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It's a split decision.
Choose RUN Powered by ADP if you want a small-business payroll option within ADP’s wider payroll, HR, time, benefits and workforce lineup; its listed plans cover businesses with 1–49 employees, but RUN-specific features and rates aren’t published. Choose Paychex if you want a broader stated package spanning payroll, HR, benefits and compliance, with payroll tax filing on listed plans and advisory support. Neither publishes a starting price or free plan. Get itemized quotes before switching; the available information isn’t enough to call either cheaper.
01Side by side
| RUN Powered by ADP | Paychex | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Rates not published; 3-month-free promotion advertised | Quote-only; rates not published |
| Free plan | No free plan | No free plan |
| Best for | Small businesses; listed plans cover 1–49 employees | Self-employed owners and businesses of different sizes |
| Core strength | Small-business payroll within ADP’s broader service lineup | Payroll, HR, benefits and compliance services |
| Learning curve | Not published | Not published |
| Integrations/data | Not published | Not published |
| Team/seat costs | Plans cover 1–49 employees; rates not published | Pricing depends on employee count; rates not published |
| Support | RUN-specific support details not published | Advisory support; PEO includes dedicated payroll and HR support |
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 you want to compare ADP’s listed add-ons.
Paychex Choose Paychex if
- Choose Paychex if you need payroll, HR, benefits and compliance services.
- Choose Paychex if you want payroll tax filing in listed plans.
- Choose Paychex if advisory support matters to your buying decision.
02Pricing compared
Neither company publishes a starting price, monthly rate or annual rate in the published pricing information, so we can’t say which is cheaper. ADP lists four RUN plans—Essential Payroll, Enhanced Payroll, Complete Payroll & HR Plus, and HR Pro Payroll & HR—for businesses with 1–49 employees. It also advertises “3 Months Free,” but that is not a published free trial. Prices for time and attendance, retirement, workers’ compensation and health insurance are not published.
Paychex pricing is quote-only. Its listed options are Basic, Foundations, Advanced, Complete, HR Pro and HR PEO. Paychex lists unlimited payroll processing on several plans, but does not publish rates. Before switching, ask both providers for itemized quotes covering your employee count, selected plan, add-ons and any overage costs; ADP’s overage costs are also not published.
03Features and depth
Paychex has the broader set of stated services in the published information. Its offerings cover payroll, automated tax administration, HR software and advisory support, time tracking, benefits, recruiting, onboarding and PEO services. The plan details also name payroll tax filing, W-2 and 1099 year-end processing, and employee pay options. HR Pro includes HR guidance, payroll, safety and 401(k); HR PEO lists HR guidance, payroll, benefits, compliance and risk management.
ADP positions RUN as a small-business payroll option within a wider lineup that includes HR, time, benefits and workforce services. The ADP homepage lists time and attendance, retirement, health benefits and workers’ compensation among small-business solutions, but does not specify which are included in RUN or explain RUN-specific capabilities. That makes a feature-for-feature comparison difficult. Paychex’s published descriptions are more detailed, but neither source establishes which provider will fit a particular business better. Confirm what each quote includes, especially add-ons.
04Ease of use and learning curve
The published product information does not give enough detail to compare setup, navigation, training or day-to-day usability. ADP does not describe RUN-specific workflows on its homepage, while Paychex names online payroll and HR software but provides no learning-curve details here.
The review scores published rate ADP’s ease of use at 5 and Paychex’s at 6.5, but they do not explain the scoring method or provide enough context to treat that gap as decisive. We’d ask each vendor to show the workflows your team will use—running payroll, correcting a payroll issue and managing employee records—before switching. Also confirm what onboarding or ongoing support is included in the quote; the available plan descriptions do not settle that.
Questions people ask
What are the rates for Paychex payroll services?
Paychex does not publish monthly or annual rates in the published pricing information; pricing is quote-only. Its listed plans are Basic, Foundations, Advanced, Complete, HR Pro and HR PEO. Ask Paychex for a quote based on your employee count and the services you need, then compare it with an itemized ADP quote.
Is ADP better than Paylocity?
The information available here covers RUN Powered by ADP and Paychex, not Paylocity, so we can’t make a grounded ADP-versus-Paylocity call. For RUN, ADP lists four plans for businesses with 1–49 employees, but does not publish rates or plan-specific capabilities in the published material.
Is Paychex a good employer?
The published information describes Paychex’s payroll, HR, benefits and compliance services for businesses; it does not include employee reviews or workplace data. That is not enough to judge Paychex as an employer. Look for current employee feedback and reliable workplace information before drawing a conclusion.
Is RUN Payroll part of ADP?
Yes. The published information identifies RUN Powered by ADP as ADP’s payroll and HR offering for small businesses. ADP lists four RUN plans for businesses with 1–49 employees, but the homepage does not explain RUN-specific features or publish plan prices.