ADP Workforce Now vs Paylocity
Choose ADP Workforce Now for payroll/tax compliance brand and a named Select/Plus/Premium ladder. Choose Paylocity for a more modern employee Community/Ignite UX. Neither replaces Gusto’s published SMB award. Compare published pricing, hiring, core HRIS, payroll, scheduling, training, time tracking, integrations, and mobile.
ADP Workforce Now
Mid-market payroll + HR (Select / Plus / Premium packaging) — custom PEPM quote; no published seat $. Landscape vs Gusto.
Best for
- • Payroll/tax compliance depth
- • Select → Plus → Premium packaging
No free plan
VS
Our verdict
Choose ADP Workforce Now for payroll/tax compliance brand and a named Select/Plus/Premium ladder. Choose Paylocity for a more modern employee Community/Ignite UX. Neither replaces Gusto’s published SMB award.
ADP Workforce Now is better for
- ✓ Payroll processing
Paylocity is better for
- ✓ Hiring workflow
- ✓ Core HRIS depth
- ✓ Training depth
- ✓ Mobile / frontline
Tie
- • Scheduling depth
- • Time tracking depth
- • Integrations
Choose ADP Workforce Now if: Payroll/tax compliance depth
Choose Paylocity if: Modern mid-market HCM UX
Paylocity
US mid-market HR + payroll (+ finance/IT) — custom quote (‘Explore Payroll Pricing’); Ignite AI. Landscape vs Gusto.
Best for
- • Modern mid-market HCM UX
- • Community + Ignite AI
No free plan
Comparison scorecard
Criterion-by-criterion results for ADP Workforce Now and Paylocity. Numeric bars appear only when both products have approved scores.
- Depends
Starting pricing
Published floor price and what that floor actually includes.
Both are custom PEPM quotes with no published USD. ADP names Select / Plus / Premium; Paylocity is a single platform quote.
ADP Workforce NowDependsPaylocityDepends - Depends
Free plan
Whether a usable free plan is published, and what it gates.
Neither publishes a free plan.
ADP Workforce NowDependsPaylocityDepends - Depends
User / licence minimum
Seat floors, per-employee minimums, and small-team pricing traps.
Both quote mid-market headcount. Gusto remains the published-SMB alternative.
ADP Workforce NowDependsPaylocityDepends - Paylocity
Hiring workflow
Applicant tracking, job posts, interviews, and offer workflow depth.
Paylocity is the stronger fit for hiring workflow (5/10 vs 6/10). Scores reflect job-cluster fit from vendor documentation, not a lab test of the UI.
ADP Workforce NowWeakerPaylocityStronger - Paylocity
Core HRIS depth
Employee records, PTO, onboarding, and people-admin as a system of record.
Paylocity is the stronger fit for core HRIS depth (7/10 vs 8/10). Scores reflect job-cluster fit from vendor documentation, not a lab test of the UI.
ADP Workforce NowWeakerPaylocityStronger - ADP Workforce Now
Payroll processing
Payroll depth, country coverage, and whether payroll is core or an add-on.
ADP Workforce Now is the stronger fit for payroll processing (10/10 vs 9/10). Scores reflect job-cluster fit from vendor documentation, not a lab test of the UI.
ADP Workforce NowStrongerPaylocityWeaker - Tie
Scheduling depth
Shift scheduling, availability, and frontline rostering.
ADP Workforce Now and Paylocity are close on workforce scheduling (6/10 vs 6/10). Scores reflect job-cluster fit from vendor documentation, not a lab test of the UI.
ADP Workforce NowTiePaylocityTie - Paylocity
Training depth
SOPs, onboarding paths, and employee training — not a full LMS by default.
Paylocity is the stronger fit for training and SOPs (4/10 vs 5/10). Scores reflect job-cluster fit from vendor documentation, not a lab test of the UI.
ADP Workforce NowWeakerPaylocityStronger - Tie
Time tracking depth
Clock-in, timesheets, geofencing, and attendance workflows.
ADP Workforce Now and Paylocity are close on time tracking (7/10 vs 7/10). Scores reflect job-cluster fit from vendor documentation, not a lab test of the UI.
ADP Workforce NowTiePaylocityTie - Tie
Integrations
Important third-party integrations.
ADP Workforce Now and Paylocity are close on integrations (8/10 vs 8/10). Scores reflect job-cluster fit from vendor documentation, not a lab test of the UI.
ADP Workforce Now8/10Paylocity8/10 - Paylocity
Mobile / frontline
Phone-first admin and hourly/frontline employee experience.
Paylocity is the stronger fit for mobile and frontline use (7/10 vs 8/10). Scores reflect job-cluster fit from vendor documentation, not a lab test of the UI.
ADP Workforce NowWeakerPaylocityStronger
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