Gusto
Compare Gusto with TriNet Zenefits, QuickBooks Payroll, and Fingercheck. Includes a detailed review, pricing, and FAQs.
Updated on August 1st, 2023
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Special Offer
Try Gusto Free
Set up an account free.
Try GustoFull service payroll.
Hiring and onboarding tools.
Integrations for time tracking, accounting, and more.
At-a-Glance:
Feature | Gusto |
|---|---|
Price | From $40.00 /mo. +$6.00 /employee /mo. |
Free trial | 30-day free trial. |
Automated taxes | ✓ |
W2 and 1099 form prep | ✓ |
Time tracking | ✓ |
Off-cycle payrolls | ✓ |
Mobile access | ✓ |
Employee surveys | ✓ |
Multistate payroll | ✓ |
Unlimited pay runs | ✓ |
Review:
Gusto is our top pick overall for payroll software. It's reliable — an essential quality for payroll software — easy to use, and saves businesses a lot of time. It had the second-highest number of features among all the software we reviewed, beaten only by TriNet Zenefits. Top features include lifetime accounts, unlimited pay runs, time tracking, and multi-state payroll.
Pros:
- Gusto offers a 30-day free trial.
- The software includes all tax forms and multi-state payroll functions.
- The payroll on AutoPilot and automated tax filing, billing, and net-to-gross calculation tools offer added convenience.
- All plans include unlimited payrolls, multiple pay rates and schedules, accounting integrations, and multi-state payroll.
- The software features lifetime accounts for employees who may need to access their information in the future.
- Gusto supports payroll in all 50 states.
- The higher-tiered plans include premium onboarding tools, an employee directory, and time management tools.
Cons:
- The most affordable plan does not include time management tools.
- Gusto does not feature an activity dashboard, data migration, banking information management, or year-round record keeping.
- Compared to some alternatives, such as Square Payroll, the platform is costly.
Reputation:
While Gusto has an excellent reputation overall, we found several complaints about the response time of their customer service. Over 1,900 Trustpilot users awarded the platform a 3.5-star rating. Most users praised the affordability and features of the service, while some reported slow customer service response times.
On G2, Gusto has a 4.4-star rating based on more than 1,200 reviews. Users were generally satisfied with the product, with several highlighting its ease of use and competitively priced plans.
Pricing:
Plan | Monthly Pricing |
|---|---|
Contractor Only | $6.00 /contractor. |
Simple | $40.00 (base price) +$6.00 /employee. |
Plus | $80.00 (base price) +$12.00 /employee. |
Premium | Contact for quote. |
Add-On: Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) | $2.50 /participant. |
Add-On: Commuter Benefits | $4.00 /participant.* |
Add-On: Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) | $4.00 /participant.* |
Add-On: Dependant Care FSAs | $4.00 /participant.* |
Add-On: Health Insurance Broker Integration | $6.00 /eligible employee. |
Add-On: Priority Support and HR Services | $6.00 /employee. |
Add-On: 401(k) Retirement | From $49.00 +$8.00 /participating employee. |
Add-On: 529 College Savings | $6.00 /participant.** |
Add-On: Health Insurance | Pay only for premiums. |
Add-On: Workers' Compensation | Pay only for premiums. |
Add-On: Life and Disability | Pay only for premiums. |
*$20.00 per month minimum.
**$18.00 per month minimum.
Gusto also offers 401 (k) retirement savings integrations, international contractor payments, state tax registration, and R&D tax services.
Gusto also offers all four tax-advanced spending account types (HSAs, commuter benefits, and FSAs) for an annual service charge of $200.00.
Gusto vs. TriNet Zenefits:
While TriNet Zenefits is an HR solution that offers payroll as an add-on, Gusto is primarily a payroll solution but also features HR tools, with the more advanced ones only available on top-tiered plans. Both have great feature profiles, but unlike Gusto, which is designed for small businesses, TriNet Zenefits is also suitable for larger companies.
Comparison Between Gusto and TriNet Zenefits:
Feature | Gusto | TriNet Zenefits |
|---|---|---|
Price | From $40.00 /mo. +$6.00 /employee /mo. | From $10.00 /mo. +$6.00 /employee /mo. |
Free trial | ✓ | Live demo only. |
Unlimited pay runs | ✓ | ✓ |
Automatic federal and state tax filing | ✓ | ✓ |
Multiple schedules and pay rates | ✓ | ✓ |
Tips reporting | ✓ | ✓ |
Federal R&D tax credit | ✓ | x |
Lifetime accounts | ✓ | ✓ |
Gusto vs. QuickBooks Payroll:
QuickBooks Payroll can be used with or without QuickBooks' full accounting suite. Payroll pricing starts at $45.00 per month plus $5.00 per employee per month, while Gusto's starts at $40.00 per month plus $6.00 per employee per month. Gusto offers a wider range of advanced payroll features, but QuickBooks Payroll offers tax penalty protection.
Comparison Between Gusto and QuickBooks Payroll:
Feature | Gusto | QuickBooks Payroll |
|---|---|---|
Price | From $40.00 /mo. +$6.00 /employee /mo. | From $45.00 /mo. +$5.00 /employee /mo. |
Free trial | ✓ | ✓ |
Unlimited pay runs | ✓ | ✓ |
Automatic federal and state tax filing | ✓ | ✓ |
Multiple schedules and pay rates | ✓ | ✓ |
Tips reporting | ✓ | ✓ |
Federal R&D tax credit | ✓ | x |
Lifetime accounts | ✓ | x |
Gusto vs. Fingercheck:
While Gusto's core offering is payroll, Fingercheck only offers payroll tools as part of their all-in-one HR Platform solution. While Fingercheck is among the most feature-rich platforms we reviewed, it lacks some of the advanced tools that Gusto offers, such as lifetime accounts and tip reporting. Gusto is also more affordable.
Comparison Between Gusto and Fingercheck:
Feature | Gusto | Fingercheck |
|---|---|---|
Payroll pricing | From $40.00 /mo. +$6.00 /employee /mo. | From $47.00 /mo. |
Free trial | 30 days. | 30 days. |
Unlimited pay runs | ✓ | ✓ |
Automatic federal and state tax filing | ✓ | ✓ |
Multiple schedules and pay rates | ✓ | ✓ |
Tips reporting | ✓ | x |
Federal R&D tax credit | ✓ | x |
Lifetime accounts | ✓ | x |
Packages:
Contractor Only.
The contractor package is the ideal solution for entrepreneurs and freelancers who haven't hired any employees yet. For just $6.00 per person per month, users can pay 1099 contractors.
Unlike all of the other plans, there is no monthly base fee for the Contractor Only plan. The package is fairly basic and only gives users access to a few select features, but it should be enough for anyone looking for a reliable and efficient way to pay their contractors.
Simple.
With the Simple package, small business owners get the essential tools that they need to run payroll for their employees. Companies that hire frequently and thus require advanced hiring and onboarding tools would need to upgrade to the Plus or Premium package.
Plus.
The Plus Plan costs $80.00 per month plus $12.00 per employee per month compared to $40.00 per month plus $6.00 per employee per month for the Simple plan. For the extra cost, users benefit from a complete solution with HR tools, including payroll automation for multi-state employers, benefits administration, team management tools, and full customer support.
The HR features offered with the Plus plan include user management, time tracking, onboarding, and the ability to send out employee surveys. Most businesses with 10 employees or less could do without these features, but the upgrade to the Plus plan makes sense for medium to large companies.
Premium.
The Premium plan includes everything in the Plus plan, as well as a host of premium HR resources, such as policy templates, a customized employee handbook, and access to HR professionals who can assist with compliance. The Premium plan also includes R&D tax credit discount and other waived fees and offers a more tailored solution for users.
Most beneficial of all, however, is the dedicated support that comes with the Premium package. With dedicated support, companies are assigned their own representatives and are given a direct contact number so that they can have personalized product support whenever they need it.
Integrations:
Accounting | Time Tracking | Point of Sale | Business Operations |
|---|---|---|---|
AccountingSuite | 7shifts | ||
Aplos | AttendanceBot | HighLevel | |
Autobooks | Boomr | Ardius | |
Bookkeeper360 | SpotOn | Boast R&D Tax App | |
Connecteam | Brandly | ||
Fulfil.io | Deputy | ||
Ignition | eBility | ||
Jirav | Capbase | ||
MonkeyPod | ClienTrak! | ||
Paperclip | QuickBooks Time | dealr.cloud | |
Sling | Document360 | ||
Reach Reporting | SpotOn | ||
Timeero | |||
Tinq | Peoplelogic | ||
Sunrise | Procare | ||
Synder | Workforce.com | Secureframe | |
Xendoo | WorkforceHub | Smartsheet | |
Workyard | |||
ZarMoney | Veryfi | ||
VGS Control |
Interested individuals can see the comprehensive list of integrations on Gusto's website.
News & Activity:
Date | News or Activity |
|---|---|
July 12, 2023 | |
June 03, 2023 | NEXT Insurance and Gusto Expand Partnership to Modernize Embedded Payroll Experience |
Key Information:
Legal Name | ZenPayroll, Inc. |
Founder | |
Founding Date | Nov 01, 2011 |
Address | 525 20th St., San Francisco, CA 94107 |
Number of Employees | 1752 |
Number of Customers | 200000 |
Telephone | |
Website |
FAQs:
What is Gusto?
Gusto is a cloud-based software company that offers a full suite of web-based services to meet small business HR needs. This includes payroll, benefits, onboarding, time tracking, compliance, and more.
Is Gusto a good payroll company?
Gusto is a highly-rated payroll software solution that offers an impressive range of features at an affordable cost.
How much does Gusto cost?
Gusto's pricing starts at $40.00 per month plus $6.00 per employee per month. The platform also offers a 30-day free trial of its services.
Is there a Gusto app for my iPhone?
There isn't a Gusto payroll app for iOS or Android, but they do have a mobile-friendly website that you can access your account from.
Does Gusto pay weekly?
Yes, with Gusto, you are able to pay your employees every week on a specific day of the week (52 payrolls per year). You can also set up a multiple-pay schedule.
How do you use Gusto?
To use Gusto, go to their home page, click on "Create an account," and follow the prompts. Once you've determined which plan is best for your business, you can use Gusto to process payroll. The software is accessible from any web-based device.
Does Gusto pay on weekends?
No, any payroll processing done on a weekend or bank holiday will only begin processing on the next business day.
Does Gusto track time?
Yes, with Gusto, you can automatically track, review, and approve your team's working hours.
Does Gusto charge for contractors?
Yes, you can also pay contractors through Gusto. The software also automatically files and emails contractors their 1099s at the end of the year.
Is Gusto similar to ADP?
While Gusto has a wider variety of employee benefits than RUN Powered by ADP, only the latter offers assistance with employee handbooks. Gusto's payroll plans start at $40.00 per month plus $6.00 per employee per month, whereas users need to contact RUN Powered by ADP for pricing details.