Paycom vs Paylocity (2026): Which Payroll Suite to Choose

Paylocity fits a US company of 50 or fewer people that wants three named bundles, Express, Enrich, and Elite. Paycom fits a team that wants payroll, HR, and time in one database, with Beti in the base payroll module. Neither publishes a list price, so this is a choice of which quote to request.

An HCM suite runs payroll and the employee record in one vendor, so hiring, time, and HR tasks are not split across logins on payday. The longer product write-ups are the Paycom review and the Paylocity review. This page only decides which of the two quotes to open.

Those module facts were read on 17 October 2026 from Paycom's pricing page, Paycom's software page, Paycom's about page, Paylocity's pricing page, Paylocity's small-business page, Paylocity's small-business payroll page, and Paylocity's payroll product page. Toolradar data: in the HRIS ranking updated 17 October 2026, the software directory we run evaluated 33 tools and placed Paycom second and Paylocity third. That list scores Paycom 4.5 from 8,674 ratings and Paylocity 4.4 from 8,205, both across G2 and Capterra as of September 2026. Paylocity was still the second most compared HRIS tool, with 141 side-by-side comparisons in the prior 90 days.

At a glance

Offer	Who on the people team it fits	What the vendor page shows	What that page leaves out
Paycom Core	The minimum every Paycom client uses, with payroll as the foundation	A checkmark matrix, and no dollar	Daily pay, clocks, applicant tracking, benefits administration
Paycom Complete	The same five areas, with the tools Core marks off	The add-on column, still unpriced	A checkout total
Paylocity Express	Payroll plus a starter employee experience, for 1 to 50 people	Named top features, and no dollar	Time and attendance, which the next bundle names
Paylocity Enrich	Payroll, HR, time, and general-ledger visibility, same headcount cap	A "most popular" label, and no dollar	E-Verify and expense management, which Elite names
Paylocity Elite	Talent, compliance, and expenses on top of Enrich's scope	A third named bundle, and no dollar	Benefits administration, which the pricing page lists as its own module
Either pricing page	A buyer who opened the page looking for a rate	A demo form	Every monthly figure

The Paycom rows are one matrix with two columns, so Core is the floor and Complete is what changes the quote. The Paylocity rows are three bundles limited to the Grow cap, so confirm the company still qualifies before you request one.

What a quote is allowed to hide

Paycom's pricing FAQ says each quote is customized to the functionality a company needs and the number of employees, so the same headcount can still produce two different bills. A one-time implementation fee is included in that quote, and ongoing support from a dedicated specialist is provided at no cost, so setup is paid once and the specialist is not an upsell. The same page says AI is built into the software at no additional cost, so AI is not a separate product you discover after the signature.

Paylocity's pricing page also ends in a request for pricing. Its small-business payroll FAQ says the charge is per employee per month, not per payroll run, and that there are no upgrade costs or tiered pricing thresholds as you scale, so a second payday does not add a fee and growth does not step the rate. Paycom's pricing FAQ never says whether a second run changes its bill, so put that question on the Paycom quote.

A team that needs a printed US payroll card before a demo should leave this pair and use the payroll software roundup and the small-business payroll cost guide.

How much does the module split change the quote?

Paycom publishes five areas, and each area has a Core column and a Complete column. Core is the minimum used by all Paycom clients, and the software page describes Paycom as payroll-first, with other tools added beyond payroll. A Core signature is not a promise that all five areas were purchased.

Payroll Core includes Beti, the general ledger, payroll tax management and filing, and the Vault Visa payroll card, and it marks off check reconciliation, daily pay, expense management, and garnishment administration. Beti is why a payroll manager stays on that column: the payroll period self-starts and employees fix errors before submission, while daily pay and expenses wait on Complete.

Talent-acquisition Core includes new-hire reporting and self-onboarding, while applicant tracking, background checks, drug testing, E-Verify, and tax credits are Complete, so a hiring spike on Core still needs another system. The applicant tracking roundup belongs in that same budget.

Time-and-labor Core includes labor allocation only, while scheduling, time and attendance, time clocks and terminals, and time-off requests are Complete. A company that needs a schedule, a clock, or time off is already buying that column.

Talent-management Core includes employee self-service and performance discussion forms, along with the org chart, position management, a retention dashboard, and workforce analytics. Compensation budgeting and performance management are Complete, so a discussion form is not a review cycle you can run from Core.

HR-management Core includes ACA tracking, an announcement tool, document management, manager self-service, personnel action forms, a software-usage tracker, and workers' compensation tracking. Benefits administration, COBRA, 401(k) reporting, the learning system, succession planning, workforce surveys, government and compliance, and Global HCM are Complete. If that module is the only gap, read the benefits administration roundup before buying the wider column.

Where Paylocity names a bundle, and where it does not

Express, Enrich, and Elite appear on the small-business page, not on the pricing page, so a buyer who only opened pricing never sees the three names. The homepage and the payroll product page still call small business 1 to 99 employees, midsize 100 to 499, and enterprise 500 or more. A company of 51 to 99 people is small business on one page and outside Grow on the other, so confirm the three names on the proposal rather than assuming them from the homepage band.

Express is payroll plus employee experience, and its top features are payroll and tax confidence, modern employee self-service, and On Demand Pay. A footnote says that includes entry-level access to consumer-grade employee experience products, so the culture tools on Express are the starter set.

Enrich adds HR management, time and attendance, and payroll-to-general-ledger visibility, none of which Express names. Elite adds talent lifecycle tools, compliance management and E-Verify, and expense management. The pricing FAQ lists Recruiting, Employee Voice, and Learning as optional add-ons on the HR suite, and Elite's card does not name the learning system. None of the three cards names benefits administration, even though the pricing page has a benefits module, so benefits can still be a separate line, and the learning system can too.

The payroll product page says Paylocity is a Registered Reporting Agent with the IRS in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam, and that integrated global payroll covers 100+ countries. The same page says small-business payroll includes On Demand Pay, and that hours flow into payroll from Time and Labor. Express does not name time and attendance, so write the clock on the Enrich line rather than assuming it on Express. If the clock is the whole project, compare a dedicated tool in the time tracking roundup before you buy a wider bundle to get one.

The pricing page says 30+ payroll audits with automatic alerts, and the payroll product page says 40+ audits flag potential errors, so ask which count the proposal means.

What do 25, 75, and 150 people change?

These three headcounts tell you which menu to put on the quote. They are not a bill you can build from a public rate.

At 25 people the company is inside the Grow cap, so Express, Enrich, and Elite are the Paylocity menu, and Paycom is still Core against the Complete lines for daily pay, a clock, applicant tracking, and benefits. The HRIS cost guide is where those lines sit next to a budget the board can read.

At 75 people the company is still inside Paylocity's small-business band and past the Grow note, so On Demand Pay stays on the small-business pitch while the three bundle names are no longer promised. Paycom's checkmarks do not change, because headcount changes the quote and the matrix stays put.

At 150 people Paylocity's payroll page calls the company midsize and describes one platform for payroll, HR, finance, and IT. Enterprise, at 500 or more, is where that page prints 400+ integrations, which is not a midsize feature. Paycom's about page, current as of 31 December 2025, says the product supports small, medium, and enterprise companies, with more than 39,000 clients and Global HCM in over 190 countries, and that country row is Complete, not Core. The mid-market HRIS guide is the wider shelf once Grow no longer applies, and the small-business HRIS guide is the shelf while it does.

Where each one wins

Question	Paycom	Paylocity	Winner
A number you can multiply tonight	No list price	No list price	Neither
A named bundle under the Grow cap	Core and Complete, with no headcount band on the matrix	Express, Enrich, and Elite, the named Grow bundles	Paylocity
Employee-reviewed payroll in the base	Beti is in payroll Core	Not named on Express, Enrich, or Elite	Paycom
Early access to earned wages	Daily pay is Complete	On Demand Pay is included for small business, and named on Express	Paylocity
A clock and time-off requests	Complete only. Core time is labor allocation	Enrich names time and attendance. Express does not	Paylocity, if the quote is Enrich
Applicant tracking	Complete only	Pricing FAQ lists Recruiting as an optional add-on	Neither, until the line is on the quote
E-Verify	Complete talent acquisition	Elite names compliance management and E-Verify	Paylocity under the Grow cap, because Elite is a named bundle. Paycom only on Complete
Extra pay runs	Pricing FAQ is silent	Per employee per month, not per payroll run	Paylocity, on the stated rule
Keeping QuickBooks or another system	Pricing FAQ says third-party integrations are not required, because the database is Paycom's	Payroll page names QuickBooks, 401(k) platforms, and POS systems, and enterprise copy says 400+ integrations	Paylocity if those systems stay. Paycom if the point is to stop integrating
A free month for new payroll clients	Pricing page shows no such offer	One free payroll month, plus free W-2s for 12 months in phase 1. Phase 2 is the free month only	Paylocity, after the phase is confirmed

Paylocity wins where a bundle or a billing rule is already named, and Paycom wins where Beti has to sit in the base.

Payroll accuracy, global work, and who answers the phone

Paycom's about page cites a June 2023 Forrester study it commissioned, for a composite organization rather than its full client base: 90% less labor to process payroll, an 85% reduction in time spent correcting payroll errors, and over 2,600 hours a year saved by HR and accounting. Treat that as the composite's result, not as a saving you can book before the order repeats it.

Paylocity's edge on tax paperwork is the Registered Reporting Agent status above, plus tax geolocation that audits each employee against their work location. Paycom puts tax management and filing in payroll Core, and it does not print an equivalent reporting-agent sentence on the pricing page. Filing in the base column and a named IRS status are different promises, and neither pricing page states a tax-penalty reimbursement.

Paycom's country figure is Global HCM, and the matrix puts that row in Complete, so people abroad are not covered by base payroll. Paylocity's country figure sits on the payroll product page as integrated global payroll. Neither page splits native payroll from a partner country, so the proposal has to say who employs the person in each country.

Paycom's software page says in-house receptionists answer during business hours, each client has a dedicated specialist, and there is no phone tree. Paylocity's small-business payroll page says assistance is available by email, live chat, or phone, and that the vendor supports data migration, but it does not print the hours. The 24/7 line on Paylocity's pricing page is access to the HR self-service portal, not a promise that a person answers at 2am.

The offer, the implementation line, and the directory rank

Paylocity's small-business pages are running a new-client offer: one month of free payroll, billed as Bill One, Get One, plus complimentary W-2s for 12 months in phase 1, while phase 2 is the free payroll month only. A payroll bundle is any new purchase of payroll, alone or with other products. The footnote does not say which phase is open, and it does not print an end date, so ask for the terms before a free month enters the annual budget.

Paycom's quote puts implementation in as a fee, not a waived cost, and the specialist after go-live is the line Paycom says costs nothing extra. Paylocity's pricing FAQ says the vendor supports setup and stays involved after go-live, and it publishes no implementation dollar.

The directory rank and this verdict measure different jobs. Toolradar's HRIS list puts Paycom one place ahead of Paylocity on that list. The payroll ranking, read the same day, evaluated 74 payroll tools and places Paycom fourth and Paylocity sixth. Shoppers still open Paylocity more often on the HRIS side, second only to BambooHR, and Paylocity is listed as an alternative to 17 other HRIS tools. This page follows the module matrix when that rank and those comparisons point different directions.

Who should choose which

Choose Paylocity Express when the company is under the Grow cap, payroll and tax filing are the job, and On Demand Pay matters more than a clock. Confirm the employee-experience tools are the entry level the footnote describes. Move to Enrich when HR records, time and attendance, and the general ledger have to be named on the order, and to Elite when E-Verify and expenses are why Enrich is short. Recruiting and the learning system stay add-ons until the pricing FAQ's list is on that order.

Choose Paycom when Beti has to be in the base and you will read the Complete column before you sign. Ask the quote to price payroll Core on its own, then Complete for time clocks, applicant tracking, benefits, and Global HCM as separate lines. A single blended rate hides which of those you bought.

Leave both when the board wants a dollar this week. Use the HR software guide if the category itself is still open, and the HRIS cost guide when the module list has to become a number finance can defend.

How we compared

On 17 October 2026 we read Paycom's pricing, software, and about pages, and Paylocity's pricing page, small-business page, small-business payroll page, and payroll product page. Checkmarks come from Paycom's Core and Complete tables, and Paylocity bundle contents come from the top features each card prints. A missing name is treated as unstated, not as a proven exclusion. Headcount bands come from the payroll product page, and the Grow cap comes from the small-business page. Toolradar's HRIS and payroll rankings were read the same day. Louis Corneloup, founder of Toolradar and Dupple, edited the verdict. Re-check both order forms before anyone signs, because neither page is an invoice.

FAQ

Which should a people team choose in 2026, Paycom or Paylocity?

Choose Paylocity when the company sits inside the Grow cap and you want Express, Enrich, or Elite named on the proposal, including On Demand Pay on the small-business payroll pitch. Choose Paycom when Beti must sit in base payroll and you will buy Complete for the clock, applicant tracking, or benefits.

How much do Paycom and Paylocity cost?

Neither publishes a list price. Paycom customizes the quote to functionality and headcount, includes a one-time implementation fee, and says the dedicated specialist costs nothing extra. Paylocity says it charges per employee per month rather than per payroll run, and it does not print the per-employee rate. A 25-person bill, a 75-person bill, and a 150-person bill are all quotes.

What is in Paycom Core that Complete adds later?

Payroll Core includes Beti, the general ledger, tax filing, and the payroll card, and it excludes daily pay, expenses, and garnishment administration, so error checks before submission are in the base and early wage access is not. Time on Core is labor allocation only, so a clock or time off is a Complete purchase. Applicant tracking, E-Verify, benefits administration, and Global HCM are Complete, while performance discussion forms are Core and performance management is Complete.

Who can buy Paylocity Express, Enrich, and Elite?

Paylocity limits those three bundles to organizations with 1 to 50 employees, which it calls Small Business Grow. Express is payroll and employee experience, Enrich adds HR, time, and general-ledger visibility, and Elite adds talent, compliance with E-Verify, and expenses. From 51 to 99 employees the company is still in the 1 to 99 small-business band, and the Grow note no longer applies, so the three names have to be written on the proposal.

Does either suite include a free payroll plan?

No ongoing free payroll plan appears on either pricing page. Paylocity is offering eligible new payroll-bundle clients one free payroll month, and free W-2s for 12 months in phase 1 of that promotion. The footnote does not say which phase is current, and Paycom's pricing page shows no free month.

Which is the better fit above 100 employees?

Paylocity's payroll page calls 100 to 499 midsize and 500 or more enterprise, and the enterprise bullet names 400+ integrations. Paycom's matrix does not change with headcount, Global HCM stays on Complete, and the about page says the product already serves enterprise companies among more than 39,000 clients. Above the Grow cap, compare the written module list, not the Express card.

Cite this: HRpresso, "Paycom vs Paylocity (2026): Which Payroll Suite to Choose", October 2026.

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