Payroll by Wave vs. Rippling

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Payroll by Wave
Score 10.0 out of 10
N/A
Wave Accounting headquartered in Toronto now offers Payroll by Wave, a payroll app for small businesses.N/A
Rippling
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
Rippling’s platform for HR, IT, payroll, and spend management automates the entire employee lifecycle, ensures compliance, supports device management, and provides real-time financial visibility from a central dashboard.
$8
starting price per user, per month
Pricing
Payroll by WaveRippling
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Recommended
$8.00
starting price per user, per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Payroll by WaveRippling
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsFor additional pricing details visit the Rippling pricing page.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Payroll by WaveRippling
Features
Payroll by WaveRippling
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Payroll by Wave
9.4
Ratings
13% above category average
Rippling
9.2
Ratings
14% above category average
Pay calculation10.00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment9.00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Benefit plan administration9.00 Ratings8.80 Ratings
Direct deposit files9.00 Ratings9.50 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management9.50 Ratings9.30 Ratings
Reimbursement management10.00 Ratings9.30 Ratings
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
Payroll by Wave
-
Ratings
Rippling
9.2
Ratings
16% above category average
Employee demographic data00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Employment history00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Job profiles and administration00 Ratings9.30 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.00 Ratings9.30 Ratings
Organizational charting00 Ratings9.30 Ratings
Organization and location management00 Ratings9.20 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)00 Ratings9.30 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
Payroll by Wave
-
Ratings
Rippling
9.2
Ratings
14% above category average
Approval workflow00 Ratings9.20 Ratings
Balance details00 Ratings9.30 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
Payroll by Wave
-
Ratings
Rippling
9.3
Ratings
14% above category average
View and generate pay and benefit information00 Ratings9.40 Ratings
Update personal information00 Ratings9.30 Ratings
View company policy documentation00 Ratings9.60 Ratings
Employee recognition00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
View job history00 Ratings9.30 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
Payroll by Wave
-
Ratings
Rippling
9.3
Ratings
14% above category average
Tracking of all physical assets00 Ratings9.30 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Payroll by Wave
-
Ratings
Rippling
9.1
Ratings
19% above category average
Report builder00 Ratings9.20 Ratings
Pre-built reports00 Ratings9.20 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
Payroll by Wave
-
Ratings
Rippling
9.4
Ratings
17% above category average
New hire portal00 Ratings9.50 Ratings
Manager tracking tools00 Ratings9.20 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
Payroll by Wave
-
Ratings
Rippling
9.2
Ratings
15% above category average
Corporate goal setting00 Ratings9.20 Ratings
Individual goal setting00 Ratings9.20 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility00 Ratings9.30 Ratings
Performance tracking00 Ratings9.30 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
Payroll by Wave
-
Ratings
Rippling
9.3
Ratings
17% above category average
Performance plans00 Ratings9.30 Ratings
Performance improvement plans00 Ratings9.20 Ratings
Review status tracking00 Ratings9.20 Ratings
Review reminders00 Ratings9.50 Ratings
Multiple review frequency00 Ratings9.50 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
Payroll by Wave
-
Ratings
Rippling
9.1
Ratings
15% above category average
Create succession plans/pools00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Candidate ranking00 Ratings9.30 Ratings
Candidate search00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Candidate development00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
Payroll by Wave
-
Ratings
Rippling
9.4
Ratings
19% above category average
Job Requisition Management00 Ratings9.20 Ratings
Company Website Posting00 Ratings9.30 Ratings
Publish to Social Media00 Ratings9.50 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting00 Ratings9.50 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention00 Ratings9.50 Ratings
Applicant Tracking00 Ratings9.40 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts00 Ratings9.40 Ratings
User Ratings
Payroll by WaveRippling
Likelihood to Recommend
10.0
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Usability
10.0
(0 ratings)
9.3
(0 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.9
(0 ratings)
9.3
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.4
(0 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
1.0
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Payroll by WaveRippling
Likelihood to Recommend
Great for small business payroll needs. Reports and taxes are taken care of, everything is automated and once you're set up it's literally just a matter of minutes to run payroll each time. You also get email reminders which is helpful. There are premium features available for companies with larger/more robust needs, and I would definitely recommend looking into this software if you are searching for a user friendly payroll solution
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I highly recommend Rippling for any company, regardless of its size. Many well-known companies trust it, and if you go onto their LinkedIn page, you will likely find that many of your friends and colleagues are already familiar with them. Along with a highly flexible and easy-to-use UI, many other companies use it, making it feel like a small world. Any company that needs software for expense management and payroll and wants consistency should consider using Rippling.
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Pros
  • Payroll by Wave processes quickly and deposits to employee accounts automatically
  • Simple process to review time sheets, bonuses, commissions, etc...
  • Provides detailed reports
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  • I did not expect Live Chat Support and Email Support when we moved to Rippling. Their Support team is quick and very knowledgeable. I have had multiple instances where we have gone back and forth on a situation to come to the correct conclusion, never feeling they were trying to just close the case unsolved.
  • Being able to manage employees from application to separation is huge. Having a built in ATS that we can hire candidates from directly, and immediately have their payroll, benefits and employee profile setup has saved me countless hours for each hire.
  • Rippling allows us to manage retirement plans across the US, Canada and UK with automation and file feeds. Before Rippling I manually managed these in multiple portals, now Rippling does it for me automatically.
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Cons
  • Payroll is a paid feature at $10 + $4/employee per month. I suppose this is a normal expense, but other payroll systems I've used, such as ones built into online banking, have cost me a fraction of this.
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  • It is hard to think of ways that Rippling could improve. The one area that we did have a bit of a slowdown was in the onboarding process. It was not intuitive and we expect to have some learning curve so if I could say anything needs improvement it would be this area.
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Likelihood to Renew
No answers on this topic
Rippling continues to innovate and amaze me with their new innovations and features. Product feedback is taken seriously so I always give it whenever I can and end up seeing results. Rippling is the new wave of HRIS that cannot compare against others in the industry just due to the fact they are super user friendly!
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Usability
Very simple & straightforward system to learn and when time is always of the essence the efficiency is much appreciated
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Rippling is a great product that has streamlined our payroll and leave management processes. The interface is intuitive, and it’s very convenient to manage everything in one place. While the initial setup was a bit lengthy and the mobile experience can sometimes be a little slow, overall, it’s been a reliable and effective solution for our needs.
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Reliability and Availability
No answers on this topic
I like that the availability in using Rippling at any given time is useful to me. Getting on the site freely when I need gives me security of knowing that I can be in control of viewing health insurance and hours information. I have yet to get any errors in using the Rippling app.
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Performance
No answers on this topic
Rippling's performance has been great, no errors or glitches yet so far. I am confident that Going from one page to the next and all its complexity usage does not lag or times out, it works effectively and efficiently. While using Rippling and other apps it does not tend to slow it down, works great. No complaints.
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Support Rating
Quick response times, personalized service. They offer in-depth videos and guides for helping to get set up. Any time I have a question about taxes or reporting, they answer quickly and give comprehensive answers. Members of the team with whom I've interacted have been courteous, friendly, and helpful. Overall, great support.
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When I did have to reach out to Rippling for assistance I was able to get quick help and my problem resolved in a time efficient manner with out any type of hick up. The customer support team is professional, kind and always available. This makes Rippling more welcoming to use on a daily basis.
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In-Person Training
No answers on this topic
The trainer went slow and and answered our questions.
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Implementation Rating
No answers on this topic
It's really easy to implement in comparison to other tools or applications. Different key points are easily configured and implemented as per need, having different configurations in systems. Implementation is something which binds the different parameters of an organization in a single row. Implementation of rippling is much easier, quicker, and error free than any other software. I recommend it strongly!
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Alternatives Considered
We moved away from Wave as most of our contractors are time-based, and Wave flat out refuses to provide time tracking features. We tried integrations, but the pricing/complexity goes up and reliability goes down when integrating systems which were not intended to communicate. We since moved to Avaza and sacrificed Payroll for more robust time tracking, project management, and a very open feature development process
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We switched from Gusto to Rippling and I wish we would've done it years ago. Rippling is so much more robust than Gusto and has made the lives of our HR team and each of our employees so much easier! I'd recommend Rippling over Gusto to every organization without any hesitation
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Scalability
No answers on this topic
I can go on here and see all my hours and pto plus health benefits. I like to have the work handbook handy to refer to legal things. How to work my role within it's limits. Being able to put in my hours and view when they are approved is a huge benefit for me.
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Return on Investment
  • Peace of mind that all the payroll tax-related stuff is taken care of accurately and on time.
  • Easy to use interface saves time and helps ensure I am paid on time.
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  • Routine things like PTO requests and document uploads now take a few clicks instead of hours of email back‑and‑forth. I’d estimate I spend at least half the time on those tasks compared to before, which frees me up to actually help employees.
  • What used to drag on for days now gets done in a morning - I've just asked them this now. New hires can log in, set up their tools, and start training almost immediately, so they’re productive much sooner.
  • Payroll and benefits errors used to pop up regularly, but now I almost never have to fix things or follow up on missing info. That means less stress for me and for everyone involved.
  • Having everything in one platform cuts out the “where did you send that?” and “who approves this?” questions. It feels like we’ve reduced our back‑and‑forth by at least a third.
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ScreenShots

Rippling Screenshots

Screenshot of the Rippling Dashboard: Employees' home for their payroll, benefits, documents, devices, expenses, and apps.Screenshot of Rippling Payroll: Runs payroll in 90 seconds. Pays employees and contractors around the world. Automatic tax filing.Screenshot of Rippling Benefits Administration: For the management of employees' Medical, Dental, Vision, 401K, FSA, HSA, and commuter benefits.Screenshot of Rippling Single Sign-On: Employees can access all of their SaaS apps in one click from their Rippling dashboard.Screenshot of Rippling’s Time & Attendance platform. This integrates with the rest of the product suite so that when employees clock in, their approved hours automatically synced with payroll and accounting systems.Screenshot of Rippling Mobile Device Management: To manage employees' computers and devices 100% remotely.