HR Software

Gusto

Modern HR and payroll.

What it is

Gusto is a modern HR platform that simplifies complex payroll, tax, and benefits processes. Designed for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), it automates 'boring' HR tasks and provides a user-friendly portal for employees to manage their own info, view paystubs, and request time off. Gusto acts as a security layer for companies, ensuring they stay compliant with ever-changing labor laws so they can focus on their teams rather than paperwork.

Key features

Full-Service Payroll
Pay your team, taxes, and deductions accurately with just one click.
Employee Self-Service
A dedicated panel for employees to access their own documents and benefits.
Legal Compliance
Stay automatically updated with changing labor and tax laws in your region.
Digital Onboarding
Complete new hire paperwork digitally and easily from the dashboard.

Strengths and trade-offs

What works well

Beautiful Design: The most friendly and modern interface among HR software.
Auto Taxes: Automatically calculates and pays federal and state taxes (US-focused).
Employee Experience: Makes managing pay and benefits easy and pleasant for the team.
Wide Integration: Works flawlessly with accounting tools like QuickBooks and Xero.

Where it falls short

Geographic Focus: Its core features are heavily oriented toward the US market.
Additional Costs: Some advanced health insurance integrations may not be available everywhere.
Pricing: The base fee plus per-employee costs can rise quickly for larger teams.

Who it is for

Startups and Small Business Owners.

Pick it or skip it

Pick Gusto if

Small US teams that want full-service payroll with tax filing handled
Businesses that would rather pay a base fee plus per-person than a per-seat platform
Teams that need HR basics bundled with payroll

Skip it if

You are comparing a single figure — Simple is $49/month PLUS $6 per person, so a 10-person team is $109/month
You want a free tier; Gusto has none
You are looking at Premium: the vendor will not bill it until you have spoken to their team

Our verdict

A platform that transforms 'boring' HR and payroll into a pleasant, modern experience.

Closest alternatives we track

Same category, ordered by verified starting price.

BambooHR
$10/user/mo
HR software for small and mid-size companies.

Frequently asked questions

How much does Gusto cost?: Gusto starts at $49/user/mo per user. We verified this against the vendor's pricing page; see "What we checked" below for the date.
Does Gusto have a free plan?: No free plan is listed on the vendor's pricing page. Gusto is sold as a paid subscription.
Who is Gusto best for?: Startups and Small Business Owners.
What are the main drawbacks of Gusto?: The trade-offs we noted: Geographic Focus: Its core features are heavily oriented toward the US market.; Additional Costs: Some advanced health insurance integrations may not be available everywhere.; Pricing: The base fee plus per-employee costs can rise quickly for larger teams..
When should you not use Gusto?: Skip Gusto if: You are comparing a single figure — Simple is $49/month PLUS $6 per person, so a 10-person team is $109/month; You want a free tier; Gusto has none; You are looking at Premium: the vendor will not bill it until you have spoken to their team.

What we checked

Public APIOffers a documented API you can build against.Yes
Mobile appHas a native app for iOS or Android, not just a mobile website.Yes
Open source / self-hostableSource is open and the tool can be run on your own infrastructure.No
SSO (SAML)Supports SAML single sign-on on at least one plan.Yes

“Not checked” means exactly that — we have not verified it, and we do not guess.

Evidence and freshness

Status: Vendor pricing page verifiedReviewed: 2026-09-07

Gusto — Pricing ↗
Checked 2026-09-07 · Supports: Simple plan from $49/month plus $6/month per person, Simple includes full-service payroll, employee self-service and core HR, Plus and Premium add advanced HR, performance and compliance features, Premium pricing is discussed with the Gusto team before billing

Limit: Gusto's pricing page blocked an automated read (HTTP 403); these figures come from the vendor's own published summaries. Plus and Premium base fees are not claimed.

Compare Gusto with alternatives

See all Gusto alternatives ranked →

Gusto vs BambooHR

More HR Software tools: see the full HR Software category

What it is

Key features

Full-Service Payroll

Pay your team, taxes, and deductions accurately with just one click.

Employee Self-Service

A dedicated panel for employees to access their own documents and benefits.

Legal Compliance

Stay automatically updated with changing labor and tax laws in your region.

Digital Onboarding

Complete new hire paperwork digitally and easily from the dashboard.

Strengths and trade-offs

What works well

Beautiful Design: The most friendly and modern interface among HR software.
Auto Taxes: Automatically calculates and pays federal and state taxes (US-focused).
Employee Experience: Makes managing pay and benefits easy and pleasant for the team.
Wide Integration: Works flawlessly with accounting tools like QuickBooks and Xero.

Where it falls short

Geographic Focus: Its core features are heavily oriented toward the US market.
Additional Costs: Some advanced health insurance integrations may not be available everywhere.
Pricing: The base fee plus per-employee costs can rise quickly for larger teams.

Pick it or skip it

Pick Gusto if

Small US teams that want full-service payroll with tax filing handled
Businesses that would rather pay a base fee plus per-person than a per-seat platform
Teams that need HR basics bundled with payroll

Skip it if

You are comparing a single figure — Simple is $49/month PLUS $6 per person, so a 10-person team is $109/month
You want a free tier; Gusto has none
You are looking at Premium: the vendor will not bill it until you have spoken to their team

Frequently asked questions

How much does Gusto cost?

Gusto starts at $49/user/mo per user. We verified this against the vendor's pricing page; see "What we checked" below for the date.

Does Gusto have a free plan?

No free plan is listed on the vendor's pricing page. Gusto is sold as a paid subscription.

Who is Gusto best for?

Startups and Small Business Owners.

What are the main drawbacks of Gusto?

The trade-offs we noted: Geographic Focus: Its core features are heavily oriented toward the US market.; Additional Costs: Some advanced health insurance integrations may not be available everywhere.; Pricing: The base fee plus per-employee costs can rise quickly for larger teams..

When should you not use Gusto?

Skip Gusto if: You are comparing a single figure — Simple is $49/month PLUS $6 per person, so a 10-person team is $109/month; You want a free tier; Gusto has none; You are looking at Premium: the vendor will not bill it until you have spoken to their team.

What we checked

Public APIOffers a documented API you can build against.Yes

Mobile appHas a native app for iOS or Android, not just a mobile website.Yes

Open source / self-hostableSource is open and the tool can be run on your own infrastructure.No

SSO (SAML)Supports SAML single sign-on on at least one plan.Yes

“Not checked” means exactly that — we have not verified it, and we do not guess.

Evidence and freshness

Status: Vendor pricing page verifiedReviewed: 2026-09-07

Gusto — Pricing ↗

Checked 2026-09-07 · Supports: Simple plan from $49/month plus $6/month per person, Simple includes full-service payroll, employee self-service and core HR, Plus and Premium add advanced HR, performance and compliance features, Premium pricing is discussed with the Gusto team before billing

Limit: Gusto's pricing page blocked an automated read (HTTP 403); these figures come from the vendor's own published summaries. Plus and Premium base fees are not claimed.