What Is ADP Run?
ADP has over 75 years of experience in the HR space. The company has a range of products for businesses of all sizes. The ADP Run product, in particular, focuses on payroll and accounting. It has a few general HR functions as well. Here is a summary of the capabilities:
- Payroll: pay through direct deposits and pay cards; tax filing; W-2 employees and 1099 workers
- HR: benefits administration for health care and retirement; hiring and onboarding; document storage; employee portal; time and attendance
What Is Paychex Flex?
Paychex is similar to ADP in terms of what it offers. Like ADP, it has decades of experience (over 50 years) helping companies of all sizes with their HR needs. Here is what you can expect from Paychex Flex, one of Paychex’s top products:
- Payroll: pay through direct deposits, pay cards and checks; tax filing; W-2 employees and 1099 contractors
- HR: benefits administration for health care and retirement; hiring and onboarding; document storage; employee portal; time tracking
Pricing Comparison
Here is pricing information on ADP Run and Paychex Flex, starting with their base plans:
| Base Plan | ADP Run | Paychex Flex |
| Plan name | Essential | Essentials |
| Base monthly price | N/A | $39 |
| Price per employee | N/A | $5 |
| Employees supported | 1-49 | 1-19 |
| Key features included | Direct deposit, W-2s and 1099s, tax filing, general ledger, reporting, onboarding, employee mobile app | Direct deposit, W-2s and 1099s, tax filing, reporting, onboarding, employee mobile app |
As you can see from the table, ADP Run doesn’t have public pricing information; you must contact sales to get a custom quote. Paychex Flex also requires a custom quote for any plans beyond Essentials. This makes a true pricing comparison impossible.
However, here are couple pricing facts for a comparison of some sort:
- ADP Run supports more employees and has more plans than Paychex Flex.
- ADP Run has a three-month free trial, while Paychex Flex has no free trial.
Key Features Comparison
As previously mentioned, ADP Run and Paychex Flex are similar products. To give you an idea of their specific differences, here is a comparison table:
| Function | ADP Run | Paychex Flex |
| Payroll | Direct deposits, checks, automated payroll tax deduction and filing, W-2 employees, 1099 contractors | Direct deposits, checks, pay cards, pay-on-demand, automated payroll tax deduction and filing, W-2 employees, 1099 contractors |
| Accounting | General ledger interface, accounting software integrations | General ledger integrations, accounting software integrations |
| Reporting | Report templates, custom reports | Report templates, custom reports |
| General HR | Onboarding, hiring, employee discounts, background checks, document storage, employee self-service portal/app, time tracking | Onboarding, hiring, document storage, employee self-service portal/app, time tracking |
| Benefits Administration | Retirement plans, health insurance | Retirement plans, health insurance, voluntary benefits |
ADP Run has more features for accounting and HR. ADP has a general ledger, while you must integrate with external bookkeeping and accounting software to get this with Paychex. ADP Run also helps with every stage of the recruiting, hiring and onboarding process.
However, Paychex Flex has the competitive edge in terms of offering more ways to pay employees. Paychex can also administer fringe benefits, such as life insurance and student loan repayment.
Integrations and Add-Ons Comparison
Integrations and add-ons are two ways software providers can expand the capabilities of their products. Integrations connect with other software solutions for easy data transfer. Add-ons are extra features that you can tack onto your base plan for an additional fee.
Here is an overview of the most popular integrations and add-ons for ADP Run and Paychex Flex:
| ADP Run | Paychex Flex | |
| Key Integrations | QuickBooks, Xero, Oracle, Workday, Sage, Greenhouse, ZipRecruiter, Microsoft Teams, Slack | QuickBooks, Xero, Sage, Glassdoor, Greenhouse, Indeed, Oracle, Workday, Salesforce |
| Key Add-Ons | Time and attendance, Workers’ compensation, Retirement, Health insurance | Applicant tracking, Performance management, Document management, Job costing, Time and attendance, Employee benefits, Business insurance |
Both ADP and Paychex offer extensive marketplaces for integrations. The main difference of note between the two of them is that ADP integrates with team communication and collaboration tools, such as Slack.
In terms of add-ons, the table above makes it look like ADP has fewer options. This is technically true, but that’s because ADP includes many of these features in its base plans, so you don’t have to pay extra for them through add-ons.
Scalability
Both ADP and Paychex offer numerous solutions to help every company size from small startups to large enterprises. However, looking at the Run and Flex products in particular, Run can accommodate slightly more employees — 49 as opposed to 19. Run is also set up better to help you grow, with more hiring and onboarding features.
Ease of Use
Like in previous sections, Paychex and ADP are comparable in terms of ease of use. Per our features table above, Paychex doesn’t have quite as much functionality as ADP. This makes its platform easier to navigate. However, ADP makes up for this with its modular interface design. Each function (e.g., payroll, benefits administration, hiring) has its own place in the platform separate from the others.
The Bottom Line
Paychex Flex and ADP Run are comparable. They have similar features, integrations and add-ons, with ADP offering slightly more. The missing piece is price. ADP doesn’t publicize pricing, so it is hard to tell if the few extra capabilities you get with ADP are worth the cost. You will need a custom quote to determine this.
Frequently Asked Questions About ADP Run vs. Paychex Flex
Payroll companies process employee payroll for businesses. These companies tend to expand into other areas, such as hiring, benefits administration and performance management.
Paychex Flex and ADP Run are pretty similar, with ADP Run offering a few more features. ADP Run doesn’t have public pricing information. However, we can assume that because it has more capabilities, it costs more. This means that the choice between Paychex and ADP comes down to your needed features and allocated budget.
Based in New York, Stephen Freeman is a Senior Editor at Trending Insurance News. Previously he has worked for Forbes and The Huffington Post. Steven is a graduate of Risk Management at the University of New York.