Gusto Review 2024
Gusto is primarily a payroll service, with additional features designed to help businesses manage their workforce by streamlining payroll and some HR functions. It is perfectly tailored to small businesses with up to 9 employees. Gusto was founded in 2012 and provides payroll services in 100+ countries and all 50 U.S. states. Over the years, it was trusted by more than 300,000 businesses.
- Serves 300,000+ businesses across the US
- G2's Highest Satisfaction Product 2024
- Time & attendance monitoring included
- Supports tax registration in all 50 states
- Super fast payroll with "Autopilot"
- Employee self-service portal
- Limited functionality on the mobile app
Gusto review: Usability
Setting up your payroll system on Gusto is a simple and easy task that comes with guided instructions. The entire process is quick and smooth, with minimum obstacles. However, you want to set aside time to manually enter all employee details and payment information during the setup.
If you are shifting from other payroll or accounting tools, Gusto provides robust integrations with hundreds of apps, so you can easily sync all employee data, with no need for manual entry. The rest of the setup is straightforward, and everything else is automated by the system.
Using the platform is easy, too; the interface is user-friendly and takes no time to get accustomed to. Even those with limited tech knowledge can navigate it easily.
Gusto review: Pricing
Gusto has four plans that cover different payroll needs and business sizes. Their plans are scalable and allow users to add employees for an additional fee. Let’s take a closer look at these plans:
Simple
With the Simple plan, you can pay all your employees and contractors in one state. It is available for $40 per month (plus $6 per month per person). The plan offers basic payroll services along with the following features:
- Full-service single-state payroll
- Employee profiles and self-service
- Employee benefits
- Basic hiring and onboarding tools
- Integrations for time tracking and accounting
- Gusto-brokered health insurance administration
- Full support and 24/7 help center access
Plus
At $80 per month (plus $12 per month per person), the Plus plan offers multi-state payroll along with support for HR and administration tasks. Here are all the features included:
- Full-service multi-state payroll
- Team management tools
- Advanced hiring and onboarding tools
- Employee surveys, insights, performance reviews
- Next-day direct deposit
- Project tracking and time tracking
Premium
If you plan to scale your business soon, the Premium plan is for you. It supports the payroll and HR management needs of large teams with more integrations and dedicated support. Pricing is only available by request. Features include all of those in the Plus plan and the following:
- Federal and state compliance alerts
- Full-service payroll migration and account setup
- Dedicated customer success manager and priority support
- R&D tax credit discount
- Health insurance broker integration
Contractor only
This plan is the best option for businesses that only need payroll processing services for independent contractors. At $35 per month (plus $6 per month per person), the Contractor-only plan allows users to pay contractors in 120 countries and 50 U.S. states. It is currently available at $0 for the first six months. Contractor plan includes:
- 4-day direct deposit
- Unlimited contractor payments
- New hire reporting (if required)
- 1099-NECs at the end of the year
Gusto review: key features
Let’s take a close look at Gusto’s key offerings:
Payroll
Gusto’s payroll processing has customizable features to streamline different business needs. It automatically syncs employee data and payment information into the system and distributes payroll based on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly schedule.
It also comes with tax filing features that calculate and file payroll taxes for your business and employees. The feature also allows for the automatic filing of federal, state, and local taxes in the U.S.
Employee benefits
With Gusto’s plans, your business can provide employee benefits tailored for them. Provide your team members with retirement plans, health, wellness, commute, life insurance, and other benefits. The platform also allows them to view and manage these benefits and plans.
If you’re looking for assistance and recommendations in regard to what benefits to offer, Gusto can help with that, too.
HR tools
Gusto’s HR software’s main selling point is its automation. It allows businesses to streamline a range of tasks within the employee lifecycle. Some of the key offerings include tracking and managing applicants, running background checks, customizing job posts, storing documents, accepting e-signatures, and more.
Although these features are only available with the Plus or Premium plans, Simple plan subscribers have the option to integrate with external ATS solutions.
Time and attendance
The time and attendance features are helpful for administrators looking to streamline data entry for their payroll systems. With these tools, your teams only need to approve employee hours for payroll processing. The employees can also record their hours themselves so your team has more free time.
You can also manage projects, prep schedules, and closely track their progress. For businesses that are only setting up, Gusto offers time and attendance policy suggestions for sick leave, paid leave, paid time off, etc.
Talent management
Gusto’s talent management tools are tailored to simplify your HR team’s workflow. Whether you need to set up reviews, provide feedback, track progress, engage employees, or provide training, you can do it all without adding to your team’s workload.
Insights and reporting
With robust data insights and reporting tools, Gusto enables businesses to make informed decisions. It delivers customizable reports, smart recommendations, anonymous team surveys, automatic compliance alerts, and more.
Gusto review: Customer support
You can get in touch with Gusto’s customer support team via call, chat, and email. Their team is accessible through all these options from Monday through Friday, 6 am to 6 pm MST/8 am to 8 pm EST. Another option is their 24/7 online help center.
If you only need basic assistance or want to learn more about Gusto’s services and features, its FAQ page and online resources should cover your needs. Customers subscribed to the Plus and Premium plans have access to more dedicated support and can even get paid add-ons for assistance.
Is Gusto a reliable brand?
Gusto has been providing payroll services to thousands of businesses for more than a decade. The company, initially named ZenPayroll, was launched under incubator Y combinator. It has grown steadily, closing its last private valuation at approximately $9.6 billion. Some of its 119 investors include names like Partner Ventures and Friends & Family Capital.
As of its recent fiscal year filing (ending 30th April 2023), Gusto has reportedly generated a revenue of $500 million.
The company has won several awards, including the #1 ranking in G2’s Small Business Payroll Satisfaction & HR Implementation and the #1 position in the U.S. News Best Payroll Software ranking. Gusto has over 1,957 reviews on Trustpilot and a 3.1-star TrustScore.
Is Gusto the right solution for your business’s payroll and HR needs?
Overall, Gusto’s offerings are a good deal for any small or midsize business with small teams of under ten employees or contractors. The software and mobile app are pretty easy to use. Regarding its pricing, only the Simple plan seems to be a reasonable expense. The per-person pricing is too expensive, and so are the mid and top-tier plans.
The features, including automation, are valuable for HR and administration teams looking to save time and effort on tasks related to payroll, benefits, onboarding, and more. We also like the tier-based customer support accessible to users and integration support that makes up for any lack of tools.
