Deel vs. ADP: A Global Payroll Services Comparison

With the future of payroll and HR increasingly demanding innovation and efficiency, it's essential to work with a provider that not only meets today's needs but is also prepared for tomorrow's challenges. 

In this article, we’ll compare Deel and ADP, highlighting the key differences in coverage, functionality, and support that can significantly impact your business. We'll look at each provider’s features, implementation speeds, and support systems to help you find the best modern payroll and HR solution for your global team.

What is Deel Global Payroll?

Deel is an all-in-one payroll and HR solution for global teams. It simplifies international workforce management by offering a single platform that combines everything from payroll and performance management to compliance and immigration.

Deel Global Payroll is a fully managed payroll solution that clients can use for their owned entities. It streamlines regional payrolls into one centralized platform, giving you holistic oversight of your entire organization. This includes:

• Payslip creation and delivery
• Salary and tax payments
• Employee benefits and deductions
• Local filing with authorities
• Customizable reporting
• Onboarding and offboarding
• In-house payroll experts
• Reliably fast, 24/7 support
• One point of contact (POC) for each country

By unifying all HR and payroll functions on one platform, you can eliminate the need for multiple disparate systems, leading to increased efficiency and reduced administrative overhead.

What are ADP’s global payroll services?

ADP has been a dominant name in the HR and payroll industry since 1949. Known for its experience and wide range of services, ADP has expanded its offerings to include HR and payroll solutions. Their global payroll solutions include ADP Celergo, ADP Globalview, ADP IHCM, and ADP Streamline. Each of these systems are separate payroll solutions that cater to different business sizes.

Key differences between ADP and Deel Global Payroll

Here’s a look at some of the key differences between each company’s global payroll features, functions, and benefits.

Global coverage

Deel Global Payroll offers coverage across 100 countries and is backed by in-house payroll managers and 200 legal specialists. Unlike many providers, Deel operates independently of third parties and uses in-house infrastructure to reduce errors and speed up support. 

By combining this infrastructure with our extensive in-house network, we can ensure top-notch compliance and risk management that enables businesses to hire and pay workers effortlessly across the globe. 

ADP works with third-party providers in some countries, which can disrupt the client experience. In this scenario, communication often becomes fragmented, leading to delays and misunderstandings. Each vendor may have different processes, too, which can cause inconsistencies and increase the risk of errors, like payroll inaccuracies and compliance issues.

This fragmented approach can also make it harder to get quick, reliable help when needed. With multiple providers involved, resolving issues often takes longer, and clients may face frustration navigating through various points of contact.

Transparent pricing

Hidden costs are a common hurdle for payroll teams, with 42% of payroll leaders encountering them during the payroll implementation phase. 

Deel’s transparent pricing model eliminates hidden fees and includes unmatched customization, customer support, self-service automation, integrations, API, and more, helping businesses predict their costs accurately. For example, Deel Global Payroll starts at $29 per employee per month, and Deel US Payroll starts at $19 per employee per month. 

In contrast, customers report that ADP has high implementation costs and numerous hidden fees, especially for customizations and additional services. These additional costs may make ADP a less economical choice for many businesses.

Process centralization

With Deel, you have one system for global payroll, US payroll, global hiring, HRIS, global mobility, performance management, and analytics. You can onboard and pay all worker types, including foreign and local contractors, direct employees, and employer of record (EOR) hires.

With Deel Global Payroll, you get a holistic view of all your payroll costs across every entity, enabling you to:

• Review, approve, and pay your global workforce salaries in just one system, and add bonuses or last-minute expenses in seconds
• Generate global gross-to-net reports to compare employer costs, bonuses, taxes, and more across all entities in one currency
• Create unified payroll reports to view all costs in your preferred currency, with optional variances
• Access customizable dashboards to create and analyze reports for your entire organization

ADP, however, separates US and global payroll on different systems, making it difficult to get a unified view. They also use partners to offer contractor management, EOR, and visa services, and don’t offer additional products and services such as localized benefits, equity, or workspace provisioning like Deel does.

This separation of services and tools can complicate global workforce management—especially when it comes to payroll—and increase your team’s administrative burden.

See also: All-in-One Payroll: Why 300+ HR and Finance Leaders Say It’s The New Standard

Client support

Deel offers fast, reliable, and centralized support from our in-house team. You get a dedicated point of contact that’s integrated with the rest of the business, and will receive the same level of service across countries. Deel also offers multi-channel support that includes:

• 24/7 in-app chat for you and your teams
• Email
• WhatsApp
• Phone
• Call back requests
• Video calls
• Slack (for enterprises)

See also: 5 Key Benefits of Having a Dedicated Customer Success Manager

While ADP’s support includes some of the same channels as Deel, customers have stated that it is inconsistent. Its support structure is also siloed away from the rest of the business, which may delay solutions for urgent payroll issues that can put your business at risk.

Integration capabilities

Deel offers free and flexible integrations with 110+ partners. These integrations support all business sizes and needs, making it easier for companies to connect Deel with their existing systems. You can integrate anything with Deel—including NetSuite, Quickbooks, Xero, and more.

Deel also has an API that connects to HRIS, finance, and ERP systems, allowing you to customize your workflows and processes to fit your exact needs.

ADP’s integrations are mostly for larger companies, only offered to those with more than 500 workers in a single country. They can cost up to $120,000 each and often take over a year to implement. This lengthy and expensive process can be a significant barrier for businesses looking to integrate their payroll system quickly and increases manual entry and duplicated processes.

The maintenance of these integrations is also under ADP control, with minimal flexibility and available resources to effect changes in integration for anything other than the largest enterprise clients.

Implementation speed

Deel offers a rapid implementation process that is typically faster than many competitors. This speed is due to streamlined onboarding, an integrated platform, and dedicated support teams that work closely with clients to ensure a smooth transition. The platform's payroll automation also reduces manual tasks, and 24/7 support addresses issues promptly, allowing businesses to scale quickly.

In contrast, ADP’s implementation process can take up to 12 months. This extended timeline results from their complex, siloed systems, significant customization requirements, and reliance on third-party providers. ADP’s testing and validation phases can also add to the delay.

Payment flexibility

Deel provides employers and their employees with various payment options. Employers can choose from 15 payment methods to fund their payrolls, such as ACH direct debit, debit or credit card, SEPA direct debit, BACs, PAD direct debit, Brex, bank transfer, Mercury, Wise, and Coinbase. 

Employees can split their salary into over five bank accounts for added flexibility. And if you hire independent contractors, they can choose from 8 withdrawal methods, such as bank transfer, Revolut, PayPal, Wise, Payoneer, Coinbase, or Instant Pay with a global debit card (Deel Card).

ADP offers several payment methods for customers, including its own bank cards to workers paid in US and several options to use Money Movement or Payment Dispersal Services. However, these services are billed at a significant additional cost and not available in all markets.

Next steps: Deel vs ADP—which should you choose?

While ADP offers a wide range of services and has a long-standing reputation, its higher costs, longer implementation times, and fragmented support structure can make it less ideal for businesses seeking agility and efficiency. 

Deel Global Payroll’s rapid implementation, transparent pricing, and owned global infrastructure make it a top contender for companies aiming to streamline their international payroll operations. To learn more about Deel Global Payroll, book a demo today and speak with an expert.