Justworks is one of the most popular human resource solutions on the market. It received the second highest rating of all products in our human resource category. Its unlimited payroll for full-time and contingent employees, as well as its robust compliance management features are very helpful for small businesses.

Read our Justworks Review.

Gusto is the most affordable payroll solution for small businesses. It does not offer the hiring and onboarding features that alternatives do. However, its payroll and custom report creators are user-friendly and designed for newer businesses. Note, however, that Gusto does not support benefits management in 11 states.

Read our Gusto Review.

Zenefits is the most advanced human resource solution we’ve analyzed. It is a robust solution that can help you run unlimited payroll, automate important onboarding processes, and manage your company’s benefits in one centralized system. It is also one of the more affordable solutions in the human resource software category. It’s for these reasons that we highly recommend Zenefits for any small business.

Read our Zenefits Review.

BambooHR is one of the most popular human resource solutions with recruiting features. It offers user-friendly job posting features alongside basic time tracking and reporting. We ultimately recommend considering more affordable alternatives like Zenefits or Zoho People before making your purchase decision.

Read our BambooHR Review.

ADP RUN is effective for small businesses in need of payroll and benefits management. However, we felt that it does not have the same breadth of features as alternatives such as Zenefits or Gusto. Its time tracking and onboarding are particularly limited.

Read our ADP RUN Review.

Justworks and Gusto are similar in usability but ideal for different user types. Justworks is best for businesses in need of a powerful all-in-one solution that supports benefits management in all 50 states. Gusto, rather, is ideal for businesses interested in a more affordable solution centered around payroll. Note that Gusto only supports benefits in 39 states.

Justworks and Zenefits are the closest alternatives to one another in regards to features. Although both solutions can help your company accomplish your HR needs, Zenefits is more affordable and therefore our recommendation. However, choose Justworks if compliance support features such as free training courses are important to you.

We recommend Justworks over ADP RUN for nearly all small businesses. This is because Justworks is more accessible and feature-rich than ADP RUN. It also features more robust expense management and time tracking features than ADP RUN. Still, consider ADP RUN if you need to purchase business insurance plans such as general liability insurance.

Overall, Zenefits is more powerful than Gusto when it comes to its features. Both solutions are similarly priced as well, especially if you have under 10 employees. Additionally, Zenefits offers benefits management in 49 states, while Gusto only supports 39. We do, however, recommend considering Gusto if you have more than 10 employees and are in need of a more affordable payroll solution.

Zenefits is a more robust and affordable alternative to BambooHR. BambooHR’s only advantage over Zenefits is its recruiting features such as job post distribution and candidate pipelines. Even then, we recommend considering alternatives such as Zoho People or Sage HR which also offer applicant tracking features.

Overall, Zenefits is a stronger application for small businesses than ADP RUN. It is more affordable and more advanced feature-wise. ADP RUN can be leveraged successfully by small businesses strictly looking for payroll and benefits management. However, Zenefits is more user-friendly for newer businesses. ADP RUN also lacks features like performance management and offers more limited time tracking capabilities

Similar to its comparison with Zenefits, BambooHR is less robust and less affordable than Gusto. However, it offers recruiting features which Gusto does not. Gusto’s user-interface, however, makes payroll, benefits management, and time tracking easier to accomplish than BambooHR.

Gusto and ADP RUN are direct competitors in regards to features. Both solutions are centered around payroll, but Gusto is more user-friendly. It also offers more helpful benefits management, compliance assistance, and performance management features. However, note that Gusto only supports benefits in 39 states while ADP RUN supports all 50. ADP RUN also comes with business coverage services such as general liability insurance.