ADP vs QuickBooks Payroll: How to Compare a Quote With a List Price

Written & reviewed by Ram Singh, founder, Numerawise Solutions · Last reviewed September 30, 2026

ADP RUN does not publish prices; QuickBooks Payroll does. So the honest comparison is a worksheet, not a table of numbers: get ADP’s quote in writing, put it next to the QuickBooks price for your headcount, and add the two costs neither sticker shows, which are the fees ADP itemizes separately and the time spent getting payroll into your books. This page covers what each vendor says on its own pages, read on 30 September 2026.

What ADP RUN actually sells

ADP’s small-business page (1 to 49 employees) lists four packages: Essential, Enhanced (marked “Most Popular”), Complete Payroll & HR Plus and HR Pro Payroll & HR. No prices appear; the page sends you to a phone number or a form to “Get pricing.” ADP’s own payroll-cost article explains why: cost depends on payroll frequency, employee count, services needed, how often people are added or removed, and how many states you employ in.

What separates the tiers, per ADP’s package comparison: direct deposit, new-hire reporting and a general ledger interface are in every package; a wage garnishment payment service first appears in Enhanced; an HR HelpDesk with live support first appears in Complete; HR Pro adds applicant tracking, a learning management system, harassment training and legal assistance. Workers’ compensation is an add-on. ADP states you do not have to sign a contract and can terminate at any time.

What QuickBooks Payroll sells

Intuit publishes its payroll pricing on its own site: a monthly base plus a per-employee fee, with tiers that add features. Same-day direct deposit sits on the higher tiers, time tracking and HR features on the top plans, and Intuit advertises tax penalty protection of up to $25,000 (on the top tier, with conditions; read the terms before counting on it). Intuit’s introductory discount, currently 50 percent for three months, applies to the base fee, not the per-employee charge, and there is no annual contract. Because Intuit renames and reprices these plans often, read the plan names and figures on Intuit’s pricing page the day you decide.

Side by side on what does not change with the quote

The cost neither sticker shows

First, itemized fees. ADP says services that sometimes carry separate fees include direct deposit, automatic check signing, paycheck printing and delivery, tax filing and year-end processing. Ask which of those are inside the quote. Second, the books. With ADP you export a journal entry after each pay run and import it into QuickBooks; someone maps earnings, deductions and tax lines to accounts once, then checks each entry. That is roughly fifteen to thirty minutes per run for a clean setup, and much more when a mapping breaks. That time estimate is ours, not ADP’s, so measure your own.

The worksheet

1. QuickBooks yearly cost: (monthly base + per-employee fee × headcount) × 12, taken from Intuit’s pricing page, ignoring the introductory discount for a fair steady-state figure.
2. ADP yearly cost: the written quote annualized, plus every separately billed item from ADP’s list above that the quote leaves out.
3. Bookkeeping time: pay runs per year × minutes per journal entry ÷ 60 × your loaded hourly rate. Zero for QuickBooks native.
4. HR value: price what you would otherwise buy, such as an employment-law hotline, then credit the plan that includes it.
5. Add the lines for each vendor and compare over 12 and 36 months.

Which one wins, by situation

• QuickBooks books, simple payroll, one or two states: QuickBooks Payroll usually wins on cost and on zero re-keying.
• You want a live HR helpdesk or legal support bundled in: price ADP’s Complete or HR Pro against QuickBooks plus a separate HR resource.
• Payroll is already on ADP: stay, and make the journal entry import a checklist item in your monthly close.

Frequently asked questions

Does ADP publish its RUN pricing?

No. ADP's small-business payroll page lists four packages (Essential, Enhanced, Complete Payroll & HR Plus and HR Pro Payroll & HR) but shows no prices, directing you to get pricing by phone or form. ADP says cost depends on payroll frequency, employee count, services, changes in headcount and the number of states.

Does ADP work with QuickBooks?

Yes, through a general ledger interface included in every RUN package. ADP says it exports journal entries into QuickBooks, Xero and Wave without re-keying. It is an export you import, not payroll posted natively inside QuickBooks.

Is there a contract with ADP RUN or QuickBooks Payroll?

ADP states you do not have to sign a contract and can terminate services at any time. Intuit lists no annual contract for QuickBooks Payroll. Confirm both in writing, because terms and promotions change.

What extra fees should I ask ADP about?

ADP says services that sometimes incur separate fees include direct deposit, automatic check signing, paycheck printing and delivery, tax filing and year-end processing. Ask which are included in your quote, and get workers' compensation priced separately since it is an add-on.

If your payroll is the last piece of a bigger system move, our payroll services work inside QuickBooks Payroll, Gusto or ADP, and the QuickBooks Payroll overview explains the product in full. Prices and plan names change often, so check both vendors’ current pages before you sign.