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With so many different benefits administration software systems available, figuring out which is right for you is tough. You know you want to simplify the process of enrolling new hires and tracking their monthly fees for payroll purposes, but you need to figure out which software is best. In this post, I'll help you make your choice easy by sharing my insights on the best benefits administration to simplify your benefits enrollment processes based on my previous experience as a group benefits administrator for many years.

What is Benefits Administration Software?

Benefits administration software is a tool that helps organizations manage all aspects of group benefit plans such as health insurance, retirement plans, life insurance, and other specialty employee perks. They include employee self-service portals that simplify the enrollment process for new hires, walking them through all the options available to them. They also help benefits administrators manage ongoing tasks such as reconciling monthly costs with payroll, assisting staff with plan or dependent changes, and generating reports to ensure legal compliance.

Using benefits administration software can significantly reduce the amount of administrative effort required to ensure benefit applications and employee data is handled in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. By automating compliance checks, you'll provide a better employee experience for your HR staff, freeing up their time to focus on other tasks and giving them peace of mind. In addition, empowering your staff to manage aspects of their own benefit plans can also increase your employee satisfaction and retention rates.

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.

Best for offering localized benefits for international employees

  • Free demo available
  • Flat rate user pricing, with free HR tool for businesses
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Rating: 4.8/5

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. 

When you manage your global team's benefits through Deel, you can centralize all your admin and data management tasks, while empowering your employees through their self-service abilities. Deel eliminates multiple logins, reduces manual work, and minimizes errors. Plus, your employees can conveniently enroll in the new benefits they want, decline options, and manage their dependents. They also offer instant support from in-house experts to ensure you and your global team are protected, so you can get the most out of your benefits.

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 for benefit costs and other 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.

Deel offers flat rate pricing upon request. You can also request a free demo through their website.

Best for employee savings programs

  • A free trial is available post demo
  • $450/month
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Rating: 3.8/5

Abenity serves as a streamlined platform for benefits administration, aimed at enhancing the perks and savings available to employees. Its aims to simplify access to a wide range of discounts and benefits, acting as a bridge between organizations and the exclusive offers they seek for their members.

At its core, Abenity excels in providing a comprehensive employee savings program, standing out as a valuable tool in the realm of benefits administration software. Its platform grants employees access to a vast array of discounts and savings on everyday purchases, travel, and entertainment, directly contributing to increased employee satisfaction and retention. This focus on tangible savings is complemented by a user-friendly interface and a seamless integration process, making it a go-to choice for organizations aiming to offer more value to their staff. Moreover, Abenity's ability to offer personalized savings opportunities, based on the specific preferences and needs of each employee, sets it apart from competitors, ensuring that the benefits provided are not just generous, but also relevant.

Abenity also offers employees unprecedented access to over 302,000 exclusive discounts globally, a scale unmatched by many, and its mobile app is both convenient and offers geolocation services. This means that users can find deals and savings opportunities in their immediate vicinity, enhancing the personalization of the platform. Abenity also operates with a commitment to not sell or misuse personal data.

Abenity integrates well with Salesforce, Workday, Microsoft Azure, ArcGIS, and Google Maps.

Best for integrating with other software

  • Free demo available
  • From $39/month + $5/employee/month
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Rating: 4.2/5

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. 


Best for offering global healthcare benefits to international teams

  • Free demo available
  • From $199/employee/month for EOR and $25/mo for contractors
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Rating: 4.3/5

Remofirst is a global employment platform that offers an Employer of Record (EOR) service, which allows businesses to legally employ staff in over 170 countries, handling HR tasks, payroll, taxes, and compliance with local employment laws on their behalf, all without establishing their own legal entities in each country.

Remofirst provides a platform that manages and administers employee benefits for global teams. The tool ensures that companies can offer competitive and compliant benefits packages aligned with local regulations in over 160 countries. It simplifies the process of selecting and managing statutory and supplemental benefits, such as health insurance, retirement plans, and other perks, which are crucial for attracting and retaining talent. Remofirst's benefits administration feature takes into account the varying norms and expectations of different regions, allowing companies to provide appropriate benefits to their international employees.

Remofirst also facilitates the hiring and payment of international contractors, ensuring compliance with local regulations, and conducts background checks on potential hires to maintain safety and integrity. Remofirst additionally supports the visa and work permit application process, ensuring that employees have the necessary documentation to work legally in their respective countries.

Remofirst integrates well with Salesforce, HubSpot, Slack, Zendesk, and Google Drive. Remofirst adds new integrations with HRIS software every quarter.

Best for managing ACA compliance and COBRA administration

  • Free demo available
  • Pricing upon request

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.

Best for managing the entire employee lifecycle

  • 30-day free trial
  • From $160/month for up to 49 employees
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Rating: 4.1/5

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.


Best HCM software suite for integrated benefits management and easy employee self-service

  • Pricing upon request
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Rating: 3.9/5

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.

Best HR management software for syncing benefit deduction costs directly with payroll

  • 30-day free trial
  • From $6/employee/month + $40/month base fee
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Rating: 5/5

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.

Best for expert advice from licensed advisors, with 3,500+ health insurance plans to choose from

  • 30-day free trial
  • from $40/month plus $6/staff member
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Rating: 4.3/5

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.

Best for an extensive catalog of industry-leading benefit products that are pre-vetted

  • Free demo available
  • Price upon request
Visit Website
Rating: 4.4/5

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.

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.

Tools Price
Deel Flat rate user pricing, with free HR tool for businesses
Abenity $450/month
Paychex Flex From $39/month + $5/employee/month
Remofirst From $199/employee/month for EOR and $25/mo for contractors
Trinet Pricing upon request
ADP Workforce Now From $160/month for up to 49 employees
ADP Vantage HCM Pricing upon request
OnPay From $6/employee/month + $40/month base fee
Gusto from $40/month plus $6/staff member
BenefitFocus Price upon request
Preview Image - <h2 class="c-block__title b-summary-table__title c-listicle__title h3" > Compare Software Specs Side by Side</h2>

Compare Software Specs Side by Side

Use our comparison chart to review and evaluate software specs side-by-side.

Compare Software

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:

  1. SAP SuccessFactors

    Best benefits management solution for collecting feedback on benefit programs via survey

  2. Infor CloudSuite HCM

    Best cloud-based human capital management software solution for offering retirement programs

  3. Peoplekeep

    Best HR solution for offering health savings accounts and healthcare reimbursement stipends

  4. Rippling

    Best for automatically enrolling new hires in health plans and automating payroll deductions

  5. BambooHR

    Best for easy-to-use benefits administration and mobile app-based vacation requests

  6. Papaya Global

    Best workforce management platform for simplifying the complex world of global benefits

  7. Paycor

    Best HR software for benefits enrollment with an employee self-service portal that lets users pick their own health plan

  8. Justworks

    Best for its flexibility in changing benefit packges

  9. Insperity

    Streamlining employee benefits administration for businesses

  10. Namely

    Best benefits packages to help small and mid-sized companies attract and retain top talent

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: 

  1. User Interface (UI): Is it clean, attractive, and modernized? Does the navigation make sense and is it easy to find what you need?
  2. Usability: Does the company offer good tech support, user support, tutorials, and training? How easy or difficult is the software to learn?
  3. 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?
  4. 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? 
  5. 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?

Benefits administration software is a type of software that help HR teams organize employee benefits. They streamline the benefits management process through helpful features like self-service employee benefits dashboards, administrator management tools, and payroll integrations. They also cover a range of different types of benefits including health and dental benefits, 401(k) retirement plans, RRSP contribution programs, life insurance, critical insurance coverage, and paid time-off (PTO).

Benefits administration software is often a module within an HRIS or other type of HR management system. However, there are standalone benefit admin systems as well.

How does benefits administration software help you set up employee benefit systems?

Every benefits administration software will have its own way of setting up an employee benefits system, so it’s important to talk to the customer support team for your solution of choice to learn the ins and outs. Typically, benefits administration software will help you evaluate and plan what benefits you want to employ based on your company size, budget, and needs and then will help you implement it, connect it to your payroll, and onboard employees.

How does benefits admin software compare to benefits administration outsourcing services?

Benefits administration software differs from benefits outsourcing in several key ways:

  • It requires more administration effort on your part but also keeps all workflow within your company, meaning higher levels of control.
  • It may have higher health benefit premiums because you don’t have the leveraging power of a larger conglomerate, however self-lead software tends to be cheaper to license.
  • Compliance and liability falls squarely on your shoulders, whereas outsourcing makes it someone else’s burden to carry.
  • Employing your own benefits admin software means you get to pick your plan and provider, whereas an outsourcing company reserves the right to make changes on a whim.

Why is it important to offer your employees benefits?

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.

Benefits administration software simplifies the entire benefits enrollment process, both for your staff and for the members of your human resources team.

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:

Lastly, don't forget to sign up for our People Managing People newsletter. By doing so, you'll stay in the loop in our latest articles, tool recommendations, and podcasts with leaders in the HR space.

By Kim Behnke

Kim Behnke is an HR Tool Expert & Writer for People Managing People. She draws on her 9 years of human resources experience and her keen eye for systematic processes to support her analyses of the top HR tools on the market. She is passionate about maximizing efficiencies and streamlining workflows to ensure internal systems run smoothly. Kim's HR experience includes recruitment, onboarding, performance management, training and development, policy development and enforcement, and HR analytics. She also has degrees in psychology, writing, publishing, and technical communication, and recently completed a Certified Digital HR Specialist program through the Academy to Innovate HR. When away from her desk, she can usually be found outside tending to her ever-expanding garden.