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Sarah Chen
Editor-in-Chief
Sarah Chen, Editor-in-Chief
We rate Gusto 4.3/5. Easiest payroll setup in the industry, making it especially useful for solopreneurs and small-business. The main tradeoff: per-person pricing gets expensive.
About Gusto
Gusto made payroll processing accessible to businesses without a dedicated HR or accounting team. Its guided setup, automatic tax filings, and compliance guardrails let founders run payroll confidently without expertise.
Simple ($40/month + $6/person) includes full-service payroll, tax filings, and employee self-service. Plus ($80/month + $12/person) adds next-day direct deposit, time tracking, and PTO management. Premium ($135/month + $16.50/person) includes performance reviews, surveys, and HR resource center. Contractor-only ($35/month + $6/person) handles 1099 contractors.
Payroll runs are genuinely simple: review hours/salaries, confirm amounts, and submit. Gusto automatically calculates federal, state, and local taxes, files quarterly and annual returns, and handles W-2s and 1099s at year end.
The benefits marketplace provides health insurance, 401(k), HSA, FSA, commuter benefits, and workers' comp through a single dashboard. Gusto handles deductions, contributions, and compliance reporting.
For solo founders paying themselves and contractors, the contractor plan ($35/month + $6/person) handles 1099 payments and filings cleanly. The full payroll plans make sense once you hire W-2 employees.
Limitations: US-only (no international payroll), per-person pricing means costs scale linearly, HR features are shallow compared to dedicated HR platforms, and customer support quality has been criticized as the company has scaled.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- +Easiest payroll setup in the industry
- +Automatic tax calculations and filings
- +Great benefits marketplace
- +Handles contractor 1099s too
Cons
- -Per-person pricing gets expensive
- -HR features less deep than BambooHR
- -International payroll not supported
- -Customer support wait times can be long
Best For
- ▶Small business payroll
- ▶Tax filing and compliance
- ▶Employee benefits administration
- ▶Contractor payment management
- ▶New hire onboarding
Key Features
Alternatives to Gusto
HR software for small and medium businesses
Unified HR, IT, and Finance platform for workforce management.
Accounting software for small businesses and solopreneurs.
How We Evaluate Tools
Our editorial team tests and reviews each tool based on features, pricing, ease of use, integration ecosystem, and real user feedback. Ratings reflect our independent assessment and are not influenced by affiliate partnerships. Learn more about our process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Gusto free?
Gusto is a paid tool. A free trial may be available. Simple: $40/month + $6/person. Plus: $80/month + $12/person. Premium: $135/month + $16.50/person. Contractor: $35/month + $6/person.
What are the best alternatives to Gusto?
The best alternatives to Gusto include BambooHR, Rippling, QuickBooks. Each offers similar functionality with different strengths in features, pricing, and ease of use. Visit our alternatives page for detailed comparisons.
What is Gusto used for?
Payroll, benefits, and HR for small businesses Common use cases include: Small business payroll, Tax filing and compliance, Employee benefits administration, Contractor payment management, New hire onboarding.