Best Payroll and Benefits Software Solutions in 2025

I like the following aspects of Deel:

• The ability to pay international contractors/freelancers in US currency or their local currency.
• The ability to pay international contractors/freelancers on a timely schedule without delays.
• The compliance guides and knowledge base that Deel provides for customers.

My organization decided to implement Deel for several key reasons. Last year, I was managing multiple projects that required hiring contractors from various countries. I needed a solution that could handle international payments seamlessly and efficiently.

While I had been using platforms like Bill.com and QuickBooks, the payment processing times for international contractors were often lengthy. Deel offered a much faster and more streamlined process, including the ability to conduct background checks on international contract workers and freelancers. This made it the ideal solution for my organization's needs.

• Deel's customer service is not always available during EST or PST hours when issues arise.
• Deel can be costly when hiring multiple workers; there should be bundled rates or plans for several workers.
• There have been issues with entering banking information, and Deel doesn't work with certain banks, without providing an explanation.

Deel is similar to Oyster. I have tried both with clients and prefer Deel, as it is more cost-effective and provides a more streamlined process.

Consider what countries the freelancers/contractors/workers are located in and whether Deel supports those countries.

The company also needs to consider compliance and how contracts should be executed. Several countries, including the US, have strict labor laws regarding how a freelancer/contractor should be classified versus an employee.

I have been a Deel customer for almost two years. During that time, they have resolved many issues with the platform, and it is now much more user-friendly and easier to use.

Deel is good for businesses that hire freelancers and contractors and want to avoid the risk of misclassification.

Easy to use. Provided sign up incentives. Respected brand.

Colleagues had experience with ADP in the past and were lobbying for the company to make a change. We have made that change and then continued to increase the services that we were obtaining from them. It has been a positive experience. The vendor is exceeding our expectations. We don't foresee making changes in the near future.

It is a big company so you don't always feel like an important customer. We often deal with different people at the company. It would be nice to have one consistent contact.

The breadth of products that it offers is important to us. We know it has quality products and services.

A company with a long track record. Incentives to move to it. Suggested enhancements to the products.

It is continually updating its service offerings with improvements. It contacts us for associated products and services that may assist our business.

Small to medium business.

• Easy Onboarding - Remote does make onboarding hires in remote locations quite easy.
• Online Portal - great to have all the hires from all international locations in one place.
• Expenses - easy for employees and companies to track/pay expenses.

With a shortage of talent in the U.S., our firm needed to hire in locations where we did not have an entity. Global EORs offer a way to do that without setting up a legal entity first. Remote was an up-and-coming player in the space that made getting setup much faster, less complex than traditional partners like Velocity Global. We have used the system for approximately 2 years now.

• Billing/Invoicing - Remote has had multiple billing errors in our invoices and their system is incredibly confusing for reconciling what is outstanding vs. the errors they have made.
• Management - Remote has changed management recently and they have changed terms & conditions from our original invoices and have taken away promotions by saying they were "introductory promotions" rather than the "negotiated terms" like we originally discussed.

Remote was a leader in simplicity when we first began using their services a couple of years ago. Now, I believe certain competitors have caught up and surpassed them.

• Cash flow - these services require upfront payment for payroll so be prepared to pay month end payroll by the 17th of that month.
• Terminating employees - Employment laws vary country by country. Remote is offering a service to make it easier on your company to hire elsewhere; however, terminating employees can be quite difficult.

Remote was very startup friendly 2 years ago. Their management has changed and their culture has changed drastically. It is no longer a customer-focused culture going above and beyond to win customers.

Remote is good for an established company in search of a way to explore hiring people in other regions of the world.

Paylocity offers many pre-loaded reports, which were useful for targeting specific metrics. The interface is user-friendly and has many valuable features. Having the opportunity to participate in a demo with a representative to walk through Paylocity’s functionality was extremely helpful. Additionally, the function that automatically posts new vacancies to multiple job sites, like Indeed and Monster, was very convenient.

Our company switched to Paylocity after acquiring another franchise. The acquired company already used Paylocity, and it was part of the contract that we would keep and integrate it with our existing employees. I have used it for about two years. However, there were numerous issues on payday, with several instances where paychecks were deposited into the wrong accounts.

While customer support was promised to be excellent, it was often difficult to find solutions when problems arose. The demo of the software was impressive, and the sales team did a great job, which is understandable why people might choose it, but the ongoing functionality can become frustrating when the same mistakes occur repeatedly.

Customer service frequently experienced turnover, making it difficult to find knowledgeable support, which was frustrating. Often, I found that I knew more than the representatives assisting me. We also encountered several instances where an employee’s pay was deposited into the wrong account, which was a significant concern that needed prompt resolution. Lastly, the frequent misalignment of cost centers was a constant issue, taking up a considerable amount of time to correct.

Paylocity has a very user-friendly interface compared to other tools I’ve used. The ability to provide demo training for onboarding new corporate individuals from other brands was a great advantage. However, once our account manager left, it became challenging to bring new users up to speed.

Consider your organization’s specific needs and take detailed notes during demos. Paylocity offers many training advantages, but it’s essential to have clear expectations of what you need from the tool.

Before I left the company, there was talk of introducing a texting feature, which seemed like a valuable addition.

I would recommend Paylocity for larger organizations. It offers a wide range of features that can be useful for payroll, onboarding, recruiting, labor management, and more.

Easy to use. Keeps track of all state regulations and taxes. Provides solid customer assistance.

Paycor is an easy-to-use payroll solution for small businesses. Often, a small organization doesn't have a person who is dedicated to HR completely as they perform other duties. We wanted something that was easy to use and Paycor was.

Wish customer service got back to us quicker. Would like them to lower the price, although it is in line with others in the space. Would appreciate more proactive advice.

It has an easy-to-use and understandable interface.

Will it expand with you as your company expands? Do you need personal assistance?

It has continued to improve the product and keep abreast of the many disparate tax laws.

SMBs

I love their customer service, they always have an answer for you and make my job so much easier. The interface is fantastic, and the design is very appealing, which is a huge factor for someone that uses it quite often. I also really like the admin dashboard, Gusto will list outstanding tasks with their deadlines and will prompt you with helpful information to finish the task.

My company is a portfolio company for High Alpha Innovation. Gusto is the go-to HRIS for all portfolio companies. We have been using it since we started in 2020 and have even used it for one of our own portfolio companies. Gusto is a very easy-to-use tool that has fantastic customer support. When you're working for a start-up, you don't want to spend a long time on payroll and Gusto really helps with that. It's also very easy to set up a new instance of Gusto for a company - it took like two hours and was a painless experience due to Gusto's interface.

Sometimes the outstanding tasks aren't accurate, we recently had tasks pop up for an employee that has been gone for two years. This is very specific, but I wish that you could make some employee documents private to employees, all the documents you upload are automatically public and don't give you an option. I dislike their benefits -- we ran a quote before and it took a few weeks to get back the quote and it was incredibly expensive.

The only similar tool I've used is a PEO called Justworks. I'm not sure if it's a fair comparison, since PEOs pretty much do everything for you. I will say, it was nice that you could set up Gusto in a day and run payroll the next day if needed. For Justworks, you have to wait until the system start date, which can be weeks later.

I think that customer service is a huge buying criteria, especially if you have an inexperienced team. It's invaluable to have experts that you can call or chat with at any time. Cost is definitely a big factor that differs from organization to organization. It's sometimes worth it to pay a little bit more to make your life easier and that's what we've found with Gusto. Lastly, I think that it's important to have an easy-to-use system for both HR and employees. Payroll is VERY important which makes it vital to have a system that is easy to comprehend.

Gusto has become more well-rounded over the years. Last year, they added performance reviews into the mix. It's definitely not perfect and not very customizable, but it's a free add-on, which can be a huge value to organizations that don't have performance management built out.

Small to mid-sized organizations. I think it could work for a small start-up, but would be better for slightly more mature organizations.

• Rippling allows for organizational growth while providing flexible options to manage various HR and payroll functions.
• The chat support feature provides quick responses for most inquiries without requiring a phone call or ticket submission.
• The payroll and benefits modules are robust, allowing organizations to automate much of the process.

We purchased Rippling to streamline our processes. As a small organization, we primarily relied on physical copies of employee documents. We transitioned to Rippling about seven months ago.

Previously, we used ADP for payroll processing, but due to the size and needs of our organization, ADP was not a good fit. Rippling provided a more flexible solution that aligned better with our operational requirements.

• When issues require escalation to a specialist, response times can be very slow, often taking 5–7 days or longer.
• The documents module needs improvement, particularly in allowing multiple employees to access the same file and enabling employees to upload their own documents, such as course certificates or TB risk assessment results.
• The platform can become expensive, as additional modules, such as talent acquisition management and extra workflows, come at an added cost.

Rippling has a robust system with strong integrations, and its modules are built within the platform rather than being a collection of separate acquired tools, like ADP. I prefer its benefits and time-off modules because they are easy to update and manage.

However, the performance management, documents, and payroll sections can be challenging, requiring either manual work or additional paid features to achieve desired results.

Company size is a key factor to consider. After using Rippling for several months, I believe it is better suited for larger organizations. Cost is another consideration, as it is more expensive than options like BambooHR but still slightly more affordable than ADP.

The system offers numerous features, which can be overwhelming, so organizations should focus on their specific needs and choose a solution that simplifies their processes.

Since I started using it, Rippling has introduced a few new features in the documents section. However, I have not observed any major improvements.

Larger organizations with complex needs will find Rippling useful.

1. It minimizes mistakes during payroll runs.
2. It allows for unlimited payroll runs.
3. I also appreciate the automated tax filings.

We were looking for software to help streamline our tax processes. OnPay offers an automated tax system that handles most of the work, and it also allows us to run unlimited payrolls. This feature was crucial for us since we have multiple shifts within our organization. With OnPay, we found that these two pain points became much more manageable. I have personally used this platform for over two years.

1. I wish there was more flexibility in drilling down into specific reports.
2. The company’s customer support could be better.
3. The pricing structure could also use improvement.

The payroll runs and automated tax filings are two specific features that set OnPay apart from its competitors.

If you're facing increased payroll runs that add extra costs per month, I would certainly consider this platform for your organization. This feature handles most of the heavy lifting regarding payroll, saving you time and effort. The automated tax filings are also a significant benefit for any business looking to streamline this process, reducing the workload for your HR or Accounting/Finance departments.

From my experience, the overall customer service has improved significantly. Getting support when needed, even for simple questions, has become easier since I started using the platform.

OnPay is well-suited for any organization or industry, particularly small to medium-sized businesses.

It is easy to use - the interface is intuitive. I like the app and the fact I can do receipt tracking on my phone. I like that I can easily give my employees a company card and have them forward receipts into Quickbooks.

We work with a CPA firm who helped us to integrate Quickbooks across our organization. We began using Quickbooks in 2018, when our firm had just under $60,000 in revenue a year. Today, we use Quickbooks to manage the company's $1.7M and growing annual budget. We used Quickbooks because we wanted to have accurate timely financial statements across the organization, track all of our expenses, and manage our businesses PnL easily. I've been the primary user for the past 5 years.

I wish that it had better cash flow capabilities - the current capabilities do not account for projections. I also wish that when adding users there was an option to add employees who just had employee cards who need to email receipts into Quickbooks instead of having to take up a user seat - right now we have some employees emailing receipts to a company user to forward them on because there is only five seats in our plan. I also wish Quickbooks integrated better with my bank - the bank connection is always breaking and needs to be updated.

I haven't used similar tools - before Quickbooks I did everything on a spreadsheet. I did choose Quickbooks because it came highly recommended from my CPA firm.

People should think about their needs for financial reporting. People should also think about their needs for billing, and tracking employee expenses.

It works great for my consulting firm!

I love that we were able to use Paycom for our specific needs. I feel that Paycom understands the small business and mid-size business needs. Paycom listens to their customers and are always seeking to make their product better!

We purchased Paycom 5 years ago and have been using it since. We were using an outdated product for payroll that didn’t offer a diverse use across the board in terms of add-ons. The ATS system worked well with a tool called Job Scan, this helped reduce people applying for several positions with the same resume. Now that most small and large companies have employees in other states, Paycom has the info to keep the taxes aligned. Self Service was also a main factor; we needed a tool that would allow employees to be able to access their information so that our small staff wasn’t constantly having to field the calls for things like W-2s that should be easily accessible.

I wish there was more product training at a lower cost. Every time we get a new admin we have to pay for additional training. I would like to see more add-ons like the other companies who wanted our business. More computability with the old Deltek software that we were using so that the change over was smoother.

Paycom is different from the competitors because the customer service is phenomenal! They listen to the customer!

When buying a payroll tool, the first thing I would recommend is analyzing your company’s needs. I believe assessing how the employees use the product is important in making the decision as well!

Over the years, Paycom has made the software more user-friendly, introduced communities, and improved mobile support.

Paycom is great for small to midsize businesses

Paychex is cost effective for my business. Customer service is always timely and helpful. Fees are clearly explained.

My organization is a human resource support company. I hire people to assist with various responsibilities and needed a payroll provider that also handled tax reporting. Paychex is low cost and their customer service has been excellent. I am into my 2nd year using Paychex and so far don't plan to change providers. My clients use other payroll processors and other than a few differences in fees, I can't say one is better than the other. Paychex also asks for feedback regularly and I noticed they often implement that feedback, which is comforting.

I dislike that if I don't process payroll for a couple of weeks I am charged a minimum fee and if I process payroll late instead of moving the pay date back a day or so they charge a rush fee.

Several other providers have complicated customer service processes and it takes a while to get someone to assist. Paycheck replies quickly using their email and phone services.

People should think about how many employees they have. Paychex isn't the best for larger companies. Also, think about what you can afford. Finally, consider user friendliness. I was able to quickly learn this system without guidance from a customer service rep. Although, I think Paychex offers reps to assist and conduct walkthroughs/demos if necessary. Paychex does not have a large training database as some other providers have.

When they request feedback, I often see changes implemented after that.

Small businesses

1. The tool ensures compliance with employment legislation across different countries.
2. It handles payroll functions, including currency and tax laws, specific to each country.
3. The platform provides a unified experience for all employees globally, which can be managed from a central location.

The organization I worked for needed to streamline its payroll and HR platform to cover all global locations. We were struggling to manage payroll efficiently while complying with various employment laws. The financial burden of maintaining multiple teams to oversee these functions was also a concern, as it was costly to ensure accuracy and compliance. Payroll was our primary focus, so we sought a platform that could handle these tasks without requiring a large, expensive team in each country. We have used this tool for several years now, with significant improvements in efficiency and cost savings.

1. The primary support is via chat, which can be inconvenient during urgent situations.
2. The cost might not be suitable for startups or small businesses.
3. The learning curve is steep for large companies, requiring significant time to implement and integrate fully.

Papayaglobal offers a globally integrated service that ensures compliance with employment and tax legislation. Compared to similar tools, it is user-friendly once you become familiar with it. The ability to manage all employee functions from headquarters on a single platform distinguishes it from others, making it a valuable investment.

Papayaglobal is ideal for large companies with multiple global locations seeking a unified platform for HR and payroll management. It is particularly beneficial if you want to manage these functions centrally while providing a consistent experience for all employees.

Papayaglobal has become more user-friendly and has expanded its support options. It now offers more integrations with other software, making it even more versatile and useful.

Papayaglobal is excellent for large, multi-location organizations. It is particularly useful for companies with global operations looking to consolidate HR and payroll functions into a single team at their headquarters.

Namely has an extremely user-friendly interface that helps manage HR tasks efficiently. It integrates payroll, benefits, and performance management into one platform, simplifying key processes. The tool offers customizable reporting capabilities that provide insightful personnel data while maintaining compliance with regulations.

Namely, an automated HR solution preferred by our management after a long history of inefficient HR processes, has proven its relevance as all operations have been streamlined. Switching and gathering information from different platforms was difficult, especially when accustomed to one system's workflow.

Before introducing Namely, completing payroll, personnel records, and other internal processes was time-consuming and prone to errors. We aimed to implement automation to allow a focus on tasks like performance management rather than correcting discrepancies. Namely’s user-friendly interface, creative report design, and working tools played a crucial role in its successful implementation.

I have been using Namely for [insert your time of use], and it has made our human resource processes more efficient, improving workforce management. It has also eliminated the problem of waiting for reports, a common issue in many companies that wastes valuable time.

Customer support at Namely is slow, especially when handling urgent issues. Some customization options, like those for reports, are limited and should be more flexible. Occasional system glitches or downtimes can disrupt important HR workflows and reduce productivity.

Namely's key differentiator is its all-in-one platform, featuring an intuitive user interface that combines payroll, benefits, and performance management in one system. This reduces the need for multiple tools. Compared to platforms like ADP or Workday, Namely is much easier for non-technical users. While competitors may offer more in-depth functionality in specific areas, Namely strikes the best balance between features and simplicity, making it ideal for midsize companies seeking a full-service solution.

When investing in an HR tool like Namely, key considerations include scalability—ensuring the platform can grow with your company—and integration capabilities with other systems such as payroll and benefits providers. Ease of use is critical, as a user-friendly interface leads to higher adoption and minimal training. Additionally, it's important to assess the level of customer support provided and how responsive the vendor is when issues arise. Customization options are another important factor, as the platform’s ability to adapt to your specific HR needs can significantly impact day-to-day operations.

Namely has evolved significantly over time, enhancing its platform to meet user demands with better integration features. Originally focused on core HR management, it has expanded to include payroll management, benefits administration, and compliance tools that help companies align with regulations.

The user experience has improved with a more intuitive interface, and customizable reporting has become more robust to extract meaningful data. Namely has also responded to customer feedback by improving its customer support and onboarding processes, addressing concerns about response times and implementation smoothness.

Namely is ideal for mid-sized organizations, typically with 50 to 500 employees, that want a user-friendly HR solution covering all key HR functions. It is especially suited for companies seeking an easy way to manage payroll, benefits, and performance management without the complexities of large enterprise systems.

Namely also works well for organizations that value employee engagement and want to use data-driven insights to improve HR practices continuously. Its intuitive design makes it accessible for HR teams with any level of technical expertise.