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Comparison Guide
Published: June 9, 2026 · Last updated: June 9, 2026
Author: Julien Monguillot, Co-founder, ShiftControl — built and scaled operations at ExpressVPN before co-founding ShiftControl
Read time: 7 minutes
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ShiftControl vs Rippling IT comes down to one question: do you want IT control that lives inside Google Workspace, or a single platform that runs HR, payroll, IT, and devices together? ShiftControl is IT operations built for the Google Workspace company without an IT team. Rippling IT is the IT module of a broad all-in-one suite, built for companies consolidating many systems into one.
If you’re a founder or ops owner at a 50 to 500 person company on Google Workspace, this comparison gives you a clear read on what each product covers, where each one is genuinely strong, and which fits the way you actually run things today.
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The short version
Both products solve a real problem: people join, change roles, and leave, and access has to keep up. They solve it from different starting points.
Rippling starts from the system of record. Its IT module sits on top of a powerful HR and payroll platform, so when you hire someone in Rippling, you can set up their apps, accounts, and a managed laptop from the same place. That’s a strong story if you’re buying the whole suite.
ShiftControl starts from Google Workspace. You connect your Google admin, and ShiftControl shows you who has access to what, what you’re spending on SaaS, and where the offboarding gaps are. Then it gives you the controls to fix all of it. No HRIS migration, no payroll switch, no IT hire.
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Comparison at a glance
Dimension | ShiftControl | Rippling IT |
|---|---|---|
Category | IT operations, native to Google Workspace | IT module inside an all-in-one HR, IT, and finance suite |
Best for | Google Workspace SMBs and startups, 50–500 people, no IT team | Companies consolidating HR, payroll, IT, and devices into one platform |
Core directory | Google Workspace | Rippling’s own identity and HR system |
Onboarding and offboarding | Automated, triggered by Google Workspace changes | Automated, triggered by HR events in Rippling |
SaaS cost visibility | Built in | Available, stronger when paired with Rippling Spend |
Device management (MDM) | Via JumpCloud, or add-on at reseller rate | Included |
Payroll and HRIS | Not included, by design | Core strength |
IT expertise needed to run it | No | Some, plus suite administration |
Setup | Connect Google Workspace, configure rules in hours | Platform setup across modules, longer |
Startup pricing | From $2/user/month | No comparable startup rate published |
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What Rippling IT does well
Rippling is a serious platform, and its IT module is one of the better all-in-one options on the market. The reason to choose it is real.
One system for HR, IT, and finance. Rippling’s biggest advantage is consolidation. Employee data lives in one place, and IT actions flow from HR events automatically. Hire someone in the HR module and their accounts, apps, and device can be set up in the same workflow. For a company tired of stitching together a separate HRIS, payroll provider, IT tool, and device manager, that’s a genuine win.
Device management is included. Rippling ships with mobile device management, so you can configure, secure, and wipe laptops and phones from the same console that handles everything else. If managing company hardware is a real part of your job, this matters.
It scales across complexity. Rippling handles multi-entity orgs, international payroll, and detailed role-based logic. If you expect to grow into a larger, more complex company and want one vendor to grow with, the breadth is there.
If you want a single platform to run people, money, and machines together, and you have the budget to buy the suite, Rippling is a strong choice. That’s the honest case for it.
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Where Rippling IT fits less well for a Google Workspace SMB
Rippling’s strength is also its shape. A broad suite asks more of you to set up and run, and it asks you to buy more than IT.
You’re buying a platform, not just IT. Rippling IT is most powerful when it sits on top of Rippling’s HR and payroll. If you’re happy with your current HR or payroll setup, you’re either layering IT onto a platform you’re not fully using or moving systems you didn’t plan to move. Either way, the IT module is rarely a small, standalone purchase.
It carries more administration. More modules mean more configuration, more permissions to manage, and more surface area to keep current as the org changes. At 40 or 80 people without an IT team, that administration lands on a founder or ops owner who already has a full plate.
Cost grows with breadth. All-in-one pricing reflects all-in-one capability. For a small Google Workspace shop that mainly needs access control, SaaS cost visibility, and offboarding that finishes, paying for HR, payroll, and device modules can be more than the job requires.
None of this makes Rippling wrong. It makes it built for a different buying decision: consolidate everything, or don’t buy it.
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What ShiftControl does differently
ShiftControl is built for the person who got handed IT and never signed up to run it. It works inside Google Workspace, the system you already have.
It works inside Google Workspace, not alongside it. You connect your Google admin, and ShiftControl becomes the layer on top: a hub for access, cost, and compliance. There’s no new system of record to adopt and no HR migration to plan. To be clear, ShiftControl does need Google Workspace admin access to do its job. The difference is that it requires no IT expertise to run, not no admin rights.
One screen for access, cost, and compliance. ShiftControl combines four things most SMBs handle in separate tools or not at all: access and permissions, SaaS cost visibility, compliance evidence, and offboarding. Permissions Insights shows which third-party apps can reach your Google Workspace data and at what level. Cost Visibility surfaces the seats nobody logs into. Offboarding removes access across connected apps when someone leaves.
Built to run without an IT team. Configuration is rules, not scripts. A founder, COO, or finance lead can set it up and keep it running. If you can use Google Workspace, you can run your IT with ShiftControl.
Startup pricing that fits a small budget. Pricing starts as low as $2/user/month for early-stage companies, against a $10/user/month standard rate. ShiftControl also resells the services you already pay for, like Google Workspace and AWS, at competitive rates that help offset the cost. For a Google Workspace company that wants access control, cost visibility and offboarding without a big bill, the numbers add up fast.
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Why offboarding is the test case
Most teams discover the gap at the worst moment. An employee leaves, the manager closes their Google account, and everyone assumes the job is done. Weeks later someone notices the former hire still has a live login to a billing tool, a code repository, or a customer database, because that access was granted directly in the app and never touched the directory.
Industry research puts hard numbers on the cost of getting this wrong. IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report 2024 found the global average cost of a data breach reached USD 4.88 million, the highest on record (IBM, 2024). Orphaned access from incomplete offboarding is one of the quieter contributors to that risk.
Rippling closes the gap by tying offboarding to an HR event inside its platform. ShiftControl closes it by tying offboarding to your Google Workspace, then sweeping connected apps so access actually leaves with the person. Both work. The difference is what you have to adopt to get there. With ShiftControl, you keep Google Workspace and add control on top. To learn more about the identity layer underneath all of this, see what is an identity provider.
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When to choose which
Choose Rippling IT if:
You want one platform for HR, payroll, IT, and devices, and you’re ready to consolidate
Built-in, native device management (MDM) is a core requirement
You’re moving your HRIS or payroll anyway and want IT to come with it
You have the budget for an all-in-one suite and expect to grow into its complexity
Choose ShiftControl if:
Google Workspace is your hub and you want to keep it
You don’t have an IT team and don’t want to hire one to run access management
You need access control, SaaS cost visibility, compliance evidence, and offboarding without a platform migration
You want IT control set up fast and priced for an SMB, with startup pricing from $2/user/month in reach
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Frequently asked questions
Is ShiftControl an alternative to Rippling IT?
For a Google Workspace company that wants access control, SaaS cost visibility, compliance evidence, and offboarding without buying a full HR and IT suite, yes. If your goal is to run HR, payroll, devices, and IT from one platform, Rippling is built for that and ShiftControl is not trying to be.
Does ShiftControl replace my HR system or payroll?
No, and that’s by design. ShiftControl works inside Google Workspace and focuses on IT operations: access, cost, compliance, and offboarding. It doesn’t run HR or payroll. Rippling does both, which is exactly why the two products suit different buying decisions.
Does ShiftControl manage company laptops?
Device management isn’t built into the core platform, but it’s covered two ways. If you already use JumpCloud for MDM, ShiftControl works alongside it. If you don’t have an MDM yet, you can buy one through ShiftControl at a competitive reseller rate. The core platform stays focused on access, SaaS cost, compliance and the joiner-mover-leaver lifecycle inside Google Workspace.
Does ShiftControl need admin access to Google Workspace?
Yes. ShiftControl needs Google Workspace admin access to read who has access to what and to make changes on your behalf. What it does not need is IT expertise. Admin rights are the enabler, and the product is built to be run by an operator, not an administrator.
How fast can a small team get started with ShiftControl?
Most teams connect Google Workspace and configure their first rules in hours, not weeks. There’s no platform migration, no implementation partner, and no HR or payroll switch involved, which is the main reason setup is measured in hours rather than a multi-module rollout.
Which is cheaper for a 50-person startup on Google Workspace?
It depends on your size and what you’re buying. ShiftControl prices IT operations on their own, starting as low as $2/user/month for early-stage companies and $10/user/month standard, and it resells services like Google Workspace and AWS at competitive rates that can offset the cost. Rippling prices an all-in-one suite with a platform base fee on top of per-user pricing, so the comparison is only fair if you actually want HR, payroll and devices in the same purchase.
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The bottom line
Rippling IT and ShiftControl both keep access in step with people, and both do it well. They differ in what you have to adopt.
Rippling is the right answer when you want one platform for HR, payroll, IT, and devices, and you have the budget and the appetite to consolidate. The breadth is real, and for the company making that decision it’s a strong choice.
ShiftControl is the right answer when Google Workspace is your hub, you don’t have an IT team, and you want access, cost, compliance, and offboarding handled fast and cheap, without migrating your systems. For most Google Workspace SMBs, that’s the decision in front of them right now.
See how it works on your own Google Workspace. Book a demo →
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