Zenefits Ratings at a Glance
Most users consider Zenefits as a valuable payroll and HR provider, with users appreciating its benefits, payroll and organization management capabilities. Complaints arise from its complex interface, which may intimidate small business owners as well as issues with customer support.
| Zenefits | |
|---|---|
|
Monthly Cost
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From $8 per month, per employee
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Mobile App
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Yes
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Benefits Administration
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Yes
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Payroll
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Available as an add-on
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Time or Attendance Tracking
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Yes
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Contractor Payments
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No
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Task Management
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No
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G2 Rating
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4 out of 5 stars with nearly 450 Zenefits Reviews
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TrustRadius Rating
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5.8 out of 10 with around 220 Zenefits reviews
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What Is Zenefits?
Zenefits is a HR platform that simplifies HR, benefits management, payroll and scheduling. It has an impressive set of features for time tracking, applicant tracking and reporting dashboards.
Zenefits Pros and Cons
Pros
One of the main advantages of Zenefits is its affordable plans starting from $8 per employee, per month. This includes automated onboarding via offer letters, background checks and employee self-onboarding for new hires. Employee management, time off tracking and scheduling are also available in all plans. For all-in-one HR access, Zenefits has a mobile app where users can access their insurance information, check benefits, clock in for shifts and contact colleagues.
Cons
While Zenefits is a popular and reliable HR solution, there are some drawbacks to consider. One downside is that HR base plans and add-ons require a minimum of five employees. You’ll still be able to use the platform if you’re a self-employed professional or a small business with one or two employees. However, you’ll be charged the price of five employees for each product or service you use.
Payroll, advisory services and recruitment features are only available as add-ons. Payroll costs $6 per month, per employee, which is a downside for HR professionals looking to manage payroll in one convenient solution. In addition, the platform lacks learning management tools and task management capabilities based on our evaluation.
Featured Partners
1
Rippling
Yes
Yes
$35/month plus $8 PEPM
2
OnPay
Yes
Yes
$40 per month + $6 per user
3
Paychex Flex
Yes
Yes
$39-plus per month, depending on company size and needs (6 month free offer)
4
Gusto
Yes
Yes
$40 per month plus $6 per user
Zenefits Core Features
HR tools
Onboarding new hires is much easier thanks to Zenefits hiring and onboarding capabilities. The platform allows you to easily send offer letters, conduct comprehensive background checks and get electronic documents signed online.
Employee management gives people access to a dynamic org chart where they can find employees’ contact information. Zenefits also allows automated workflows and employee management for both full-time, consultants and contractual employees.
With plans at higher tiers, you can access performance management features and employee engagement surveys to improve work performance.
Employee Benefits
Zenefits allows you to offer benefits employees expect including medical, life and disability, health savings account (HSA), flexible savings account (FSA) and 401(k). All plans include access to a certified broker who can help you choose a proper healthcare plan. Once you’ve chosen a plan, existing employees can enroll on the platform and view their plans and claims on their mobile device.
If you have an existing broker, you can still continue working with them. However, you’ll have to pay an add-on fee to integrate their plans on the platform.
Time off tracking
Keeping track of employees’ schedules can be a cumbersome endeavor, especially for large corporations. Fortunately, Zenefits’ scheduling features let you create and edit shifts for workers, track time of employees and contractors and monitor employee activity. You can even track paid time off and allow businesses to manage their paid time off (PTO) policy, manage and approve requests, set time off for blackout dates and calculate paid time off.
Zenefits Pricing & Plans
Zenefits offers three plans Essentials, Growth and Zen plans so that you can get the features you need at the best price. All plans are available on a per-user basis, making it very affordable for small to midsized businesses. Also, plans are available on a month-to-month basis or with annual billing.
Zenefits Tiered Plans and Features
| Essentials | Growth | Zen | |
|---|---|---|---|
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Monthly Price
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$8 per user, per month
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$16 per user, per month
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$21 per user, per month
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Automated Onboarding
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✔
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✔
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✔
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|
Employee Management
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✔
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✔
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✔
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Time Off Tracking and Scheduling
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✔
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✔
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✔
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Mobile App
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✔
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✔
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✔
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|
Compensation Management
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✔
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✔
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|
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Performance Management
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✔
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✔
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Employee Engagement Surveys & People Hub
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✔
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||
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Payroll
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Available as add-on
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Available as add-on
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Available as add-on
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Applicant Tracking
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Available as add-on
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Available as add-on
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Available as add-on
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Customer Support
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Chat, email and phone support
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Chat, email and phone support
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Chat, email and phone support
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Zenefits Basic Plan
The most basic plan is priced at an easily affordable $8 per employee, per month. All plans are packed with core features like automated onboarding, employee management, time off tracking and scheduling.
Keep in mind their base plans and employees have a minimum employee requirement of five. This means you’ll have to pay the cost of a minimum of five employees for each plan and product you use. Across all plans, applicant tracking and payroll are only available as add-ons.
Zenefits Growth Plan
The Zenefits Growth Plan comes with compensation management and performance management capabilities. Its compensation management tool aggregates anonymized salaries from thousands of small businesses. From there, you’re able to use their real-time data to evaluate salaries and offer fair compensation to retain top talent.
Zenefits Zen Plan
The most premium option comes with employee engagement surveys which help you evaluate customer sentiments and boost employee morale. In addition, their “People Hub” streamlines employee communication through a real-time content feed where users can post announcements, have real-time conversations, clarify action items and send mobile push notifications.
Zenefits Ease of Use
Zenefits is an intuitive platform that’s easy to set up and use. It automates essential HR processes, such as onboarding and compliance tasks.
Zenefits Security
Zenefits is packed with security features like two-factor authentication (2FA), end-to-end encryption and proactive notifications. Their in-house monitoring and response system has more than 99.9% uptime.
According to their website, the platform is built on Amazon Web Services (AWS). Furthermore, The platform is SOC II certified and its internal controls are aligned with the NIST Cybersecurity Framework.
Zenefits Customer Service and Support
Should you run into any issues, Zenefits offers support via chat, email and phone. However, some users complain that it is difficult to get in touch with their customer service and support teams.
Zenefits Additional Features
Payroll
Zenefits offers payroll as an add-on. Similar to popular payroll solutions, it comes with unlimited pay runs, direct deposits, contractor payments and ledger reporting. You can also integrate it with popular payroll options like Quickbooks and Xero.
Mobile App
Zenefits has a mobile app that allows you to manage HR-related tasks on the go. With the app, you can access insurance information, monitor flex benefits and get in touch with colleagues. The fully functional mobile app is available for Android or iOS.
Tax Functionality
Zenefits is packed with the most common forms at the federal, local and state levels. It can handle automatic federal and state tax filing, including 1099 filings for self-employed professionals and businesses.
Top Zenefits Alternatives and How They Compare
| Zenefits | Namely | Workday | IntelliHR | Monday HR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Starting Price
|
$8 per user, per month
|
Does not disclose
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Quote-based (reportedly $99 per user, per month)
|
$3.60 per user, per month
|
Free; $8 per user, per month (3 user minimum)
|
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Free Trial
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14 days
|
No
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Yes (for the Workday Adaptive Planning platform)
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No
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14 days
|
|
Benefits Administration
|
Yes
|
Yes, with higher-tiered plans
|
Yes
|
No
|
No
|
|
Payroll
|
Available as an add-on
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Available as an add-on
|
Yes
|
|
Time or Attendance Tracking
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Available as an add-on
|
Yes
|
|
Contractor Payments
|
Available as an add-on
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
|
Mobile App
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
No
|
Yes
|
|
Read Reviews
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Zenefits compares favorably with other HR management systems. It offers benefits administration, time tracking and a fully-functional mobile app. Unlike its competitors, its payroll feature is only available as an add-on, which makes it seem lacking compared to its competitors.
Zenefits vs Namely
Namely is a benefits, HR and talent management platform but its pricing plans are not disclosed. You’ll have to contact the customer support teams directly to determine how much you’ll pay for their products and services. Interestingly, their benefits administration system comes with an online enrollment wizard where users can get an overview of benefits available for them.
Unlike Zenefits – priced at an easily affordable $8 per user, per month ― Namely’s pricing is not transparent. While Namely has the basic HR features, it falls behind Zenefits in terms of value for money. Learn more about Namely with our full Namely review.
Zenefits vs Workday
Workday is a cloud-based HR solution that comes with adequate integration to third-party apps. Since Workday’s plans include payroll features, it narrowly wins against Zenefits. As part of its core features, Workday offers a comprehensive set of features such as payroll processing, employee self-service and talent management.
Interested in learning more about Workday? Read our complete Workday review.
Zenefits vs IntelliHR
At first glance, it’s easy to tell that IntelliHR is lacking compared to Zenefits and its competitors. IntelliHR does not offer benefits administration, contractor payments and a mobile app. While it has payroll and time tracking capabilities, it’s only available as an add-on.
Zenefits vs Monday HR
Monday HR is an employee management system that can meet your HR team’s needs, including onboarding, employee well-being, recruitment and development. It also offers ready-to-use templates for attendance tracking, applicant tracking, employee engagement, recruitment pipelines, among others.
Much like Zenefits, it comes with all the basics and payroll is only available with an extra fee. Still, Monday HR offers one of the best HR management systems for businesses of all sizes. Based on our evaluation, it narrowly beats Zenefits in terms of ratings, standout features and popularity.
Featured Partners
1
Rippling
Yes
Yes
$35/month plus $8 PEPM
2
OnPay
Yes
Yes
$40 per month + $6 per user
3
Paychex Flex
Yes
Yes
$39-plus per month, depending on company size and needs (6 month free offer)
4
Gusto
Yes
Yes
$40 per month plus $6 per user
Is Zenefits Right for You or Your Business?
Zenefits covers all the essentials for HR professionals, but it still falls behind popular HR management systems. While it’s easily affordable for small businesses, it’s hard to gauge whether it’s the right fit for your business until you try it yourself. Its features seem ideal for small to midsize businesses (SMBs), but enterprises may find better options elsewhere.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is Zenefits reliable?
Zenefits is a reliable HR management system that streamlines your workflow with HR, payroll, benefits and scheduling capabilities. On higher-tier plans, you’ll be able to access premium features, such as compensation management, performance management and employee engagement surveys.
Did TriNet buy Zenefits?
Cloud-based HR solution TriNet acquired Zenefits in February 2022. Thanks to the acquisition. TriNet cemented its position as a leading HR provider for small businesses.
Is Zenefits secure?
Zenefits is built on Amazon Web Services (AWS). It boasts of 2FA, end-to-end encryption and 99.9% uptime. In addition, the platform is SOC 2-certified and abides by the NIST Cybersecurity Framework.
How do I choose an HR system?
Choosing an HR system depends on the size of your company. Smaller companies can likely get away with less robust systems, while bigger companies will want HR systems with tons of features, such as payroll, benefits administration and more. Regardless of which HRM system you choose, make sure it measures these 10 essential HR metrics.
