Compare the features, pricing plans, and add-ons available with both QuickBooks Workforce and RUN Powered by ADP® to find the best payroll solution for your business.
28 years experience
helping small businesses
4.3/5
6400+ customer reviews on Capterra
Join millions of customers globally
use QuickBooks globally2
QuickBooks Payroll vs ADP
Integration
Payroll to accounting integration
(payroll is mapped to corresponding accounts)
Fully integrated. Detailed data
requires API. Basic data
Payroll & taxes
Unlimited payroll runs
(at no extra cost)
Same-day direct deposit
premium or elite
2-4 days or next day in higher plans
Auto file & pay taxes
(federal, state, local)
local requires premium or elite
End of year filings & delivery
(W-2/1099s)
$4 per printed and mailed form
~$55 + $6.50 per W2 + $14 for mail
Time tracking
Employee scheduling
(shift and project scheduling)
shift scheduling in premium only
project scheduling in elite only
extra cost, shift only
Employee time tracking
(when an employee worked)
premium or elite
extra cost
Employee location tracking
(GPS tracking and geofencing)
GPS tracking in premium or elite geofencing in elite only
extra cost, geofencing only
HR & employee management
Hiring employees
(job posting, applicant tracking, background checks)
Employee onboarding
(EE self-onboard with W-4, I-9 and bank details)
Document management
(securely store and share employee documents)
HR support
(labor, wage, anti-discrimination, & benefits laws)
premium or elite
requires higher plan
Benefits management
(health insurance, retirement, employee benefits)
*ADP offers this feature, but there is an additional fee. Time Tracking is an add-on feature and is estimated to be $100 a month for 10 employees. The feature list is accurate as per the ADP website on November 1st, 2025.
QuickBooks Workforce vs. RUN Powered by ADP®: Comparison Overview 2026
QuickBooks Workforce and RUN Powered by ADP® are both popular payroll solutions for small businesses. However, QuickBooks Workforce has transparent pricing, unlimited payroll runs, seamless data syncing, and tax penalty protection—just a few reasons why it is a top choice for small to mid-sized businesses.
Below, we break down the key differences in features, advantages, and pricing to help you choose the platform that best suits your business needs and budget.
QuickBooks Workforce overview
QuickBooks Workforce gives you everything you need to better manage and pay your team with confidence. Track time, run payroll when you want with same-day direct deposit, automate tedious tasks, and more.
Plans for every kind of business
Buy now and get Intuit Expert Assisted FREE for 30 days*
1
Select plan
2
Add payroll
3
Checkout
Simple Start
$38
$19/mo
Save 50% for 3 months*
Intuit Expert Assisted
*Connect with Intuit experts when you need it. They can provide setup help and bookkeeping guidance in QuickBooks, so you can stay organized and run your business with confidence. Free for 30 days. No auto-renew.
Try expert help FREE for 30 days*
Access expert tax help
Save time and effort by seamlessly moving from books to taxes, then prepare your current tax year return with unlimited expert help to get every credit you deserve. Access Intuit Expert Business Tax experts powered by TurboTax and pay only when you file.
with Intuit Expert Business Tax
Income and expenses
Securely import transactions and organize your finances automatically.
Banking with 3.00% APY
Every dollar put away in savings envelopes earns you interest at over 40x the U.S. average.
Bookkeeping automation
Automate bookkeeping to cut down on tedious tasks and get more time to focus on your business.
Invoice and payments
Accept credit cards and bank transfers in the invoice with QuickBooks Payments, get status updates and reminders.**
Tax deductions
Share your books with your accountant or export important documents.**
General reports
Run and export reports including profit & loss, expenses, and balance sheets.*
Receipt capture
Snap photos of your receipts and categorize them on the go.**
Mileage tracking
Automatically track miles, categorize trips, and get sharable reports.**
Cash flow
Get paid online or in person, deposited instantly, if eligible.
Sales and sales tax
Accept credit cards anywhere, connect to e-commerce tools, and calculate taxes automatically.**
Estimates
Customize estimates, accept mobile signatures, see estimate status, and convert estimates into invoices.**
Contractors
Assign vendor payments to 1099 categories, see payment history, prepare and file 1099s from QuickBooks.**
Connect 1 sales channel
Connect 1 online sales channel and automatically sync with QuickBooks.
Bill management
Organize and track your business bills online.
Essentials
$75
$3750/mo
Save 50% for 3 months*
Intuit Expert Assisted
Connect with Intuit experts when you need it. They can provide setup help and bookkeeping guidance in QuickBooks, so you can stay organized and run your business with confidence. Free for 30 days. No auto-renew.
Try expert help FREE for 30 days*
Access expert tax help
Save time and effort by seamlessly moving from books to taxes, then prepare your current tax year return with unlimited expert help to get every credit you deserve. Access Intuit Expert Business Tax experts powered by TurboTax and pay only when you file. Costs vary by entity type. Subject to eligibility.
with Intuit Expert Business Tax
Income and expenses
Securely import transactions and organize your finances automatically.
Banking with 3.00% APY
Every dollar put away in savings envelopes earns you interest at over 40x the U.S. average.
Bookkeeping automation
Automate bookkeeping to cut down on tedious tasks and get more time to focus on your business.
Invoice and payments
Accept credit cards and bank transfers in the invoice with QuickBooks Payments, get status updates and reminders.**
Tax deductions
Share your books with your accountant or export important documents.**
Enhanced reports
Know how your business is doing with sales, accounts receivable, and accounts payable reports.*
Receipt capture
Snap photos of your receipts and categorize them on the go.**
Mileage tracking
Automatically track miles, categorize trips, and get sharable reports.**
Cash flow
Get paid online or in person, deposited instantly, if eligible.
Sales and sales tax
Accept credit cards anywhere, connect to e-commerce tools, and calculate taxes automatically.**
Estimates
Customize estimates, accept mobile signatures, see estimate status, and convert estimates into invoices.**
Contractors
Assign vendor payments to 1099 categories, see payment history, prepare and file 1099s from QuickBooks.**
Connect 3 sales channels
Connect up to 3 online sales channels and automatically sync with QuickBooks.
Bill management
Organize and track your business bills online.
Multiple currencies
Record transactions in other currencies without worrying about exchange rate conversions.
Includes 3 users
Invite your accountant to access your books, control user-access levels, and share reports without sharing a log-in.**
Enter time
Enter employee time by client/project and automatically add it to invoices.
Plus
$115
$5750/mo
Save 50% for 3 months*
Intuit Expert Assisted
Connect with Intuit experts when you need it. They can provide setup help and bookkeeping guidance in QuickBooks, so you can stay organized and run your business with confidence. Free for 30 days. No auto-renew.
Try expert help FREE for 30 days*
Access expert tax help
Save time and effort by seamlessly moving from books to taxes, then prepare your current tax year return with unlimited expert help to get every credit you deserve. Access Intuit Expert Business Tax experts powered by TurboTax and pay only when you file. Costs vary by entity type. Subject to eligibility.
with Intuit Expert Business Tax
Income and expenses
Securely import transactions and organize your finances automatically.
Banking with 3.00% APY
Every dollar put away in savings envelopes earns you interest at over 40x the U.S. average.
Bookkeeping automation
Automate bookkeeping to cut down on tedious tasks and get more time to focus on your business.
Invoice and payments
Accept credit cards and bank transfers in the invoice with QuickBooks Payments, get status updates and reminders.**
Tax deductions
Share your books with your accountant or export important documents.**
Comprehensive reports
Stay on track with inventory reports, enhanced sales reports, and profitability reports.*
Receipt capture
Snap photos of your receipts and categorize them on the go.**
Mileage tracking
Automatically track miles, categorize trips, and get sharable reports.**
Cash flow
Get paid online or in person, deposited instantly, if eligible.
Sales and sales tax
Accept credit cards anywhere, connect to e-commerce tools, and calculate taxes automatically.**
Estimates
Customize estimates, accept mobile signatures, see estimate status, and convert estimates into invoices.**
Contractors
Assign vendor payments to 1099 categories, see payment history, prepare and file 1099s from QuickBooks.**
Connect all sales channels
Connect any available online sales channels and automatically sync with QuickBooks.
Bill management
Organize and track your business bills online.
Multiple currencies
Record transactions in other currencies without worrying about exchange rate conversions.
Includes 5 users
Invite your accountant to access your books, control user-access levels, and share reports without sharing a log-in.**
Enter time
Enter employee time by client/project and automatically add it to invoices.
Inventory
Track products, cost of goods, see what’s popular, create purchase orders, and manage vendors.
Project profitability
Track all your projects in one place, track labor costs, payroll and expenses.
Financial planning
Create budgets with real-time data you can collaborate with your team on.
Advanced
$275
$13750/mo
Save 50% for 3 months*
Intuit Expert Assisted
Connect with Intuit experts when you need it. They can provide setup help and bookkeeping guidance in QuickBooks, so you can stay organized and run your business with confidence. Free for 30 days. No auto-renew.
Try expert help FREE for 30 days*
Access expert tax help
Save time and effort by seamlessly moving from books to taxes, then prepare your current tax year return with unlimited expert help to get every credit you deserve. Access Intuit Expert Business Tax experts powered by TurboTax and pay only when you file. Costs vary by entity type. Subject to eligibility.
with Intuit Expert Business Tax
Income and expenses
Securely import transactions and organize your finances automatically.
Banking with 3.00% APY
Every dollar put away in savings envelopes earns you interest at over 40x the U.S. average.
Bookkeeping automation
Automate bookkeeping to cut down on tedious tasks and get more time to focus on your business.
Invoice and payments
Accept credit cards and bank transfers in the invoice with QuickBooks Payments, get status updates and reminders.**
Tax deductions
Share your books with your accountant or export important documents.**
Powerful reports
Monitor financial metrics and build customized dashboards that measure performance.
Receipt capture
Snap photos of your receipts and categorize them on the go.**
Mileage tracking
Automatically track miles, categorize trips, and get sharable reports.**
Cash flow
Get paid online or in person, deposited instantly, if eligible.
Sales and sales tax
Accept credit cards anywhere, connect to e-commerce tools, and calculate taxes automatically.**
Estimates
Customize estimates, accept mobile signatures, see estimate status, and convert estimates into invoices.**
Contractors
Assign vendor payments to 1099 categories, see payment history, prepare and file 1099s from QuickBooks.**
Connect all sales channels
Connect any available online sales channels and automatically sync with QuickBooks.
Bill management
Organize and track your business bills online.
Multiple currencies
Record transactions in other currencies without worrying about exchange rate conversions.
Includes 25 users
Invite your accountant to access your books, control user-access levels, and share reports without sharing a log-in.**
Enter time
Enter employee time by client/project and automatically add it to invoices.
Inventory
Track products, cost of goods, see what’s popular, create purchase orders, and manage vendors.
Project profitability
Track all your projects in one place, track labor costs, payroll and expenses.
Financial planning
Create budgets with real-time data you can collaborate with your team on.
Auto-track fixed assets
Automatically track fixed asset values, access all fixed asset info in one spot, and get insights about what may come next.
Data sync with Excel
Seamlessly send data back and forth between QuickBooks Online Advanced and Excel for more accurate business data and custom insights.
Batch invoices and expenses
Create invoices, enter, edit, and send multiple invoices faster.**
Custom access controls
Easily control who sees your data, assign work to specific users, and create custom permissions.
Workflow automation
Save time and mitigate risk with automated workflows and set reminders for improved cash flows and more.
Data restoration
Continuously and automatically back up your changes, restore a specific version of your company, and view version history.**
Support & training
QuickBooks Priority Circle support and access to special training resources.
Revenue recognition
Stay consistent, compliant, and credible with automated revenue recognition.
Intuit Expert Assisted
Get help from our bookkeepers when you need it. They’ll provide guidance, answer your questions, and teach you how to do tasks in QuickBooks, so you can stay on track for tax time and run your business with confidence.
- Get set up by connecting accounts
- Automate tasks to save you time
- Discover features that work for your business
- Categorize and reconcile transactions correctly
- Build and review reports to make smart decisions
Call 1-800-816-4611 to get 50% off Intuit Expert Assisted for 3 months.*
Overall features
Unlimited payroll runs
Get unlimited payroll runs for one transparent, upfront monthly charge. Manage your budgets and plan expenses without worrying about frequent or unexpected fees.
Seamless sync
Data automatically syncs across payroll, time, and accounting. Save time and enjoy peace of mind that your payroll data is accurate and up-to-date, while getting access to granular business insights.
Tax penalty coverage
With tax penalty protection, we'll pay up to $25,000 if you receive a penalty for any reason.**
Payroll to job costing integration
Time and payroll are mapped for job costing. Track hourly labor costs and profitability by project in QuickBooks Online.
Automated tax payments and filing
QuickBooks will calculate, file, and pay your payroll taxes for you.**
Same-day direct deposit
Hold onto your cash longer and run payroll when you're ready. Depending on your plan, you can pay by direct deposit the same day you run payroll or the next day for no additional charge.
RUN Powered by ADP® overview
RUN Powered by ADP® is a full-service payroll platform that offers easy-to-use tools and features that simplify payroll, tax filing, and HR. It’s especially for small businesses.
Plans & pricing
RUN Powered by ADP® offers four distinct pricing plans tailored to different business needs: Essential Payroll, Enhanced Payroll, Complete Payroll & HR+, and HR Pro Payroll & HR. Each plan offers varying levels of functionality and support.
Essential payroll
For startups and established companies that simply need payroll, taxes, and help with compliance.
Enhanced payroll
Adds powerful capabilities on top of payroll, such as garnishment payment service, state unemployment insurance (SUI) management, background checks, and job posting through ZipRecruiter®1.
Complete Payroll & HR+
Includes ADP’s latest HR tools such as live HR support, employee handbook wizard, proactive compliance alerts, HR guidance and forms, and a job description wizard.
HR Pro Payroll & HR
Offers a comprehensive suite of HR tools such as proactive HR support team, employer/employee training, business advice, and legal assistance from Upnetic Legal Services®2.
Overall features
HR guidance and employee management tools
Ensure employee compliance through learning and development tools, HR compliance courses, and employee performance management.
Recruiting and hiring capabilities
Instantly post job roles through ZipRecruiter, track applicants, and determine if candidates are a good fit by providing employment background checks, which include drug testing and medical screening.
Customized pricing
Customized pricing based on your small business needs. As you grow your employee base, you can upgrade to ADP Workforce Now for a more comprehensive HR and payroll solution.
See How QuickBooks Workforce Compares to RUN Powered by ADP®
QuickBooks Workforce is a standout payroll software option for small to mid-size businesses. It offers seamless integration between its payroll and accounting software, ensuring real-time data syncing that keeps payroll accurate and updated. Plus, QuickBooks has advanced time-tracking features that integrate with its job costing system, allowing for precise allocation of labor costs to specific jobs or projects. And when you're ready to scale your operations, QuickBooks is a user-friendly solution designed to grow with your needs.
How QuickBooks Online can help you business differently
Transparent, up-front pricing
QuickBooks has transparent pricing. No hidden or miscellaneous fees. Just straightforward, predictable costs for your business.
Fast direct deposit
Keep employees and contractors happy with same-day or next-day direct deposits.
Live support
QuickBooks offers live phone and chat support, providing you with a direct line to experts when you need them. With personalized assistance, you can tackle any accounting challenge with confidence and keep your business on track.
Key Considerations When Choosing Accounting Software
When selecting accounting software like QuickBooks, businesses should consider their size and complexity, the accounting experience of their team, budget constraints, and long term growth plans. Smaller companies with simpler needs may prefer streamlined tools, while larger or growing organizations often require advanced features, integrations, and scalability. Balancing ease of use, affordability, and the ability to expand ensures the software will support both current operations and future success.
Frequently asked questions
Explore additional comparisons
Choose the right accounting solution fit for your business.
Get everything you need to streamline payday, track time, manage HR, and offer team benefits with the #1 payroll provider.¹
Call Sales: 1-877-866-5232
