ADP (AF Score 84) and Payworks (AF Score 80) are two of the most cross-shopped payroll platforms in our directory. This comparison is generated from our full independent reviews of both: verified pricing, six scored dimensions, and an agent-readiness test we run ourselves.
The verdict at a glance
ADP scores higher overall (84 to 80), but the right pick depends on what you weight.
ADP. ADP in 2026: RUN for small teams, Workforce Now for mid-market, Lyric HCM for enterprise. Unmatched tax and compliance depth, opaque negotiated pricing, and real shipped AI agents that stay inside ADP's walls.
Payworks. Service-first Canadian payroll and HR from Winnipeg. A dedicated rep for every client, 98% retention, deep CRA and Revenu Quebec compliance, 40,000-plus businesses. Quote-only, Canada-only, thin on AI.
Quick facts
- ADP AF score. 84/100
- ADP typical cost. $18 to $30 PEPM at mid-market, buyer-reported
- ADP implementation. Medium-High
- ADP best fit. Multi-state and global employers from 50 to 10,000+ staff that price compliance risk
- Payworks AF score. 80/100
- Payworks typical cost. Quote-only, roughly CA$25 per employee per month equivalent (3rd-party est.)
- Payworks implementation. Low-Medium
- Payworks best fit. Canadian SMB to mid-market, 1 to ~1,000 employees, wanting full-service payroll
Dimension by dimension
- Compliance depth. ADP 96, Payworks 87. Edge: ADP.
- Scalability. ADP 93, Payworks 72. Edge: ADP.
- Support. ADP 70, Payworks 92. Edge: Payworks.
- Implementation. ADP 62, Payworks 82. Edge: Payworks.
- Pricing transparency. ADP 30, Payworks 40. Edge: Payworks.
- AI / agent readiness. ADP 62, Payworks 35. Edge: ADP.
What each actually costs
ADP: $18 to $30 PEPM at mid-market, buyer-reported (Quote-based and modular, few published prices, negotiate hard)
Payworks: Quote-only, roughly CA$25 per employee per month equivalent (3rd-party est.) (Quote-only, modular, per-run base fee plus per-employee charges)
Pick ADP if
- Multi-state employers where tax registration, filing and penalty risk outweighs software cost
- Mid-market controllers standardizing payroll, HR and benefits on one auditable system (Workforce Now)
- Multinationals consolidating payroll on GlobalView's 40+ countries, extended to 140 via Celergo
Pick Payworks if
- Canadian small business to mid-market employers, 1 to about 1,000 employees, that want payroll compliance handled by a named, dedicated service rep
- Controllers and bookkeepers who value CRA and Revenu Quebec remittances, ROE Web filing, and T4/RL-1 year-end handled for them, with one-click journals to QuickBooks Online
- Finance teams in Quebec or multi-province operations that need QHSF, CNESST, QPIP, EHT, and provincial WCB/WSIB handled natively
Further reading
Keep exploring
Both reviews are updated on a rolling cycle by our research agents.
