Namely is a full HR suite offering advanced capabilities to manage your employees, but it might be better for medium-sized businesses.
WRITTEN & RESEARCHED BY
Expert Contributor
Last updated onUpdated
REVIEWED BY
Lead Staff Writer
| Total Rating | 3.7 |
|---|---|
| Pricing2.0 | |
| Ease Of Use3.5 | |
| Features4.2 | |
| Customer Service3.4 | |
| User Reviews4.0 | |
Payroll Processing Time
2-4 DaysPricing Range
Starts at $9/employee per monthBusiness Size
Small to large businessesTable of Contents
Namely is a payroll program and human capital management software. The entire platform functions as a social media site for your company, encouraging employees to engage with each other and making important job resources available in an easily seen format.
Namely is not specifically a payroll program — its platform foundation focuses on “People Operations,” which includes onboarding, talent engagement, and compliance databases. Components such as time and attendance, and benefits administration are only available on higher tier plans.
| Pricing2.0 |
|---|
| Software Plans 0.6 |
| Pricing Transparency 1.8 |
| Pricing Customization 2.4 |
Namely earned a low 2/5 star rating in pricing due to its nontransparent pricing model. Namely’s base plan starts at $9/employee per month. All other plans are quote-based, there’s no free trial, and you’ll be charged an implementation fee.
Getting a quote from Namely was a confusing and disorganized experience. I spoke with a VensureHR sales rep who offered Namely solutions and a PrismHR solution — these are three distinct products. Although Namely is a Vensure company, it was surprising to be given the spiel about an entirely different product.
Namely’s lack of a free trial and ability to view a demo on your own is a letdown. Other solutions, such as Gusto or QuickBooks Online, offer the same or better features and quality as Namely, and don’t make you jump through hoops to get pricing information or simply trial the software.
That said, here’s a better breakdown of Namely’s pricing plans:
| Namely Plans | Price | When To Use |
|---|---|---|
| Namely Now | Starts at $9/employee per month | If you need basic self-managed payroll services and basic HR features |
| Namely Plus | Variable | If you need basic payroll, HR, talent management, benefits administration, and time tracking tools |
| Namely People | Variable | If you need full-service managed payroll and benefits |
| Namely Complete | Variable | If you need strong benefits administration features, risk management tools, and shared liability compliance support |
If you’re looking for payroll software with transparent pricing, the best cheap payroll services offer transparent pricing and a comparable feature set when compared to Namely.
Namely Now starts at $9/employee per month and includes the following features:
Namely Plus’ costs vary, and it includes everything in the Namely Now plan, plus:
Namely People’s costs vary, and it includes everything in the Namely Plus plan, plus:
Namely Complete’s costs vary, and it includes everything in the Namely Plus plan, plus:
| Namely Extra Costs | Price |
|---|---|
| Large Group Benefits | Variable |
| Onboarding | Variable |
| Implementation Fee | Variable |
Namely’s pricing structure used to be more modular, but now Namely’s services and features are distributed amongst four pricing tiers rather than being offered as a plethora of add-ons. Currently, only onboarding and large group benefits are offered as add-on services for lower pricing plan tiers.
Additionally, Namely charges an implementation fee to help set the program up for your business.
| Ease Of Use3.5 |
|---|
| Set Up 4.6 |
| Software Reliability 2.5 |
| Everyday Use 4.0 |
| Integrations 2.3 |
Namely is generally easy to use and boasts a modern interface that’s easy to navigate.
However, Namely dropped to a 3.5/5 star rating in the category as a result of its poor selection of integrations with accounting, HR, and time and attendance software. The software also suffers from a significant number of user reviews that mention glitching or instances in which the software doesn’t work as intended.
As a cloud-based payroll solution, Namely is compatible with any device as long as you have an internet connection. Namely also offers a mobile app for both Apple and Android phones. Namely’s app enables employers to run HR on the go and employees to view and edit relevant information.
| Features4.2 |
|---|
| Payroll Processing 3.8 |
| Employee Management & PTO 5.0 |
| Time Tracking 3.8 |
| Payroll Tax Support 4.5 |
| Reporting & Tax Forms 5.0 |
| Onboarding & HR 4.3 |
| Benefits Administration 3.4 |
| Niche Features 3.0 |
Namely has a solid feature set, especially for businesses looking first for a comprehensive HR platform. You’ll be able to handle essential payroll processing with Namely, but there are definitely more feature-rich alternatives, such as ADP, Paycor, Gusto, and QuickBooks Online Payroll.
Overall, Namely’s features earned a 4.2/5 star rating. While Namely can handle the essentials, there are some industry-standard features it currently lacks, including auto-scheduled payroll runs, time-tracking integrations, limited benefits management, and no access to HR professionals.
Here’s an overview of what you can expect with Namely:
Namely Home Dashboard
Namely’s payroll system makes running payroll as easy as a click of a button. Once your employees are enrolled, their hours and pay scales set, and your pay date set, running payroll is simple. You can run payroll an unlimited number of times a month for no extra charge.
Here’s a look at Namely’s payroll features:
Namely Payroll Processing
Employees can access their information online, through the Namely mobile app, or on a desktop computer. There is great functionality on all fronts with regard to employee satisfaction.
Namely wants to lead the competition with how often and how much an employee engages with the HR platform. Namely’s employee management features include:
Namely Employee Portal
Namely’s HR solution is the software’s foundation, so it comes as no surprise that it’s one of the more feature-rich offerings. Check out Namely’s top HR features:
Namely’s New Employee Dashboard
Benefits administration is only available with Namely’s higher-priced tiers. However, if you add the benefits administration modules, you gain access to:
Namely Benefits Summary
| Customer Service3.4 |
|---|
| Personal Support 3.8 |
| Self-Service 3.0 |
Namely earned a 3.4/5 star rating in the customer service category, with high marks for offering 24/7 live support and many support options. However, the company lost points due to reviews noting issues with customer service and the limited availability of its support resources for those who don’t already use the program.
Here’s a look at the customer support options Namely offers:
| Namely Customer Service | Availability |
|---|---|
| Phone Support | |
| Email Support | |
| Support Tickets | |
| Live Chat | |
| Dedicated Support Representative | |
| Knowledge Base or Help Center | |
| Videos & Tutorials | |
| Company Blog | |
| Social Media |
Reviews on customer support have been trending negatively since the company abandoned its one-on-one service representative model. However, the company has seen some recovery.
The consensus is that Namely is excellent for HR support, but payroll and benefits support outside of the Managed Payroll and Managed Benefits options is frustrating and slow.
Namely lacks a robust set of integrations with time and attendance, HR, and accounting software. However, the software does have an API that is intended to support integrations for more payroll and benefits-related programs in the future.
User reviews state that some of these integrations are clunky and prone to slowness and bugginess or that fixes on integrations are difficult to receive help for.
| User Reviews4.0 |
|---|
| Customer Feedback 4.0 |
| Review Site Aggregate 4.0 |
Namely’s user reviews helped it earn a 4/5 star rating in the category, as the majority of Namely’s users give the software’s interface and feature set a good review. However, there are many complaints surrounding the difficulty of using promised integrations, glitching, issues with payroll services, and general dissatisfaction with the pricing and extra fees.
Reviewers’ highest praise for Namely focuses on the functionality of the HR suite, the ease of running payroll and paying payroll taxes, and the seamlessness between modules.
Namely prides itself on maintaining security on its platform. Namely uses AES 256bit encryption, and all data is protected behind two-factor authentication.
Namely is also certified in privacy standards for both the EU-US and US-Swiss Privacy Shield frameworks. Employees regularly train on the best practices for security, and the company is routinely audited. Namely is hosted by Amazon Web Services.
| Namely Review Summary | |
|---|---|
| Pricing Range | Starts at $9/employee per month |
| Choose If You Need |
|
For larger businesses that need a broader HR platform with easy payroll, Namely is a great option. However, Namely’s lack of integrations, free trial, and confusing setup process make it a hard sell for small business owners. There are simply far better options out there.
Check out our Gusto review and our QuickBooks Online Payroll review for a deep dive into the best Namely alternatives.
We research, evaluate, and test each payroll software app that we review at Merchant Maverick, placing special emphasis on key characteristics to generate granular ratings.
Our exhaustive, 76-point rubric guides the star rating of each payroll provider we review, examining pricing, ease of use, features, customer service, and user reviews. Each section is weighted differently.
When rating payroll software, we are looking for very specific qualities. The speed and cost of payroll runs and the availability of tax filing services are given high weight, as are the quality and availability of accounting, time-tracking, HR integrations, and user onboarding services. We also look for the presence of client and employee portals, benefits administration, PTO and time management tools, and many more vital features.
Learn more about how we rate payroll software providers.
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Merchant Maverick’s ratings are editorial in nature, and are not aggregated from user reviews. Each staff reviewer at Merchant Maverick is a subject matter expert with experience researching, testing, and evaluating small business software and services. The rating of this company or service is based on the author’s expert opinion and analysis of the product, and assessed and seconded by another subject matter expert on staff before publication. Merchant Maverick’s ratings are not influenced by affiliate partnerships.
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