SAASPOCALYPSEcase · head-to-head
wedge comparison
subjects of investigation
adp.comvsshopify.com
which is stronger?
clone time
6 months
contested6 months
adp.com
enterprise payroll, HR & tax platform
39/ 100
wedge scorefull report ↗
→vs←
moat
how deep is each moat.
adp.com · aggregate
6.1/10real moat
moat delta+0.2
shopify.com · aggregate
6.3/10real moat
8.5
capital-1.5 →
7.0
5.0
technical+1.0 →
6.0
3.0
network+5.0 →
8.0
5.0
switching±0
5.0
6.0
data+2.0 →
8.0
9.0
regulatory-4.0 →
5.0
3.6
distribution+0.1 →
3.7
floor
cost + time, side by side.
monthly flooradp.com wins
adp.com
$53 + usage
shopify.com
$67 + usage
delta −$14adp.com costs less per month to keep the lights on.
time to clonetie
adp.com
6 months
shopify.com
6 months
comparable build windows on both sides.
overlap
where they fight, where they don't.
features only one ships, plus the small middle they share.
only adp.com · 11
serverless / edge platform
shared · 11
tax compliance
only shopify.com · 44
behavioral datacheckoutfraud detectionwebhooks
stack
what they're built on.
shared infra and the differentiating bits.
only adp.com · 66
PostgresPuppeteerRailsReactSegmentSentry
shared infra · 66
CloudflareNext.jsCloudflare R2ResendSupabaseVercel
only shopify.com · 33
ReplicateShopifyStripe
the verdict
TOO CLOSE TO CALL
adp and shopify land on the same moat depth, sit in the same tier, and present the same wall. either is a defensible angle of attack — the choice is taste, not difficulty.
the read
matched tiermatched wedge scoreland on the same moat depth
full reportcontested · 39
→ read the adp.com report
full reportcontested · 37
→ read the shopify.com report
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