RUN Powered by ADP
ADP's payroll and HR service for US businesses of 1 to 49 people
RUN Powered by ADP report card
Fair · out of 4.0 · graded Oct 17, 2026
Best for small firms that want a big name filing their taxes
RUN is ADP's payroll for businesses of 1 to 49 people, and it does the lot: taxes filed, payroll by app or by phone, HR help on the bigger packages. Its app has the best rating in this category. The catch is that there's no price on the page, so you'll talk to sales before you know what it costs.
Who RUN Powered by ADP is for
- Great if you'd rather run payroll with a phone call than learn new software
- Handy when you expect to add an HR help desk and hiring tools later on
- Good for owners who want ADP on the hook for its own filing mistakes
Who RUN Powered by ADP is not for
- Skip it if you want to see a price before speaking to a salesperson
- Tight if you're on Essential and have wage garnishments or state unemployment to manage
- Not for you if you want a published price from ADP: its Roll app is $39 a month plus $5 a person
Why RUN Powered by ADP gets a 2.4
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- CValue for moneyNo price is published: all four packages, Essential to HR Pro, are quoted after a form or a call, so there's no five-person figure to set against Gusto's $79 or ADP's own Roll at $64. W-2 and 1099 forms cost extra on top.
- FFree plan and trialNo free plan or trial. New clients who start payroll by 22 October 2026 get months 4, 5 and 6 free, but you pay for the first three, so it's a discount rather than a trial.
- BFeaturesPayroll by web, app or a phone call, taxes filed with ADP paying penalties for its own errors, multi-state and multi-company payroll, onboarding, and an HR help desk and hiring tools on the higher packages. The whole job, in steps.
- AEase of use4.92 from about 51,700 App Store ratings, the highest in this category. RUN & DONE repeats a regular payroll without you starting it, and ADP Assist flags likely mistakes before payroll runs.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb, iPhone and Android, with ledger exports to QuickBooks, Xero and Wave and links to Clover, ZipRecruiter and CareerPlug. No desktop app.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from ADP's own pages on 17 October 2026, and its App Store rating. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
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<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/adp-run#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/adp-run.svg" alt="RUN Powered by ADP: 2.4 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where RUN Powered by ADP stands among payroll services
RUN Powered by ADP's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 6 of the 18 other payroll services we grade, and level with 9.
It stands best on ease of use (A, above 9 of 18) and worst on free plan and trial (F, above 0).
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 19 payroll services we grade, cut by the letter each got. RUN Powered by ADP’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 1 of 18, level with 11
- FFree plan and trialAbove 0 of 18, level with 13
- BFeaturesAbove 6 of 18, level with 12
- AEase of useAbove 9 of 18, level with 9
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 2 of 18, level with 16
Keep RUN Powered by ADP, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace RUN Powered by ADP you would be making payroll taxes worked out and filed with the government for you. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
What you could make
- Time tracking: an app builder makes this well.
What you could not
- Payroll taxes worked out and filed with the government for you.
- A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page.
- It plugs into other products, QuickBooks, Xero and Wave among them.
- AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. RUN Powered by ADP’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is RUN Powered by ADP?
RUN Powered by ADP is ADP's payroll service for small US businesses. It runs payroll from the web, a phone app or a phone call, then files and pays federal, state and local payroll taxes. Four packages add state unemployment management, garnishment payments, an HR help desk and hiring tools in steps, and every price is quoted by ADP's sales team.
RUN Powered by ADP's current pricing could not be confirmed from its own site. See every plan
Good for
- US businesses with up to 49 employees that want taxes filed for them
- Owners who want payroll help by phone or chat at any hour
- Small firms that expect to add HR support and hiring tools later
Worth knowing
- No prices are published: all four packages (Essential, Enhanced, Complete and HR Pro) are quoted after a form or a sales call.
- Producing W-2 and 1099 forms costs extra, and time and attendance, retirement plans and workers' comp are add-ons.
- State unemployment management, garnishment payments and job costing are left out of Essential; the HR help desk starts at Complete.
- RUN covers US payroll in all 50 states; ADP sells other products for larger firms and for payroll in other countries.
Key features
- Payroll by web, app or phone
- Run payroll online, in the mobile app or by calling ADP. RUN & DONE repeats a recurring payroll without you starting it each time.
- Payroll tax filing
- ADP calculates, files, deposits and reconciles payroll taxes, answers tax agencies about them, and pays the penalties if it makes a filing error.
- ADP Assist
- An AI assistant that answers payroll and HR questions, flags likely mistakes before payroll runs and imports hours from an existing timesheet file.
- Multi-state and multi-company payroll
- Pay people who work in more than one state or locality in the same period, and report across several companies.
- HR tools by package
- Electronic onboarding comes with every package. Complete adds an HR help desk and handbook wizard; HR Pro adds CareerPlug hiring and online training.
- General ledger export
- Sends payroll journal entries to QuickBooks, Xero, Wave or Creative Solutions, or to a generic file, without retyping them.
RUN Powered by ADP pricing
We could not confirm RUN Powered by ADP’s current pricing from its own site, so we are not listing plans here. See adp.com for current prices.
Ways to pay less
- Other savings3 months of payroll free
New RUN clients with 1 to 49 employees in the continental US who start payroll by October 22, 2026 get months 4, 5 and 6 of payroll processing free.
Stated on adp.com
How people rate the RUN Powered by ADP app
4.9
out of 5 for the iPhone and iPad app
- 5 stars94%
- 4 stars5%
- 3 stars<1%
- 2 stars<1%
- 1 star<1%
51,735 ratings on the App Store in the United States, read Oct 17, 2026. It rates the app, not everything the product does. See the listing
Works with
- QuickBooks
- Xero
- Wave
- Clover
- ZipRecruiter
- CareerPlug
RUN Powered by ADP alternatives
- RUN Powered by ADP vs Gusto
From $49/mo
- RUN Powered by ADP vs QuickBooks Workforce
Free trial · from $50/mo
- RUN Powered by ADP vs OnPay
Free trial · from $49/mo
- RUN Powered by ADP vs Roll by ADP
Free trial · from $39/mo
Common questions
Is RUN Powered by ADP free?
No. RUN Powered by ADP is a paid product.
What platforms does RUN Powered by ADP work on?
RUN Powered by ADP is available on Web, iOS and Android.
Does RUN Powered by ADP offer any discounts?
RUN Powered by ADP publicly lists the following: 3 months of payroll free.
How is RUN Powered by ADP rated?
RUN Powered by ADP's iPhone and iPad app averages 4.9 out of 5 from 51,735 ratings on the App Store in the United States, as read on Oct 17, 2026. That is the store's rating of the app, not a score from us.
Does RUN Powered by ADP have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 17, 2026. RUN Powered by ADP is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Does RUN Powered by ADP have a macOS app?
No macOS app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 17, 2026. RUN Powered by ADP is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Is RUN Powered by ADP open source?
RUN Powered by ADP is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 17, 2026.
What does RUN Powered by ADP integrate with?
RUN Powered by ADP's listing names QuickBooks, Xero, Wave, Clover, ZipRecruiter and CareerPlug. A listing names up to eight integrations, so it may connect to more.
Who makes RUN Powered by ADP?
RUN Powered by ADP is made by ADP, Inc.
What are the alternatives to RUN Powered by ADP?
The closest alternatives to RUN Powered by ADP in our directory are Paychex Flex, Gusto, QuickBooks Workforce, OnPay and Roll by ADP. Each one has a side-by-side comparison with RUN Powered by ADP.
How does RUN Powered by ADP compare with other payroll services?
RUN Powered by ADP's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 6 of the 18 other payroll services we grade, and level with 9. It stands best on ease of use (A, above 9 of 18) and worst on free plan and trial (F, above 0).
Could I make my own version of RUN Powered by ADP?
To replace RUN Powered by ADP you would be making payroll taxes worked out and filed with the government for you. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. What you could not make: Payroll taxes worked out and filed with the government for you. A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page. It plugs into other products, QuickBooks, Xero and Wave among them. AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself. This is a judgement from its listing. We have not built one.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 17, 2026. What people say is linked where it appears.