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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    BASIC Guru

    Score10 out of 10
    N/AN/A

    $345

    per month

    Gusto

    Score8.9 out of 10
    N/AGusto offers payroll, benefits and compliance capabilities. Gusto is scaled for small to mid-sized businesses, and emphasizes an easy to use interface.

    $49

    per month

    Pricing
    BASIC GuruGusto
    Editions & Modules
    Basic
    $345
    per month
    Simple: A streamlined set of automatic payroll features and benefits integrations
    $49/month + $6/mo per person
    per month
    Plus: Comprehensive payroll, benefits, and HR tools for employers building a great place to work
    $80/month + $12/mo per person
    per month
    Premium: Scalable payroll and benefits, expert HR, and dedicated support for the complex needs of growing teams
    $180/month + $22/mo per person
    per month
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    BASIC GuruGusto
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsGusto offers three pricing plans for payroll, benefits, and HR.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    BASIC GuruGusto
    Considered Both Products
    Basic
    No answer on this topic
    Gusto
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    91%
    Would buy again
    488 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    92%
    Delivers good value for the price
    395 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    94%
    Happy with the feature set
    501 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    89%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    254 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    93%
    Implementation went as expected
    311 Answers
    Features
    BASIC GuruGusto
    Payroll Management
    Comparison of Payroll Management features of BASIC Guru and Gusto
    Feature
    BASIC Guru
    -
    Ratings
    Gusto
    9.2
    514 Ratings
    11% above category average
    Pay calculation00 Ratings9.6493 Ratings
    Support for external payroll vendors00 Ratings8.58 Ratings
    Benefit plan administration00 Ratings8.9358 Ratings
    Direct deposit files00 Ratings9.5497 Ratings
    Salary revision and increment management00 Ratings9.3383 Ratings
    Reimbursement management00 Ratings9.5127 Ratings
    User Ratings
    BASIC GuruGusto
    Likelihood to Recommend
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.2
    (538 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (12 ratings)
    Usability
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.5
    (362 ratings)
    Support Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    1.3
    (25 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    BASIC GuruGusto
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Basic
    No answers on this topic
    Gusto
    Gusto is a great fit for small teams and startups that want a simple, reliable way to run payroll, manage tax filings, and give CPAs access without constant micromanagement. It’s especially useful for founders who need something that “just works.” The human support has been excellent—especially when forwarding confusing IRS mail.
    That said, it’s a bit less intuitive when it comes to benefits and compliance for fully remote companies. For example, labor law poster distribution isn’t streamlined for digital teams, and setting up benefits felt more complex than it needed to be. Still, I’d recommend Gusto to any startup looking to get payroll right from day one.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Basic
    No answers on this topic
    Gusto
    • Gusto really kills it on the simplicity. The app and website are very clear and straightforward.
    • Gusto also does a great job at being easy to navigate, visually pleasing, and logically posed.
    • Gusto communicates very clearly and provides just the right amount of communication.
    • Gusto makes the onboarding process very easy. I recently started at a new company and the process of filling out the necessary documents, filling out forms, and getting my benefit information input was soooooo easy!
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Basic
    No answers on this topic
    Gusto
    No answers on this topic
    Likelihood to Renew
    Basic
    No answers on this topic
    Gusto
    Unless they break it, I'm never leaving. It's just too easy. Gusto is also really affordable, and for what I pay, it's worth having the historical record within the system. I like that I can go back and pull up W2's for year's past. This sort of easy access reporting, has been helpful especially when getting reports for PPP loans.
    Read full review
    Usability
    Basic
    No answers on this topic
    Gusto
    The overall platform and its speed of response are amazing. I would recommend this to any other business owner for ease of use and reliability. Email reminders are great if I’m super busy and have forgotten a few tasks. The price point compared to local payroll service is hands down a huge win.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Basic
    No answers on this topic
    Gusto
    Gusto's customer service has really deteriorated lately and they seem to have really changed their focus. It used to be when you called you were routed to an individual who knew about payroll, benefits, reporting, etc. but now you get someone who seems to have not received the correct training. My last call about a dismissal payroll took me over an hour of my time and the person still could not help me and finally transferred me to someone else.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Basic
    No answers on this topic
    Gusto
    Reach out to support immediately if you are having trouble setting up Gusto. Rather than being confused and trying to figure it out yourself, it's much better to talk to someone who knows what they are doing. Save yourself time and frustration and reach out to support
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Basic
    No answers on this topic
    Gusto
    It's been a while since I used QuickBooks for payroll, but it doesn't even come close to it. Gusto is infinitely easier, allowing for employee time tracking, handling calculations and payments of payroll and payroll taxes, managing regulatory compliance in the background, and more. I had a lot of moments using QuickBooks Payroll where I thought, "Am I even doing this right?" — it felt like you had to have additional knowledge of HR regulations in your state to do everything correctly. Gusto has it ALL handled so you can focus your time on higher-impact tasks in your business.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Basic
    No answers on this topic
    Gusto
    • For me, it is hard to quantify payroll software as having an ROI. It does save quite a bit of time per pay period, so perhaps we could assign a theoretical number to an employee taking that time. I'd say, at the least, it saves 30-60 minutes a pay period compared to a more difficult-to-use payroll software.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Gusto Screenshots

    Screenshot of Gusto's automated payrollScreenshot of the time-off tracking interfaceScreenshot of the source of truth for HR data