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With its strong features, customizability, and its ability to pay employees internationally, Rippling is our top-rated payroll software. Our researchers gave it 4.6/5 points overall, our highest score for payroll software.
The service can handle typical payroll needs, from holidays to deductions or off-cycle payments, and it will also file state and local payroll taxes. It offers users great educational resources and good support options including phone and email, but it’s worth noting this isn’t 24/7. Additionally, users can pick which features they want included in their package, meaning that you won’t pay for features you don’t need.
Below, we’ve detailed our thoughts on Rippling and what makes this a good solution for HR and payroll teams.
In this review:
- What Is Rippling and How Does It Work?
- Rippling – Quick Fact-File
- Rippling Review – Key Features
- Rippling Pricing
- Which Integrations Does Rippling Offer?
- What’s New in Rippling? [November 2024]
- How Does Rippling Compare With Other Providers?
- How Did We Research Rippling
- Final Thoughts – Is Rippling Worth It?
- FAQs
What Is Rippling and How Does It Work?
Rippling offers feature-rich payroll and human resources (HR) software that can pay employees all over the world, as well as tracking employee performance, generating reports, and more.
Users can customize which features are included in their software package, including tools and benefits that many other payroll or HR solutions do not offer. Unlike a lot of HR systems, Rippling was built through extensive research and development, rather than mergers and acquisitions (M&A), meaning that its apps are designed to work together seamlessly.
It does, however, have a limitation worth mentioning: It doesn’t have third-party integrations for HCM platforms including SAP and Oracle, so you’ll need a custom-built solution if you need them integrated.
Pros
- Industry-leading payroll expertise
- Labor law compliance alerts
- Superb educational resources
- App for clocking in and out
- Global payment features
Cons:
- No integrations with HCM platforms like SAP and Oracle
- No 24/7 live support
- Starts at: $35 per month
- Plus $8 per employee per month
- No free trial
Rippling – Quick Fact-File
- Data security – Staying safe is key when it comes to sensitive payroll information, so we’re glad to say that Rippling earned a perfect 5/5 security score for its user permissions, encryption, certifications, and lack of any data breaches for the last two years in our tests.
- Software functionality – Employees can access Rippling’s software through the self-service mobile app, which includes a timeclock function, and through a web portal, which lets users view payslips.
- Payment controls – In addition to timeclocks, Rippling’s tools include automatic sick day and holiday calculations, overtime (or other different pay rates), non-employee payments, and off-cycle payments. The time a payment takes to hit an employee bank account is either two or four days, depending on the plan.
- Customer support – Rippling earns a strong 4.3/5 support score, since it offers phone, email, and live chat options in addition to an online knowledge base – but does not offer 24/7 support.
- Price – Rippling charges $8 per employee per month in addition to a set monthly fee, which is available on request. It also offers a free demo. Full pricing is only available on request.
- Taxes and Compliance – Rippling has great tax tools, earning it a 5/5 expertise score. It can file State and Federal taxes on your behalf, has compliance alerts, and offers resources to help you better understand taxes.
- Reporting – Rippling logs employee data in a payroll register, and supports a wide range of reports including individual employee, changes, tax, and custom reports. Your dashboard will keep you up to date on real-time data as well.
The home page on a Rippling payroll software account. Source: Rippling
Rippling Review: Key Features
Rippling’s high customizability, strong data security, and large number of features make it stand out. Here are the key features to know.
Payment controls
Rippling supports all core payment needs: you’ll be able to track and offer sick pay, holidays, time tracking, multiple pay rates per employee, automated deductions, off-cycle payments, and non-employee payments, with pay runs operating automatically once they are set up. However, these tools are offered on all the top payroll software we tested.
Ability to pay internationally
Rippling’s global scope means that a pay run can cover those based outside of the US as easily as those within the country. This makes it a great pick for a large operation, and it’s a rare benefit for payroll software: there aren’t many competitors on the market that offer the same functionality, Oyster HR being one example.
In addition to HR and payroll, Rippling functions as an Employer of Record service, and it’s one of the best EORs for operating around the globe, clocking in at number four in our guide to the best Employer of Record services.
Training material is also offered to help businesses fill in any knowledge gaps, which is one common barrier to scaling up an operation.
Rippling Pricing
Rippling’s pricing isn’t public, but the service confirms that costs will vary based on two factors: the total number of users and the feature packages you select. It’s a build-your-own model that lets you add select HR functions to an overall package, with a starting price of $8 per user, per month.
Does Rippling have a free plan?
Rippling does not have a free plan and it doesn’t offer free trials. However, businesses of any size can receive a free demo of the software. Upon request, a free 30-minute product demo will be provided, followed by a Q and A session. You can get your free demo by contacting Rippling Payroll for a quote.
Is Ripping right for my business?
Rippling is a great solution for growing businesses that need the flexibility to quickly scale up. Common growing pains include the inability to quickly run payroll, assess payroll reports, or view attendance, as well as errors made in the process of transferring data.
Rippling’s global system fixes all of these issues, and it remains our top payroll software recommendation for any business, small or large. It’s also a perfect solution for small businesses, as customers can cherrypick which features they would like to include in their package, and thus save money on wasted features.
A global pay run within the Rippling software. Source: Rippling
Tax tools
Rippling will file state and local taxes, as well as offer resources to guide you through the payroll taxes that apply to your operation. If you violate a federal or local labor law, Rippling’s software will automatically alert you, giving you a chance to correct the issue with as few penalties as possible.
Building a report with the Rippling interface. Source: Rippling
Which Integrations Does Rippling Offer?
Rippling’s open API makes it easy for developers with some coding knowledge to craft custom integrations, which can address unique concerns such as exporting or importing set types of data for use on other platforms.
Rippling also offers over 600 third-party integrations, covering accounting software (Quickbooks, NetSuite, Sage Intacct, and Xero), benefits administration (Human Interest, Guideline, One Medical, Workers Comp, Betterment, and Vanguard), and attendance software (QuickBooks Time, Deputy, Homebase, Toggl, Timeero, Everhour, Clockify, TimeDoctor, Humanity, TimeworkPlus, ClickTime, Legion).
However, one of the few limitations you’ll find with Rippling is that it has no pre-made integrations with large HCM platforms like SAP or Oracle. Thanks to the open API, you can create your own, but if that sounds too time-intensive, you can opt for rival software APD Run, which supports both SAP and Oracle integrations.
What’s New for Rippling in 2024?
Rippling routinely rolls out new features and handy updates. In October alone, it introduced Scheduling, a new tool that enables users to build custom schedules based on a variety of factors, including demand, employee certifications, wages, and more. It’s a great solution for time-poor business owners who might otherwise be forced to manually create employee schedules and cross-check availability.
Also, as of this month, Rippling users can get automatic weekly snapshots of their compensation plans, allowing them to easily track and review changes, and minimize the risk of human error.
There’s also a great new option to automate retroactive payroll calculations. This way, users will no longer need to manually calculate pay when making a backdated salary reimbursement. It’s a small change that could make a big difference for employees in HR and payroll.
To reiterate: All of these changes were introduced in October 2024 alone. That’s a really generous aspect of Rippling’s service, and should definitely be factored in for any prospective customers, particularly those who are looking for a solution that can quickly be scaled up to meet growing demand.
| Starting price | Rating | Key Features | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPONSORED  | BEST OVERALL  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Rippling Payroll | ADP | Paychex Flex | Gusto Payroll | Zenefits Payroll | OnPay | |
| $8/month/employee (custom prices) | Custom pricing | $40/month + $6/employee | $8 per month, per employee (currently discounted to $6.40) | $40/month + $6/employee | ||
| Not yet rated | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 3.4 |
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| Try Deel | Try Rippling | Try ADP | Try Paychex | Compare Quotes | Compare Quotes | Try OnPay |
ADP Run
Rippling and ADP Run both offer unbeatable data security and offer an open API that can help fast-scaling companies. However, ADP has more integrations than Rippling, offering apps for third-party HR resources including BambooHR and Oracle, while Rippling offers no HR integrations. ADP’s lack of email support means that we rank Rippling higher overall, but ADP’s integrations make it a better pick for companies wanting to scale up.
Paychex Flex
Paychex Flex is our third top choice, offering users a 24/7 support service. Paychex does not offer international payment features while Rippling does, and Paychex also lacks the automatic compliance alerts that are available with Rippling. It does, however, offer high customizability, excellent data security encryption, live training courses, and open APIs for building custom integrations.
Gusto Payroll
Another payroll option that you might want to think about, Gusto offers great customer support for its users and an intuitive, easy-to-use platform. For smaller organizations that might not be totally familiar with payroll tools, it could be an excellent tool.
You can read about other ADP payroll competitors as well, though Rippling Payroll remains our top pick among a handful of great payroll systems on the market.
How Did We Research Rippling?
We understand how important choosing the right HR software for your team is, and that’s why we go the extra mile when researching and reviewing the top providers.
First, we conduct an initial exploration to find the most relevant and useful platforms on the market. Then, we analyze their potential using a vigorous methodology that focuses on the concerns businesses care about the most, including the quality and quantity of HR and payroll features, entry price, average plan cost, presence of a free plan, and user experience.
These findings then help determine each software’s overall potential, which businesses they are best suited for, and how they size up against the wider competition.
So much more goes into our research process, though. If you’d like to learn more about how we test and review products at Tech.co, you can learn more about our research here.
Final Thoughts – Is Rippling Worth It?
Rippling is a streamlined solution for keeping payroll simple, easy, and error-free across your business – even around the globe. The provider holds an overall score of 4.6/5 in our research, which is the highest score we gave any payroll solution. Among its suite of great features, users can keep track of employee absences, holidays, overtime, and more, and adjust payroll accordingly.
Impressively, it offers the ability to pay employees internationally, meaning that it’s a great solution for large businesses with a global presence. This is relatively uncommon among HR and payroll solutions.
More standout benefits include compliance alerts, in-depth training materials, and strong data security tools, which all add up to simplify and secure the everyday payroll experience. What’s more, users can pick and choose which features they want to include in their payroll package, meaning that you won’t pay for features you don’t need.
While Rippling is a great solution, there are other options on the market worth considering, depending on your needs: we also scored ADP and Paychex highly overall.
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