Paychex vs. Rippling

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
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
Rippling
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
Rippling’s platform for HR, IT, payroll, and spend management automates the entire employee lifecycle, ensures compliance, supports device management, and provides real-time financial visibility from a central dashboard.
$8
per month per user
Pricing
PaychexRippling
Editions & Modules
Paychex Go
$59
per month/+$4 per employee
Paychex Flex Service
Contact sales team
Paychex Flex Enterprise
Contact sales team
Recommended
$8.00
starting price per user, per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
PaychexRippling
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredNo setup fee
Additional DetailsFor additional pricing details visit the Rippling pricing page.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
PaychexRippling
Considered Both Products
Paychex

No answer on this topic

Rippling
Chose Rippling
The ease of use and admin and employee interface of Rippling blows Paychex Flex out of the water. For a young and tech-oriented startup, Rippling is by far a better fit for our team!

Paylocity has some more nitty-gritty payroll editing and adjustment capabilities, which I hope …
Chose Rippling
No comparison in my eyes. Rippling has so many options and tabs with various information at your fingertips. There is nothing in my eyes that Rippling can't handle. We used to spend a lot of time contacting the HR Department with questions regarding our insurance, scheduling …
Chose Rippling
Rippling has much better applications and functions integration, much better customer support. Rippling is very easy to use, check payroll, time management, 401 K investment and management, training and on-boarding, reimbursement and compensation management, talent recruitment …
Chose Rippling
PayChex pales in comparison to Rippling and is not nearly as user friendly or easy to navigate.
Chose Rippling
I think that Rippling is highly competitive to ADP
Chose Rippling
Rippling is a dream to work with compared the above listed companies. I love how straightforward everything is with Rippling and how you are able to get what you need almost immediately without hassle. Employees know where to go and how to get what they need without having to …
Chose Rippling
I am a site supervisor, so I did not choose Rippling. It is highly efficient, however, compared to our former HR platform!
Chose Rippling
Rippling was more user friendly and also more aimed at catering to a smaller business
Chose Rippling
It is easiser to acess benifits but i do wish the clock in features were more accessible
Chose Rippling
Rippling is easy to set up and the various vendors like workers comp and 401K are well integrated creating ease of use. We used TriNet in the past and Rippling provides far greater control and transparency. The other are vendors we considered when we left TriNet and were …
Chose Rippling
The dealbreaker for us was that we have multiple companies / legal entities that all needed payroll company service. The companies are all interconnected, sharing office and lab space, equipment, contractors, and employees transfer between them. All other payroll companies we …
Chose Rippling
Rippling seemed to be much more user friendly. In speaking with fellow business owners, many of the other payroll companies I looked into had poor customer service reviews, and the costs were much higher than Rippling. I also am pleased that Rippling offers much more than …
Chose Rippling
Rippling is an user-friendly application system and has powerful automation tools. Also is visibly more integrative.
Chose Rippling
I am a user - I didn't select Rippling for my company. However, as a user, Rippling was far easier to navigate, manage, and view my employment and benefits info.
Chose Rippling
Rippling's HRIS is similar in quality to BambooHR and Workday. However, where Rippling outshines those platforms is in its added functionality and connection to other portions of the platform as well as other applications. Being able to have our HRIS and Payroll Software on the …
Chose Rippling
Rippling was by far the better option. ADPs offerings were terrible and I would not recommend anyone to go with them. Aside from the poor support/service and inability to be fully customizable, there were glaring issues regarding compliance. When we were in a PEO Model …
Chose Rippling
Ultimately we selected Rippling because it felt like the most comprehensive, tech forward solution on the market. The system is fully integrated and unlike Paychex, it doesn't feel like a bunch of separate systems that were poorly pulled together. The user experience on the web …
Chose Rippling
Paychex is not as comprehensive, doesn't have as many tools or plugins, and is more clunky. There are a lot of things that have to be done manually, like benefit contributions, that result in higher human error. Rippling doesn't feel like a big company, and the customer …
Chose Rippling
The HR department made that decision. I'm not sure why. Rippling seems like a very helpful service, but I'm a new enployee, so I'm not sure why it was considered superior.
Chose Rippling
Traditional payroll software has a clunky user experience. They get the job done, but it's at the expense of more time spent by my HR team in supporting employees in using the software to find what they need. Rippling's self-service features work because it's intuitive and easy …
Chose Rippling
Customer support is much improved over the former company, questions and requests for information are handled rapidly
Features
PaychexRippling
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
7.3
257 Ratings
7% below category average
Rippling
9.2
826 Ratings
16% above category average
Employee demographic data7.6206 Ratings9.2573 Ratings
Employment history9.4230 Ratings9.0589 Ratings
Job profiles and administration8.8164 Ratings9.3683 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.8.3161 Ratings9.3593 Ratings
Organizational charting1.01 Ratings9.3707 Ratings
Organization and location management9.0146 Ratings9.2617 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)7.1137 Ratings9.3479 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
9.1
299 Ratings
13% above category average
Rippling
9.2
871 Ratings
14% above category average
Pay calculation9.6282 Ratings9.2774 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment8.0142 Ratings9.2511 Ratings
Benefit plan administration8.6164 Ratings8.9772 Ratings
Direct deposit files9.6281 Ratings9.5765 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management9.1200 Ratings9.3561 Ratings
Reimbursement management9.5111 Ratings9.3480 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
8.4
151 Ratings
5% above category average
Rippling
9.2
769 Ratings
14% above category average
Approval workflow8.2107 Ratings9.2742 Ratings
Balance details8.5143 Ratings9.3693 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment8.5117 Ratings9.1499 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
8.8
258 Ratings
9% above category average
Rippling
9.4
916 Ratings
15% above category average
View and generate pay and benefit information9.1236 Ratings9.4869 Ratings
Update personal information8.6248 Ratings9.3905 Ratings
View company policy documentation9.7114 Ratings9.6740 Ratings
View job history7.9175 Ratings9.3632 Ratings
Employee recognition00 Ratings9.1478 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
7.5
41 Ratings
7% below category average
Rippling
9.3
368 Ratings
14% above category average
Tracking of all physical assets7.541 Ratings9.3368 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
7.0
169 Ratings
7% below category average
Rippling
9.1
435 Ratings
19% above category average
Report builder7.8139 Ratings9.1421 Ratings
Pre-built reports8.3159 Ratings9.2400 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data5.086 Ratings9.1352 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
7.0
165 Ratings
12% below category average
Rippling
9.4
637 Ratings
17% above category average
New hire portal7.8158 Ratings9.5621 Ratings
Manager tracking tools6.3101 Ratings9.3466 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
8.0
61 Ratings
3% above category average
Rippling
9.4
318 Ratings
19% above category average
Job Requisition Management8.033 Ratings9.2250 Ratings
Company Website Posting9.531 Ratings9.3240 Ratings
Publish to Social Media7.124 Ratings9.5212 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting7.131 Ratings9.5218 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention8.030 Ratings9.5220 Ratings
Applicant Tracking8.135 Ratings9.4233 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts8.155 Ratings9.4292 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
-
Ratings
Rippling
9.2
325 Ratings
15% above category average
Corporate goal setting00 Ratings9.2272 Ratings
Individual goal setting00 Ratings9.2294 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility00 Ratings9.3273 Ratings
Performance tracking00 Ratings9.3290 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
-
Ratings
Rippling
9.4
377 Ratings
18% above category average
Performance plans00 Ratings9.3328 Ratings
Performance improvement plans00 Ratings9.2310 Ratings
Review status tracking00 Ratings9.3330 Ratings
Review reminders00 Ratings9.5355 Ratings
Multiple review frequency00 Ratings9.5298 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
Paychex
-
Ratings
Rippling
9.2
280 Ratings
16% above category average
Create succession plans/pools00 Ratings9.2227 Ratings
Candidate ranking00 Ratings9.3240 Ratings
Candidate search00 Ratings9.1247 Ratings
Candidate development00 Ratings9.1235 Ratings
Best Alternatives
PaychexRippling
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
PaychexRippling
Likelihood to Recommend
6.0
(309 ratings)
9.2
(964 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(42 ratings)
9.1
(15 ratings)
Usability
8.3
(251 ratings)
9.3
(961 ratings)
Availability
7.4
(11 ratings)
9.1
(2 ratings)
Performance
7.4
(11 ratings)
7.3
(2 ratings)
Support Rating
7.5
(256 ratings)
9.3
(771 ratings)
In-Person Training
4.5
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
8.3
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
6.5
(12 ratings)
8.5
(4 ratings)
Configurability
7.4
(8 ratings)
1.0
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.1
(3 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.1
(11 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.9
(31 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.2
(32 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
PaychexRippling
Likelihood to Recommend
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
Rippling
Rippling has been fantastic for me as I work for two entities. I can easily alternate between the two for time-tracking purposes on Rippling, whereas I used to do it manually by hand. This has made submitting my hour totals for payroll so much easier. Rippling is probably less useful for those who are salary and don't need to track their hours as meticulously as I do
Read full review
Pros
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
Rippling
  • I did not expect Live Chat Support and Email Support when we moved to Rippling. Their Support team is quick and very knowledgeable. I have had multiple instances where we have gone back and forth on a situation to come to the correct conclusion, never feeling they were trying to just close the case unsolved.
  • Being able to manage employees from application to separation is huge. Having a built in ATS that we can hire candidates from directly, and immediately have their payroll, benefits and employee profile setup has saved me countless hours for each hire.
  • Rippling allows us to manage retirement plans across the US, Canada and UK with automation and file feeds. Before Rippling I manually managed these in multiple portals, now Rippling does it for me automatically.
Read full review
Cons
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
Rippling
  • Could clarify what is being asked when creating expense reports.
  • It could make 2FA more intuitive on mobile, such as allowing iPhone users to use Face ID as an alternative if the device is locked.
  • Overall avoid using too much jargon when asking questions.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
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
Rippling
Rippling continues to innovate and amaze me with their new innovations and features. Product feedback is taken seriously so I always give it whenever I can and end up seeing results. Rippling is the new wave of HRIS that cannot compare against others in the industry just due to the fact they are super user friendly!
Read full review
Usability
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
Rippling
Rippling is a great product that has streamlined our payroll and leave management processes. The interface is intuitive, and it’s very convenient to manage everything in one place. While the initial setup was a bit lengthy and the mobile experience can sometimes be a little slow, overall, it’s been a reliable and effective solution for our needs.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
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
Rippling
I like that the availability in using Rippling at any given time is useful to me. Getting on the site freely when I need gives me security of knowing that I can be in control of viewing health insurance and hours information. I have yet to get any errors in using the Rippling app.
Read full review
Performance
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
Rippling
Rippling's performance has been great, no errors or glitches yet so far. I am confident that Going from one page to the next and all its complexity usage does not lag or times out, it works effectively and efficiently. While using Rippling and other apps it does not tend to slow it down, works great. No complaints.
Read full review
Support Rating
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
Rippling
When I did have to reach out to Rippling for assistance I was able to get quick help and my problem resolved in a time efficient manner with out any type of hick up. The customer support team is professional, kind and always available. This makes Rippling more welcoming to use on a daily basis.
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In-Person Training
Paychex Inc.
We did online training only
Read full review
Rippling
The trainer went slow and and answered our questions.
Read full review
Online Training
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
Rippling
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
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
Rippling
It's really easy to implement in comparison to other tools or applications. Different key points are easily configured and implemented as per need, having different configurations in systems. Implementation is something which binds the different parameters of an organization in a single row. Implementation of rippling is much easier, quicker, and error free than any other software. I recommend it strongly!
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
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
Rippling
Rippling has a better user experience, is more easy to use and more comprehensive. This is more related to feelings but with Employee Navigator I felf my data was not being protected because the platform looked very old and outdated. With Rippling the feeling is the opposite because I think is more up to date. Also, the gifs they send when is pay day are super nice and fun lol
Read full review
Scalability
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
Rippling
I can go on here and see all my hours and pto plus health benefits. I like to have the work handbook handy to refer to legal things. How to work my role within it's limits. Being able to put in my hours and view when they are approved is a huge benefit for me.
Read full review
Return on Investment
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
Rippling
  • Routine things like PTO requests and document uploads now take a few clicks instead of hours of email back‑and‑forth. I’d estimate I spend at least half the time on those tasks compared to before, which frees me up to actually help employees.
  • What used to drag on for days now gets done in a morning - I've just asked them this now. New hires can log in, set up their tools, and start training almost immediately, so they’re productive much sooner.
  • Payroll and benefits errors used to pop up regularly, but now I almost never have to fix things or follow up on missing info. That means less stress for me and for everyone involved.
  • Having everything in one platform cuts out the “where did you send that?” and “who approves this?” questions. It feels like we’ve reduced our back‑and‑forth by at least a third.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Paychex Screenshots

Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of

Rippling Screenshots

Screenshot of the Rippling Dashboard: Employees' home for their payroll, benefits, documents, devices, expenses, and apps.Screenshot of Rippling Payroll: Runs payroll in 90 seconds. Pays employees and contractors around the world. Automatic tax filing.Screenshot of Rippling Benefits Administration: For the management of employees' Medical, Dental, Vision, 401K, FSA, HSA, and commuter benefits.Screenshot of Rippling Single Sign-On: Employees can access all of their SaaS apps in one click from their Rippling dashboard.Screenshot of Rippling’s Time & Attendance platform. This integrates with the rest of the product suite so that when employees clock in, their approved hours automatically synced with payroll and accounting systems.Screenshot of Rippling Mobile Device Management: To manage employees' computers and devices 100% remotely.