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Gusto

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All-in-one payroll, benefits, and HR platform for small and mid-sized US businesses

Contractor Payment Software Payroll Software Stand Alone Payroll Software
  • Deployment Cloud Based
  • Starting price $49/month + $6/month per person
  • Free trial Not offered
  • Best for Freelancers, Startups, SMEs

What is Gusto?

Gusto is a cloud-based payroll, benefits, and HR platform built for small and mid-sized businesses in the United States. It handles full-service payroll including automatic federal, state, and local tax filing and payment, unlimited monthly payroll runs, direct deposit, W-2 and 1099 filing, and support for both employees and contractors. Beyond payroll, Gusto offers employee benefits administration such as health insurance through licensed brokers, 401(k) retirement plans, HSA/FSA and commuter benefits, and workers compensation.

The platform also includes HR tools like hiring and onboarding workflows, time tracking and PTO management, performance reviews, and an employee self-service app. Plans scale from a single-state payroll tier up to a premium tier with dedicated support and certified HR experts, plus a contractor-only option for businesses without W-2 employees. Gusto integrates with over 650 accounting and business apps and serves more than 500,000 businesses.

Key Features of Gusto

Gusto lists 10 documented features, including Full-service payroll with unlimited monthly payroll runs, Automatic federal, state, and local payroll tax filing and payment and W-2 and 1099 creation and e-filing. The list below covers what the product does rather than how it is marketed.

  • Full-service payroll with unlimited monthly payroll runs
  • Automatic federal, state, and local payroll tax filing and payment
  • W-2 and 1099 creation and e-filing
  • Employee and contractor payments, including domestic and global contractors
  • Time tracking, timesheets, scheduling, and PTO management
  • Health insurance, 401(k), HSA/FSA, and commuter benefits administration
  • Hiring and onboarding tools, including applicant tracking on higher tiers
  • Employee self-service mobile app for pay stubs, benefits, and tax forms
  • Performance reviews and goal tracking
  • 650+ integrations with accounting and business software

Gusto Pricing

Gusto lists 4 plans without published figures. Pricing is quoted on request.

Simple

$49/month + $6/month per person

Single-state payroll

Free Trial

Unlimited payrolls per month, tax filings and payments, basic PTO policies and holiday pay

Plus

$80/month + $12/month per person

Multi-state payroll

Free Trial

Best value tier; adds next-day pay, time tracking, expenses and reimbursements, workforce cost reports

Premium

$180/month + $22/month per person

Free Trial

Dedicated Service Advisor, access to certified HR experts, performance and compensation management, custom reports, priority support, payroll migration and account setup

Contractor Only

$35/month + $6/month per person (limited-time offer: $0/month base for first 6 months)

For businesses with contractors only, no W-2 employees

Free Trial

Domestic contractor payments, 4-day pay, Form 1099 creation and filing; does not include back-up withholding or most add-ons

Gusto Specifications

Gusto is available on web app and has iOS and Android apps. It offers an API.

Software Tagline :
All-in-one payroll, benefits, and HR platform for small and mid-sized US businesses
Deployment :
  • cloud based
Subscription Plan :
monthly
Desktop Platforms :
  • web app
Mobile Platforms :
  • ios
  • android
Language Support :
english
Target Audience :
  • freelancers
  • startups
  • smes
Available Support :
  • email
  • phone
  • live support
Integrations :
Gusto integrates with 650+ third-party apps including accounting software (QuickBooks, Xero), time tracking, expense management, and business tools; it also offers a public API and Gusto Embedded Payroll for developers.
Product Url :
https://gusto.com
API Available :
Yes
Free Trial Available :
No
Run On Mobile Browser :
Yes
Free Plan Available :
No
Customization Available :
Yes

Gusto Videos

Gusto Screenshots

Gusto screenshot 1

Alternatives of Gusto

Other Payroll Software products listed on SocialAtoZ, each with its own pricing and feature detail to compare against Gusto.

OnPay

Full-service online payroll, HR, and benefits software for small and mid-sized businesses

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Patriot Payroll

Affordable, easy-to-use online payroll software for US small businesses

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Paychex Flex

All-in-one payroll, HR, benefits, and workforce management platform for businesses of any size

Explore More

Payroll Mate

Desktop payroll software for small business, in-house payroll processing with no monthly fees

Explore More

Gusto Comparisons

Side by side comparisons of Gusto against 3 other Payroll Software options listed here.

Gusto
OnPay
VS
Gusto
Patriot Payroll
VS
Gusto
Paychex Flex
VS

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Gusto FAQs

Gusto has three main plans for paying a team: Simple ($49/month + $6/month per person), Plus ($80/month + $12/month per person), and Premium ($180/month + $22/month per person). There is also a Contractor Only plan at $35/month + $6/month per person for businesses without W-2 employees.

Gusto's pricing page does not advertise a free trial for its core payroll plans; pricing starts immediately on sign-up, though some add-ons like Time & Attendance Plus can be tried free before the per-person fee applies.

Yes. The Simple plan supports single-state payroll only, while the Plus and Premium plans support multi-state payroll.

Yes, all plans include automatic calculation, filing, and payment of federal, state, and local payroll taxes, as well as W-2 and 1099 creation and filing.

Yes. All plans support domestic contractor payments, and global contractor payments in 120+ countries are available as an add-on. A dedicated Contractor Only plan exists for businesses with no W-2 employees.

All plans include hiring and onboarding tools. Plus and Premium add features like time tracking and workforce cost reports, while Premium includes a dedicated Service Advisor, certified HR expert access, and performance and compensation management.