Paychex vs. UKG Pro

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
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
UKG Pro
Score 8.1 out of 10
N/A
UKG delivers cloud-based HCM solutions including UKG Pro that help businesses simplify payroll computations, accelerate talent acquisition, manage time and attendance, and support proactive, strategic talent management on a global level.N/A
Pricing
PaychexUKG Pro
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
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
PaychexUKG Pro
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
PaychexUKG Pro
Considered Both Products
Paychex
Chose Paychex
I was not part of the decision to purchase Paychex Flex. It was good for the company's needs at the time, but when I joined the company we needed software that was more robust for our needs.
UKG Pro
Chose UKG Pro
UKG Pro is much more user friendly than both previous HRIS and payroll systems I've used in the past. The others are less streamlined and include multiple more steps to complete a task than UKG Pro does.
Chose UKG Pro
Better quality, more robust, more customization. With many of these other systems, you get a pre-packaged, cookie-cutter system that often lacks the ability to custom-tailor the system to meet your company needs. Not the case with UKG Pro.
Chose UKG Pro
The three most important factors that lead us to UltiPro:
Product Implementation - UltiPro provided a dedicated implementation team. All team members were very knowledgeable, extremely patient, and provided great feedback.
Cost - price negotiation was a key element. UltiPro …
Chose UKG Pro
UKG had all the modules we were looking for, was highly configurable, and looked like it could grow with our business. Did not realize how much of the heavy lifting was needed on our part for implementation and ongoing. UKG does have its quirks and some workarounds are needed …
Chose UKG Pro

UKG is more robust and each system works with the other. When we used Paychex, their platforms didn't work well together and it was difficult to get help on each because the trainers were not cross-trained on each.

Chose UKG Pro
UKG is more integrated and easier to support. It's also more robust in the level of options available for services.
Chose UKG Pro
UKG Pro is a robust platform comparable to ADP TotalSource and Optimum Solutions. Both ADP and Optimum had better custom reporting capabilities that were more user friendly than the UKG Pro product. One other area that I think ADP and Optimum did better in is benefit …
Chose UKG Pro
We felt that the service was going to be a huge improvement from what we were dealing with prior. The capability of the system and the things that we can customize and track was definitely more than what we saw with the other systems we were looking at and currently used. The …
Chose UKG Pro
UltiPro is more cost effective and allows more flexibility in customization. The report writer is a lot more user friendly too.
Chose UKG Pro
UltiPro is the best product on the market. Other vendors only have a fraction of the functionality. Other vendors do not have anywhere near the support team that UltiPro has.
Chose UKG Pro
Hands down UltiPro is the best HRIS system around. With ADP, half the time you need a rep to give you your data. I can't imagine why an organization would pay for a vendor to not release your own data! Good ADP reps are few and far between. I spent a majority of my time with …
Features
PaychexUKG Pro
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
7.3
277 Ratings
12% below category average
UKG Pro
7.8
950 Ratings
5% below category average
Employee demographic data7.7224 Ratings8.5860 Ratings
Employment history7.9247 Ratings8.2885 Ratings
Job profiles and administration7.7182 Ratings7.9856 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.7.8178 Ratings7.5838 Ratings
Organizational charting6.34 Ratings7.2751 Ratings
Organization and location management7.1162 Ratings8.0764 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)6.4148 Ratings7.3603 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
7.7
318 Ratings
6% below category average
UKG Pro
7.9
865 Ratings
4% below category average
Pay calculation8.0300 Ratings8.0819 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors7.44 Ratings7.6412 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment7.4157 Ratings8.1325 Ratings
Benefit plan administration7.2179 Ratings7.5736 Ratings
Direct deposit files8.3299 Ratings8.3806 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management8.0214 Ratings8.1664 Ratings
Reimbursement management7.4122 Ratings8.057 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
7.2
161 Ratings
13% below category average
UKG Pro
7.6
672 Ratings
8% below category average
Approval workflow7.5115 Ratings7.5598 Ratings
Balance details7.6153 Ratings7.6628 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment6.4120 Ratings7.6520 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
7.2
275 Ratings
14% below category average
UKG Pro
7.8
917 Ratings
6% below category average
View and generate pay and benefit information8.0253 Ratings8.0885 Ratings
Update personal information7.6265 Ratings8.2890 Ratings
View company policy documentation7.4124 Ratings7.7656 Ratings
Employee recognition5.52 Ratings7.2344 Ratings
View job history7.6189 Ratings8.0871 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
6.3
44 Ratings
24% below category average
UKG Pro
7.5
231 Ratings
7% below category average
Tracking of all physical assets6.344 Ratings7.5231 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
6.1
179 Ratings
22% below category average
UKG Pro
7.0
852 Ratings
8% below category average
Report builder6.5149 Ratings7.2827 Ratings
Pre-built reports6.8167 Ratings7.1841 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data5.093 Ratings6.6586 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
6.8
176 Ratings
17% below category average
UKG Pro
7.8
648 Ratings
3% below category average
New hire portal7.0168 Ratings8.0641 Ratings
Manager tracking tools6.7112 Ratings7.5520 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
9.0
1 Ratings
10% above category average
UKG Pro
7.5
440 Ratings
8% below category average
Corporate goal setting8.01 Ratings7.3346 Ratings
Individual goal setting9.01 Ratings7.4419 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility9.01 Ratings7.6300 Ratings
Performance tracking10.01 Ratings7.6388 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
9.0
1 Ratings
12% above category average
UKG Pro
7.4
545 Ratings
8% below category average
Performance plans9.01 Ratings7.5487 Ratings
Performance improvement plans9.01 Ratings6.9384 Ratings
Review status tracking9.01 Ratings7.5501 Ratings
Review reminders9.01 Ratings7.4471 Ratings
Multiple review frequency9.01 Ratings7.5396 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
7.7
2 Ratings
2% below category average
UKG Pro
7.1
237 Ratings
11% below category average
Candidate ranking7.31 Ratings7.2204 Ratings
Candidate search7.52 Ratings7.5208 Ratings
Candidate development8.21 Ratings6.9188 Ratings
Create succession plans/pools00 Ratings6.7190 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
5.3
72 Ratings
40% below category average
UKG Pro
7.4
534 Ratings
7% below category average
Job Requisition Management5.138 Ratings7.4502 Ratings
Company Website Posting5.235 Ratings7.5493 Ratings
Publish to Social Media5.729 Ratings7.1390 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting6.037 Ratings7.3455 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention4.635 Ratings7.1385 Ratings
Applicant Tracking4.741 Ratings7.6490 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts6.166 Ratings7.5455 Ratings
Best Alternatives
PaychexUKG Pro
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
PaychexUKG Pro
Likelihood to Recommend
6.8
(333 ratings)
8.0
(1092 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
7.1
(48 ratings)
10.0
(197 ratings)
Usability
7.2
(274 ratings)
7.9
(329 ratings)
Availability
5.2
(12 ratings)
10.0
(76 ratings)
Performance
7.0
(12 ratings)
10.0
(333 ratings)
Support Rating
6.5
(273 ratings)
7.5
(496 ratings)
In-Person Training
4.5
(1 ratings)
10.0
(88 ratings)
Online Training
2.8
(4 ratings)
9.0
(206 ratings)
Implementation Rating
5.1
(13 ratings)
9.1
(87 ratings)
Configurability
5.0
(9 ratings)
8.7
(78 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.1
(3 ratings)
5.9
(68 ratings)
Product Scalability
5.4
(12 ratings)
10.0
(95 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
5.7
(34 ratings)
8.4
(57 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
6.2
(35 ratings)
10.0
(50 ratings)
User Testimonials
PaychexUKG Pro
Likelihood to Recommend
Paychex Inc.
It is best suited for payrolls from 1 to 150 employees, because their constant attention and flex system are easy to use. Any problem is taking care by your Paychex Agent, and they always listen to you. Better yet, when you become a client with more than 5 years, you get special discount on your renewal. Honestly, I can't not think on nothing that will be less appropriate.
Read full review
UKG
I feel UKG Pro has been so horribly rolled out at the City of Houston. I'm amazed that, as a system administrator, it even works at all. In my opinion, the greatest expense the city has budgeted is managed by a shoe-string, janky, bug-ridden mess. I truly hope UKG is bought out for 2 cents and scattered to dust. In my opinion, terrible maintenance and support, the worst consultants money can buy, the sleaziest sales accountants. This system tries my patience as a lead system administrator and I would caution anyone considering bringing in this mess to their business. It's been a year now, and we still have workarounds and bugs daily.
Read full review
Pros
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
UKG
  • UKG has an amazing support team to reach out to if assistance is needed
  • All add-ons of UKG Pro integrate seamlessly making it a powerful software program
  • UKG Pro is very configurable to meet the specific needs of companies
  • It is easy to use and navigate
  • The mobile app is loved by all employees and provides on-demand access
  • The Ultimate Community is amazing!! On-demand information on all products and how they are used. Connect with other companies that use UKG Pro and learn from each other.
  • The Learning Centre is also amazing!! Learning right at your fingertips anytime, anywhere.
Read full review
Cons
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
UKG
  • Teachers that are hard functionality. Okay. I would say the most issues that we've had is the admins or the HR department losing their access and it throws us for a loop. It's like, what happened? What's going on? So that's the main thing. And then some of our employees struggle with the hourly employees try to struggle with timekeeping as in clocking in and clocking out. But we got that resolved. Thank you UKG Pro. And our employees are happy again. I would recommend UKG Pro.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
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
UKG
We have been a customer since 2015, we have gone to market and find that UKG Pro product is both user friendly for administrators as well as the employee. The qualify of support and service of UKG team is valued and we trust the product.
Read full review
Usability
Paychex Inc.
Once you are set up in the system, it is very user-friendly and usability is on par with my expectations. Onboarding new employees is simple, employee access is simple and easy for them to use. Tax documentation, reporting, and entering payroll is easy and user-friendly. Running reports and finding information necessary to keep the flow moving foward is easy to do
Read full review
UKG
It gets the job done, but not with a few deep sighs. Once you know where stuff lives, it's manageable, but the first learning curve is steep, some menus feel buried. However, it's consistent, reliable and doesn't crash on me, which counts for a lot. With a little UI glow up it could push into a 9 zone.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
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
UKG
For the most part UltiPro has been reliable, but it could definitely be better. There have been several notable server issues where we were unable to access the product or unable to utilize some of the features. Customer support is usually quick to respond to questions about these issues, but they do not proactively reach out to customers whose environments have been effected by outages
Read full review
Performance
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
UKG
Normally UKG Pro loads quickly. We had been having major issues with reports running in a timely manner but recently they broke out our virtual server to another instance where is wasn't sharing resources and that seems to have helped reporting run more efficiently.
Read full review
Support Rating
Paychex Inc.
The dedicated support we are given is good and very responsive. If there is a change to the dedicated support, we are notified quickly and have temporary support in place while we wait for our new rep. The phone support is knowledgeable and quick to help if there is an immediate need. However, the chat support can be the slowest option and doesn't always launch so I rarely use it.
Read full review
UKG
The quality of UKG Support is related directly to the UKG rep. who handles the issue. In some cases you get someone who really is good at supporting the product and others may not have as much experience and it shows
Read full review
In-Person Training
Paychex Inc.
We did online training only
Read full review
UKG
I've been to a few in-person (hands on) training sessions and it is very similar to the online classes. You have the same reference material to look back on after the training. So regardless of in person training or online you really get the same thing.
Read full review
Online Training
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
UKG
Most of the online training was very generic (to be expected) but we had specific requirements for configuration that could have been better addressed with more individual sessions earlier on from our project team. However, we did finally begin booking training sessions with our implementation team which were recorded, and so provided additional information for how to correctly configure and test the system.
Read full review
Implementation Rating
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
UKG
Make sure you have all of your tax account information with all the states you are registered in available and that you are knowledgeable about the filing status, frequency, etc. We had some unique challenges with our state unemployment tax set up that I was not aware of and needed to be addressed prior to going live. Working with the state unemployment office can be a challenge.
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
Paychex Inc.
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 to be sized right for our size (around 30 employees). Paychex Flex also offered a very reasonable service to apply for the ERTC
Read full review
UKG
We used ADP WFN prior to switching to UKG. We interviewed three different payroll companies to see what our options were. UKG stood out and aligned with our company values. The sales team was very helpful and asked questions about what we were currently doing and how they could assist with simplifying things. I personally had a side meeting with them to see if there were options for a process that we manually process and if UKG could actually eliminate the process. We came to the conclusion that we weren't able to get it 100%, but we could pull 80% of what we needed from UKG, and then we would only need to manipulate 20% of the information. It was also determined from that meeting that we wouldn't need to pay extra to have a special report built. The customer service is what we were sold on. The other companies that we looked at didn't give us the confidence that their customer service would be any better than what we previously had.
Read full review
Scalability
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
UKG
Read full review
Return on Investment
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
UKG
  • My company acquired another company, and with a UKG partner, we were able to bring them online in UKG within two months of the acquisition date.
  • When COVID sent us remote, we could configure custom fields to track vaccination status.
  • The C-suite can get custom reports done in minutes, or ours, where our previous HRIS would have taken days to accomplish, as data would have had to have been exported to Excel and then manipulated inside Excel.
  • UKG has allowed to go virtual paper free as both a candidate and employee.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Paychex Screenshots

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

UKG Pro Screenshots

Screenshot of included workforce analytics.Screenshot of the payroll gateway.