Managing tasks becomes increasingly complex as companies grow. Without the right tools, even small mistakes can lead to financial setbacks. According to the 2023 HR Tech Survey, 54% of organizations fail to implement HR SaaS technology effectively. However, this can be easily avoided by carefully evaluating the options. Both Namely and Justworks are top-rated software offering distinct features to streamline the human resource (HR) processes.

Namely is a comprehensive HR software that offers tools for payroll, performance management, benefits, employee management, and compliance. In contrast, Justworks is a professional employer organization (PEO) service that provides payroll, tax compliance, benefits management, and access to affordable health insurance plans.

However, the question that arises is which one truly stands out? This blog will compare Namely Vs Justworks, highlighting their features, pros and cons, and pricing.

Namely Vs Justworks: At A Glance

Feature

Namely

Justworks

Payroll

Integrates with HR, benefits, and time-tracking while automating tax filing and payroll reports

Automates tax filing, multi-state payroll, custom pay schedules, and compliance alerts

Benefit Administration

Paperless enrollment, payroll integration, and ACA reporting

Advanced health benefits, 401(k) plans, COBRA, and HIPAA-compliant administration

Hiring And Onboarding

Job board integration, eSignatures, and automated workflows for new hires

ATS integration, global hiring through EOR, and compliance-driven onboarding

Compliance Managment

Compliance library, proactive alerts, and OSHA logs for compliance tracking

Payroll tax filing, ACA filings, COBRA management, and multi-state compliance tools

Time Tracking

Integrates time tracking via mobile apps and biometric clocks

Advanced time-tracking software to reduce payroll delays

Pricing

Plans start at $9/employee/month

Plans start at $8/employee/month with a $50/month base fee

What Is Namely?

Namely Payroll is a cloud-based HR platform designed to streamline core HR functions for mid-sized businesses. It offers intuitive tools for managing the full employee lifecycle, including payroll, benefits, compliance, performance management, and employee engagement, in a single dashboard. The software stands out because of its user-friendly interface, customizable solutions, and expert support, enabling HR teams to save time while reducing compliance risks.

Unique Namely Features

  • Performance Management: This feature offers customizable forms for performance review cycles. Employees can receive ongoing 360-degree feedback through self-assessment, peer input, and manager reviews, providing a holistic view of their growth areas.
  • Employee Self-Service: The software allows employees to handle PTO requests, view pay stubs, benefits, tax documents, and performance history. They can also update their personal information and sign documents within the system.
  • Social News Feed: Namely provides a centralized communication hub where employees can post company announcements, work anniversaries, birthdays, and more. Its Slack integration sends updates instantly to keep everyone connected.
  • HR Analytics: The platform makes it easy to track metrics like diversity, attrition, and time-off trends using a pre-built dashboard and an intuitive ad-hoc report builder. It consolidates all HR data to help create custom reports, export information, and address red flags quickly.

Namely Pros And Cons

Pros:

  • The platform is user-friendly with an intuitive design that simplifies accessing employee details
  • Allows to view employee's history at the company, such as their past roles and promotions, all within a single timeline
  • It uses a social media-style feed that keeps employees engaged and informed on HR matters

Cons:

  • The rehiring process is time-consuming and lacks a bulk action feature for employee updates, making it challenging for organizations with high rehire volumes
  • Client space responses can take longer than expected, which can be frustrating while completing tasks

What Is Justworks?

Justworks HR is a modern human resource and professional employer organization (PEO) service platform for small and medium-sized businesses. It simplifies workforce management by handling onboarding, payroll, hiring, compliance, benefits, and remote team needs. It helps hire employees globally without the need to establish local entities.

The software is recognized for its user-friendly interface, 24/7 customer support, and scalability, helping businesses save time while reducing administrative tasks.

Unique Justworks Feature

  • Global Hiring: Through Justworks employer of record (EOR) services, small businesses can hire, onboard, and pay employees across the globe while ensuring compliance with local labor laws and regulations.
  • Professional Employer Organization (PEO): This feature enables businesses to manage payroll, access health insurance, and choose benefits at competitive rates. It is certified by the IRS and accredited by ESAC, ensuring it meets the high standard for financial reliability.
  • International Contractor Payment System: The software allows businesses to pay contractors in over 40 countries using local currencies, with real-time exchange rates and detailed payment reports using preset or custom date ranges.
  • Access To Additional Benefits: Justworks provides access to extra benefits like 401(k) plans, mental health support through Talkspace, and on-demand primary care via One Medical. These wellness services are included alongside health insurance cost-free.

Justworks Pros And Cons

Pros:

  • Employees have access to update bank details, view payroll stubs, download invoices, and manage documents in one place
  • The platform includes a calendar for paydays and email reminders to simplify timecard accuracy and submission
  • Justworks regularly add updates, such as the recent addition of Expense Reimbursement, ensuring it remains innovative and focused on user needs

Cons:

  • Duplicate alerts may appear for tasks that have already been addressed
  • Despite supporting payments in numerous countries, the platform's current global payment coverage may not be sufficient for businesses with an international workforce

Namely Vs Justworks - Key Features Comparison

Payroll

Namely offers an online payroll solution that integrates seamlessly with HR, benefits, and time-tracking systems to reduce manual efforts. Employees can access their payroll data through a self-service portal, allowing them to view and manage payroll-related tasks.

The software automates tax filing, wage garnishing, and W-2/1099 delivery while providing payroll reports like quarterly and year-end summaries. It integrates time tracking through various methods, including mobile apps and biometric clocks and offers a dashboard for managing overtime, tardiness, and approvals.

Like Namely, Justworks automates payroll tax filling and handles W-2 and 1099 processing. It supports multi-state payroll, multiple pay rates, custom pay schedules, off-cycle payments, tips processing, and digital pay stubs. The software manages state unemployment insurance and sends federal and state compliance alerts.

While payroll data is accessible via the mobile app, the platform also offers PTO tracking, holiday pay, and detailed reporting to enhance workflow.

Winner: Justworks provides competitive payroll tools, but Namely's integration with the HR system, self-service portal, and advanced reporting capabilities makes it the winner.

Benefit Administration

Namely Namely provides a paperless ‘Enrollment Wizard’ for employees to enroll in benefits plans and a mobile platform to view their current plans. Administrators can use the ‘Plan Configurable Tool’ to manage rates, eligibility, and plan details efficiently. The platform connects benefits with payroll, ensuring approved deductions are applied automatically.

It also updates insurance carriers through ‘Electronic Carrier Feeds’ and provides ACA reporting for compliance, reducing errors while easing the administrative workload.

Through Justworks PEO services, small businesses can access advanced health insurance, including medical, dental, and vision plans, along with mental health support, on-demand primary care, and family planning services. The software also offers 401(k) retirement plans, fitness memberships, HSA/FSA accounts, and COBRA administration to attract and retain top talent.

Using this platform, businesses can manage open enrollment, select benefit plans, update life events, and ensure payroll deductions comply with HIPAA, ACA, and state law.

Winner: Justworks takes the edge here with its comprehensive and flexible approach to benefit administration, supported by strong compliance and PEO services.

Hiring And Onboarding

Namely attracts candidates through features like job board integrations, and its ‘Applicant Tracking System’ enables you to manage and monitor the entire recruitment process. Its automated workflows enable new hires to complete eSignatures, enroll in benefits, and access resources, including organizational charts and upcoming events, before their first day.

The platform uses branded welcome messages and wizard-driven data collection with configurable templates for capturing essential information such as emergency contacts and state-required forms.

Justworks seamlessly syncs with applicant tracking systems, ensuring a smooth and error-free onboarding process. This integration facilitates accurate data transfer and automates tasks such as completing forms, setting up payroll, and enrolling new hires in benefits using pre-configured checklists.

The software ensures compliance with local, state, and federal laws while simplifying global hiring through EOR, avoiding local entity setup, and adhering to local employment laws. Additionally, employees can manage their profiles, access benefits, and complete onboarding tasks directly through the platform.

Winner: Justworks wins in this category due to its seamless global hiring capabilities, strong compliance support, and efficient ATS integration, which provide an error-free onboarding process.

Compliance Managment

Namely helps organizations stay compliant with up-to-date resources on current and pending employment laws through its ‘Comprehensive Compliance Library’. It also includes proactive law alerts to notify HR teams of critical updates and a state policy comparison tool to help manage compliance across multi-state operations.

The platform supports employee learning and development with a flexible ‘Learning Management System’ featuring over 300 detailed training courses, along with the ability to upload custom training materials. Its living handbook creator allows businesses to update HR policies dynamically while features like anonymous employee reporting, OSHA logs, salary benchmarking, and job description builders streamline compliance tracking and documentation.

Justworks handles complex compliance tasks such as accurate payroll tax filing (W-2s, 1099s, 940, and 941), ACA filings (1094-C and 1095-C), workers compensation, state unemployment insurance, and COBRA administration.

It offers free DEIB and sexual harassment prevention courses to help businesses meet city requirements, along with real-time federal and state regulation updates via its Blog, Help Center, and ‘The Scoop’ newsletter. It manages multi-state compliance with state tax registrations and closure for inactive status, and its advanced time-tracking software minimizes payroll delays.

Winner: Justworks excels with advanced compliance tools like payroll tax filing, ACA filings, and COBRA management, plus real-time updates and multi-state support.

Pricing

Namely’s pricing tiers are designed to cater to the specific needs of businesses of any scale. Its plans include:

  • Namely Now – Starting at $9 per employee per month
  • Namely Plus – Customized Pricing
  • Namely Plus People – Customized Pricing
  • Namely Complete – Customized Pricing

The entry-level plan, Namely Now offers essential HR and payroll features. Whereas the premium plan, Namely Complete, includes onboarding, recruiting, performance management, compliance, benefits administration, time tracking, and large group benefits features.

On the other hand, Justworks’s pricing is transparent and tiered to accommodate the unique needs of businesses as they grow:

  • Payroll Plan – $8/month/employee + $50/month base fee
  • PEO Basic Plan – $59/month/employee
  • PEO Plus Plan – $109/month/employee
  • Employer of Record (EOR) – $599/month/employee (Only available with PEO plans)

Its PEO Basic Plan offers payroll, compliance, and HR essentials, while the PEO Plus Plan adds advanced benefits like health insurance and wellness services. The EOR Plan enables seamless global hiring with international HR and compliance support.

Winner: When it comes to pricing, both Namely and Justworks offer flexible, tailored plans, making this category a tie .

Namely Vs Justworks - Which HR Software Is The Best?

Deciding between Namely vs Justworks ultimately comes down to your business's priorities. Namely stands out by supporting employee development with features like 360-degree feedback and a social news feed that fosters collaboration and connectivity. If your organization prioritizes a personalized, employee-centered approach, this platform is the best choice.

Justworks, on the other hand, shines for PEO services that provide access to enterprise-level benefits, advanced compliance support, and global hiring capabilities through its Employer of Record feature. It’s a great fit for companies navigating multi-state operations or planning international expansion.

Both platforms excel in their respective strengths, so aligning your decision with your organization's specific needs will ensure you choose the best solution.