Namely vs. Paylocity

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Namely
Score 7.3 out of 10
N/A
Namely offers a cloud-based HR platform for integrated core and specialized HR services, including time and employee performance management and onboarding processes.
$9
per month
Paylocity
Score 7.9 out of 10
N/A
Paylocity provides 24/7 access to your online payroll and human resource data management. Paylocity offers highly customizable payroll functionality, as well as HR, benefits administration, and time and talent management programs.N/A
Pricing
NamelyPaylocity
Editions & Modules
Namely Now
$9
per month per user
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
NamelyPaylocity
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredNo setup fee
Additional DetailsNamely Now offers small-businesses an HCM including payroll and HR at a budget conscious price. For growing companies we have Namely Plus which includes payroll and HR, talent, time, and other tools to engage and enrich their employees. For companies looking to free up more time internally for strategy, Namely offers Namely Plus People, including managed Payroll and Benefits. And for the business who wants to expand while minimizing risk and liability, our white-glove comprehensive PEO solution is Namely Complete.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
NamelyPaylocity
Considered Both Products
Namely
Chose Namely
Paylocity was outdated and customer support was not helpful. The platform wasn't user friendly for administration or employees. Every small improvement was a big cost impact and the platform provided little to no flexibility in customization.
Chose Namely
I have only demoed with Paylocity (never used) but it seems superior to Namely in my opinion as far as time, HRIS, and payroll all communicating.

I demoed a couple others that I would not move away from Namely in favor of. I would say Namely is middle of the pack. They do …
Chose Namely
The reason I continued to choose Namely at multiple employers is due to the continuity of employee experience. And the features have continued to grow since I initially onboarded in 2014. Also, through the years, I have had terrific benefits teams. The customer service has been …
Chose Namely
BambooHR has eNPS, which is pretty helpful and allows us to send pulse surveys to employees to get an understanding of how they are doing. Namely doesn't have anything like that.
Chose Namely
We're currently evaluating alternatives, but there appear to be only features to gain no matter where we look.
Chose Namely
We chose Namely over these other products 2 years ago based on competitive pricing, better UX and all in one offering (Benefits, Payroll, Time, HRIS).
Chose Namely
I selected Namely because it offered the most functions and integration that I was looking for at the time (two years ago). It was not the most affordable option, but worth the extra features.
Chose Namely
Namely is a for sure improvement in capability, time commitment and ease of use over the systems I have used in the past. I would prefer not to share other systems I looked at while assessing Namely. The reasons for not choosing other platforms had to do with price or not …
Paylocity
Chose Paylocity
Paylocity is hands down a better system to use than anything Asure has to offer.
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
NamelyPaylocity
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
Namely
6.4
143 Ratings
21% below category average
Paylocity
7.8
976 Ratings
1% below category average
Employee demographic data6.7132 Ratings8.5923 Ratings
Employment history7.2138 Ratings8.2892 Ratings
Job profiles and administration7.030 Ratings7.9829 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.7.0132 Ratings7.6842 Ratings
Organizational charting4.6134 Ratings7.1773 Ratings
Organization and location management5.7129 Ratings7.8754 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)6.482 Ratings7.6645 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Namely
7.1
127 Ratings
12% below category average
Paylocity
8.2
951 Ratings
2% above category average
Pay calculation8.9111 Ratings8.6925 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors6.953 Ratings7.4455 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment6.857 Ratings8.5681 Ratings
Benefit plan administration7.1109 Ratings7.4646 Ratings
Direct deposit files8.4113 Ratings9.0921 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management4.9100 Ratings8.2734 Ratings
Reimbursement management6.857 Ratings8.0458 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
Namely
7.7
124 Ratings
5% below category average
Paylocity
7.6
802 Ratings
7% below category average
Approval workflow7.1121 Ratings7.9716 Ratings
Balance details7.5116 Ratings7.5764 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment8.495 Ratings7.5598 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
Namely
7.6
141 Ratings
7% below category average
Paylocity
8.4
965 Ratings
3% above category average
View and generate pay and benefit information8.0129 Ratings8.6939 Ratings
Update personal information8.3140 Ratings8.7956 Ratings
View company policy documentation7.0127 Ratings8.1760 Ratings
Employee recognition7.4116 Ratings8.3677 Ratings
View job history7.5134 Ratings8.4813 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
Namely
5.7
53 Ratings
31% below category average
Paylocity
7.4
287 Ratings
5% below category average
Tracking of all physical assets5.753 Ratings7.4287 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Namely
7.2
121 Ratings
6% below category average
Paylocity
7.1
884 Ratings
7% below category average
Report builder7.6117 Ratings7.1845 Ratings
Pre-built reports7.9112 Ratings7.5861 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data6.074 Ratings6.7536 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
Namely
6.6
116 Ratings
20% below category average
Paylocity
8.2
828 Ratings
2% above category average
New hire portal7.6110 Ratings8.4822 Ratings
Manager tracking tools5.685 Ratings8.1650 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
Namely
4.7
96 Ratings
54% below category average
Paylocity
7.5
450 Ratings
9% below category average
Corporate goal setting6.086 Ratings7.5347 Ratings
Individual goal setting4.194 Ratings7.6413 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility3.872 Ratings7.5304 Ratings
Performance tracking4.789 Ratings7.5416 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
Namely
5.3
107 Ratings
41% below category average
Paylocity
7.4
571 Ratings
8% below category average
Performance plans5.196 Ratings7.3511 Ratings
Performance improvement plans3.068 Ratings7.3432 Ratings
Review status tracking6.695 Ratings7.4524 Ratings
Review reminders6.498 Ratings7.6529 Ratings
Multiple review frequency5.585 Ratings7.6435 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
Namely
5.6
21 Ratings
35% below category average
Paylocity
7.4
283 Ratings
7% below category average
Candidate search5.621 Ratings7.6257 Ratings
Create succession plans/pools00 Ratings7.0190 Ratings
Candidate ranking00 Ratings7.3231 Ratings
Candidate development00 Ratings7.5206 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
Namely
8.3
6 Ratings
6% above category average
Paylocity
7.8
544 Ratings
0% below category average
Job Requisition Management8.35 Ratings7.9456 Ratings
Company Website Posting8.15 Ratings8.1479 Ratings
Publish to Social Media8.15 Ratings7.7373 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting8.55 Ratings7.8454 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention8.25 Ratings7.2387 Ratings
Applicant Tracking8.45 Ratings8.1499 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts8.46 Ratings7.9500 Ratings
Best Alternatives
NamelyPaylocity
Small Businesses
Patriot Software
Patriot Software
Score 9.1 out of 10
Patriot Software
Patriot Software
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.6 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.6 out of 10
Enterprises
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.2 out of 10
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.2 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
NamelyPaylocity
Likelihood to Recommend
7.5
(145 ratings)
7.9
(1041 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.4
(9 ratings)
8.9
(95 ratings)
Usability
7.3
(71 ratings)
8.6
(65 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(1 ratings)
8.8
(11 ratings)
Performance
10.0
(1 ratings)
9.4
(11 ratings)
Support Rating
8.0
(27 ratings)
7.2
(87 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.6
(2 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
8.2
(10 ratings)
Implementation Rating
4.9
(85 ratings)
8.0
(40 ratings)
Configurability
9.0
(1 ratings)
8.3
(9 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
-
(0 ratings)
8.4
(7 ratings)
Ease of integration
8.0
(1 ratings)
6.7
(8 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.0
(1 ratings)
8.8
(10 ratings)
Professional Services
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(6 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.0
(1 ratings)
7.7
(10 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.0
(1 ratings)
9.2
(9 ratings)
User Testimonials
NamelyPaylocity
Likelihood to Recommend
Namely
Namely is aesthetically very pleasing and navigates like other social media platforms which can be appealing to potentially a remote workforce who interacts more online than in person. Unfortunately, it did not serve our population well as we are primarily manufacturing where people are not as interested in utilizing the HRIS for interactions when they would rather connect in person.
Read full review
Paylocity
We used to use a different product and it was not very easy to onboard people. It was kind of a manual process for onboarding. I feel like Paylocity's onboarding, is very, very well thought out, handles it very well. So I would say onboarding is probably one of the things that they do well. I honestly can't think of anything it's not suited for.
Read full review
Pros
Namely
  • Namely has helped with our COVID sick leave response. It has made a major difference both with the weekly payroll and the 941 tax filing
  • Keeping track of our multiple PTO plans. Thank goodness for Namely, I have shredded my old PTO spreadsheets.
  • Employees like the convenience of the cell phone app. As a payroll administrator, I like the Geo Tracking tool where I can see where some are when the clock is in or out.
  • The flexibility inside of the payroll system both as you are finalizing an employee profile and when you are processing payroll is a major advantage.
  • The reports I get out of Namely in Excel format work well for me.
Read full review
Paylocity
  • The payroll software is top notch. Recruitment module has been great. I think the workflow and the way you can customize all of the features of the recruitment module is awesome. Same thing with performance, you can really tailor everything to your specific company needs.
Read full review
Cons
Namely
  • Limits to custom reporting
  • No direct feed for Ohio Workers Comp (now a manual process on our end)
  • No option to place an employee on Leave of Absence and exclude them from payroll while they are "inactive"
  • No option to suppress certain deductions for certain pay types (i.e. allow 401K for commissions but block remaining deductions - also now a manual process to uncheck the suppress box for 401K for each commission check)
Read full review
Paylocity
  • Probably what I've heard the most, and I'm on it probably the least of all of our users, I am more involved in the planning, but what I hear is they'd like to see like improvement maybe in some of the customization. Maybe we can customize some of the reports. I think in recruitment we're able to do some of our offer letters, but maybe a little bit easier in the customization of the data. And then as always, HR employees always want more communication as do users. We always want more accessibility to the support service. When we get them, it's great, but sometimes it's a little bit of a delay.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Namely
Administrators and employees love Namely. It is very easy to use and streamlined. Employees stay engaged with news feed updates and enjoy all the self service options. The time cards are very easy to access and clocking in and out for non-exempt employees is a breeze. Namely is part of our family.
Read full review
Paylocity
We have had many issues with the way our platform was set up at implementation that still continue to plague us. In addition, our benefits, in particular our FSA, have been mis-managed causing a balance due from an employee (and also a lot of work for our accounting and HR team, as well as stress for the employee). Our service rep continues to answer incorrectly on many fronts (original response is usually check out this paylocity article, vs. helping) and recently our COBRA management was mishandled (not adding Dental to a person on Cobra who had requested it). So- all in all...we are not particularly happy w/ Paylocity
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Usability
Namely
It is very simple to use for myself, the HR team, and our employees. I find the payroll process very user-friendly. Reporting is simple to navigate and produce the required information requested. I know our employees enjoy the self-service feature and use it on a regular basis, which saves me time.
Read full review
Paylocity
I find Paylocity to be almost too robust so that its functionalities are sometimes too complex to use. Sometimes it appears that they don't get a user's experience and keep a software developers mindset which doesn't always work well with users that are not at their technical level of expertise. A perfect example is the way the payroll dashboard USED to look compared to the recent update
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Namely
No answers on this topic
Paylocity
Paylocity support is always available and I never have to wait endlessly on hold. If our dedicated account manage is not available, there is an entire team assigned to our account. Every one of them is knowledgeable about our organization and Paylocity's process.
Read full review
Performance
Namely
No answers on this topic
Paylocity
pages load in an acceptable amount of time, reports come back quickly, but integration is very complicated and hasn't been possible
Read full review
Support Rating
Namely
Unfortunately, in more recent years we've had a lot of difficulty with Namely as they've undergone a lot of internal changes. It took 4 returned emails saying the person no longer worked at Namely to find someone to help me (I finally called payroll) and it took a while to get connected with a direct source of help. Namely now has set up their "pod" feature of communication which works well for the most part, but is different. I felt spoiled when we first started with Namely, but now it feels very much like working with most large companies' help centers. There is a system to go through and you do have the option to click "urgent". In general the help is efficient, but it still takes a few days and it's hard to speak with someone directly. It is all done via online communications and is difficult to actually speak to someone on the phone. This works well for most cases, but I do feel frustrated more often than I'd like to with this type of communication. (2019/2020)
Read full review
Paylocity
Everyone wants immediate assistance. Awaiting a response from an email only to ask 2-3 more questions is time consuming. Within the first six months of setup, I would rather respond back to the instructors who provided me the training in each category of my contract.
Read full review
In-Person Training
Namely
No answers on this topic
Paylocity
I didn't have in-person training, but I'm sure it was just as great as any other training/assistance Paylocity provides. Paylocity customer service is always available. You never have to be on hold and their answers are always accurate and timely. Documents in the help section are helpful as well. My in-person training was conducted y one of our employees who was involved in the initial set-up and training of all employees. She was excellent.
Read full review
Online Training
Namely
No answers on this topic
Paylocity
The training was live online, but was with a group of other companies. We did not receive any personalized training with our team. Whenever we would ask for training, we would be sent a peak article link or a video. It felt like the reps we dealt with didn't know the answer to the questions.
Read full review
Implementation Rating
Namely
Implementation was a bit complicated and our company had to carry most of the weight. It often felt like our implementation manager was giving us extra work that she did not want to do herself. It also took much longer than expected - I believe almost 2 months. I believe our company carried a bit too much of the weight.
Read full review
Paylocity
I had gone through an implementation process of another HR platform (Paycom) in my previous job and was traumatized, it was painful. I was surprised how easy and fast it was with Paylocity, the team was very helpful and set us up for success
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
Namely
Namely has a robust suite of offerings, and fallows for a la carte selection of add-ons (rather than a single bundled option). This has allowed our company to save money by not purchasing options / functionalities that we dont need, but may drive up the cost for other companies who need more a la carte selections. In all, the size of the company, the size & capabilities of the internal HR team, and considerations like managed payroll and benefits should be key drivers in selection.
Read full review
Paylocity
ADP is not user-friendly. It was hard to run payroll, hard to pull reports. And the customer service, they just aren't willing to help and it takes a long time and when you have employees that need things and you are under a deadline or under pressure to get certain things done, like payroll. You need someone that's going to show up for you on time and get you to the things that you need right away. Paylocity has done that.
Read full review
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Namely
No answers on this topic
Paylocity
Include more services in the packages they offer.
Read full review
Scalability
Namely
No answers on this topic
Paylocity
You have an account manager assigned to you on a daily basis but that person is barely available to you
Read full review
Professional Services
Namely
No answers on this topic
Paylocity
Support is quick and proffessional
Read full review
Return on Investment
Namely
  • When we were over 100, it provided a huge benefit to us due to the accuracy of payroll, benefits integration and management, and org chart and performance tracking. Having all of that in one place was a huge improvement from the former disjointed user experience.
  • When we dropped below 100 due to covid, our insurance rates went up 93% to offer comparable plans, and we had to move over to a PEO for benefits which meant we also had to move payroll. It was hugely disruptive, and now our employees have a bad experience when trying to manage their HR lives in multiple places. It is confusing and, again, disjointed.
Read full review
Paylocity
  • I think reduction in time would be probably the most reason we use it. Some of the other systems we use, they don't always connect and communicate with one another, which can be more time consuming. So I think that's something definitely we want to improve on.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Namely Screenshots

Screenshot of Namely News Feed: The home base to make announcements, express appreciation, and to celebrate important milestones.Screenshot of HR Analytics: data to drive confidence in an active people strategy and to encourage pride in provable resultsScreenshot of Talent & Performance Management: connects, engages, and develops the workforce in a platform designed so that employees actually want to use itScreenshot of Benefits Administration: modern, integrated benefits technology makes it easy for employees to enroll and easier to manageScreenshot of Payroll Administration: integrated with HR data and coupled with full payroll tax servicesScreenshot of Namely Mobile App: request time off and access paystubs and benefits information from anywhere