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It's a split decision.
Choose ADP Workforce Now if you want a broad payroll and HR offering for a midsize or larger organization. Choose Employee Navigator if benefits administration, compliance and broker workflows are the priority; its site also lists more than 600 integrations. Neither publishes plan prices, seat limits or a free trial, so the available information does not support a reliable cost comparison. ADP’s homepage describes its broader solutions, but does not specifically detail Workforce Now.
01Side by side
| ADP Workforce Now | Employee Navigator | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Not published | Not published |
| Free plan | No free plan | No free plan |
| Best for | Midsize-to-enterprise payroll and HR | Broker-led benefits administration |
| Core strength | Broad payroll and HR solutions | Benefits administration and compliance |
| Learning curve | Not published | Not published |
| Integrations/data | Integration count not published | More than 600 integrations |
| Team/seat costs | Seat limits and overages not published | Plan prices not published |
| Support | Support details not published | Priority phone support on Platinum |
ADP Workforce Now Choose ADP Workforce Now if
- Choose ADP Workforce Now if broad payroll and HR are priorities.
- Choose ADP Workforce Now if you need solutions for a midsize or larger organization.
- Choose ADP Workforce Now if you want talent or benefits solutions in the mix.
Employee Navigator Choose Employee Navigator if
- Choose Employee Navigator if broker-led benefits administration is central.
- Choose Employee Navigator if you need ACA reporting and compliance tools.
- Choose Employee Navigator if its listed payroll integrations and 600-plus connections fit.
02Pricing compared
Neither company publishes plan prices, so we can’t make a reliable cost comparison from public pricing information. ADP Workforce Now’s Select, Plus and Premium plans have no listed monthly or annual prices, and seat limits are not published. The published pricing information generally targets organizations with 50 to 999+ employees, but that range is not a published plan limit.
Employee Navigator also requires a sales quote. Its Enhanced, Enhanced Plus, Elite and Platinum plan prices and billing terms are not published. One listed cost is $0.45 per employee per month for 834 EDI feeds on Enhanced Plus and Elite; the feed is free on Platinum and unavailable on Enhanced. Additional fees apply for some reporting and support, but their amounts are not published. Get complete quotes, including add-ons, before comparing totals.
03Features and depth
ADP’s homepage presents a broad payroll and HR portfolio for businesses of different sizes, but it does not specifically detail Workforce Now. It lists payroll and HR across small, midsized and large businesses; time and attendance for small and midsized businesses; and benefits administration for midsized and large businesses. Workforce management is listed for large businesses, and talent solutions for midsized businesses. Recruiting, performance, compensation and learning management are listed as custom-quote add-ons in the published pricing information.
Employee Navigator is more specifically centered on benefits administration, HR and compliance. Its listed tools include online enrollment, ACA reporting, payroll integrations, onboarding and time-off tracking. The site says it connects employers, brokers and partners and has more than 600 integrations. Plan tiers add capabilities: Enhanced Plus includes 834 EDI files and third-party apps, while Elite adds onboarding and PTO tracking. That makes Employee Navigator the clearer fit when broker-led benefits workflows are central; it is not a like-for-like substitute for ADP’s broader payroll and HR positioning.
04Ease of use and learning curve
The available information does not establish which product is easier to learn. ADP’s homepage describes solutions by business size, but does not provide Workforce Now-specific onboarding or usability details. Employee Navigator lists concrete workflows such as enrollment, onboarding and time-off tracking, but the published material does not describe implementation time or training requirements.
The review assessments score Employee Navigator higher for ease of use than ADP, but they do not provide enough detail here to explain why or predict your team’s experience. Ask both vendors to show the workflows your admins and employees will use, and confirm what setup, training and support cost. Employee Navigator lists priority phone support on Platinum; its other support fees are not published.
Questions people ask
Is Employee Navigator a payroll system?
Employee Navigator lists payroll integrations, alongside benefits administration, HR and compliance tools. The published information does not describe it as a payroll processor or provide payroll processing features. If you need payroll itself, confirm with Employee Navigator what its integrations cover and compare that with ADP’s payroll offering.
What does ADP Workforce Now cost?
ADP does not publish Workforce Now pricing in the published information. Select, Plus and Premium have no listed monthly or annual prices, and seat limits are not published. ADP’s pricing information describes these plans as generally targeting organizations with 50 to 999+ employees; request a quote for your company.
How long does ADP take to process payroll?
The published ADP information does not state payroll processing time or a cutoff schedule. Timing may depend on your payroll setup and submission deadlines, so confirm the current schedule directly with ADP. Ask specifically about first-run timing, pay-date cutoffs and what happens when payroll changes are submitted late.
Is ADP or Workday better?
The published information covers ADP Workforce Now and Employee Navigator, not Workday, so it does not support a fair ADP-versus-Workday comparison. ADP is positioned here as a broad payroll and HR offering. Compare current Workday pricing, features and implementation terms directly before choosing.