Gusto
Small-business payroll and HR platform with automated taxes, benefits, onboarding, time tracking, compliance tools and employee self-service.
Gusto combines full-service US payroll, automated tax filing, contractor payments, employee self-service, onboarding, benefits, time tracking, scheduling, PTO, compliance tools, HR guidance and financial tools. It is especially strong for small and midsize US employers, though global employment and highly complex enterprise payroll remain outside its core sweet spot.
G2 currently shows 4.6/5 from 13,202 Gusto product reviews and Capterra 4.6/5 from 4,225, with Capterra ease of use at 4.6 and customer service at 4.4. Users consistently praise payroll simplicity, onboarding and employee self-service, while support responsiveness and edge cases in complex multi-state or benefits workflows remain recurring complaints.
Gusto publishes unusually transparent payroll pricing: Simple is $49/month plus $6/person, Plus $80 plus $12/person and Premium $180 plus $22/person. Plans are month-to-month with no long-term contract and can be cancelled anytime. Add-ons and per-person fees still raise total cost as headcount grows.
Gusto supports a broad App Directory, vetted partner integrations and developer APIs. Security documentation confirms annual SOC 1 and SOC 2 reports, AES-256 encryption at rest, TLS 1.2 in transit, MFA, SSO, penetration testing, vulnerability scanning, a bug bounty program and AWS-hosted production data.
Scored by Surabhi Singh
Quick facts
- Vendor
- Gusto, Inc.
- Pricing model
- paid
- Plan pricing
- $49/mo + $6/person Vendor source checked; not a hands-on review
- Free plan
- Not confirmed
- Free trial
- Not confirmed
- Last verified
- Not yet verified
About Gusto
Gusto is a cloud payroll and HR platform focused on small and midsize US businesses. It combines unlimited payroll runs, tax filing and payments, direct deposit, contractor payments, onboarding, employee records, benefits, time tracking, scheduling, PTO, compliance tools, HR guidance and employee self-service in one interface.
Best for
Small and midsize US businesses that want easy, transparent full-service payroll plus practical HR, benefits and employee self-service in one system.
Gusto pros and cons
Pros
- Transparent pricing starts at $49/month plus $6 per person for Simple.
- Unlimited payroll runs and automated federal, state and local payroll tax filing are included in payroll plans.
- Strong employee self-service, onboarding and mobile experiences reduce administrative work.
- App Directory covers accounting, recruiting, performance, time tracking, benefits and compliance tools.
- Security program includes annual SOC 1/SOC 2 reporting, MFA, SSO, encryption, penetration testing and bug bounty.
Cons
- −Per-person pricing can become material as headcount grows.
- −Multi-state payroll, built-in time tracking and more advanced HR functionality require higher-priced plans.
- −Customer support receives more mixed feedback than the product's ease of use.
- −Complex benefits, compliance or unusual payroll scenarios can require more manual support.
- −Gusto is primarily optimized for US employers rather than very large multinational enterprise payroll.
Features
Platforms
Integrations
Pricing
$49/month base fee plus $6/month per person. Designed for basic single-state payroll with unlimited payrolls, payroll tax filing and payments, PTO/holiday policies and core payroll administration.
$80/month base plus $12/month per person. Adds multi-state payroll, time tracking, scheduling, next-day pay and broader workforce administration.
$180/month base plus $22/month per person. Adds premium support, HR guidance, compliance tools, same-day and instant-pay capabilities, advanced roles and project-based costing.
For contractor-only businesses. Current pricing page shows a promotional $0 base fee instead of the normal $35/month base, plus $6 per contractor paid. Toollers does not use the temporary promotional base as the directory starting price.
Official pricing / availability source · Checked 6 October 2026. Confirm current taxes, regional terms and allowances. A listed plan is not necessarily the cheapest option.
Editorial verification: Not yet verified. Check the vendor's site for current pricing.