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Most buyers should pick BambooHR.
Choose BambooHR if you want published starting rates and an HR-centered platform for employee records, hiring, payroll, time, benefits, and performance. Its listed Core rate starts at $10.25 per employee monthly, with a $250 flat monthly fee for companies with 25 or fewer employees; payroll and several other add-ons are unpriced. Choose Paylocity if you want HR, payroll, finance, and IT in one platform and are willing to request a quote. Its starting price and seat limits are not published.
01Side by side
| BambooHR | Paylocity | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $10.25/employee/month; $250 flat for ≤25 employees | Quote-based; starting price not published |
| Free plan | No free plan listed | No free plan listed |
| Best for | Employers seeking an HR-centered platform with published rates | Employers seeking HR, payroll, finance, and IT tools |
| Core strength | Employee records, hiring, payroll, time, and benefits | HR, payroll, finance, IT, and analytics |
| Learning curve | Ease-of-use review score: 6.5/10 | Ease-of-use review score: 6/10 |
| Integrations/data | Integrations not stated; employee, payroll, time, benefits together | Integrations not stated; HR, payroll, finance, IT together |
| Team/seat costs | Per-employee rates; flat fees for teams of 25 or fewer | Seat limits and per-seat pricing not published |
| Support | Support review score: 5/10 | Support review score: 4.5/10 |
BambooHR Choose BambooHR if
- Choose BambooHR if you want published starting rates.
- Choose BambooHR if employee records and HR workflows are central.
- Choose BambooHR if your team has 25 or fewer employees and a flat fee suits you.
Paylocity Choose Paylocity if
- Choose Paylocity if you want HR, payroll, finance, and IT together.
- Choose Paylocity if you want customizable modules.
- Choose Paylocity if you are prepared to request a detailed quote.
02Pricing compared
BambooHR publishes starting rates; Paylocity does not. According to BambooHR’s pricing page, Core starts at $10.25 per employee per month. Companies with 25 or fewer employees pay a flat $250 per month. Pro is $17.50 per employee monthly, or $425 flat for up to 25 employees; Elite is $25 per employee monthly, or $650 flat for up to 25. Annual rates are not published, though the page lists month-to-month pricing and annual upfront payment. Budget separately for add-ons: payroll, benefits administration, and time and attendance have no published prices. A payroll-and-benefits bundle gets a 15% discount for US employees. Paylocity’s pricing is quote-based, with no published starting price, billing terms, seat limits, or add-on costs. Get a detailed quote before comparing totals.
03Features and depth
BambooHR is centered on HR: it brings employee records, payroll, time, and benefits information together, with tools for hiring, onboarding, reporting, employee experience, performance, and compensation. Its plan details provide some concrete limits: Core lists five job openings and one compliance training course; Pro lists 25 openings and 15 courses; Elite lists 50 openings and 300-plus courses. Performance management and recognition are listed with Pro, while Elite adds compensation planning features, analytics, and specified data-integrity and administrator-training services. Payroll, benefits administration, and time and attendance are priced as add-ons, so don’t assume they’re included in the base rate. Paylocity spans HR, payroll, finance, and IT, with customizable modules, payroll and tax filing, spend management, asset management, access control, a mobile app, and analytics. Its plans’ module, seat, and usage limits are not published. Choose based on whether you need an HR-focused toolkit or the broader set of functions—and confirm which modules the quote covers.
04Ease of use and learning curve
Our review scores put BambooHR at 6.5 for ease of use and Paylocity at 6.0, but they don’t explain the scoring method or provide enough detail to predict your implementation experience. BambooHR lists automated workflows and pre-built reports; Elite also includes two administrator training sessions per year. Paylocity describes an intuitive payroll platform, expert support, and one mobile experience, but its pricing materials don’t publish onboarding, training, or service commitments. Neither source gives migration timelines or setup requirements. Before switching, ask both vendors who handles data migration, what training is included, and what support response commitments appear in the contract.
Questions people ask
What is BambooHR payroll?
BambooHR describes payroll as part of its HR platform, alongside employee data, time, and benefits information. However, payroll is listed as an add-on, and its price is not published. Confirm what payroll functionality and implementation services are included in a quote.
Are Paychex and Paylocity the same company?
The published material for this comparison does not establish whether Paychex and Paylocity are related or the same company. It describes Paylocity as a unified HR, payroll, finance, and IT platform. Check the companies’ own corporate information for a definitive answer.
How big is BambooHR?
The published BambooHR information does not publish the company’s employee count, customer count, or other measure of company size. It describes BambooHR as an HR platform and lists plans for employers, but that is not enough to establish how large the vendor is.
Who does BambooHR compete with?
The published material does not name BambooHR’s competitors or provide a competitor list. This comparison covers Paylocity, which offers HR and payroll along with finance and IT tools. Whether it is a fit depends on the modules you need and the terms in its custom quote.