--- title: Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) Reviews meta_title: 'Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features | G2' meta_description: Filter 723 reviews by the users' company size, role or industry to find out how Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) works for a business like yours. aggregate_rating: rating_value: 4.3 review_count: 723 scale: '5' date_modified: '2026-08-14' parent_category: name: Talent Management url: https://www.g2.com/categories/talent-management --- # Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) Reviews **Vendor:** Payscale **Category:** [Compensation Management Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/compensation-management) **Average Rating:** 4.3/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 723 ## About Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) Access fresh compensation data and AI-powered workflows — all within a scalable platform that delivers intelligent insights to make confident pay decisions. \* Price with confidence — any job, anywhere, anytime \* Stay ahead with dynamic insights into the market and your organization \* Ensure consistency with job- and grade-based pay ranges \* Maximize survey ROI with centralized management and participation ## Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) Pros & Cons **What users like:** - Users appreciate the **user-friendly platform** of Payscale Ascent, highlighting its convenience and effective market data access. (81 reviews) - Users appreciate the **fantastic customer support** of Payfactors, enhancing their experience with timely and helpful assistance. (53 reviews) - Users value the **extensive market data** from Payscale Ascent, crucial for job pricing and maintaining pay equity. (44 reviews) - Users appreciate the **user-friendly interface** of Payscale Ascent, finding it easy to access and share compensation data. (42 reviews) - Users value the **comprehensive data sources** of Payscale Ascent, enhancing market analyses and supporting strategic decisions. (41 reviews) - Helpful (37 reviews) - Features (34 reviews) - Data Management (33 reviews) - Job Management (32 reviews) - Market Competitiveness (30 reviews) **What users dislike:** - Users find Payscale Ascent **not user-friendly** , with complicated reporting functions and limited HCM system integrations. (25 reviews) - Users note **insufficient data** can limit effective use of Payscale Ascent, hindering accurate compensation analysis. (22 reviews) - Users find the system **not intuitive** , struggling to match job descriptions effectively and navigate new features. (21 reviews) - Users find the **learning curve slow** , making it challenging to fully leverage all available features effectively. (20 reviews) - Users struggle with a **poor interface design** that feels outdated and unintuitive, complicating basic tasks. (18 reviews) - Users find the **difficult learning curve** frustrating, with poor guidance making setup and function use challenging. (17 reviews) - Users feel **limited job information** affects their ability to effectively match positions and customize requirements. (17 reviews) - Data Inaccuracy (16 reviews) - Inadequate Reporting (14 reviews) - Poor Usability (14 reviews) ## Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) Reviews ### 1. Comprehensive Compensation Tool with Export Limitations **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Gabrielle S. **Reviewed Date:** December 22, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** I like the many capabilities of Payfactors to assist with compensation, the amount of data available, and the useful filters. I appreciate the ability to create reports, and I find speaking with compensation experts through the platform valuable. I also like that the reports are exportable, giving me a solid starting point for benchmarking positions and aligning pay grades. **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** I honestly do not believe that I use the tools to the max capability. I wish that the notes were exportable. In the jobs tab, when pricing the job, the export to an Excel sheet doesn't include the notes that I saved into the survey cut. I would like the ability to save articles in connect in order to go back to them later. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** Payfactors helps with pay competitiveness and reduces manual work. It provides valuable resources like data filters, reporting capabilities, and expert consultations. Exportable reports give me a starting point for benchmarking positions and setting paygrades. ### 2. Exceptional Global Comp Data Management and Support **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Larissa T. | Manager International Compensation, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 26, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** Just some of the things I like: - global ability to manage purchased comp data in an easy and quick way that lets us have access timely - access to additional compensation data that's real-time sourced - job description management system that lets us globally manage systems and support our leaders and HRBPs with easy access - webinars on pay education and transparency that keeps us aware of global changes - great customer service support in all the areas **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** The opportunity to continually support truly global companies. It's grown but I'm excited to see it evolve even more. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** It's giving us a global system to support our compensation philosophy through market data, as well as supporting a global job description repository. ### 3. Payfactors: Insightful but Challenging Setup **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Sophie L. **Reviewed Date:** October 31, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** I find Payfactors particularly valuable as it provides clear insight into how we should be structuring our employee compensation across the organization. This platform excels in giving me a comprehensive view of pay evaluation, which is crucial for managing pay equity and ensuring competitive compensation packages. I also appreciate how the consulting services at the start were instrumental in setting up the majority of our job evaluations, enabling us to accurately price jobs and stay competitive in various markets. Moreover, the feature that allows us to link and compare jobs across different cities is exceptionally useful, as it simplifies accessing comparative data and enhances decision-making in salary structures with just the push of a button. Over time, I've also noticed an improvement in the availability of comparative data through Payfactors, which significantly boosts its utility from a pay quality perspective. **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** I find setting up Payfactors very difficult, especially without a strong background in compensation. It took a significant amount of time to get up to speed and train my team. Although the online training is helpful, it's high-level and not very time-efficient for leaders. A more in-depth classroom style training would be beneficial. Additionally, I'm disappointed by the lack of integration with other software, such as UKG, despite having an API. This integration defect limits the seamless flow of data. Also, from a macro perspective, the platform doesn't offer as much long-term strategic value as anticipated. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** Payfactors gives me clear insights into compensation strategies for our organization, with improving data quality for pay analysis. The consulting aids in pricing jobs effectively and the comparison feature simplifies analysis across locations. ### 4. Useful Data, Needs UI Enhancement **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Hospitality | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 13, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** I appreciate the robust data Payfactors provides for the hospitality industry, which significantly surpasses what I experienced with Radford, making it a key reason for my transition to this tool. I find the system’s ability to offer peer and HR market data essential for ensuring competitive compensation within our salary benchmarks, enhancing our human resource processes efficiently. The competitive pricing of Payfactors against other salary benchmarking tools is another strong point that creates great value for money. Moreover, I find the user interface to be quite manageable, making it relatively straightforward to navigate and use for my tasks. The ADP API integration works excellently, adding to the seamless functionality. Additionally, I find the specific features such as hospitality peer benchmarking data, compare ratio, and salary structure build-out incredibly useful for our compensation planning and management. **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** I feel that the user interface needs improvement. It could be more intuitive and easier to use. Additionally, I have concerns with how reportable data is managed; I believe it could benefit from moving away from Tableau for better efficiency and user-friendliness. It's important that better subscription options are available to offer more comprehensive data. I also think the pricing could be lower to make the tool more accessible. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** Payfactors provides robust compensation benchmarking data, ensuring we pay employees within market standards, particularly for the hospitality industry. ### 5. Payfactors keeps our compensation plan consistent and manageable **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Hospital & Health Care | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** February 18, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** Payfactors has consistently provided us with solutions to challenges we face in the compensation space. The team is easy to work with, and always available to get on a call and help us navigate the best ways that the platform can assist us. **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** Payfactors is committed to keeping the platform updated, and new features available for use. There is a lot of great communication around these features, but sometimes it can be difficult to keep up with the new features as they roll out. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** We really appreciate the ease with which we can pull reports and modify to meet our needs. We are able to use the Payfactors system to compare our salary structure to current market midpoints by role. ### 6. Real-Time Compensation Insights and Seamless ESS Integration **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Tay R. | Compensation Analyst, Banner Bank, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 31, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** The platform provides real-time compensation data, a comprehensive job catalog, and seamless automated data integration with our ESS. These features have been valuable for our HR processes. **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** I would appreciate having more options to expand the use of Payfactors and enhance reporting capabilities specifically for our manager population. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** We use this tool to validate our compensation practices by comparing them to industry standards. It allows us to research roles that are part of our organizational structure, even when those positions also belong to broader markets like information technology and process improvement. ### 7. Salary Benchmarking with an Amazing Interface **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Islali R. | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 11, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** Payscale has become our go-to tool for understanding compensation trends and benchmarking salaries. What really sets Payscale apart is its personalized salary reports. Instead of generic averages, it gives you a tailored estimate based on your unique profile. It shows how our salaries compare to those of others in similar roles and industries and even breaks down how specific skills or competencies. **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** The dated interface was something that I was not super fond of. The new update is cleaner, faster, and much easier to navigate. The dashboard now feels more intuitive! **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** Payfactors has solved one of the biggest challenges in compensation management: accessing reliable, real-time market data to make informed pay decisions. The biggest benefit for me is how it streamlines salary benchmarking. I can input job details and instantly see how pay varies based on experience, location, and certifications. The platform also makes it easier to collaborate with leadership on pay strategies, thanks to its clean interface and customizable reports. ### 8. Great Support with Some Room for Technical Improvements **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Tsahai G. | Compensation Manager **Reviewed Date:** October 16, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** I find the benchmarking feature of Payfactors incredibly useful, as it allows us to effectively compare our roles with market standards, aiding in competitive compensation decisions. The support from Payfactors is exceptional, with webinars and other resources greatly assisting my learning and adaptation to the system. **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** I find it challenging to download reports, as the process is not straightforward and can be complex, even requiring assistance without a guarantee of resolution. Additionally, there are occasional small glitches in the system, and sometimes pages take longer to load, which can disrupt the workflow. These technical issues suggest that some areas could benefit from a review and improvement. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** I use Payfactors to benchmark jobs, helping us stay competitive by understanding market pay rates, aiding in making informed offers and role transitions. ### 9. Intuitive, Customizable Compensation Tool with Outstanding Support **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Greg P. | Senior Director of Talent, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 16, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** The Payfactors compensation review tools are very intuitive, highly customizable and easy to implement. We use this tool on a weekly basis to inform compensation decisions. The team is helpful and responsive. **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** Some pay markets have limited data for highly nuanced roles. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** Previously, we had no tool to evaluate comp in the marketplace. ### 10. Flexible and Easy to Use Compensation System **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Computer Software | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 31, 2024 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** I love Payfactors as a compensation software, the user interface is very friendly and it's easy to get and provide salary data. We use Payfactors at least once a week. We use it for three countries and there are many ways to slice and dice the information, from HR salaries, to peer salaries, to competitive salaries. The system is very easy to use and to share information, whether it's quick pricing a job or doing a detailed analysis. Implementation was a breeze, as long as you keep up with training. The implementation team was very communicative and easy to work with. The training offered is wonderful and I can't wait to dig further into the training to get more knowledgeable about compensation. Our client success manager is amazingly helpful. **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** The one thing that I wish was easier are the employee data uploads. The template is cumbersome and hard to put togther. It would be great to have a more steamlined template for quick updates. I also wish it was easier to talk to customer support, rather than going back and forth through a tickting system. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** The biggest issue facing us, is we don't have a compensation structure that is easy to share with our employees. But that's why we purchased Payfactors, so we can build an easily communicated, transparent comp structure. ### 11. Decent analytics but some limited data **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Samantha G. | Director, Total Rewards and HR Operations, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 22, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** I really like the dashboards do some quick analytics, i do wish I could drill down more but it at least gives a starting point of where to look for certain areas. the job matching process is easy, and I love the easy to refresh process for both the market survey and peer matches. Refreshing the comp data has never been so easy! **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** In some of our key roles there is very limited data, so we can't truly match a portion of our jobs. These include areas such as meteorology, advertising operations and cyber security/compliance. The other part of the data that I find difficult is the lack of total compensation view. It would be helpful to see bonus/commissions for roles to get a better picture of total compensation versus just base pay. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** It provides us with an additional data source (along with Radford), to market price our jobs. ### 12. Robust software **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Hospital & Health Care | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 06, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** If you are a compensation specialist, this software has so many options. The visual dashboards under data insights are helpful quick snap reviews of how your compensation compares to the market. Service is very prompt and friendly. **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** Data doesn't update across functions like pricing projects, insights and it isn't intuitive the order of steps that need to be taken. Healthcare data is lacking. Software seems built for compensation specialists. Would be nice to have a simpler system. PayGap analysis needs to allow inputs for comparison, not just gender. The tool isn't useful as it stands. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** It cut down the amount of work comparing our compensation to that in the marketplace. It allows us to see that people are paid at or above market median rate. It allows us to see how similar positions in the company compare with compensation so we don't create internal differences, inadvertently. ### 13. Excellent Support and Data, but Data Update Process Needs Improvement **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Dawn H. | Chief Human Resources Officer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 27, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** I really appreciate the support I receive from the team, as well as the excellent data provided, which helps us make sure we are compensating our team fairly. **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** Currently the way I have to update the data. Right now I download the file from PayFactors and then I updated the spreadsheet to be uploaded. I have to do it this way in order to get the correct effective date of the pay and changes such as title, etc. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** Being able to show that we are monitoring the market and making sure our pay is both fair and aligned with market standards is important. ### 14. Reliable and responsive tool for job grading and market benchmarking **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Krystle L. | Total Rewards Lead, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** June 03, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** As a Total Rewards professional, I use Payfactors primarily to benchmark compensation data, support salary structure development, and evaluate market alignment for new or evolving roles. One of the standout benefits has been the ability to easily pull and present data when needed. I appreciate the hands-on training opportunities and the flexibility to request support as I continue exploring its features. The tool has been a consistent asset in helping me make informed recommendations to leadership, especially when creating or grading new roles. **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** Because I’m still learning all the available features, it can sometimes be hard to tell what’s possible without additional guidance. While the system is generally intuitive, deeper functionalities aren’t always obvious and could benefit from in-platform prompts or tooltips. Additionally, navigating between some modules could be more seamless to improve efficiency. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** Payfactors helps solve the challenge of accessing accurate, real-time market data to support compensation decisions. It allows me to benchmark salaries confidently, create consistent salary structures, and validate pay recommendations with leadership. For newly created or evolving roles, the platform simplifies job grading and ensures we’re aligned with competitive pay practices. Having reliable data at my fingertips improves both the speed and credibility of my recommendations, and ultimately supports fair, informed, and strategic compensation planning. ### 15. Full Scope Market Data Solution **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Sara R. | Compensation Analyst, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** February 18, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** We have been using Payfactors at my new organization since I started in July 2024. I have used other market data provider platforms in the past and Payfactors has been infinitely easier to learn on the fly. I have been able to pick up the implementation of the platform for our compensation team easily in my time and we have been able to easily identify where we can use the system more effectively as we grow. It has been a huge help as we have started to grow and expand into new markets. As time has gone on, I have been become more and more reliant on what I am able to do in Payfactors and my frequency of use has continued to increase. **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** As we have been growing in new markets, I wish there was a better way to compare market data from different pay markets. For example, I wish I could more easily compare what a Finance Director might price at in Baltimore vs Minneapolis all on the same screen in Quick Price. Being able to support the business with quick snapshots like this would be helpful. I also wish I was able to choose multiple locations for my pay markets. If I consider three of my locations to all price similarly for our industry (for example: Minneapolis, Mille Lacs, and North Dakota), I would like to be able to create a pay market that gathers data from all those places in one data set. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** Payfactors allows us to work through pay analysis from start to finish in one system. It allows us to layer market data against our positions and identify areas of lag for focus in the future. ### 16. Exceptional Support & Easy to Use Product! **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Heather M. | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 23, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** Payfactors has been a reliable and effective compensation management tool, but what truly sets it apart is its outstanding support team. Whenever I’ve had a question or needed guidance, their team has been incredibly responsive, knowledgeable, and genuinely invested in helping me find the best solutions. Beyond the technical functionality, having a support team that goes above and beyond makes a huge difference in day-to-day operations. Their willingness to assist, troubleshoot, and provide clarity ensures I can navigate the platform with confidence. **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** Well, the only thing I can think of is something they are working on having available. I would love to have live market data, but this is something I can now get with Payfactors. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** It is allowing us to keep all of our compensation resources in one place. I also enjoy the metrics & reporting! ### 17. Excellent Compensation Management Tool with Reliable Performance **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Non-Profit Organization Management | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 27, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** Great source of information for managing compensation, conducting benchmarking, and ensuring that we stay up to **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** No complaints or criticisms. Everything works as promised. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** Payfactors gives us a reliable methodology for benchmarking salaries and managing compensation. It helps us achieve greater pay equity across the organization by providing a consistent, data-driven approach to appraising salary levels. ### 18. Appreciation **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Cynthia K. | Human Resources Manger, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 15, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** I like how I can mesh jobs together. A lot of our jobs are unique and the title does not translate to the real world. Being able to take a few jobs and combine them really helps find the accurate salary range. **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** I wish it did have more job titles. While we do have unique jobs, some of them that are not unique are not in the database **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** It gives us realistic salary ranges for our jobs. It gives me the support I need to say to employees and leaders - see this is what the accurate pay should be. ### 19. Payfactors has made my job easier. **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Sara C. | Compensation and Benefits Manager, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 29, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** I have found Payfactors to be very helpful, especially since I am a compensation "team" of one. The information that the software provides is easy to use and the data is easy to analyze. I feel confident that I can make informed pay decisions for my company when using this product. When I have needed help with the system, customer care has been prompt and thorough. **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** Due to a lack of fiscal resources, my company is unable to implement some of the higher tier features of Payfactors such as HRIS integration and pay structures. Manually updating the system and administering our company data is time consuming and complex. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** It is removing the guesswork behind salaries. Where we once had to rely on search results and word of mouth in our industry, we now have solid data to rely upon. I also love that results are real-time. And the webinars and podcasts that Payfactors provides are key educational pieces that keep me up to date on market factors. ### 20. Payfactors is so Simple! **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Kamirynn H. | HR Generalist, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 22, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** I love the HRMA and Peer Data that we get with Payfactors. I also appreciate how easy it is to add multiple surveys at once and even price multiple jobs at once. Having the ability to working a "sandbox" environment in pricing projects gives me peace of mind that I can try different options and play around with it a little bit without making edits to the published pricing until I am ready to do so. **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** This is nitpicky, but the thing I like least about Payfactors is when you hover over a role to read the job description, sometimes it is hard to move the mouse over the description to scroll. Happy to chat about this more if this does not make sense so I can show someone what I mean. Seems like it would be an easy fix and save me some frustration. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** We use Payfactors to run market data for all of our roles. It is a great tool for US and several of our International countries. ### 21. Comprehensive comp tool **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Financial Services | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 18, 2018 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** PayFactors is an innovative tool transforming the future of compensation management. The data insights tool and job description manager are perks on top of an already awesome comp benchmarking platform. We are also utilizing their option for total rewards statements. Under the PayScale umbrella, the education options have really been enhanced. The webinars are super valuable and our account team is always sharing information that may be pertinent to us. **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** I wish they had more data specific to client service roles, such as consultants and public accountants. The data for other positions is very strong though. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** Managing job descriptions. storing our benchmarks, staff data, salary structures and pay markets all in one place. ### 22. Director of Human Resources **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Lydia L. | Director of Human Resources, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 24, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** One place to hold all of our compensation data so we can stay current. **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** Time to get in a use the system. Some of the new features from switching from Payscale platform to Payfactors aren't as user friendly. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** It helps us see all our data in one place. ### 23. Confidence calculating compensation. **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Olise A. | Director - Talent Acquisition and Training, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 09, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** Quick and easy guide to researching and determining compensation nationwide. Customer support. **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** I haven't been able to use the reporting function yet, so that will be a feature I would like to explore. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** It helps my company benchmark salaries we pay employees. ### 24. Pay Factors Review **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Computer Software | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 22, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** We have employees in multiple states so having data that is regionally specific is very helpful Having base salary quartiles plus bonus is great Having multiple levels of each job with years experience and responsibility is awesome I worked out 90% of what I had to do on my own Tech Support was highly responsive **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** For tables with lots of table the refresh rate is too slow When adding a job I would like the option to add it to all projects It's expensive for a once a year use **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** I said earlier - we are a mostly remote workforce with locations across the US and Canada. Having regionally specific data in one place is critical ### 25. hr review **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Miriam B. | Hr manager, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 16, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** the pay ranges and abilty to upload external surveys/ benchmarks **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** The learning curve has been slow for me to get onboared **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** it is helping us get pay ranges for new hires and existing roles ### 26. HR Manager **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Eileen C. | Human Resources Manager, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 14, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** Love how easy it is to move around in the platform. Love to be able to get the data that is needed for our company benchmarking and compensation to stay up to date. **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** Wish it had reports you could run to see where all the data came from and if it had more titles available. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** Having to do hours of research on salaries to stay current. ### 27. Going much better now! Thankful for all the help with the team from PayFactors! **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Human Resources | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** February 18, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** The ability to get more information regarding pay and job descriptions. Also our new account manager and ongoing conversations with them. **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** That that easy to find trainings for issues I was having. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** Like before, it has the ability to get more information right at your finger tips. I really enjoy being able to use the job description manager, it has improved the process extremely. ### 28. Comprehensive Compensation Tool with Room for Growth **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Human Resources | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 22, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** The detailed compensation benchmarking and ability to customize data sets make Payfactors stand out. The platform provides reliable market insights that simplify pay equity and decision-making. Customer support is fantastic and we use this tool frequently and its simple to use. **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** The interface can feel outdated, and some processes are not as intuitive as they could be, requiring additional training for new users. Integration with other HR systems could also be improved for better workflow automation. Implementation can be a bit lengthy depending on how easy and fast you can access your own data. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** Payfactors is solving challenges around compensation benchmarking, pay equity, and market analysis by providing a centralized platform for data-driven decisions. It helps ensure competitive and fair pay practices, streamlines the process of participating in salary surveys, and reduces manual efforts in analyzing compensation data. This benefits us by improving efficiency, enhancing our ability to attract and retain top talent, and ensuring compliance with evolving pay equity regulations. ### 29. Payfactors makes tracking pay changes easy **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Pamela M. | HR Manager, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 09, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** I love the real time data we get on like companies to ours in the marketplace. It makes pay discussions with managers and employees easier when they can compare their wage with others and compare benefits as well. Implentation was great as well. The trainers at Payfactor walk you through everything you need to know to use the product right away. We had a very tight deadline to start and they got us up and running in no time. Thank you to that team! **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** So far there is nothing I dont really like. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** With other pay information the wages are all already old when you get them. With Payfactor you get realtime market analysis at your fingertips. ### 30. Payfactors is reliable and great comp tool **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Non-Profit Organization Management | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 23, 2023 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** I like that it is easy to use and provides robust reliable comp data **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** Comp data is not available for all jobs. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** Payfactors allows us to analyze and compare salary data quickly and confidently. **Official Response from Anna Spessard:** > Hi, thank you for the feedback and review - we are so glad that Payfactors is giving you confidence in your compensation processes! ### 31. A one stop source for all my compensation benchmarking needs. **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Blanca B. | Director of Human Resources, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 21, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** We have been Payfactors clients for many years due to the ease of access and clarity of market pay data for a good amount of jobs. It has helped our organization ensure competitive and fair pay practices. We use the tools for merit planning, incentive compensation, and market pricing. We recently purchased theglobal compennsation market data and have been extremely pleased. **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** Would like to see more robust job description inclusive of job duties and bulleted requirements. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** Helping us level our position across all of our global companies. ### 32. Great Support from Payfactors, but Not Always User-Friendly for Beginners **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Hospital & Health Care | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 15, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** the ability to have a team member from payfactors help with our compensation needs. **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** It can be a bit cumbersome for someone who is not a compensation expert. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** Payfactors allow me to see benchmarking data and what similar roles in the industry are paying. ### 33. Very good data & value **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Robert M. | HR Director, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 15, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** I like the ability to do a quick market pay review You can have different pay markets and it adjusts accordingly The ability to blend jobs and weight them to have a more accurate match **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** Sometimes you can't find the job title you're looking for. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** Ensuring we're aware of market pay in a competitive job market Updating our pay bands and slotting positions accordingly Ability to attract and retain staff through fair pay ### 34. Great tool **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Insurance | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 07, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** Payfactors is great for getting data from the market and keeping track of trends. It helps with collaboration on changing of compensation strategies and providing the data needed to support these initiatives and decisions. **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** Sometimes it is hard to determine what was done previously and by who. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** Payfactors is our standard for market matching and benchmarking. We also use the add for payequity. As a data-nerd I enjoy the output and being able to tailor the outputs as needed (market % etc). The pay equity module is very thorough, but can be a little clunky and labor intensive. ### 35. Great product **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Airlines/Aviation | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 23, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** Easy to use, and you know the compensation information is reliable. I also like all the webinars and training it offers. Great customer support. **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** Can't think of anything at the moment. I have no issues with the product **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** having accurate pay ranges and in a few months is going to help me with the compensation project I have. ### 36. Accurate, Updated Data at your finger tips **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Caroline O. | Assistant Vice President Human Resources, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 22, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** When the economic environment changes so quickly, it's hard to know if you're paying for roles fairly and equitably. Payfactors is a fantastic resource. **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** Saving matched jobs, applied to your employees is clunky and not intuitive. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** Accurate information ### 37. System that works with you **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Hospital & Health Care | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 07, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** As a compensation professional, payfactors works with you and your established framework. Regardless of the company's growth from infancy (start up) to maturity (established for several decades), there's a way for payfactors to support your compensation goals. **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** A variety of the features requires a standard HRIS set up before they can be enabled and based on certain systems or business decisions my company will not be able to entertain those features. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** Payfactors is critical in our salary benchmarking and salary data management. ### 38. Intuitive Compensation & Job Description Management **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Hospital & Health Care | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 09, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** The interface is very user friendly and the implementation team was knowledgable and quick to work with. It integrates smoothly with our HRIS system for compensation, demographic, and job description information. **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** Payfactors assumes a 40 hour work week whic can be a challenge if your company is on a different schedule. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** We had information stored across different platforms and in different formats, and now everything is standardized in one place. ### 39. Head of People **Rating:** 1.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Stephanie M. | Head of People, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 14, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** Payfactos is great at providing comp data on traditional jobs. **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** The Payfactor implementation team was very hard to work with. We've been with them over a year and still don't have a fully functioning account. Lack of data available for non-traditional jobs. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** None. It's been a challenging partnership. ### 40. Amazing amount of data if you can do a deep dive **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Education Management | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 22, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** The amount of data that is available for compensation planning purposes. **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** The amount of time and commitment required to truly master the system. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** Establishing equitable pay ranges for our positions. It gives us credibility with our Board and members and staff. ### 41. Great market pricing platform **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Hospital & Health Care | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 26, 2024 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** Integration of market data with actual employee pay for analysis **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** Contract terms; ability to customize work and reports **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** Ability to get market data readily at any time ### 42. It is a tool, but like all tools it is not perfect for every situation. **Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Manufacturing | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 09, 2025 **What do you like best about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** It provides a starting point for wage rates. **What do you dislike about Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors)?** You cannot see where the information is coming from ie the algorithims used for your area, so there is data accuracy concerns. **What problems is Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) solving and how is that benefiting you?** Info for salary benchmarking, help to determine new position wage rates. ## Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) Discussions - [Does it include more than just salary?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-s-included) - 2 comments, 2 upvotes - [How frequently do you roll out new Payfactors product features?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/new-features-7a0cde50-fb80-4725-a1d4-4d68c3818fe2) - 2 comments, 1 upvote - [How granular does your data get?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/the-data) - 2 comments, 1 upvote - [How do you do it?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/how-it-works-141a9d97-de9e-41b0-bb4e-960cb159f134) - 1 comment, 1 upvote - [What does Payfactors do?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/about-us-b981a137-d3d6-4ece-b0fd-df5ec579798a) - 1 comment, 1 upvote - [View Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) pricing details and edition comparison](https://www.g2.com/products/payscale-ascent-formerly-payfactors/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1280331&qs=pros-and-cons§ion=pricing&secure%5Bexpires_at%5D=2026-08-14+18%3A34%3A49+-0500&secure%5Bsession_id%5D=0d0eff5d-9c41-4a22-af3b-11409606280d&secure%5Btoken%5D=27b1b0bbde28b586f26a1bcace4b9688b2d4d2aefdcf18524d310d4ff0828f56&format=llm_user) ## Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) Integrations - [ADP Workforce Now](https://www.g2.com/products/adp-workforce-now/reviews) - [Paylocity](https://www.g2.com/products/paylocity/reviews) - [UKG Pro](https://www.g2.com/products/ukg-pro/reviews) - [Workday Compensation](https://www.g2.com/products/workday-compensation/reviews) - [Workday HCM](https://www.g2.com/products/workday-hcm/reviews) - [WTW Embark](https://www.g2.com/products/wtw-embark/reviews) ## Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) Features **Basics** - Performance - Ad hoc Reporting **Platform** - Reward Structuring - Workflow Automation - Compensation History - Performance Management Integration - Embedded Analytics - Reporting Capabilities - Compensation Data Management - Internationalization - Bonus Management - Real-Time Data - Reporting/Analytics - Benefits Management - Commission Management - Incentive Management - Payroll Management - Budget Management - Workflow Management - Compliance Management - Performance Management - Document Management - Employee Management **Basic Features** - High level regression analysis - Dashboard **Generative AI** - Generative AI **Generative AI** - AI Text Generation **Core Features - Salary Benchmarking Software** - Dashboard - Industry Benchmarking - Hierarchy - Activity Dashboard **Platform - Compensation Planning** - Compensation Budgeting - Merit Cycle Planning - Pay Transparency - Automated Compliance - Reward Structuring - Compensation History - Succession Planning - Salary Planning **Additional Functionality** - Onboarding - Individual Development Plans - Career Development - Approval Process Control - Customizable Branding - AI Copilot - Reminders - Customizable Templates - Employee Profiles - Employee Engagement - Learning & Development - API **Content** - Automation - Content Creation **Risk Mitigation** - Budgeting **Benchmarking and Equity - Compensation Management** - Benchmarking Data - Pay Equity - Salary Bands **Auditing - Salary Benchmarking Software** - Reporting **Additional Features - Compensation Planning** - Reporting Capabilities - Workflow Automation - Integrations **Additional Functionality** - Approval Process Control - Duplicate Detection - AI Copilot - Customizable Reports - Role-Based Permissions - Employee Onboarding - Alerts/Notifications - Data Import/Export - Reminders - Customizable Templates - Compensation Statements - Goal Setting/Tracking - Automated Receipt Matching - Organizational Charting - Market Data Analysis - Employee Reward Programs - Employee Portal - Compensation Plan Modeling - Employee Database - Audit Trail **Additional Functionality** - Approval Process Control - Duplicate Detection - AI Copilot - Customizable Reports - Role-Based Permissions - Employee Onboarding - Alerts/Notifications - Data Import/Export - Reminders - Customizable Templates - Compensation Statements - Goal Setting/Tracking - Automated Receipt Matching - Organizational Charting - Market Data Analysis - Employee Reward Programs - Employee Portal - Compensation Plan Modeling - Employee Database - Audit Trail **Logistics** - Integrations & APIs - User, Role and Access Management **Advanced Features - Salary Benchmarking Software** - Structure - Salary Survey - AI - Generative AI **Additional Functionality** - Approval Process Control - Duplicate Detection - AI Copilot - Customizable Reports - Role-Based Permissions - Employee Onboarding - Alerts/Notifications - Data Import/Export - Reminders - Customizable Templates - Compensation Statements - Goal Setting/Tracking - Automated Receipt Matching - Organizational Charting - Market Data Analysis - Employee Reward Programs - Employee Portal - Compensation Plan Modeling - Employee Database - Audit Trail **Additional Functionality** - Customizable Reports - Succession Planning - Data Import/Export - 360 Degree Feedback - Single Sign On - Customizable Templates - SSL Security - Job Scoring - AI Copilot - Customizable Forms - Individual Development Plans - Customizable Branding - For Job Analysts - Benchmarking - Skills Assessment - Talent Acquisition - Generative AI - Multi-Language - Document Templates - Job Comparison - Reporting & Statistics - Access Controls/Permissions - Status Tracking - Factor-based Evaluation - Electronic Signature - Match & Merge - Secure Data Storage **Platform** - Customization - Integration APIs - Internationalization - User, Role, and Access Management - Activity Dashboard - Activity Dashboard - Mobile Access - Activity Dashboard - Training Management - Goal Management - Feedback Management - Action Management - Mobile Access - Activity Dashboard - Benefits Dashboard - Activity Dashboard - Feedback Management - Performance Management - Recruitment Management - Compliance Management - Training Management - Calendar Management - Employee Management - Orientation Workflow Management - Task Management - HR Management - Help Desk Management - Mobile Access - Payroll Management - Document Management - Job Description Management - Social Media Integration - Mobile Access - Activity Dashboard - Third-Party Integrations - Assessment Management - Social Media Integration - Activity Dashboard - Mobile Access - Third-Party Integration - Initiative Management - Workflow Management - Community Management - Employee Referral Management - Candidate Management - Workflow Management - Communication Management - Advertising Management - Application Management - Email Management - Job Management - Discount Management - Pipeline Management - File Management - Job Management - Data Storage Management - Compensation Management - Employee Management - Job Application Management - HR Management - Competency Management - Performance Management - Compliance Management - Job Description Management - Evaluation Management - User Management - Role-Based Permissions - Third-Party Integrations ## Top Payscale Ascent (formerly Payfactors) Alternatives - [Salary.com](https://www.g2.com/products/salary-com-salary-com/reviews) - 4.4/5.0 (1,079 reviews) - [Paycom](https://www.g2.com/products/paycom/reviews) - 4.6/5.0 (4,747 reviews) - [Workday HCM](https://www.g2.com/products/workday-hcm/reviews) - 4.1/5.0 (1,608 reviews)