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ADP vs Outlook Calendar

ADP logo

ADP

Software

Always Designing for People

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Outlook Calendar logo

Outlook Calendar

Software

Professional calendar management for Microsoft 365

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Outlook Calendar has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: ADP no pricing is published; every quote is custom and driven by employee count and which services are taken; Outlook Calendar offline support limited to only past 30 days of events, older events unavailable
  • They diverge on capability: ADP covers Payroll, Outlook Calendar covers Meeting scheduling.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ADP and Outlook Calendar actually diverge.

Attributes where ADP and Outlook Calendar differ
AttributeADPOutlook Calendar
Starting price$29/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android
Founded19491975

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 Outlook Calendar

  • Meeting scheduling
  • Shared calendars
  • Room booking
  • Availability sharing
  • Recurring events
  • Microsoft Teams
  • OneDrive
  • SharePoint

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 Outlook Calendar
  • HR administration and employee recordsnot Outlook Calendar
  • Time and attendance trackingnot Outlook Calendar
  • Benefits administrationnot Outlook Calendar
  • Talent management on the mid-market and enterprise productsnot Outlook Calendar

Outlook Calendar

  • Schedulingnot ADP
  • Appointment bookingnot ADP
  • Time trackingnot ADP
  • Resource managementnot ADP
  • Team coordinationnot 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

Outlook Calendar

  • Offline support limited to only past 30 days of events, older events unavailable
  • Shared calendars and group calendars not available offline
  • Cached Exchange Mode issues can limit available offline data
  • Occasional sync conflicts when coming back online

Pricing, plan by plan

ADP

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

Outlook Calendar

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Outlook.com email and calendar
    • 50MB attachment limit
    • 1GB cloud storage
  • Microsoft 365 Basic$19.99/year
    • Outlook with limited features
    • Cloud storage
  • Microsoft 365 Personal$99.99/year
    • Premium Outlook
    • Ad-free email
    • 100GB mailbox storage
  • Microsoft 365 Business Basic$6/month
    • Business-class email
    • 1TB cloud storage
    • Microsoft Teams

Which should you pick?

Choose ADP if

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

Choose Outlook Calendar if

  • You need meeting scheduling.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android.
  • You also want shared calendars.
Outlook Calendar review

Questions people ask

Is ADP or Outlook Calendar better?
Neither clearly leads. ADP starts at $29/month and Outlook Calendar at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ADP or Outlook Calendar?
Outlook Calendar has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29/month for ADP and Free for Outlook Calendar.
Does ADP or Outlook Calendar run on more platforms?
ADP runs on Web, Ios, Android. Outlook Calendar runs on Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android.
Can I use Outlook Calendar for free?
Yes. Outlook Calendar has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. ADP starts at $29/month.
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 Outlook Calendar is typically brought in for.
What can ADP do that Outlook Calendar cannot?
ADP covers Payroll, Tax services, HR management, Time & attendance. Outlook Calendar covers Meeting scheduling, Shared calendars, Room booking, Availability sharing. Both handle Web support, Ios support, Android support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Outlook Calendar: Is Outlook Calendar free?

Outlook.com with calendar is free via a Microsoft account. Outlook Calendar also comes with Microsoft 365 Personal ($99.99/year), Family ($129.99/year), or Business plans starting at $6/user/month.

Source
Outlook Calendar: Does Outlook Calendar work offline?

Outlook Calendar has limited offline support. New Outlook caches only the past 30 days of calendar items. Shared calendars and group calendars are not supported offline. Changes sync when you reconnect.

Source
Outlook Calendar: What platforms does Outlook Calendar support?

Outlook Calendar is available on Windows (desktop and web), macOS (desktop and web), iOS, and Android. Real-time synchronization works across all devices.

Source
Outlook Calendar: Does Outlook Calendar integrate with Slack?

Yes. Outlook Calendar integrates with Slack to sync your status and receive meeting notifications. You can RSVP to invites directly in Slack and join Microsoft Teams meetings from Slack reminders.

Source
Outlook Calendar: Can you share calendars and set delegate permissions?

Yes. Outlook Calendar supports calendar sharing with delegate permissions, color categories for organization, and the Scheduling Assistant to view attendee availability for meeting times.

Source
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Related pages

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