Editor Sebastiaan Smits ·
Published October 29, 2026 · Updated October 29, 2026
Employers look past ADP Workforce Now when they want a price they can read before a sales call, or a vendor that fits a smaller or more distributed headcount. Most go to OnPay, Patriot or Gusto for simplicity, to Paycor or Paylocity for a similar mid-market suite, and to Deel for staff outside the US.
Short answer: The closest replacements for ADP Workforce Now in our Payroll software ranking are OnPay, Patriot Payroll and Gusto. Choose OnPay if you run a single-state or small multi-state payroll and want one published plan instead of a negotiated package. Each of the 12 options is a ranked entry in Best Payroll Software in 2026; the notes explain how it differs from ADP Workforce Now and where ADP Workforce Now still wins.
Visibility in our rankings can be paid for. Payment moves a vendor's position within the shortlist; it never adds a vendor, and it never changes a word of the review or of this page. The first three alternatives go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands in a category, wherever the category has them; the established names follow in their ranked order. How it works: placement disclosure · editorial process.
ADP's Workforce Now page shows three packages but no figures. Its calls to action are "Get pricing" and "See Plans & Pricing", which lead to a quote. A buyer cannot set a number against a competitor's list price before talking to sales.
Select covers payroll and HR, Plus adds benefits administration, and Premium adds Time and Attendance. A company that needs only time tracking or only benefits still has to read the packages carefully, because each step includes everything below it.
The product page labels its demo for 50 to 999 employees. Companies well under that range, and those with large overseas or contractor workforces, may find the page speaks to someone else and look at tools sized for them.
These 12 are sorted by suitability as a ADP Workforce Now replacement, and the final column gives their position in our 13-product list.
| # | Alternative | Headquarters | Switch if | Our rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  OnPay | United States | you run a single-state or small multi-state payroll and want one published plan instead of a negotiated package | #10 |
| 2 |  Patriot Payroll | United States | payroll is a back-office chore and a price list matters more than breadth | #11 |
| 3 |  Gusto | United States | you have fewer than a few hundred staff and want self-serve setup in days rather than an implementation project | #1 |
| 4 |  Paycor | United States | you are a mid-sized employer with hourly staff and want a similar suite from a different vendor | #12 |
| 5 |  Paylocity | United States | you want the same quote-and-package model but a different vendor and a fresh price negotiation | #3 |
| 6 |  Paychex Flex | United States | service access and a ladder of four packages matter more to you than a self-serve screen | #5 |
| 7 |  QuickBooks Workforce (formerly QuickBooks Payroll) | United States | your bookkeeping already lives in QuickBooks Online and your payroll rules are simple | #6 |
| 8 |  Rippling | United States | you want payroll, devices and app access to follow one employee record and accept a quote | #2 |
| 9 |  Paycom | United States | you would rather push payroll corrections onto employees through self-service than keep a payroll team reviewing them | #13 |
| 10 |  Xero Payroll | New Zealand | your accountant works in Xero and a single-entity US payroll is all you run | #7 |
| 11 |  Deel | United States | part of your workforce is abroad or on contract and a domestic-only payroll no longer fits | #8 |
| 12 |  Papaya Global | Israel | you have a payroll team in several countries and want one platform for in-country filings | #9 |
Sold as one plan with a base fee and a per-person fee, so there is no package ladder to climb and no add-on list to price. The scope stays at payroll, tax filing and HR basics. Multi-entity, certified payroll and large-scale time clocks are not what it is built around.
Switch from ADP Workforce Now if you run a single-state or small multi-state payroll and want one published plan instead of a negotiated package.
Offers a do-it-yourself tier where you file the taxes and a full-service tier where Patriot does. Both are cheap to read off a price list, which is the opposite of ADP's negotiation. It has no benefits carrier network or deep time-and-attendance suite.
Switch from ADP Workforce Now if payroll is a back-office chore and a price list matters more than breadth.
Sells payroll in published tiers, with a separate cheaper plan for contractor-only businesses. Benefits administration and basic HR sit in the same account. Its sweet spot is small and growing US firms, and it does not match ADP on union rules or certified payroll.
Switch from ADP Workforce Now if you have fewer than a few hundred staff and want self-serve setup in days rather than an implementation project.
Pairs payroll with recruiting, talent and scheduling, and its site splits the pitch into 1-49, 50-1000 and 1000+ employee bands, which overlaps ADP's 50-999 target. Ownership has moved: Paycor now runs as a standalone unit of Paychex. Pricing is not published.
Switch from ADP Workforce Now if you are a mid-sized employer with hourly staff and want a similar suite from a different vendor.
Closest in shape to Workforce Now: payroll plus HCM modules bundled into packages, priced per employee by quote. The difference is vendor, not model. Expect the same negotiation and the same need to compare module lists line by line.
Switch from ADP Workforce Now if you want the same quote-and-package model but a different vendor and a fresh price negotiation.
Four named packages (Basic, Foundations, Advanced, Complete) with every price given on request, plus HR services and a separate PEO offering. The site stresses reachable HR and payroll specialists. Choosing it swaps one quote-based vendor for another rather than removing the sales process.
Switch from ADP Workforce Now if service access and a ladder of four packages matter more to you than a self-serve screen.
Payroll attached to QuickBooks Online, now branded QuickBooks Workforce, with tiered monthly pricing. Journal entries post straight into the books. It lacks ADP's depth for garnishments, union pay and multi-FEIN structures.
Switch from ADP Workforce Now if your bookkeeping already lives in QuickBooks Online and your payroll rules are simple.
Vendor website → · Detailed QuickBooks Workforce (formerly QuickBooks Payroll) write-up
States plans start at $8 per employee per month plus a monthly base fee, with the final figure quoted per module. Payroll shares one employee record with IT and spend tools. It says it can import year-to-date payroll from the previous provider, including mid-year.
Switch from ADP Workforce Now if you want payroll, devices and app access to follow one employee record and accept a quote.
Runs payroll, HR, time and talent on a single database, and its payroll flow (Beti) has employees check their own pay data before the run. Pricing is not published. Moving means taking the whole suite, so it replaces ADP as a platform rather than a module.
Switch from ADP Workforce Now if you would rather push payroll corrections onto employees through self-service than keep a payroll team reviewing them.
In the US this is Xero Payroll powered by Gusto, billed as an add-on to a Xero plan, and the pricing page lists a base fee plus a per-person fee. It suits firms whose books are in Xero. It is thin for large multi-state employers with complex pay rules.
Switch from ADP Workforce Now if your accountant works in Xero and a single-entity US payroll is all you run.
Built for paying people across borders: contractors, employer-of-record staff and a US PEO, with published fees per contractor and per employee. Domestic payroll on your own US entity is only one product. It does not copy ADP's local-tax depth for a purely domestic workforce.
Switch from ADP Workforce Now if part of your workforce is abroad or on contract and a domestic-only payroll no longer fits.
Centres on payroll across 180+ countries, with employer of record and shadow payroll next to it. Access is by demo and quote. It is aimed at a multinational payroll team, so a US-only company would use a small part of it.
Switch from ADP Workforce Now if you have a payroll team in several countries and want one platform for in-country filings.
Workforce Now remains the sensible pick when payroll, benefits and time data all need to sit in one system for a few hundred or more employees, and you are prepared to negotiate. Switching saves little if you already have a good rate, a working implementation and staff who know the screens. A move is hardest where your pay rules are unusual.
Run at least one payroll cycle in the new tool before closing the ADP account, and compare gross-to-net per employee. Rounding, overtime rules and tax settings differ between systems, and a parallel run finds mismatches before employees see them.
Year-to-date wages, tax balances and filings need a clean cut. Rippling, for example, says it can import year-to-date data from a previous provider mid-year, but starting at a quarter end still leaves less to reconcile.
If you use ADP's benefits administration or Time and Attendance, those leave with payroll. Check deduction codes, carrier feeds and clock integrations in the new vendor before you give notice.
No. ADP's product page lists Select, Plus and Premium packages and sends visitors to a pricing request, so the cost you pay is whatever the quote says. Rippling states a starting price and Deel lists fees per worker type.
Premium. The page describes Premium as everything in Plus plus automated time tracking with Time and Attendance, while Plus adds benefits administration to Select.
No. Paycor's own site says it operates as a standalone business unit of Paychex, Inc. and that existing customers stay on the Paycor platform. Paychex Flex is a separate Paychex product.
Yes, in principle. Rippling states that you can switch at any time including mid-year and that it imports year-to-date payroll. Confirm the same with any other vendor in writing before the cut-over date.
Look at Deel or Papaya Global. Deel lists fees for contractors, employer-of-record staff and a US PEO, and Papaya Global describes payroll in 180+ countries. Both are quoted or priced differently from a domestic payroll.
Usually not. ADP's demo card targets 50 to 999 employees, and several tools on this page are built for smaller headcounts.
Figures for ADP Workforce Now and the alternatives come from the vendors' public pages, read on October 29, 2026. Treat them as a snapshot; rates and caps get revised often.
Sebastiaan Smits, Founder, wrote, edited and fact-checked this page.
Founder of The Interregnum and of 2 Steps Ahead, an AI search visibility agency. Editorially responsible for every page here; research and drafting are AI-assisted. Last reviewed October 29, 2026.
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