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Based on expert testing, Rippling is actually our top-rated payroll software, thanks to strong features, customizability, and its ability to pay employees internationally – a strength that few payroll solutions offer.
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. Our researchers gave it 4.6/5 points overall, our highest score for payroll software.
Read on for a full look at Rippling’s core features and why they matter. Once you’re ready, you can gather a free quote for Rippling Payroll.
What Is Rippling and How Does It Work?
Rippling offers a feature-rich payroll and human resources (HR) system that can pay employees all over the world. It is our top pick for the best payroll software.
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. Two examples of stand-out features are automated compliance breach alerts, which warn your business of labor law violations, and Implementation Managers, who give clients personalized training. Rippling does 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 has a free demo and 12-month contract minimum, with no money-back guarantee.
- 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.
Is Rippling Right for Your Business?
If your business is looking to scale up, Rippling can save you time and money on HR administration. 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.
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.
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.
Scalability
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: other than Rippling, Oyster HR is the only other top solution to offer international payment within its main package. 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 filled in any knowledge gaps, which is one common barrier to scaling up an operation.
A global pay run within the Rippling software.
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.
Open API and Integrations
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 many 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).
Limited HR Integrations
Due to its top-tier onboarding, recruiting, and employee management features, Rippling is the best HR software we’ve tested. However, one of the few limitations you’ll find with the Rippling software 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.
| Price From | Key Features | Rating | Free plan? | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPONSORED  | BEST OVERALL  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Rippling Payroll | ADP | Paychex Flex | Gusto Payroll | Zenefits Payroll | OnPay | |
| $8/month/employee (custom prices) | $39/month + $5/employee | $40/month + $6/employee | $10/month/employee (custom prices) | $40/month + $6/employee | ||
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| Not yet rated | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 3.4 |
| Free demo | Free demo | Demo upon request | Free demo | 30-day free trial | ||
| Try Deel | Try Rippling | Try ADP | Try Paychex | Compare Quotes | Compare Quotes |
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 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.
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.
Its standout benefits include compliance alerts, in-depth training materials, strong data security tools, and general scalability.
Other payroll solutions are well worth considering, depending on your needs: we also scored ADP and Paychex highly overall.
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