Gusto Payroll Software Review

Why Gusto Is Best for Added HR Services

After extensive research, we picked Gusto as the best online payroll software with added HR services because the system stands out for its ability to serve dual roles. It can handle your payroll and payroll tax responsibilities as well as your HR needs.

When you invest in one of Gusto’s higher-tier plans, you’ll access HR experts and extensive tools and resources, including for job posting. Source: Gusto 

Gusto can keep employees paid in a timely manner, manage tax payments to meet local, state and federal laws, administer benefits, onboard new hires, and even track PTO. In other words, you get a full HR solution for virtually every part of the employee experience all in one platform. We also love that if you only want to use Gusto to process payroll, you can, and the vendor excels at that task.

With Gusto’s “Premium” package, business owners can also enjoy access to HR professionals who can walk you through all types of situations. This is a huge perk for small businesses lacking dedicated HR teams. The software is easy to use and helps simplify the payroll process. 

Usability

One of the benefits of partnering with Gusto for payroll processing and HR services is how easy the software is to use. The dashboard is very straightforward and it’s fairly intuitive to navigate, even for beginners. 

Running payroll is simple with Gusto’s user-friendly dashboard. Source: Gusto

When you log into the Gusto platform, you’ll see a to-do list with important updates and activities. To run payroll, you enter the number of hours each employee worked, the vacation or sick days they took, any bonuses or commissions they earned, and their expense reimbursements. Then, submit the payroll and receive confirmation it’s being processed. Payroll doesn’t get much simpler than that.

You can use Gusto to pay employees and contractors via direct deposit, prepaid debit cards or paper checks. To add employees or contractors to the system, all you need are their names, email addresses and pay rates. Employees can add this information on their own using the self-onboarding feature.

All team members — part- or full-time people and contract workers — can log into the system to review their digital paystubs and get their year-end tax forms. These lifetime accounts give employees access to their personal information even if they move on to new employers. 

Gusto Features

Because Gusto understands how closely payroll tasks and human resources responsibilities are linked, you’ll find features covering virtually all aspects of HR.

Full-Service Payroll

As a full-service payroll provider, Gusto offers a wide range of payroll features that small businesses will find valuable. For example, you can run as many payrolls as you want each month for no extra cost. Unlimited payroll gives you the freedom to pay individual employees when you want instead of syncing all your staff on the same schedule. 

Gusto allows you to pay employees and contractors via direct deposit, printed check or prepaid debit card, which is on par with competitors. One particularly useful aspect of the system is the autopilot setting, which runs your payroll automatically each pay period without requiring any special input. As we found in our review of Paychex payroll, some of Gusto’s rivals have recurring payroll capabilities too.

In 2023, Gusto launched Gusto Global, its employer of record (EOR) service. It enables customers to hire, pay and manage full-time, salaried employees in 12 countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and Spain.

The price of EOR services offered through Gusto’s partnership with Remote begin at $399 per employee per month and vary by country.

Managing Payroll Taxes

In addition to handling payroll processing, Gusto takes care of all your payroll tax responsibilities. The vendor automatically calculates and pays your local, state and federal payroll taxes. At the end of the year, the service generates and sends all your employees and contractors their W-2 and 1099 forms.

Integrations

Gusto integrates with more than 120 popular third-party products, like QuickBooks, Xero, Clover and Expensify. These integrations make it easier to gather data and gain insights into your business, which leads to better decision-making in the future. It also streamlines operations by connecting the various types of business software you use to run your company, such as Microsoft 365, monday.com, Shopify and Slack. [For another top contender when it comes to integrations, read our Rippling review or check out our Rippling comparison.]

In addition, Gusto has in-house integrations that cover areas like job posting/candidate tracking, California State Tax registration, time tracking and employee self-evaluation.

Added HR Services

If you need additional HR support beyond payroll processing, Gusto can meet your needs. The software’s HR resource center includes custom employee handbooks, job description templates, HR policy templates and proactive compliance updates. You’ll also have access to organizational charts, onboarding tools and employee surveys. You can typically find assets like these in top HR software, but Gusto offers an all-in-one solution.

A huge bonus with the “Premium” plan is the ability to connect with certified HR professionals who can guide you through all sorts of people-management situations. If you’re not ready to hire an in-house HR person, this investment is a worthwhile alternative.

Benefits Management

To complement its added HR services, Gusto makes it possible to offer a benefits package to your team. You can provide employees with health insurance, workers’ compensation and a 401(k) plan, plus dental and vision policies. These benefits are attractive to workers, and a comprehensive benefits package can help you retain team members.

Gusto allows you to offer employees health insurance from providers like Blue Cross Blue Shield and United Healthcare. Source: Gusto

Employee Onboarding

Gusto has a number of helpful tools for employee onboarding. For example, you can create custom checklists for new hires and share documents securely for them to sign. All of these forms can be stored safely in your Gusto account.

Gusto makes employee onboarding easy with its streamlined format. Source: Gusto

Impressively, Gusto can even assist you with the recruitment process, guiding you through the process of creating job posts and tracking applicants. You can also use the platform to create custom offer letters. The software integrates with applicant tracking systems as well. Thanks to its other integrations, you can use Gusto to get new employees set up with Slack, Zoom and other accounts they may need on the job. We also liked that Gusto supports automated feedback requests and performance reviews. On top of that, it offers learning/development tools and the ability to personalize employee communications.

Gusto Cost

All three of Gusto’s plans include its payroll and tax services and allow you to pay W-2 employees, 1099 contractors and freelancers. However, the plans vary in the added HR services they include. 

The three main plans each have a monthly base fee and a monthly per-employee fee. Here’s how they break down.

• Simple: This plan costs $40 a month, plus $6 per person per month. It includes full-service payroll, employee self-service, workers’ compensation administration, four-day direct deposit and paid-time-off (PTO) policies.
• Plus: This plan costs $80 a month, plus $12 per person per month. It has all of the features of the “Simple” plan, plus full-service multi-state payroll, including W-2s and 1099s, next-day direct deposit, advanced hiring and onboarding tools, PTO management and policies, time tracking and project tracking, time kiosk, scheduling, expenses and reimbursements, workforce costing and custom reports, and team management tools.
• Premium: Aimed at expanding businesses with more than 25 employees, this plan costs $180 a month, plus $22 per person per month. It offers everything in the “Plus” plan, plus: a dedicated customer success manager, access to Gusto’s certified HR professionals, full-service payroll migration and account setup, health insurance broker integration, HR compliance assistance, R&D tax credit discount, priority support, employee relations advising, and an HR resource center for help with employee handbooks, job descriptions, HR guides and policy templates.

Gusto also offers a fourth plan that is specifically for contractor-only businesses that don’t have any full-time employees. This plan costs $35 per month, plus $6 per contractor per month. The package includes unlimited contractor payments, contractor self-service options and 1099 forms and filings. International contractor payments aren’t standard, but you can add the ability to make payments to over 120 countries if needed.

We love that there are no contracts with Gusto. Regardless of which plan you choose, you pay for the service on a month-to-month basis and can cancel at any time. It’s also worth noting that payment isn’t taken until the first payroll is run, which is beneficial for startups facing the inevitable setup costs incurred with any new business venture.

Gusto Setup

Gusto is a cloud-based platform, so there is no software to download or update. You can use it right in your browser, and it’s mobile-friendly, so it’s accessible from any smartphone or tablet. The interface is clear, if rather monochrome, with dedicated tabs for running payroll, time tracking, custom-built reports (based on supplied templates) and compliance.

When you log in for the first time, the homepage walks you through the setup process, which entails entering your company address, adding employees, setting up federal and state taxes, linking and verifying your business bank account, and configuring your payroll schedule. 

If you already have payroll set up with another provider, Gusto can walk you through the process of how and when to switch your data over. If you’re setting up payroll for the first time, Gusto provides an online guide to help you get started.

Gusto Customer Service

Gusto representatives are available for support by phone, email and chat Monday through Friday between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. MST. Whether you sign up for the “Simple,” “Plus” or “Premium” plan determines what level of support you have access to over those listed hours. 

The “Premium” package will also pair you with a dedicated customer success manager for personalized help. Even so, if you’re on the East Coast or working long hours or weekends, the relative lack of tech support might be a concern.

For self-guided assistance, the vendor also provides a complete library of resources on its website with tips for both using the payroll system and running a small business. A searchable database encompasses featured articles and tips, tax forms and compliance data, plus an app directory.

Gusto Drawbacks 

It’s surprising Gusto doesn’t have a dedicated mobile app to complement its software. While users can access the platform via their mobile device’s browser, most business software companies these days provide Android and iOS apps. 

There is a Gusto Wallet mobile app, but it is primarily intended to help employees learn how to save money, and it comes with limited time-tracking and paycheck features. Available on both Android and iOS, it also supports wage deposits into a basic cash account, a linked debit card, up to five savings pots and budgeting tools.

Another potential downside of Gusto is its cost. While the price of its “Simple” plan is in line with similar packages from other payroll services, Gusto’s higher-tier plans are more expensive. However, it is important to remember that those more expensive packages serve multiple functions for your business, and signing up for the most comprehensive plan is cheaper than hiring a full-time HR professional.

Lastly, while Gusto has an A rating with the Better Business Bureau, the many poor reviews and complaints are concerning. Gusto had 273 complaints filed against it in the past three years, with an average customer rating of 1.18/5 from 157 BBB reviews. It scores 2.4 out of 5 on Trustpilot with more than 2,100 reviews.

Methodology

To get an understanding of how Gusto works, we attended a live demo with a vendor representative who walked us through the software and answered our questions. During this demo, we got a sense of how easy the software is to navigate and how its features work.

We also contacted the company and posed as a potential customer to see what their customer service was like. We walked away from this phone conversation very satisfied with our experience. As part of our investigation, we compared Gusto to dozens of other payroll providers. This helped us see where the platform stood out and areas where it could improve. 

During our evaluation of the top payroll services, we looked at each product’s payroll features, usability, pricing, customer support, integrations and implementation. To find the best payroll company for businesses seeking added HR services, we considered what human resources services and assistance each platform provided, such as recruitment help and benefits administration.

Overall Value

We recommend Gusto for …

• Small businesses or startups looking for a full-service payroll provider.
• Companies in need of additional HR services on top of payroll processing.
• Business owners who want to offer and manage employee benefits, like health insurance and retirement plans. 

We don’t recommend Gusto for …

• Large companies or those that need to scale quickly
• Businesses that want payroll software with a dedicated mobile app.

Casey Conway and Neil Cumins contributed to this article.