Paylocity vs Rippling
We give Paylocity and Rippling the same GPA: 2.4 out of 4.0. They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Paylocity
Payroll, HR, finance and IT platform for US employers, by quote
Paid
Rippling
HR, IT and finance platform with US and global payroll, by quote
Paid
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAPaylocityFair | 2.4GPARipplingFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo prices are published: every package is quoted after a demo request, so there's no five-person figure to compare. Expenses, corporate cards and IT tools are sold as separate products on top of payroll. | 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, no trial and no self-serve sign-up. A one-month-free payroll offer is advertised for small businesses, without its terms. | 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 40+ audits before you process, tax filing in all 50 states and US territories, time and scheduling from phone, kiosk or clock, early wage access, and payroll for staff in 100+ countries. The whole job. | 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 | A4.81 from about 681,000 App Store ratings, the most in this category, for the app staff use to check pay, clock in and ask for time off. It works only for staff of client companies. | 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 time clocks for hours. No desktop app, and the listing names no integrations. | 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 employers with hourly staff and a growing HR team | 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: Paylocity and Rippling. How we grade
Where they differ
- Paylocity also covers reports.
- Rippling also covers workflow automation.
In commonWebiOSAndroidAI featuresTime trackingExpense trackingPayroll
At a glance
| Paylocity | Rippling | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | Not published | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Paylocity | Rippling |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Paylocity
- US companies that want payroll, HR and time tracking in one system
- Employers with hourly staff who clock in by phone, kiosk or time clock
- Companies paying some staff abroad alongside US payroll
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
Paylocity
- No prices are published: the pricing page asks for a demo request form, and quotes follow from sales.
- Tax filing covers the US, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam; payroll in 100+ other countries is a separate global payroll service.
- There is no free trial or self-serve sign-up; the app works only for staff of companies that are already clients.
- Expense management, corporate cards, procurement and IT tools are sold as separate products alongside payroll.
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
Paylocity
- Payroll with built-in audits
- A Payroll Readiness Dashboard lists tasks before processing day, and more than 40 audits flag likely errors such as unexpected pay spikes.
- Tax services
- Paylocity files as a Registered Reporting Agent with the IRS in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam, and checks each employee's tax location.
- Time and scheduling
- Hours are collected by mobile, web, kiosk or time clock, with geofenced clock-in, shift swaps and scheduling rules that feed payroll.
- Expense management and cards
- Employees snap receipts for AI-coded expense reports, and virtual and physical corporate cards come with policy controls and automatic reconciliation.
- Global payroll
- Domestic and international employees are managed and paid from one system, with payroll data gathered across more than 100 countries.
- Mobile app and Community
- Employees check pay, clock in, request time off and draw earned wages early in the app, and Community gives them a company social feed and chat.
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
Paylocity
Pricing could not be confirmed. See paylocity.com.
Rippling
Pricing could not be confirmed. See rippling.com.
Ways to pay less
Paylocity
- Other savings
One month of free payroll for small businesses
Paylocity's payroll page advertises a limited-time offer of one month of free payroll, and more, for small businesses, without stating the terms.
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.
