Best HRIS Software Platforms for Your Organization

There are many factors that go into selecting the right human resources software for a business, from what industry you’re in to the size of your organization. Finding the right HRIS platform for your company simplifies the management of employee data, improves employee experience, and maximizes managerial efficiency.

HR software options & what they offer

Human resources software platforms are all somewhat similar, but there can be key differences between them.

Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS)

Human resources information systems include core HR functions such as recruiting, attendance tracking, training and development, benefits administration, and payroll administration. They also usually include a self-service portal where employees can submit paperwork such as W-4s, request time off, make benefits elections, and view pay stubs.

Human resources management system (HRMS)

Human resources management systems include many of the same core HR functions as HRIS platforms, plus additional ones, like time tracking, onboarding processes, and employee performance management. Mid-size and larger companies often rely on performance management software to conduct performance reviews and measure employee productivity and work quality over time.

Human capital management (HCM)

Human capital management platforms often include the same features offered by HRIS and HRMS platforms and go further in trying to address the needs of the entire employee lifecycle as well as daily operations. Additional HCM functions include labor analytics, salary and succession planning, employee scheduling, demand forecasting, and workforce modeling. Workforce modeling allows companies to plan out their future hiring based on demand, productivity, and attrition.

HRIS Platforms

Workforce.com

Best for mobile onboarding and managing shift worker information.

Workday

Best for enterprise performance management and quality of support.

Gusto

Best for small businesses with salaried staff prioritizing ease of use.

Oracle HCM Cloud

Best for those looking to link their HRIS with finance and IT.

UKG Pro (UltiPro)

Best for enterprise HR analytics and payroll automation.

Paycom

Best for conducting and tracking payroll over mobile devices.

Ceridian Dayforce

Best for performance management, like company goals and OKRs, and employee feedback.

BambooHR

Best for employee well-being and applicant tracking.

ADP Workforce Now

Best for medium-sized business talent management and payroll.

Zenefits

Best for extensive benefits administration.

Paycor

Best for SME employee engagement and succession planning.

Rippling

Best for policy management and IT cloud features.

#1 – Workforce.com

Workforce.com     |     User Reviews

Best for mobile onboarding and managing shift worker information.

Key Features

  • Mobile-first onboarding through an IOS and Android app
  • Employee self-service features
  • Unified data system synced with scheduling and time tracking
  • Document management
  • Extensive HR reporting
  • Attendance point system

Workforce.com is a cloud-based software designed for shift workers. Along with its extensive HRIS suite, it also comes complete with payroll and workforce management. Using a single employee database, you can manage onboarding, scheduling, time tracking, and payroll – all in one place.

Who uses Workforce.com?

Where Workforce.com really shines is in its specialized design for shift workers. If your workforce primarily consists of hourly employees, Workforce.com is probably the best HRIS option for you. Its mobile-first features maximize employee self-service and reduce the administrative burden on your HR team, speeding up onboarding and making edits to personal details easy.

Because of its streamlined, shift-worker approach, Workforce.com finds most of its success with SMEs in retail, hospitality, F&B, and healthcare.

What do you get?

Workforce.com provides a single source of truth for all your employee data, accessible via browser and app. Alongside typical HRIS functions like onboarding, employee self-service, performance management, and HR analytics, you'll also get scheduling, time tracking, payroll, and labor forecasting.

How much does it cost?

Visit Workforce.com's pricing page to request a quote today.

#2 – Workday

Workday     |     User Reviews

Best for enterprise performance management and quality of support.

Pros

  • Talent management program is bolstered by machine learning to help plan for future hiring
  • Ability to customize modules to fit your business’s specific needs
  • Workday mobile app lets employees request time off, submit expenses, view the company directory, take learning courses, and more
  • Employee engagement features allow employees to seek out mentors, guidance, and feedback to develop skills

Cons

  • Users say the platform interface is inconsistent when moving from one module to another
  • Time-consuming manual data migration may be required if current tools aren’t compatible
  • Implementation can sometimes take 12 months or longer
  • Complexity means it isn't always ideal for small teams

Based in the cloud, Workday is one of the most well-known platforms on the market. In its entirety, Workday is almost overqualified if used purely as an HRIS system. Its vast product range makes it a good fit for enterprise organizations looking for a multitude of solutions – but practically speaking, simply using it for HRIS might be overkill for smaller businesses.

Who uses Workday?

Large enterprise-level companies in the IT, software tech, finance, education, and healthcare typically use Workday.

What do you get?

Workday HCM is a powerful platform that provides human resources management, organization management, reporting and analytics, benefits administration, talent optimization, employee and manager self-service, and more. It was created to work with additional Workday products such as Workday Payroll and Workday Recruiting.

How much does it cost?

Workday is quote based, meaning you’ll need to contact them directly to figure out pricing.

#3 – Gusto

Gusto     |     User Reviews

Best for small businesses with salaried staff prioritizing ease of use.

Pros

  • Extremely easy to use with attractive UI
  • Company calendar for birthdays, time off, work anniversaries, and more
  • Document and expense management
  • Organization map
  • Makes hiring processes easy, from posting new positions to your job board to making job offers to onboarding

Cons

  • Benefits administration can be difficult and unreliable, specifically for insurance
  • Support can be slow, including when users need quick responses for time-sensitive issues such as filing taxes
  • Not ideal for fast-growing businesses that operate in multiple states or countries

Gusto is a cloud-based platform that offers payroll services, manages employee information and HR data, and helps companies with talent management, benefits management, and more. The platform is modern and offers affordable options for new businesses.

Who uses Gusto?

Gusto is used by many small and medium-sized SaaS, marketing and advertising agencies, accounting firms, and non-profit organizations.

What do you get?

Gusto‘s Core package includes full-service payroll, employee profiles and self-service, health insurance administration, employee benefits, and integrations for accounting and time tracking. The Complete package includes all services in Core as well as hiring and onboarding tools, project tracking, workforce cost reports, team management tools, performance reviews, and more.

How much does it cost?

Gusto’s Complete package starts at $39/month plus $12/month per user. The lower-tier Core package with basic HR functions is $39/month and $6/month per user, and the higher-tier Concierge package is $149/month plus $12/month per user. For businesses in need of premium tools and support, contact Gusto’s sales team for details about a customized Select package.

#4 – Oracle

Oracle     |     User Reviews

Best for those looking to link their HRIS with finance and IT.

Pros

  • User experience is consistent across devices, and the platform is accessible via mobile app
  • Integrates with other popular systems like Microsoft Teams
  • Good employee engagement and recruitment features, which allow for easy communication with applicants
  • User-friendly expense management

Cons

  • Updates to the platform can be slow to install
  • At times, the software itself can be slow, and users report that it occasionally freezes or features become temporarily unavailable
  • Dated legacy system status leads to issues with ease of use

Oracle’s HCM Cloud products aim to provide everything a company needs to complete its HR tasks from applicant tracking to offboarding and everything in between. It gives users a single source of truth for their HR data and can help businesses with other needs such as payroll and learning management.

Who uses Oracle?

Large companies in IT, accounting, financial services, and healthcare.

What do you get?

Services available on Oracle’s HCM Cloud platform include core HR modules, learning, talent management, analytics, workforce management, recruiting, and payroll. It also includes the Oracle ME platform that streamlines communications between employees and management and provides ways for them to connect.

How much does it cost?

Oracle is quote based, meaning you’ll need to contact them directly to figure out pricing.

#6 – UKG Pro (UltiPro)

UKG     |     User Reviews

Best for enterprise HR analytics and payroll automation.

Pros

  • Can choose all-in-one UKG Pro Suite or single services such as human resources, payroll, and talent
  • Mobile app allows managers and employees to stay connected at the office or in the field
  • Reporting and analytics features allow users to see detailed data on pay, PTO balances, benefits enrollment, and more

Cons

  • Outdated user interface compared to other options on the market, leading to slow user adoption and navigation issues
  • Limited labor forecasting and scheduling functionality for enterprise-level organizations
  • Implementation of the platform and configuration setup can take a long time
  • Issues with geofencing accuracy in the time and attendance module
  • There may be a learning curve for smaller HR teams that aren’t familiar with the platform

UKG Pro Suite is a cloud-based platform that combines core HR tools with a robust payroll system and workforce management capabilities. Truly more of an HCM, HRIS features only make up a small portion of its whole arsenal.

Who uses UKG Pro?

UKG Pro is popular with large healthcare, non-profit, finance, hospitality, and insurance organizations.

What do you get?

By selecting UKG Pro Suite, you’re provided access to tools for human resources, payroll, talent management, workforce management, HR service delivery, compliance, and reporting and analytics.

How much does it cost?

UKG is quote based, meaning you’ll need to contact them directly to figure out pricing.

#7 – Paycom

Paycom     |     User Reviews

Best for conducting and tracking payroll over mobile devices.

Pros

  • Accessible through both desktop and mobile devices
  • Employee data is carried over throughout the platform, so it only needs to be entered once
  • Offers Enhanced Background Checks and E-Verify to screen job candidates and new hires
  • Very integration-friendly, partnering with a variety of other software systems
  • Users like it’s direct deposit and other payroll features

Cons

  • Implementation and transferring data to the system can be time consuming
  • Customer support is inconsistent at times
  • Loading times in the platform can be slow

Paycom offers a single platform for HR tools, employee management, and payroll services. The cloud-based software lets employees manage their own data on the app and allows HR teams to focus more on strategic decision-making and spend less time entering information on behalf of employees.

Who uses Paycom?

Businesses of all sizes use Paycom, though it‘s more popular with mid-size businesses and large companies than with small businesses. It‘s used extensively by non-profits, IT companies, and financial service organizations.

What do you get?

Paycom offers HR and payroll solutions, including time management, time-off requests, expense reimbursement, employee documents, and benefits. The platform provides users with a seamless experience where they can move from one module to the next and only have to input information one time.

How much does it cost?

Paycom is quote based, meaning you’ll need to contact them directly to figure out pricing.

#8 – Ceridian Dayforce

Ceridian Dayforce     |     User Reviews

Best for performance management, like company goals and OKRs, and employee feedback.

Pros

  • A user-friendly interface makes the platform easy to use for employees
  • Includes features that help employees manage their time and productivity
  • Users give its performance management features, like company goals and OKR features, high ratings

Cons

  • Mobile app is only available to employees or customers who’ve opted to activate the mobile option
  • Software occasionally has issues with responsiveness and load times
  • Implementation can be complicated and time consuming to complete
  • Designed primarily for detail-oriented white-collar staff, making the platform not entirely ideal for busy shift workers

Ceridian Dayforce product is a cloud-based HCM platform that offers an all-in-one solution for HR, payroll services, benefits, workforce management, and more. The platform aims to make life simpler for HR departments by ensuring compliance and regulations are followed globally to minimize the risk of non-compliance. It also uses analytics to help teams plan for the future and stay ahead of hiring decisions.

Who uses Dayforce?

Dayforce is popular with large companies with over 1,000 staff in highly-regulated industries such as hospitals, healthcare, and financial services, as well as non-profit organizations.

What do you get?

The Dayforce platform includes payroll services, workforce management, employee benefits, HR tools and analytics, talent intelligence to recruit, engage, and keep top employees, and more. Additionally, Dayforce offers services like tax filing, education, implementation, configuration, and consulting.

How much does it cost?

Dayforce is quote based, meaning you’ll need to contact Ceridian directly to figure out pricing.

#9 – BambooHR

BambooHR     |     User Reviews

Best for employee well-being and applicant tracking.

Pros

  • Powerful hiring, onboarding, and applicant tracking system
  • In-depth employee well-being features for tracking satisfaction, burnout, and engagement.
  • Mobile app for PTO requests and performance goal tracking

Cons

  • Time tracking features on the platform could be easier for employees to use, and it doesn’t factor in regulations based on jurisdiction
  • Missing key features for certain jurisdictions, like Canadian human rights requirements
  • Many features are one-size-fits-all and are not customizable
  • US-only payroll

BambooHR markets itself as an HRIS platform for small and mid-size businesses that have outgrown using spreadsheets for their HR functions. It aims to help make tasks easier for HR teams so they have more time for work that matters and can spend less time on tedious manual tasks.

Who uses BambooHR?

Many of BambooHR’s customers are small to mid-size businesses in tech, IT, financial services, and marketing.

What do you get?

BambooHR‘s Essentials package includes employee records, benefits tracking, standard reporting, document storage, standard workflows and approvals, time-off management, an employee directory and org chart, a company calendar, a mobile app, and more. The Advantage package includes additional features such as hiring and onboarding features, advanced reporting, tailored workflows and approvals, and data integrations. Add-on features are available for payroll services, time tracking, and performance management.

How much does it cost?

BambooHR offers two plan levels, Essentials and Advantage, as well as add-on services. Contact BambooHR’s sales team for a price quote.

#10 – ADP Workforce Now

ADP     |     User Reviews

Best for medium-sized business talent management and payroll.

Pros

  • Embedded access to ZipRecruiter job posting board
  • Branded career sites and onboarding workflow
  • Securely integrates with many third-party solutions and tools
  • Well-established company with a worldwide presence
  • Detailed payroll and tax filing compliant with every state

Cons

  • Pulling reports can be extremely difficult and hard to learn without help from ADP
  • Many basic features like ACA reporting, labor forecasting, and POS integration cost extra
  • General lack of clarity around what features you have access to - there is no comprehensive list showing what your plan does and does not include
  • Customer service can sometimes lack problem-solving skills, typically requiring ultra-specific information to fix whatever issue is occurring
  • Inconsistent UI experience between modules and the app due to the system being updated piece by piece over the years

ADP Workforce Now is an all-in-one cloud-based platform that offers HRIS functions, payroll, benefits administration, talent management, and time and attendance. As one of the oldest companies on the market, it’s a sure bet in terms of payroll reliability and comprehensive talent management for mid-sized organizations with many salaried employees. However, because of its expensive add-ons, lack of clarity on feature access, and clunky reporting, ADP might not be the best choice for smaller businesses with tight budgets and more practical needs.

Who uses ADP Workforce Now?

ADP Workforce Now is popular with mid-sized companies with between 200 - 1,000 staff. Many of its clients are in the IT, healthcare, and retail industries.

What do you get?

The ADP Workforce Now platform includes a complete suite of HR tools with payroll, time and attendance, talent, recruiting, workforce management, and benefits features. It also offers reporting insights and analytics, as well as machine learning and AI features that can help make HR decision-making easier.

How much does it cost?

ADP Workforce Now offers a variety of packages, including options for businesses with fewer than 49 employees and options for businesses with 50 to 999 employees. Contact ADP directly for specific pricing.

#11 – Zenefits

Zenefits     |     User Reviews

Best for managing small-business employee benefits.

Pros

  • The platform makes benefits administration easy and helps companies find benefits packages their employees will like
  • Compliance features help HR teams stay on top of important deadlines
  • Offers both a desktop application and a mobile app to make managing tasks like PTO requests easy for employees

Cons

  • Not ideal for fast-growing businesses or large companies
  • Customer service is administered through email and can be slow, even when an issue is urgent
  • Integration options could be improved, and if a product doesn’t integrate, it can make implementation more time consuming

Zenefits is a cloud-based HRIS platform that specializes in payroll and healthcare benefits. It also offers tools for tracking attendance, scheduling staff, managing performance, and much more.

Who uses Zenefits?

Zenefits is popular with SMEs in tech, IT, and advertising.

What do you get?

Zenefits includes HR administration, benefits administration, onboarding, compensation, performance management, time and scheduling, and people enablement. The platform’s payroll offerings include payroll administration, reporting, and tax management.

How much does it cost?

The Zenefits Essentials plan starts at $8/month per employee, the Growth plan starts at $14/month per employee, and the Zen plan starts at $21/month per employee. Optional add-ons include benefits administration, payroll, and advisory services.

#12 – Paycor

Paycor     |     User Reviews

Best for SME employee engagement and succession planning.

Pros

  • Strong focus on employee experience and engagement
  • Compliance features help users stay up-to-date on local, state, and federal laws
  • Clean, easy-to-use interface
  • Extensive bank, broker, and CPA partnership network

Cons

  • Some of the integrations don‘t connect to Paycor easily and are difficult to use
  • Customer service response times can be slow
  • Customization of some features, such as performance management, can be difficult

Paycor‘s cloud-based HRIS provides companies with the HR tools they need to operate their business and manage their workforce, from recruiting to payroll to professional development. The company’s focus is on making sure staff stay engaged in their work.

Who uses Paycor?

Paycor is a popular option for companies looking to improve employee engagement. It is mostly used by computer software companies, the hospital and healthcare industry, non-profit organizations, and retail companies.

What do you get?

Paycor’s available features include HR and payroll services, HR analytics, and talent management tools for recruiting, onboarding, and talent development. Its employee experience module features things like pulse surveys, learning management, and succession planning.

How much does it cost?

Paycor is quote based, meaning you’ll need to contact them directly to figure out pricing.

#13 – Rippling

Rippling     |     User Reviews

Best for policy management and IT cloud features.

Pros

  • Easily provides employees with access to third-party apps like Slack, Microsoft Office 365, and Zoom
  • Integrations help minimize the need to remember additional tool names and login credentials
  • Robust IT cloud connects employees with applications securely and easily
  • Users enjoy the clean, easy-to-navigate interface and say that it’s intuitive

Cons

  • Payroll is due two business days before being paid, limiting the last minute flexibility of payroll submission, particularly around holidays
  • No free trial is available
  • One of the pricier options on the market for what you get

Rippling’s cloud-based platform offers both HR tools and services as well as IT products. Its HR tools include payroll, time and attendance, talent management, and more, while its IT offerings include app management and device management. Ripping’s IT services make it easy for companies to onboard employees and provide them with all the tools they need to do their jobs, as well as to secure and manage employee computers and devices.

Who uses Rippling?

Rippling is most popular among small to mid-size businesses in tech, finance, marketing, and advertising.

What do you get?

Rippling‘s products start with Rippling Unity, which offers onboarding and offboarding automation, a workforce directory, document and e-signature management, and the Rippling mobile app. Its HR cloud services include payroll, time and attendance, benefits administration, applicant tracking, and more, while its IT cloud services include app management, device management, and inventory management.

How much does it cost?

Rippling pricing starts at $8/month per user for the basic Unity platform. Add-on products like payroll and benefits administration incur an additional cost.