Navigating human resources (HR) processes can be challenging, with tasks like payroll, benefits administration, and compliance often demanding significant time and attention. Inefficiencies in these areas can lead to costly errors and hinder productivity. This is where platforms like Namely and Justworks come into play.
Both Namely and Justworks aim to simplify processes, reduce administrative burdens, and improve employee engagement. But how do you determine which platform is the right fit for your business? Is Namely’s customizable approach better suited to your needs, or does Justworks' straightforward, PEO-powered model hold the edge?
In this article, we’ll compare Namely and Justworks, explore their key features, and evaluate their performance across critical areas to help you make the best choice for your organization.
Namely Vs Justworks: At A Glance
Features
Namely
Justworks
Payroll Management
Offers more advanced features that allow more personalization
Focuses on simplifying HR tasks with features such as custom pay schedules
Time-Tracking
Integrates with various HR and payroll functions, allowing for an all-in-one solution
Offers mobile-friendly time tracking features such as geofencing
Benefits Administration
Offers a flexible benefits administration process
Gives small businesses access to benefits normally reserved for large enterprises
Onboarding
Allows businesses to customize the onboarding phase
Focuses on simplicity and automation to make onboarding easy
Price
Starts at $9 per employee per month
Starts at $8 per employee per month
What Is Namely?
Namely HR is a software designed to cater to the HR requirements of mid-sized businesses. With its user-friendly interface and various compliance tools, Namely excels in streamlining core HR functions such as payroll, benefits administration, and talent management. Its standout features include strong customization options, an intuitive employee self-service portal, and powerful reporting tools that simplify compliance and performance tracking.
The software is particularly well-suited for companies seeking a balance between functionality and personalization. It is an ideal choice for organizations aiming to promote a strong company culture while efficiently managing HR operations.
Unique Namely Features
Configurable Dashboards: Namely provides customizable dashboards, allowing HR teams to personalize the dashboard according to their own needs. These dashboards can also be configured to show important data, such as headcount, diversity, employee turnover, etc.
Advanced Compliance Tools: The platform features a comprehensive compliance database, offering resources such as a handbook builder and state-mandated training modules.
Social News Feed: The platform includes an interactive social news feed, enabling employees to share updates, recognize peers, and stay informed about company announcements.
Namely Pros And Cons
Pros:
Comprehensive payroll system ensures accurate and timely payments
Customizable reporting features provide clear, informative insights
Social media-like homepage enhances company communication strategy
Cons:
Lacks task reminders and overdue notifications for assignments
Time-card adjustments for sick days are cumbersome
What Is Justworks?
Justworks is a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) platform that provides small and medium-sized businesses with a comprehensive suite of HR solutions, including payroll processing, compliance support, and access to employee benefits. Its intuitive interface simplifies complex HR tasks, allowing business owners to focus on more important business matters. Moreover, its PEO status grants it the ability to provide businesses with competitive benefits packages normally reserved for larger companies.
These strengths make Justworks a great match for startups and small to medium-sized enterprises seeking to streamline HR functions and offer competitive benefits without the overhead of an extensive in-house HR department.
Unique Justworks Features
PEO Services: Justworks operates as a PEO, allowing small businesses to access comprehensive HR solutions, including payroll, benefits, and compliance support, under a co-employment model.
Access To Enterprise-Level Benefits: Through its PEO model, Justworks provides small businesses with access to enterprise-level benefits, such as health and dental insurance, 401(k) plans, and wellness programs, typically available only to larger organizations.
International Contractor Payments: The platform enables businesses to pay international contractors in over 28 countries without additional upfront or monthly fees.
Justworks Pros And Cons
Pros:
Intuitive interface simplifies navigation and user experience
Namely offers a payroll system that seamlessly integrates with HR and benefits modules, automating processes like tax calculations and deductions. In addition, Namely also offers many features such as wage garnishment, configurable GL exports, employee self-service and expense tracking, etc. These features emphasize personalization and flexibility, allowing businesses to tailor the platform to their specific needs.
Justworks, operating as a PEO, delivers a co-employment model that grants small businesses access to enterprise-level benefits and compliance support. Its payroll management includes automated tax filings, multi-state payroll capabilities, and 24/7 customer support. In short, Justworks focuses on simplifying HR tasks by offering a straightforward, all-in-one solution.
Winner: Namely edges out Justworks here due to offering more advanced features
Time-Tracking
Namely emphasizes integration with its broader HR and payroll systems, providing a seamless solution for managing employee hours, time-off accruals, and schedules. The platform allows HR teams to customize time-off policies to align with company guidelines. It also enables employees to request time off and track paid time off (PTO) balances through a centralized self-service portal.
Conversely, Justworks focuses on flexibility and accessibility, offering mobile-friendly time tracking with features like geofencing, which ensures accurate time logging based on location. Employees can clock in and out using the mobile app, online platform, or Slack integration, accommodating both remote and on-site teams. Additionally, Justworks provides real-time reporting tools that monitor timesheets and overtime while syncing seamlessly with its payroll services for efficient processing.
Winner: Justworks excels in providing adaptable, mobile-friendly features for distributed workforces. Therefore, it wins this category.
Benefits Administration
Namely provides a customizable benefits administration platform that allows businesses to configure plans, rates, and eligibility criteria according to their specific needs. The system includes an intuitive ‘Enrollment Wizard’ for paperless sign-ups and a mobile app, enabling employees to access their benefits information conveniently. Namely also integrates benefits administration seamlessly with its HR and payroll modules, ensuring automatic synchronization of deductions and reducing manual errors.
Due to its PEO status, Justworks gives small businesses access to large-group health insurance plans from top carriers—an option often unavailable to smaller organizations. These plans cover a variety of benefits such as 401(k)s, primary care, fertility benefits, etc. In addition to all this, Justworks simplifies plan selection and enrollment through an intuitive online platform, allowing employees to manage their benefits easily via a web portal or mobile app.
Winner: Justworks wins this category since it’s an excellent choice for smaller companies seeking a comprehensive benefits package that can help retain employees and improve morale.
Onboarding
Namely emphasizes customization and pre-hire engagement, providing businesses with the ability to create tailored onboarding templates and role-based workflows. New hires can access organizational charts and onboarding schedules before their start date, fostering early employee engagement. The platform also ensures a completely paperless onboarding experience, featuring e-signature capabilities and secure digital storage for all new hire forms, making administrative tasks more efficient.
In contrast, Justworks focuses on simplicity and automation, offering a streamlined onboarding process where new employees can easily enter direct deposit details, select health insurance plans, and complete essential tasks online. Additionally, Justworks integrates document management within its onboarding process, enabling employers to assign and collect signed forms digitally. With its employee self-service portal, new hires can manage their personal information, access insurance cards, view pay stubs, and log hours, ensuring a user-friendly experience.
Winner: While Namely provides a highly customizable onboarding journey, Justworks excels in delivering a straightforward, automated solution tailored for efficiency. Therefore, the final choice comes down to the company and their needs.
Pricing
Namely provides four pricing tiers to accommodate various business needs. They are:
Namely Now – starts at $9 per employee per month
Namely Plus – customized pricing
Namely Plus People – customized pricing
Namely Complete – customized pricing
The initial pricing plan, Namely Now, starts at $9 per employee per month, offering essential HR and payroll features. Meanwhile, the top pricing plan, Namely Complete, provides a multitude of features (compensation plans, shared liability compliance, etc.) alongside a customized price based on the organization’s needs.
In a similar fashion, Justworks also offers tiered pricing plans starting from its payroll plan. They are:
Payroll – $8 per month
PEO Basic – $59 per month
PEO Plus – $109 per month
EOR – $599 per month
Its highest pricing plan, EOR, is designed for global teams. However, it also offers a free trial for the first six months, giving businesses the option to try it out for themselves.
Winner: Both software offer modular pricing tiers and are thus tied in this category.
Namely Vs Zenefits – Which HR Tool Should You Choose?
Both Namely and Justworks offer comprehensive HR solutions, but each caters to different business needs.
Namely stands out for mid-sized businesses seeking customizable HR and payroll solutions with integrated benefits and performance management tools, making it particularly suited for industries like finance and healthcare.
Justworks, on the other hand, is ideal for small to medium-sized businesses looking for a straightforward, user-friendly platform with PEO services that grant access to enterprise-level benefits and compliance support. It is especially beneficial for startups and companies in industries such as retail and technology.
Ultimately, the right choice depends on your organization's size, industry, and unique HR requirements.