Rippling vs Square Payroll

A detailed comparison of Rippling and Square Payroll. See how they stack up on features, pricing, and user ratings.

At a Glance

Rippling Square Payroll
Rating 4.8/5 4.3/5
Starting Price $8/mo $35/mo
Free Trial No No
Free Plan No No
Features 9 7
Best For All SMB

Key Differences

Rippling and Square Payroll share 7 features. Rippling has 2+ unique features.

Only in Rippling

  • Slack Integration
  • Zapier Integration

Rippling

Unified workforce platform combining HR, IT, and finance -- managing payroll, benefits, devices, apps, and compliance from a single system with powerful workflow automation.

Rating 4.8/5
Best for All
Free trial No
Free plan No
Visit Rippling →

Square Payroll

Simple payroll solution from Square for small businesses, designed to integrate with Square's POS and payments ecosystem at $35/month plus $6/person.

Rating 4.3/5
Best for SMB
Free trial No
Free plan No
Visit Square Payroll →

Feature Comparison

Feature Rippling Square Payroll
Workflow Automation
Reporting Dashboard
EEO/OFCCP Compliance
GDPR Compliance
API Access
HRIS Integration
Slack Integration
Zapier Integration
Mobile App

Pricing Comparison

Rippling

Core Platform $8/mo
HR Cloud Custom
IT Cloud Custom
Finance Cloud Custom

Square Payroll

Pay Employees $35/mo
Pay Contractors Only Free

Integrations

Both tools integrate with

Gmail Google Workspace QuickBooks Zapier

Only Rippling

ADP Azure AD DocuSign Google Calendar HubSpot Microsoft 365 Microsoft Teams Okta OneLogin Outlook

Only Square Payroll

Square POS

Pros & Cons

Rippling

Pros

  • +Unified platform for HR, IT, and Finance
  • +Exceptionally fast onboarding and device management
  • +Automates tedious admin tasks across departments
  • +Strong integration marketplace

Cons

  • -Pricing can add up with multiple modules
  • -Some advanced HR features still maturing
  • -Customer support quality inconsistent
  • -Less established than legacy HRIS vendors

Square Payroll

Pros

  • +Seamless integration with Square POS and payment ecosystem
  • +Contractor-only payroll option with no monthly base fee
  • +Simple, clean interface consistent with Square's design
  • +Automatic tax calculations and filings

Cons

  • -Limited HR features compared to Gusto or Rippling
  • -Best value only for businesses already using Square products
  • -No benefits administration beyond basic offerings
  • -Fewer integrations than standalone payroll platforms

Which Should You Choose?

Choose Rippling if:

  • • Higher user ratings matter to you (4.8 vs 4.3)
  • • Budget is a priority (starts from $8/mo vs $35/mo)
  • • You need a more feature-rich solution (9 vs 7 features)
  • • Unified platform for HR, IT, and Finance
Visit Rippling

Choose Square Payroll if:

  • • Your company is SMB size
  • • Seamless integration with Square POS and payment ecosystem
Visit Square Payroll

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.