Audyense
Gusto
VerifiedHR & People · gusto.com
Overview
Gusto is a cloud-based payroll, benefits, and HR platform aimed primarily at small and growing businesses. It runs full-service payroll with automatic federal, state, and local tax filing, and layers on benefits administration, hiring and onboarding, time tracking, and employee self-service. Originally launched as ZenPayroll in 2012, it rebranded to Gusto in 2015 and now serves several hundred thousand businesses across the US.
The problem Gusto solves
Small businesses without dedicated payroll or HR staff struggle to run accurate payroll, file federal/state/local taxes correctly, and administer benefits without expensive specialists. Gusto solves this by automating full-service payroll, tax filing, and benefits in one intuitive platform, letting founders and office managers run payroll in minutes. The tradeoff is that fast-growing or complex organizations can outgrow its feature depth and support model.
Decision context
Use these points to test whether the product fits your operation, not just whether it has a long feature list.
- Published starting price: $49 per month + per employee. Confirm user, usage, and feature limits for the plan you would actually buy.
- Deployment: cloud. Check security, data-residency, and access requirements for every team that will use it.
- Verified integrations include QuickBooks Online, Xero, FreshBooks, Sage, Homebase, Deputy. Validate sync direction and plan limits for the connections that matter.
- This record was last checked on 7/20/2026; pricing and features can change.
How to evaluate Gusto
A listing helps create a shortlist; a trial with the team’s real workflow decides whether the tool fits. Use this reading with the structured facts and confirm changes with the vendor.
Workflow fit
The record describes it as a fit for Small businesses and startups that want payroll and tax filing automated with minimal setup., Teams that need integrated benefits (health, 401(k) via Guideline, workers' comp) alongside payroll., Multi-state employers needing payroll and compliance handled across jurisdictions (Plus tier and above).. Check that this context matches the volume, roles, and processes your team needs it to support.
Pilot questions
- Can Gusto complete the critical workflow without manual work outside the product?
- Do the recorded connections (QuickBooks Online, Xero, FreshBooks, Sage) support the sync direction, permissions, and volume we need?
- What user, usage, storage, support, or security limits appear after the headline starting price?
Evidence and freshness
This record was checked on 7/20/2026. That date tells you when the record was reviewed, not that the vendor has left its terms unchanged since then.
Best for
- Small businesses and startups that want payroll and tax filing automated with minimal setup.
- Teams that need integrated benefits (health, 401(k) via Guideline, workers' comp) alongside payroll.
- Multi-state employers needing payroll and compliance handled across jurisdictions (Plus tier and above).
Not a fit if
- Larger enterprises with complex HR, custom pay structures, or advanced reporting needs that outgrow Gusto's feature depth.
- Organizations that require 24/7 or after-hours phone support, which reviewers note Gusto does not offer.
Why it’s listed
- A leading full-service payroll and HR platform for US small businesses, with automatic multi-jurisdiction tax filing built in.
- Highly rated across major review platforms (4.6/5 on both G2 and Capterra across 17,000+ combined reviews).
- Combines payroll, benefits administration, hiring/onboarding, and time tracking in one system, reducing the need for separate tools.
Pricing
Simple
$49 base per month (+ $6 per employee/mo)Entry-level single-state full-service payroll with automatic tax filing.
- Full-service single-state payroll
- Automatic federal, state, and local tax filing
- W-2 and 1099 preparation
- Employee self-service portal and Gusto Wallet app
- Basic hiring and onboarding tools
Plus
$80 base per month (+ $12 per employee/mo)Adds multi-state payroll, time tracking, and next-day direct deposit for growing teams.
- Multi-state payroll
- Next-day direct deposit
- Time and PTO tracking
- Team management and project tracking
- Everything in Simple
Premium
$180 base per month (+ $22 per employee/mo)Adds HR resources, priority support, custom reporting, and migration help for larger teams.
- Access to certified HR professionals / HR resource center
- Priority support
- Custom reports and advanced insights
- Full-service payroll migration and account setup
- Everything in Plus
Contractor Only
$35 base per month (+ $6 per contractor/mo)For businesses that pay only 1099 contractors, with no W-2 employees.
- Unlimited contractor payments
- 1099-NEC creation and filing
- International contractor payments (select countries)
- Contractor self-service onboarding
Features
Integrations
Security & compliance
Pros & cons
Pros
- Clean, intuitive interface that requires minimal training and makes payroll runs fast (often under 10 minutes).
- Automated full-service payroll with federal, state, and local tax calculation and filing.
- Integrated benefits, hiring/onboarding, and employee self-service in a single platform.
- Affordable and transparent entry pricing well-suited to small teams.
Cons
- Customer support responsiveness is inconsistent, with no after-hours support and mixed experiences resolving complex issues.
- Reporting and analytics are limited, with custom reports gated to higher tiers.
- Feature depth becomes insufficient for companies scaling past ~50 employees or with complex HR needs.
- Advanced capabilities (multi-state payroll, HR support, custom reports) are locked behind higher-priced tiers.
What we found
Across G2 (4.6/5, ~12,800 reviews) and Capterra (4.6/5, ~4,200 reviews), reviewers consistently praise Gusto's clean, intuitive interface, fast automated payroll runs, and built-in tax filing, while recurring criticisms center on customer support responsiveness, limited advanced reporting, and features that feel thin as companies scale past ~50 employees. TrustRadius echoes this with an 8.9/10 score, highlighting time savings but noting mixed support experiences.
Ratings and review counts come from public review platforms. We link to the original source and keep the underlying review text out of this profile.
User reviews
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