Best Onboarding Software - NAWBO Expert Reviews

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Best Onboarding Software

Our team sifted through the top onboarding software providers to help you find the one best suited for your business in 2024.

Raechel Conover

Jamie Ostroe

March 18, 2024

Fact Checked

Onboarding a new employee involves paperwork, information, company training, and introductions. It can be tedious for the new employee and everyone involved. That’s where employee onboarding software comes in. Onboarding software streamlines the process, collects imperative information, and keeps everyone that is part of the process on the same page. From features, pricing, and reviews, our guide gives you the lowdown on the best onboarding software for your business.

Our Top Picks

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Onboarding Software Reviews

To help you identify the best onboarding software for your business, we sifted through reputable online vendors, read expert and consumer reviews, and compared key features and pricing to compile a list of six standout onboarding platforms. These onboarding software solutions cover all the features you need to streamline your onboarding process, creating a positive first impression for your new employees while keeping you organized and in compliance.

Check out our methodology section to learn more about our proprietary rating system and review techniques.

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BambooHR

Best HR-Focused Software

BambooHR is a platform designed to take complex HR processes and make them more manageable, leaving you with more time and resources to devote to other business tasks. The platform offers a range of HR programs, including a comprehensive applicant tracking system (ATS) and HR onboarding and offboarding software.

With so many HR-focused programs, integration between the programs is seamless and wrapped up in a user-friendly interface with little to no learning curve.

Why We Picked It

BambooHR Pricing and Plans

Starting Price	Number of plans	Free plan	Free trial
Request a quote	2	No	7 days

BambooHR offers two tiers: Essentials and Advantage. To access the onboarding program, you need the Advantage plan. This plan consists of many HR programs, including document management, HR onboarding, offboarding, ATS, electronic signatures, and a reporting dashboard with metrics.

All the features you need in employee onboarding are available, including customizable workflows, template packages, and engagement opportunities. Plus, it integrates seamlessly if you already use BambooHR for other HR programs. In addition to other BambooHR programs, it integrates with over 100 third-party HR tools and has an open API, allowing you to integrate with other applications as needed.

Four additional add-on programs are available, including payroll, benefits administration, performance management, and time tracking. To get a price quote for your package, you must start with the seven-day free trial and speak to a customer representative. A mobile app is included in both plans, as is electronic signatures. These tools make onboarding a smooth process for all involved and impress new hires.

Who Should Use It

BambooHR is a great option if you’re looking to pair a comprehensive ATS with seamless onboarding to create an impressive user experience from the start. Together, they’re a flawless program that will attract, hire, and retain the best talent for your business, regardless of size.

BambooHR Features

HR Software Integrations	✅
Customizable Workflows	✅
Employee Self-Service	✅
Automation Options	✅
Employee Engagement	✅

Employee document management is available as you onboard new employees.

Pros and Cons

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Deel

Best for Global Onboarding

Deel is, first and foremost, a global payroll platform, but what goes better with payroll than onboarding software? The platform offers onboarding and many other HR tools too in 150 countries. Even better, the platform localizes all your onboarding and payroll to keep you compliant no matter where in the world you’re hiring.

Why We Picked It

Deel Pricing and Plans

Starting Price	Number of plans	Free plan	Free trial
$49 / month/contractor	5	Deel HR	None

Deel is a global-first platform that enables you to hire and onboard worldwide. Onboarding features include customizations, automated workflows, localized onboarding specialists, data management, payroll, and compliance tools. Whether you’re hiring full-time employees or contractors, Deel can onboard within minutes.

While Deel has multiple plans, onboarding is found in the Deel HR plan, which is free for companies with up to 200 employees. Deel integrates with leading HR software and offers its own API to integrate with any program in your tech deck.

Deel has several add-ons that make it easy to grow your HR capabilities as your business expands. These options include background checks, localized benefits, global payroll, immigration assistance, and worldwide workspaces.

Who Should Use It

If you need to hire contractors or full-time employees worldwide, Deel is the right onboarding software for you. It can act as an employer of record (EOR) in 150 countries and offers payroll in 90 currencies, allowing you to hire and onboard globally. And because hiring globally can be complicated, it also boasts 200 local compliance experts who keep you compliant through the hiring and onboarding process.

Deel Features

HR Software Integrations	✅
Customizable Workflows	✅
Employee Self-Service	✅
Automation Options	✅
Employee Engagement	❌

Deel dashboard.

Pros and Cons

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Gusto

Best All-In-One Onboarding Software for Small Businesses

ATS, onboarding, payroll, benefits administration, HR, time-tracking—you get it all with Gusto, a perfect all-in-one solution for small businesses. Between four scalable plans, no contracts, and special low costs for hiring contractors, Gusto has what you need to onboard new employees without hassle.

Why We Picked It

Gusto Pricing and Plans

Starting Price	Number of plans	Free plan	Free trial
$40 / month + $6 / per person	4	Contractor (for first 6 months)	None

Gusto offers a plethora of HR solutions between four plans. Unlike some competitors, Gusto includes onboarding tools right off the bat in the lowest plan, and the onboarding tools only increase as you move up.

Onboarding features with Gusto include integrations with top ATS and HR programs, custom onboarding checklists, welcome letters and emails, employee self-service, e-signatures, background checks, document storage, and employee engagement tools. An employee mobile app is available to help with employee self-service, while benefits administration is a nice add-on.

If you work with contractors only, the monthly base fee is waived for your first six months, and you only pay a small fee per contractor per month. Customer service is available in all plans, like onboarding tools, and each progress in service as you progress in plans.

Who Should Use It

Gusto is an excellent choice if you’re a small business (with even one employee) who needs help streamlining all your basic HR needs, including onboarding and comprehensive payroll. It’s affordable, offers scalable plans with add-ons, will grow with your small business, and includes onboarding from even the lowest-priced package.

Gusto Features

HR Software Integrations	✅
Customizable Workflows	✅
Employee Self-Service	✅
Automation Options	✅
Employee Engagement	✅

Employee self-service dashboard that allows employees to view and update their information.

Pros and Cons

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Paycor

Best for New Hire Engagement

As a full-service human capital management (HCM) platform offering a range of payroll and HR tools, Paycor takes an employee engagement approach to onboarding. It utilizes reminders, notifications, employee recognition, chat, and employee self-service to onboard and engage employees.

Why We Picked It

Paycor Pricing and Plans

Starting Price	Number of plans	Free plan	Free trial
Request a quote	4	None	14 days

Paycor offers a robust HCM platform with numerous HR tools in four complete plans. At the lowest tier, onboarding is unavailable, but you gain access to comprehensive onboarding at the Essentials level.

Onboarding features include a new employee-optimized mobile app, integration with existing HR tech, automated tasks, customizable workflows depending on your industry, and compliance support. One standout feature is the engagement tools. Paycor believes employee engagement should start before an employee enters the door. The platform provides numerous engagement tools to help new employees feel welcome and comfortable immediately.

Paycor excels at streamlining the onboarding process, cutting back on manual administrative functions like complex paperwork while keeping you at the highest level of compliance.

Who Should Use It

If you want to put the human back in human resources, Paycor can help. Using the software automates manual tasks and streamlines processes to create time for you to devote to employee engagement. It also provides tools to reach out and engage your new employees from the first communication. Your new hires will feel welcome, comfortable, and engaged from the start.

Paycor Features

HR Software Integrations	✅
Customizable Workflows	✅
Employee Self-Service	✅
Automation Options	✅
Employee Engagement	✅

People management is part of Paycor’s offerings.

Pros and Cons

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Namely

Best for New Hire Data

Namely offers dual functionality as both an HRIS and an HR system—the result is a comprehensive information management system with tons of HR tools. When it comes to onboarding specifically, the focus on information collection is a valuable tool that will cut down your time and resources, allowing you to have time for more significant business tasks.

Why We Picked It

Namely Pricing and Plans

Starting Price	Number of plans	Free plan	Free trial
$9 / employee/month	4	None	None

Offering a range of payroll and HR solutions, Namely has the unique distinction of being both an HR system and a human resources information system (HRIS). This means it offers both HR tools and focuses on collecting, organizing, and managing employee information starting in the onboarding process.

Namely’s onboarding features include branded welcome messages, automated document collection, e-signatures, and onboarding checklists. Utilizing communications tools and a refined onboarding platform, Namely establishes employee engagement and company culture before the new hire even starts.

One standout feature is a social media platform that allows you to introduce new employees, distribute company-wide information, provide positive employee feedback, and better engage employees in company-related conversations. This is a perk not only in the onboarding process but as a way to keep employees engaged throughout the employee lifecycle.

There are four plans. The lowest-priced, Namely Now, starts at $9 per employee per month. Onboarding tools are only included in some of the plans. Onboarding starts in the Namely Plus plan.

Who Should Use It

If you’re a company that needs a lot of employee information up front, then Namely is a good option. As an HRIS, it collects, organizes, and manages all the employee data you need, from basic tax information to birthdays and favorite colors. Plus, it automates document collection, making it even easier for you and your new hires to onboard efficiently and get to the actual work faster.

Namely Features

HR Software Integrations	✅
Customizable Workflows	✅
Employee Self-Service	✅
Automation Options	✅
Employee Engagement	✅

Namely uses a social media like newsfeed to boost employee engagement.

Pros and Cons

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Rippling

Best for Tech Forward Teams

Known as a workforce management platform, Rippling offers different tools for handling various aspects of your business, including HR, IT, and finance. Onboarding falls under the Rippling Unity module and integrates with all other services to provide a comprehensive tool to manage your business and employee lifecycle.

Why We Picked It

Rippling Pricing and Plans

Starting Price	Number of plans	Free plan	Free trial
$8 / month/user	4	None	None

Rippling offers features to take you from recruiting and applicant tracking to hiring and onboarding and beyond. The onboarding process features custom offer letters, background checks, payroll enrollment, benefits, training, and integration into apps used by your team.

Working with Rippling, you’ll benefit from recruiting, onboarding, and support in HR through the HR cloud throughout the employee lifecycle. This includes things like benefits administration, payroll, and time tracking. Rippling is not just U.S.-based. It’s global, providing hiring and onboarding in 50 countries.

In Rippling Unity, there are four plans – all include onboarding. The most significant difference between the plans is that you get more reporting and custom workflows in the more extensive plans. All the plans integrate with the other Rippling clouds (HR, IT, and finance) so that you can piece together a complete system that works for your specific needs.

Who Should Use It

Rippling supports integrations with over 500 technology tools, and you can create automated workflows for any of them with custom data triggers. Rippling is the way to go if you’re a tech team looking to integrate and automate the onboarding process.

Rippling Features

HR Software Integrations	✅
Customizable Workflows	✅
Employee Self-Service	✅
Automation Options	✅
Employee Engagement	✅

Onboarding is part of the Rippling Unity platform.

Pros and Cons

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Compare the best onboarding software side-by-side

Brand	Best for	Starting Price	Free Option
BambooHR	HR focused software	Request a quote	7-day free trial
Deel	Global onboarding	$49 / month/contractor	Deel HR
Gusto	All-in-one for small business	$40 / month + $6 / per person	Contractor Plan (for the first six months)
Paycor	New Hire Engagement	Request a quote	14-day free trial
Namely	New Hire Data Collection	$49 / month/contractor	None
Rippling	Tech Forward Teams	$8 / month/user	None

What is onboarding software?

The onboarding process is your new employee’s first glimpse into your company, so you want to make a good first impression. Onboarding software significantly improves this by streamlining the process, including everything from the initial offer letter to tax forms and benefits.

Employee onboarding software is the central hub where you track and collect all the new employee information. It saves time and keeps you compliant as you hire new employees.

What are the benefits of using employee onboarding tools?

Whether hiring and onboarding one employee or 50, onboarding software reaps benefits for your HR team and business as a whole. “Investing in the right onboarding software represents a strategic move—one that can enhance employee retention, bolster engagement, and boost overall business efficiency. A well-executed onboarding process equips each team member to fully contribute to our mission,” says Lisa Richards, CEO and Creator of the Candida Diet.

She has seen the following benefits firsthand:

Streamlined processes
Saved time and resources
Increased employee retention
Better trained employees

Laura Summer, Human Resources Specialist for Vignette Express, agrees, saying, “The main benefits of onboarding software are improved efficiency, time-saving, and somewhat simplification of the onboarding process.”

Top features to look for in onboarding software

Many features are important in onboarding software. A user-friendly interface is a must-have. “No matter how good an onboarding software can be, it will be useless if the employee will not be able to use it,” points out Summer. Beyond a user-friendly interface, the five primary onboarding features we sought out in our recommended platforms include:

HR software integrations. Employee onboarding is a huge part of human resources, so it has to integrate with your HR tech deck. That means your HRIS, ATS, recruiting, benefits administration, learning management system, payroll software, and communication tools like Slack.
Customizable workflows. Onboarding a new employee is one of your first chances to provide a positive employee experience. Creating a well-thought-out, smooth workflow that makes sense to your company goes a long way in making a good first impression.
Employee self-service. The employee onboarding process will be easier for all involved if there is the opportunity for the new employee to manage part of the process themselves. This means uploading documents and e-signatures, selecting benefits, and taking specific company training courses.
Automated processes. As with most processes in HR, the more chances you have to automate, the better. It takes more off your plate and frees up your time for other tasks.
Employee engagement. The first day for your new employees is the best time to engage them with your company and team. Onboarding software that offers employee engagement opportunities like presentations, quizzes, and more from the start is a win.

How much does onboarding software cost?

Onboarding software pricing is typically billed per employee/user/contractor per month. Some, like Gusto, charge a monthly base fee of $40 plus a per-employee price of $6 monthly, while others, like Deel, Namely, and Rippling, don’t charge a base fee but just per person per month.

When it comes to costs, Rippling and Namely are the cheapest, starting at $8 and $9 per employee per month, respectively, while Deel is the most expensive at $49 per month per employee.

How to choose the best onboarding software

The best employee onboarding software will meet the unique needs of your budget, customization, and flexibility. While evaluating new hire onboarding software, our experts recommend that you do your research through guides such as this, take the demos and free trials offered by the vendors, and talk to users who have used the software you’re looking at.

“Look for software that suits your and your business needs. Check what cloud-based onboarding software exists, then think about all their function and choose the one that suits your or your business’s needs the most, as one ‘best’ software does not exist,” says Summer.

“Remember that no matter how helpful onboarding software can be, it won’t do the job for you, and you will still need to invest time to set it up and get it going, but I assure you that it is worth it in the long run.”

Onboarding Software Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is employee onboarding?

Employee onboarding is how new employees are integrated into your business. It involves paperwork and activities that set up the new hire in your organization. This includes establishing your processes and teaching the new employee about your business’s mission, values, company culture, and structure. New employee onboarding can include whatever tools you choose, such as background checks, an onboarding checklist, an employee handbook, and an orientation for new team members.

Why is onboarding important?

Onboarding is essential to the new employee and the employee lifecycle at your business. According to CareerBuilder, nine percent of employees quit due to less-than-ideal onboarding experiences. At the same time, Digitate reports that those with a poor onboarding experience are two times more likely to start searching for a new position quickly. Not using a good onboarding program, including onboarding software, can be costly and waste time, money, and resources. On average, it takes 36 days to replace a worker and costs an employer, on average, $15,000 in turnover costs per employee.

How can I improve the onboarding process?

Considering that over half of employees believe that a positive onboarding experience helps them be more competent at their job faster while increasing retention and employee engagement, onboarding is something you should strive to improve. While you might have an onboarding process in place, several onboarding best practices can take a mediocre experience to a highly effective onboarding experience, including:

Well-structured offer letter
Welcome emails
Preboarding and communications
Onboarding software
Workspace and equipment set up
Training modules
Group orientation

How long does onboarding take?

The employee onboarding process should take anywhere from three to six months, with some companies stretching it out to even a year. According to Indeed.com, there are many different onboarding goals and onboarding tasks. Stretching out the process over a more extended period gives your new hires the continued support, evaluation, and performance management they need to get started successfully.

Methodology: How we chose the best Onboarding Software

To provide you with a list of the best onboarding software solutions, we worked with our HR experts to carefully curate a list of six standout providers. We explored each platform’s online presence, reviews, features, pricing structure, and pros and cons.

Our in-depth assessment involved a proprietary rating system that objectively evaluates each vendor on a scoring system based on four key areas:

Features
Pricing Structure
Onboarding and Support
Brand Reputation

Each platform was assigned a score between 1 (poor) and 5 (excellent) for each category. Each score contributes to 25 percent of the overall score.

This system ensures that each vendor we recommend is well-vetted, transparent, feature-rich, and reputable, providing the best onboarding experience for your new employees.

About the Authors

Raechel Conover

Senior Writer, NAWBO Expert Reviews

Raechel covers HR, finance, technology, and small business software for the NAWBO Expert Reviews Team. As an experienced journalist and small business owner, she is passionate about helping entrepreneurs make informed purchasing decisions.

Jamie Ostroe

Editor, NAWBO Expert Reviews

Bringing more than a decade of editorial experience to the NAWBO Expert Reviews Team, Jamie is dedicated to ensuring articles are accurate and helpful. Her experience running a small business inspires her to help others choose the best products for their unique business needs.