Paylocity vs Paycom in 2026A dollar apart on paper, thousands apart on the invoice
Both refuse to publish a rate. Both file with the SEC. Divide revenue by employees and the two land within $1.21 of each other per head. Then look at how each bill is assembled and the reason buyers report wildly different numbers becomes obvious.
Search this matchup and the first organic result is a Reddit thread. Under it sit two vendor pages, each explaining why the other one is worse, and a directory listing with star ratings from people who never saw a price. That is what happens when nobody publishes a rate. Buyers trade anecdotes, the anecdotes conflict, and everyone walks away more confused than they started.
The way out is that both companies are public. Paylocity's fiscal 2026 Form 10-K discloses $1,651,362,000 of recurring and other revenue across approximately 44,400 clients whose average headcount it describes as over 150. Paycom's full year 2025 results report $2,051.7 million of total revenue with 7.4 million employee records stored and about 39,200 clients on a client-code basis. Three numbers each, and the rate falls out.
Short version: Paylocity implies $20.66 per employee per month and Paycom implies $21.87. Those two figures are close enough that price should not be the deciding factor at 200 people. Above 500 the gap opens, and not because Paycom raised its rate. It opens because Paycom sells a wider default bundle while Paylocity starts narrow and attaches modules over time. Same destination, different route, different negotiation.
This guide runs both derivations, explains why the two fee structures behave differently as you grow, models annual spend at five headcounts, and covers the negotiation timing that follows from their mismatched fiscal calendars. The standalone breakdowns of Paylocity pricing and Paycom pricing go deeper on each vendor alone, and ADP vs Paycom applies the same method to the incumbent matchup.
The derivation
Where $20.66 and $21.87 come from
Paylocity is the easier of the two. Its 10-K gives recurring and other revenue of $1,651,362,000 and approximately 44,400 clients. That is $37,193 per client per year, or $3,099 a month. Spread across 150 employees you get $20.66 per employee per month, blended across every account the company has.
Two caveats push that number down rather than up. The filing says clients "on average had over 150 employees" without giving the real figure, so any number above 150 lowers the rate. And the 44,400 client count excludes accounts picked up through acquisition while the revenue includes them. Treat $20.66 as a ceiling on the blended rate.
Paycom needs one adjustment first. Total 2025 revenue was $2,051.7 million, but part of that is interest earned on client payroll funds rather than software fees. Strip out roughly $110 million of float income and you are left with about $1,941.7 million in actual fees. Divide by 7.4 million employee records and by twelve and you land at $21.87.
The catch on the Paycom side runs the opposite direction. Employee records stored is not the same as employees billed, because the count includes terminated staff whose records clients retain for compliance. Shrink that denominator by 15% and the implied rate goes to $25.73. By 25% and it reaches $29.16. So $20.66 is a ceiling and $21.87 is a floor, which means the true gap between them is wider than $1.21 and it favors Paylocity.
Two rate cards, reconstructed from SEC filings
Both companies refuse to quote until they have your headcount. Both also file annual reports, and those reports contain revenue, client counts, and a headcount denominator.
Paylocity (PCTY)
Fiscal year ended June 30, 2026
Paycom (PAYC)
Calendar year ended December 31, 2025
A dollar and change apart, and both numbers point the wrong way for a buyer. The Paylocity figure is a ceiling because average client size is disclosed as "over 150" rather than an exact count. The Paycom figure is a floor because stored records include terminated employees who are no longer billed.
Fee structure
One bill has three levers, the other has one
Paylocity states in its own filings that recurring fees generally include a base fee, plus a fee based on the number of client employees, plus a fee based on how many products the client uses. Three separate charges. It also says clients buy 50% or more of the suite on average, which tells you the third lever has plenty of room left in it.
Paycom quotes closer to a single blended per-employee rate against a tier position. Each product area has Core, Enhanced, and Complete, and where you land determines what you pay. Beti, its employee-guided payroll, sits in the Complete tier of the payroll area rather than in Core, so it is a priced upgrade rather than something every client gets. Ask for the incremental rate in writing on the order form.
The behavioral difference matters more than the accounting one. At Paylocity, a discount on the per-employee rate can be recovered through the base fee and the module rates, so a buyer who negotiates one lever has negotiated a third of the bill. At Paycom there is one number, which is cleaner but also means every dollar of movement is visible to the person defending it.
My honest read after watching both quote processes: Paylocity gets you in cheaper and grows the invoice through attach, and Paycom charges more on day one for scope you may not need yet. Over a five-year horizon at stable headcount they converge. Over five years with headcount growth and module expansion, Paylocity usually stays ahead by 10% to 20%, and the reason is the pricing model rather than the product.
The bills are built differently
This is the part that decides which one is cheaper for you, and it has almost nothing to do with the headline per-employee number.
Paylocity: three levers
Base fee
A fixed monthly platform charge that does not shrink with headcount.
Per-employee fee
Scales with the number of employees on the system.
Per-product fee
Each module carries its own rate. Clients buy half the suite on average.
Cheap to start, expensive to finish. The base fee punishes small headcount and the per-product fee reappears at every renewal.
Paycom: one lever, bundled
Per-employee rate
One blended rate across the modules in scope on the day of the quote.
Tier position
Core, Enhanced, or Complete inside each product area, priced as a bundle.
Implementation
A one-time fee Paycom confirms is included in every quote.
Higher entry number, flatter curve. You pay for scope you may not use, but the attach conversation at renewal is smaller because you already bought most of it.
Practical consequence. A rep who cuts the per-employee rate at Paylocity can hold the base fee and the module rates and still hit quota. At Paycom there is one number to move, which sounds simpler until you realize the same is true for the person defending it.
Cost modeling
What each one costs at five real headcounts
Blended averages hide enormous spread, so here is the same math run at five sizes. These brackets are my estimates. They are anchored to the derived rates above, then shaped by the base fee that loads cost onto smaller Paylocity accounts and the wide tier spread that widens Paycom's range at every size.
The 40-employee row is the clearest fork in the road. Paylocity will sell to you at that size and the effective rate will be somewhere between $32 and $44 per employee per month, because a fixed base fee divided by 40 people is punishing. Paycom will usually route you elsewhere. If you are under 50 and someone at Paycom is still pitching, ask directly what the smallest account in your territory looks like.
Annual software spend by headcount
Estimates anchored to the derived blended rates, then shaped by each vendor's fee structure. Implementation is separate in both cases.
| Headcount | Paylocity, annual | Paycom, annual | What is happening |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 employees | $15,400 to $21,100 | Usually declined | Paylocity will take it. Paycom generally will not. |
| 100 employees | $31,200 to $43,200 | $26,400 to $42,000 | Paycom's floor, Paylocity's sweet spot |
| 250 employees | $63,000 to $87,000 | $66,000 to $105,000 | Both compete hard here |
| 500 employees | $108,000 to $150,000 | $132,000 to $210,000 | Paycom's scope premium shows |
| 1,000 employees | $180,000 to $252,000 | $264,000 to $420,000 | Module attach closes the gap |
The Paycom range is wider because its bundle tiers move more than Paylocity's per-employee rate does. A Paycom Core quote and a Paycom Complete quote at the same headcount can differ by 60%.
Product difference
Closed system versus open stack
Paycom built one database with one employee record, and every module reads from it. No connectors, no sync jobs, no reconciliation between the time system and the payroll system. That is real, and it converts into a 43% adjusted EBITDA margin, which is another way of saying the efficiency shows up in the vendor's P&L as well as yours. The trade is that Paycom expects to be your whole HR stack. Bring your own recruiting tool or engagement platform and you will fight the architecture.
Paylocity behaves better as one component among several. Its integration marketplace is broader, its API posture is friendlier, and its product investment has skewed toward the employee-facing layer: community feeds, surveys, video, recognition. Whether that layer earns its line on the invoice depends entirely on whether your workforce will use it. In a distributed frontline company it often does. In a 300-person office it often does not, and you are paying for a social network nobody logs into.
Retention tells you neither one is in trouble. Paylocity has held annual revenue retention above 92% in fiscal 2024, 2025 and 2026. Paycom reported 91% for 2025. Those are strong figures, and they carry a message for a buyer: neither vendor is losing enough accounts to feel pressure. Discounts come from quarter-end quota math, not from fear.
One thing both do that nobody mentions in the sales cycle is earn interest on your payroll funds while the money sits between your account and your employees'. Paylocity disclosed $119,964,000 of it in fiscal 2026, down from $123,420,000. Paycom's comparable line ran near $110 million in 2025. On a 150-person client that is roughly $1.50 per employee per month of revenue you generate and never see itemized. It is a fair thing to raise when a rep tells you the price is at the floor.
Pick Paycom when
- You are between 100 and 2,000 employees, US only, single entity
- Payroll accuracy is a board-level problem and Beti would measurably cut error rates
- You want one vendor accountable for everything with no integration seams
- You have an internal owner who can run a three to five month implementation
- You will actually use most of the suite rather than two modules
Pick Paylocity when
- You are between 25 and 500 employees and want to start narrow
- You need to keep existing tools and integrate rather than replace
- Your workforce is distributed or frontline and will use the employee layer
- You want the option to add modules later instead of buying scope up front
- Budget approval is easier as a smaller number that grows than a large one now
Negotiation
Run both quotes, then pick your month
Discounts of 10% to 25% off an opening quote are realistic in a competitive mid-market deal, and more when you are switching from a named competitor. Paylocity spent $393.9 million on sales and marketing in fiscal 2026, close to 24% of recurring revenue. That is the headroom that funds concessions, and it exists at Paycom too.
The single highest-return move is making both quotes describe the same purchase. Write one module list, send it to both, and require pricing against that list rather than against a proposal each rep designs. Vendors price differently when they know the scope is identical and a competitor is looking at the same page. Without that, you are comparing a Paycom Complete bundle to a Paylocity starter package and calling it a comparison.
Then push on implementation before you push on rate. It is one-time revenue that does not affect the recurring number a rep is compensated on, which makes it the concession most often granted. On a 500-person Paylocity deal a waived implementation is worth up to $30,000. And at Paylocity specifically, get a per-module price list in writing with future module rates locked at today's pricing, because the attach conversation is coming at renewal whether you plan for it or not.
Their fiscal years do not line up, and that is useful
Running both quotes at once is standard advice. Running them into the right month is the part most buyers miss.
Paylocity
Fiscal year ends June 30
Best discount window
Mid-May to June 30
The last two weeks of June carry the most pressure. Q2 of the calendar year is also quarter-end for Paylocity's Q4, which stacks the incentive.
Paycom
Fiscal year ends December 31
Best discount window
Late November to December 31
Calendar year end, and it lands on the same date most buyers want to switch payroll providers. Reps know that and price the urgency both ways.
A June decision favors you against Paylocity. A December decision favors you against Paycom. If your timeline is flexible, pick the month before you pick the vendor.
The recruiting problem
Both price hiring on the wrong meter
Here is where both quotes deserve a harder look. Paylocity and Paycom each sell applicant tracking as a per-employee module, typically around $3 per employee per month. That prices hiring software on how many people already work for you rather than on how many you are trying to hire, which are unrelated numbers.
Work it through. A 900-person company making 20 hires a year pays about $32,400 for that module, or $1,620 per hire in software alone. A 150-person company making 18 hires pays $5,400, or $300 per hire, for the same feature set. The company hiring less pays more per hire, and neither number has anything to do with recruiter workload, requisition count, or candidate volume.
Do this before you accept the bundle
Count your hires from the last twelve months. Divide the recruiting portion of the quote by that number. If the answer is above $500 per hire, the module is not paying for itself and a dedicated hiring platform alongside payroll will cost less and do more. If it is under $150, take the bundle and move on.
The functional gap matters too. Neither module does structured scorecards well, neither gives you real hiring analytics tying source to outcome, and neither will screen a resume with anything you would call intelligence. They store applications. That is a filing cabinet with a per-employee fee attached. Our breakdown of ATS versus HRIS covers why payroll platforms consistently underbuild this layer.
None of that means skip the HCM purchase. Payroll and benefits administration are exactly what these platforms are for, and both do them well. It means the recruiting line on the order form is the one to question hardest, because it is the module where the pricing model and the job diverge most.
Verdict
Which one to sign
The per-head price is close enough that it should not decide this. Under 100 employees, Paylocity, because Paycom will either decline you or price the risk of a small account into the quote. Between 100 and 500, run both and let them bid, since a 10% gap on subscription can flip on implementation terms alone. Above 500 with a US-only single-entity workforce, Paycom is a defensible premium if payroll accuracy is a real problem you are trying to solve, and Paylocity is the better answer if you want to keep your own tools.
The mistake I see most often is buying scope for a company you expect to become. Both vendors will happily quote a 400-person configuration to a 180-person company on the theory that you will grow into it. You will pay for it in the meantime, and the employee minimum in the contract means a reduction in force will not reduce your bill. Set the committed minimum below current headcount, not at it.
Whichever way it lands, get the complete fee schedule as a document before signing: off-cycle runs, W-2 reprints and reissues, garnishment handling, general ledger exports, and the renewal escalator. Both companies grow revenue faster than they grow client count, and that gap has to come from somewhere. For the same treatment applied to the rest of the category, the breakdowns of Paycor, UKG, and ADP Workforce Now use the same derivation method.
Buy payroll from a payroll company. Do not buy hiring from one.
Prepzo handles the part HCM platforms were never built for: AI resume screening, AI interviews, structured scorecards, and hiring analytics that tie source to outcome. Published pricing, unlimited users on every plan, no per-employee tax on recruiting.
Try Prepzo freeFrequently Asked Questions
Is Paylocity cheaper than Paycom?
At the blended level they are close, and Paylocity is slightly lower. Paylocity's fiscal 2026 recurring and other revenue of $1,651,362,000 across roughly 44,400 clients averaging over 150 employees implies about $20.66 per employee per month. Paycom's 2025 fee revenue of roughly $1,941.7 million across 7.4 million stored employee records implies about $21.87. The gap widens in Paylocity's favor above 500 employees, mainly because Paycom sells wider scope by default rather than because its rate is higher.
What is the minimum company size for each one?
Paylocity sells comfortably from around 20 to 25 employees, though its base fee makes the effective rate ugly at that size, often $38 to $52 per employee per month. Paycom rarely engages below about 50 employees and its motion is built for 100 to 2,000. If you are under 50 people, the practical choice is Paylocity, Gusto, or ADP RUN rather than Paycom.
Does either company publish pricing?
No. Paylocity has a pricing page that collects your details and returns a call, not a rate. Paycom quote-gates everything and confirms only that a one-time implementation fee is included. Both are public companies, so the annual reports carry the revenue and headcount figures needed to reconstruct a blended rate, which is what this comparison does.
How does implementation cost compare?
Both quote it separately and both bill it up front. Paylocity buyers commonly report 10% to 20% of first-year software cost. Paycom buyers report a wider 15% to 30%. On a 250-person deal that is roughly $7,500 to $15,000 at Paylocity and $10,000 to $30,000 at Paycom. Implementation is the most negotiable line in either contract because it is one-time revenue that does not affect the recurring number a rep is compensated on.
Which one has better customer retention?
Paylocity, narrowly. Its disclosed annual revenue retention has stayed above 92% in each of fiscal 2024, 2025 and 2026. Paycom reported 91% annual revenue retention for 2025. Both are healthy numbers for enterprise software, and a one-point gap should not decide a purchase. What it does tell you is that neither vendor is bleeding accounts, so neither is under pressure to discount to keep you.
Is Paycom's single-database architecture worth the premium?
It is worth something specific: no connector between payroll, time, benefits, and talent, and one employee record that every module reads. If you are carrying real integration debt today, that is a genuine saving in admin hours. If you already run a clean stack and want to keep your own recruiting or engagement tools, the closed architecture works against you. Paylocity has a broader integration marketplace and behaves better as one component in a larger system.
Do either of them handle recruiting well?
Neither is a serious hiring system. Both sell applicant tracking as a per-employee module, which prices recruiting on headcount instead of on hiring volume. A 900-person company making 20 hires a year pays for 900 seats to run 20 searches. Count your hires from last year, divide the recruiting portion of the quote by that number, and look at the per-hire figure before you accept the bundle.
Can you switch between them mid-year?
You can, but the tax reporting makes it expensive. A mid-year move means either running parallel year-to-date balances or loading historical wage and tax data into the new system, and W-2 responsibility splits across two vendors. January 1 is the clean break, which is exactly why both vendors' sales calendars converge on Q4. If you must move mid-year, target the start of Q3 so only two quarters need reconciling.
How much do they earn on your payroll funds?
More than most buyers realize. Paylocity reported $119,964,000 of interest income on funds held for clients in fiscal 2026, down from $123,420,000 the prior year. That is about $2,702 per client per year, or roughly $1.50 per employee per month on a 150-person client. Paycom's comparable line ran around $110 million in 2025. Neither figure appears on your invoice, and both are worth naming when a rep says there is no room left in the price.
Resources & Further Reading
Related Guides
- Paylocity Pricing in 2026
The three fee layers, float income, and what to negotiate
- Paycom Pricing in 2026
Implied PEPM, tier structure, and implementation fees
- ADP vs Paycom in 2026
The same derivation applied to the incumbent matchup
- What an ATS Actually Costs
Per-employee versus per-hire pricing, compared honestly
External Sources
- Paylocity Form 10-K, fiscal year 2026
Revenue, client count, retention, and interest on client funds
- Paycom Investor Relations
Full year 2025 revenue, employee records stored, and client counts
- BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation
Benchmark for sizing HR software spend against total labor cost
- SHRM HR Technology Resources
Selection frameworks and vendor evaluation guidance
