Paylocity vs UKG

The verdict at a glance

UKG scores higher overall (74 to 73), but the right pick depends on what you weight.

Paylocity. Paylocity pairs mid-market payroll and HCM with real GL plumbing: native QuickBooks Online, NetSuite, and Sage Intacct journal entries, 50-state filing, and a growing CFO suite built on the $325M Airbase deal.

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

• Paylocity AF score. 73/100
• Paylocity typical cost. $29/employee/mo (all-in $26-40)
• Paylocity implementation. Medium
• Paylocity best fit. US mid-market employers, 50 to 5,000 employees, multi-state payroll
• 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. Paylocity 82, UKG 92. Edge: UKG.
• Scalability. Paylocity 76, UKG 90. Edge: UKG.
• Support. Paylocity 62, UKG 66. Edge: UKG.
• Implementation. Paylocity 70, UKG 55. Edge: Paylocity.
• Pricing transparency. Paylocity 35, UKG 30. Edge: Paylocity.
• AI / agent readiness. Paylocity 56, UKG 62. Edge: UKG.

What each actually costs

Paylocity: $29/employee/mo (all-in $26-40) (Quote-only PEPM, modular bundles, negotiated)

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

Pick Paylocity if

• US mid-market companies (50 to 5,000 employees) running multi-state payroll
• Controllers who want native journal entries into QuickBooks Online, NetSuite, or Sage Intacct
• Teams consolidating payroll plus AP, cards, and expenses on one vendor via Paylocity for Finance

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

• Paylocity acquires AI-native Aidora (Paylocity, Jul 2026)
• Paylocity acquires Grayscale Labs (Paylocity, Apr 2026)
• Next-gen AI Assistant moves from questions to actions (Paylocity, Sep 2025)
• 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 Paylocity review: scores, pricing, and where it fits.
• The full UKG review: scores, pricing, and where it fits.
• Paylocity vs isolved
• Paycom vs Paylocity
• Paychex vs Paylocity
• Dayforce vs UKG

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