Rippling Review (2026): The Ultimate Payroll, HR and IT Platform?

Rippling is a unified workforce management platform combining payroll, HR, IT and finance tools into a single system. Aside from core payroll features like global payroll and automated tax filings, Rippling’s advanced workflow automations make it an excellent choice for tech-centric businesses interested in saving time.

Alongside its highly streamlined setup process and powerful automation workflows, Rippling is a top contender in our roundup of the best integrated HR and payroll services, specifically for its unique IT capabilities. However, the platform may feel like overkill for simpler operations, which is why we recommend Paychex over Rippling for smaller businesses after a more traditional, payroll-first solution. 

This guide covers everything you need to know about Rippling, including its payroll features, automation capabilities, security safeguards and pricing. We also explore how Rippling compares with payroll-only solutions, so you can feel confident moving forward with your decision.

What is Rippling?

Rippling is a workforce management platform used by US businesses to manage payroll, HR, IT, and finance tools within a single system.

Many organisations operate these functions through separate, disconnected subscriptions. Rippling brings them together in one platform, allowing data to flow between payroll, employee records, benefits, and IT access. This structure is designed to reduce duplicated data entry and limit manual handovers between systems.

We dive deeper into the platform’s diverse feature set, next.

What Are Rippling’s Top Features?

When it comes to workforce management and payroll features, there are many strings to Rippling’s bow. Here are some standout capabilities that give Rippling an edge over the competition.

Automated payroll processing

Rippling’s slick payroll engine lets you run payroll in minutes with a single click. The system is seamlessly integrated with its human resources information system (HRIS), enabling you to pull employee details, like pay rates, benefits and tax filings, directly from one central record. This significantly reduces manual data entry and minimises the risk of potentially costly errors.

Rippling also lets you run an unlimited number of payroll cycles. For example, businesses can process bonus, commission or termination payments any time they need, without paying extra or setting up a separate workflow.

This lends Rippling particularly well to fast-growing businesses that frequently hire new talent, as well as companies with commission-based payment structures.

Multi-state and global payroll

With Rippling, you can handle payroll for employees working in any US state. The system will automatically apply the correct tax rules, local filings and wage laws for you, as part of its core payroll workflow.

For international businesses with a global talent pool, Rippling also offers native global payroll support in over 185 countries, providing managers with a single platform to pay international employees and contractors. The platform handles local tax compliance and currency conversion automatically, removing the need to manage country-specific requirements manually.

This positions Rippling above competitors like Gusto, which relies on third-party partners for international payroll, and Paychex, which primarily focuses on domestic payroll and compliance.

Employee-focused portal

Rippling’s mobile and web app gives employees a self-service hub to manage everyday HR and payroll tasks themselves. Workers can view pay stubs and tax documents, request time off, submit and track expense reports, and access benefits information in a couple of taps.

The app also lets employees clock in and out with a digital time clock that syncs directly with payroll, eliminating the need for manual timesheet entry or third-party tools.

This gives Rippling a unique advantage over payroll providers that don’t offer native time and attendance software, such as Oyster HR and Patriot, while making it a particularly strong solution for businesses with hourly workers, variable schedules or complex shift patterns.

Automated onboarding and offboarding

Rippling automates nearly every step of bringing an employee in or out of the company. Crucially, the provider ties this into both HR and IT systems.

This means a new hire’s profile isn’t just created in HR — Rippling triggers workflows across payroll, benefits, device provisioning and app access based on role and rules that you define. Likewise, when someone leaves, access can be revoked and devices reclaimed automatically.

Aside from streamlining the onboarding and offboarding process, Ripping also boasts a Headcount Planning tool, which helps businesses forecast, plan and monitor staffing needs, without relying on clunky spreadsheets.

This capability gives you a unified, real-time view of current headcount, planned hires, open roles and more, to help teams make smarter hiring decisions.

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Benefits administration

Rippling lets you manage employee benefits plans seamlessly, including core offerings like health, dental and vision insurance, 401(k) retirement plans, flexible spending accounts (FSA), health savings accounts (HSA), voluntary benefits, and more.

The provider also supports multiple carriers and plan types within a single system, giving businesses the flexibility to offer a broad array of benefits without relying on spreadsheets.

However, what makes Rippling’s benefits administration unique is its deep integration with the rest of its HR platform. Since the system syncs up with payroll, HR and workforce data when an employee’s status, pay or eligibility changes, those changes automatically flow into its benefits enrolments and deductions.

Custom workflow automation

With Rippling, businesses can build custom, rule-based workflows that automatically trigger actions across HR, payroll, IT and finance when something changes in an employee’s lifecycle.

For example, when a new hire is approved, Rippling can automatically trigger onboarding tasks, payroll setup, app access and more. Likewise, when an employee changes role, the system can trigger payroll updates, benefits eligibility checks and compliance rules automatically — reducing manual admin and ensuring nothing is missed.

This unified functionality gives Rippling an advantage over payroll-only systems like OnPay and Gusto, which tend to focus on payroll management in isolation, rather than automating the wider employee journey.

How Secure Is Rippling?

Since Rippling is an enterprise-level payroll, HR and IT solution, its security safeguards go well beyond what a lot of its competitors offer.

Rippling uses AES-256 encryption for data at rest and in transit, not just during login. The provider also goes beyond standard role-based permissions by automatically giving employees the correct system access when they join, and updating it when their role changes.

This helps to protect businesses against security gaps caused by manual errors or delayed offboarding.

Another area where Rippling stands out is visibility and accountability. Rippling maintains detailed audit logs that track user activity, access changes and system events across payroll, HR and connected apps — giving administrators a clear record of who did what and when.

In comparison, providers like OnPay, Patriot and Oyster HR tend to focus on securing payroll data itself, but offer more limited activity tracking outside core payroll actions.

What Are Rippling’s Customer Support Options?

Rippling offers multiple customer support channels, including live chat, online help center resources and phone support. In Expert Market’s product research, live chat stood out as the most responsive option, with issues able to escalate to a live video call with product specialists when required. This structure can help resolve more complex queries without long back-and-forth exchanges

Rippling also provides a comprehensive knowledge base and FAQs for self-service assistance and troubleshooting.

While these are strong, modern support options, based on our research, Rippling doesn’t advertise 24/7 availability across its support channels. Therefore, if your organisation operates outside traditional working hours, or would benefit from always-on, live human support, we’d recommend considering providers that offer round-the-clock phone and online assistance, such as ADP, instead.

How Much Does Rippling Cost?

Like many payroll providers, Rippling primarily operates on a custom pricing model. This means businesses will receive a bespoke quote based on factors such as company size, feature requirements, and the modules they choose to add.

However, the provider does list some starting prices online. Here’s a breakdown of Rippling’s main plans, their features, and all available pricing:

• Unity (Core HRIS) – Rippling’s base platform, starting from around $8 per employee, per month, plus a base fee (often reported at $35–$40 per month). It covers employee records, onboarding and offboarding workflows, PTO tracking, and self-service tools. Best for businesses that want a central system of record before layering on payroll or IT features.
• Rippling Payroll – Priced as an add-on to Unity, with reported starting costs of around $8 per employee, per month. It supports multi-state US payroll, automated tax filings, and compliance reporting. Best for growing US teams that want payroll tightly connected to HR data and employee lifecycle workflows.
• Global Payroll – An additional payroll module designed for businesses paying employees in multiple countries. Pricing varies by country and headcount. Best for companies expanding internationally that want payroll data aligned with the same HR platform.
• IT & Device Management Add-Ons – Optional modules covering device provisioning, laptop lifecycle management, and app access controls. These increase overall costs but are useful for businesses that want payroll, HR, and IT access managed together from one system.

Rippling vs Competitors (Deel, Gusto, ADP)

Rippling came out top in our payroll research — but that doesn’t mean it’ll be the right fit for every business. Deel will often be a better choice for businesses hiring internationally, thanks to its clear, per-employee pricing and built-in Employer of Record (EOR) services, which allow companies to hire and pay workers in multiple countries without setting up local entities.

If you’re willing to forgo some advanced capabilities, like built-in IT management and deep automation workflows, and would rather work with a provider that offers upfront pricing, Gusto payroll may be a better fit. With its entry-level Core plan costing $39, plus $6 per person, per month, it’s a good-value platform that covers all the payroll basics

ADP is another strong contender, particularly for larger or more complex organisations. Its breadth of plans and global payroll infrastructure make it a better choice for businesses that need advanced scalability, multi-country support or outsourced compliance assistance.

In comparison, Rippling excels at unifying HR, payroll and IT in one system, making it best suited to US-based, fast-growing businesses that want to reduce admin complexity by consolidating multiple tools into a single platform.

Learn more about how Rippling weighs up against the competition in our comparative table below:

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Is Rippling Right for My Business?

Unsure whether Rippling will meet your specific needs? Here’s a clear summary of the types of businesses its HR and payroll platform is best and least suited to.

How We Reviewed Rippling

Rippling: FAQs