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ADP Workforce Now vs PeopleSoft comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 4, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

ADP Workforce Now
Ranking in Benefits Administration
10th
Ranking in Talent Management
13th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
Cloud HCM (12th), HR Analytics Software (5th)
PeopleSoft
Ranking in Benefits Administration
5th
Ranking in Talent Management
6th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
83
Ranking in other categories
ERP (9th), Activity Based Costing Software (4th), Demand Management (2nd), Talent Acquisition (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Benefits Administration category, the mindshare of ADP Workforce Now is 2.9%, down from 3.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of PeopleSoft is 9.5%, down from 14.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Benefits Administration
 

Featured Reviews

Vineeth John - PeerSpot reviewer
Custom reporting tool with field grabber, easy modules for recruitment and provides numerous options for integration
The complexity is the key challenge with a tool like ADP because it has all the bells and whistles and all the key features you can possibly think of. If it isn't there, there's always a third-party vendor you can integrate that way. But the only issue is that because it's complex, there needs to be some sort of system, at least on the back end, for the admins to understand what leads to what. We expect AI to improve multiple things with HR processes. The most obvious and common one would be the self-service function for employees, like a chatbot to help with FAQs. We are also building an AI tool that can possibly help managers make better talent management decisions. This tool will pull from the performance management tool, the talent profile, and the reports that we generally have to score employees across all different dimensions.
UshaKatyal - PeerSpot reviewer
A mature solution that needs right implementation
I think PeopleSoft HR is pretty good and very mature. The people who built PeopleSoft now work on Workday. Workday has asked me to join them as an employee a few times, but I don't take anyone's employment because Workday isn't very user-friendly. With PeopleSoft, you can do a lot. Oracle now bundles PeopleSoft and calls it Oracle Cloud, but the programs are the same. Recruiters often don't know this and say you're not qualified if you don't have Oracle Cloud experience. However, Oracle has just put PeopleSoft in the cloud and packaged it as Oracle Cloud. Overall, if the solution is implemented correctly, it runs very smoothly. I think people shouldn't customize it. They should use it as is and try to adapt to it. Many people didn't understand PeopleSoft at first. For example, during COVID, some companies hired offshore people who didn't know what they were doing and messed everything up. You need to know the rules and regulations of the country where you're implementing the tool because every country has different rules for HR, benefits, and payroll. Canadian payroll differs from US payroll, but they're on the same platform in the solution. It's a very mature system, but people prefer newer options like Oracle Cloud. I was also involved with SAP S/4HANA. I don't think it's good for the government sector because government workers are a bit lazy about technical things. I understand S/4HANA because I have a technical background. It has a different structure, while PeopleSoft has more of a file and table structure, which is easier. If the tables are set up wrong, things go wrong. But if you know how to set it up correctly, it runs smoothly, and you can adjust it if needed. The problem is that companies are hiring big consulting firms that want money. They hire offshore people who don't know the country's rules and do programming. If you buy a package and still have to do custom programming, why buy the package at all? These days, I'm doing a lot of business process reengineering for people because they don't know how to implement it correctly. If you implement it right, you can reduce manual work. However, it depends on change management and how senior management handles it. It works fine if you implement the tool on-site or hybrid, not cloud and do it correctly. But in a cloud situation, there are problems. Many countries change their payroll and benefits rules often. With the cloud, you can't easily change things. You have to ask the company to make changes, which costs much money. People who don't want an IT department go for the cloud. But I've seen many companies fail with the cloud. The cloud is just everything packaged together. Your data sits in someone else's cloud, and you must accept whatever they do. Payroll is very sensitive. If payroll is wrong, the whole company suffers. I've worked on the financial and school sides, too. I'm comfortable with the tool if it's implemented correctly. But many companies don't implement it right, which is why they might say it is too much. I did a big project for an oil and gas company. I was a program control manager with 51 people under me. We used Oracle, but Oracle isn't as good as PeopleSoft for payroll. If the solution is implemented correctly, it's fine. But you need the right implementer. Big consulting firms often give wrong information and use inexperienced people. For maintenance, PeopleSoft sends updated rules to new tables at year-end. You compile the new tables and start the new year. But you need to know which changes apply to your country. I talk to many senior PeopleSoft people and always get LinkedIn messages about business opportunities. I now help about 50 clients when they have problems, but I'm not traveling. If you know the HR and payroll business well, you can implement anything - PeopleSoft, Oracle, or S/4HANA. I've done all of these. S/4HANA is more complicated and technical. It's similar to an old software called IDMS. You have to be very technical, and if you don't do it right, it won't work. I rate the overall solution a seven out of ten.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The most interesting feature for me on ADP is the custom reporting tool. It's got something called a field grabber, which makes it so much easier to generate your own custom reports simply by pulling tabs from any feature."
"The most valuable features are the reporting and benefits piece."
"The most valuable feature to me is performance management because we just started using that."
"It is a scalable solution."
"The way that ADP helped us improve our organization is by making the payroll process clean and efficient because if you make a mistake there, you're in big trouble."
"The platform is on a private cloud that is fully secure with no way for hacker penetration."
"In my day-to-day work, attendance tracking would be most important. That's because I have a really diverse group of employees, and I have a subset of younger folks who are struggling with their attendance. So, that's the thing that I'm most involved with currently."
"PeopleSoft is scalable."
"A valuable feature is FSCM."
"In general, this solution is user friendly and also performs well. There are two types of forms. One is a standardized form, which you can define things into. The other, you can customize so more repetition can be done in an even manner. That way, it can be designed for what the public or user actually wants. It's not very tough for any person, or layman to understand exactly what the screen requires one to do."
"The customization and catering to our specific needs have helped."
"The most valuable feature is IDE."
"It is a customizable product. We can customize it based on our needs, which is one of the features that I like about PeopleSoft. As far as financial accounting is concerned, the user interface is very good. You can also configure Chart of Accounts for all performance insights."
"Job data is a valuable feature."
"The solution is easy to scale, expand and make bigger."
 

Cons

"When I'm not working with the implementation team and I'm just talking to customer service or something, they're just not a lot of help. They don't understand how it works. They'll tell you to do something that I know would affect something else. So, it's less about the software and more about just training their folks to a higher level."
"The report functionality is not as good as competitive products."
"Its benefits portal could be user-friendly."
"The ease of developing and creating reports could definitely use some improvement."
"I would like to see the payroll side improved and there are a few kinks that need to be worked out."
"The complexity is the key challenge with a tool like ADP ."
"I would like to see improvement in the UI."
"The solution could improve by offering PeopleSoft site licenses. Currently, Oracle is pushing for everyone to transition to the cloud, but clients are discontent with this approach. Offering new PeopleSoft site licenses would be the most beneficial for our clients."
"The learning and development side of the product is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"The Time and Labor module is not that flexible."
"PeopleSoft could improve by being more user-friendly. It's somewhat awkward to navigate."
"There can occasionally be complexity in the initial setup."
"Regarding technical support, they often discourage using PeopleSoft and push for Oracle. Many support staff are offshore and don't understand the system well."
"This solution could be improved by lowering the cost of support."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is expensive and I would say it is below average for the value it provides based on the high cost."
"It is expensive."
"I know some of what we're currently paying. Most customers would say it's too high, but I don't have a comparison to know that."
"The solution is expensive and everyone complains about the price."
"I give the pricing a seven out of ten."
"The solution is expensive."
"The solution is priced per module."
"The licensing cost for PeopleSoft is 3,500 per course and the annual subscription fee is 6,500."
"The product's cost depends on the number of people in your company or the number of paychecks processed. They charge based on these factors, plus a maintenance fee. I'm not sure about current pricing since Oracle took over."
"Yearly payments are to be made toward the licensing costs of PeopleSoft. PeopleSoft is not very expensive, so I feel it is an affordable product."
"One of the cheapest solutions available and also one of the best."
"It's approximately $3,000,000 to $4,000,000 USD per year."
"Mostly yearly payments are to be made toward licensing costs. It is not much of an expensive solution."
"The tool is expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
10%
University
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ADP Workforce Now?
The licensing is on the pricer side, given that there aren't a lot of other tools out there that are applicable, we just decided to go ahead with ADP anyway. I would definitely recommend ADP to oth...
What needs improvement with ADP Workforce Now?
The complexity is the key challenge with a tool like ADP because it has all the bells and whistles and all the key features you can possibly think of. If it isn't there, there's always a third-part...
What are the differences between Oracle HCM Cloud and PeopleSoft?
Although both are solutions to manage HR, their differences make each one suitable for different companies. Oracle Cloud HCM is a platform for connecting all human resource processes in your organ...
What do you like most about PeopleSoft?
I use the reporting feature occasionally to check for potential improvements in timesheets. We have integrated it with Power BI.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Lawrence and Schiller, The Children's Center, The Kansas City Royals
BMI Healthcare, Lone Star College System, Jefferson County Public Schools, Griffith University, Los Rios Community College District, Tervita Corporation, INFRA S.A. de C.V., ICF Habitat, Central Washington University, Tech Mahindra Limited, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Stanford Childrens Health
Find out what your peers are saying about ADP Workforce Now vs. PeopleSoft and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
848,989 professionals have used our research since 2012.