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Accounting & Finance · head to head

ADP vs Bench

ADP logo

ADP

Accounting & Finance

Always Designing for People

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Bench logo

Bench

Accounting & Finance

America's largest bookkeeping service for small businesses

From
$299/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: ADP no pricing is published; every quote is custom and driven by employee count and which services are taken; Bench recent bankruptcy and acquisition by Employer.com creates uncertainty about product roadmap and support continuity
  • They diverge on capability: ADP covers Payroll, Bench covers Dedicated bookkeeper.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ADP and Bench actually diverge.

Attributes where ADP and Bench differ
AttributeADPBench
Starting price$29/month$299/month
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Founded19492012

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web, Ios, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Accounting & Finance).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in ADP

  • Payroll
  • Tax services
  • HR management
  • Time & attendance
  • Benefits administration
  • QuickBooks
  • Sage
  • Oracle

Only in Bench

  • Dedicated bookkeeper
  • Monthly financial statements
  • Bank reconciliation
  • Tax preparation
  • Expense categorization
  • Stripe
  • PayPal
  • Square

Both cover

  • Web support
  • Ios support
  • Android support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

ADP

  • Payroll processing and tax filingnot Bench
  • HR administration and employee recordsnot Bench
  • Time and attendance trackingnot Bench
  • Benefits administrationnot Bench
  • Talent management on the mid-market and enterprise productsnot Bench

Bench

  • Bookkeeping outsourcingnot ADP
  • Tax preparationnot ADP
  • Financial reportingnot ADP

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

ADP

  • No pricing is published; every quote is custom and driven by employee count and which services are taken
  • Split into three separate products by company size, RUN for 1 to 49 employees, Workforce Now for 50 and above, and Lyric HCM for enterprise, so growing across a threshold means changing product rather than plan

Bench

  • Recent bankruptcy and acquisition by Employer.com creates uncertainty about product roadmap and support continuity
  • Higher starting cost at $299/month compared to self-service accounting software like Wave or QuickBooks Online
  • Requires manual connection of financial accounts and ongoing coordination with bookkeeping team, less automated than software-first solutions
  • Tax services limited to US income tax returns; no support for complex entity structures or multi-state taxation
  • History of burning through capital rapidly, raising concerns about long-term business sustainability

Pricing, plan by plan

ADP

$29/month
  • Essential$79/month
    • Payroll
    • Tax filing
    • Direct deposit
  • Enhanced$139/month
    • HR tools
    • Background checks
    • Job posting

Bench

$299/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Bench review.

Which should you pick?

Choose ADP if

  • You need payroll.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want tax services.
ADP review

Choose Bench if

  • You need dedicated bookkeeper.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want monthly financial statements.
Bench review

Questions people ask

Is ADP or Bench better?
Neither clearly leads. ADP starts at $29/month and Bench at $299/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ADP or Bench?
ADP starts at $29/month and Bench at $299/month.
Does ADP or Bench run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, Ios, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is ADP best used for?
ADP is most often used for payroll processing and tax filing, hr administration and employee records, time and attendance tracking, benefits administration. Of those, payroll processing and tax filing and hr administration and employee records are not what Bench is typically brought in for.
What can ADP do that Bench cannot?
ADP covers Payroll, Tax services, HR management, Time & attendance. Bench covers Dedicated bookkeeper, Monthly financial statements, Bank reconciliation, Tax preparation. Both handle Web support, Ios support, Android support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Bench: What happened to Bench Accounting?

Bench shut down abruptly on December 27, 2024, filing for bankruptcy in Canada with $65 million in debt. The company was acquired by Employer.com on December 30, 2024, and resumed operations in January 2025 under new ownership.

Source
Bench: What are Bench's current pricing plans?

Bench offers Bookkeeping at $299/month (billed annually) and Bookkeeping + Tax at $599/month (billed annually). Both include automated bookkeeping, real-time financial statements, and a dedicated team of bookkeepers.

Source
Bench: Does Bench include tax preparation services?

The Bookkeeping plan includes monthly bookkeeping and year-end tax-ready financial statements. The Bookkeeping + Tax plan adds one-on-one income tax consulting and annual income tax return filing.

Source
Bench: How does Bench's bookkeeping work?

Bench combines proprietary software with human bookkeepers. You connect your financial accounts to automate data entry, and Bench's team handles bookkeeping and provides year-end tax-ready statements. Customers can reach their dedicated team within 24 hours.

Source
Bench: Can I access real-time financial data with Bench?

Yes, Bench provides real-time reporting, allowing you to access or download updated income statements and balance sheets at any time.

Source
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Related pages

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