Paylocity vs Paycom
Paylocity and Paycom are American payroll-and-HR suites sold on quotes. Paylocity pairs payroll with HR, finance and IT tools and an employee app with a social feed, and reaches more than 100 countries through in-country partners. Paycom keeps everything in one database and has employees approve their own pay before each run, with its own payroll in five countries.
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Choose Paylocity ifyou employ between fifty and a few thousand people, mostly in the United States, and want payroll, benefits, time, recruiting and learning alongside an app employees willingly use, with partner-run payroll available in other countries.
Choose Paycom ifyou are an employer, often with hourly staff, who wants payroll, time, benefits and HR in one database and employees approving their own pay before it runs, in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom or Ireland.
Paylocity and Paycom side by side
| Paylocity | Paycom | |
|---|---|---|
| Our HR software rank | #14 of 20 | #16 of 20 |
| Established in | United States | United States |
| Pricing | Per employee per month, quoted | Quoted per organisation |
| List price, 30 September 2026 | Quote only | Quote only |
| Free tier | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Self-hostable | — | — |
| Built for | US companies of fifty to a few thousand employees wanting payroll included | US employers wanting payroll, time and HR in a single database |
| Not for | Companies with most of their staff outside the United States | Companies with payroll mostly outside its five native countries, or light HR needs |
Both are reviewed in full in our HR software ranking: Paylocity and Paycom.
Where they differ
Paylocity 2 · Paycom 1 · open 2- 01
Catching payroll mistakes
Paycom's Beti has employees review and approve their own pay in the mobile app before payday, and guides them to fix flagged errors first. Paylocity puts the check on the administrator's side: a readiness dashboard lists open tasks before processing day and more than forty audits flag oddities such as pay spikes. Both catch errors; only Paycom makes the employee the checker.
Edge: Paycom
- 02
Getting staff to open the app
Paylocity's employee app includes a social feed and is described as one that staff really use, and its platform lists peer recognition, surveys and video messages alongside pay and time off. Paycom's employee involvement is centred on the pay review. If communication and engagement matter as much as the payroll run, Paylocity's app is the more distinctive asset.
Edge: Paylocity
- 03
What the quote is built from
Neither publishes a price. Paylocity's pricing page leads to a quote request, and its contracts run for years. Paycom says its price depends on workforce size and the tools selected, sold in Core and Complete tiers across five module areas, with a one-time implementation fee and a dedicated specialist at no extra charge. Neither can be called cheaper without two quotes.
Depends on the buyer
- 04
Paying people outside the United States
Paylocity offers payroll in more than 100 countries, delivered through local partner providers linked by its own technology, with reporting by country or across all of them. Paycom runs payroll itself in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom and Ireland as well as the United States, and works with third-party processors elsewhere. Breadth favours Paylocity; in-house processing favours Paycom.
Depends on the buyer
- 05
What else sits in the platform
Paylocity has grown beyond HR: expense management, corporate cards, accounts payable automation, procurement and headcount planning sit under finance, with access and device management under IT. Paycom's five module areas are payroll, talent acquisition, time and labour, talent management and HR management. For a buyer wanting spend and IT administration tied to the employee record, Paylocity covers more ground.
Edge: Paylocity
When neither fits
A company headquartered outside North America, with only a handful of American staff, is not the buyer either product is designed around. Personio runs or connects payroll in specific European markets, while HiBob keeps the employee record and hands payroll to local providers, which suits staff spread over several countries.
Paylocity or Paycom: questions
4 answersDo Paylocity and Paycom handle payroll outside the United States?
Yes, in different ways. Paylocity offers payroll in more than 100 countries through in-country partner providers connected to its platform. Paycom processes payroll itself in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom and Ireland, and uses third-party processors in other countries.
Is Paylocity or Paycom cheaper?
Neither publishes a price, so it cannot be read off a page. Paycom states that its price depends on workforce size and the tools chosen, plus a one-time implementation fee.
Paylocity quotes on request. The comparison that counts is two quotes for the same modules and headcount.
What is the main difference between Paylocity and Paycom?
Paycom is organised around a single database and Beti, where employees approve their own pay before it runs.
Paylocity is a payroll and HR suite with benefits, time, recruiting, learning and a social employee app, plus finance and IT modules such as expenses and device management.
Which countries does Paycom's Beti payroll cover?
Paycom lists Beti as available in the United States, Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland. In other countries its Global HCM product manages the workforce record while approved third-party processors run the payroll, so the employee pay approval step applies only in those five.
Sources
Checked 30 September 2026- Paylocity payroll page: readiness dashboard, 40+ audits and administrator-side review before processing.
- Paylocity global payroll page: payroll in 100+ countries through in-country partner providers.
- Paylocity pricing page: no published price; finance and IT modules and employee experience features.
- Paycom Beti page: employees approve their own pay; Beti available in five countries.
- Paycom Global HCM site: native payroll in Canada, Ireland, Mexico and the UK; third-party processors elsewhere.
- Paycom pricing page: quote-based pricing, Core and Complete tiers, one-time implementation fee.