ADP vs OnPay: Which Payroll Software Is Better?
The enterprise payroll giant that pays 1 in 6 American workers versus the small-business challenger that just publishes its price and lets you sign up tonight. Six rounds. Real numbers. One honest scorecard.
The verdict
OnPay takes it, 4–2 on rounds.
There's no universal winner — ADP is built for scale and depth behind a sales wall, OnPay is built for speed and transparency at the small end, so match the provider to how much complexity your business actually carries today.
Choose ADP if…
- • You're past 50 employees and want a PEO to unlock group benefit rates
- • You need the deepest HR/compliance toolkit and a massive integration marketplace
Choose OnPay if…
- • You want a real published price today with no sales call
- • You're a nonprofit, church, farm, or small business that wants transparent, self-serve setup
Round by round
- Round 1Pricing & TransparencyOnPay winsADP3/10
~$79/mo est. + custom quote
RUN Essential estimate; every tier past it requires a sales call
- Enterprise tax-compliance infrastructure baked into every tier
- No published pricing anywhere — every real quote needs a sales call
- Buyer-reported early-termination penalties up to ~50% of remaining contract
Source: ADP pricing reports
OnPay9/10$49/mo + $6/employee
One published plan; multi-state filing included free
- Exact price published on OnPay's own website, no sales call
- First month free plus free white-glove setup and data migration
- Fewer bundled enterprise-scale features at that price
Source: OnPay pricing page
OnPay tells you the number; ADP makes you ask for it.
- Round 2Core Payroll & Tax FilingOnPay winsADP6/10
Multi-jurisdiction complaints from real reviewers
- Automatic federal/state/local filing on every tier
- Decades of compliance scale — processes payroll for 1 in 6 US workers
- Reviewers report multi-local-jurisdiction filing is inconsistent
OnPay8/1050 states, $0 extra
Multi-state filing plus clergy and agricultural payroll built in
- No extra charge for multi-state filing or year-end forms
- Purpose-built for clergy housing allowances and agricultural H-2A/Form 943 payroll
- Smaller-scale infrastructure than a 1.1-million-client processor
Source: OnPay product data
Both file taxes automatically — OnPay just doesn't charge extra for the situations that actually get complicated.
- Round 3HR Features & BenefitsADP winsADP9/10
700,000+ worksite employees
TotalSource PEO negotiating leverage for group insurance rates
- Full HR suite: background checks, handbook wizard, salary benchmarking
- TotalSource PEO taps 700,000+ worksite employees for group insurance rates
- Deeper HR tools are often gated behind paid add-on tiers
Source: ADP TotalSource data
OnPay5/10+$15/mo + $2/employee
PTO, onboarding, org charts bundled as a paid add-on
- PTO, onboarding with eSignatures, and org charts via a low-cost add-on
- No in-house PEO/co-employment option
- Core HR features cost extra rather than being built into the base plan
Source: OnPay pricing data
ADP scales all the way to a PEO; OnPay stops at a lightweight HR add-on.
- Round 4Ease of Use & SetupOnPay winsADP3/10
"A nightmare" setup, per one reviewer
- Dedicated HR business advisor available at the top RUN tier
- Pricing and setup require a sales conversation, not self-serve
- Reviewer-reported onboarding friction and assistance delays
OnPay9/10"Seamless" onboarding, per reviewers
- Sign up and see real pricing online, no sales call
- Free white-glove data migration and setup for every customer
- Employer-side mobile app is the weakest part of the product
OnPay gets you live without a phone call; ADP wants a conversation first.
- Round 5IntegrationsADP winsADP8/10
Hundreds of apps via ADP Marketplace
- Hundreds of apps through the ADP Marketplace ecosystem
- Deep QuickBooks, Xero, ZipRecruiter, and Checkr connections
- Ecosystem breadth offset by clunky reporting/cross-referencing, per reviewers
OnPay6/10QBO, Xero, 3 time-tracking apps
Plus a dedicated accountant/bookkeeper multi-client portal
- Native QuickBooks Online/Desktop and Xero integrations
- Dedicated accountant/bookkeeper portal for multi-client firms
- Smaller third-party integration ecosystem than ADP's Marketplace
Source: OnPay integrations data
ADP wins on raw integration count; OnPay wins on covering exactly what a small business needs and nothing more.
- Round 6Customer Support & TrustOnPay winsADP4/10
1.2-1.4/5 Trustpilot
One of the widest G2/Capterra-to-Trustpilot gaps in payroll
- Rated 4.1-4.6/5 on G2 and Capterra among HR buyers
- Trustpilot collapses to ~1.2-1.4/5 across 3,000+ reviews
- Persistent complaints about hold times and upselling
Source: ADP sentiment data
OnPay9/104.8/5 across G2 and Capterra, 4.2 on Trustpilot
- 4.8/5 on both G2 and Capterra
- Still a strong 4.2/5 on Trustpilot — no praise/complaint gap
- Live HR Support with a human specialist costs an extra $75/month
ADP's trust score depends entirely on which review site you check; OnPay's doesn't.
Which one is for you?
Small or micro business that wants a real price today, no sales call
→ OnPay · OnPay publishes $49 + $6/employee directly on its website
Nonprofit, church, farm, or accounting firm with niche payroll needs
→ OnPay · OnPay has purpose-built clergy and agricultural payroll support
Business past 50 employees wanting a PEO for group benefit rates
→ ADP · ADP TotalSource taps 700,000+ worksite employees for negotiating leverage
Business that wants the deepest HR/compliance toolkit and a huge integration marketplace
→ ADP · ADP's HR Pro tier and Marketplace outscale OnPay's add-on model
Side by side
- RUN Essential estimated near $79/mo + $4/employee
- Automatic tax filing included on every RUN tier
- Decades of compliance scale — pays 1 in 6 US workers
- ADP TotalSource is a full co-employment PEO, distinct product
- One published plan with no tier ladder
- Multi-state filing included at no extra charge
- First month free plus free setup/data migration
- No extra charge for multi-state payroll or year-end filing
- No published, self-serve pricing anywhere
- Reported termination fees up to ~50% of remaining contract value
- Reviewers report inconsistent handling of multiple local jurisdictions
- Background checks and HR support center locked behind higher RUN tiers
- HR features (PTO, onboarding, org charts) require a paid add-on
- PTO, onboarding, and org charts all require a paid HR add-on
- No in-house PEO option
- Mobile app is the weakest part of the platform, missing desktop features