What is ADP and what does it do?

ADP (Automatic Data Processing) is one of the world's largest HR, payroll, benefits, and tax-filing providers. It runs payroll, withholds and files federal/state/local taxes, administers benefits and retirement plans, manages time and attendance, and provides HR services for businesses from 1 employee to 50,000+.

What ADP products exist and which fits my business?

ADP RUN serves 1–49 employee businesses with payroll, tax filing, and light HR. ADP Workforce Now serves 50–999 employee mid-market companies and adds benefits administration, talent, and analytics. ADP Vantage HCM and GlobalView Payroll cover 1,000+ employee enterprises and global payroll.

How much does ADP cost?

ADP is quote-based. RUN typically starts around $79/month plus $4–$12 per employee depending on tier. Workforce Now is custom-quoted, usually $10–$25 per employee per month all-in. Implementation and year-end tax forms (W-2s/1099s) may be additional.

Is ADP worth it for a small business?

ADP RUN is a strong fit if you want hands-off tax filing, multi-state payroll, and access to HR advisors. Lighter alternatives like Gusto are often cheaper and easier to self-serve for 1–25 employee teams that don't need ADP's compliance depth.

How does ADP compare to Rippling, Gusto, and Paylocity?

ADP wins on compliance depth, tax filing breadth, and large-employer scale. Rippling wins on IT + HR unification and global payroll. Gusto wins on small-business UX and price. Paylocity wins on US mid-market employee experience and benefits services.

Independent guide · Updated 1970

What is ADP?

ADP — short for Automatic Data Processing — is one of the largest HR, payroll, benefits, and tax services providers in the world. It runs payroll for more than one million businesses across 140+ countries, files federal, state, and local payroll taxes on their behalf, and bundles HR advisory, benefits administration, and workforce analytics for teams of every size.

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What ADP actually does

Core services

Payroll processing across all 50 US states and 140+ countries

Automatic federal, state, and local tax withholding and filing

Year-end W-2 and 1099 generation and distribution

Direct deposit, paycards, and on-demand pay options

Time and attendance tracking with scheduling

HR & benefits

Benefits administration: health, dental, vision, 401(k)

ACA compliance reporting and Forms 1094/1095

HR advisory: handbooks, policies, harassment training

Hiring, onboarding, and background checks

Talent management, performance, and learning

ADP products by company size

Product	Best for	What you get
ADP RUN	1–49 employees	Payroll, tax filing, new-hire reporting, light HR — four tiers (Essential, Enhanced, Complete, HR Pro)
Workforce Now	50–999 employees	Full HCM: payroll, benefits admin, talent, time, analytics — mid-market default
Vantage HCM	1,000+ US employees	Enterprise HCM with deep configurability and dedicated service teams
GlobalView Payroll	Multinational, 1,000+	Global payroll across 140+ countries on a unified platform
TotalSource (PEO)	5–250 employees	Co-employment model — ADP becomes employer of record for HR, benefits, compliance

Pricing — what to expect

ADP is quote-based across every product. Published starting points:

RUN Essential — from ~$79/month base + ~$4 per employee per pay run
RUN Complete / HR Pro — typically $150–$250/month base + $10–$15 PEPM
Workforce Now — custom; typically $10–$25 per employee per month all-in
Vantage / GlobalView — enterprise pricing, contract negotiated

Year-end forms (W-2s, 1099s), implementation, and add-on modules (benefits broker, retirement, time clocks) are commonly billed separately. Always confirm what's in the base quote.

Who should — and shouldn't — pick ADP

ADP is a strong fit if…

You run payroll in multiple states or have complex tax situations

You want a provider to handle tax filings end-to-end

You're scaling past 50 employees and need real HR + benefits admin

You value compliance depth and named service teams

You need global payroll on one platform

Look elsewhere if…

You're 1–25 employees and want modern self-serve UX (try Gusto)

You want unified HR + IT + Finance on one record (try Rippling)

Employee experience and culture tools are top priority (try Paylocity)

You want fully transparent, published per-employee pricing

Frequently asked questions

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What is ADP?

What ADP actually does

ADP products by company size

Pricing — what to expect

Who should — and shouldn't — pick ADP

Frequently asked questions

What does ADP stand for?

Which ADP product should a 30-person business use?

Does ADP file my payroll taxes for me?

How is ADP different from Gusto or Rippling?

What is ADP TotalSource?

Not sure if ADP is right for you?