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Accounting & Finance · head to head

ADP vs Things 3

ADP logo

ADP

Accounting & Finance

Always Designing for People

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Things 3 logo

Things 3

Productivity

The award-winning personal task manager

From
$9.99/one-time
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; Things 3 no team collaboration, task sharing, or task assignment features
  • They diverge on capability: ADP covers Payroll, Things 3 covers Today view.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ADP and Things 3 actually diverge.

Attributes where ADP and Things 3 differ
AttributeADPThings 3
Starting price$29/month$9.99/one-time
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidmacOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, visionOS
CategoryAccounting & FinanceProductivity
Founded19492004

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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
  • QuickBooks
  • Sage
  • Oracle

Only in Things 3

  • Today view
  • Projects and areas
  • Quick entry
  • Tags
  • Calendar integration
  • Apple Calendar
  • Siri
  • Shortcuts

Both cover

  • Ios support

What people use each for

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

ADP

  • Payroll processing and tax filingnot Things 3
  • HR administration and employee recordsnot Things 3
  • Time and attendance trackingnot Things 3
  • Benefits administrationnot Things 3
  • Talent management on the mid-market and enterprise productsnot Things 3

Things 3

  • 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

Things 3

  • No team collaboration, task sharing, or task assignment features
  • Apple ecosystem only, with no Windows, Android, or web version
  • No third-party app integrations beyond Apple's ecosystem
  • Cannot attach files or images to tasks, only text notes
  • No time blocking or calendar integration for scheduling tasks into specific time slots

Pricing, plan by plan

ADP

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

Things 3

$9.99/one-time
  • iPhone/Watch$9.99/one-time
  • iPad$19.99/one-time
  • Mac$49.99/one-time

Which should you pick?

Choose ADP if

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

Choose Things 3 if

  • You need today view.
  • You work on macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, visionOS.
  • You also want projects and areas.
Things 3 review

Questions people ask

Is ADP or Things 3 better?
Neither clearly leads. ADP starts at $29/month and Things 3 at $9.99/one-time, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ADP or Things 3?
ADP starts at $29/month and Things 3 at $9.99/one-time.
Does ADP or Things 3 run on more platforms?
ADP runs on Web, Ios, Android. Things 3 runs on macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, visionOS.
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 Things 3 is typically brought in for.
What can ADP do that Things 3 cannot?
ADP covers Payroll, Tax services, HR management, Time & attendance. Things 3 covers Today view, Projects and areas, Quick entry, Tags. Both handle Ios support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Things 3: Does Things 3 support team collaboration?

No. Things 3 is designed for individual use only with no task sharing, team workspaces, task assignment, or commenting features.

Source
Things 3: What platforms does Things 3 run on?

Things 3 is exclusive to Apple devices: macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and visionOS. There is no Windows, Android, or web version.

Source
Things 3: How much does Things 3 cost?

Things 3 uses a one-time purchase model: $9.99 for iPhone/Watch, $19.99 for iPad, and $49.99 for Mac. Total cost for all platforms is approximately $80 with no subscription required.

Source
Things 3: Does Things 3 sync across devices?

Yes. Things Cloud keeps your to-dos in sync across all your Apple devices automatically. There is no extra cost for cloud synchronization.

Source
Things 3: Can you attach files or images to tasks in Things 3?

No. Things 3 does not support attachments. You can only add notes (text) to tasks.

Source
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Related pages

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