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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

    Sage HR

    Score8.7 out of 10
    Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
    Sage HR is HR software for small to medium businesses. The vendor states Sage HR is designed to be easy to use, and automates every step of the human resource process. Sage HR is designed with modular functionality to be customized for users' needs. According to the vendor, key differentiators include: 1. Easy to use 2. Modular functionality 2. Automates the end-to-end HR process 3. There's a mobile app (iOS & Android) 5. Feature…

    $5.50

    per month

    Pricing
    GustoSage HR
    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
    Expenses Management
    $1.50
    per user, per month
    Performance Management
    $3.00
    per user, per month
    Shift Scheduling
    $3.00
    per user, per month
    Timesheets
    $3.00
    per user, per month
    Leave Management
    $5.50
    per user, per month
    Recruitment
    $200.00
    per user, per month
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    GustoSage HR
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    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.The modular product. - No hidden fees - Cancel anytime - No credit card required
    More Pricing Information
    Features
    GustoSage HR
    Payroll Management
    Comparison of Payroll Management features of Gusto and Sage HR
    Feature
    Gusto
    9.2
    514 Ratings
    11% above category average
    Sage HR
    8.2
    1 Ratings
    3% above category average
    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 management9.4383 Ratings00 Ratings
    Reimbursement management9.5127 Ratings8.21 Ratings
    Human Resource Management
    Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Gusto and Sage HR
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Sage HR
    7.8
    11 Ratings
    1% below category average
    Employee demographic data00 Ratings8.510 Ratings
    Employment history00 Ratings9.610 Ratings
    Job profiles and administration00 Ratings6.88 Ratings
    Organizational charting00 Ratings9.410 Ratings
    Organization and location management00 Ratings6.88 Ratings
    Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)00 Ratings5.54 Ratings
    Leave and Attendance Management
    Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Gusto and Sage HR
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Sage HR
    9.2
    11 Ratings
    14% above category average
    Approval workflow00 Ratings9.511 Ratings
    Balance details00 Ratings9.311 Ratings
    Annual carry-forward and encashment00 Ratings8.78 Ratings
    Employee Self Service
    Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Gusto and Sage HR
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Sage HR
    8.9
    10 Ratings
    10% above category average
    View and generate pay and benefit information00 Ratings9.02 Ratings
    Update personal information00 Ratings9.610 Ratings
    View company policy documentation00 Ratings8.78 Ratings
    Employee recognition00 Ratings9.38 Ratings
    View job history00 Ratings8.07 Ratings
    Asset Management
    Comparison of Asset Management features of Gusto and Sage HR
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Sage HR
    4.8
    6 Ratings
    51% below category average
    Tracking of all physical assets00 Ratings4.86 Ratings
    HR Reporting
    Comparison of HR Reporting features of Gusto and Sage HR
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Sage HR
    7.6
    10 Ratings
    1% above category average
    Report builder00 Ratings8.19 Ratings
    Pre-built reports00 Ratings6.59 Ratings
    Ability to combine HR data with external data00 Ratings8.22 Ratings
    Onboarding
    Comparison of Onboarding features of Gusto and Sage HR
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Sage HR
    9.0
    8 Ratings
    13% above category average
    New hire portal00 Ratings9.18 Ratings
    Manager tracking tools00 Ratings8.87 Ratings
    Performance and Goals
    Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Gusto and Sage HR
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Sage HR
    6.9
    7 Ratings
    14% below category average
    Corporate goal setting00 Ratings6.87 Ratings
    Individual goal setting00 Ratings7.67 Ratings
    Line-of sight-visibility00 Ratings6.07 Ratings
    Performance tracking00 Ratings7.37 Ratings
    Performance Management
    Comparison of Performance Management features of Gusto and Sage HR
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Sage HR
    6.8
    7 Ratings
    14% below category average
    Performance plans00 Ratings6.77 Ratings
    Performance improvement plans00 Ratings6.46 Ratings
    Review status tracking00 Ratings6.57 Ratings
    Review reminders00 Ratings7.37 Ratings
    Multiple review frequency00 Ratings7.27 Ratings
    Succession Planning
    Comparison of Succession Planning features of Gusto and Sage HR
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Sage HR
    7.0
    3 Ratings
    11% below category average
    Create succession plans/pools00 Ratings7.33 Ratings
    Candidate ranking00 Ratings6.41 Ratings
    Candidate search00 Ratings7.31 Ratings
    Candidate development00 Ratings7.33 Ratings
    Recruiting / ATS
    Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Gusto and Sage HR
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Sage HR
    6.5
    2 Ratings
    17% below category average
    Job Requisition Management00 Ratings7.32 Ratings
    Company Website Posting00 Ratings6.01 Ratings
    Job Search Site Posting00 Ratings6.01 Ratings
    Duplicate Candidate Prevention00 Ratings6.01 Ratings
    Applicant Tracking00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
    Notifications and Alerts00 Ratings6.01 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    GustoSage HR
    Small Businesses
    OnPay
    Score9.9 out of 10
    Zoho People
    Score8.4 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    APS
    Score1.4 out of 10
    Zoho People
    Score8.4 out of 10
    Enterprises
    ADP Streamline Payroll
    Score6.4 out of 10
    PeopleStrong
    Score10 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    GustoSage HR
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.2
    (538 ratings)
    8.1
    (12 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    10.0
    (12 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    9.5
    (362 ratings)
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    Support Rating
    1.3
    (25 ratings)
    9.1
    (5 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    GustoSage HR
    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
    Read full review
    Sage
    Keeping an accurate time off calendar, with specific buckets, is extremely important. It has helped my company grow without having to manage things in Excel. Also, implementing an annual review process by using CakeHR has been very clean and transparent with my employees. This also allows me to see year over year. In years past, we used Word or a Jotform which made it challenging to pull up years past.
    Incentivized
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    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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    Sage
    • Employee self service - the apps and desktops GUIs are very intuitive.
    • Leave management - this manages itself through the app and system, saves lots of admin.
    • Customization - you can tailor the system more and more to suit your specific needs.
    • Updates and Customer Service - the CakeHR team gave dedicated a lot of time to bring out weekly updates and systems improvements which shows they are dedicated to making this a great product - the fact that they were bought by Se recently is also testament to their ongoing mission.
    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
    Sage
    • Some features available in other HR products have not been available in Cake in the past (Performance, ATS), however, these are being rolled out now.
    • The user experience for the Admin interface is not completely intuitive.
    • Overall look and feel could be updated one day.
    Read full review
    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
    Sage
    No answers on this topic
    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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    Sage
    payroll process is good Sage HR - web version gives good demographic data uploading to Super portal is good uploading to ATO portal is good giving various reports to Managers is good
    Incentivized
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    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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    Sage
    Customer support is amazing. There are times I post a question and I don't get back to support. They will always follow-up with an email to make sure our questions are answered. I even had a call with Julianna who was wonderful and very personable. You definitely get a level us service that exceeds most companies. Keep up the good work CakeHR.
    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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    Sage
    No answers on this topic
    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
    Sage
    Bamboo is more versatile for large enterprises where as Sage HR is better for smaller/mid-size businesses. Both systems have very similar features and functionality. Sage HR has great tools for companies with multiple locations which has benefitted us in tracking employees' time, resources, and performance. Both have similar customer service and it really comes down to what features you are wanting to focus on as a business.
    Incentivized
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    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
    Sage
    • Saved me lots of admin time with employee self service.
    • I can run this system by myself for over 100 employees so no need to hire extra staff to manage.
    • Easy performance management allows the business to review and appraise employees and make everything more efficient (cost and time).
    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

    Sage HR Screenshots

    Product screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshot