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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 People

    Score8 out of 10
    N/AAn extensible, configurable, and flexible global cloud HR and People solution, Sage People aims to empower HR to lead change. Built on Salesforce, Sage People enables business to flow by being inclusive, agile, and resilient, designing new ways of working, successfully competing for talent, and driving business transformation. It does this through automation, to elevate the work of their HR teams and the workforce, using actionable People insights to experiment and innovate, while…N/A
    Pricing
    GustoSage People
    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
    GustoSage People
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeRequired
    Additional DetailsGusto offers three pricing plans for payroll, benefits, and HR.—
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    GustoSage People
    Considered Both Products
    Gusto
    No answer on this topic
    Sage
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    91%
    Would buy again
    488 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    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
    No answers on this topic
    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
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    GustoSage People
    Payroll Management
    Comparison of Payroll Management features of Gusto and Sage People
    Feature
    Gusto
    9.2
    514 Ratings
    11% above category average
    Sage People
    9.2
    3 Ratings
    14% above category average
    Pay calculation9.6493 Ratings00 Ratings
    Support for external payroll vendors8.58 Ratings9.62 Ratings
    Benefit plan administration8.9358 Ratings9.01 Ratings
    Direct deposit files9.5497 Ratings00 Ratings
    Salary revision and increment management9.4383 Ratings9.01 Ratings
    Reimbursement management9.5127 Ratings00 Ratings
    Human Resource Management
    Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Gusto and Sage People
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Sage People
    7.1
    3 Ratings
    10% below category average
    Employee demographic data00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
    Employment history00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
    Job profiles and administration00 Ratings7.03 Ratings
    Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.00 Ratings3.32 Ratings
    Organizational charting00 Ratings8.03 Ratings
    Organization and location management00 Ratings8.03 Ratings
    Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)00 Ratings3.12 Ratings
    Leave and Attendance Management
    Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Gusto and Sage People
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Sage People
    9.7
    3 Ratings
    19% above category average
    Approval workflow00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
    Balance details00 Ratings9.03 Ratings
    Annual carry-forward and encashment00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
    Employee Self Service
    Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Gusto and Sage People
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Sage People
    8.2
    3 Ratings
    2% above category average
    View and generate pay and benefit information00 Ratings8.03 Ratings
    Update personal information00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
    View company policy documentation00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
    Employee recognition00 Ratings5.03 Ratings
    View job history00 Ratings8.03 Ratings
    HR Reporting
    Comparison of HR Reporting features of Gusto and Sage People
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Sage People
    9.8
    2 Ratings
    27% above category average
    Report builder00 Ratings9.82 Ratings
    Pre-built reports00 Ratings9.82 Ratings
    Ability to combine HR data with external data00 Ratings9.82 Ratings
    Onboarding
    Comparison of Onboarding features of Gusto and Sage People
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Sage People
    9.0
    3 Ratings
    13% above category average
    New hire portal00 Ratings9.03 Ratings
    Manager tracking tools00 Ratings9.03 Ratings
    Performance and Goals
    Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Gusto and Sage People
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Sage People
    8.5
    3 Ratings
    7% above category average
    Corporate goal setting00 Ratings8.03 Ratings
    Individual goal setting00 Ratings9.03 Ratings
    Line-of sight-visibility00 Ratings8.03 Ratings
    Performance tracking00 Ratings9.03 Ratings
    Performance Management
    Comparison of Performance Management features of Gusto and Sage People
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Sage People
    7.8
    3 Ratings
    0% below category average
    Performance plans00 Ratings8.03 Ratings
    Performance improvement plans00 Ratings7.02 Ratings
    Review status tracking00 Ratings9.03 Ratings
    Review reminders00 Ratings7.03 Ratings
    Multiple review frequency00 Ratings8.03 Ratings
    Succession Planning
    Comparison of Succession Planning features of Gusto and Sage People
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Sage People
    8.0
    2 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Create succession plans/pools00 Ratings8.22 Ratings
    Candidate ranking00 Ratings8.02 Ratings
    Candidate search00 Ratings8.02 Ratings
    Candidate development00 Ratings7.82 Ratings
    Recruiting / ATS
    Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Gusto and Sage People
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Sage People
    6.7
    3 Ratings
    14% below category average
    Job Requisition Management00 Ratings8.03 Ratings
    Company Website Posting00 Ratings9.03 Ratings
    Publish to Social Media00 Ratings7.42 Ratings
    Job Search Site Posting00 Ratings7.22 Ratings
    Duplicate Candidate Prevention00 Ratings2.12 Ratings
    Applicant Tracking00 Ratings5.62 Ratings
    Notifications and Alerts00 Ratings8.02 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    GustoSage People
    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 People
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.2
    (538 ratings)
    8.0
    (3 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    10.0
    (12 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    9.6
    (362 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    1.3
    (25 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    GustoSage People
    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
    Sage People is well suited to small-medium sized organizations that would like a cloud-based HR solution with no need for servers or software to install. I really like the fact that it is based on Salesforce.com so you know that it will be extremely reliable and well supported. It is very flexible and customizable and can work in complex HR arrangements. For example, we have employees in nearly 60 countries and multiple HR jurisdictions and we are able to make it work for us. However, if you are moving from a traditional or customized HR system there may be a steep learning curve and you should be prepared to spend a lot of time setting up and customizing to your needs, in addition to training.
    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
    Read full review
    Sage
    • Sage is highly flexible and configurable, allowing us to manage the variety of geographies and functional units in one platform.
    • Sage is highly customer focused, with great CSM support.
    • Sage People will be able to integrate with other Sage pillars such as Accounting and Payroll.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    • Training manuals are not much useful. You always need a helping hand to move forward.
    • When you have to look up employees, we have to provide their job title which I feel is not an efficient way.
    Incentivized
    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
    Read full review
    Sage
    No answers on this topic
    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
    Read full review
    Sage
    No answers on this topic
    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
    We moved to Sage People from a 20+-year-old internally developed HR software. We also evaluated other HR software such as Kronos, SAP, and BambooHR. Ultimately, we chose Sage because of the extensive support they provided to us and the ability to customize to fit our organization's needs. We loved the fact that they were completely cloud-based and built on a reputable platform (Salesforce).
    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
    Sage
    • Has significantly improved our team resources by having one system and set of processes, rather than managing duplicate entry in multiple systems
    • Has allowed us to finally have a process for ensuring we can approve, manage, track and report employee PTO liability in one system
    • Improved HR Data reporting and Data Analytics for both HR and for managers, so that we can make better people and business decisions
    • Better manager and employee experiences by eliminating paper based request forms and automating workflows
    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 People Screenshots

    Screenshot of Reports on the matters that mean the most to the organization. Offers insights about a global workforce to suppot informed, data-driven business decisions with data that is always up to date.Screenshot of An employee self-service portal gives the workforce access to common HR tasks, such as managing personal and pay details, viewing company communications, and managing their time off.Screenshot of Sage People is used to manage time off, and track and manage planned and unplanned absences by team or by an individual.Screenshot of Locates future leaders, close skills gaps, and develops talent with a system for employees and managers to engage in conversations anytime, anywhere, with real-time feedback, instant recognition, flexible goal setting, and formal, flexible performance reviews.Screenshot of The Sage People mobile app is used to manage HR processes on-the-go.Screenshot of Sage People Payroll is a unified HR and Payroll system for UK and US teams, to provide an accurate, synced view of people costs.​