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Most buyers should pick Rippling.
Choose Rippling if you need HR, payroll, IT and finance on one platform and can get a quote that accounts for its $8-per-employee monthly starting rate plus an unpublished base fee. Choose RUN Powered by ADP if your priority is small-business payroll from ADP and you want to compare its four 1–49-employee plans—but its monthly and annual prices are not published. Neither lists a free plan; ask both vendors to itemize add-ons before switching.
01Side by side
| Rippling | RUN Powered by ADP | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $8/employee/month; base fee not published | Not published |
| Free plan | No free plan listed | No free plan listed |
| Best for | Businesses wanting modular workforce services | Small businesses seeking ADP payroll |
| Core strength | HR, payroll, IT and finance on one platform | Payroll and HR solutions for small businesses |
| Learning curve | Ease-of-use review score: 6.5 | Ease-of-use review score: 5 |
| Integrations/data | Workforce data across platform functions | RUN-specific details not published |
| Team/seat costs | $8 per employee monthly; base fee undisclosed | Plans cover 1–49 employees; prices undisclosed |
| Support | Review score: 4.5 | Review score: 5 |
Rippling Choose Rippling if
- Choose Rippling if you need HR, payroll, IT and finance together.
- Choose Rippling if per-employee starting pricing suits your quote comparison.
- Choose Rippling if workforce data across functions is a priority.
RUN Powered by ADP Choose RUN Powered by ADP if
- Choose RUN Powered by ADP if you want small-business payroll from ADP.
- Choose RUN Powered by ADP if your business has 1–49 employees.
- Choose RUN Powered by ADP if its support review score matters to you.
02Pricing compared
Rippling lists a starting rate of $8 per employee per month, but that is not a full quote: its monthly base fee is additional and unpublished, and annual pricing is not published. Its pricing information describes modular services and gives a 150-employee payroll-and-benefits quote example, not a generally applicable total. Payroll, Time & Attendance, Benefits Administration, IT Management, Spend Management and Employer of Record are listed as add-ons with no prices.
RUN lists four tiers—Essential Payroll, Enhanced Payroll, Complete Payroll & HR Plus, and HR Pro Payroll & HR—for businesses with 1–49 employees. Monthly and annual prices and usage limits are not published. ADP advertises “3 Months Free”; that is a promotion, not a published free trial. Neither product lists a free plan. Ask both vendors to itemize base, per-employee and add-on costs before switching.
03Features and depth
Rippling’s stated scope is much broader than payroll: it brings HR, payroll, IT, finance and custom applications together. Its HR features cover benefits, recruiting, performance and learning management; it also says it runs global payroll for employees and contractors. IT tools manage identity, access, devices, security and compliance policies. Finance features include corporate cards, expenses, procurement, bill pay and travel. Workforce AI and no-code App Studio are also listed.
RUN is ADP’s small-business payroll and HR offering, but ADP’s homepage does not spell out which specific features belong to RUN or which are included in each tier. ADP lists payroll, HR, time and attendance, retirement, health benefits and workers’ compensation among its small-business solutions. That wider list is not a detailed RUN feature breakdown. If you need IT, finance or custom-app capabilities, Rippling explicitly lists them; the published RUN information does not. Confirm the exact inclusions for your proposed ADP plan before comparing scope.
04Ease of use and learning curve
The published information does not describe either product’s setup process, interface, training or support workflow, so it is not enough to say which is easier to learn. The review scores offer one limited signal: Rippling’s ease-of-use score is 6.5, while RUN’s is 5. Those scores do not explain the causes or establish how either product will fit your team.
For a switch, ask both vendors to show the workflows your staff will use and clarify migration support, training and ongoing help. Rippling’s broad HR, payroll, IT and finance scope may mean more areas to assess; the source does not quantify the learning curve. RUN’s plan-specific capabilities also need confirmation.
Questions people ask
Is Rippling a full HRIS?
Rippling is described as a workforce platform that combines HR, payroll, IT, finance and custom applications. Its stated HR coverage includes benefits, recruiting, performance and learning management. The published material does not label it a “full HRIS,” so confirm that its specific HR functions match your requirements.
Is ADP or Workday better?
The information here covers Rippling and RUN Powered by ADP, not Workday, so it cannot support a comparison with Workday. It does say RUN is ADP’s small-business offering and lists four plans for businesses with 1–49 employees. Compare Workday separately against your requirements and quoted costs.
How do I speak with an actual person at ADP?
The published ADP information does not provide a phone number, contact method or instructions for reaching a person. It identifies RUN as ADP’s small-business payroll and HR offering, but does not describe its support channels. Ask ADP directly which support options apply to the plan you are considering.
Does Amazon use ADP for payroll?
The published information does not establish whether Amazon uses ADP for payroll. It describes RUN as ADP’s small-business offering but contains no information about Amazon’s payroll provider. We cannot confirm that claim from these materials; look for a direct statement from Amazon or ADP before relying on it.