Paylocity vs Paycor

Paylocity6.8/10

Paycor5.4/10

Scored in HCM Software

The short answer

Both are quote-only HCM suites for small, mid-market and enterprise employers. Paylocity adds global payroll in 100+ countries and finance and IT modules such as corporate cards, AP automation and access management.

By LeadChange Research TeamUpdated Nov 2, 2026Based on 23 sources, most recently checked Nov 12, 2026

Paylocity

Best for: US employers wanting payroll, HR, time, benefits and finance from one vendor

Choose Paylocity if

You pay employees outside the US: Paylocity supports global payroll in 100+ countries.
You want expense management, corporate cards and AP automation from your HCM vendor.
You connect many apps: Paylocity's marketplace lists 435 partner integrations.
You want ISO 27001 certification on top of a SOC 2 Type 2 report.

Paylocity pricing Paylocity competitors

Paycor

Best for: US employers from small teams to large enterprises that want payroll and HR in one system

Choose Paycor if

You want named plans from Basic payroll to Complete with recruiting and talent tools.
You use Microsoft, Google, OneLogin or Okta for sign-in.
You already work with Paychex: Paycor is part of the same group.
You want an HR assistant in the employee mobile app.

Paycor pricing Paycor competitors

LeadChange Score: editorial assessment based on public information.

Scorecard

Paylocity wins 2Paycor wins 02 ties

Paylocity vs Paycor by dimension
Dimension	Paylocity	Paycor
PricingNeither publishes prices. Paylocity states a nonrefundable implementation fee and bills W-2 preparation and time clocks separately; Paycor quotes by plan and company size. Charged: nonrefundable implementation fees for professional services to set up the client and load data (amount not published)1	Quote only	Quote only
CapabilitiesBoth cover payroll, time, HR, benefits and talent. Paylocity adds global payroll, finance and IT modules and 30+ payroll audits with alerts; Paycor adds expense management and analytics. Payroll, Global Payroll, Human Resources, Time & Labor, Talent Management, Benefits, Employee Experience, Expense Management, Corporate Cards, AP Automation, Guided Procurement, Headcount Planning, Asset Management, Access Management & Identity2	10 of 12 core capabilities	8 of 12 core capabilities
SecurityBoth publish a SOC 2 Type 2 report. Paylocity also states ISO 27001 certification; Paycor documents SSO with four identity providers. Yes3	SOC 2, ISO 27001	SOC 2, GDPR
Fit and supportBoth serve small, mid-market and enterprise employers. Paylocity supports administrators by phone and email on weekdays; Paycor lists industries from healthcare to restaurants. Small businesses, mid-market companies, enterprises2	Small businesses, mid-market companies, enterprises	Small businesses, mid-market companies, enterprises

Key differences

Where Paylocity and Paycor differ (6)
Attribute	Paylocity	Paycor
Pricing model	Base fee + per employee1	Quote only4
Single sign-on	SAML (SP- and IdP-initiated)5	Microsoft, Google, OneLogin, Okta6
Native integrations	435 marketplace listings (our count, Oct 9, 2026)7	100+4
Founded	19978	19909
Headquarters	Schaumburg, Illinois, US1	Cincinnati, Ohio10
Ownership	Publicly traded1	Subsidiary11

Show 8 attributes where they are the same

Where they are the same (8)
Attribute	Paylocity	Paycor
Price transparency	Quote only12	Quote only4
Best for	Small businesses, mid-market companies, enterprises2	Small businesses, mid-market companies, enterprises4
Deployment	Cloud1	Cloud6
Mobile apps	iOS, Android, Apple Watch13	14
API	15	6
Webhooks	16	17
SOC 2 Type II	3	6
Automatic tax filing	18	19

Analysis by dimension

Pricing. Neither publishes prices. Paylocity states a nonrefundable implementation fee and bills W-2 preparation and time clocks separately; Paycor quotes by plan and company size.

Capabilities. Both cover payroll, time, HR, benefits and talent. Paylocity adds global payroll, finance and IT modules and 30+ payroll audits with alerts; Paycor adds expense management and analytics.

Integrations. Paylocity counts 435 partner listings and documents webhooks for hires, changes and processed payrolls. Paycor connects with hundreds of apps and partners and sends signed event notifications.

Security. Both publish a SOC 2 Type 2 report. Paylocity also states ISO 27001 certification; Paycor documents SSO with four identity providers.

Fit and support. Both serve small, mid-market and enterprise employers. Paylocity supports administrators by phone and email on weekdays; Paycor lists industries from healthcare to restaurants.

Neither one?

ADP Workforce Now

ADP Workforce Now has the highest LeadChange Score in HCM Software after excluding these two (6.5/10).

ADP Workforce Now review

More Paylocity comparisons

More Paycor comparisons

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Paylocity and Paycor?

Paylocity adds global payroll in 100+ countries and finance and IT modules; Paycor is part of Paychex and sells named plans by company size. Both quote their prices.

What are the downsides of Paylocity?

Paylocity publishes no prices, charges setup and year-end filing fees on top of the subscription, offers administrator support on weekdays only, and keeps some APIs for signed technology partners.

Who is Paylocity's biggest competitor?

Among the HCM suites we review, Paylocity shares its category with Paycom, Paycor, ADP Workforce Now, Dayforce and isolved. Against Paycor, the main differences are global payroll and finance modules.

Does Paylocity guarantee its payroll tax filings?

Neither publishes guarantee terms on the pages we checked. Paylocity files federal, state and local taxes as an IRS Registered Reporting Agent in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam; its tax services page no longer states a guarantee for its own errors. Ask both vendors for the error terms in writing.

Which has more integrations, Paylocity or Paycor?

Paylocity’s integration marketplace shows 435 listings (we counted them on Oct 9, 2026); Paycor lists 100+ integrations. Both connect to Greenhouse, Indeed, Okta, and Sage Intacct.

Is Paylocity or Paycor more secure?

Both Paylocity and Paycor state SOC 2 Type II. Paylocity states ISO 27001 (unverified for Paycor). Paycor states GDPR (unverified for Paylocity).

How this page was made

What it is built from
34 verified facts, each checked against the vendor's own pages or another primary source, most recently on Nov 12, 2026.
Method
Scored and compared with the LeadChange methodology, version 1.5. Read the methodology
Independent review
Not reviewed yet by our independent reviewer. How we review
Hands-on testing
We have not tested either product hands-on: this page uses public information only.
Who made it
The LeadChange Research Team, following a written research process. No named expert has reviewed this page. About us
Independence and errors
Who pays us never changes a score or a rank. If something here is wrong, tell us and we correct it publicly. Request a correction

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Sources

The 23 pages this page's facts come from. The date beside each is our last check of the facts taken from it (the oldest, when they differ). The numbers beside the figures above link here.

Quotes from the sources

U.S. SEC (Paylocity Form 10-K) Paylocity annual report, fiscal 2026 (SEC filing)“We charge implementation fees for professional services provided to implement our software solutions.” “Recurring fees for each client generally include a base fee in addition to a fee based on the number of client employees and the number of products a client uses.”
Paylocity paylocity.com“Payroll Global Payroll Human Resources Time & Labor Talent Benefits Employee Experience Talent Management” “Small Business 1-99 employees Learn more Midsize Business 100-499 employees Learn more Enterprise 500+ employees”
Paylocity paylocity.com/company/protecting-our-clients“We engage reputable audit firms who perform annual independent attestations for SOC 1 and SOC 2 Type II, which cover controls related to financial reporting, security, confidentiality, and availability.” “We are ISO 27001:2022 certified.”
Paycor paycor.com/plans-pricing“Answer a few questions to get a custom price quote if you’re a small business or view our mid-market product plans.” “Visit our marketplace featuring hundreds of pre-built connectors to best-in-class HCM vendor partners.”
Microsoft learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/identity/saas-apps/paylocity-tutorial“Paylocity supports SP and IDP initiated SSO”
Paycor paycor.com/compliance-solutions/security“Paycor can easily support your SSO provider. Microsoft SSO clients are automatically signed in on their corporate devices connected to your network. For Google, OneLogin, and Okta clients, along with clients of other providers, Paycor identifies the user’s origin by application, subdomain, or IP address” “Multi-tenant architecture, Cloud-native features, Microservices, and Open APIs”
Paylocity paylocity.com/products/capabilities/integrations“Yes, Paylocity offers hundreds of integrations across HR, payroll, benefits, accounting, time tracking, and other systems.”
Paylocity paylocity.com/company/about-us“Since 1997, we’ve been partnering with organizations to create workplaces where employees thrive, and businesses excel.”
Paycor paycor.com/company“Since our founding in 1990, we’ve always wanted to be a company animated by the Guiding Principles “Do the Right Thing” and “Take Care of Each Other.”
Paycor paycor.com/company/news-press/paycor-receives-soc-2-type-2-attestation“CINCINNATI, OH – January 28, 2021 – Human Capital Management (HCM) company Paycor announces today”
Paychex, Inc. (Form 8-K exhibit, April 14, 2025) sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/723531/000095010325004790/dp227639_ex9901.htm“today announced the successful completion of its acquisition of Paycor HCM, Inc.”
Paylocity paylocity.com/pricing“Want to Learn More About Paylocity's Pricing? Contact us and explore our flexible pricing plans that fit your needs. Request Pricing”
Paylocity paylocity.com/products/capabilities/mobile“the Paylocity Mobile App connects you to our solutions wherever your job takes you … Conveniently clock in and out with a tap on your Apple Watch and access your most-used features, like timesheets, and schedules from anywhere.”
Paycor paycor.com“EMPLOYEE MOBILE APP”
Paylocity developer.paylocity.com/integrations/docs/getting-started“Paylocity offers access to APIs that allow customers and partners to access desired data quickly and securely for building integrations.”
Paylocity developer.paylocity.com/integrations/docs/impl-best-practices“Utilize Employee APIs and Webhooks to Maintain Synced Database to maintain a near real-time synced employee database.”
Paycor Developers Portal developers.paycor.com/guides“To receive event notifications, you must provide the Event Notification URL to where you want us to send events on the Event Subscription tab.”
Paylocity paylocity.com/who-we-serve/multi-state-payroll“Automated federal, state, and local tax filings, ensuring accuracy and reducing administrative burden.”
Paycor paycor.com/plans-pricing/small-business“Payroll and Tax Service Federal & state tax filing Direct deposit Check stuffing Employee self-service New hire filing Wage Garnishments”
Paylocity paylocity.com/products/capabilities/integrations/marketplace/greenhouse
Paycor marketplace.paycor.com/en-US/listing
Paylocity paylocity.com/products/capabilities/integrations/marketplace/indeed
Paylocity paylocity.com/products/capabilities/integrations/marketplace/okta