Gusto Reviews: An Honest Look at What Works and What Doesn't

If you're researching payroll software for your small business, you've probably seen Gusto mentioned everywhere. With over 400,000 companies using the platform, it's one of the most popular options out there. But is it actually worth it for your business?

I've spent time digging into Gusto's features, pricing, and real user feedback to give you a straight answer. Here's what you need to know before signing up.

What Is Gusto?

Gusto is a cloud-based payroll and HR platform built specifically for small to medium-sized businesses. It handles payroll processing, tax filings, benefits administration, onboarding, and time tracking—all from one dashboard.

The platform is known for being user-friendly, with a 4.7/5 satisfaction rating across major review sites. Most users can set up payroll in under 30 minutes, even without prior experience.

Beyond basic payroll, Gusto integrates with over 180 apps including accounting software, time tracking tools, and HR platforms. This means less manual data entry and fewer errors across your systems.

Gusto Pricing Breakdown

Gusto uses a base fee plus per-employee pricing model. Here's what each plan costs:

Simple Plan: $49/month + $6/employee

This is Gusto's entry-level option. It includes full-service single-state payroll, automatic tax filings, employee self-service, basic hiring tools, and onboarding. Best for small teams operating in one state who just need reliable payroll without the extras.

Plus Plan: $89/month + $13/employee

The most popular tier. You get everything in Simple plus multi-state payroll, next-day direct deposit, time tracking, PTO management, and advanced onboarding tools. This is where Gusto starts to shine for growing businesses.

Premium Plan: $199/month + $24/employee

For businesses that need serious HR support. Includes everything in Plus plus a dedicated customer success manager, access to certified HR experts, compliance alerts, and an HR resource center with templates and handbooks.

Contractor Only: $35/month + $6/contractor

If you only pay contractors (no W-2 employees), this plan covers unlimited payments across all 50 states with four-day direct deposit. There's currently a promotion offering $0 base price for the first six months.

For a deeper look at what each tier includes, check out our complete Gusto pricing breakdown.

What Gusto Does Well

Dead-Simple Interface

Gusto's biggest strength is how easy it is to use. The dashboard is clean, with payroll actions accessible in two clicks or less. Even if you've never run payroll before, you won't feel lost. Menu items are well-organized: People, Pay, Time & Attendance, Benefits, and Taxes & Compliance.

Unlimited Payroll Runs

Every Gusto plan includes unlimited payroll runs at no extra cost. Need to run an off-cycle payroll for bonuses or corrections? No additional fees. This is a real advantage over competitors who charge per payroll run.

Automatic Tax Filing

Gusto handles federal, state, and local tax filings in all 50 states. They calculate, file, and pay your payroll taxes automatically. For most small business owners, this alone is worth the monthly fee—it eliminates the risk of missed filings and penalties.

Solid Benefits Administration

If you use Gusto as your health insurance broker, benefits administration comes at no extra cost beyond insurance premiums. They offer health, dental, vision, and retirement plans. If you prefer to keep your existing broker, it's $6/month per eligible employee (free on Premium).

AutoPilot Payroll

Once you've set everything up, you can enable AutoPilot to run payroll automatically on your schedule. Less time remembering to submit payroll, fewer missed deadlines.

Where Gusto Falls Short

No Same-Day Direct Deposit

Unlike QuickBooks Payroll, Gusto doesn't offer same-day direct deposit. The fastest option is next-day deposit, and that's only available on Plus and Premium plans. The Simple plan gets 4-day direct deposit. If cash flow timing is critical for your business, this could be a dealbreaker.

Add-On Costs Stack Up

While base pricing looks competitive, extra features can add $10-$30 per employee per month. Benefits like 401(k) plans, workers' compensation, FSAs, and life insurance are all paid add-ons. A $49/month Simple plan can quickly become $100+ once you enable multiple features.

Higher-Tier Plans Get Expensive

The Plus and Premium plans are noticeably pricier than competitors. If you're a 20-person company on Premium, you're looking at $199 + ($24 x 20) = $679/month before any add-ons. For comparison, OnPay charges a flat $40/month + $6/employee with all features included.

No Master Search Bar

Minor gripe, but there's no universal search function. If you're looking for a specific setting or menu item, you'll need to navigate through the menus manually.

Mobile App Is Employee-Only

The Gusto Wallet mobile app is for employees to view pay stubs and tax documents. There's no admin component—if you need to run payroll on the go, you'll use the mobile web version, which works but isn't as smooth as a dedicated app.

Gusto vs. The Competition

How does Gusto stack up against alternatives? Here's the quick rundown:

Gusto vs. ADP

For small businesses under 50 employees, Gusto is typically cheaper and more transparent. ADP requires custom quotes and often charges for features Gusto includes by default. However, ADP may offer better pricing for companies with 100+ employees or complex multi-state needs. Read our full Gusto vs ADP comparison.

Gusto vs. QuickBooks Payroll

QuickBooks wins if you need same-day direct deposit or already use QuickBooks accounting (the integration is seamless). Gusto wins on HR features, benefits administration, and overall user experience. See our Gusto vs QuickBooks Payroll breakdown.

Gusto vs. Paychex

Paychex offers more bundled benefits out of the box and 24/7 access to HR professionals. But it feels dated compared to Gusto's modern interface, and setup takes days instead of minutes. Compare them in our Gusto vs Paychex review.

Gusto vs. Rippling

Rippling is more powerful for fast-growing companies that need IT management alongside HR (device provisioning, app management, etc.). It supports 160+ countries for global payroll. But it's more complex and takes longer to onboard. For pure small business payroll, Gusto is simpler. Check out Gusto vs Rippling.

Gusto vs. Justworks

Justworks is a PEO (Professional Employer Organization) that acts as a co-employer, handling everything from payroll to HR to compliance. It's better if you want to completely outsource HR. Gusto is better if you want control over your processes with good software support. Full comparison: Gusto vs Justworks.

Who Should Use Gusto?

Gusto is best for:

Gusto might not be right if:

Recent Changes Worth Noting

Gusto raised the Simple plan from $40 to $49/month in March 2025—an increase of $108/year. This primarily affects small teams and seasonal employers who rely on lower-tier plans. It's still competitive, but the gap with alternatives like OnPay ($40/month) has widened.

On the plus side, Gusto now offers global Employer of Record (EOR) services at $599/employee/month for businesses hiring internationally. This puts them in competition with Remote and Deel for global workforce management.

The Bottom Line

Gusto is genuinely one of the best payroll platforms for small businesses. The interface is clean, setup is fast, and automatic tax filing takes a huge burden off your plate. If you're currently doing payroll manually or using clunky legacy software, the switch to Gusto will feel like a breath of fresh air.

That said, it's not the cheapest option, especially once you start adding features. Run the numbers for your specific situation before committing. A 10-person company on the Plus plan with next-day deposit is looking at $219/month—reasonable, but not trivial.

For most small businesses that want payroll and basic HR in one place without the complexity of enterprise systems, Gusto delivers. It's not perfect, but it's one of the most balanced options in the market.

Try Gusto free (you can explore the software before running your first payroll) and see if it fits your workflow.

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