Is Hive or Paychex Flex better?

Neither clearly leads. Hive starts at On request and Paychex Flex at $39/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Hive or Paychex Flex?

Hive starts at On request and Paychex Flex at $39/month.

Does Hive or Paychex Flex run on more platforms?

Hive runs on Web, Ios, Android, Desktop. Paychex Flex runs on Web, Ios, Android.

What is Hive best used for?

Hive is most often used for project and task management with multiple project views, coordinating work, proofing and resourcing for teams. Of those, project and task management with multiple project views and coordinating work, proofing and resourcing for teams are not what Paychex Flex is typically brought in for.

What can Hive do that Paychex Flex cannot?

Hive covers Tasks, Gantt view, Kanban, Time tracking. Paychex Flex covers Payroll Processing, Tax Administration, HR Services, Benefits Administration. Both handle Web support, Ios support, Android support.

Software · head to head

Hive vs Paychex Flex

Hive

Software

Project management built for speed

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

Paychex Flex

Software

Payroll and HR solutions that grow with you

From: $39/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: Hive the free plan is capped at 200 MB of storage; Paychex Flex paychex publishes no rate card for Paychex Flex: the payroll page names the Select, Pro and Enterprise packages but gives no per employee fee, no base monthly fee and no setup fee
They diverge on capability: Hive covers Tasks, Paychex Flex covers Payroll Processing.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Hive and Paychex Flex actually diverge.

Attributes where Hive and Paychex Flex differ
Attribute	Hive	Paychex Flex
Starting price	On request	$39/month
Pricing model	freemium	quote
Platforms	Web, Ios, Android, Desktop	Web, Ios, Android
Founded	2015	1971

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 Hive

Tasks
Gantt view
Kanban
Time tracking
Forms
Slack
Zoom
Google Drive

Only in Paychex Flex

Payroll Processing
Tax Administration
HR Services
Benefits Administration
Time and Attendance
Retirement Services
QuickBooks
Xero

Both cover

Web support
Ios support
Android support

What people use each for

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

Hive

Project and task management with multiple project viewsnot Paychex Flex
Coordinating work, proofing and resourcing for teamsnot Paychex Flex

Paychex Flex

Running payroll and filing payroll taxes for small and mid sized US businessesnot Hive
Combining payroll with benefits administration and HR services from one vendornot Hive
Handling multi state payroll compliance and year end tax formsnot Hive

Where each one falls short

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

Hive

The free plan is capped at 200 MB of storage
The Starter plan at $5 per user per month is limited to 10 projects
Eight capabilities are sold as $5 per user add ons on the Teams plan, including CRM, timesheets, proofing, resourcing, advanced dashboards, external users and SSO
Buying SSO plus a few of those add ons therefore costs more than the $12 base seat itself
AI credits are metered monthly at 1,000, 3,000 and 5,000 by plan

Paychex Flex

Paychex publishes no rate card for Paychex Flex: the payroll page names the Select, Pro and Enterprise packages but gives no per employee fee, no base monthly fee and no setup fee
Pricing is obtained only by requesting a quote or calling sales
Product capability is split across three packages, so features are tied to a tier whose price is not disclosed

Pricing, plan by plan

Hive

On request

FreeFree
- Basic features
- 10 users
Teams$12/month
- Unlimited users
- Time tracking
- Automations

Paychex Flex

$39/month

Essentials$39/month
- Payroll Processing
- Tax Services
- Direct Deposit
Select$undefined/month
- All Essentials features
- HR Administration
- Onboarding

Which should you pick?

Choose Hive if

You need tasks.
You work on Web, Ios, Android, Desktop.
You also want gantt view.

Hive review

Choose Paychex Flex if

You need payroll processing.
You work on Web, Ios, Android.
You also want tax administration.

Paychex Flex review

Questions people ask

Is Hive or Paychex Flex better?: Neither clearly leads. Hive starts at On request and Paychex Flex at $39/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Hive or Paychex Flex?: Hive starts at On request and Paychex Flex at $39/month.
Does Hive or Paychex Flex run on more platforms?: Hive runs on Web, Ios, Android, Desktop. Paychex Flex runs on Web, Ios, Android.
What is Hive best used for?: Hive is most often used for project and task management with multiple project views, coordinating work, proofing and resourcing for teams. Of those, project and task management with multiple project views and coordinating work, proofing and resourcing for teams are not what Paychex Flex is typically brought in for.
What can Hive do that Paychex Flex cannot?: Hive covers Tasks, Gantt view, Kanban, Time tracking. Paychex Flex covers Payroll Processing, Tax Administration, HR Services, Benefits Administration. Both handle Web support, Ios support, Android support.

Hive vs Paychex Flex

Hive

Paychex Flex

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Hive

Only in Paychex Flex

Both cover

What people use each for

Hive

Paychex Flex

Where each one falls short

Hive

Paychex Flex

Pricing, plan by plan

Hive

Paychex Flex

Which should you pick?

Choose Hive if

Choose Paychex Flex if

Questions people ask

Related pages

More on Hive

More on Paychex Flex

Keep looking

Other head to heads