystubs at times with ADP and Rippling made it so easy for me and my other employees to stay on top of everything.
Chose Rippling
Rippling is miles ahead in intuitive, modern design. Maas360 feels outdated and makes connecting devices and tracking them a puzzle to be put together. Rippling makes assigning simple and easy.
Chose Rippling
It blows it out of the water. ADP is one of the worst product with the worst support I have ever encountered. The switch to Rippling is one of the best moved I have made.
Chose Rippling
Some features have been helpful but for the most part the features are comparable from the employee perspective. For the finance and operations teams I know the Rippling has been easier to manage from a customer support and service angle, in terms of more complicated payroll …
Chose Rippling
Compared very well, I don't see any differences.
Chose Rippling
BambooHR was a great system as well. Looking toward the future Rippling offered more that we use currently and will use in the future. We are not looking to change systems in a few years. We are looking forward to growing with Rippling.
Chose Rippling
Gusto is very user friendly but lacks some of the "extra" features like review cycles and applicant tracking.
Chose Rippling
Rippling has a better UX design. This is significant because poor UX makes a huge difference to employees who are trying to complete HR or Hiring processes. Rippling PEO has been seemless and the onboarding team were excellent.
Chose Rippling
I'm sorry I wasn't involved in the decision-making process for switching to Rippling so I don't know what other HRIS software they looked at. Apologies.
Chose Rippling
Rippling had better pricing, more integration capabilities (360s where Paylocity only had 180s), and better access to customer service. It's been an absolute blast to use Rippling, it's got very good flow to it. It easy to find what you need organically or through the chat bot. …
Chose Rippling
I am not the one who actually changed from Clockify; I am just a Rippling user. But what I can tell you is that I used Clociky for almost a year, and it's the best. Rippling has more features, and those actually impact how the job is done and our daily production.
Chose Rippling
It helps keep all the systems centralized and unifies processes into a single tech stack. This is very helpful for small HR teams, especially remote ones that might need assistance with different laws and regulations from different states or countries. It also helps to have a …
Chose Rippling
I think Gusto is easier to use as a platform in terms of how to navigate it, however, I think it is more limited in terms of functionality and is also more expensive overall which is why I chose Rippling to try.
Chose Rippling
I like Rippling better than just works. The UX/UI is friendlier for employees of all backgrounds and it's easier to manager from the backend. As a manager, I prefer Rippling as well to help support my team through the website. It made it easier and had more features than …
Chose Rippling
Rippling was chosen because the price was more reasonable than other companies, and it had features that we needed. It is the perfect system for our business. Althought it could have more functions, it has all the functionality that our company needs.
Chose Rippling
It's way easier to navigate, things are in much cleaner spots. I used to get pretty lost on the workday interface, but I feel Rippling has everything that's important and in the areas you want them to be as a user. It also includes pay, whereas in the past we used MyPay as a …
Chose Rippling
Rippling is much more straightforward and easier to navigate than Workday, in my opinion. The layout feels more intuitive, and it’s easier to find what you need without having to click through multiple menus or search extensively. Tasks like onboarding, benefits selection, and …
Chose Rippling
Rippling was miles above Bamboo, UKG, and ADP. I think that they're very comparable to Paycom. Rippling was, by far, the most tech-driven HRIS we tested which was why it was ultimately chosen in favor of other options.
Chose Rippling
Rippling is way more advanced than Deel, I use that in past, especially UI and UX is way better, and overall product is really giant as compared to Deel, support is amazing, the mobile app is really amazing, the documents managements make it even better. So Rippling is much …
Features
PaychexRippling
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
7.0
Ratings
15% below category average
Rippling
9.0
Ratings
10% above category average
Employee demographic data7.70 Ratings8.70 Ratings
Employment history7.90 Ratings8.80 Ratings
Job profiles and administration7.70 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.7.80 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Organizational charting5.00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Organization and location management7.00 Ratings9.20 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)6.10 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
7.4
Ratings
9% below category average
Rippling
9.2
Ratings
12% above category average
Pay calculation7.80 Ratings9.30 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors6.50 Ratings00 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment7.20 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Benefit plan administration7.00 Ratings8.90 Ratings
Direct deposit files8.30 Ratings9.50 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management7.90 Ratings9.40 Ratings
Reimbursement management7.20 Ratings9.30 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
7.2
Ratings
12% below category average
Rippling
9.3
Ratings
13% above category average
Approval workflow7.30 Ratings9.40 Ratings
Balance details7.40 Ratings9.30 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment6.90 Ratings9.30 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
6.1
Ratings
29% below category average
Rippling
9.2
Ratings
11% above category average
View and generate pay and benefit information7.90 Ratings9.40 Ratings
Update personal information7.40 Ratings9.50 Ratings
View company policy documentation7.10 Ratings9.40 Ratings
Employee recognition1.00 Ratings8.50 Ratings
View job history7.20 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
4.8
Ratings
51% below category average
Rippling
8.8
Ratings
9% above category average
Tracking of all physical assets4.80 Ratings8.80 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
5.7
Ratings
27% below category average
Rippling
9.0
Ratings
18% above category average
Report builder6.20 Ratings8.70 Ratings
Pre-built reports6.50 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data4.50 Ratings9.20 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
6.6
Ratings
19% below category average
Rippling
9.4
Ratings
16% above category average
New hire portal6.80 Ratings9.50 Ratings
Manager tracking tools6.40 Ratings9.30 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
7.0
Ratings
11% below category average
Rippling
9.1
Ratings
15% above category average
Candidate search7.00 Ratings9.20 Ratings
Create succession plans/pools00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Candidate ranking00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Candidate development00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
5.3
Ratings
39% below category average
Rippling
8.9
Ratings
13% above category average
Job Requisition Management5.10 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Company Website Posting5.20 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Publish to Social Media5.60 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting5.90 Ratings8.80 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention4.60 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Applicant Tracking4.70 Ratings8.80 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts6.10 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
-
Ratings
Rippling
9.0
Ratings
11% above category average
Corporate goal setting00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Individual goal setting00 Ratings8.90 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Performance tracking00 Ratings8.90 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
-
Ratings
Rippling
9.3
Ratings
17% above category average
Performance plans00 Ratings9.20 Ratings
Performance improvement plans00 Ratings9.20 Ratings
Review status tracking00 Ratings9.20 Ratings
Review reminders00 Ratings9.40 Ratings
Multiple review frequency00 Ratings9.30 Ratings
Best Alternatives
PaychexRippling
Small Businesses
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.2 out of 10
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.2 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
PaychexRippling
Likelihood to Recommend
6.5
(0 ratings)
9.2
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
7.1
(0 ratings)
8.9
(0 ratings)
Usability
7.0
(0 ratings)
9.3
(0 ratings)
Availability
5.3
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Performance
7.0
(0 ratings)
8.8
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
6.2
(0 ratings)
8.9
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
4.5
(0 ratings)
8.6
(0 ratings)
Online Training
8.3
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
5.2
(0 ratings)
7.9
(0 ratings)
Configurability
5.0
(0 ratings)
7.4
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.1
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
5.6
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
5.6
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
6.1
(0 ratings)
8.6
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
PaychexRippling
Likelihood to Recommend
Overall we have had a good experience. The unfortunate part of being with them for over 10 years is the change-over in support specialists and sometimes the lack of transparency when that occurs or the lack of personalized communication. However, the ease of use and streamlined services for reporting and recording payroll and onboarding employees is definitely a benefit to the service. Being able to pull reports and review past employees information can be invaluable at times. Knowing I have peace of mind when it comes to tax documentation because someone else is ensuring it is handled and handled correctly is very important
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It has a favourites section for commonly used functions. This is perfect for logging in pre-sift and managing my timekeeping. It is easy to view my payslip. It is well-documented and accurate, and it also provides me with an accurate timeline for when to expect my pay to clear. Overall, very easy to use and great interface.
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Pros
  • 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.
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  • It is really easy to navigate, I barely needed instruction on how to do things in it as it is very intuitive.
  • Ease of workflow mapping, it was easy to have emails auto-generated to our staff regarding their eLearn content or compliance requirements.
  • Onboarding was made much easier with the workflows, auto emails sent at different points in the onboarding process, ensuring everything gets done to prepare the company to accept the new hire and to inform the new hire of what to expect.
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Cons
  • When it comes to audit reports, Paychex Flex could improve on helping clients locate the correct reports for audit purposes more easily
  • When a client receives a discount, it would be helpful if the discount were automatically provided each year, or if the Paychex rep proactively reached out to the client first, versus the client having to call and request that the discount continue.
  • It would be helpful if the invoice was emailed to the client versus the client logging in to access invoices.
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  • Rippling could improve their payment days. Currently they make employee payments around the 15th and 30th of the month, but it varies slightly with every month. It would make more sense to do this payment on every other Friday or every other Monday.
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Likelihood to Renew
there are a lot of competitors on the market such as BambooHR and Insperity. Paychex need to make significant improvement on their offline customer service in order to compete with the other guys. Everything is online now and timely response to customer's questions is vital. Customers won't enjoy being put on hold for 45 mins every time they have a question regarding their HSA problems
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I've been fully impressed with the tool so far in my 6 months of being a daily user. It's rare to run into an issue that can't be solved. Customer service is quick to respond and are usually very helpful. The price is great for the upgrade we got from our past tool. We hit our ROI within the first month.
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Usability
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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Very intuitive, user-friendly, and modern interface that doesn't make you cringe when you have to access it for anything. The admin navigation is easier compared to our previous system, and doesn't feel like a maze of complicated jargon. On the user side, the benefits enrollment process was a breeze, and felt so much more informative and efficient. Accessing the benefits post-enrollment is also very straightforward.
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Reliability and Availability
We have not experienced any difficulties with unplanned outages. Notifications are always made for outages, and they do not effect normal business operations.
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I like that the availability in using Rippling at any given time is useful to me. Getting on the site freely when I need gives me security of knowing that I can be in control of viewing health insurance and hours information. I have yet to get any errors in using the Rippling app.
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Performance
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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Rippling's performance has been great, no errors or glitches yet so far. I am confident that Going from one page to the next and all its complexity usage does not lag or times out, it works effectively and efficiently. While using Rippling and other apps it does not tend to slow it down, works great. No complaints.
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Support Rating
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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The highlight of my customer support experience was my first interaction with them: I had a small issue with my birthdate, and it was fixed very quickly—on the same day. It's pretty incredible to have things like that sorted out in the same day, which is a rare thing to see lately.
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In-Person Training
We did online training only
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The trainer went slow and and answered our questions.
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Online Training
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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No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
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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It's really easy to implement in comparison to other tools or applications. Different key points are easily configured and implemented as per need, having different configurations in systems. Implementation is something which binds the different parameters of an organization in a single row. Implementation of rippling is much easier, quicker, and error free than any other software. I recommend it strongly!
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Alternatives Considered
Paychex is much more user friendly than ADP Run or ADP Total Source. However, I do like that ADP has an option to upload documents related to payroll such as notices from the state (DOR, UI, etc) and creates a case where notes from their rep are added and a case # is provided. This helps create a good way to track a notice and be sure it is resolved. I have sent requests to close different states when a company no longer has an employee there or have been told an item has been filed/completed, only to receive a notice later from Paychex notification or the the state claiming the issue is unresolved. When you have as many clients as we do, this can feel messy.
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I am not the one who actually changed from Clockify; I am just a Rippling user. But what I can tell you is that I used Clociky for almost a year, and it's the best. Rippling has more features, and those actually impact how the job is done and our daily production.
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Scalability
Employees can log in at home and get up to date information on their FSA balance and any medical bill reimbursements they may have uploaded. At renewal time they have the ability to make changes to their FSA or for new employees star the enrollment.
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I can go on here and see all my hours and pto plus health benefits. I like to have the work handbook handy to refer to legal things. How to work my role within it's limits. Being able to put in my hours and view when they are approved is a huge benefit for me.
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Return on Investment
  • This software has provided visibility to shift managers and department leads that they never had before in managing their subordinates. They now have an easy-to-use go-to source for seeing who has PTO, how much they have available, and what the work calendar looks like, allowing them to make better-informed decisions.
  • With this software to manage open enrollment, we can now get through that process with a tool we use regularly, rather than jumping into enrollment management software only once a year and having to relearn it each year.
  • Literally thousands of steps are saved each week by not needing to traverse the entire shop floor or track people down to clear up questions with time cards. With everything digital, so much can be observed and addressed in real-time through the app.
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  • As an individual contributor we have not used Rippling yet in terms of goal calculation and it would be nice to see where I'm at for my bonus payout
  • Many employees are very happy having Rippling compared to their other HR softwares at previous jobs which helps retention
  • Documentation that needs to be signed is much easier to track as opposed to tracking documentation through simple emails
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ScreenShots

Paychex Screenshots

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

Rippling Screenshots

Screenshot of the Rippling Dashboard: Employees' home for their payroll, benefits, documents, devices, expenses, and apps.Screenshot of Rippling Payroll: Runs payroll in 90 seconds. Pays employees and contractors around the world. Automatic tax filing.Screenshot of Rippling Benefits Administration: For the management of employees' Medical, Dental, Vision, 401K, FSA, HSA, and commuter benefits.Screenshot of Rippling Single Sign-On: Employees can access all of their SaaS apps in one click from their Rippling dashboard.Screenshot of Rippling’s Time & Attendance platform. This integrates with the rest of the product suite so that when employees clock in, their approved hours automatically synced with payroll and accounting systems.Screenshot of Rippling Mobile Device Management: To manage employees' computers and devices 100% remotely.