Spending too much on recruitment, payroll or global HR?
If you want to hire employees in countries around the world where you don’t own entities, partnering with an Employer of Record (EOR) is likely your best option. Choosing the right services provider to meet the needs of your organization can, however, be a tricky task; you might need help with.
Rippling and ADP are two well-known names in the HR industry that offer EOR services. Rippling began life as a human capital management software provider, while ADP started out as a payroll outsourcing provider. Neither of these providers offers its pricing publicly, but our research has uncovered potential starting prices of $499/employee per month for Rippling and $699/employee per month for ADP.
In this Rippling vs ADP review, we’ll look at how these competitors differ in their services and methods to help you decide if one of them is the ideal partner to engage for your hiring needs.
Quick Overview Table
| Key Metric | Rippling | ADP |
| EOR Pricing | undisclosed | undisclosed |
| Best For | Mid-market to large-sized companies that manage remote teams | Medium to large businesses that want to expand quickly overseas |
| Country Coverage | 80+ for EOR and 180+ for contractors | 180+ countries through an EOR partner |
| Support | 24/7 live chat support, with email and phone support during more limited hours | 24/7 live chat support, with email and phone support during more limited hours |
| Contractor Management | yes | yes |
What is Rippling?
Rippling was founded in 2016 in San Francisco, originally as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) workforce management solution. It developed a comprehensive HR platform that includes payroll management, benefits administration, performance management, time-tracking, employee engagement, analytics, recruitment, and many other tools. It then added international contractor management services and, later, EOR services, which have now extended to more than 80 countries. Rippling owns all of the entities it uses as employers of record in these countries.
In addition to EOR applications, Rippling’s software can be used to manage IT and spend through a single platform. This platform also integrates with more than 600 HR, communications, finance, accounting, HR, and recruiting applications, making it easy to share data across your tech stack.
Rippling offers PEO, global payroll, and HR outsourcing services in multiple locations. You can also use its HCM platform on its own for a starting price of $8/employee per month, though prices can increase quickly when you add additional services.
What is ADP?
ADP is a much older company with over 70 years of HR experience. Founded in 1949 in New Jersey, Automatic Data Processing began life as a payroll processing provider and eventually branched out into other services. It’s one of the largest payroll and PEO (professional Employer Organization) companies in the world, with around 67,000 employees worldwide. Because of the size of its network, ADP has been able to build software that’s exactly what its clients need. It has three different platforms based on business size: RUN for small businesses, Workforce Now for mid-sized organizations, and Vantage HCM for large enterprises. Workforce Now, the most commonly used platform with ADP’s EOR services, integrates with around 500 different applications to make sharing data with your other software very convenient.
ADP’s TotalSource brand is focused on PEO (Professional Employer Organization) services, helping businesses manage their employees compliantly around the world. It’s also through TotalSource that ADP offers EOR services. Rather than providing them itself, however, ADP subcontracts to another EOR provider, Globalization Partners or G-P. G-P runs EOR services in 180 countries while clients get to use ADP’s HCM platform to manage their people.
Our research has found that G-P charges around $699/employee per month for EOR services, so we expect ADP to charge at least this amount or more for its collaborative services.
Key Features Comparison
Rippling Key Features
| Comprehensive HRIS | Manage EOR employees, contractors, IT, and spend all in a single platform |
| Supplementary benefits | Private insurance, pensions, and financial wellness benefits are available for your employees |
| HR, payroll, and PEO outsourcing | Different levels of service are available if you own entities around the world |
| Mobile app | Rippling HR, IT, & Finance gives iOS and Android users convenient access to the Rippling platform |
| Integrations | Platform integrates with over 600 popular programs for easy data sharing |
ADP’s Key Features
| Global coverage | EOR services are offered in 180+ countries, and payroll services in 140+ |
| Extensive benefits plans | Affordable supplementary employee benefits of many types are available around the world |
| Recruiting tools | ADP provides a built-in applicant tracking system (ATS) to help keep track of potential hires |
| Mobile app | Employees and admins can use ADP Mobile Solutions to access the ADP platform remotely |
| Integrations | Platform integrates out of the box with hundreds of software packages |
Benefits Comparison
Rippling Benefits
While pricing isn’t clearly offered by either of these providers, our research indicates that Rippling is a somewhat more affordable option for international hiring. Rippling provides users with one of the most comprehensive platforms available for HR, but also gives them the option of adding IT and spend management to the mix to handle all of these functions with a single, highly integrable platform.
While Rippling offers EOR hiring in a somewhat limited collection of countries, it owns all the entities it works with, enabling it to control its level of service well. You can also use Rippling to manage and pay contractors in 180+ countries.
ADP Benefits
According to our research, ADP’s starting price for EOR services should cost more than Rippling’s, but it also provides you with a lot more coverage. Through G-P, ADP lets you hire in 100 more countries than Rippling, though this subcontracting can sometimes lead to service issues. This widespread coverage allows you to hire in one or many lesser-known countries – essentially anywhere you can find talent.
As part of its platform, ADP offers tools for self-service recruiting, including an ATS and an integration with ZipRecruiter that helps you post vacancies and use AI tools to match with candidates. ADP also offers separate recruitment services that you can use to find talent, though they’re not linked directly to EOR services.
ADP has a huge network around the world for its payroll and PEO services, and this gives it leverage in negotiating supplementary benefits. It can help you provide enterprise-level pension and insurance benefits for your employees at discount prices.
Pricing Comparison
| Plan Type | Rippling | ADP |
| EOR | Custom pricing (possibly $499/employee per month) | Custom pricing (possibly $699/employee per month) |
| Contractor | Custom pricing | Custom pricing |
| Payroll Only | Custom pricing | Custom pricing |
| HRIS platform only | $8/employee per month | Custom pricing |
| PEO | Custom pricing | Custom pricing |
Analysis
Neither provider offers prices online, except for Rippling’s base price of $8/employee per month to use its platform. Our research suggests that Rippling’s EOR price starts at $499/employee per month, and with G-P’s at around $699/employee per month, we don’t expect ADP to be cheaper.
This means that you could save $2,000 a month or $24,000 a year hiring ten employees through Rippling, rather than with ADP.
Pros and Cons
Rippling Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Live support is available 24/7 | EOR hiring is available in only 80+ countries |
| Platform integrates with over 600 software packages | No active recruiting services |
| IT and spend management can be performed through the same platform | Complicated platform can have a steep learning curve |
| Platform offers robust data security | No prices online |
ADP Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| EOR hiring in 180+ countries | No prices online |
| Platform functions as a standalone HRIS | Costs are potentially higher |
| Payroll and PEO services can supplement EOR hiring | EOR services provided through a 3rd-party provider (G-P) |
| Recruitment services are available separately | Implementing and learning to use this platform takes time |
Customer Support Comparison
| Feature | Rippling | ADP |
| Channels | Live chat, email, phone (virtual call conversion) | Live chat, email, phone |
| Availability | 24/7 | 24/7 |
Which One Is Right for You?
Choose Rippling if you:
- Operate a mid-sized or large business
- Want a comprehensive HR platform that can also be linked to IT and accounting
- Plan to hire in popular countries
- Want to pay a mid-range price for EOR services
Choose ADP if you:
- Run a small or mid-sized business
- Need to hire in less well-known countries
- Need to attract top talent with top-quality additional benefits
- Can afford a higher-than-average price for EOR services
When to Consider Alternatives
The best EOR for your organization may not be Rippling or ADP. Instead, you may want to consider a much more affordable alternative like Remote People, which charges just $199+ for EOR services and also offers active recruitment services. Deel has an extensive platform and gives you the option of paying your employees directly to pay cards or payment platforms.
Final Verdict: Rippling vs ADP
Rippling and ADP both got into EOR services after first building extensive HR platforms. While Rippling offers a lower price and works directly in a limited number of countries, ADP partners with a third party to offer hiring in over 180 countries. ADP can be a great partner for benefits, while Rippling is more affordable and features a comprehensive platform that can integrate with most any software.
If you still need help choosing between these and other EOR providers, contact RemotePad’s EOR comparison team today and get the advice you need to pick the perfect partner.
Frequently Asked Questions
