Gusto Payroll Software Review

Payroll specialists like Gusto not only help you pay your employees but also take care of ongoing payroll taxes and year-end tax forms.

We tried Gusto and compared it to other payroll services on the market. Read on to find out if it’s the best fit for your business’ needs.

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Summary

Although Gusto is a fairly new player in the payroll space, they’re already well on their way to becoming an industry leader. Gusto’s user-friendly, highly functional interface and super competitive price-point make them a great option for new and growing businesses alike.

Who is Gusto Right For?

Gusto is ideal for any small business looking for a user-friendly payroll service that fits comfortably within their budget. Each of Gusto’s packages includes full-service payroll along with a host of other features to make employee taxes, HR, and other issues much easier.

Administer payroll with Gusto.

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Pricing

Gusto offers four different payroll plans, each with a different set of features. The Core plan takes care of payroll and employee benefits alone, while Complete and Concierge provide outsourced HR services as well. The contractor plan is designed to support contractor-only employers.

Take a look at what each package includes below:

Core: $39 per month base price and $6 per month per person

The basic features included in the Core package are:

• Full-service payroll
• Employee self-service & profiles
• Health benefits administration
• Workers’ comp administration
• Expert support

Gusto’s full list of included and add-on features is too extensive to list here, but we encourage you to check it out on their pricing page.

New Customers: $19/month (50% off) $6/employee/month for the first 6 months

Who is the Core Package Right For?

The Core package is a great option for any business looking for a user-friendly, low-cost payroll service.

Complete: $39 per month base price $12 per month per person

The Complete package includes everything from the Core plan, plus the following HR tools:

• Full-service payroll across all 50 states
• Employee self-service and profiles
• Workers’ comp administration
• Next-day direct deposit
• PTO policies and time-off requests
• Best-in-class support
• Customizable employee onboarding tools
• Accounting and time tracking integrations
• Payroll on Autopilot®
• Health insurance administration
• Employee access to Gusto Wallet
• Employee offers and document management
• Permissions
• Employee directory and surveys
• Time tracking
• Project tracking and workforce costing

Who is the Complete Package Right For?

Gusto’s Complete plan is ideal for any business in need of a few outsourced HR functions in addition to payroll services.

Concierge: $149 per month and $12 per month per person

The Concierge package is Gusto’s most premium product. It includes everything from the Complete plan, plus:

• Certified HR pros
• HR resource center
• Dedicated support

For more details on the features included in any of Gusto’s packages, visit their pricing page.

Who is the Concierge Package Right For?

The Concierge plan is designed for businesses seeking (and willing to pay for) comprehensive HR and payroll services.

Contractor: $6 per month per person

Last but not least, this Gusto pricing package is dedicated specifically for employers with just contractors, and no W-2 employees. It includes the following:

• Unlimited Contractor Payments
• Contractor Self-service
• Form 1099 Creation and Filings

For more details on the features included in any of Gusto’s packages, visit their pricing page.

Who is the Contractor Package Right For?

The contractor plan is designed for businesses that need support paying 1099 contractors.

Ratings

Value - 5/5

Gusto’s generous set of features, impressive functionality and low price point make them an incredibly competitive player in the payroll industry. In addition to all this, Gusto is also super user-friendly and easy to set up -- in fact, you can get your payroll up and running in as little as 45 minutes. For all these reasons and more, Gusto easily earns a 5/5 for overall value.

Customer Service - 4/5

In addition to phone and chat support, Gusto also offers video guides, articles and other helpful resources for administrators, owners and employees. Plus, when you reach out to their customer support via phone or chat, you can trust that you’ll talk to an actual human rather than a robot.

One of the biggest knocks against Gusto is that their phone and chat support only operate on weekdays during normal business hours. That said, Gusto’s customer support staff is top-notch, and their thorough onboarding process actually makes one-on-one help unnecessary in most cases.

Ease of Use - 5/5

Gusto makes for an easy user-experience across the board. Their nine-step onboarding wizard makes the setup process a breeze, and their user-interface is intuitively designed for admins and employees alike.

One great thing about Gusto’s platform is that it enables employees to access their personal records and input data themselves, saving administrators the time and energy it would otherwise take to do these tasks. It’s worth mentioning that Gusto’s dashboard can seem a little cluttered, but frankly, once you get the service up-and-running, you hardly need to worry about it—especially if you end up taking advantage of their AutoPilot feature.

Included Features - 4.5/5

When it comes to payroll and HR features, Gusto’s offerings are pretty incredible— especially for the price point. Let’s run through the list:

• With Gusto, you can administer payroll by check or direct deposit.
• All payroll/HR records are stored in the cloud and can be accessed from any device.
• Gusto’s 1-month free trial gives you a chance to find out whether or not their service works for you without laying any money down.
• Their onboarding wizard makes their setup process easier than any other service on the market.
• While there are some features missing (for instance, the capacity for more than two pay periods per month) Gusto’s capabilities easily outweigh its minor flaws.
• Employee tax forms are automatically filed at the end of the year, and can be accessed at any time. If your staff is salaried or works stable hours, Gusto’s AutoPilot feature can save you tons of time by automating the payroll process.

Conclusion

Gusto has versatile solutions for businesses of all sizes and industries. Whether you simply need to get a basic payroll system in place or outsource all your business’ HR functions, Gusto will be able to work for you.

On top of Gusto’s versatility, their price point demonstrates that they are committed to providing affordable services without compromising quality. We’d recommend Gusto to any business—including yours!

Who is Gusto Right For?

Gusto is ideal for any small business looking for a user-friendly payroll service that fits comfortably within their budget. Each of Gusto’s packages includes full-service payroll along with a host of other features to make employee taxes, HR, and other issues much easier.

Administer payroll with Gusto
$39/month (+ $6/employee)