The Best Benefit Administration Software List
Here’s the shortlist of the best benefits administration solutions I’ll cover in this article, with detailed summaries below:
- 1. Deel — Best for offering localized benefits through an international employee management platform
- 7. ADP Vantage HCM — Best HCM software suite for integrated benefits management and easy employee self-service
- 9. Gusto — Best for expert advice from licensed advisors, with 3,500+ health insurance plans to choose from
- 10. BenefitFocus — Best for an extensive catalog of industry-leading benefit products that are pre-vetted
As every HR professional knows, managing an internal benefits program is an important part of every HR department's tasks. Benefits administration software simplifies the entire benefits enrollment process, both for your staff and for the members of your human resources team.
The quality of a company’s benefits program plays a vital role in employee retention. According to a 2022 Met Life study, 73% of employees cite benefits programs as a reason to stay with their current employers. In the same survey, when prioritizing benefits from most to least important, health insurance plans were at the very top of the list.
As this data clearly shows, offering a generous employee benefits plan is crucial to remaining a top employer. By doing so, you'll stay competitive, increase your employee engagement, and instill more employee loyalty in your staff.
In this article, I've compared and evaluated the best benefits administration solutions on the market today. I've highlighted the key features and benefits of each system, to help you make the best choice for your organization.
If you have general questions about how benefits administration programs work, take a look at my People Also Ask section below. Or, if you're curious how I developed this top 10 list, see How I Selected the Best Benefits Administration Software below too.
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Overviews of the 10 Best Benefits Administration Systems
Here’s a brief description of each benefits administration software solution that made my top 10 list. I've summarized their noteworthy features and included screenshots to give you a sense of their user-friendly interfaces too.
Deel
Best for offering localized benefits through an international employee management platform
Deel is a global compliance and workforce management solution that lets you manage all employees and contractors in one platform and offer localized benefits wherever they live.
Deel’s in-house expertise in over 150 countries allows you to confidently provide a comprehensive range of benefits and perks to your team. You can compare different country costs and see what benefits and withholdings are required. You can set up employees with local health insurance, pension plans, or stipends. Payroll deductions and withholdings are automatically calculated, allowing you to simply schedule a mass payment in one click. Deel uses major payment providers like Wise, PayPal, Payoneer, and Revolut to offer flexible withdrawal options.
Their easy-to-use interface lets you develop insights and make informed decisions with Deel's actionable reporting. Deel also has several integrations allowing you to import and export HR data between popular accounting and reporting software solutions such as Ashby, BambooHR, Expensify, Greenhouse, Hibob, Netsuite, Okta, OneLogin, Quickbooks, SCIM, Xero, Workday, and Workable. The company also has an Open API solution that allows developers to build their own interfaces on top of the Deel platform too.
Deel offers flat rate pricing upon request. You can also request a free demo through their website to discuss your hiring needs.
Paychex Flex
Best for integrating with other software
Paychex Flex is a cloud-based employee administration software that provides businesses with an integrated platform to manage payroll, benefits, HR, and timekeeping.
Companies can streamline their internal processes and provide employees with an easy-to-use interface for managing their information. The software includes capabilities for calculating payroll taxes, preparing tax filings, processing payments to vendors and suppliers, managing benefits programs, and tracking employee time worked. Additionally, it allows users to customize their settings to ensure that only the most relevant information is visible during each session. It also integrates with other popular third-party services such as QuickBooks and Salesforce.
The software offers a comprehensive payroll processing service that allows businesses to manage their employees’ paychecks quickly and easily. It integrates with other services to ensure accurate calculations of taxes, deductions, and other payroll-related items. Payments can be processed electronically or via check depending on the user's preferences. This makes it easy for businesses to keep track of their payroll expenses and ensure timely payment of wages to their employees. It also helps companies manage their employee benefits packages, including tracking vacation or sick days taken by employees and managing insurance plans or retirement accounts. Additionally, users can create custom benefit packages tailored to each employee's individual needs.
Paychex Flex can help eliminate manual data entry errors. By automating these processes and streamlining them into one integrated platform, businesses can save time and money from entering data manually or dealing with inaccurate data entries. It also increases financial visibility by providing real-time insights into company spending patterns. This can be especially helpful when budgeting and identifying areas where costs could be reduced or eliminated.
Trinet
Best for managing ACA compliance and COBRA administration
Trinet offers a cloud-based HR management platform that's well-suited to small and medium-sized businesses that want access to additional HR services too. Their software works in tandem with advice from their in-house experts who will help you craft a top-tier benefits program for your employees.
Using Trinet, you can offer your employees a wide range of popular benefits covering medical, dental, vision, life, disability, retirement, commuter, family planning, and more. They have a range of premium plans available through popular insurance providers like Aetna, Blue California, MetLife, and United Health Group. Once you've chosen your plan, you can administer all the details through Trinet's software.
Their benefits enrollment portal is clear and easy to follow, and it covers all the requirements for ACA compliance and COBRA administration. For benefits administration, you can also access data on enrollment utilization and benefit costs easily too.
Integrations are available with Brex, ChartHop, eqtble, Green Places, Mosaic, PayEm, QuickBooks, Sage Intacct, Secureframe, TravelBank, Vanta, Worksphere, and others.
ADP Workforce Now
Best for managing the entire employee lifecycle
ADP Workforce Now helps employers manage the entire employee lifecycle from recruitment and onboarding through retirement with tools for online enrollment, payroll processing, HR tracking and reporting, time management, and compliance assistance.
The platform offers an intuitive user interface that makes it easy for employees to access their benefits information whenever necessary. ADP Workforce Now provides a comprehensive benefits package for employees that includes options such as medical insurance, dental coverage, vision plans, life insurance policies, disability coverage, and 401(k) retirement plans. It can generate notifications when an employee's benefits are about to expire or if any changes have been made to the plan so that everyone stays updated on their coverage options. This makes it easier for HR teams to ensure accuracy in employee records while spending less time tracking data across multiple systems or spreadsheets manually.
ADP Workforce Now provides users with real-time analytics that make it easy to track key metrics such as average cost per hire, total compensation costs per employee, and other important workforce trends. It supports automatic overtime calculations, shift differentials, and paid leave tracking. The software allows employers to set up individualized plans for each employee based on their needs and requirements. Employers can use its advanced analytics tools to gain insights into how employees are using their existing benefit packages. This helps them better understand which offerings are most popular and which could be improved upon or eliminated to save money or attract new talent. The platform further simplifies the process by allowing employers to customize the enrollment experience with branded logos or messaging to reflect the company’s values or culture.
Insperity
Streamlining employee benefits administration for businesses
Insperity is a cloud-based HR solution that provides a range of HR and administrative services to businesses. One of its core features is benefits administration, which helps businesses manage and administer their employee benefits programs.
I picked Insperity as one of the best benefits administration software for employees because it is a comprehensive solution that offers a wide range of benefits administration services. With Insperity, businesses can manage their entire benefits administration process from enrollment to termination. Plus, the platform is intuitive and easy to use, making it accessible to businesses of all sizes.
One of the standout features of Insperity's benefits administration solution is its mobile app, which allows employees to access their benefits information and manage their benefits on the go. Another key feature is the platform's compliance tools, which help businesses stay up to date with changing regulations and requirements. Additionally, Insperity's benefits administration solution includes a range of tools for managing and communicating with employees, such as automated email notifications and alerts.
Insperity integrates with a variety of other HR and benefits-related tools, including payroll software, time and attendance systems, and retirement plan providers. This makes it easy for businesses to centralize their HR and benefits administration processes and keep all their employee data in one place.
Justworks
Best for its flexibility in changing benefit packges
Justworks is an HR software that assists you with payroll, compliance, and benefits management.
With Justworks, you can have access to a variety of employee health insurance plans. From national to regional carriers, you can offer your employees extended health benefits, 401K, vision, dental, mental health support, and fertility benefits, among others.
The best part? Your employees can use the platform to enroll and customize their benefits that suit them best. This information is available in the mobile app as well, and guarantees everyone carries their card with them. Finally, if you or your team need help, there is available support through chat, email, or phone 24/7.
Justworks offers you personalized quotes the moment you decide you need to change, add or remove items from your current plan. Simply share your needs and they present viable options for your budget with accurate estimations of how much you will end up paying.
ADP Vantage HCM
Best HCM software suite for integrated benefits management and easy employee self-service
ADP is a well-known and trusted HR software company with over 70 years of experience. Their modern, cloud-based HCM solution combines core HR functions with payroll processing, attendance and time tracking, talent management, benefits management, performance management, a recruiting system, and hiring and onboarding tools. They also offer employee benefits administration features you can use to attract prospective employees and retain your top talent.
ADP’s benefits management solution helps you and your employees manage group health insurance for themselves and their dependents easily. Through their system, you can access an established network of 700 regional and national health insurance providers and compare their competitively-priced plans. Their platform analytics tools also gather and analyze employee data to help business owners with strategic decision-making surrounding benefit offerings.
ADP is the best compensation and benefits platform for companies who want comprehensive benefits administration guidance. ADP’s PlanFit Tool provides employees with personalized ranking on plans helping them decide which ones suit their families’ needs. ADP also provides users with plan calculators to analyze different plans and usage scenarios to aid them in their decision-making.
ADP integrates with accounting solutions like QuickBooks and Xero, ERPs like Oracle and Sage Intacct, and timekeeping software like QuickBooks Time and ClockShark, among others. Their self-service employee app is also available on any type of mobile device.
ADP provides customized pricing upon request.
OnPay
Best HR management software for syncing benefit deduction costs directly with payroll
OnPay’s HR management software links core HR processes together, including payroll processing functions and employee benefits administration. Their team of licensed in-house insurance brokers can help you set up health, dental and vision plans with top providers such as Humana, Cigna, Blue Cross / Blue Shield, Aetna and UnitedHealthcare.
Once in place, benefit costs are synced with payroll, which means you won’t have to worry about capturing any cost fluctuations yourself. You can also work with OnPay to offer other benefits to your employees, including life and disability insurance, liability insurance, health spending accounts, and more.
OnPay’s well-rounded platform includes more than just benefits management features. On top of their full-service payroll, their platform also includes other HR essentials like automated onboarding flows, employee personnel files, document storage with e-sign capabilities, compliance audits, paid time-off tracking, and task management features.
OnPay integrates with Deputy, Magnify, Mineral, PosterElite, QuickBooks, When I Work, Xero, and with the 401k retirement platforms America’s Best 401k, Guideline, and Vestwell.
OnPay costs from $6/employee/month plus an additional base fee of $40/month. A free 30-day trial is available, plus your first month of services are free.
Gusto
Best for expert advice from licensed advisors, with 3,500+ health insurance plans to choose from
Gusto is a SaaS with benefits administration capabilities that can help you manage your company’s compensation workflows. It has a full-service payroll feature to help you manage payroll needs while automating tax filing, ensuring compliance with state and federal regulations. Gusto can help you provide employees with competitive benefits packages, including dental, medical, life, and vision insurance. You can also use Gusto to help employees plan for their future through 401(k) retirement savings.
Gusto is the best benefits administration software for employees if you want to ensure that you have the best plans because they have licensed advisors on staff to help answer questions and concerns. You’ll have access to more than 3,500 plans and 100 insurance carriers, ensuring that companies can craft plans that suit their employees’ needs.
Gusto users have the option to enroll in a Flexible Spending Account (FSA), helping them lower their taxable income while taking care of their medical needs. Gusto also offers lifetime access to users, allowing them access to their accounts even after leaving your company.
Gusto integrates with performance management tools like Lattice, Bonusly, and PerformYard, hiring and applicant tracking tools like ApplicantPro, BreezyHR, and Recruitee, workforce management apps like Asana and Trello, and other solutions.
Gusto costs $40/month base price plus $6/month/employee. They also offer a 30-day free trial as well.
BenefitFocus
Best for an extensive catalog of industry-leading benefit products that are pre-vetted
Benefitfocus is a benefits solutions platform to help you manage your company’s benefits offerings. It can help you manage the more tedious aspects of benefits management like handling COBRA administration, consumer accounts, and eligibility verification checks.
Their catalog of wellness, property, and lifestyle solutions you can use to attract new talent while keeping existing employees. They also recently acquired Tango Health to strengthen their ACA regulatory compliance too.
Benefitfocus is an industry-leading solution with robust reporting capabilities. Their reporting and analytics feature helps gauge what benefits are being used most, which could help you uncover future growth opportunities.
Benefitfocus simplifies the enrollment process while ensuring that employees gain a complete understanding of their benefits with additional reading material and live agent support when needed.
Benefitfocus pricing is available upon request. You can also request a free demo as well.
Need Expert Help Finding The Right Benefits Management Software?
We’ve joined up with Crozdesk.com to give all our readers (yes, you!) access to Crozdesk’s software advisors. Just use the form below to share your needs, and they will contact you at no cost or commitment. You will then be matched and connected to a shortlist of vendors that best fit your company, and you can access exclusive software discounts!
10 Best Benefits Administration Software Comparison Chart
Here’s a comparison chart that summarizes basic details about each of my top benefits administration software selections. You can view pricing details and the availability of free trials or demos side-by-side to help you find the best software for your budget.
Tool | Free Option | Price | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Deel Best for offering localized benefits through an international employee management platform | Free demo available | Flat rate user pricing, with a free version for businesses with up to 200 people | Visit Website |
2 | Paychex Flex Best for integrating with other software | Free demo available | From $39/month + $5/employee/month | Visit Website |
3 | Trinet Best for managing ACA compliance and COBRA administration | Free demo available | Pricing upon request | Visit Website |
4 | ADP Workforce Now Best for managing the entire employee lifecycle | 30-day free trial | From $160/month for up to 49 employees | Visit Website |
5 | Insperity Streamlining employee benefits administration for businesses | Not available | Pricing upon request | Visit Website |
6 | Justworks Best for its flexibility in changing benefit packges | Free demo available | From $59/user/month | Visit Website |
7 | ADP Vantage HCM Best HCM software suite for integrated benefits management and easy employee self-service | Not available | Pricing upon request | Visit Website |
8 | OnPay Best HR management software for syncing benefit deduction costs directly with payroll | 30-day free trial | From $6/employee/month + $40/month base fee | Visit Website |
9 | Gusto Best for expert advice from licensed advisors, with 3,500+ health insurance plans to choose from | 30-day free trial | From $6/employee/month + $40/month base fee | Visit Website |
10 | BenefitFocus Best for an extensive catalog of industry-leading benefit products that are pre-vetted | Free demo available | Price upon request | Visit Website |
Other Employee Benefits Information System Options
Here are a few more that didn’t make the top list. If you need additional suggestions for handy benefits administration software, check these out, and feel free to comment with your recommendations for other tools:
- SAP SuccessFactors
Best benefits management solution for collecting feedback on benefit programs via survey
- Peoplekeep
Best HR solution for offering health savings accounts and healthcare reimbursement stipends
- Infor CloudSuite HCM
Best cloud-based human capital management software solution for offering retirement programs
- Rippling
Best for automatically enrolling new hires in health plans and automating payroll deductions
- BambooHR
Best for easy-to-use benefits administration and mobile app-based vacation requests
- Paycor
Best HR software for benefits enrollment with an employee self-service portal that lets users pick their own health plan
- Papaya Global
Best workforce management platform for simplifying the complex world of global benefits
- Zenefits
Best for simplifying the benefits enrollment process from healthcare plans to perks like commuter benefits
- Namely
Best benefits packages to help small and mid-sized companies attract and retain top talent
- UZIO
Best HR solution for benefits brokers and employers working together to build comprehensive benefit packages
How I Selected the Best Benefits Administration Software
Wondering how I selected the best benefits administration software for this list? I'm happy to explain my methodology.
To start, I created a long list of the most popular software systems for benefits administration based on publicly available user ratings.
I then narrowed down the stack by taking a closer look at the fine details for each system, with a specific focus on the selection criteria below.
By using this framework, I was able to determine which systems offer the best value for organizations looking for an HR platform with integrated benefit management features.
I also drew on my previous personal experience as a benefit plan administrator for nine years to hone in on the details that help to streamline the admin requirements that are typically involved in benefits administration.
Selection Criteria
Here’s a breakdown of the evaluation criteria I used to determine which benefits administration solutions to include in my top 10 list:
- User Interface (UI): Is it clean, attractive, and modernized? Does the navigation make sense and is it easy to find what you need?
- Usability: Does the company offer good tech support, user support, tutorials, and training? How easy or difficult is the software to learn?
- Features & Functionality:
- Employee Self-Service Portal - Can employees easily and intuitively search and register for benefit plans through a dedicated portal?
- Range of Benefits Covered - Does the software solution cover a wide range of benefits such as health plans, dental benefits, life insurance, 401K retirement plans, critical illness, and more?
- Payroll Deductions - Does the software suite integrate benefits deductions directly into your payroll module?
- Built-in Integration with Payroll - If the software doesn’t come with its own payroll features, does it have some way to connect with whatever system you use?
- Software integrations: Is it easy to connect with other tools? Are there any pre-built integrations? Does it offer access to an app marketplace or an open API?
- Value for Price: How appropriate is the price for the features, capabilities, and use case? Is their pricing model clear, transparent, flexible, and scalable?
People Also Ask
Do you still have some questions about benefits administration tools? These answers to frequently asked questions should clear things up:
What is benefits administration software?
How does benefits administration software help you set up employee benefit systems?
How does benefits admin software compare to benefits administration outsourcing services?
Other Resources
It's important to offer your employees benefits, to keep your workforce happy and healthy. Doing so will also make a positive impact on your employee retention numbers too.
If you're interested in diving a little deeper into the benefits scene, here's a collection of our top resources to take a closer look at:
- 20 Types of Employee Benefits You Should Know
- Cost of Employee Benefits
- What is Employee Benefits Liability Coverage?
- Outsourcing HR Benefits, Strategies, and Considerations
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