Payroll by Wave vs. Rippling

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Payroll by Wave
Score 10.0 out of 10
N/A
Wave Accounting headquartered in Toronto now offers Payroll by Wave, a payroll app for small businesses.N/A
Rippling
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
Rippling’s platform for HR, IT, payroll, and spend management automates the entire employee lifecycle, ensures compliance, supports device management, and provides real-time financial visibility from a central dashboard.
$8
per month per user
Pricing
Payroll by WaveRippling
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Recommended
$8.00
starting price per user, per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Payroll by WaveRippling
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsFor additional pricing details visit the Rippling pricing page.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Payroll by WaveRippling
Features
Payroll by WaveRippling
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Payroll by Wave
9.4
5 Ratings
13% above category average
Rippling
9.3
1070 Ratings
13% above category average
Pay calculation10.05 Ratings9.3959 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors9.03 Ratings00 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment9.03 Ratings9.0665 Ratings
Benefit plan administration9.01 Ratings9.0938 Ratings
Direct deposit files9.05 Ratings9.5941 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management9.55 Ratings9.4715 Ratings
Reimbursement management10.02 Ratings9.4621 Ratings
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
Payroll by Wave
-
Ratings
Rippling
9.1
1021 Ratings
12% above category average
Employee demographic data00 Ratings8.9721 Ratings
Employment history00 Ratings9.0747 Ratings
Job profiles and administration00 Ratings9.2851 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.00 Ratings9.2752 Ratings
Organizational charting00 Ratings9.3885 Ratings
Organization and location management00 Ratings9.2786 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)00 Ratings9.0609 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
Payroll by Wave
-
Ratings
Rippling
9.4
956 Ratings
14% above category average
Approval workflow00 Ratings9.4923 Ratings
Balance details00 Ratings9.4876 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment00 Ratings9.4647 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
Payroll by Wave
-
Ratings
Rippling
9.2
1117 Ratings
11% above category average
View and generate pay and benefit information00 Ratings9.41055 Ratings
Update personal information00 Ratings9.51103 Ratings
View company policy documentation00 Ratings9.4915 Ratings
Employee recognition00 Ratings8.7603 Ratings
View job history00 Ratings9.0790 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
Payroll by Wave
-
Ratings
Rippling
9.0
471 Ratings
12% above category average
Tracking of all physical assets00 Ratings9.0471 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Payroll by Wave
-
Ratings
Rippling
9.0
572 Ratings
17% above category average
Report builder00 Ratings8.8554 Ratings
Pre-built reports00 Ratings9.1522 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data00 Ratings9.1471 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
Payroll by Wave
-
Ratings
Rippling
9.4
794 Ratings
16% above category average
New hire portal00 Ratings9.5774 Ratings
Manager tracking tools00 Ratings9.3598 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
Payroll by Wave
-
Ratings
Rippling
9.1
455 Ratings
12% above category average
Corporate goal setting00 Ratings9.2390 Ratings
Individual goal setting00 Ratings9.1419 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility00 Ratings9.2385 Ratings
Performance tracking00 Ratings9.0411 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
Payroll by Wave
-
Ratings
Rippling
9.3
524 Ratings
16% above category average
Performance plans00 Ratings9.2462 Ratings
Performance improvement plans00 Ratings9.2438 Ratings
Review status tracking00 Ratings9.2465 Ratings
Review reminders00 Ratings9.4491 Ratings
Multiple review frequency00 Ratings9.4425 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
Payroll by Wave
-
Ratings
Rippling
9.2
390 Ratings
16% above category average
Create succession plans/pools00 Ratings9.2322 Ratings
Candidate ranking00 Ratings9.2333 Ratings
Candidate search00 Ratings9.2347 Ratings
Candidate development00 Ratings9.0329 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
Payroll by Wave
-
Ratings
Rippling
9.2
442 Ratings
18% above category average
Job Requisition Management00 Ratings9.2352 Ratings
Company Website Posting00 Ratings9.2338 Ratings
Publish to Social Media00 Ratings9.3295 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting00 Ratings9.1307 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention00 Ratings9.2307 Ratings
Applicant Tracking00 Ratings9.0339 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts00 Ratings9.1414 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Payroll by WaveRippling
Small Businesses
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.4 out of 10
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.4 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.7 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.7 out of 10
Enterprises
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.1 out of 10
PeopleStrong
PeopleStrong
Score 9.9 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Payroll by WaveRippling
Likelihood to Recommend
10.0
(6 ratings)
9.2
(1165 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(20 ratings)
Usability
10.0
(1 ratings)
9.4
(1162 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(4 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
8.5
(4 ratings)
Support Rating
8.9
(2 ratings)
9.2
(877 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
8.6
(2 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
7.9
(9 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
6.3
(3 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(2 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(3 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(2 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
8.6
(2 ratings)
User Testimonials
Payroll by WaveRippling
Likelihood to Recommend
Wave
Great for small business payroll needs. Reports and taxes are taken care of, everything is automated and once you're set up it's literally just a matter of minutes to run payroll each time. You also get email reminders which is helpful. There are premium features available for companies with larger/more robust needs, and I would definitely recommend looking into this software if you are searching for a user friendly payroll solution
Read full review
Rippling
With Rippling, we get a one stop shop for all things HR. Our benefits, pay, PTO, and leave management are all under one umbrella. This simplifies workflow and limits the number of systems we need to access to take care of day to day HR tasks. Despite the one-stop shop aspect of it all, some processes ended up being more problematic than others, for instance, sometimes PTO requests that have been approved do not register as such - and sometimes duplicate notifications go out on those approvals. To be fair to Rippling, this is likely user error on our part with initial or continued setup issues, but it is also not (seemingly) easily remediated. Our overall experience with Rippling has been positive. The simplicity and ease of use definitely overcome the few nagging issues that we have experienced.
Read full review
Pros
Wave
  • An intuitive, clear UI helps you know where everything is, what options are at your disposal. Calendars and timelines show that Wave really thought out how to provide you with useful tool.
  • Pay day can be automated and straightforward.
  • Wave onboarding provides guidance at what information to input next until you are all set up.
Read full review
Rippling
  • Three different options to view the hours you've worked in a pay period. All three are valuable in their own way! I love this and use each one every week.
  • Rippling has the option to retroactively log your hours later if you forget to log in before you start work. I love this because sometimes I take a work call on the go and don't have time to clock in first. Such a handy feature!
  • Rippling has also made putting in time-off requests (sick/PTO/etc) so much easier. I'm sure every HR team would appreciate this!
Read full review
Cons
Wave
  • Implement an employee time clock option through a separate link which automatically applies to the weekly time sheets.
  • Option to further customize payroll statements
  • Add a per employee payroll dashboard with the option to review rolling, quarterly, and weekly snapshot. Info to include gross pay, employer paid tax, employee paid tax, etc...
Read full review
Rippling
  • Could clarify what is being asked when creating expense reports.
  • It could make 2FA more intuitive on mobile, such as allowing iPhone users to use Face ID as an alternative if the device is locked.
  • Overall avoid using too much jargon when asking questions.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Wave
No answers on this topic
Rippling
The AI assistant has always been able to direct me to the correct solution to any question i have about Rippling. Payroll is so easy, it takes about 10 minutes to go through the process.
Read full review
Usability
Wave
Very simple & straightforward system to learn and when time is always of the essence the efficiency is much appreciated
Read full review
Rippling
Rippling has an easy-to-use user interface and so far, employees at my company have really enjoyed using it. I find the modules for payroll, performance management, personal information, and benefits easy to navigate and appreciate that so many different features are integrated into one product. I much prefer it to our previous HRIS, Workday.
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Reliability and Availability
Wave
No answers on this topic
Rippling
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
Wave
No answers on this topic
Rippling
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
Wave
Quick response times, personalized service. They offer in-depth videos and guides for helping to get set up. Any time I have a question about taxes or reporting, they answer quickly and give comprehensive answers. Members of the team with whom I've interacted have been courteous, friendly, and helpful. Overall, great support.
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Rippling
When I did have to reach out to Rippling for assistance I was able to get quick help and my problem resolved in a time efficient manner with out any type of hick up. The customer support team is professional, kind and always available. This makes Rippling more welcoming to use on a daily basis.
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In-Person Training
Wave
No answers on this topic
Rippling
The trainer went slow and and answered our questions.
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Implementation Rating
Wave
No answers on this topic
Rippling
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
Wave
First is the cost. Since QuickBooks removed the inhouse solution and moved everything to the cloud, the cost for a small business is prohibited. Wave is reasonable in cost. Support for QB isn't great they are always trying to upsell and commit. Wave support in comparison is 100% better, and most of the answers are in their manual
Read full review
Rippling
Workday is built for large enterprises. Rippling is optimized for small to mid-sized businesses that want flexibility, fast execution, and fewer administrative hurdles. Rippling lets you pay only for what you use—payroll, benefits, device management, etc.—whereas Workday often comes as a large, bundled enterprise solution, which may be overkill for many organizations.
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Scalability
Wave
No answers on this topic
Rippling
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
Wave
  • Peace of mind that all the payroll tax-related stuff is taken care of accurately and on time.
  • Easy to use interface saves time and helps ensure I am paid on time.
Read full review
Rippling
  • Routine things like PTO requests and document uploads now take a few clicks instead of hours of email back‑and‑forth. I’d estimate I spend at least half the time on those tasks compared to before, which frees me up to actually help employees.
  • What used to drag on for days now gets done in a morning - I've just asked them this now. New hires can log in, set up their tools, and start training almost immediately, so they’re productive much sooner.
  • Payroll and benefits errors used to pop up regularly, but now I almost never have to fix things or follow up on missing info. That means less stress for me and for everyone involved.
  • Having everything in one platform cuts out the “where did you send that?” and “who approves this?” questions. It feels like we’ve reduced our back‑and‑forth by at least a third.
Read full review
ScreenShots

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.