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ADP Streamline vs IBM Kenexa comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

ADP Streamline
Ranking in Benefits Administration
12th
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
Global Payroll (4th)
IBM Kenexa
Ranking in Benefits Administration
21st
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.3
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
Talent Management (20th), Applicant Tracking and Recruiting Software (15th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Benefits Administration category, the mindshare of ADP Streamline is 1.7%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Kenexa is 1.6%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Benefits Administration Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
ADP Streamline1.7%
IBM Kenexa1.6%
Other96.7%
Benefits Administration
 

Featured Reviews

Abdul-Rauf - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager Payroll Services & Operations at Meshsol Technologies
Simplifies payroll processing and reduces the need for extensive marketing efforts while providing scalability, compliance, and excellent stability
I believe there is room for enhancement in the scope of services. We encountered challenges at times in clearly defining it, particularly because the firewall domain is extensive and demands localization for this service. Consequently, there is occasional confusion regarding whether a service falls under the standard category or is considered an add-on. I think there is a need for a deeper level of comprehension.
Karan Grover - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Manager at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Suitable for larger-scale companies aiming to streamline and automate their processes digitally
The deployment of the solution took between six to eight months. When we introduced BrassRing at my company, we encountered several challenges. First, moving data from our old system to BrassRing was tough because it needed reformatting. Second, connecting BrassRing with our HR data was tricky due to manual processes for roles and departments. Third, setting up the workflow in BrassRing was complex. Fourth, configuring user access and approval levels was a detailed task. We also had to manage the change process, including running both old and new systems in parallel, communicating changes, and training users. Lastly, monitoring and reporting were needed to ensure data accuracy and proper system usage once everything was in place. We had a team of six to eight people managing the project from our side during the BrassRing deployment. I'm not sure about the size of the BrassRing team, and we also had our own technical team, which had three to four members. The solution required maintenance, particularly from my side as the administrator. Maintenance responsibilities were divided into two parts: some tasks we, as end-users, could control, while others were the responsibility of the BrassRing team. Payment-related tasks were a regular part of our responsibilities. I wasn't the only person maintaining the solution. There were three power users from Infosys, each responsible for a specific geography. My counterpart managed it in the US, and I, along with my colleague in India, managed it for other geographies.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The advantage was that ADP Streamline was inherently designed to serve as a marketing engine for the company."
"They are very strong in terms of having a central regional system. A regional person can see and monitor the calendar for each different country."
"The most valuable feature was that everything was in one system."
"I like the reporting feature as it allows me to generate reports independently without relying on a payroll consultant."
"It is extremely user friendly. It is very flexible in managing recruitment, especially when you have thousands of applicants as we did. We easily had over 20,000 applicants within a year for some of our positions, so it made it very easy to manage a large application pool. It was very easy to customize by recruiter preference. When you open up someone's profile to see their experience, education, or other things, you can customize that for yourself. It was flexible in that, and each recruiter could set up their preferences. It didn't have to be set up so that everyone had to have the same landing platform, which was very helpful. As someone who trained other HR people on how to use the system, it was very easy to pick up and learn."
"IBM Kenexa is fairly stable. We don't have any downtime."
"The ease of scaling is one of BrassRing's biggest strengths, making it a trusted choice for large companies."
"The most valuable features are that we can upload documents and download them on demand."
 

Cons

"I think there is a need for a deeper level of comprehension."
"They could improve the service relationship manager (SRM), because they have an SRM which is not familiar with Simple."
"Having more clear guidance on design and training would be beneficial."
"The UI could be improved to be a bit more modern or trendy because it looks old-fashioned compared to other systems."
"I would not recommend IBM Kenexa to others."
"The reporting tool is helpful, but it is not the easiest to train on or is not as understandable for other HR pros. Their Workbench site, which is the administrator site that you use to update your website, is not user-friendly. When updates are required, it is not that easy to manage because Workbench is not user friendly. It required more work from the admins. They have Workbench training, which actually was very unhelpful. It took eight hours to complete, and it was not very helpful. Their customer service when it comes specifically to their Workbench site is not helpful."
"I would like to have a better and more user-friendly interface."
"It needs to update its reporting and analytics tools."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Our company had a standardized pricing model based on the number of employees."
"The amount we pay is not low, and it is not high. It is average."
"Kenexa was fairly priced. However, in 2019, before I left my previous organization, they significantly increased their pricing. It can be affordable, but their pricing is going up. It is not just licensing; it is how many applicants you have in your system on the database side."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
15%
Insurance Company
11%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
16%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Wholesaler/Distributor
7%
Media Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise4
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise28
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
IBM Smarter Workforce, Outstart
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Lenovo, ConvaTec, Syngenta, Brady Corporation, Covidien, TomTom
Sweet Spot International (SSI), Leo Burnett Worldwide (LBW), Sika AG, Legacy Health, Apollo Group Inc., Regeneron, Transurban Group, National Health Service, New Zealand Police, Overland Footwear, Yealands, Johnson Controls, Allscripts, Kerry Foods, Masterpet, AMD, Balfour Beatty
Find out what your peers are saying about ADP Streamline vs. IBM Kenexa and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.