10 Best ADP Alternatives in 2026
RUN Powered by ADP still publishes no list price, which is the reason to switch. Short answer: Gusto Simple at $49/mo plus $6 per person for one state and unlimited pay runs. Justworks PEO Basic at $79 per employee if you are leaving a PEO. OnPay if a second state has to stay on the base plan.
A quote is hard to set next to a sticker you can read before the sales call. Dupple data: Toolradar, our software directory, evaluated 71 payroll tools (September 2026), on its payroll ranking. Prices below were read on each vendor's site on September 24, 2026. If you are choosing payroll from scratch, start with payroll software instead of this switch list.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Standout |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gusto | Leaving RUN, one state | $49/mo + $6/person | Unlimited runs, no extra off-cycle fee |
| Justworks | Leaving a PEO, or a printed payroll rate | $8/employee/mo + $50 base | PEO Basic is $79/employee, no base fee |
| OnPay | Multi-state on the base plan | $49/mo + $6/worker | All 50 states on that base |
| Rippling | HR, IT, and payroll in one login | $8/employee/mo HRIS | Payroll cannot be bought without the HRIS |
| Patriot | Lowest published full-service bill | $37/mo + $5/worker | Extra state filing is $12/mo |
| BambooHR | The HR record, payroll added later | $250/mo flat through 25 people | Core rate applies only above that headcount |
| Deel | Hiring where you have no entity | $599/employee/mo EOR | US PEO is $125/employee/mo |
| Remote | Payroll where you already have an entity | $29/employee/mo | EOR is $699/employee/mo |
| Paychex | The other national payroll company | Publishes no list price | Three payroll months credited if you stay a year |
| Paylocity | Mid-market, extra runs should not raise the fee | Publishes no list price | Billed per employee, not per run |
What an ADP alternative covers
An ADP alternative is payroll or HR software that pays people, files payroll taxes, and replaces RUN, Workforce Now, or a PEO such as TotalSource. The contract you are leaving decides which bill you replace.
RUN, for companies in the 1 to 49 employee range, lists Essential, Enhanced, Complete, and HR Pro, each behind a quote. Roll by ADP is the mobile app, and it is the ADP product that prints a price. If the employee record is what you want to move, that buy is HRIS systems.
How we chose
Toolradar's payroll category lists 71 tools, updated September 2026, and this page ranks 10 a company can put next to an ADP contract. Each pick was alive on the vendor's site on September 24, 2026, with a printed price or a clear statement that it publishes no list price. No vendor paid for a place, and Deel links in this article are affiliate links.
The order follows the job, from a printed RUN replacement to the quote-only nationals. For the wider catalog, see Toolradar's payroll software guide. Pricing transparency is the filter when a finalist will not print a number.
Gusto, when RUN will not print a price
Gusto is the default to open when ADP will not show a number before the call. Simple lists at $49/mo plus $6 per person, Plus at $80/mo plus $12 per person, and Premium at $180/mo plus $22 per person. You can cancel at any time, and you are not billed until you run payroll.
Simple covers one state, while Plus is multi-state and adds workforce cost reports, and Premium adds same-day pay, instant pay, and a dedicated service advisor. Every plan includes unlimited runs, with no extra off-cycle fee. State tax registration is an add-on on all three, and that fee is not printed. Priority Support on Simple or Plus is $30/mo plus $3 per person, contractor-only lists at $35/mo with the base at $0/mo for six months, and one $200 annual charge covers HSA, FSA, dependent-care, and commuter accounts.
The catch: A second state moves you to Plus, and keeping your own health broker costs a per-eligible-employee fee that Premium waives.
Use Simple to leave RUN in one state, and budget Plus the month a second state is real.
Justworks, when the ADP product was a PEO
Justworks prints a payroll plan and two PEO plans, which is the split ADP keeps inside a quote. Payroll is $8 per employee per month plus a $50 monthly base. PEO Basic is $79 per employee per month with no base fee, PEO Plus is $124 per employee per month with no base fee, and international EOR is $599 per employee per month.
Time tracking matches the payroll per-employee rate on Payroll, Basic, and Plus. International contractors are $39 per paid contractor per month, and health insurance reimbursements are $25 per enrolled employee per month on top of the plan. Justworks says it does not charge an implementation fee. The payroll plan includes multi-state pay, contractors, and off-cycle payments, and it leaves out 24/7 support, employment-practices liability insurance, and medical coverage. PEO buyers have to take workers' comp access with the plan.
The catch: Ten people on PEO Basic is a different invoice from ten people on payroll, and medical administration starts on Plus.
Buy payroll to replace RUN, and buy a PEO plan only when you were on co-employment and you want benefits inside that fee.
OnPay, when a second state should not change the plan
OnPay puts every state on the only base plan, which is the opposite of Gusto Simple. The page shows $55 for one worker, and the title offers the first month free. One worker paid weekly still counts as one worker that month.
The HR add-on is $15 base plus $2 per worker, time tracking is $15 base plus $4 per worker, compliance resources are a $10 base per month, and live HR support is a $65 base per month. The payroll, time, and HR bundle is $70 base plus $10 per worker. Unlimited pay runs, W-2s, 1099s, and federal, state, and local filings are included, with no added fee for another state, and setup plus historical migration are included.
The catch: Live licensed HR support is an add-on, so the base plan is payroll rather than a people platform.
Choose OnPay when the ADP pain was a new state or an extra pay run, and skip it when you need co-employment.
Rippling, when payroll was one module of a larger stack
Rippling will not sell the pay run by itself. Core HRIS starts at $8 per employee per month, and domestic payroll matches that rate when billed annually, or $10 per employee per month billed monthly. The payroll review, updated June 17, 2026, says those rates are listed and an exact total still needs a quote.
Off-cycle runs are included on Rippling's own network, with extra fees possible in some employer-of-record countries. The review says it pays people in all 50 states and 185 or more countries, and that it reimburses penalties caused by its own tax errors. Only administrators can contact support, so an employee cannot open the ticket.
The catch: Two modules are the floor, and IT, benefits, and global payroll sit on the quote above those rates.
Move here when HR and device setup should share the payroll record. Stay on a single-plan tool if you only needed pay and taxes.
Patriot, when the full-service bill has to stay small
Patriot is the printed full-service price to check before accepting a small-company ADP quote. Full Service lists at $37/mo plus $5 per worker paid, and it files federal, state, and local taxes. Basic lists at $17/mo plus $4 per worker paid and does not file those taxes. The page offers 30 days free and 50% off for three months.
Each additional state filing on Full Service is $12 per month per state. Year-end forms, including 940, 941, W-2, and W-3, have no additional filing fee. In a month you do not run payroll, Patriot charges only the base. Direct deposit is included, and time and HR are separate add-ons on the same page.
The catch: Basic is cheaper because you still file the taxes yourself.
Use Full Service for a small headcount if you will count every state, and use Basic only when someone else already files.
BambooHR, when the HR record matters more than the pay run
BambooHR prints the HR price and leaves payroll as an add-on without a dollar. Companies with 25 or fewer employees pay a flat rate starting at $250/mo. Above that, Core is $10 per employee per month, Pro is $17, and Elite is $25, with volume discounts and no required annual contract, and a registered nonprofit gets an additional 15% off.
A ten-person company pays the flat floor, not ten times the Core rate, and payroll is still a separate quote. Benefits administration and time and attendance are add-ons too. Core includes 5 job openings, Pro 25, and Elite 50. Global employment on the page is powered by Remote. On-demand pay is described as no cost to the employer. A small-team HRIS comparison is the small-business HRIS page.
The catch: The HR floor excludes payroll, so it does not by itself replace RUN.
Buy it when the record, time off, and hiring are what you want out of ADP, and get the payroll number before you cancel RUN.
Deel, when the team is not only in the US
Deel is the replacement when US payroll cannot employ someone in a country where you have no entity. A US-only payroll team does not need this invoice. Employer of record is $599 per employee per month, and US PEO is $125 per employee per month. Contractor of Record is $325 per contractor per month on the pricing page, above a separate contractor-management plan, and talent sourcing is $14 per worker per month.
EOR covers contracts, payroll, benefits, and compliance in 130 or more countries. Deel says the ordinary offer is month to month. A PEO promotion for order forms signed between July 15, 2026 and December 31, 2026 credits three months of platform fees on a two-year term, and if you leave early you repay the full list-price fees for the whole order.
The catch: The promotional term punishes an early exit, so skip it if you might leave.
Use EOR where you will not open an entity, and compare US PEO with a domestic PEO sticker before you pick it. The wider global list is employer of record services.
Remote, when you already have a local entity
Remote separates "we employ them" from "you already have the entity." Global payroll lists at $29 per employee per month, and contractor management lists at the same per-contractor rate. Employer of record is $699 per employee per month. US PEO starts at $99 and is billed in USD, and it requires a US bank account. Contractor of Record starts at $325 per contractor per month.
Contractor Management Plus is $99 and includes penalty coverage up to $100,000 per contractor, and equity management starts at $39. Remote charges no platform or setup fee for HR management, EOR, and contractor management, while payroll customers pay an implementation fee and a recurring delivery fee, neither of which is printed, and you can be billed in USD.
The catch: The payroll plan assumes the local entity exists. Without it, you are on the EOR price, which is higher than Deel's EOR line.
Use payroll when the entity exists, and use EOR when it does not.
Paychex, when you want the other national payroll company
Paychex is the national name set next to ADP, and its price question goes to sales. Paychex Flex publishes no list price, and the fee depends on headcount and what you buy. SurePayroll, a Paychex subsidiary, is the simpler product for small businesses and household employers.
From June 1, 2026 through May 31, 2027, new clients on Flex Pro, Select, Enterprise, or Express, with 1 to 250 employees, can get payroll credited in months four, five, and six. The first payroll must run by June 18, 2027, and you must keep processing for twelve consecutive months. HR, benefits, and the PEO stay billed, and Paychex says about 840,000 businesses use it.
The catch: Those months are a credit after you have been billed, and leaving before month twelve means you do not keep them.
Take a Paychex quote for a national service desk, and accept the twelve-month condition before you count the credit.
Paylocity, when extra pay runs should not raise the fee
Paylocity is the mid-market platform to set against Workforce Now when an extra run was the ADP surprise. The pricing page publishes no list price, and Paylocity says it charges per employee per month, not per payroll run, so a weekly schedule does not add a run fee. Companies with 1 to 50 employees can use the small-business tiers.
Express includes payroll, tax filing, direct deposit, new-hire reporting, and on-demand pay. Higher tiers add HR, time, talent, compliance, and expenses, so the quote should name the tier. Global payroll is listed for 100 or more countries. Its switch steps say to name which provider files taxes, and a mid-year, quarter-end, or year-end move is the cleaner cut. The record side of this decision is midsize HRIS, and the step above that is enterprise HR software.
The catch: The per-employee rate is not on the site, so the quote is the price.
Shortlist it when you will not accept a per-run fee, and keep a printed-price tool beside it until the number arrives.
Pricing: the bill at 10 people
At 10 people, Gusto Simple and OnPay's base land at $109 a month, which is the bill to compare, not the base fee alone.
| Setup at 10 people | Monthly math | What it assumes |
|---|---|---|
| Gusto Simple or OnPay base | $109 | One state on Gusto; any number of states on OnPay |
| Patriot Full Service | $87 | One state |
| Gusto Plus | $200 | Multi-state |
| Justworks Payroll | $130 | Base plus ten payroll seats |
| Justworks PEO Basic | $790 | Co-employment, no separate base |
| Rippling HRIS plus annual payroll | $160 | Two modules, before other products |
| BambooHR HR only | $250 | The flat floor; payroll still unpriced |
| Remote global payroll | $290 | You already have the entity |
| Deel US PEO | $1,250 | US co-employment, not global EOR |
| International EOR, 10 employees | $5,990 | Deel or Justworks, no local entity |
Roll by ADP lists at $39/mo plus $5 per employee on ADP's comparison with RUN. Same-day deposit there is a per-transaction fee with no amount printed. RUN says pricing varies, and fees increase with how often you run payroll, which is why unlimited runs on Gusto and OnPay answer that line directly.
If the books already live in QuickBooks, the payroll pricing page leads with bundles: Workforce Payroll plus Simple Start at $88 plus $7 per employee, plus Essentials at $135 plus $7 per employee, and Workforce Premium plus Plus at $228 plus $13 per employee, each 50% off for three months, which is the intro and not the renewal. UKG Ready's plans page publishes no list price, and Start is for fewer than 200 employees, and UKG's budget guide puts a typical start near $20 to $26 per employee per month, which is not a checkout price.
Time tracking and employee benefits are the add-ons that move the invoice after payroll looks chosen. Per-seat and flat pricing is the same base-versus-headcount trap.
How to choose
Match the replacement to the ADP product you are canceling.
RUN, one state. Gusto Simple, OnPay if a second state is likely, or Patriot Full Service when the team is small and you will pay the extra-state line.
A PEO. Justworks, Deel's US PEO, or Remote's US PEO, because software does not include co-employment.
Workforce Now. Rippling for published module rates plus a quote, Paylocity, Paychex, or UKG Ready if you will sit through sales, and BambooHR if the record matters more than the pay run, with hiring covered in recruiting software.
No local entity. Deel EOR or Remote EOR, and if the entity exists, Remote's payroll plan is the lower path, with scheduling in workforce management.
Common mistakes
Comparing a base fee with an ADP quote misses the per-person line: ten people on Simple or OnPay cost the combined figure in the table, not the base alone.
Buying a PEO to escape a payroll fee buys co-employment instead. Justworks payroll at ten people is $130, and PEO Basic at the same headcount is $790.
Assuming multi-state is on the cheap plan puts a Gusto buyer on Plus, while OnPay includes every state on its base and Patriot adds a monthly line per extra state on Full Service.
Treating Paychex's three months as cash ignores that the credit lands in months four, five, and six only if you process payroll for twelve consecutive months.
Using BambooHR's over-25 rate for a smaller company is the wrong rate at 25 or fewer people, where the HR price is the flat floor and payroll is not inside it.
Signing Deel's two-year PEO promotion and leaving early means the credited months are repaid at list price, while the ordinary offer is month to month.
Letting two providers file the same quarter can duplicate deposits, and on RUN an overlap can also raise the fee because you ran payroll more often.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best ADP alternative in 2026?
For a one-state company leaving RUN, Gusto Simple is the best default: a printed monthly base plus a per-person fee, with unlimited pay runs. Choose OnPay if a second state should stay on that same base. Choose Justworks PEO Basic at $79 per employee if you are leaving a PEO rather than a payroll login.
How much does an ADP alternative cost?
Printed payroll plans here run from Patriot Full Service at $37/mo plus $5 per worker to Gusto Premium at $180/mo plus $22 per person. A PEO is a different scale: Justworks PEO Plus is $124 per employee per month, Deel US PEO is $125 per employee per month, and international EOR is $599 at Deel or Justworks and $699 at Remote. RUN publishes no list price, and Roll by ADP is the one ADP product with a printed monthly base plus a per-employee fee.
Is there a free ADP alternative?
None of these ten has a permanent free plan that files W-2 taxes. Gusto's contractor-only base is $0 for six months, then the $35 list. OnPay offers the first month free, Patriot offers 30 days free, then 50% off for three months, and Paychex credits three payroll months only if you stay for twelve.
Is Gusto cheaper than ADP?
Gusto prints Simple, Plus, and Premium, while RUN does not print a package price, and ADP says fees increase with payroll frequency. Gusto includes unlimited runs, including off-cycle runs, on every plan.
What replaces ADP TotalSource?
A PEO with a published employee fee, not a payroll login. Justworks PEO Plus publishes a per-employee fee with no base fee, and workers' comp access is required on the PEO plans. Deel's US PEO is also a per-employee fee with no separate base. Remote's US PEO starts at $99 and requires a US bank account. Gusto or OnPay replaces payroll, and neither replaces co-employment.
Can I switch off ADP in the middle of the year?
Yes. Gusto's pricing page asks for your EIN, addresses, salaries, and year-to-date filings when you move an existing payroll. Paylocity treats a quarter-end or year-end as the cleaner window, and one provider should file that quarter.
Does UKG Ready publish a price?
No. The plans page sends Start, Core, Plus, and Advanced to a quote. Start is for organizations with fewer than 200 employees, and UKG's budget guide says solutions typically start near $20 to $26 per employee per month. That range is not a plan you can buy from the page.
Bottom line
Leave RUN for Gusto Simple, OnPay, or Patriot Full Service, depending on states and headcount. Leave a PEO for Justworks, Deel, or Remote, and compare those employee fees before you compare them with software. Leave a larger HCM stack for Rippling, or for Paylocity, Paychex, or UKG Ready if you will take a quote.
Cite this: Dupple, "10 Best ADP Alternatives in 2026", September 2026.
Compare the rest of the stack with a Dupple X trial, or browse the tools worth paying for. Small-business HR software is the next page if payroll was never the only module on the ADP invoice.
