Paychex vs Paylocity

A detailed comparison of Paychex and Paylocity. See how they stack up on features, pricing, and user ratings.

At a Glance

Paychex Paylocity
Rating 4.2/5 4.4/5
Starting Price $39/mo N/A
Free Trial No No
Free Plan No No
Features 7 9
Best For SMB Mid-Market

Key Differences

Paychex and Paylocity share 7 features. Paylocity has 2+ unique features.

Only in Paylocity

  • Slack Integration
  • Zapier Integration

Paychex

Payroll and HR outsourcing provider for small to mid-sized businesses, offering payroll processing, retirement plans, insurance, and HR advisory services with dedicated support.

Rating 4.2/5
Best for SMB
Free trial No
Free plan No
Visit Paychex →

Paylocity

Cloud HCM and payroll platform for mid-sized organisations with modern social collaboration tools, on-demand pay, expense management, and workforce analytics capabilities.

Rating 4.4/5
Best for Mid-Market
Free trial No
Free plan No
Visit Paylocity →

Feature Comparison

Feature Paychex Paylocity
Workflow Automation
Reporting Dashboard
EEO/OFCCP Compliance
GDPR Compliance
API Access
HRIS Integration
Mobile App
Slack Integration
Zapier Integration

Pricing Comparison

Paychex

Essentials $39/mo
Select Custom
Pro Custom

Paylocity

Platform Custom

Integrations

Both tools integrate with

Google Calendar Microsoft 365 Outlook Outlook Calendar Salesforce Slack Zapier

Only Paychex

QuickBooks

Only Paylocity

Azure AD Microsoft Teams Okta

Pros & Cons

Paychex

Pros

  • +Reliable payroll processing for SMBs
  • +Strong tax filing and compliance
  • +Local payroll specialist support
  • +Benefits administration included

Cons

  • -Pricing not fully transparent
  • -Add-on costs can increase quickly
  • -Interface less modern than Gusto or Rippling
  • -Contract lock-in with some plans

Paylocity

Pros

  • +Modern HR platform with strong payroll
  • +Community and social features for employees
  • +Good mobile app experience
  • +Data insights and workforce analytics

Cons

  • -Pricing not transparent
  • -Better suited for mid-market than SMB
  • -Some features feel like add-ons rather than core
  • -Implementation timeline can be long

Which Should You Choose?

Choose Paychex if:

  • • Your company is SMB size
  • • Reliable payroll processing for SMBs
Visit Paychex

Choose Paylocity if:

  • • Your company is Mid-Market size
  • • Higher user ratings matter to you (4.4 vs 4.2)
  • • You need a more feature-rich solution (9 vs 7 features)
  • • Modern HR platform with strong payroll
Visit Paylocity

How we evaluate tools

Our ratings combine verified user reviews from G2 and Capterra with hands-on feature analysis. Pricing is checked against official sources. We may earn a commission through affiliate links, but this never influences our rankings or recommendations. Read our full methodology.