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Payroll · head to head

ADP Workforce Now vs Openwage

ADP Workforce Now logo

ADP Workforce Now

Payroll

All-in-one HR, payroll, talent, and benefits

From
$23/employee per month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Openwage logo

Openwage

Payroll

UK earned wage access charging a transparent 1 percent transfer fee, free for employers

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: ADP Workforce Now pricing not publicly available, making budget comparison difficult; Openwage it is UK-only, tied to UK payroll cycles and regulation, so it is not usable for international workforces.
  • They diverge on capability: ADP Workforce Now covers Payroll Processing, Openwage covers On-demand pay.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ADP Workforce Now and Openwage actually diverge.

Attributes where ADP Workforce Now and Openwage differ
AttributeADP Workforce NowOpenwage
Starting price$23/employee per monthOn request
Pricing modelUnknownPer-transfer fee, paid by the employee
PlatformsWeb, MobileWeb, iOS, Android
Founded1949Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Payroll).

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 Workforce Now

  • Payroll Processing
  • Tax Administration
  • HR Management
  • Benefits Administration
  • Time and Attendance
  • Talent Management
  • QuickBooks
  • Xero

Only in Openwage

  • On-demand pay
  • Transparent per-transfer fee
  • Payroll and T&A integration
  • No credit impact
  • Automatic payday reconciliation
  • Employer-free deployment

What people use each for

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

ADP Workforce Now

  • Processing payroll and tax compliance for 1 in 6 U.S. workersnot Openwage
  • Managing time tracking and labor cost forecasting across locationsnot Openwage
  • Coordinating benefits administration and retirement plan compliancenot Openwage
  • Running distributed hiring workflows for enterprises with global teamsnot Openwage

Openwage

  • A UK employer with shift or hourly staff wanting an on-demand pay benefit at no cost to the businessnot ADP Workforce Now
  • An employee wanting to know the exact cost of an advance before requesting one, rather than an opaque feenot ADP Workforce Now
  • A company already running standard UK payroll and time and attendance systems wanting straightforward integrationnot ADP Workforce Now
  • An HR team comparing earned wage access providers on published unit economics rather than sales quotesnot ADP Workforce Now

Where each one falls short

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

ADP Workforce Now

  • Pricing not publicly available, making budget comparison difficult
  • Additional modules increase per-employee cost significantly
  • Requires minimum 50 employees, not suitable for small businesses
  • Setup fees of $2,000 or more for additional modules

Openwage

  • It is UK-only, tied to UK payroll cycles and regulation, so it is not usable for international workforces.
  • Even a published, low fee still means employees effectively pay to access their own earned money, and frequent use compounds that cost over a year.
  • The 50% cap on gross (not net) earned pay can overstate what an employee can actually draw once tax and deductions are accounted for, creating confusion at the point of request.
  • As with all earned wage access, dependency on the product is a symptom of insufficient pay cadence or amount that the advance itself does not fix, and can mask a deeper compensation problem an employer should address directly.
  • Accuracy is entirely dependent on the employer's payroll and time and attendance data being current, so errors upstream produce incorrect available-balance figures for employees.

Pricing, plan by plan

ADP Workforce Now

$23/employee per month

No published plan breakdown. See the ADP Workforce Now review.

Openwage

On request
  • Openwage$undefined/month
    • Free for employers to offer
    • 1% fee per transfer, minimum £1, paid by the employee
    • No interest and no credit check

Which should you pick?

Choose ADP Workforce Now if

  • You need payroll processing.
  • You work on Web, Mobile.
  • You also want tax administration.
ADP Workforce Now review

Choose Openwage if

  • You need on-demand pay.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want transparent per-transfer fee.
Openwage review

Questions people ask

Is ADP Workforce Now or Openwage better?
Neither clearly leads. ADP Workforce Now starts at $23/employee per month and Openwage at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ADP Workforce Now or Openwage?
ADP Workforce Now starts at $23/employee per month and Openwage at On request.
Does ADP Workforce Now or Openwage run on more platforms?
ADP Workforce Now runs on Web, Mobile. Openwage runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is ADP Workforce Now best used for?
ADP Workforce Now is most often used for processing payroll and tax compliance for 1 in 6 u.s. workers, managing time tracking and labor cost forecasting across locations, coordinating benefits administration and retirement plan compliance, running distributed hiring workflows for enterprises with global teams. Of those, processing payroll and tax compliance for 1 in 6 u.s. workers and managing time tracking and labor cost forecasting across locations are not what Openwage is typically brought in for.
What can ADP Workforce Now do that Openwage cannot?
ADP Workforce Now covers Payroll Processing, Tax Administration, HR Management, Benefits Administration. Openwage covers On-demand pay, Transparent per-transfer fee, Payroll and T&A integration, No credit impact.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

ADP Workforce Now: How much does ADP Workforce Now cost?

ADP Workforce Now pricing starts around $23 to $30 per employee per month as base cost. Additional modules like recruiting cost extra, typically $3 per employee per month plus $2,000 setup fee.

Source
Openwage: Who pays the fee?

The employee, at 1% of the amount transferred with a minimum of £1; the employer benefit itself is free.

ADP Workforce Now: What payroll features does ADP Workforce Now include?

ADP Workforce Now includes payroll processing, benefits administration, time and attendance tracking, compliance management, and AI-powered anomaly detection that flags potential payroll errors before processing.

Source
Openwage: Is it a loan?

No, Openwage states it is not a loan or credit product; there is no interest and no credit score impact.

ADP Workforce Now: Does ADP Workforce Now integrate with other systems?

Yes, ADP Workforce Now integrates with Workday through Flexspring connectors for near-real-time data sharing. Employee benefits, new hire data, and payroll information sync automatically between systems.

Source
Openwage: How much can an employee access?

Up to 50% of gross wages already earned in the current pay period.

ADP Workforce Now: Who is ADP Workforce Now suitable for?

ADP Workforce Now is built for organizations with 50 or more employees seeking comprehensive payroll and HR management with enterprise-grade features.

Source
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