About CompareHCM

Our Mission

CompareHCM exists because buying HCM software is harder than it should be. Most "review" sites rank whoever pays the most, and most vendor demos are built to hide weaknesses, not show them. This site publishes side-by-side comparisons for mid-market buyers, with the trade-offs we actually see in the field.

There are no pay-to-play ranking slots here. Vendors cannot buy a higher placement or a softer review. We no longer publish numerical vendor ratings; the useful question is which trade-offs fit a specific buyer.

How We Evaluate

Every platform we profile is examined against the same six criteria:

• Payroll engine. Accuracy, tax handling, multi-state capability, and how it handles the messy stuff like retro pay and mid-cycle changes.
• Workforce management. Time, attendance, and scheduling depth, especially for hourly and shift-based workforces.
• Usability. What the system is like for administrators, managers, and employees on a normal Tuesday, not in a scripted demo.
• Pricing transparency. How close the quote is to what you actually pay after add-ons, year-end fees, and renewals.
• Implementation experience. Typical timelines, data migration quality, and how often projects slip.
• Support quality. Response times, escalation paths, and whether you get a named contact or a queue.

Ownership and How We Make Money

Andy Zelt owns and operates both CompareHCM and Axiom Human Resource Solutions. Axiom is a UKG Ready Preferred Partner and Authorized Reseller. Any link or introduction to Axiom is therefore a related-party referral, not a recommendation from an unrelated comparison company.

CompareHCM may earn a referral fee when a buyer chooses implementation help through the site. Those fees do not buy placement or change the criteria applied to a platform.

Buyers can contact UKG directly, contact any other listed vendor directly, or choose Axiom for UKG Ready help. CompareHCM does not currently operate an inquiry form that sends buyer information to vendors.

Who We Are

CompareHCM was founded and is operated by Andy Zelt. Over 25 years he has participated in 1,000+ HCM buying decisions: demos, parallel payrolls, messy data migrations, and cleanups after vendor-direct implementations that went sideways.

Andy is also founder and CEO of Axiom Human Resource Solutions in Indianapolis. This common ownership is disclosed where buyers choose a contact path.

Read the full editorial methodology, vendor contact options, and privacy notice.

That buying-side experience is the point of the site. These are not press-release summaries. Every profile, comparison, and guide comes from configuring pay rules and seeing where platforms break.

Contact: Andy Zelt on LinkedIn.