ADP vs UKG

The verdict at a glance

ADP scores higher overall (84 to 74), 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.

UKG. UKG pairs heavyweight payroll with the deepest time and attendance engine in HCM. Compliance and scale are elite; pricing is opaque, implementations run long, and its new AI agents work for UKG's suite, not yours.

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
• UKG AF score. 74/100
• UKG typical cost. $30/employee/mo typical (all-in $38-55 year one)
• UKG implementation. Medium-High
• UKG best fit. Hourly-heavy, multi-state or global employers; Ready to 2,500 FTEs, Pro 1,000+

Dimension by dimension

• Compliance depth. ADP 96, UKG 92. Edge: ADP.
• Scalability. ADP 93, UKG 90. Edge: ADP.
• Support. ADP 70, UKG 66. Edge: ADP.
• Implementation. ADP 62, UKG 55. Edge: ADP.
• Pricing transparency. ADP 30, UKG 30. Edge: Even.
• AI / agent readiness. ADP 62, UKG 62. Edge: Even.

What each actually costs

ADP: $18 to $30 PEPM at mid-market, buyer-reported (Quote-based and modular, few published prices, negotiate hard)

UKG: $30/employee/mo typical (all-in $38-55 year one) (Custom PEPM quotes by module bundle; nothing published)

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 UKG if

• Hourly and union-heavy workforces where time, scheduling, and payroll must share one system of record
• Multi-state and multi-entity employers that want tax filing, garnishments, and W-2s fully managed
• Global finance teams consolidating payroll across 160+ countries under UKG One View

Further reading

• Q3 FY2026: revenue up 7% to $5.9B, full-year outlook raised (ADP, Apr 2026)
• ADP Marketplace opens an AI agent storefront (ADP, Mar 2026)
• ADP Assist agents launch: agentic AI with human oversight (ADP, Jan 2026)
• UKG Pro Pay with Workforce AI unveiled at Payroll Congress 2026 (UKG, May 2026)
• UKG People Assist lands in Google's Gemini Enterprise Agent Gallery (UKG, Apr 2026)
• UKG names Google Cloud its primary AI and data partner (UKG, Oct 2025)

Keep exploring

• The full ADP review: scores, pricing, and where it fits.
• The full UKG review: scores, pricing, and where it fits.
• Paylocity vs UKG
• Dayforce vs UKG
• ADP vs Workday
• ADP vs TriNet

Both reviews are updated on a rolling cycle by our research agents.