Namely vs Rippling
We give Namely a 2.0 GPA and Rippling a 2.4, out of 4.0. Rippling grades higher on ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Namely
US HR, payroll and benefits for mid-sized firms, with managed services
From $9/mo
Rippling
HR, IT and finance platform with US and global payroll, by quote
Paid
How we grade them
| 2.0GPANamelyFair | 2.4GPARipplingFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNamely Now starts at $9 an employee a month, so a ten-person company pays $90 and up, with the final price quoted. That buys HR and payroll together, which most here don't include. It sits at this category's dearer quarter. | CNo payroll price is published. Rippling says plans start at $8 an employee a month plus a base fee it doesn't state, so five people are at least $40 before that fee, and each module is priced on its own. Quote only. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan and no trial, only a guided tour. | FNo free plan or trial. Eligible US venture-backed startups can get 6 months free, but that's a program you qualify for, not a trial anyone can start. |
| Features | BPayroll with tax updates for every jurisdiction, time clocks and scheduling, records, time off and onboarding, then recruiting, reviews, compliance training and benefits administration on Plus. The whole job, payroll included. | BPayroll fed straight from HR records, pay-run comparisons, US taxes filed, global payroll, an employer-of-record service and contractor payments abroad, plus approval rules and workflows. The whole job, at home and abroad. |
| Ease of use | CNo App Store rating on record: the rated Namely app hasn't been updated since 2021, and its replacement, NamelyONE, has no ratings yet. Plans beyond Namely Now are set up through a sales process. | A4.71 from about 16,600 App Store ratings. New hires and salary changes flow into payroll without retyping, though choosing and pricing the modules takes a sales call. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, plus kiosks and biometric clocks for clocking in, and a general ledger export. No integrations list or desktop app on record. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Xero, QuickBooks and NetSuite among more than 650 integrations. No desktop app, which keeps it off an A. |
| Best for | US mid-sized firms wanting HR and payroll | growing companies that want HR, IT and payroll as one |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Namely and Rippling. How we grade
Where they differ
- Namely also covers reports, shift scheduling, time clock, applicant tracking, employee records and time off.
- Rippling also covers workflow automation, time tracking and expense tracking.
In commonWebiOSAndroidPayroll
At a glance
| Namely | Rippling | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | $9 per employee / month and up, for Namely Now | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Namely, Inc. | Rippling |
| Price read from | namely.com | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Namely
- US mid-sized companies wanting HR, payroll and benefits in one system
- Employers that want to hand payroll or benefits to a managed service
- Businesses with hourly staff who clock in at kiosks or on phones
Rippling
- Growing companies that want HR, payroll and IT in one system
- Teams with staff or contractors in more than one country
- US venture-backed startups eligible for six free months
Worth knowing
Namely
- Only Namely Now has a published starting price; the other packages are quoted after a needs review.
- Built for US employers: payroll updates tax calculations for every jurisdiction and issues W-2s; the pages read name no other countries.
- There is no free trial, only a guided tour; contracts run from month to month up to 3 years.
- Onboarding is an extra charge on Namely Now, and workers' comp and shared liability come only with Complete.
Rippling
- No payroll price is published: Rippling says plans start at $8 per employee a month plus a base fee it does not state, and quotes the rest.
- Each product, such as payroll, benefits, time tracking or expenses, is priced separately, so the total depends on the modules chosen.
- It runs US payroll and pays people abroad through Global Payroll and its EOR; the pages read give no list or count of countries.
Key features
Namely
- Payroll with tax compliance
- Runs any pay frequency and off-cycle pay runs, keeps tax calculations updated for each jurisdiction, and exports to the general ledger.
- Time, scheduling and clocks
- Staff enter time from a desktop, kiosk, mobile app or biometric clock with geofencing, and managers build schedules with shift swaps.
- HR, onboarding and reporting
- Employee records, file storage, time-off tracking, onboarding for new hires and custom reports with charts.
- Recruiting, performance and compliance
- From Namely Plus: AI-assisted applicant tracking, continuous feedback and goals, and state-mandated training with a living handbook.
- Managed services
- Higher packages hand payroll processing and benefits brokerage to Namely's team, and Complete adds workers' comp and shared liability.
- NamelyOne mobile app
- Employees see pay stubs, W-2s and benefits, request time off and clock in; managers approve leave and check timecards.
Rippling
- Payroll fed by HR data
- New hires, salary changes and benefit deductions flow from the HR record into payroll, and taxes are filed with federal, state and local agencies.
- Pay run comparison
- Compare a pay run with earlier ones to catch changes in gross pay, taxes and deductions before approving it. Extra pay runs cost nothing more.
- Global payroll, EOR and contractors
- Pay employees abroad in their local currency, employ through Rippling's EOR where you have no entity, and pay contractors worldwide from invoices.
- Rippling AI
- Adds one-off bonuses, compares payroll costs across entities, answers employees' questions about pay changes and builds reports from a prompt.
- Workflows, policies and permissions
- Set who can view, create and approve pay runs, and automate HR and IT steps with custom triggers in Workflow Studio.
- Accounting and app integrations
- Links to Xero, QuickBooks and NetSuite for accounting, among more than 650 integrations.
Plans
Namely
Namely Now$9
per employee / month and up
HR and payroll. Onboarding and large-group benefits cost extra. Final price is quoted by sales.
Namely PlusCustom
Adds onboarding, recruiting, performance, compliance, the benefits administration module and time tracking.
Namely Plus PeopleCustom
Namely Plus with Namely's managed payroll and managed benefits services.
Namely CompleteCustom
Adds large-group medical, dental and vision plans, workers' comp, risk and safety management and shared-liability compliance.
Rippling
Pricing could not be confirmed. See rippling.com.
Ways to pay less
Namely
No public discounts listed.
Rippling
- Startups
6 months free for US VC-backed startups
Rippling's startup program gives eligible US venture-backed startups free access for 6 months, depending on their funding status and stage.
