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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    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

    Sapling by Kallidus

    Score10 out of 10
    N/AA suite of HR and L&D software that supports the entire employee lifecycle. It offers functionality to support onboarding and upskilling, performance reviews and employee farewells, and boasts over 2 million users worldwide. Sapling provides onboarding and offboarding experiences that aim to create a unique and engaging experience for employees, helping HR teams automate workflows, support data-driven decisions and be more strategic. The vendor states the platform is used by…N/A
    Pricing
    GustoSapling by Kallidus
    Editions & Modules
    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
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    GustoSapling by Kallidus
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsGusto offers three pricing plans for payroll, benefits, and HR.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    GustoSapling by Kallidus
    Considered Both Products
    Gusto
    No answer on this topic
    Kallidus
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    91%
    Would buy again
    488 Answers
    83%
    Would buy again
    5 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    92%
    Delivers good value for the price
    395 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    94%
    Happy with the feature set
    501 Answers
    83%
    Happy with the feature set
    5 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    89%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    254 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    93%
    Implementation went as expected
    311 Answers
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    5 Answers
    Features
    GustoSapling by Kallidus
    Payroll Management
    Comparison of Payroll Management features of Gusto and Sapling by Kallidus
    Feature
    Gusto
    9.2
    514 Ratings
    11% above category average
    Sapling by Kallidus
    -
    Ratings
    Pay calculation9.6493 Ratings00 Ratings
    Support for external payroll vendors8.58 Ratings00 Ratings
    Benefit plan administration8.9358 Ratings00 Ratings
    Direct deposit files9.5497 Ratings00 Ratings
    Salary revision and increment management9.3383 Ratings00 Ratings
    Reimbursement management9.5127 Ratings00 Ratings
    Human Resource Management
    Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Gusto and Sapling by Kallidus
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Sapling by Kallidus
    6.7
    3 Ratings
    16% below category average
    Employee demographic data00 Ratings7.93 Ratings
    Employment history00 Ratings3.42 Ratings
    Organizational charting00 Ratings7.13 Ratings
    Organization and location management00 Ratings8.33 Ratings
    Leave and Attendance Management
    Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Gusto and Sapling by Kallidus
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Sapling by Kallidus
    6.4
    1 Ratings
    22% below category average
    Approval workflow00 Ratings6.41 Ratings
    Balance details00 Ratings6.41 Ratings
    Employee Self Service
    Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Gusto and Sapling by Kallidus
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Sapling by Kallidus
    8.9
    3 Ratings
    10% above category average
    Update personal information00 Ratings9.03 Ratings
    View company policy documentation00 Ratings8.93 Ratings
    Asset Management
    Comparison of Asset Management features of Gusto and Sapling by Kallidus
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Sapling by Kallidus
    7.5
    2 Ratings
    7% below category average
    Tracking of all physical assets00 Ratings7.52 Ratings
    HR Reporting
    Comparison of HR Reporting features of Gusto and Sapling by Kallidus
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Sapling by Kallidus
    6.0
    3 Ratings
    22% below category average
    Ability to combine HR data with external data00 Ratings6.03 Ratings
    Onboarding
    Comparison of Onboarding features of Gusto and Sapling by Kallidus
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Sapling by Kallidus
    7.9
    3 Ratings
    0% above category average
    New hire portal00 Ratings8.83 Ratings
    Manager tracking tools00 Ratings7.03 Ratings
    User Ratings
    GustoSapling by Kallidus
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.2
    (538 ratings)
    7.4
    (6 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    10.0
    (12 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    9.5
    (362 ratings)
    8.0
    (2 ratings)
    Support Rating
    1.3
    (25 ratings)
    7.0
    (4 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    GustoSapling by Kallidus
    Likelihood to Recommend
    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
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    Kallidus
    It's a good space to have a high level overview of the organization (especially Org view). Places for improvement include extra levels of complexity when you need to click on the person and you are navigated to the pop-up that is hard to use and only one pop up can be used at a time. I wish there wasn't so much of clicking in and clicking out.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    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
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    Kallidus
    • Very customizable. Very easy to create new workflows and tasks to meet the unique needs of your organization.
    • The system is easy to navigate, so minimal training is needed for users.
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    Gusto
    • Adding in previous time manually could be more accessible.
    • Notifications for when employees manually change hours.
    • We should allow 1099 users to use the mobile app instead of restricting them to the website, especially since they can just log into the full website on their mobile device.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Kallidus
    • Deeper data management/review - dashboard experience could be better and deeper
    • Ability to drill into reports within the tool- right now it takes you out to a sheet to view
    • Org planning/org chart sharing
    Incentivized
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    Likelihood to Renew
    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
    Kallidus
    It is hard to rip out and replace systems and Sapling is doing what we need
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    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
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    Kallidus
    To use this system you need to buy several add-ons. If add-ons do not fit your business model you will have to access platforms from different companies. The system is not easy to use for onboarding. Candidates cannot change and update settings. To use the system a person must click in the correct spots. If not it leads you someplace else. Then you have to start clicking all over again.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    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
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    Kallidus
    Sapling HR helps my HR team keep track of our personal information like contact information or t-shirt sizes (who doesn't like free shirts), as well as helping new hires onboard. I think it's super simple to use and keeps everything pretty nicely organized.
    Incentivized
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    Implementation Rating
    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
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    Kallidus
    If you have someone internally that can run it that definitely helps!
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    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
    Kallidus
    Sapling [HR] was our first and only HR automation platform. We ran a trial campaign with them and did not compare them to other vendors.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    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
    Kallidus
    • We were able to get the system implemented very quickly, which was of great importance to us as we were undergoing rapid growth.
    • The system has helped us keep and stay organized and allowed team members to work collaboratively to get tasks done. Many of these tasks were previously managed with various spreadsheets and other trackers that were quickly becoming unmanageable.
    • Sapling has greatly decreased the time we needed to onboard and employee and has prevented many errors.
    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

    Sapling by Kallidus Screenshots

    Product screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshot