ADP Run Review 2024: Features, Pricing & More

ADP RUN is a simple payroll platform for startups and small businesses, with room to grow into enterprise plans with the main ADP platform. RUN provides basic employee payroll and tax filing, with endlessly customizable plans to add on features for benefits administration, HR tools, contractor payment, marketing and more.

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1

OnPay

Benefits administration

Yes

Contractor payments

Yes

Base monthly price

$40 per month + $6 per user

1

OnPay

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On OnPay's Website

2

SurePayroll

Benefits Administration

Yes

Contractor Payments

Yes

Base Price

$29.99/mo plus $5 per employee

2

SurePayroll

Learn More

On SurePayroll's Website

3

Gusto

Benefits administration

Yes

Contractor payments

Yes

Base monthly price

$40 per month plus $6 per user

3

Gusto

Learn More

On Gusto's Website

4

Rippling

Benefits administration

Yes

Contractor Payments

Yes

Base Price

$35 per month + $8 per user

4

Rippling

Learn More

On Rippling's Website

Along with most small business payroll solutions, ADP RUN lets you run payroll online or set recurring payroll on autopilot (with the option for a review anytime). The platform automatically calculates, deducts, pays and files payroll and employee income taxes for you.

RUN is part of the larger ADP ecosystem, so you can add on features for a full HR suite and benefits management platform alongside payroll. Popular add-ons include health and retirement benefits administration, time tracking and expense management; and ADP’s app marketplace lets you add hundreds of integrations for customizable functionality.

ADP is one of the largest payroll service provider in the world, and its small business solution RUN is a natural extension of the service it provides to medium and large businesses and Fortune 500 companies.

The service could be right for your business if you want a customizable payroll service platform with the option for one-on-one guidance from a customer service representative. It’s also a good fit for a small business that expects to grow, because it’ll be easy to migrate to ADP enterprise platforms if your company grows above 50 employees.

If you prefer an out-of-the-box solution you can have up and running today, ADP isn’t for you. A more modern platform such as Gusto is a better fit for scrappy and fast-moving companies such as startups and online businesses.

ADP RUN Is Best For:

• Small businesses with W-2 employees
• Small businesses that expect to grow
• Companies with existing benefits management or no need to manage benefits

ADP RUN Is Not Recommended For:

• Small businesses with contractors only
• Companies that want a simple, out-of-the-box payroll solution

With its long history in the payroll space, ADP RUN sets itself apart from startup platforms that might morph, merge or disappear altogether in the coming years and gives you some added assurance of stability and trustworthiness. It also means the platform has relationships with hundreds of complementary products that make it easy to integrate the features you need.

ADP is highly customizable. You can start with RUN for small business payroll and add on other ADP products and features for time tracking, benefits administration and more, plus third-party integrations to make the platform exactly what your company needs.

While it doesn’t offer the comprehensive capabilities of full-fledged HRIS systems, ADP RUN fully meets the needs of most small businesses. Here’s how it stacks up:

Pricing

ADP’s complex pricing formulas are a major drawback of the platform for a lot of companies.

You can’t get a handle on what the software will cost for your company’s needs without speaking to a sales representative—which can be tedious and time-consuming for someone trying to run a small business. And once you get an estimate, the price could change over time as introductory deals fade away and new offers emerge.

Users report a starting price of $59 plus $4 per employee per month, but ADP no longer publishes pricing details and it’s best to contact a sales representative for current pricing.

Ease of Use

Because RUN is an offshoot of the larger suite of ADP products, it’s part of a complex ecosystem of HR and payroll products designed for enterprise organizations.

You can find just about any feature your company needs within the suite—from time tracking to expense management to contractor payment to benefits management—but most functionality beyond payroll and tax filing is an add-on that will impact your price. This makes the platform easy to customize, which is often important for large organizations. But a small business often wants to be able to sign up and get started without sitting through a series of sales and onboarding calls, and ADP RUN doesn’t have a clear way to do this.

Payroll

ADP RUN’s basic function is running payroll. You can pay U.S.-based employees automatically through direct deposit or have payroll checks delivered to your business ahead of each payday.

ADP RUN allows you to generate 1099s for contractors, but it’s unclear if it also natively enables you to pay contractors. However, you can sign up for a separate ADP product called WorkMarket to manage and pay 1099 employees.

Compliance

ADP’s SmartCompliance is a set of add-on features that combines services and technology to help you stay compliant with changes to healthcare and payroll tax requirements as well as wage garnishment orders. Compliance support can include business tax credits, wage payments, payroll taxes, health insurance, wage garnishments, contractor management, unemployment claims and employment verification.

Onboarding

Through ADP RUN, new hires can fill out their onboarding paperwork online before their first day of work. You also have the option to add on an integration with Onboard by HR Cloud (for an additional price) to have access to automated workflows and an online employee portal that includes a welcome message, editable digital forms, onboarding videos, training content and employee documents.

Tax Filing

ADP RUN payroll includes automatic payroll tax calculation, filing and reporting for W-2 employees.

Time Tracking

You can purchase time tracking and attendance as an add-on with any ADP RUN plan to let employees clock in and out directly through the platform.

Benefits Administration

Benefits administration is available as an add-on for any ADP RUN plan. You have options for:

• Retirement: Purchase a group retirement plan through ADP’s in-house broker, and manage benefits through your payroll platform.
• Workers’ compensation: Purchase workers’ compensation insurance or pay-as-you-go options through ADP’s affiliated insurance company.
• Health insurance: Purchase a group health plan through ADP’s affiliated insurance company, and manage benefits through the payroll platform.

Analytics and Reporting

ADP lets you create customized payroll and HR reports and view, access, manage or print them from the platform online.

Accounting

Along with most payroll platforms, ADP doesn’t include accounting features, so your accounts receivable and accounts payable will be in separate platforms and require integrations to stay synced. In contrast, popular software such as QuickBooks and Wave include both accounting and payroll options, but usually don’t handle tax payments or filing. If you use accounting software such as QuickBooks to track income and expenses, you can use an integration to make it work automatically with ADP.

Accessibility

You can access ADP RUN payroll features through the mobile app, including running payroll, adding employees and reporting. Employees can only access the employee portal online.

Taxes and Compliance

ADP automatically files and pays payroll taxes for you and employees. For an additional fee, it’ll also file W-2s and deliver copies to employees.

Pricing for ADP RUN plans is difficult to get without contacting a sales representative to talk about your company’s unique needs. Users have reported that the Essential plan—the basic payroll-only level—starts at $59 per month plus $4 per employee. However, you’ll need to contact the company for current pricing.

Additional features beyond basic payroll come with a higher price tag, and you may pay extra for features that are considered add-ons, as well. Talking with a sales rep could get you a free trial of the service or lower introductory pricing.

	Essential	Enhanced	Complete	HR Pro
U.S. Payroll	Direct deposit, pay card, paper checks	Direct deposit, pay card, paper checks	Direct deposit, pay card, paper checks	Direct deposit, pay card, paper checks
Global Payroll	International payments through ADP Global Payroll	International payments through ADP Global Payroll	International payments through ADP Global Payroll	International payments through ADP Global Payroll
State Unemployment Insurance (SUI) Management	N/A	Included	Included	Included
Applicant Tracking System	N/A	N/A	N/A	Included
Onboarding	New employees can fill out paperwork online before their first day on the job	New employees can fill out paperwork online before their first day on the job	New employees can fill out paperwork online before their first day on the job	New employees can fill out paperwork online before their first day on the job
Tax Filing	Calculate, file and reconcile payroll taxes	Calculate, file and reconcile payroll taxes	Calculate, file and reconcile payroll taxes	Calculate, file and reconcile payroll taxes
Benefits Administration	Add-on	Add-on	Add-on	Add-on
Time Tracking	Add-on	Add-on	Add-on	Add-on
Expense Management	Add-on	Add-on	Add-on	Add-on
Salary Benchmarks	N/A	N/A	Included	Included
Workflow Automations	Integrations available	Integrations available	Integrations available	Integrations available
Mobile Apps	Run payroll via mobile app	Run payroll via mobile app	Run payroll via mobile app	Run payroll via mobile app
Reporting and Analytics	View, access, customize and print payroll and HR reports online	View, access, customize and print payroll and HR reports online	View, access, customize and print payroll and HR reports online	View, access, customize and print payroll and HR reports online
Third-Party Integrations	Export payroll data directly to accounting software	Export payroll data directly to accounting software	Export payroll data directly to accounting software	Export payroll data directly to accounting software
Error-Free Guarantee	Fines paid in case of a tax filing error	Fines paid in case of a tax filing error	Fines paid in case of a tax filing error	Fines paid in case of a tax filing error
Customer Support	Automated phone support or online FAQs; localized phone support centers	HR HelpDesk access	HR HelpDesk access	Enhanced HR HelpDesk support and employee handbook support

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Essential

ADP RUN offers payroll with direct deposit, a self-service employee platform and new hire onboarding. You can pay more to add on benefits admin for retirement plans, health insurance and workers’ comp, and tax form filing.

Pricing is customized per company, so you have to contact an ADP sales rep for accurate pricing for your needs. Users have reported that the Essential plan starts at $59 per month plus $4 per employee, but this information may be outdated.

Enhanced

This plan offers basic payroll, plus electronic check signing, unemployment insurance and background checks. You can pay more to add on benefits admin and tax form filing.

Complete

This includes all payroll features, plus HR features including employee handbook, document management and training and toolkits. You can pay more to add on benefits admin and tax form filing.

HR Pro

The HR Pro plan includes payroll and HR admin, plus personalized HR support and training for issues such as sexual harassment.

Featured Partners

Advertisement

1

OnPay

Benefits administration

Yes

Contractor payments

Yes

Base monthly price

$40 per month + $6 per user

1

OnPay

Learn More

On OnPay's Website

2

SurePayroll

Benefits Administration

Yes

Contractor Payments

Yes

Base Price

$29.99/mo plus $5 per employee

2

SurePayroll

Learn More

On SurePayroll's Website

3

Gusto

Benefits administration

Yes

Contractor payments

Yes

Base monthly price

$40 per month plus $6 per user

3

Gusto

Learn More

On Gusto's Website

4

Rippling

Benefits administration

Yes

Contractor Payments

Yes

Base Price

$35 per month + $8 per user

4

Rippling

Learn More

On Rippling's Website

Live ADP RUN customer support is difficult to come by if you’re on an Essential plan. You can get the bulk of your questions answered through a robust online FAQ and use automated phone support to deal with common issues. Enhanced and Complete plan users have access to more personalized customer support through ADP’s HR HelpDesk service, with Complete plan users getting priority support.

ADP RUN comes with a couple of additional options that are common among payroll platforms: integration with accounting software and a flexible employee payment option.

Integrations

ADP integrates with QuickBooks, Xero, Wave and Creative Solutions, so you can automatically sync your payroll with your bookkeeping. If you use another accounting software, you can always download a generic output file to upload into your accounting software to avoid duplicating data entry.

Direct Debit Card

Employees can opt in to get a Wisely Direct debit card, a prepaid card managed by ADP that gets loaded through direct deposit.

With the card, they can have access to their paychecks up to two days ahead of payday, based on when you run payroll. Employees can also load money onto the card from other sources, similar to a digital checking account.

There are dozens of competitors offering payroll services to small and large businesses alike. Here are three of the top contenders, but you can see more comparisons in our complete guide to ADP alternatives.

	ADP RUN	Gusto	Paychex Flex	Rippling
Rating
Starting Price	Contact for quote	$40 per month plus per-person rate based on plan	$39 per month plus per-person rate based on company needs	$8 per user, per month, plus potential monthly base fees
U.S. Payroll	Direct deposit or check delivery for employees, automatic filing and reporting for payroll taxes	Automated payroll, direct deposit for employees and contractors, and online pay stubs	Payroll with direct deposit or in-house printed checks for employees and contractors, self-service portal. Option to add on filing and reporting for payroll taxes.	Direct deposit
Global Payroll	International payments through ADP Global Payroll	No payroll for global employees; support for international contractors	Managed through partner IRIS FMP	Pay global employees and contractors in their local currency
Onboarding	New hire onboarding included in all plans	Customizable hiring and onboarding templates available	Paperless, digital onboarding experience; job posting integration; employee handbook builder	New hire onboarding included in all plans
Tax Filing	Automatic filing and reporting for payroll taxes	Automatic filing and reporting for payroll taxes	Automatically calculate, file and pay payroll taxes	Automatic filing and reporting for payroll taxes
Benefits Administration	Add-on features for retirement, health insurance and workers’ comp	Administer health, wellness, retirement, transportation, housing and custom benefits	Add-on	Online enrollment for health insurance, retirement benefits and more
Time Tracking	Add-on	Integrations available with beginner plan; time tracking included with higher-cost plans	Add-on	Automatically record employee work hours with online check-in
Expense Management	Available through Expensify for RUN add-on	Available through employee self-service platform	Add-on	Available through employee self-service platform
Workflow Automations	Integrations available	Integrations available	Integrations available	Included
Mobile Apps	Employer and employee functions available on app for iOS and Android	Gusto Wallet app for employee online banking; other features available through mobile browser only	Employees can register for a Paychex Flex account to view pay and tax information via mobile app	Employee time tracking through mobile; other features available through mobile browser only
Reporting and Analytics	Available through Workforce Now add-on	Customized reports; integrations available	Add-on	PTO and time reporting, compliance reports
Third-Party Integrations	Integrations with automation and accounting software, add-ons for other ADP products	Workflow automation, reporting and insights, benefits administration and more	Voice assistant and accounting software integrations and Paychex add-ons	Slack, Google Workspace, integrations among Rippling apps
Error-Free Guarantee	X	X	X	100% error-free guarantee
Customer Support	Automated phone support or online FAQs; localized phone support centers	24/7 support via email or online chat	24/7 support via app or online chat, or phone	24/7 support via email or online chat
Learn More	On ADP’s Website	On Gusto’s Website	On Paychex Flex’s Website	On Rippling’s Website
Read Reviews	—	Read Gusto Review	Read Paychex Flex Review	Read Rippling Review

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ADP RUN vs. Gusto

Gusto is an online payroll and HR administration platform designed with dynamic startups in mind. It facilitates payroll for both employees and contractors under a single plan, plus employee benefits including health, retirement and custom benefits such as wellness programs. The platform also includes automated charitable donations (as an option) and a wallet that helps employees access their money when they need it. Its pricing is more straightforward and transparent compared with ADP, and tends to be cheaper for small companies.

ADP RUN vs. Paychex Flex

Along with ADP RUN, Paychex Flex is the small-business version of Paychex’s payroll platform. It serves small businesses with less than 50 employees and provides simplified payroll processing. Unlike RUN, Paychex Flex doesn’t offer packages or add-ons for benefits administration. For more details, read our comparison of ADP RUN vs. Paychex Flex.

ADP RUN vs. Rippling

Rippling is a robust payroll and HR platform that combines the smooth user experience of a new tech company with the comprehensive services available on legacy platforms such as ADP. Along with ADP RUN, it combines a suite of apps to let you customize the platform to meet your needs, but the integrations are more seamless and easier to navigate than the maze among ADP products and marketplace integrations.

ADP RUN is a customizable payroll platform for small- or medium-sized businesses, and a good option for businesses that expect to grow in size and complexity. Its suite of proprietary and marketplace products lets you customize your plan to add scale and complexity as your company grows but might make the platform too complex for a small business with basic needs. As a small business, you might be able to find a platform, such as Rippling, that offers a variety of features without the complexity.