Softwr

Accounting & Finance · head to head

ADP vs Expensify

ADP logo

ADP

Accounting & Finance

Always Designing for People

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Expensify logo

Expensify

All industries

Expense management for receipts, bills & more

From
$5/month
Rated
-

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; Expensify minimal offline expense entry capabilities hamper use in areas with unstable internet
  • They diverge on capability: ADP covers Payroll, Expensify covers SmartScan receipts.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ADP and Expensify actually diverge.

Attributes where ADP and Expensify differ
AttributeADPExpensify
Starting price$29/month$5/month
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
CategoryAccounting & FinanceAll industries
Founded19492008

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

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
  • Oracle
  • SOC 1/2
  • ISO 27001

Only in Expensify

  • SmartScan receipts
  • Expense reports
  • Corporate cards
  • Reimbursements
  • Travel booking
  • Mileage tracking
  • Multi-currency
  • Real-time syncing

Both cover

  • QuickBooks
  • Sage

What people use each for

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

ADP

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

Expensify

  • Expense reportingnot ADP
  • Receipt managementnot ADP
  • Travel expensesnot ADP
  • Corporate card managementnot ADP
  • Reimbursementsnot 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

Expensify

  • Minimal offline expense entry capabilities hamper use in areas with unstable internet
  • OCR receipt data extraction requires manual review and correction for accuracy
  • Per-user pricing model increases costs for larger organizations

Pricing, plan by plan

ADP

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

Expensify

$5/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Expensify review.

Which should you pick?

Choose ADP if

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

Choose Expensify if

  • You need smartscan receipts.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want expense reports.

Questions people ask

Is ADP or Expensify better?
Neither clearly leads. ADP starts at $29/month and Expensify at $5/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ADP or Expensify?
ADP starts at $29/month and Expensify at $5/month.
Does ADP or Expensify run on more platforms?
ADP runs on Web, Ios, Android. Expensify runs on Web, iOS, Android.
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 Expensify is typically brought in for.
What can ADP do that Expensify cannot?
ADP covers Payroll, Tax services, HR management, Time & attendance. Expensify covers SmartScan receipts, Expense reports, Corporate cards, Reimbursements. Both handle QuickBooks, Sage.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Expensify: How does Expensify capture receipts?

Expensify uses SmartScan technology with OCR to automatically extract data from receipt images, reducing manual data entry. Users can photograph receipts with their phone to quickly create expense entries.

Source
Expensify: What reimbursement methods does Expensify support?

Expensify supports ACH reimbursement via direct deposit after setting up a direct deposit account. Next-day reimbursement is available, or standard processing takes 3-5 business days.

Source
Expensify: How does Expensify offline mode work?

Expensify has limited offline capabilities. Users can capture receipts offline, but data syncs when internet connectivity is restored. Full functionality requires online access.

Source

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