HR software runs the administrative side of employing people: hiring, onboarding, payroll, time off, performance, and records. This guide compares five platforms on the same headings — but note that they do not all do the same job. One of the five does not run payroll at all. Read each summary carefully.
What HR software does
The shared core is an employee record: who works here, in what role, at what pay, with what time off. Around it, platforms add payroll and tax filing, benefits, recruiting, time tracking, performance reviews, goals, engagement surveys, and learning. Which of those a platform actually covers varies a lot — payroll depth, global employment, and performance tooling are the three biggest differences in this guide.
How to choose
- Payroll first or not: decide whether you need payroll processing and tax filing, or only records plus performance and learning. Leapsome, in this guide, does not process payroll.
- Published pricing: some vendors publish prices and some sell only by quote. Where pricing is not published, the product page says so plainly instead of guessing.
- Team size and countries: check whether pricing and features are built for your headcount and for the countries you employ people in — global employment products are priced very differently from domestic payroll.
- Required foundations: some platforms require a core platform or foundation before any module can be added, so a single module’s price is not the total.
- Demo and trial: most products here are demo-led with no free trial, so plan the demo around your own payroll or review process.
The five products in this guide
| Product | Starting price | Free plan or trial | Best for |
| Rippling | not published | No free trial stated; demo offered | companies that want HR, payroll, benefits, and IT tasks to draw on the same employee data |
| Deel | $5 per employee, per month (billing basis Not stated) | Free demo offered; no free trial length stated | companies with distributed or remote teams that hire across borders |
| Paycor | not published | Free demo offered; no free trial stated | small and mid-sized employers that want payroll and HR in a single system |
| Paylocity | not published | Free demo offered; no free trial stated | mid-sized employers that want payroll, HR, time, and talent work in one platform |
| Leapsome | $7 per user per month (Foundation, required) | 14-day free trial; demo offered | mid-sized teams and growing companies that want a structured approach to performance reviews |
Rippling Software
A workforce platform built around one employee record, with payroll, benefits, time tracking, recruiting, performance, learning, and IT management as modules. It requires its core platform, is sold by quote, and offers a demo but no free trial for HR or payroll.
Deel Software
A global employment platform for hiring employees and contractors across borders, with employer-of-record, US PEO, contractor management, and global payroll. Its published prices cover the global products; domestic-only teams should weigh whether they need that machinery.
Paycor Software
A payroll and HR platform for US businesses, with published base-plus-per-employee pricing for businesses under 50 employees and custom quotes above that. It offers no free trial; the route in is a sales conversation.
Paylocity Software
A US payroll and HR platform sold by quote, with payroll, tax services, on-demand pay, benefits, time and labour, and talent tools. It offers demos but publishes no prices or plan names.
Leapsome Software
A performance, engagement, and learning platform with an HRIS foundation — not a payroll product. It covers records, reviews, goals, surveys, learning, compensation, and recruiting, with payroll-prep exports only. It is the only product here with a stated 14-day free trial.
Frequently asked questions
What is HR software?
Software that manages employee records and HR processes — hiring, onboarding, payroll, time off, performance, and compliance — in one system.
Do all five products run payroll?
No. Rippling, Deel, Paycor, and Paylocity cover payroll in different ways, but Leapsome does not process payroll — it exports payroll-prep data only.
Why do some products not publish prices?
Some vendors price by headcount, modules, and countries, and sell only by quote. Where that is the case, the product page says so and shows the demo route instead of an estimated price.
Can I try HR software free?
Usually not. Most products in this guide are demo-led. Leapsome states a 14-day free trial; the others do not state a free trial on their own pages.
Last checked: November 3, 2026. Prices and features change — confirm the current details on the vendor’s own website before buying.