Paychex Flex vs. Paycor

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Paychex Flex
Score 6.6 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.
$59
per month/+$4 per employee
Paycor
Score 7.3 out of 10
N/A
Paycor provides core HR functions scaled towards small and mid-sized businesses. Paycor offers an integrated benefits platform for interfacing directly with insurance carriers and an adaptable time management platform.N/A
Pricing
Paychex FlexPaycor
Editions & Modules
Paychex Go
$59
per month/+$4 per employee
Paychex Flex Service
Contact sales team
Paychex Flex Enterprise
Contact sales team
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Paychex FlexPaycor
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredOptional
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Paychex FlexPaycor
Considered Both Products
Paychex Flex
Chose Paychex Flex
I would say Paycor is very similar, although my last use was in 2015. I'm unsure about the changes made between then and now. I haven't used paylocity personally since 2013, but my wife currently uses it and it's also great, more features to the end user. That said, I didn't …
Chose Paychex Flex
Paycor is more user friendly from a Manager level however Paychex Flex meets all of our requirements.
Chose Paychex Flex
User interface and functionalities of Paycor edge out Paychex Flex, however, in my experience, Paycor has horrible service resulting in our discontinuation of services. I think Paychex Flex service is leaps and bounds above that of Paycor.
Chose Paychex Flex
I would choose Paychex every time!!
The customer service is outstanding!
All of the payroll/HRIS systems are similar in content, but Paychex outshines them in service the delivery of what we need.
Chose Paychex Flex
Paychex Flex is easy to use. Paychex flex portal is helpful when you need to run old reports like quarterly employment reports, vacation hours used by employees, sick time used and the balance left. It is also helpful to add time off and holiday hours to employees who qualify …
Chose Paychex Flex
Most of the reporting is a little easier to find and create in Paychex Flex. Most of the web interfaces for submitting payroll are fairly easy just like Paychex Flex.
Chose Paychex Flex
Paychex Flex was a much more affordable option than some of those out there. For a small business, the quicker ROI makes a big difference. Some of the customization options were especially helpful to our team. Paychex Flex was also much more well-known in our market and we …
Paycor
Chose Paycor
Paycor definitely has a leg up on Paychex Flex. This is the system we went from to Paycor and it is much more basic with not as much opportunity for bundling data together and tracking information. Paychex did provide a dedicated customer service rep, which was very helpful, …
Chose Paycor
We used Paychex in the past and ran into a situation where our local payroll taxes were withheld; but not paid timely to the entity, and became delinquent. It took months to resolve the matter, and due to the owner's frustration over the situation we decided to make the change …
Chose Paycor
Paycor is better in literally every aspect except customer service from my experience.
Chose Paycor
I selected Paycor for its ease of use and price
Chose Paycor
We utilized ADP in the past and were not satisfied with the services provided. There was a large amount of manual entry required for Payroll processing and we were not impressed with their options for benefits management or timekeeping. We found Paycor offered a better service …
Chose Paycor
Paycom looks good but doesn’t deliver, they are a giant pile of crap.
ADP Workforce Now - as a small organization you will not get the attention you need. I would be on hold for 45 minutes or longer for simple questions.
Paycheck - too bare bones
UKG - I’ve never used them, …
Chose Paycor
We looked at many others as well in our search. Paycor checked off all our priorities of intuitive user interface, ease of use, customer service, reporting, and other services we will be using down the line.
Chose Paycor
I have not used any products like Paycor.
Chose Paycor
Better than ADP and Paychex, allowed for a much more comprehensive product.
Chose Paycor
We selected Paycor b/c we were looking for a more streamlined onboarding interface, a better self-service portal, an easier phone app, and we also track extensive payroll details in our GL. On all of these points, we've been disappointed with Paycor's performance (especially as …
Chose Paycor
Doesn't offer the consistency of the other companies. Not as much bang for the buck. Paycor seems to have a lot of turnover and the other companies have employees with longevity with the company.
Chose Paycor
We selected Paycor because of the cost savings, easy of use and capabilities.
Chose Paycor
It is sooo much better than the last two companies we use, especially when it comes to reporting. That is why we left our last company. It's also nice to have everything on one platform. Makes for seamless a process from one area to the next.
Chose Paycor
The mother company that we are under decided that we should all unify under one payroll system to make it easier for reporting. Paychex was easy to use and we had no difficulties with them. In regards to payroll input, Paycor is more user friendly and it is not difficult to …
Chose Paycor
User experience and the interface are so much better than the other products that we have used in the past. The job costing feature that I keep going on about is probably one of the largest items that allow us for such time savings with our CTO and in our finance department. …
Chose Paycor
Paycor stacks up well with ADP as both systems provide comprehensive reporting functions and accurate time keeping. ADP is a more robust system, which is often challenging to navigate. Paycor offers much of the same functionality and options but is more user-friendly in that is …
Chose Paycor
At the time, Paycor had the most responsive salesperson and reacted immediately to our request for information. The other company was not responsive to our request for alternative products and we were currently with them. We have never received so much attention since that …
Chose Paycor
Paycor overall is visually better than both ADP and Paychex. The reporting offered by Paycor is also more vast than ADP or Paychex.
Top Pros

No answers on this topic

Top Cons

No answers on this topic

Features
Paychex FlexPaycor
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex Flex
6.7
247 Ratings
16% below category average
Paycor
7.9
290 Ratings
1% above category average
Employee demographic data8.0197 Ratings8.3246 Ratings
Employment history8.1220 Ratings8.0262 Ratings
Job profiles and administration6.8155 Ratings8.0247 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.7.3154 Ratings7.4245 Ratings
Organizational charting1.01 Ratings7.8195 Ratings
Organization and location management7.9138 Ratings7.8205 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)7.5132 Ratings7.7182 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex Flex
8.5
288 Ratings
6% above category average
Paycor
8.1
303 Ratings
1% above category average
Pay calculation9.0271 Ratings8.5294 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment9.1136 Ratings8.2109 Ratings
Benefit plan administration7.2156 Ratings7.5212 Ratings
Direct deposit files9.2270 Ratings8.6291 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management8.5193 Ratings8.0247 Ratings
Reimbursement management7.9105 Ratings8.158 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors00 Ratings8.25 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex Flex
7.0
144 Ratings
14% below category average
Paycor
7.8
232 Ratings
3% below category average
Approval workflow6.3102 Ratings8.0209 Ratings
Balance details7.5136 Ratings7.7225 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment7.3110 Ratings7.7187 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
Paychex Flex
8.5
249 Ratings
5% above category average
Paycor
8.1
289 Ratings
0% below category average
View and generate pay and benefit information8.6228 Ratings8.1267 Ratings
Update personal information9.0239 Ratings8.4272 Ratings
View company policy documentation7.7111 Ratings8.1200 Ratings
View job history8.7168 Ratings8.1229 Ratings
Employee recognition00 Ratings8.153 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex Flex
7.8
40 Ratings
1% above category average
Paycor
8.2
91 Ratings
6% above category average
Tracking of all physical assets7.840 Ratings8.291 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Paychex Flex
6.1
164 Ratings
22% below category average
Paycor
6.8
257 Ratings
11% below category average
Report builder5.8134 Ratings6.8250 Ratings
Pre-built reports6.8154 Ratings7.1250 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data5.683 Ratings6.5165 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
Paychex Flex
8.0
158 Ratings
0% below category average
Paycor
8.0
242 Ratings
0% below category average
New hire portal8.0151 Ratings8.2238 Ratings
Manager tracking tools7.9100 Ratings7.7182 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
Paychex Flex
8.5
59 Ratings
9% above category average
Paycor
8.3
135 Ratings
7% above category average
Job Requisition Management9.732 Ratings8.2110 Ratings
Company Website Posting9.730 Ratings8.2117 Ratings
Publish to Social Media6.823 Ratings8.2100 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting6.730 Ratings8.2107 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention6.828 Ratings8.295 Ratings
Applicant Tracking9.633 Ratings8.3117 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts9.853 Ratings8.0124 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
Paychex Flex
-
Ratings
Paycor
7.8
110 Ratings
4% below category average
Corporate goal setting00 Ratings7.842 Ratings
Individual goal setting00 Ratings7.7104 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility00 Ratings7.983 Ratings
Performance tracking00 Ratings7.9103 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex Flex
-
Ratings
Paycor
7.3
139 Ratings
8% below category average
Performance plans00 Ratings7.4133 Ratings
Performance improvement plans00 Ratings7.2119 Ratings
Review status tracking00 Ratings7.1124 Ratings
Review reminders00 Ratings7.5123 Ratings
Multiple review frequency00 Ratings7.3104 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
Paychex Flex
-
Ratings
Paycor
8.1
33 Ratings
3% above category average
Candidate ranking00 Ratings8.328 Ratings
Candidate search00 Ratings8.032 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Paychex FlexPaycor
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
Paychex FlexPaycor
Likelihood to Recommend
7.7
(298 ratings)
7.2
(324 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.9
(42 ratings)
9.8
(17 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(240 ratings)
7.8
(292 ratings)
Availability
9.3
(10 ratings)
10.0
(3 ratings)
Performance
9.1
(10 ratings)
10.0
(3 ratings)
Support Rating
7.7
(245 ratings)
5.3
(56 ratings)
In-Person Training
4.5
(1 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Online Training
7.0
(4 ratings)
9.4
(3 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.4
(11 ratings)
9.1
(16 ratings)
Configurability
7.6
(8 ratings)
10.0
(3 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.1
(3 ratings)
5.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.3
(10 ratings)
9.9
(3 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.9
(31 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.2
(32 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
User Testimonials
Paychex FlexPaycor
Likelihood to Recommend
Paychex, Inc.
In my experience, Paychex Flex is well suited for small to medium sized businesses. It has been helpful in streamlining the onboarding process and it is easy to update and maintain employee profiles and records. It has worked will in a non-profit environment where there is clergy pay and housing, which can get quite complicated. I cannot think of a scenario where it would be less appropriate.
Read full review
Paycor, Inc
It's really great for us. Our payroll administrator retired and we decided to absorb that function within HR. Paycor takes care of the taxes and much of the extra details she had done previously allowing that transition to be possible. The software is easy to use and my managers have taken on more with timesheet review. If a company has really complex differentials it might not be ready for them, yet. We have one that I have to do manually but I'm hopeful they will be able to add it in soon!
Read full review
Pros
Paychex, Inc.
  • I like I can enter payroll and if I need to leave the program, I can resume at a later time and my information is saved.
  • I like the analytics & reports features.
  • I like how all my employees have easy access to their portal.
Read full review
Paycor, Inc
  • Scheduling for management is well organized and easily visualized to ensure proper coverage while avoiding overtime or being over staffed.
  • Scheduling for the employees is user friendly. Employees can easily request and view their time off. They can also view their schedule along with their team's at any time.
  • Payroll is very streamlined. With scheduling and payroll in the same system, everything can be quickly verified for accuracy. All time sheets are kept within the system and then easily processed for payroll.
Read full review
Cons
Paychex, Inc.
  • Reporting writing is difficult to figure out
  • Employee turnover inside Paychex was a problem, until we were assigned to Neil Williams - since that time it has settled down
  • Pressure to convert personal connection with payroll advisor to using automated service
Read full review
Paycor, Inc
  • Customer Service is atrocious. We've had 6 Customer Success Managers in less than 3 years-hard to develop any type of rhythm in addressing and solving problems. They also utilize a ticketing system to report issues, but there is little to no communication of when tickets are actually resolved and what the resolution was-requires a ton of prodding from the client to get answers to emails.
  • Integration with third party platforms (benefits for example) is also lacking. Issues are prevalent and take excessive time to resolve.
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
Paycor, Inc
The product is really good overall. The customer service is not the best and the benefits administration is kind of painful. However, the good outweighs the bad. We might get a different benefit admin system that can be integrated into Paycor. My controller doesn't want to switch anything for a [long] time.
Read full review
Usability
Paychex, Inc.
Some things could be streamlined. For example, we could do custom options for the "add items" tab which has so many options that we never use. "Medical Pay" could be something that the system remembers for the applicable employees. Salaried employees' salaries should definitely be auto-filled. Overall the system works well but I think it could be improved to be easier to use and read.
Read full review
Paycor, Inc
Unfortunately, Paycor has a major system issue that in my opinion needs to totally be reconfigured. The benefit module is not accurate and does not work correctly. The EDI feeds do not work and took over a year to be implemented and still were not accurate
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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
Paycor, Inc
I feel like Paycor is always up and running! If they are planning downtime, they communicate it clearly. Every once in a while, I get something that says the system isn't working but it is usually back up within the hour. I typically find by the time that the employees complain about it, that it is resolved within the system.
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
Paycor, Inc
For the most part, everything moves super fast. There are a few sections (Expense Management) that sometimes take a bit to load correctly. Or if they are interesting, it takes a minute to talk to each other! But reports are quickly downloaded and available! Even data heavy reports run fairly fast!
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Support Rating
Paychex, Inc.
Our dedicated representative is one of the main reasons we are sticking with Paychex Flex. If it were not for this person, other platforms could provide the same/similar functionality. It is the ability to speak with someone that understands our business and is willing to get questions answered in a timely fashion that keeps us with Paychex Flex.
Read full review
Paycor, Inc
I feel like support will transfer you back and forth between departments and put you on hold forever. I believe it is very difficult to see the status of an open ticket. During my experience, it feels like the client has to push all communication and request updates from support regularly.
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In-Person Training
Paychex, Inc.
We did online training only
Read full review
Paycor, Inc
No answers on this topic
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
Paycor, Inc
The online trainings are super helpful. They have user guides that you can read through, interactive training that will walk you through it as well as plain web based ones. I've actually never had an in-person training but all of the information you need can be found online. They also will do individual support training if you are struggling with a certain area.
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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
Paycor, Inc
Implementation of any new software is going to be challenging, especially if you are maintaining an existing program concurrently. When it is time for dual-processing (both old and new software) prior to going live, be prepared to be stressed. But trust the process and it will be over soon.
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Alternatives Considered
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.
Read full review
Paycor, Inc
Paylocity was cumbersome and not very intuitive. I was constantly on the phone with them trying to figure out how to do something. I once called back 4 different times( because I didn’t believe the answer they gave me was how to do what I was asking), explained my problem the exact same way and got 4 different answers. So, I lost trust in the product and started looking for a product I could rely on.
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Scalability
Paychex, Inc.
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.
Read full review
Paycor, Inc
I gave it a 10 because we only use it across one organization. However, it has allowed us to break it into multiple departments and layers of management. It is also easy for us to utilize across different locations but still under one master company. They have always provided us support when we decide to change something on an organizational level
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Return on Investment
Paychex, Inc.
  • I do not believe we have saved anything additionally. The time we've had to spend to get things to hopefully work is sad. This is the reason we've had to turn off all extra "products" of Paychex Flex. Time and Attendance is horrible. Benefits management is horrible. The user experience is horrible.
  • One thing I do not understand is why are updates for states, cities, counties, school districts, etc. not automatically updated? Should we not get a big red flag if we have an employee living/working, being paid in CA, but they aren't set up for CA sick time? If it is required to be on the paycheck stub to show the balance of the sick time, why would we not be notified that we are out of compliance?
Read full review
Paycor, Inc
  • ACA - Great. It took us approximately two hours to complete, compared to the 40+ Hours it took us in previous years.
  • Timesheet maintenance- this takes more time than it did previously.
  • Reporting - Confusing and Difficult. Very little customization and has forced us to rely less on reports.
  • Performance- Supervisors are spending 20% less time on performance reviews due to the easy of answering the questions.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Paychex Flex Screenshots

Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of

Paycor Screenshots

Screenshot of Real-time data insights to make critical business decisions.Screenshot of Paycor expense reportingScreenshot of Recruiting processes streamlined in PaycorScreenshot of Workforce scheduling in PaycorScreenshot of Paycor's mobile app allows employees to punch in and out from their phonesScreenshot of Paycor Home Screen