HR ADP and QuickBooks Payroll are excellent choices for payroll software as they are reliable, offer a smooth user experience and have a solid set of core features. While both applications are market-leading payroll solutions, they have advantages and disadvantages. On this page, we dig deeper to compare both software. We look at their integration capabilities, pricing, features, pros and cons. This comparison should help you make an informed decision on which software is more suited to your business.

What is ADP?

The ADP logo.
Image: ADP

ADP is one of the leading payroll and HR software on the market. While most of ADP’s competitors have been in the market for less than a couple of decades, ADP has been around for more than 70 years. The payroll solutions offered by ADP include advanced features and the scalability required by large businesses; however, you may have to pay extra to access these features. Along with a full range of payroll solutions, ADP comes with tools for employee benefits and recruiting. ADP offers four plans for payroll services: Essential, Enhanced, Complete and HR Pro. The pricing is customized and is not available on the website.

ADP

What is QuickBooks Payroll?

The QuickBooks Payroll logo.
Image: QuickBooks Payroll

QuickBooks Payroll is a cloud-based payroll system that can be used as a standalone product or integrated with QuickBooks Online. If your business has less than 50 employees, the standalone product offers everything you need for payroll services, such as unlimited payroll runs, reporting, benefits administration, automatic tax filing and other core features. However, it does not offer time tracking or integration with third-party applications. Also, you will only be able to integrate with QuickBooks Online.


QuickBooks Payroll

Features/pricing comparison

Here is a comparison of its features to help make it easier to decide between ADP and QuickBooks Payroll.

QuickBooks PayrollADP
Unlimited payrollYesNo
Tax filingYesYes
Direct depositSame day and next dayTwo day
Time trackingYesNo
W2s and 1099sYesYes
Customizable reportsYesYes
PaychecksYesYes
New hire reportingNoYes

Unlimited payroll runs

A key difference between the two software choices is that you get limited payroll runs with ADP, while QuickBooks Payroll offers unlimited payroll runs. ADP charges on the frequency of payroll runs. All QuickBooks Payroll plans offer unlimited payroll runs, including their cheapest plan. With QuickBooks, you get same-day and next-day direct deposits, while with ADP you are limited to two-day direct deposits.

Time tracking

Time tracking tools allow businesses to schedule employee shifts and record their time at work. Time tracking is only available as an add-on feature with ADP, while it is a standard feature in all QuickBooks Payroll plans.

Payroll reports

Payroll reports include data on tax deductions, net wages, income tax withholdings and other payroll details. Both ADP and QuickBooks Payroll offer impressive reporting tools.

Taxes

Both software offers tax filing and can automatically generate documents such as W2s and 1099s.

New hire reporting

U.S. employment laws require companies to submit information about their new hires within a specific time from the start date. ADP offers new hire reporting as a built-in tool in its platform, while QuickBooks Payroll is missing this feature.

Pricing

QuickBooks Payroll

  • Core: $37.50 per month + $5 per month per employee.
  • Premium: $50 per month + $5 per employee.
  • Elite: $80 per month + $8 per employee.

ADP

Customized pricing.

Integration capabilities

The advantage of integrating your payroll software is that it allows it to expand its functionality. Here is how ADP compares to QuickBooks Payroll in terms of integration capabilities.

ADP

ADP offers integration capabilities with several popular business software, including ERPs, accounting systems and CRMs. The most common integrations include SAP, Oracle, QuickBooks, ZipRecruiter, Microsoft Teams and Slack.

QuickBooks Payroll

QuickBooks Payroll can only be integrated with QuickBooks Online.

Pros and cons

ADP

Pros

  • Scalable plans are ideal for growing businesses.
  • Customized solutions.
  • Full HR suite.

Cons

  • Lack of clear pricing structure.
  • Analytics tools are limited.
  • Confusing setup.

QuickBooks Payroll

Pros

  • Offers deep integration with QuickBooks Online.
  • Flexible setup.
  • Robust reporting tools.

Cons

  • Native time tracking is not available.
  • It can only integrate with QuickBooks Online.
  • 24/7 customer support is only available for higher-priced plans.

How to choose between ADP and QuickBooks Payroll

The ultimate decision between ADP or QuickBooks Payroll will depend on your business needs. While ADP is more customizable and offers more integration capabilities, QuickBooks Payroll offers faster payroll runs and deep integration with QuickBooks Online.

The pricing structure of QuickBooks Payroll is transparent, while for ADP, you will need to get a customized quote. This makes it difficult to compare pricing between the two software options. While not having transparent pricing is a drawback for ADP, this also means that you get customized plans to match your specific needs. The customized pricing structure of ADP makes it more suitable for larger businesses, while the standard plans make QuickBooks Payroll a better payroll software for small businesses. 

A key distinguishing factor between the two software is that QuickBooks Payroll offers unlimited payroll but has limited functionality for other HR functions. On the other hand, ADP has more expanded HR functionality and more flexible plans.

Read next: The top ADP competitors and alternatives for 2023