BambooHR® vs. Paychex

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
BambooHR®
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
BambooHR is an cloud-based human resources solution that provides onboarding, payroll, and benefits management. It also offers automated time-off management and employee self-service.
$250
per month
Paychex
Score 5.5 out of 10
N/A
Paychex Flex, of Paychex' Online Payroll Services, is a cloud-based human resource management and payroll platform. Paychex offers core and specialized services, and scales to meet the needs of small businesses, SMBs, and large enterprises.
$59
per month/+$4 per employee
Pricing
BambooHR®Paychex
Editions & Modules
Core
$250
per month
Pro
Contact Sales
per month
Elite
Contact Sales
per month
Paychex Go
$59
per month/+$4 per employee
Paychex Flex Service
Contact sales team
Paychex Flex Enterprise
Contact sales team
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BambooHR®Paychex
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalRequired
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
BambooHR®Paychex
Considered Both Products
BambooHR®
Chose BambooHR®
We switch our clients from the other HRIS platforms to BambooHR, because they do everything better and have amazing customer support.
Chose BambooHR®
BambooHR is easy to use whether you have one or 1,000 employees.
Chose BambooHR®
BambooHR's system was easier to set up with their support team than previous vendors I've used.
Chose BambooHR®
BambooHR offers a superior employee experience, especially when it comes to onboarding!
Chose BambooHR®
Bamboo is more intuitive and user-friendly than Paychex.
Chose BambooHR®
BambooHR was already in place when I started. BambooHR has much better intuitive navigation than any of the other systems but not as much customizability as something like Workday.
Chose BambooHR®
BambooHR is a very up-to-date system compared to Paychex. Their customer service compared to Paychex is out of this world!
Chose BambooHR®
BambooHR is much more user friendly. What it lacks in technical/complexities it is working to improve.
Chose BambooHR®
BambooHR is easier to use at a better price.
Chose BambooHR®
Much easier to use, at least as end user, than UltiPro. However I’m not sure if it’s as robust.
Chose BambooHR®
JazzHR and Comeet are much more advanced as ATSs. The UX of BambooHR is a bit better than both of them.
Paychex

No answer on this topic

Features
BambooHR®Paychex
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR®
7.7
201 Ratings
2% below category average
Paychex
7.3
257 Ratings
7% below category average
Employee demographic data8.3178 Ratings7.6206 Ratings
Employment history7.9182 Ratings9.4230 Ratings
Job profiles and administration8.0177 Ratings8.8164 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.7.6168 Ratings8.3161 Ratings
Organizational charting6.7184 Ratings1.01 Ratings
Organization and location management8.1174 Ratings9.0146 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)7.297 Ratings7.1137 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR®
6.8
129 Ratings
16% below category average
Paychex
9.1
299 Ratings
13% above category average
Pay calculation7.590 Ratings9.6282 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors6.267 Ratings00 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment6.363 Ratings8.0142 Ratings
Benefit plan administration6.198 Ratings8.6164 Ratings
Direct deposit files7.394 Ratings9.6281 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management7.9102 Ratings9.1200 Ratings
Reimbursement management6.358 Ratings9.5111 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR®
8.8
173 Ratings
10% above category average
Paychex
8.4
151 Ratings
5% above category average
Approval workflow8.5169 Ratings8.2107 Ratings
Balance details8.5160 Ratings8.5143 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment9.2128 Ratings8.5117 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR®
8.2
194 Ratings
2% above category average
Paychex
8.8
258 Ratings
9% above category average
View and generate pay and benefit information7.9123 Ratings9.1236 Ratings
Update personal information8.9192 Ratings8.6248 Ratings
View company policy documentation8.3164 Ratings9.7114 Ratings
Employee recognition7.3120 Ratings00 Ratings
View job history8.4182 Ratings7.9175 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR®
9.0
74 Ratings
11% above category average
Paychex
7.5
41 Ratings
7% below category average
Tracking of all physical assets9.074 Ratings7.541 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR®
7.0
163 Ratings
7% below category average
Paychex
7.0
169 Ratings
7% below category average
Report builder6.8157 Ratings7.8139 Ratings
Pre-built reports7.2155 Ratings8.3159 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data6.9106 Ratings5.086 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR®
7.9
166 Ratings
0% below category average
Paychex
7.0
165 Ratings
12% below category average
New hire portal8.2160 Ratings7.8158 Ratings
Manager tracking tools7.6147 Ratings6.3101 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR®
7.6
106 Ratings
4% below category average
Paychex
-
Ratings
Corporate goal setting6.973 Ratings00 Ratings
Individual goal setting7.5101 Ratings00 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility9.167 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance tracking6.994 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR®
7.6
118 Ratings
3% below category average
Paychex
-
Ratings
Performance plans7.0106 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance improvement plans6.989 Ratings00 Ratings
Review status tracking8.595 Ratings00 Ratings
Review reminders8.099 Ratings00 Ratings
Multiple review frequency7.5100 Ratings00 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR®
8.9
80 Ratings
13% above category average
Paychex
-
Ratings
Create succession plans/pools8.646 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate ranking9.066 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate search8.967 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate development9.258 Ratings00 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR®
7.9
137 Ratings
2% above category average
Paychex
8.0
61 Ratings
3% above category average
Job Requisition Management7.5103 Ratings8.033 Ratings
Company Website Posting7.5113 Ratings9.531 Ratings
Publish to Social Media9.290 Ratings7.124 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting7.3108 Ratings7.131 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention7.587 Ratings8.030 Ratings
Applicant Tracking8.1126 Ratings8.135 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts8.2128 Ratings8.155 Ratings
Best Alternatives
BambooHR®Paychex
Small Businesses
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.5 out of 10
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.5 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.7 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.7 out of 10
Enterprises
PeopleStrong
PeopleStrong
Score 9.9 out of 10
PeopleStrong
PeopleStrong
Score 9.9 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
BambooHR®Paychex
Likelihood to Recommend
8.4
(206 ratings)
6.0
(309 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.7
(15 ratings)
9.0
(42 ratings)
Usability
8.4
(133 ratings)
8.3
(251 ratings)
Availability
9.3
(5 ratings)
7.4
(11 ratings)
Performance
8.7
(5 ratings)
7.4
(11 ratings)
Support Rating
8.8
(107 ratings)
7.5
(256 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
4.5
(1 ratings)
Online Training
9.2
(4 ratings)
8.3
(4 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.6
(6 ratings)
6.5
(12 ratings)
Configurability
8.7
(4 ratings)
7.4
(8 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
8.4
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.6
(2 ratings)
9.1
(3 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.9
(5 ratings)
9.1
(11 ratings)
Professional Services
9.2
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.9
(4 ratings)
8.9
(31 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.1
(4 ratings)
9.2
(32 ratings)
User Testimonials
BambooHR®Paychex
Likelihood to Recommend
BambooHR
I think if you're a small organization and you're trying to get out of paper, this is a really good first step to doing that. I've heard from other people that are in larger organizations where they have thousands of employees that there may be better platforms, but for smaller organization it's awesome.
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
For the most part, Paychex Flex is a very good payroll system and is well suited for a small business. Most basic features are simple and user friendly. For businesses that have hourly employees, its timeclock system is a good feature. For businesses that have a large number of employees and more complicated rules and policies, it might not be as appropriate because of the difficulty to set up for these rules and policies
Read full review
Pros
BambooHR
  • Recruiting- communications are easy for both the internal team and candidates
  • Onboarding- the onboarding tasks are great. I love being able to attach documents as well as delay sending out tasks
  • Communication- the employee community is a great tool to keep our communications clean and organized. I love that we now have insight as to who has viewed the comms
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
  • It provides a well account of Retirement Plan Account Information.
  • Alerts are sent to email when there is new information to access.
  • Employee access both online and thru app.
  • Paperless options.
  • Easy and quick access to paystubs and tax forms.
  • Easy employee retirement management.
Read full review
Cons
BambooHR
  • BambooHR® has moved their offerings to a tiered package approach that groups features together at different tier and price levels. To gain access to a specific feature, you may need to upgrade to a whole new tier that includes additional features you may not be interested in. I would prefer being able to add-on one specific feature when needed.
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
  • When it comes to audit reports, Paychex Flex could improve on helping clients locate the correct reports for audit purposes more easily
  • When a client receives a discount, it would be helpful if the discount were automatically provided each year, or if the Paychex rep proactively reached out to the client first, versus the client having to call and request that the discount continue.
  • It would be helpful if the invoice was emailed to the client versus the client logging in to access invoices.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
BambooHR
There's nothing wrong with this platform. I would recommend it to any business starting with more than 10 employees. I will continue to use the program for as long as I need to, hoping they continue being tremendous and finding other ways to incorporate more technology.
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
Overall I like the features that Paychex Flex offers. I am sure that there are other features that I am unaware of, so I am excited to see if there is more that Flex is capable of to make my job easier. The basic features are really user friendly and easy to access. If there ever is an issue customer service is great
Read full review
Usability
BambooHR
It's clear and well appointed with prompts on where to go for each category of information it holds. The user has limited access based on a need to know/job related basis. It has a clear help option with the ability to chat, email or read documentation on how to do something.
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
Some things could be streamlined. For example, we could do custom options for the "add items" tab which has so many options that we never use. "Medical Pay" could be something that the system remembers for the applicable employees. Salaried employees' salaries should definitely be auto-filled. Overall the system works well but I think it could be improved to be easier to use and read.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
BambooHR
Yes, there is a huge team in the back of the online platform or it looks like it because I have never been left without an answer when I have a question or waiting from a response on my chat .... There must be a huge team, this is so great and I always seem to have someone that is very knowledgeable too. So many times in the past I had to leave with customer service that would connect you with someone else because of the expertise, here everyone seems to be some kind of an expert in the HR function.
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
We have not experienced any difficulties with unplanned outages. Notifications are always made for outages, and they do not effect normal business operations.
Read full review
Performance
BambooHR
I love BambooHR. Reports are easy to run and download and it usually covers any types of requests I get from the management team. You get excel or .csv downloads/reports and it is fast and simple, not too crowded so it is easy to read through. We don't integrate the tool yet but again, soon we will. we just did not had the time to utilize it yet but that's the plan.
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
Unless there is lag time within the internet, the Paychex Flex website loads exceptional fast, pages load quickly and reports that I need to print or download load quickly. If I need to create a specialized report, once I complete it I receive an e-mail telling me my report is ready to be downloaded. Changing between web pages is fast as well.
Read full review
Support Rating
BambooHR
10/10. The absolute best. I never dread contacting support. I know the team will be quick and helpful. It is so easy, that sometimes I skip straight to contacting support instead of trying to find help articles. They are faster than me trying to figure it out on my own!
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
Our dedicated representative is one of the main reasons we are sticking with Paychex Flex. If it were not for this person, other platforms could provide the same/similar functionality. It is the ability to speak with someone that understands our business and is willing to get questions answered in a timely fashion that keeps us with Paychex Flex.
Read full review
In-Person Training
BambooHR
I didn't have in-person training besides teaching my managers how to use the program. However, I couldn't omit this question (maybe a system glitch).
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
We did online training only
Read full review
Online Training
BambooHR
As far as I can recall, everything went well with doing it online and got questions answered. Was thankful to work with a dummy file to get used to some practices prior to getting our own domain within bamboo to then place our personnel information in the system, this helped a lot!
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
It was easy to understand and follow along. I do like the informational videos that we can utilize before we opt to call in for customer service support. It has made a difference since sometimes that resolves the issue I may have had and saved myself a phone call to Paychex support.
Read full review
Implementation Rating
BambooHR
BambooHR's initial implementation team was amazing. We loved having a dedicated person we could call, email or speak to during the entire process. I feel that's so important when you are new to a software. Our process was time consuming, but well worth the final product.
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
Implementation was very smooth. The most cumbersome task was entering the current employees into the system during initial set up, but Paychex staff handled most of that and verified against prior system reports as well as internal reports provided to ensure 100% accuracy.
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
BambooHR
BambooHR® was able to provide excellent value for money when compared to the other options we looked at when we carried out a review of them. A previous member of the team had also used BambooHR® at another company and rated them highly which influenced our decision greatly. The demo also showed BambooHR® was able to carry out all of the tasks we were looking for
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
We still use QB Desktop Pro to maintain a Check Register / Overall Balance for the company, but once having tried QB Payroll Online for about 3 months prior to finding Paychex Flex I can tell you that there's just no comparison. QB online is VERY EXPENSIVE and not so user-friendly. I hated every minute of those 6 payrolls we ran through QB online.
Read full review
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
BambooHR
Since my organization has dropped with employees, I always find ways to reduce costs. I thought there would be a cheaper option, but I was glad that my package included a lot for the price, and downgrading would cost more. The rep could have let me downgraded and taken me to a higher package. I am thankful that didn't happen.
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
No answers on this topic
Scalability
BambooHR
There is so much you can do with this platform, it is incredible and so welcoming. We don't utilize it 100% yet just because we are growing and the HR team has not been able to concentrate on other areas offered to us but but we will soon. Which is also why we got the product, specifically because what BambooHR can do to help us meet our growing business needs.
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
I generally do payroll at the office, however I have had to go remote due to internet issues and also had to take payroll on vacation with me. Very easy to log in wherever you are and manage your TAA and payroll
Read full review
Professional Services
BambooHR
VERY professional!
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
BambooHR
  • Time Savings: Automating onboarding, payroll, and employee record management has cut HR admin time by up to 30%, allowing teams to focus on strategic initiatives instead of paperwork.
  • Improved Onboarding: Streamlined workflows have cut onboarding time by nearly 50%, ensuring new hires are productive faster, reducing turnover risk in the critical first months.
  • - Enhanced Informational Clarity: Centralized employee data means fewer errors and faster access to essential information, reducing compliance risks and increasing accuracy in reporting.
Read full review
Paychex Inc.
  • I do not believe we have saved anything additionally. The time we've had to spend to get things to hopefully work is sad. This is the reason we've had to turn off all extra "products" of Paychex Flex. Time and Attendance is horrible. Benefits management is horrible. The user experience is horrible.
  • One thing I do not understand is why are updates for states, cities, counties, school districts, etc. not automatically updated? Should we not get a big red flag if we have an employee living/working, being paid in CA, but they aren't set up for CA sick time? If it is required to be on the paycheck stub to show the balance of the sick time, why would we not be notified that we are out of compliance?
Read full review
ScreenShots

BambooHR® Screenshots

Screenshot of Job Info TabScreenshot of Onboarding TasksScreenshot of New Hire PacketScreenshot of Employee Performance ReportScreenshot of Employee Satisfaction (eNPS®)Screenshot of Open Enrollment

Paychex Screenshots

Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of