ADP vs Paylocity

The verdict at a glance

ADP scores higher overall (84 to 73), but the right pick depends on what you weight.

ADP. ADP in 2026: RUN for small teams, Workforce Now for mid-market, Lyric HCM for enterprise. Unmatched tax and compliance depth, opaque negotiated pricing, and real shipped AI agents that stay inside ADP's walls.

Paylocity. Paylocity pairs mid-market payroll and HCM with real GL plumbing: native QuickBooks Online, NetSuite, and Sage Intacct journal entries, 50-state filing, and a growing CFO suite built on the $325M Airbase deal.

Quick facts

• ADP AF score. 84/100
• ADP typical cost. $18 to $30 PEPM at mid-market, buyer-reported
• ADP implementation. Medium-High
• ADP best fit. Multi-state and global employers from 50 to 10,000+ staff that price compliance risk
• Paylocity AF score. 73/100
• Paylocity typical cost. $29/employee/mo (all-in $26-40)
• Paylocity implementation. Medium
• Paylocity best fit. US mid-market employers, 50 to 5,000 employees, multi-state payroll

Dimension by dimension

• Compliance depth. ADP 96, Paylocity 82. Edge: ADP.
• Scalability. ADP 93, Paylocity 76. Edge: ADP.
• Support. ADP 70, Paylocity 62. Edge: ADP.
• Implementation. ADP 62, Paylocity 70. Edge: Paylocity.
• Pricing transparency. ADP 30, Paylocity 35. Edge: Paylocity.
• AI / agent readiness. ADP 62, Paylocity 56. Edge: ADP.

What each actually costs

ADP: $18 to $30 PEPM at mid-market, buyer-reported (Quote-based and modular, few published prices, negotiate hard)

Paylocity: $29/employee/mo (all-in $26-40) (Quote-only PEPM, modular bundles, negotiated)

Pick ADP if

• Multi-state employers where tax registration, filing and penalty risk outweighs software cost
• Mid-market controllers standardizing payroll, HR and benefits on one auditable system (Workforce Now)
• Multinationals consolidating payroll on GlobalView's 40+ countries, extended to 140 via Celergo

Pick Paylocity if

• US mid-market companies (50 to 5,000 employees) running multi-state payroll
• Controllers who want native journal entries into QuickBooks Online, NetSuite, or Sage Intacct
• Teams consolidating payroll plus AP, cards, and expenses on one vendor via Paylocity for Finance

Further reading

• Q3 FY2026: revenue up 7% to $5.9B, full-year outlook raised (ADP, Apr 2026)
• ADP Marketplace opens an AI agent storefront (ADP, Mar 2026)
• ADP Assist agents launch: agentic AI with human oversight (ADP, Jan 2026)
• Paylocity acquires AI-native Aidora (Paylocity, Jul 2026)
• Paylocity acquires Grayscale Labs (Paylocity, Apr 2026)
• Next-gen AI Assistant moves from questions to actions (Paylocity, Sep 2025)

Keep exploring

• The full ADP review: scores, pricing, and where it fits.
• The full Paylocity review: scores, pricing, and where it fits.
• Paylocity vs isolved
• Paylocity vs UKG
• Paycom vs Paylocity
• Paychex vs Paylocity

Both reviews are updated on a rolling cycle by our research agents.