Paychex vs Rippling

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Our analysts compared Paychex vs Rippling based on data from our 400+ point analysis of Payroll Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

Product Basics

Paychex provides payment processing, time-keeping and other general human resource software. They offer this to self-employed users, small businesses, medium business and large enterprise ventures. Buyers can choose from various pricing plans and payment options such as direct deposit, real-time transfers and same-day ACH. Most versions have some core HR management and pay processing functionalities.

Based in the cloud, it assists with hiring, onboarding, tax filing, benefits management, business insurance, startup services and more. Users can customize it to meet their specific needs, adding only what they use. This allows administrators to ensure it fits their requirements, whether they be simple or complex.
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Rippling is a cloud-based, unified platform that helps manage employee data, payroll, benefits, devices, apps and more, seamlessly integrating essential HR, IT and financial functions. Designed for small and medium businesses, it lets administrators oversee operations from HR to IT with a single click.

Features include custom reporting and graphs, digital document management, time tracking, workflow approval management and provisioning. It enables users to automate administrative work from onboarding new hires to offboarding.
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Product Assistance

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24/7 Live Support
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Product Insights

  • Reduce Errors: Ensure accuracy in payroll processing with the help of a variety of safeguard features, such as sending managers notifications when the system detects potential issues so that these problems are avoided entirely.
  • User Support: Access 24/7 online support to assist with all aspects of processing, and the option for a dedicated specialist that can act as a personal support expert for both payment and tax needs.
  • Convenience: The mobile app enables employers and employees to access the system from any device. By leveraging the cloud, they can start work on a desktop and pick up right where they left off directly from their mobile device, allowing them to complete core tasks from anywhere.
  • Informed Employees: Employees can get information about their time off, upcoming paychecks, benefits information or retirement funds. This saves time from HR and accounting by answering their more pressing questions while also building transparency and trust in the entire process.
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  • Powerful Reporting: Provide employee turnover insights for HR, app usage monitoring for IT and compensation trends for finance. The platform facilitates the creation of customized reports and graphs, providing crucial data for informed decision-making. Run powerful prebuilt reports like compensation and payroll journal reports, or create custom reports and graphs using any employee attribute. 
  • Automatic Tax Filing: The system simplifies payroll tax calculations and filing, ensuring compliance with federal, state, and local agencies. From W2s and W4s to 1099s and new hire filings, automate all compliance-related tasks, bringing peace of mind to administrative processes. 
  • Go Paperless: Digitize and manage every document, from offer letters to employee handbooks, streamlining processes and reducing reliance on paper.
  • Seamless Integration: Connect with over 500 apps to set up new hires in platforms like Slack, issue corporate cards that integrate directly with the Rippling's Financial Cloud payroll system, control door access with Proxy, and automate manual tasks through the Rippling App Shop. 
  • Unified Employee Database: Get accurate employee data across all modules, eliminating manual entry and minimizing errors in the workforce management process. The system’s advanced Rippling Recruiting ATS integrates seamlessly with their Headcount Planning and Compensation Bands products. 
  • Robust Data Protection: Enhance security by incorporating Cylance for real-time, AI-powered threat detection, safeguarding devices from malware and viruses.
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  • Products: It has many different products for different applications. Here are the most important:
    • Payroll: The platform offers payment for businesses with one employee, under 10 employees, from 10-49 employees and from 50 to over 1,000 workers. This includes online payroll, taxes, deductions and many tools to generate reports and look at costs.
    • Time and Attendance: The online time and attendance function ties in directly to payroll, saving time when trying to calculate paychecks. In addition to the software, it also offers TrueShift physical time clocks and the InVision iris recognition clocks. Users can track team activity in real time through the manager’s dashboard, and allow employees to record time, approve timecards and check schedules through the employee dashboard.
    • HR: It has a range of HR services and software including employee development, hiring, records administration, compliance, benefits administration, learning management and more.
      • Professional Employer Organization: This is a full-service HR consulting program that helps organizations with liability issues, daily worker problems, risk management, benefits administration and other related issues.
      • Hiring Service: The software can make the hiring process easier with applicant tracking, screening, recruiting and onboarding capabilities. Please note, they don’t have employee leasing, temp staffing or contract staff services.
      • Employee Benefits: Managers and workers alike can get access to health insurance for groups or individuals, financial wellness and retirement planning.
    • Business Insurance: Users can get property and casualty insurance with the help of agents who assist in the selection and implementation process for the new benefits. This includes business owner policies, cyber liability and workers’ compensation.
    • Finances and Payments: Besides payroll, this program also has business loans, expense management, tax administration and processing for payments.
    • Startup Solutions: For new businesses, it offers guides, consulting, advice and more for multiple aspects of the process. They give aid with marketing, the incorporation process, business management and access to free online tools.
  • Payroll and Tax Filing: Process payroll and automatically calculate taxes. Paychex can calculate, file and pay taxes at the federal, state and local level automatically. The platform can calculate hours, doing setup for direct deposit and setting hours per pay period.
  • General Ledger: Synchronize payroll data with integrations offered by Paychex. The system is compatible with a variety of popular accounting systems, including QuickBooks Online and Xero.
  • Reporting and Analytics: Generate custom analytics and reports or choose from over 160 customizable templates to track and visualize relevant data.
  • Learning and Development: Employees can take advantage of online courses to stay educated on relevant topics. Not only does this increase productivity, but it makes employees feel more invested in.
  • Core HR: It gives employee feedback, manages employee training and tracks important documents through the system’s interface.
  • Onboarding: Applicants and new hires can complete new hire documents, such as tax forms, and set up direct deposit directly through the platform.
  • Paycheck Protection Program: Introduced by the CARES Act as a measure for economic stability during the COVID pandemic, the Paycheck Protection Program loans encourage small businesses to keep or rehire workers that have been furloughed. This system offers a quick way to apply for this loan.
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  • Onboarding and Offboarding: Onboard employees across departments from anywhere in the world with a single click, setting up payroll, benefits, devices, and apps like Slack and Microsoft 365 within 90 seconds, according to the vendor. When employees are offboarded, the system automatically disables departing employees’ devices. 
  • Payroll: Users need not worry about deductions, paid time off or promotions — the payroll feature is synced with all employee data and HR systems. New hires are set up in payroll and pro-rated automatically. Tools like payrun comparison allow users to compare the current pay run against a previous one, so they can see how variables like promotions and PTO affect employee pay stubs. The module’s global payroll feature expands HR, IT and financial services abroad.
  • Benefits Administration: The system streamlines all a company’s benefits offerings in one place, from healthcare to 401(k)s. Users can choose from preexisting benefits or shop for new benefits, receiving recommendations on the best options. They can also talk with a licensed Rippling advisor or invite their own broker. New hires are automatically invited to review benefit plans and enroll online. 
  • Workflow Management: Automates changes in the chain of approval, empowering managers to define and execute changes quickly and easily. Managers can and make changes, like giving someone a raise, without giving up control.
  • Time Tracking: Managers can set a PTO policy that meets the team's requirements. They can then review and approve vacation requests with a click. Logged hours and paid time off are synced with payroll. 
  • ATS: Rippling Recruiting offers a comprehensive toolset, from candidate assessments and in-platform scheduling to feedback forms and customizable email templates. One-click hiring workflows make it easier to manage onboarding. It also integrates with Rippling Headcount Planning and Compensation Band.
  • Rippling Headcount Planning and Compensation Bands: Achieve visibility and alignment for HR, finance and hiring managers with a single source of data and better access controls.
    • Stakeholders can view actual and projected headcount, and automation saves time during the approval process.
    • Compensation reporting helps track pay trends and prevent over or underpaying. Workflows provide alerts when compa-ratios change and automate the process of enforcing compensation policies.
  • ACA and Cobra Administration: Ensures compliance by automatically delivering ACA notices, and it collects and submits employees’ COBRA payments. It also offers FSA, HSA and commuter benefits on one, pre-tax debit card. 
  • IT and Operations Management: Users can automatically buy, configure, secure and manage company devices — both Apple and Android — with an IT system connected to a single employee record. Administrators gain total visibility into every device across the company. They can remotely track employees’ security status and app usage, make changes, and re-assign devices to new employees. They can also install apps on work computers according to attributes like role and location. 
  • Security: Facilitates app management, controls employee access with single sign-on (SSO), and ensures data security with multi-factor authentication and device encryption features. Managers can disable computers during offboarding, encrypt employees’ hard drives, enable multi-factor authentication, push OS and security updates, and lock and wipe lost or stolen devices. 
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Product Ranking

#4

among all
Payroll Software

#46

among all
Payroll Software

Find out who the leaders are

Analyst Rating Summary

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Dashboard and Reporting
Expense Management
Platform Capabilities
Security and Compliance
Benefits Management
Security and Compliance
Benefits Management
Native Integrations and Extensibility
Payroll and Tax Management
Time and Attendance Management

Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

Paychex
Rippling
+ Add Product + Add Product
Benefits Management Dashboard And Reporting Expense Management Mobile Capabilities Payroll And Tax Management Platform Capabilities Security And Compliance Time And Attendance Management 94 100 100 81 90 100 100 91 94 60 50 43 85 83 97 85 0 25 50 75 100
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Analyst Ratings for Technical Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

71%
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29%
86%
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User Sentiment Summary

Great User Sentiment 2800 reviews
Excellent User Sentiment 4543 reviews
83%
of users recommend this product

Paychex has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 83% when considering 2800 user reviews from 4 recognized software review sites.

97%
of users recommend this product

Rippling has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 97% when considering 4543 user reviews from 4 recognized software review sites.

4.5 (24)
n/a
4.2 (1342)
4.9 (1154)
n/a
4.88 (1615)
4.1 (1122)
n/a
n/a
4.9 (1354)
3.9 (312)
4.4 (420)

Awards

SelectHub research analysts have evaluated Paychex and concluded it deserves the award for the Best Overall Payroll Software available today and earns best-in-class honors for Expense Management and Platform Capabilities.

Analysts' Pick Award
Expense Management Award
Platform Capabilities Award

Rippling stands above the rest by achieving an ‘Excellent’ rating as a User Favorite.

User Favorite Award

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

User-Friendly UI: A total of 80% of reviewers who mentioned the UI felt it easy to use.
Price Within Budget: Around 50% of reviewers that mentioned price were satisfied with the pricing structure and found that the system was worth it.
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Global Payroll and Benefits: Rippling streamlines international payroll and benefits administration, eliminating the need for disparate systems and manual processes.
Automated Onboarding and Offboarding: New hires can be onboarded efficiently with automated workflows that handle paperwork, equipment provisioning, and systems access. Similarly, offboarding processes are streamlined, ensuring smooth transitions and compliance.
Customizable Workflows: Rippling allows HR teams to create custom workflows tailored to their specific needs, automating tasks such as approvals, data collection, and notifications.
Integrations: Rippling integrates seamlessly with various HR and business applications, including payroll, benefits, time and attendance, and applicant tracking systems, creating a unified HR ecosystem.
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Late Submissions and Missed Deadlines: Around 80% of reviewers that mentioned taxes ran into issues, with around 70% saying they had to pay penalties as a result.
Terrible Customer Service: Clients complained that the customer service was rude, unqualified, ill-informed, unhelpful and had high turnover in almost 70% of reviews that mentioned customer service.
Broken Features: Over 50% of reviews that mentioned the features said they were left wanting. The most common issues were communication problems. Just under 20% of all reviewers complained about errors made by either the solution or the staff.
Late Cancellations: Around 20% of reviewers that discussed price complained that they had canceled the program, but it had kept taking money out of their account.
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Steep Learning Curve: The platform's complexity can be overwhelming for new users, especially those unfamiliar with HR software. Navigating the interface and understanding its features may require significant time investment and training.
Customer Support Challenges: Some users have reported difficulties reaching customer support or experiencing slow response times, leading to frustration when seeking assistance with technical issues or general inquiries.
Integrations and Customization Limitations: While Rippling offers various integrations, it may not seamlessly connect with all existing HR systems or third-party tools used by businesses, potentially requiring additional configuration or workarounds.
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Paychex incorporates a range of different solutions and is used widely by small, medium and large-sized companies. While around 40% of users were happy with the functionality of the system, the majority expressed dissatisfaction with its tax capabilities, pricing and customer service. Many described it as dishonest and complained especially that they were oversold on its capabilities and that the salespeople used pushy tactics to try and upsell them. Other complaints of the system included making errors, overpaying employees or even miscalculating taxes resulting in serious penalties. Current and former clients greatly disliked the service. The UI was the most positively reviewed element of the platform with around 80% expressing satisfaction with the design and navigation. Around 50% were happy with the pricing structure and a minority of around 30% of users said they had positive experiences with some select customer service members. This disparity in experiences may be in part to the high turnover rate in representatives which is mentioned many times during the reviews. This solution could be appropriate for small and medium-sized businesses. It supports larger enterprises, but buyers should make sure it has the necessary functionality before purchasing.

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Navigating the realm of human resources software can feel like venturing into a labyrinth, but Rippling appears to be a guiding light for many businesses. Users frequently highlight its user-friendly interface, making it accessible even for those with limited experience in HR software. Affordability is another key factor that resonates with users, especially when compared to the often hefty price tags of similar solutions. The comprehensive suite of features offered by Rippling further solidifies its appeal, encompassing everything from payroll and benefits administration to talent management and time tracking. This all-in-one approach eliminates the need for multiple, disparate systems, streamlining HR processes and reducing administrative burdens. Rippling distinguishes itself through its seamless integrations with third-party applications, such as Slack, Zoom, and Microsoft Office 365. This interconnectedness fosters a more cohesive and efficient work environment, allowing data to flow effortlessly between different platforms. Additionally, Rippling's automation capabilities empower businesses to automate repetitive tasks, such as onboarding new employees or processing payroll, freeing up valuable time and resources. The platform's robust reporting and analytics tools provide valuable insights into workforce trends and performance, enabling data-driven decision-making. Considering its strengths and weaknesses, Rippling emerges as an ideal solution for small to medium-sized businesses seeking a comprehensive, yet affordable and user-friendly HR platform. Its scalability ensures that it can grow alongside a business, adapting to evolving needs and complexities. While larger enterprises with more intricate HR requirements might require a more customizable solution, Rippling's core functionalities and ease of use make it a compelling choice for businesses looking to optimize their HR operations and enhance overall efficiency.

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