Gusto Review 2022: A Top-Notch Payroll and HR Platform

Gusto rises to the top of our list of payroll and human resources platforms thanks to its usability. While its pricing isn’t the lowest you’ll find for these services, Gusto includes features that would be an additional cost with similar providers.

Designed for small businesses, this cloud-based, all-in-one platform can be accessed from virtually anywhere through a web browser. Gusto, formerly ZenPayroll, doesn’t lock you into a contract, and if you need new features or aren’t using others, it’s easy to change your plan.

» MORE: NerdWallet's best payroll software for small businesses

With some payroll and benefits services, it’s nearly impossible to get a clear price upfront. That’s not the case with Gusto, which posts its monthly subscription prices publicly, with the exception of its Premium plan:

» MORE: NerdWallet's best small-business apps

After you provide Gusto with some basic information, you can get a feel for the product through an interactive demo. Unlike some of its competitors, Gusto doesn’t charge a setup fee. When creating your initial payroll account, you can tackle the online setup process yourself, or you can request free payroll setup assistance from Gusto.

Select a plan

Gusto plans integrate payroll, benefits and HR. Higher tiers offer additional features, and add-on benefits can be used to further customize your plan. You have the flexibility to upgrade or downgrade your plan at any time.

Add benefits

If you want benefits for your team, Gusto can help you build a benefits package. You can compare medical, dental and vision plans and providers on the app to find the best fit — assuming you live in a state where Gusto offers health benefits administration services. You can also set up 401(k) plans, 529 savings accounts, HSAs, FSAs, commuter benefits, workers’ compensation plans and life insurance plans.

Some benefits, such as the Gusto Wallet app, are available at no cost. Others, like 401(k) plans, have a monthly and per-participant cost. (Benefits pricing is available on the Gusto website.)

Top-notch employee portal access

Gusto gives your employees the ability to manage many tasks themselves, through their own Gusto employee portal and the Gusto Wallet app. Employees can complete onboarding paperwork, select benefits and access pay stubs and other records through the portal on their own.

Gusto also gives lifetime account access to employees as long as there’s an email address associated with the accounts. If an employee leaves the company, and years later needs access to their pay stubs, they can still view and download them through their Gusto account — even if their former company has stopped using Gusto. Not all small-business payroll services offer lifetime access to former employees.

Time-saving automation and integrations

Gusto provides numerous ways to automate payroll and HR tasks. At no additional cost, you can set payroll to run automatically, with a reminder sent to you the day before. Gusto will calculate, file and pay your local, state and federal payroll taxes automatically, and will even report new hires to the government for you.

Regardless of your plan level, Gusto also enables you to integrate with many types of third-party accounting, time tracking, expense management, point-of-sale and HR software. Integrations include popular accounting apps like QuickBooks, FreshBooks and Xero. The ability to sync data with Gusto means less time spent on manual entry.

Broad customer support

With any subscription level, you’ll be able to get customer support via phone, chat or email from actual humans — specifically, Gusto’s representatives in San Francisco or Denver. That’s a big plus, especially for those who are new to setting up payroll and benefits. One caveat: Customer support isn’t available on weekends.

If you prefer completing tasks on your own, Gusto also provides an extensive online help center, checklists, videos and FAQs.

Some benefits aren’t available in all states

While Gusto offers payroll services and 401(k)s in all 50 states, its services for health benefits, HSAs, FSAs and commuter benefits come with some geographic restrictions. Gusto has coverage available in a majority of states and Washington, D.C. However, it doesn’t currently offer these benefits in Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia or Wyoming.

If benefits aren’t available through Gusto in a state where you and your employees are based, you may want to consider companies such as Paychex or ADP, which offer expanded benefits through professional employer organizations, or PEOs.

No mobile payroll app

Gusto doesn’t offer a mobile app specifically for payroll, but you can run payroll from a mobile device using a web browser. This won’t offer the same user experience and may require extra scrolling on some pages. If you prefer to run payroll on the go, Roll by ADP is a chat-based, mobile payroll app that offers unlimited payroll in all 50 states.

QuickBooks Payroll

While Gusto offers next-day direct deposit of your employees' pay at the Plus and Premium levels, QuickBooks Payroll provides same-day direct deposit with its higher tiers. That means you can submit payroll by 7 a.m. Pacific time on payday, and your employees will receive their money that same day. And though Gusto integrates with QuickBooks, if you already use Intuit accounting and tax software, adding QuickBooks Payroll may be a logical next step.

Square Payroll

Square Payroll starts at $35 per month, plus $5 per person, while Gusto starts at $40 per month, plus $6 per person. Like Gusto, Square Payroll offers unlimited payroll runs, automatic payroll tax filing and help managing employee benefits. It has a contractors-only option like Gusto does, too. And similar to QuickBooks, Square has an Instant Payments option that allows you to pay employees the same day using its Cash App.

» MORE: Gusto competitors for small businesses