Warp vs Central

Warp built a proprietary, in-house compliance engine–developed by engineers from MIT, Palantir, Ramp, and Dropbox–that proactively handles state registrations, tax filings, and notice resolution end-to-end with true automation. Central's model relies more on human coordination through Slack workflows. For companies scaling rapidly across multiple states, Warp's automated compliance with a dedicated dashboard provides more reliability and control than a chat-based approach.

Warp costs $35/employee/month–all features included, no platform fees. Central charges $50/employee/month plus a $100/month platform fee. For a 25-person company, that's $875/month with Warp vs $1,350/month with Central–a 35% savings. Both include payroll, benefits, and compliance; the difference is price and platform approach.

Slack-based workflows are convenient for small teams, but create challenges at scale: audit trails are harder to maintain, compliance documentation lives in chat threads, and onboarding new admins means scrolling through Slack history. Warp gives you a purpose-built dashboard with structured workflows, proper audit logs, and a UI designed for payroll and HR–while still offering Slack integration for notifications.

Central focuses on early-stage startups–they serve 500+ startups, mostly in the early growth phase. Warp is built for companies scaling from 10 to 5,000+ employees. Companies like Bland AI have grown 10x on Warp without switching platforms. If you're planning to scale significantly, Warp's architecture won't require a migration later.

Warp's compliance engine automatically handles state registrations, quarterly and annual filings, and tax notice resolution across all 50 states and 10,000+ jurisdictions–with a 100% accuracy guarantee. Both platforms offer compliance support, but Warp's proprietary AI was purpose-built for complex multi-state scenarios where automation matters most.

Warp publishes live support stats at joinwarp.com/support-status that update hourly. We're available via live chat, Slack, phone, video calls, and email–with a 1-minute median response time and 5/5 CSAT score. When payroll issues arise, you get immediate help from real humans who can solve problems, not just triage them.

Warp is SOC 2 Type II certified with enterprise-grade security built into every layer–bank-level encryption, strict access controls, and comprehensive audit trails. For companies with security requirements from investors, customers, or compliance frameworks, Warp's certifications and dedicated security architecture provide the documentation and controls you need.

Most companies complete the switch in under a week. Warp offers free white-glove migration–we handle data migration, tax account setup, and employee onboarding. You can run payroll same-day after setup.