{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "finch", "name": "Finch", "vendor": "Profound Platform Inc. (dba Finch)", "vendorUrl": "https://www.tryfinch.com", "kind": "http-api", "category": "payroll", "summary": "Finch is a unified API for reading an employer's existing HR and payroll system, run by Profound Platform Inc. in San Francisco. Applications read directory, employment and pay data from 250+ systems and write payroll deductions.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/finch", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/finch.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/finch.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/finch.json", "repo": "https://github.com/Finch-API/finch-api-node", "license": "Proprietary service under Finch's Master Service Agreement. The SDKs and the MCP server on GitHub are Apache-2.0", "transports": [ "http", "stdio" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.tryfinch.com", "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "@tryfinch/finch-api" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@tryfinch/finch-api-mcp" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "finch-api" } ], "auth": "oauth", "authNotes": "A person signs up for the Developer Dashboard and receives a `client_id` and `client_secret` for a free sandbox application. Access to an employer's data then needs that employer's administrator to sign in through Finch Connect and approve the requested products. The authorisation code is exchanged at POST /auth/token for a bearer access token tied to that one connection and those products. The token does not expire and is revoked with POST /disconnect. Connect sessions are created with HTTP Basic auth using the client ID and secret. The SSN permission needs Finch's approval, and Gusto and TriNet need a one-time security review before going live. The MCP server reads the access token from `FINCH_ACCESS_TOKEN`.", "pricing": "paid", "pricingNotes": "Starter is $65 a month per connection, month to month, for 24 providers, up to 15 connections and read-only organisation and payroll data. Pro and Premier are sold through sales, with volume discounts from 25 connections a month, all 250+ providers, deduction writes and assisted integrations. A sandbox with mock data is free with a Dashboard signup, so an agent's owner can start without a contract, and Provider Sandboxes allow five connections to provider demo accounts. All production connections are billable (checked 2026-10-08).", "priceSummary": "Paid", "where": "both", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the documentation index, the OpenAPI specification or the pricing page (checked 2026-10-08).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": 2, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": 16128, "pypiWeekly": 25524, "asOf": "2026-10-08" }, "docsUrl": "https://developer.tryfinch.com", "llmsTxt": "https://developer.tryfinch.com/llms.txt", "openapi": "https://developer.tryfinch.com/openapi.json", "capabilities": [ "payroll.employees", "payroll.contractors", "hr.employees", "hr.org", "hr.documents" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "unified-api", "payroll-data", "hris", "oauth", "openapi", "llms-txt", "mcp", "sandbox", "webhooks", "python", "typescript", "java", "go", "ruby", "status-page", "sla", "soc2" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-05", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 71.6, "grade": "BB", "agentReady": true, "rank": 104, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 722, "categoryRank": 1, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 71, "maintenance": 84, "payments": 30, "reliability": 84, "schema": 87, "security": 66, "transparency": 74 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-08" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "Graded on the REST API. An employer grants each connection named product permissions, and limits, error codes and a 99.9 per cent uptime SLA are published. Finch reads payroll and writes deductions but cannot run a payroll. Access tokens never expire, no idempotency keys were found, and writes and most providers need a sales-led plan.", "bestFor": "An application that needs to read employees, pay runs and pay statements from whatever payroll or HR system an employer already uses, or to write benefit deductions back.", "strengths": [ "One OpenAPI 3.1 file covers 55 operations, and llms.txt indexes the documentation with every page served as Markdown", "Each access token is tied to one employer connection and limited to the products that employer approved, with SSN as a separate permission needing Finch's approval", "Rate limits are published per endpoint (20 or 12 requests a minute per application), with 429 errors that name which limit was hit", "A 99.90 per cent monthly uptime SLA with service credits is published for plans whose order form includes it", "Official SDKs for Node, Python, Java, Kotlin, Go and Ruby, with Node 10.8.2 and Python 2.8.3 released in the last 50 days", "A public DPA dated 7 August 2026, and a trust centre naming six sub-processors with hosting in AWS us-west-2" ], "weaknesses": [ "Finch cannot create, preview or approve a payroll. Writes are limited to deductions and contributions, on Pro and Premier plans", "An access token does not expire until the connection is disconnected, and no rotation method was found in the reviewed documentation", "No idempotency keys were found, and no `Retry-After` header is documented on 429 responses", "Data is synced, not live. Automated integrations refresh every 24 hours and assisted integrations every 7 days", "Starter is $65 a month per connection for 24 providers and 15 connections. The other 250+ providers and deduction writes have no public price", "The MCP server is labelled beta, runs locally over stdio and is not in the official MCP registry" ], "agentNotes": [ "Send `Finch-API-Version: 2020-09-17` and `Authorization: Bearer \u003caccess_token\u003e` on every request. A request without the version header fails with 400", "Call GET /introspect first to see the connection's products, status and whether it is automated or assisted before choosing endpoints", "Treat a 202 response as data not ready, not as data. Retry with backoff, and expect up to 14 days for an assisted connection's first sync", "Stay under 20 requests a minute on organisation endpoints and 12 on pay endpoints across all tokens. Batch IDs, and on 429 wait 60 seconds", "After a deduction write, poll the job by `job_id` until it completes before enrolling individuals. Enrolment overwrites an existing enrolment", "Start the MCP server with `--code-allow-http-gets` or a token without the benefits product when only reads are intended" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "BB", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 71.6 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 71, "maintenance": 84, "payments": 30, "reliability": 84, "schema": 87, "security": 66, "transparency": 65 }, "provenanceScore": 82 }, "connect": { "install": "pip install finch-api", "http": "curl https://api.tryfinch.com/employer/directory \\\n -H 'Authorization: Bearer \u003caccess_token\u003e' \\\n -H 'Finch-API-Version: 2020-09-17'", "config": { "mcpServers": { "finch_api": { "args": [ "-y", "@tryfinch/finch-api-mcp" ], "command": "npx", "env": { "FINCH_ACCESS_TOKEN": "\u003ca specific connection's access token\u003e" } } } } }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/payroll.employees", "tool": "https://letme.dev/finch" }, "area": "domain-data", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Starter, one employer connection", "unit": "account-month", "usd": 65, "note": "read-only, 24 providers, up to 15 connections. Pro and Premier priced by sales" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Profound Platform Inc. (dba Finch)", "domain": "tryfinch.com", "domainRegistered": "2020-03-30", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://www.tryfinch.com/legal/msa", "privacy": "https://www.tryfinch.com/legal/privacy", "statusPage": "https://status.tryfinch.com", "changelog": "https://developer.tryfinch.com/changelog", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-08", "notes": [ "The Master Service Agreement (last updated 7 August 2026) names Profound Platform Inc. (dba Finch), a Delaware corporation. The site footer reads Finch Inc.", "The site also publishes Terms of Service dated 24 March 2022 at tryfinch.com/legal/terms, which cover the website and self-serve use, a DPA dated 7 August 2026 at /legal/dpa and a Service Level Description at /legal/sla.", "The privacy policy (effective 31 July 2025) gives the address 2261 Market Street #4127, San Francisco, CA 94114, and says Finch processes developer customers' end-user data only on their behalf.", "www.tryfinch.com/.well-known/security.txt and tryfinch.com/.well-known/security.txt return 404.", "The API answers at api.tryfinch.com and Finch Connect at connect.tryfinch.com.", "RDAP for tryfinch.com gives a registration date of 2020-03-30 and Squarespace Domains II LLC as registrar." ], "score": 82 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/finch.json", "live": { "slug": "finch", "probe": { "target": "https://api.tryfinch.com", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-08T21:12:10.581578658Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 400, "lastMs": 1031, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 452, "p95ms24h": 542, "samples24h": 41, "samples30d": 41, "days": [ { "date": "2026-10-08", "probes": 41, "ok": 41 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.tryfinch.com", "indicator": "none", "summary": "All Systems Operational", "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T21:06:05.29956342Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://developer.tryfinch.com/changelog", "kind": "changelog", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:17:19.963606681Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "eb779dc32931" }, { "url": "https://www.tryfinch.com/legal/privacy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:31:07.005025023Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "758462585b04" }, { "url": "https://www.tryfinch.com/legal/msa", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:31:04.959158947Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "b7122ac1b3ac" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-08T21:12:10.581578658Z" } }, "answer": "Finch scores 71.6 (BB) on agent readiness against Paychex's 44.8 (E), and leads in every scored category.", "b": { "slug": "paychex", "name": "Paychex", "vendor": "Paychex, Inc.", "vendorUrl": "https://www.paychex.com", "kind": "http-api", "category": "payroll", "summary": "Paychex's REST API reads and updates company, worker and pay data in Paychex Flex, a US payroll and HR service. Clients create an app inside their Flex account. Software partners apply to Paychex for a sandbox and production credentials.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/paychex", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/paychex.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/paychex.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/paychex.json", "license": "Proprietary service. Public use is under the Paychex User Terms of Use. Partner terms aren't published", "transports": [ "http" ], "packages": [], "auth": "oauth", "authNotes": "Graded on the Paychex API for Paychex Flex. Access is by OAuth 2.0 client credentials. A key and secret go in the form body of POST `/auth/oauth/v2/token` and return a Bearer token that lasts 60 minutes, with no refresh token. A Paychex client with a Super Admin or Security Admin role creates an app inside Flex and chooses its access levels. A software partner fills in a questionnaire, is reviewed by the Corporate Partnerships Team, builds in a sandbox Paychex issues, demos the integration and then receives a production key and secret limited to the verbs and endpoints requested. Each client approves a partner app in Flex before its data is reachable.", "pricing": "paid", "pricingNotes": "No price is published for the API or for Paychex payroll. The Request Pricing button on paychex.com/payroll leads to the sales contact form, and the developer centre states no fee. The API reaches only companies with a paid Paychex Flex account, and the Payroll API needs online payroll added by a Paychex representative. The partner sandbox is issued after Paychex approves the partnership, so there is no way to start without Paychex's agreement (checked 2026-10-08).", "priceSummary": "Paid", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the developer centre pages or the OpenAPI definition (checked 2026-10-08).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-08" }, "docsUrl": "https://developer.paychex.com/documentation", "openapi": "https://developer.paychex.com/sites/default/files/apidocument/openapi-merge-develop.210-public.json", "capabilities": [ "payroll.employees", "hr.employees", "hr.onboarding", "hr.documents", "hr.org" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "payroll", "hr", "oauth", "openapi", "partner-approval", "sandbox", "webhooks", "sales-led", "soc2", "iso27001" ], "lastRelease": "2026-08-20", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 44.8, "grade": "E", "agentReady": false, "rank": 666, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 722, "categoryRank": 9, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 54, "maintenance": 26, "payments": 0, "reliability": 41, "schema": 66, "security": 58, "transparency": 54 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-08" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "A public OpenAPI 3.0.3 definition covers 110 operations, and payroll entries stay unprocessed until a person submits the payroll in Flex. Partner credentials and the sandbox follow approval by Paychex, no price is published, and no status page, SLA or SDK was found in the reviewed pages.", "bestFor": "A software partner with shared customers on Paychex Flex that needs to sync workers, pay rates, direct deposits and tax setup, or to send hours and earnings into pay entry.", "strengths": [ "One public OpenAPI 3.0.3 file describes 110 operations and 147 schemas, with named request and response examples for most of them", "Checks are created as unprocessed entries. The docs say the client or a Paychex service provider must review and submit the payroll", "A client admin approves each partner app inside Paychex Flex before any company data is reachable, and a delete endpoint removes the link", "Errors return a `code`, `description` and `resolution`, and every response carries an `x-payx-txid` for support", "Published limit of 10,000 requests a minute per partner, with `X-RateLimit-*` headers and `Retry-After` on 429" ], "weaknesses": [ "Partner access needs a questionnaire, review by the Corporate Partnerships Team, a demo and final approval. The sandbox is issued only after approval", "No price is published for the API or for Paychex payroll. The pricing button leads to a sales contact form", "No status page, incident history or SLA was found, and the User Terms of Use give no availability guarantee", "Paging works on three endpoints only, and on the worker list it can't be combined with filters", "No SDK, llms.txt or dated changelog was found. The News page holds two notices", "The User Terms of Use bar automated access to Paychex sites and applications unless Paychex approves it, and allow suspension without notice" ], "agentNotes": [ "POST `grant_type=client_credentials` with the key and secret in the form body to `/auth/oauth/v2/token`. Tokens last 60 minutes and there is no refresh token, so request a new one", "Call GET `/companies` first. Worker and payroll paths need a `companyId` or `workerId` the app has been granted", "Send `offset` and `limit` on GET `/companies/{companyId}/workers`, 50 at most, and resend the `ETag` between pages. The unpaged form is withdrawn on 24 February 2027", "Creating a check doesn't pay anyone. A person must review and submit the payroll in Paychex Flex", "Send a unique `X-payx-client-correlationId` per request and keep the `x-payx-txid` from the response. Support asks for it", "On 423 the client is locked by another user or process. Wait and retry" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "E", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 44.8 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 54, "maintenance": 26, "payments": 0, "reliability": 41, "schema": 66, "security": 58, "transparency": 39 }, "provenanceScore": 69 }, "connect": { "http": "curl --location 'https://api.paychex.com/auth/oauth/v2/token' \\\n--header 'Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded' \\\n--data-urlencode 'grant_type=client_credentials' \\\n--data-urlencode 'client_id=CLIENT_ID' \\\n--data-urlencode 'client_secret=CLIENT_SECRET'" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/payroll.employees", "tool": "https://letme.dev/paychex" }, "area": "domain-data", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Paychex, Inc.", "domain": "paychex.com", "domainRegistered": "1991-06-10", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://www.paychex.com/corporate/terms", "privacy": "https://www.paychex.com/corporate/security/privacy", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://developer.paychex.com/news", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-08", "notes": [ "The privacy policy (last updated 1 June 2026) names Paychex, Inc., 911 Panorama Trail South, Rochester, NY 14625.", "The terms link is the Paychex User Terms of Use, effective 1 June 2026, which govern Paychex's websites, software applications, mobile applications and services. No API-specific terms are published. The partner agreement and the Third-Party Terms of Use a client accepts in Flex weren't found in public.", "API calls go to https://api.paychex.com. An unauthenticated GET `/companies` answered 401 with error code API-103.", "www.paychex.com/.well-known/security.txt, www.paychex.com/security.txt and developer.paychex.com/.well-known/security.txt return 404. Vulnerability reports go through a form at paychex.com/corporate/security/responsible-disclosure run with Bugcrowd.", "No status page was found on the developer centre or the security page, and status.paychex.com didn't resolve.", "The changelog link is the developer centre's News page, which holds two notices and no dated list of changes.", "RDAP for paychex.com gives a registration date of 1991-06-10." ], "score": 69 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/paychex.json" }, "facts": [ { "a": "HTTP API", "b": "HTTP API", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Profound Platform Inc. (dba Finch)", "b": "Paychex, Inc.", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "https://api.tryfinch.com", "b": "no (local only)", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP, stdio", "b": "HTTP", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "OAuth", "b": "OAuth", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Paid", "b": "Paid", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "Proprietary service under Finch's Master Service Agreement. The SDKs and the MCP server on GitHub are Apache-2.0", "b": "Proprietary service. Public use is under the Paychex User Terms of Use. Partner terms aren't published", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "2", "b": "none", "name": "Tools exposed" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "no", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-10-05", "b": "2026-08-20", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "2026-08-07", "b": "no date given", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "no date given", "b": "2026-06-01", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "yes", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "yes", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "16k npm/wk, 26k PyPI/wk", "b": "none", "name": "Popularity" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "Finch scores 71.6 (BB) on agent readiness against Paychex's 44.8 (E), and leads in every scored category.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Finch or Paychex?" }, { "answer": "Both use an OAuth sign-in.", "question": "Do Finch and Paychex need an API key?" }, { "answer": "Finch has a hosted endpoint at https://api.tryfinch.com. No hosted endpoint is listed for Paychex.", "question": "Can an agent call Finch and Paychex without installing anything?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 84 against 41", "Schema \u0026 documentation, 87 against 66", "Agent ergonomics, 71 against 54", "Security \u0026 auth, 66 against 58", "Payments \u0026 pricing, 30 against 0", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 84 against 26", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 74 against 54" ], "also": [ "Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better", "A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install", "Runs on your own machine" ], "goodFor": "An application that needs to read employees, pay runs and pay statements from whatever payroll or HR system an employer already uses, or to write benefit deductions back.", "slug": "finch", "watchFor": "Finch cannot create, preview or approve a payroll. Writes are limited to deductions and contributions, on Pro and Premier plans" }, { "aheadOn": null, "also": null, "goodFor": "A software partner with shared customers on Paychex Flex that needs to sync workers, pay rates, direct deposits and tax setup, or to send hours and earnings into pay entry.", "slug": "paychex", "watchFor": "Partner access needs a questionnaire, review by the Corporate Partnerships Team, a demo and final approval. The sandbox is issued only after approval" } ], "job": { "capability": "payroll.employees", "name": "Payroll employees" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/argyle-vs-finch.json", "title": "Argyle vs Finch", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/argyle-vs-finch" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/argyle-vs-paychex.json", "title": "Argyle vs Paychex", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/argyle-vs-paychex" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/check-payroll-vs-finch.json", "title": "Check vs Finch", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/check-payroll-vs-finch" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/check-payroll-vs-paychex.json", "title": "Check vs Paychex", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/check-payroll-vs-paychex" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/employment-hero-vs-finch.json", "title": "Employment Hero Payroll vs Finch", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/employment-hero-vs-finch" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/employment-hero-vs-paychex.json", "title": "Employment Hero Payroll vs Paychex", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/employment-hero-vs-paychex" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/everee-vs-finch.json", "title": "Everee vs Finch", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/everee-vs-finch" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/everee-vs-paychex.json", "title": "Everee vs Paychex", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/everee-vs-paychex" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/finch-vs-gusto.json", "title": "Finch vs Gusto", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/finch-vs-gusto" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/finch-vs-salsa.json", "title": "Finch vs Salsa", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/finch-vs-salsa" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/finch-vs-zeal.json", "title": "Finch vs Zeal", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/finch-vs-zeal" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gusto-vs-paychex.json", "title": "Gusto vs Paychex", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gusto-vs-paychex" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paychex-vs-salsa.json", "title": "Paychex vs Salsa", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paychex-vs-salsa" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paychex-vs-zeal.json", "title": "Paychex vs Zeal", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paychex-vs-zeal" } ], "scores": [ { "by": 43, "edge": "finch", "finch": 84, "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "paychex": 41, "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 21, "edge": "finch", "finch": 87, "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "paychex": 66, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 17, "edge": "finch", "finch": 71, "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "paychex": 54, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 8, "edge": "finch", "finch": 66, "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "paychex": 58, "weight": 14 }, { "by": 30, "edge": "finch", "finch": 30, "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "paychex": 0, "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 58, "edge": "finch", "finch": 84, "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "paychex": 26, "weight": 7 }, { "by": 20, "edge": "finch", "finch": 74, "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "paychex": 54, "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "Finch scores 71.6 (BB) on agent readiness against Paychex's 44.8 (E), and leads in every scored category. Both do payroll employees.", "verdicts": { "finch": "Graded on the REST API. An employer grants each connection named product permissions, and limits, error codes and a 99.9 per cent uptime SLA are published. Finch reads payroll and writes deductions but cannot run a payroll. Access tokens never expire, no idempotency keys were found, and writes and most providers need a sales-led plan.", "paychex": "A public OpenAPI 3.0.3 definition covers 110 operations, and payroll entries stay unprocessed until a person submits the payroll in Flex. Partner credentials and the sandbox follow approval by Paychex, no price is published, and no status page, SLA or SDK was found in the reviewed pages." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/finch-vs-paychex", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/finch-vs-paychex.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/finch-vs-paychex.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/finch-vs-paychex.min.md" }, "markdown": "Finch scores 71.6 (BB) on agent readiness against Paychex's 44.8 (E), and leads in every scored category. Both do payroll employees.\n\n- Finch: grade BB, 71.6/100, rank #104 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/finch.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/finch.json\n- Paychex: grade E, 44.8/100, rank #666 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/paychex.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/paychex.json\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### Finch (BB)\n\nGood for: An application that needs to read employees, pay runs and pay statements from whatever payroll or HR system an employer already uses, or to write benefit deductions back.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 84 against 41\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 87 against 66\n- Agent ergonomics, 71 against 54\n- Security \u0026 auth, 66 against 58\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 30 against 0\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 84 against 26\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 74 against 54\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better\n- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install\n- Runs on your own machine\n\nWatch for: Finch cannot create, preview or approve a payroll. Writes are limited to deductions and contributions, on Pro and Premier plans\n\n### Paychex (E)\n\nGood for: A software partner with shared customers on Paychex Flex that needs to sync workers, pay rates, direct deposits and tax setup, or to send hours and earnings into pay entry.\n\nWatch for: Partner access needs a questionnaire, review by the Corporate Partnerships Team, a demo and final approval. The sandbox is issued only after approval\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Finch | Paychex | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 84 | 41 | Finch +43 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 87 | 66 | Finch +21 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 71 | 54 | Finch +17 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 66 | 58 | Finch +8 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 0 | Finch +30 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 84 | 26 | Finch +58 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 74 | 54 | Finch +20 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **71.6 · BB** | **44.8 · E** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Finch | Paychex |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |\n| Vendor | Profound Platform Inc. (dba Finch) | Paychex, Inc. |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.tryfinch.com` | no (local only) |\n| Transports | HTTP, stdio | HTTP |\n| Auth | OAuth | OAuth |\n| Pricing | Paid | Paid |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | Proprietary service under Finch's Master Service Agreement. The SDKs and the MCP server on GitHub are Apache-2.0 | Proprietary service. Public use is under the Paychex User Terms of Use. Partner terms aren't published |\n| Tools exposed | 2 | none |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | no |\n| Last release | 2026-10-05 | 2026-08-20 |\n| Terms last updated | 2026-08-07 | no date given |\n| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | 2026-06-01 |\n| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | yes |\n| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | yes |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | not found in the text |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | yes |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | yes |\n| Popularity | 16k npm/wk, 26k PyPI/wk | none |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**Finch.** Graded on the REST API. An employer grants each connection named product permissions, and limits, error codes and a 99.9 per cent uptime SLA are published. Finch reads payroll and writes deductions but cannot run a payroll. Access tokens never expire, no idempotency keys were found, and writes and most providers need a sales-led plan.\n\n**Paychex.** A public OpenAPI 3.0.3 definition covers 110 operations, and payroll entries stay unprocessed until a person submits the payroll in Flex. Partner credentials and the sandbox follow approval by Paychex, no price is published, and no status page, SLA or SDK was found in the reviewed pages.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Finch\n\n1. Send `Finch-API-Version: 2020-09-17` and `Authorization: Bearer \u003caccess_token\u003e` on every request. A request without the version header fails with 400\n2. Call GET /introspect first to see the connection's products, status and whether it is automated or assisted before choosing endpoints\n3. Treat a 202 response as data not ready, not as data. Retry with backoff, and expect up to 14 days for an assisted connection's first sync\n4. Stay under 20 requests a minute on organisation endpoints and 12 on pay endpoints across all tokens. Batch IDs, and on 429 wait 60 seconds\n5. After a deduction write, poll the job by `job_id` until it completes before enrolling individuals. Enrolment overwrites an existing enrolment\n6. Start the MCP server with `--code-allow-http-gets` or a token without the benefits product when only reads are intended\n\n### Paychex\n\n1. POST `grant_type=client_credentials` with the key and secret in the form body to `/auth/oauth/v2/token`. Tokens last 60 minutes and there is no refresh token, so request a new one\n2. Call GET `/companies` first. Worker and payroll paths need a `companyId` or `workerId` the app has been granted\n3. Send `offset` and `limit` on GET `/companies/{companyId}/workers`, 50 at most, and resend the `ETag` between pages. The unpaged form is withdrawn on 24 February 2027\n4. Creating a check doesn't pay anyone. A person must review and submit the payroll in Paychex Flex\n5. Send a unique `X-payx-client-correlationId` per request and keep the `x-payx-txid` from the response. Support asks for it\n6. On 423 the client is locked by another user or process. Wait and retry\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Finch or Paychex?\n\nFinch scores 71.6 (BB) on agent readiness against Paychex's 44.8 (E), and leads in every scored category.\n\n### Do Finch and Paychex need an API key?\n\nBoth use an OAuth sign-in.\n\n### Can an agent call Finch and Paychex without installing anything?\n\nFinch has a hosted endpoint at https://api.tryfinch.com. No hosted endpoint is listed for Paychex.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/finch-vs-paychex.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/finch-vs-paychex.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"finch\", \"b\": \"paychex\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare finch paychex`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/finch.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/paychex.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Finch or Paychex\n\n- [Argyle vs Finch](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/argyle-vs-finch.md)\n- [Argyle vs Paychex](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/argyle-vs-paychex.md)\n- [Check vs Finch](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/check-payroll-vs-finch.md)\n- [Check vs Paychex](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/check-payroll-vs-paychex.md)\n- [Employment Hero Payroll vs Finch](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/employment-hero-vs-finch.md)\n- [Employment Hero Payroll vs Paychex](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/employment-hero-vs-paychex.md)\n- [Everee vs Finch](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/everee-vs-finch.md)\n- [Everee vs Paychex](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/everee-vs-paychex.md)\n- [Finch vs Gusto](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/finch-vs-gusto.md)\n- [Finch vs Salsa](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/finch-vs-salsa.md)\n- [Finch vs Zeal](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/finch-vs-zeal.md)\n- [Gusto vs Paychex](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gusto-vs-paychex.md)\n- [Paychex vs Salsa](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paychex-vs-salsa.md)\n- [Paychex vs Zeal](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paychex-vs-zeal.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-10-08", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.4", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "Finch vs Paychex", "url": "" } ], "description": "Finch scores 71.6 (BB) on agent readiness against Paychex's 44.8 (E), and leads in every scored category. Both do payroll employees. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "Finch BB 71.6", "Paychex E 44.8", "scores" ], "h1": "Finch vs Paychex", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-finch-vs-paychex.png", "path": "/compare/finch-vs-paychex", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Finch vs Paychex for AI agents, BB 71.6 vs E 44.8 | Anchor Terminal", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-08", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/finch-vs-paychex" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2200, "slim": 730 }, "version": 1 }