ADP RUN Competitors & Alternatives
ADP RUN is one of the most popular human resource solutions on the market today. That market, however, is competitive. Therefore, we recommend comparing ADP RUN against its top competitors before purchasing.
There are many excellent competitors in the human resource space that are worth considering. Most of ADP RUN’s top competitors offer similar or less robust features at more affordable prices.
| Software Company | Analyst Rating | Features | Usability | Pricing | Customer Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADP RUN | 83 | 8 | 8.5 | 8 | 8.5 |
| Zenefits | 95 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 9.5 |
| Justworks | 93 | 9.5 | 10 | 8 | 10 |
| Gusto | 92 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 7.5 |
| Zoho People | 90 | 8.5 | 9 | 10 | 8 |
| BambooHR | 89 | 9 | 8.5 | 8 | 9 |
| Sage HR | 89 | 9 | 8.5 | 7.5 | 9.5 |
Throughout this article, we’ll provide an overview of the main ADP RUN competitors and alternatives, which are:
In this guide, we examine ADP RUN’s features and pricing, and compare these factors against competitors. To gain a better understanding of ADP RUN as a solution, you can read our in-depth ADP RUN review.
All of the information in this article is based upon research, discussions with small business owners, and dozens of hours spent hand-testing the leader human resource software platforms. To learn more about our research and reviews, read about our unbiased review process.
Table of Contents
- ADP RUN Features
- ADP RUN Competitor Overview: Features
- ADP RUN Competitor Overview: Pricing
- Top ADP RUN Competitors
- Bottom Line
ADP RUN Features
Before we compare ADP RUN against its competitors, it’s important to understand the features included in ADP RUN. ADP RUN offers features geared more towards payroll than human resource management and applicant tracking.
The five most important features that ADP RUN offers are described in the table below. ADP RUN’s strongest feature is payroll.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Payroll | ADP RUN’s payroll is its speciality feature. Although it is feature-rich, it is less user-friendly than both Zenefits and Gusto. |
| Employee Onboarding | ADP RUN’s employee onboarding is decent but centered around payroll. This means that you cannot automate certain documents to be sent upon a new hire’s approval. |
| Time Tracking | Time tracking in ADP RUN is not as strong as its alternatives. You cannot create custom paid-time-off (PTO) policies in ADP RUN. |
| Benefits | Benefits management in ADP RUN is easy to run. Unlike competitors, you can select benefits for both your employees and business. This means that you can select business insurance plans such as general liability and auto insurance. |
| Analytics and Reporting | ADP RUN’s analytics and custom report creation are robust. You can preview your custom reports before you export them. You’re also provided a number of helpful pre-made reports to gain analysis from. |
ADP RUN Competitor Overview: Features
Below is a chart that compares each platform’s features and affordability. They differ primarily based on how affordable each platform is and how wide their breadth of features is.
For example, ADP RUN is geared more towards payroll than human resource management. This contrasts with its more affordable alternatives, which include more diverse features, such as Justworks and Zenefits.
ADP RUN Competitor Overview: Pricing
ADP RUN’ pricing is ambiguous and not stated clearly on the company’s site. Four plans are available with varying degrees of features offered. Your company’s employee count, frequency of ADP RUN use, and required features will be factors that determine your pricing.
Here are the prices of ADP RUN and its top competitors, along with additional pricing details:
| Software Vendor | Starting Monthly Price | Free Trial | Pricing Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| ADP RUN | Custom | No |
|
| Zenefits | $10 per user | Yes |
|
| Justworks | $49 | Yes |
|
| Gusto | $39 | No |
|
| Zoho People | Free | No |
|
| BambooHR | $99 | Yes |
|
| Sage HR | $5.50 per user | Yes |
|
Top ADP RUN Competitors
Below are one-to-one comparisons between ADP RUN and its top alternatives. ADP RUN is best for customers interested in software that can assist with payroll and no additional human resource management features. We’ve ranked ADP RUN’s top six competitors based on their features, pricing, and usability.
#1: Zenefits
Zenefits is an affordable and more robust alternative to ADP RUN. ADP RUN could work as an alternative to Zenefits if you are strictly in need of payroll. However, Zenefits is simply more accessible and feature-rich.
For more details, read our in-depth analysis of ADP RUN vs. Zenefits.
- You want to create customizable reports for employee and company analysis
- You require onboarding assistance for new hires and payroll
- You want to purchase business coverage services such as general liability insurance
- Zenefits supports benefits management in your state
- You want a more affordable payroll and benefits solution
- You require compliance assistance and performance management features
#2: Justworks
Justworks is a closer alternative to Zenefits rather than ADP RUN. Justworks does not support the custom reporting features ADP RUN offers. However, its accessibility and human resource management features make it the ideal tool for newer businesses.
For more details, read our in-depth analysis of ADP RUN vs. Justworks.
- You want to create customizable reports for employee and company analysis
- You require onboarding assistance for new hires and payroll
- You want to purchase business coverage services such as general liability insurance
- You want to offer free training courses for your employees
- You require expense management features like reimbursements
- You are a newer business in need of a user-friendly HR product
#3: Gusto
Gusto is one of ADP RUN’s direct alternatives. Gusto is also centered primarily around payroll. We recommend Gusto over ADP RUN because it is more affordable and easier to use for newer businesses. However, note that Gusto only supports benefits in 39 states while ADP RUN supports all 50.
For more details, read our in-depth analysis of ADP RUN vs. Gusto.
- You want to create customizable reports for employee and company analysis
- You require onboarding assistance for new hires and payroll
- You want to purchase business coverage services such as general liability insurance
- Gusto can offer benefits management in your state
- You are in need of affordable payroll software
- You require compliance assistance and performance management features
#4: Zoho People
Zoho People is a more robust and affordable alternative to ADP RUN. Unlike other competitors, Zoho People includes recruiting features such as job post creation and distribution, as well as interview pipelines.
We recommend Zoho People over ADP RUN if you are primarily in need of recruiting features. Note that its payroll and benefits management are only available in India.
- You need to run payroll and benefits outside of India
- You are not in need of expense management features
- You want to purchase business insurance for your company
- You leverage HR software mainly for recruiting features
- You want a more affordable HR software solution
- You require expense management features such as reimbursements
#5: BambooHR
BambooHR is a more feature-rich alternative to ADP RUN. ADP RUN is more effective for running payroll than BambooHR. However, we recommend BambooHR over ADP RUN for its wider and more user-friendly breadth of features.
- You want to create customizable reports for employee and company analysis
- You require onboarding assistance for new hires and payroll
- You want to purchase business coverage services such as general liability insurance
- You require a solution to create and distribute job posts
- You only need to track benefits for your company instead of selecting
- You do not need a robust custom report creator
#6: Sage HR
Sage HR is an alternative to ADP RUN with features more similar to BambooHR and Zoho People. Sage HR’s advantages over ADP RUN are its workflow automations and its recruiting features. However, we recommend Zoho People or BambooHR over Sage HR if these features are important to you.
- You do not require performance management features in your HR software
- You want to purchase business insurance for your company
- You leverage HR software for custom report creation
- You need to edit applicant interview pipelines
- You want to automate repetitive tasks for your company
- You need expense management features such as tracking reimbursements
Bottom Line
ADP RUN is effective for small businesses in need of simple payroll and benefits management. However, it offers one of the more limited feature sets we’ve analyzed in the human resource software category. We recommend more robust and accessible alternatives such as Gusto and Zenefits.
Before you make your purchase, we also suggest comparing ADP RUN to other highly rated platforms: