Gusto debuted in 2011 and became a well-known, well-liked, simple, and affordable payroll software. As the company continues to mature, it has expanded its offerings to include benefits, workers comp, talent management, and more.
Ratings
Ease of Use
Best For
Key Differentiator
Price
Free Trial
PROS
- The dashboard feature keeps tabs on compliance tasks
- The hiring and onboarding sequence is nicely streamlined between HR and the new hire
- Post-offer, pre-start tasks are made easy with integrations like CorpNet (state tax set up) Checkr (background checks)
- Easy payroll for U.S.-based W-2 folks, domestic, and international contractors
- Person-to-person phone support, email, and other customer service resources
- The business model is responsive to customer needs
CONS
- Gusto can support payments for international contractors, but not employees
- No native accounting feature to keep earning and spending under the same roof
- Analytics dashboard is simplistic
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Gusto’s software is robust: it’s not adored with fragile bells and whistles that are prone to malfunction, and it’s mostly idiot-proof in that it’s intuitive. It is constitutionally user-friendly so it’ll intervene if you're on the way to doing something ill-advised (like canceling payroll, for example). Gusto has done well in responding to the needs of HR teams since 2011, but that’s not the end of the story.
HR folks are not the primary users of this tool. When a company uses Gusto for payroll and benfits, the whole company uses Gusto, and this means that non-HR workers represent the majority of people interacting with the software. Among these users, many enter the platform via the mobile app (Gusto Wallet), which is available for iOS and Android.
The takeaway is that Gusto is ready to meet you wherever you are, Gusto has a lot of users, and they have considered them all.
Every two weeks, I use Gusto to run our payroll for our employees. I also use Gusto to onboard new employees. We also use Gusto to manage pay for our contractors. At the end of the year, Gusto makes it easy for us by processing our W-2 forms and 1099 forms. It's been great to have Gusto as a place where everything related to our employees' wages and benefits can be found in one spot.
The interface is extremely intuitive and easy to use. Everything for our employee pay and benefits is all in one place, so when a new employee joins, they can enroll in everything at once. Our employees have access to Gusto also, so if they need to make any updates to their information, it's easy for them to self-serve.
We've been using Gusto since 2021. We purchased Gusto because as a small start-up, we needed to have a full-service payroll provider that was intuitive to use and could also provide us with other services, such as 401K administration, worker's comp, and more. It was helpful for us to also have a service where they could alert us on any state-by-state requirements with regard to payroll and insurance, as we do have employees across many different states. I also really appreciate that Gusto helps to file all taxes related to payroll.
Some of the benefits via Gusto are administered via third parties (eg, worker's compensation, 401k), which means that for any detailed changes that we need to make, we have to work through a different point of contact. I wish that Gusto could help handle all of that for us. Also, Gusto doesn't have a customer service phone number that you can easily call, so if you need help, it is more cumbersome.
The user interface is significantly more user-friendly than other payroll providers like ADP.
You should consider if your payroll provider can help do payroll for other states or countries. You should also consider whether you want your payroll provider to help assist with other benefits. Also, consider how important high quality and speedy customer service is for you.
I've noticed that Gusto now offers assistance in registering with states, which is helpful for remote or distributed teams.
It's great for start-ups who may not have an HR team to figure out benefits administration.
Larger organizations that are growing quickly may find Gusto expensive. Also, small organizations who are hoping to opt into a large group healthcare plan won't be able to get that facilitated via Gusto.
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Gusto is not designed for enterprise use, and rapidly growing companies should be aware of the drawbacks of settling into software that isn’t (yet) intended for massive teams. If your goal is exponential growth and your luck leads you there, congrats! But be sure to talk to Gusto early on about the functional limits of their platform.
In 2025, Gusto surpassed the 400,000 customer mark; getting closer to serving half a million businesses across the US.
- ATS to create job posts, publish to job boards, and manage candidates
- Admin dashboard: stay compliant with reminders of state and federal requirements, like anti-harassment training and workers' compensation
- Easy state tax registration for new hires in all U.S. states
- The Gusto Wallet app offers employees easy access to pay history, breakdowns and other useful stats
- Gusto accounts are for life: your employees can dig up old tax records or time cards as needed.
To imagine the momentum of Gusto’s integrations, picture a snowball rolling slowly down a gentle slope. Do not imagine a comet-sized orb crashing into an Alpine village. Gusto is thoughtful about integrations, and with more than a decade of company wisdom guiding their decisions, there are no signs of short-sighted choices.
A prime example of thoughtful integrations can be found with Guideline and Human Interest. These are the two major players trying to win the hearts and minds of small and medium-sized businesses across the United States (especially in California, where the retirement mandate is shaking things up). Gusto wisely integrates with both.
- Simple: $49/month +$6/month/person
- Plus: $80/month +$12 / month/person
- Premium: $180/month +$22/month/person
- Contractor only (no W-2 employees): $35/month/person
Even budget-strapped startups can afford Gusto’s basic plan, and for companies who have some bank capital to invest in human capital, the top-tier Premium plan is a great choice, especially if they have an HR department of one person.
- 5 new add-ons for Simple plans (Time tracking, next-day direct deposit, performance, priority support, and HR resources).
- Personalized health insurance suggestions during shopping.
- Vestwell, Guideline, Betterment at Work, and Human Interest as new 401(k) integration partners.
- New feature Smart Import automates payroll data import from spreadsheets or time-tracking software.
It is evident that Gusto knows their customer base when it comes to the ease with which you can set up this platform. It’s not quite “do it on your phone while you’re commuting to work” easy, but it’s a project you can probably complete before you break for lunch.
The concierge service offered with the higher priced plans is an absolute luxury for that Team of One, Department of Everything HR person (many of us have been there).
While not inclined or qualified to offer legal or tax advice, the SHRM-certified people on the other end of the concierge phone line can help any HR novice through the bureaucratic eccentricity for which HR is known. Upper-tier plans also include a massive resource library so packed with knowledge, even an HR master scholar will be impressed.
For basic users (and end users) the customer service staff is reliably available and knowledgeable. The long hold times and the occasional agent who woke up on the wrong side of the bed are inevitable features of any customer success department, but Gusto’s is better than most.
2011 was a big year in tech, but I can’t recall a single year since tech became the center of the universe that wasn’t a big year in tech. Gusto’s history and their sometimes quiet presence in the space is relevant though. Gusto has grown gracefully despite having lived through some major shifts in the HR tech landscape. Unicorn status: achieved.
Company HQ
San Francisco, California
Number of Employees
1000-5000
Year Founded
2011
Amount Raised
Series E, ~10 billion
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