Paycor vs. Paylocity: Which Payroll Solution Is Best in 2023?

Paycor and Paylocity are two human capital management (HCM) platforms that are largely targeted to midsize businesses. They offer a very similar feature set, including payroll software, time and attendance, benefits, administration, talent acquisition and more.

In this guide, we compare Paycor and Paylocity to help you figure out if one of them is right for your business’s needs.

Jump to:

​

Paycor vs. Paylocity: Comparison table

Paycor vs. Paylocity: Pricing

Paycor pricing

While its website states that it offers four tiers of plans for businesses with less than 50 employees, Paycor does not actually disclose pricing information on its website. You’ll need to contact their sales team for a quote and demo.

For more information, check out our full Paycor review.

SEE: Top 6 Paycor Competitors and Alternatives for 2023

Paylocity pricing

Paylocity is even less forthcoming than Paycor and does not disclose any information about its pricing tiers or pricing information on its website. You’ll need to contact their sales team for a quote and demo.

For more information, check out our full Paylocity review.

SEE: The Top Paylocity Competitors and Alternatives for 2023

Paycor vs. Paylocity: Feature comparison

Payroll

Paycor automatically makes updates to payroll data and can also be configured to run payroll automatically on a designated date and time. Additional features include federal and state tax filing, direct deposit and check stuffing. The expense management tool makes it easy for employees to submit expenses and for managers to approve them for quick reimbursement.

Paylocity’s payroll readiness dashboard shows all of your payroll tasks in one place so you can prepare for the end of the pay period. Automatic payroll audits also call out any unusual data so you can double-check it before payroll actually runs. Tax geolocation information ensures that each employee is set up to pay the correct taxes based on where they live. Use the mobile app to upload receipts while on the go and manage expenses for reimbursement.

Time and attendance

Paycor also offers a time and attendance module, and the data flows directly over to the payroll module. Managers can track hours worked by employees, manage time off requests and put together schedules (Figure A). Meanwhile, employees can clock in and out using the mobile app, which verifies their location to prevent time theft.

Figure A

Paylocity’s automatic time tracking helps to cut down on repetitive manual data entry and also reduces error for payroll calculations. It offers multiple ways for employees to clock in and out, including mobile, web and kiosk options. Like Paycor, it supports geofencing to reduce the chances of time theft. It also includes a scheduling tool that generates schedules and will estimate hours and costs.

HR and benefits

Paylocity’s automated workflows helped cut down on tedious admin work, streamlining open enrollment and also making it easier to get new hires set up with insurance and other benefits. Paylocity’s connections deliver enrollment data to nearly all major insurance carriers so your HR department doesn’t have to do it themselves. The open enrollment wizard tool helps administrators design, set up and run open enrollment every year.

Paycor offers employee self-service options that can be accessed from any device, including mobile. New hires and terminations are automatically processed to reduce manual entry, and updates are automatically sent to insurance carriers as well. Plus, various flexible benefit packages can be configured in the tool to prepare for open enrollment and employee self selection (Figure B).

Figure B

Talent acquisition and compensation

Paycor harnesses the power of AI to find both active and passive job seekers who might fit job openings at your company. The candidate dashboard makes it easy to view the status of all candidates, and custom hiring workflows standardize and streamline the process. Use scorecards to record interview feedback and ratings, then put together a compelling offer using the compensation planning module.

Paylocity lets you use customized videos in the job postings to showcase your company culture and stand out from competitors. Personalize job listings and then automatically post them to online job boards to extend your reach. Use the compensation management tool (Figure C) to make data-driven decisions about competitive compensation packages.

Figure C

Performance and learning management

Once employees have accepted an offer, the Paycor onboarding software automates the process so they can fill out new hire documents anywhere. The talent development and performance management tools (Figure D) include customizable templates to make performance reviews Easier and more effective. Employees can build their skills and stay up to date with compliance training by taking courses through the learning management system.

Figure D

Paylocity’s onboarding tool helps your HR team to collect documents once new hires have accepted the offer. Paylocity also offers an employee performance management module that includes talent, assessment templates and text or video journals to promote ongoing development. The learning management module comes with hundreds of pre-made courses and also allows you to create your own training for your employees.

Paycor pros and cons

Pros of Paycor

• Multiple paid plans to suit different budgets.
• Unlimited payroll runs and automated payroll.
• Custom reporting and analytics.
• Self-service employee portal.

Cons of Paycor

• No transparent pricing or free trial.
• Charges additional fees for certain payroll actions like check stuffing.
• Multiple features, like benefits and time tracking, are extra add-ons.

Paylocity pros and cons

Pros of Paylocity

• More integrations than Paycor.
• Employee recognition and communication tools.
• Customized videos in job postings.
• Flexible, customizable reporting.

Cons of Paylocity

• No transparent pricing or free trial.
• Customer service could be improved.
• Initial set-up process can be complex.

Methodology

To compare Paycor and Paylocity, we took advantage of guided product tours and demo videos. We also reviewed reputable rankings, customer ratings and testimonials and other expert reviews from credible sources. We considered features such as payroll, time and attendance, HR and benefits, talent acquisition, compensation, performance management and learning management. We also weighed other factors such as customer support and integrations.

Should your organization use Paylocity or Paycor?

Paylocity and Paycor are both human capital management platforms that are designed for medium and large businesses. Both software will probably prove too complex for startups, microbusiness and other very small companies that just need simple tools for payroll and HR. On the flipside, they may not be complex enough for large corporations that need enterprise resource planning (ERP) capabilities in addition to human capital management.

Both Paylocity and Paycor offer extremely similar feature sets and the differences often come down to minute details. For instance, Paylocity currently offers employee recognition features, while Paycor does not, but that may or may not matter to your company. Paylocity also offers more integrations than Paycor, providing 340+ integrations to Paycor’s 220+ integrations.

Since neither platform offers a free trial, you will have to rely on the sales call and demo to make a decision about which one best fits your needs and budget. Come to the call prepared with specific questions about what you need out of the software so you can figure out which one works best for your business. Because pricing plans are customized, each sales team will need a complete list of all the functionalities you want to generate an accurate pricing quote.

Not sure if either Paylocity or Paycor is right for your business needs? There are many other competitors and alternatives to choose from. Check out our list of the best payroll software of 2023 to expand your search.

Featured HR solutions