The Top 6 Justworks Competitors and Alternatives for 2023

Rippling: Best for large businesses

Rippling offers ways for organizations to manage employee benefits, payroll, compliance, expenses and other HR tasks in one unified application. With Rippling, there is a lot of focus on minimizing the work required to complete a task. This is achieved through an intuitive layout and user interface designed to minimize the number of clicks needed to complete a task. In addition, there are also a large number of automation features and integration capabilities to boost its functionality.

Features

• Global payroll management: Rippling’s single payroll system can be used to pay employees and contractors anywhere in the world. They can get paid in their local currency and receive comprehensive IT and HR support.

• Comprehensive benefits administration: Rippling users get the full range of employee benefits administration, including 401(k), dental, vision and health insurance.

Pros

• User-friendly interface.
• Customizable and scalable.

Cons

• Initial setup is time-consuming.
• The abundance of tools and dashboards can be overwhelming.

Pricing

Customized pricing starts at $8 per employee per month.

For more information, read the full Rippling review.

Paychex: Best for customized plans

Paychex has positioned itself as one of the best customizable payroll and HR solutions on the market. Customized plans allow Paychex to work for businesses of all sizes. It offers employee screening and background checks, onboarding tools, wage garnishment, automatic payroll tax filing, time tracking and other tools you expect from a top alternative to Justworks. However, Paychex might not be ideal for businesses with fewer employees, as its customized plans can be expensive.

Features

• Employee onboarding: With Paychex, you can have new hires fill out all their required paperwork through the self-service portal. You can also conduct background checks on new hires using Paychex.
• Wage garnishment: If your employee’s wages need to be garnished, you can set up Paychex to automatically perform the garnishment without any extra charges. Most other competitors charge extra for this feature.

Pros

• Quick and easy to execute payroll.
• Customizable plans available.
• Wage garnishment at no extra charge.

Cons

• Pricing is not transparent.
• Extra charges for payroll tax filing.

Pricing

• Paychex Flex Essentials: $39 per month plus $5 per month per employee.
• Paychex Flex Select: Customized based on specific business requirements.
• Paychex Flex Pro: Customized based on specific business requirements.

For more information, read the full Paychex review.

Gusto: Best for startups and small businesses

Gusto is a cloud-based, complete human resources solution with several payroll and HR features that make it a leading competitor to Justworks. Customers can use this solution to manage employees and contracts in the United States, though there is no global payroll option offered by Gusto.

Gusto integrates with several popular third-party applications, including a two-way sync with QuickBooks Online. The pricing structure of Gusto makes it more suitable for startups and small businesses; however, it has the capacity to scale, so you can continue using the software as your business grows.

Features

• Analytics and reporting: The reporting tools Gusto offers can help you gather valuable insights, such as pay stub history, tax details and employee attendance.
• Contractor payment: Gusto makes it easy to pay contracts by simply entering contractor payments via direct deposit. The software will automatically generate tax forms for each contractor every year.

Pros

• Simple and clean UI.
• Easy to use.
• Free trial available.

Cons

• Limited time tracking tools.
• Expensive at scale.

Pricing

• Simple: $40 per month + $6 per month per person.
• Plus: $80 per month + $12 per month per person. Limited time offer pricing is $60 per month + $9 per month per person.
• Premium: Customized pricing.

Papaya: Best for international payroll

When it comes to international payroll and HR services, Papaya Global is a top choice. The global coverage offered by Papaya is useful in the new era of remote work and international contractors. Through Papaya, you can bring your ERP and HCM into a single ecosystem. There is also an AI-based automation and compliance engine built into Papaya software.

Features

• Employer of record: Papaya has local partners in over 160 countries worldwide. You can hire international employees and keep up with their payroll while staying compliant with local employment laws and taxation.
• Expense management: Papaya offers comprehensive expense management and reimbursement tools for international and domestic workforces alike.

Pros

• Global payroll and EoR services.
• Dedicated account managers.
• International payments within 72 hours.

Cons

• No 24/7 customer service.
• Limited third-party integrations.

Pricing

Customized pricing starts at $3 per month per employee but can rise sharply depending on what features you need.

BambooHR: Best for quick and easy setup

BambooHR has emerged as an excellent alternative to Justworks. Exclusively designed for U.S. employees, BambooHR’s payroll feature is fast, accurate and easy to use. As a one-stop shop for HR needs, BambooHR can manage the entire employee lifecycle including hiring, payroll, benefits administration and offboarding. Built-in templates and a clean UI make BambooHR easy to set up and run payroll. In addition, the visually appealing dashboard and organized workflows offer an excellent user experience.

Features

• Performance management: BambooHR offers comprehensive performance management tools.

• Integrations: BambooHR integrates with several types of third-party applications. Although it has a built-in applicant tracking system, it also integrates with more advanced ATS options like Greenhouse or Jobvite.

Pros

• Offboarding features.
• Easy setup.
• Open APIs for easy integrations with third-party applications.

Cons

• Lacking in benefits administration.
• No pricing information on the website.
• Basic plan is missing some core features for hiring and onboarding.

Pricing

Only offers customized pricing.

Wave Payroll: Best for simple interface

Wave Payroll is a cloud-based HR solution with easy-to-use HR and payroll tools. It’s ideally suited for small businesses that already use Wave Accounting software but does offer integration with other accounting software. Unfortunately, automatic tax filing is only available in 14 U.S. states, so you might need to complete manual work if you have employees or contracts in other states.

Features

• Time tracking: Wave Payroll offers a basic time tracking feature to enter hours and rates for payroll purposes.

• Employee onboarding: The employee onboarding tools offered by Wave Payroll are easy to use, especially with the help of the employee portal, which can be used for entering tax deductions and other information to streamline the payroll process.

Pros

• Less than three-days-turnaround time for payroll direct deposit.
• The basic plan includes time tracking, an employee portal and other valuable tools.
• A clear distinction between employees and contractors.

Cons

• Limited tax filing.
• Limited automation tools.

Pricing

Self service states: $20 monthly fee plus $6 per active employee and/or independent contractor paid.

Tax service states: $40 monthly fee plus $6 per active employee and/or independent contractor paid.