Rippling Alternatives 2026: 7 Options, 4 Free
Rippling alternatives: Gusto, BambooHR, Zoho People, OrangeHRM and 3 more. Prices and licenses checked October 22, 2026.
•4 min read•Payroll, HR & Hiring
Verdict:Rippling is a platform that ties HR, payroll, IT and devices into one system, starting at $8 per employee a month plus a base fee, with global payroll and contractors quoted. Most teams that leave do so because they only use a slice of it. If that slice is US payroll, Gusto at $49 plus $6 per person or OnPay at $49 plus $6 per worker give you published prices and filings. If it is HR records, BambooHR Core at $10 per employee a month is the standard choice for small companies, with flat rates at 25 or fewer. If you want to pay nothing, Zoho People's free edition covers one administrator, OrangeHRM's Starter edition is free and open source, and Frappe HR and Horilla can be self-hosted with payroll modules, though you take on setup, updates and local tax rules. The trade-off to accept is integration: Rippling lets one change ripple across payroll, apps and devices, and none of the alternatives here matches that in a single product. Leave Rippling when you have a small team, a tight budget, and no need for IT device management. Stay when you onboard people across systems often and want one record to drive them. Check each vendor's current terms before moving, since several of these figures come from pricing pages that may change.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gusto | Paid from $49 per month plus $6 per person (Simple) | Web | US payroll and basic HR | Docs only |
| BambooHR | Paid from $10 per employee/month (Core) | Web | HR records and onboarding | Docs only |
| Zoho People | Free (A forever-free edition with 1 administrator; the user cap is stated on the pricing page) | Web | Free HR for a very small team | Docs only |
| OrangeHRM | Free (Starter edition is free and open source) | Web, Self-hosted | Free open-source HR core | Docs only |
| Frappe HR | Free (Free to self-host; Frappe Cloud hosting starts at $5 per month for Sites) | Web, Self-hosted | Technical teams wanting a free self-hosted HRIS | Docs only |
| Horilla | Free (Free open source, self-hosted) | Web, Self-hosted | Self-hosting all-in-one HR | Docs only |
| OnPay | Paid from $49 per month plus $6 per worker | Web | Simple payroll with filings included | Docs only |
| Deel | Paid from $49 per contractor/month (Hire contractors) | Web | Global payroll and EOR | Docs only |
| ADP | See pricing page | Web | Payroll and HR | Docs only |
| Paychex Flex | See pricing page | Web | Payroll | Docs only |
Independent comparison. Paid placements are labelled separately; editorial links earn no affiliate commissions. Learn more.
Good fit if
- You only need US payroll with visible pricing (Gusto is the pick)
- You need HR records for a small company (BambooHR is the pick)
- You want a free hosted HR tool (Zoho People is the pick)
- You can self-host and want payroll modules (Frappe HR is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You rely on Rippling features or integrations that these tools do not replicate
Rippling today: Paid from $8 per employee/month, plus a monthly base fee (Rippling pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Why people look for Rippling alternatives
Rippling publishes only a starting point: plans begin at $8 per employee per month, with a monthly base fee on some products and no figure given for it. Most products are priced per employee per month, and the page gives no per-module prices, so the total depends on which products you add. Global Payroll and Global Contractors are quote-based, and exact pricing requires a custom quote.
Gusto
Compared with Rippling: Plans with listed prices (Simple $49 a month plus $6 per person), against Rippling from $8 per employee plus a base fee. Strong on US payroll; you lose Rippling IT and device management.
Price: Paid from $49 per month plus $6 per person (Simple) (Gusto pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web. Proprietary SaaS.
Best for: US payroll and basic HR.
BambooHR
Compared with Rippling: Core at $10 per employee a month, with flat rates for companies of 25 or fewer. HR-focused with no free plan, and it does not match Rippling single-platform breadth.
Price: Paid from $10 per employee/month (Core) (BambooHR pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web. Proprietary SaaS.
Best for: HR records and onboarding.
Zoho People
Compared with Rippling: Forever-free edition with 1 administrator, while Rippling has no free plan. Paid plans have a 5-user minimum, and you lose the payroll-plus-IT bundle.
Price: Free (A forever-free edition with 1 administrator; the user cap is stated on the pricing page) (Zoho People pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web. Proprietary SaaS.
Best for: Free HR for a very small team.
OrangeHRM
Compared with Rippling: Starter edition is free and open source, with Advanced priced by quote and a 30-day trial. A leaner HR core than Rippling; plan your own payroll separately.
Price: Free (Starter edition is free and open source) (OrangeHRM pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. GPL-3.0 (open source).
Project activity: 1.2k GitHub stars · latest release v5.9 (Jun 28, 2026) · last commit Jun 28, 2026
Best for: Free open-source HR core.
Worth knowing: Advanced is priced per employee per month by quote, with a 30-day free trial.
Frappe HR
Compared with Rippling: Free to self-host and covers payroll runs, leave and attendance. Cloud hosting starts at $5 a month. Check payroll and tax rules for your country, since Rippling handles US filings for you.
Price: Free (Free to self-host; Frappe Cloud hosting starts at $5 per month for Sites) (Frappe HR pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. GPL-3.0 (open source).
Project activity: 9k GitHub stars · latest release v16.52.0 (Oct 22, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Technical teams wanting a free self-hosted HRIS.
Worth knowing: Covers payroll (salary structures, income tax slabs, payroll runs), leave and attendance. Check that payroll and tax rules fit your country before relying on it.
Horilla
Compared with Rippling: Free open source and self-hosted, with nine modules including payroll, recruitment and attendance. No hosted support like Rippling, so you run updates and security yourself.
Price: Free (Free open source, self-hosted) (Horilla pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. LGPL-2.1 (open source).
Project activity: 1.5k GitHub stars · latest release 2.2.0 (Oct 21, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Self-hosting all-in-one HR.
Worth knowing: README lists nine modules: employee management, recruitment, onboarding and offboarding, attendance, leave, payroll, performance, assets and helpdesk.
OnPay
Compared with Rippling: $49 a month plus $6 per worker with tax filings included. Payroll first, with HR and benefits as add-ons, versus Rippling modular platform pricing.
Price: Paid from $49 per month plus $6 per worker (OnPay pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web. Proprietary SaaS.
Best for: Simple payroll with filings included.
Worth knowing: All plans include W-2s, 1099s, year-end filings, unlimited pay runs and federal, state and local tax filings. Time tracking, HR and benefits are add-ons.
Other popular options (paid)
Deel
Compared with Rippling: Priced per worker type rather than a platform fee: contractors from $49 a month, US PEO $125 per employee, EOR $599 per employee. Built around contractors and international hires, with no free plan.
Price: Paid from $49 per contractor/month (Hire contractors) (Deel pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
ADP
Compared with Rippling: Payroll and HR plans for 1-49 and 50+ employees are priced by quote with no published numbers; the page advertises up to 6 months free for small-business payroll sign-ups under separate terms.
Price: See pricing page (ADP pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Paychex Flex
Compared with Rippling: Paychex Flex publishes no prices; the page directs you to a custom quote based on employee count and business needs. Setup, delivery, 401(k) and time and attendance fees are billed separately.
Price: See pricing page (Paychex Flex pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Which one to pick
- You only need US payroll with visible pricing: Gusto
- You need HR records for a small company: BambooHR
- You want a free hosted HR tool: Zoho People
- You can self-host and want payroll modules: Frappe HR
Limits of this review
Docs-only for Gusto, BambooHR, Zoho People, OrangeHRM, Frappe HR, Horilla, OnPay: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages and we did not test import from Rippling. Vendor prices and free limits change; confirm on the linked pricing page before you buy or migrate.
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Kevin Fan
Kevin Fan is a SaaS founder. He runs Free Instead Of, which tracks free and open-source alternatives to paid software and checks each price and free-plan limit against the vendor's own pages.
Methodology
Based on official pricing and product pages checked 2026-10-22: Rippling, Gusto, BambooHR, Zoho People, OrangeHRM, Frappe HR, Horilla, OnPay, Deel, ADP, Paychex Flex. Prices, free limits and licenses are the figures shown on those pages on those dates. No tool on this page was installed or run. No accounts were created.