Best Gusto Competitors 2019

Gusto is a popular online payroll software service for businesses with less than 50 employees. Starting at $45 monthly for one employee, it has automation, human resources (HR) tools, and popular integration options. However, it only offers benefits in 24 states. There are numerous Gusto competitors that are cheaper and/or have more advanced HR features.

Top 6 Gusto Payroll Competitors 2019

How Gusto Works

Gusto is best for businesses with under 50 employees that want to automate payroll and pay local taxes. You can run unlimited payroll runs and pay taxes electronically in addition to offering paid-time-off (PTO) tracking and benefits in 24 states. If your business is not in one of the 24 states that Gusto offers benefits, you may need more HR support.

Gusto Pricing & Features

Gusto is one of the best payroll software services for small businesses when it comes to cost and functionality. You get HR support in addition to payroll without having to give up control of your process. Pricing plans are tiered, but they all include full-service payroll, benefits, and year-end reporting.

Gusto Pricing Plans & Features

Gusto’s most notable features are:

• Payroll processing: Payroll can be automated for salaried employees and employees who work the same hours each week. You can also run unlimited payrolls without paying extra. Standard processing time is four days but can be two with approval.
• Payroll taxes: Gusto pays federal, state, and local income taxes, all through the online system. They don’t market a “tax accuracy guarantee,” like other providers such as OnPay but, according to the terms, if you’re ever penalized for errors they make, Gusto will pay.
• Employee pay options: Direct deposit is free and processed electronically. Check payments are also free, but you have to print on your own. You can send wages to payroll cards, but only for employees, not contractors.
• Tips: Employees can report cash tips so you can withhold taxes from their checks, and you can add tips to their paychecks. Gusto also gives you the data you need to claim your Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax (FICA) Tip Credit at tax time.
• Benefits: You can use Gusto’s brokers to offer health, vision, and dental insurance, in addition to 401(k) plans, flexible and health savings accounts, and commuter benefits in 24 states and territories. You can offer 529 college savings plans in all 50 states.
• Year-end reporting: 1099s and W-2 forms are prepared and loaded to the online system for free. Employees can access this report through their employee accounts, or you can download and distribute as needed.
• New hire support: You can send an invitation to employees to set up their employee accounts through Gusto, and Gusto will collect all information for new hire reporting to the state like W-4s and I-9s. You can also prepare and send offer letters through the platform.
• Integrations: Gusto integrates with many popular software products like QuickBooks, Xero, FreshBooks, WhenIWork, HomeBase, Ximble, and Receipt Bank.
• HR expertise: With the premium concierge plan, you have access to certified HR pros who will give you HR advice on-demand. There are also templates and guides to help you build employee handbooks.

Many of the Gusto competitors offer new hire and year-end reporting, automated payroll processing, electronic tax filing, PTO tracking, tip reporting, and multiple employee pay options. We will discuss these benefits and services as we review each alternative.

What Gusto Is Missing

Unlike some alternative providers, such as Paychex, Gusto doesn’t provide benefits in all 50 states. You will only be able to offer benefits if you’re in one of the 24 states it currently services.

Use the map below to determine if Gusto offers health benefits in your state:

In addition, Gusto won’t print and mail checks for you but will help you print using its online instructions. It doesn’t support household employers, for instance, if you have a nanny, and there’s no support on weekends.

Reviews

There are mostly positive Gusto user reviews. Users like its visually intuitive interface and mobile responsive website. Some users mentioned the seamless integration with their accounting software while others commented on automation. There are numerous compliments on customer service, but some users aren’t happy about the standard four-day processing time for direct deposits.

Customer Service

Customer service is available Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. until 5 p.m. Pacific time. If you’re only interested in speaking to the sales department, availability is Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can reach out by phone or email. You can also search the website for answers to commonly asked questions and help figuring out how to perform certain functions within the system.

Gusto makes it easy to hire, pay, and manage employees regardless of your physical location. You can also offer benefits and maintain compliance with payroll tax laws from your mobile device. Sign up for a free 30-day trial today.

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OnPay: Most Affordable Gusto Alternative for 50+ Employees

Based on its low cost, customer reviews, automation, tipped reporting, and compliance features, OnPay is the best option for restaurants with more than 50 employees that need to offer benefits in all 50 states for less than the cost of Gusto. It offers medical, dental, and vision insurance, in addition to 401(k) plans.

Like Gusto, OnPay provides integration with popular software ― QuickBooks, Zenefits, Kabbage, Xero, WhenIWork, and Humanity ― and it allows you to process unlimited pay runs, guarantees tax compliance accuracy, and features a self-onboarding service. You can also process as many pay runs as you need at no additional cost. This makes it easy to pay contractors when needed.

When you’re ready to set up your account, OnPay will add your employees to the system for you. This contrasts with Gusto and other payroll software that require you to enter the initial data ― name, address, contact information, and pay rates ― to set up your account. You can also opt to pay employees and contractors with direct deposits, checks, or paycards. Gusto will only allow you to pay employees, but not contractors, with paycards.

OnPay Pricing

Pricing for OnPay is straightforward and transparent. There are no tiered plans; you pay a monthly base fee of $36 in addition to $4 per employee each month. Like Gusto, there’s no setup fee, but it’s at least $400 cheaper per year for 15 employees. OnPay goes head-to-head with Gusto on features ― providing more in some cases like benefits ― and still charges less.

OnPay vs Gusto Pricing & Features Comparison

OnPay Features

OnPay offers the standard payroll features a business needs like automated and unlimited pay runs along with basic HR functions, such as online document storage, employee self-onboarding, pay-as-you-go workers’ compensation, and employee benefits. Its service is very similar to Gusto’s with the bonus of free initial employee setup by the OnPay team. This saves you time on the front-end and backend, thereby reducing errors.

What OnPay Is Missing

Similar to Gusto, OnPay doesn’t offer weekend support; customer service is only available Monday through Friday. There’s also no flexibility in plans from which to choose. Gusto and many of its competitors offer tiered plans that cater to different needs, but OnPay offers a one-size-fits-all plan that remains the same whether you have two employees or 52.

What Users Think About OnPay

There are good to excellent OnPay user reviews online. Customers speak positively about the quality of customer service as well as OnPay’s success at simplifying their payroll. They like the automation and other features it provides at a lower cost than those charged by big names in the industry, such as Paychex or ADP. However, some users don’t like the integration between OnPay and their general ledger as it sometimes requires extra manipulation.

How to Get Started With OnPay

OnPay provides payroll and HR features that most small businesses need when processing payroll for a fraction of the cost of other providers. To see if OnPay is right for your business, request a free demo on the website and sign up for a free 30-day trial.

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Square Payroll: Best Gusto Alternative for Paying Contractors

Square Payroll is lower in cost than Gusto but typically more expensive than OnPay. You can, however, get away with paying less than $1,000 a year in payroll service if you only pay contractors. You can pay contractors with Gusto and most of its alternatives, but there’s usually a monthly subscription fee.

Another benefit to using Square Payroll is that it guarantees your taxes will be handled accurately; it’ll cover penalties if anything goes wrong. If you own a restaurant or retail business, you may be interested in Square’s other software, such as the point-of-sale (POS) system, inventory management, and marketing. Using the POS in conjunction with the payroll product will allow you to seamlessly import time cards with one click, giving you more time to review payroll calculations for accuracy.

Square Payroll Pricing

Pricing for Square Payroll can vary from Gusto up to thousands of dollars per year for 15 employees, depending on the type of workers you hire. You can pay as little as $5 a month if you hire one contractor for each month. If you hire any employees, you will be subject to a $29 monthly base fee in addition to the $5 per worker each month. The good news is you won’t need to pay for setup fees or add-ons.

Square Payroll vs Gusto Pricing & Features Comparison

Square Payroll Features

Square Payroll handles all standard payroll processing, like paying workers via checks and direct deposit and tracking PTO, but it also gives you an opportunity to avoid the monthly subscription fee by just hiring contractors. Both you and your workers can download the app to manage and view payroll information from anywhere.

Year-end forms are filed and mailed at no additional cost, contrary to Gusto that only makes them available online, and new hires are reported to the state. As of November 2018, you can purchase workers’ comp and offer insurance and other benefits to your employees.

What Square Payroll Is Missing

One thing missing from Square Payroll is the ability to support household or agricultural employees. While other Gusto alternatives, like SurePayroll, provide this feature, Square Payroll aligns with Gusto’s capabilities. There’s also no weekend support, which seems to be more common with higher-priced services like Paychex.

Square Payroll isn’t able to pay all local taxes through its electronic system. If your locality isn’t supported, Square Payroll will calculate and withhold the taxes from your employees’ pay, but you’ll need to file and pay them to your local tax agency.

What Users Think About Square Payroll

The more recent Square Payroll user reviews are generally favorable. Customers like how intuitive the software is and how it simplifies tax compliance at an affordable rate. Many of the complaints we found were more like “wish-list items.” For instance, one user would like help tracking quarterly business taxes instead of just payroll taxes. Another user wants help tracking W-9s instead of just 1099s.

How to Get Started With Square Payroll

If you’re already using Square software products, you can add Square Payroll to the dashboard and setup from there. If not, visit the website, and sign up for a 30-day free trial today.

Visit Square Payroll

SurePayroll: Best Gusto Alternative for Pre-employment Screening

SurePayroll offers basic payroll services along with HR features, like pre-employment screening ― on-demand background checks and drug screening ― that you don’t get with Gusto. It’s still on the cheaper end of Gusto alternatives and provides standard payroll automation and a tax filing guarantee. It also provides benefits you can offer to employees in all 50 states.

Like other Gusto competitors, SurePayroll provides resources you can use to maintain compliance, like how-to guides, labor law posters, and reminders of important deadlines. It integrates with popular software ― QuickBooks Online, Xero, AccountEdge, and Sage50 ― and you can pay household and seasonal employees.

SurePayroll Pricing

Aside from having to request a quote through the website, SurePayroll’s pricing is just as transparent as that of Gusto and OnPay. There are no tiered plans. You’ll pay $29.99 a month ― $39.99 for household employers ― plus $4.99 a month per employee. This isn’t as inexpensive as OnPay or Square Payroll but still comes in at less than the cost of Gusto’s services. SurePayroll provides good value as it offers more features than Gusto.

SurePayroll vs Gusto Pricing & Features Comparison

SurePayroll Features

SurePayroll helps you from the time of hire with pre-employment screening to the employee’s first day with the state’s new hire reporting requirement. Its standard unlimited payroll processing is much faster than Gusto, two days vs four with no approval needed, and you can pay a variety of workers, including employees, contractors, and household employers. Insurance and 401(k) benefits are also a key feature, and all of the top Gusto alternatives we’ve discussed so far offer them.

Weekend support is a differentiating feature because Gusto doesn’t offer it. If you need help with anything, you can call SurePayroll during the week and a five-hour window on Saturdays. If you forget to process a payroll run, you can submit it for same-day or next-day processing instead of having to wait the full two-day cycle.

What SurePayroll Is Missing

A key feature SurePayroll is missing is employee self-onboarding. Gusto and many of its top competitors, like OnPay and Square Payroll, offer it. However, in SurePayroll, you’ll have to add employee data to the system.

What Users Think About SurePayroll

There were mixed user reviews for SurePayroll. Some praised the customer service team while others swore it was the worst. A chief complaint was that customer service takes too long resolving issues, and it’s hard to get help when you make a mistake. Many who use it for its household employer payroll services were satisfied with the service and gave positive feedback.

How to Get Started With SurePayroll

Getting started with SurePayroll is as easy as requesting a quote online and setting up your account. Visit the website and start your 30-day trial today.

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QuickBooks Payroll: Best Gusto Alternative for Flexible Pricing

QuickBooks Payroll offers full-service payroll and a do-it-yourself (DIY) option, which makes it flexible enough for mom-and-pop shops that plan to grow their business in the near future. The software service has add-ons that can be purchased when needed to customize your plan as the business expands.

The QuickBooks payroll service doesn’t have brokers and is not a broker, so there are no benefits with this service. It’s convenient if you are already or considering using QuickBooks Online as it seamlessly integrates. You can also purchase the payroll and general ledger service together, unlike Gusto and other providers that focus on accounting partner integrations.

QuickBooks Payroll Pricing

QuickBooks Payroll is cheaper than Gusto, regardless of whether you choose the DIY or the full-service payroll option. There’s a monthly base fee of $24 if you don’t mind paying your own taxes and $87 if you need an expert to pay your taxes and perform other duties on your behalf.

QuickBooks Payroll vs Gusto Pricing & Features Comparison

QuickBooks Payroll Features

QuickBooks Payroll allows you to run an unlimited number of pay runs at no additional charge and has the lowest costs out of Gusto and its top competitors. If you’re willing to pay your own taxes, QuickBooks Payroll will help you calculate them, but if you’d rather have an expert process them for you, you’ll receive a tax accuracy guarantee that the payroll service will cover any penalties caused by mistakes they make.

What QuickBooks Payroll Is Missing

QuickBooks Payroll is missing benefits; if you want to offer, you must work with a third-party, and manually enter them into the payroll system to allow for easy deduction tracking. There’s also a lack of new hire reporting to the state. The service will help you generate and prefill your new hire forms, but you must complete on your own.

While Gusto has numerous accounting software integrations, QuickBooks Payroll only integrates with QuickBooks accounting products. If you’re using an outside provider and don’t want to switch, this can cause a problem.

What Users Think About QuickBooks Payroll

For the most part, QuickBooks Payroll users like that the software is intuitive, payroll can be run from a mobile device, and filing taxes is easy. They also enjoy the seamless integration with QuickBooks Online because it cuts out the time that they have to spend manually transferring information. There were some comments stating that the software can’t handle complex pay situations or large companies with greater HR needs.

How to Get Started With QuickBooks Payroll

QuickBooks Payroll is a great option for running payroll and managing the process from a mobile device. If you’re interested in paying your employees within minutes, consider QuickBooks Payroll. Sign up for a free trial today.

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Paychex: Best Gusto Alternative for 24/7 Live Support

Paychex is a higher-end Gusto alternative but is still competitive, in regard to cost, when compared to other payroll providers like ADP in the same space. It gives you access to on-demand payroll and HR support that could come in handy if you have a larger company that operates during odd hours of the day.

And although there’s no DIY option, Paychex does offer a professional employer organization (PEO) service at a much higher rate than its other plans. Tax accuracy is guaranteed regardless, and the system can handle federal, state, and most local taxes. Direct deposit processing is two days, but same day is allowed for late or unscheduled payments.

Paychex Pricing

Unlike Gusto and its other top competitors, Paychex charges per pay period versus once a month. To find out how much your customized plan will be, you have to call Paychex. When we called in to request a quote for 15 employees, we were told it would be an annual cost of $2,236 for weekly pay runs. This is time-sensitive and can vary depending on what the representative you speak with excludes from the quote.

Paychex vs Gusto Pricing & Features Comparison

Paychex Features

With Paychex, you have strong payroll support like automation and check signing, insertion, and mailing by a representative, in addition to solid HR support. You can screen employees prior to hiring them, similar to SurePayroll without the more affordable rate, view live reports like labor costs and offer benefits in all 50 states. The 24/7 support is unique, and you can reach out via phone, email, or online form. You can also utilize the online HR library.

What Paychex Is Missing

Paychex’s pricing isn’t as transparent as Gusto and other competitors. You won’t be able to estimate costs by looking at the website, so you will have to call and request a quote. There’s also no free year-end form preparing and filing. You’ll have to pay an extra $75 annual fee plus $7.75 per 1099 and/or W2 you need prepared.

When it comes to external seamless integrations, Paychex doesn’t have any that are seamless for accounting and timekeeping. You’ll have to use the Paychex packages and pay an additional fee. You can utilize their general ledger service (included in our quote) to integrate your payroll data with your custom software, but it will require additional work.

What Users Think About Paychex

There are mixed Paychex user reviews. Many people like that the payroll service is easy to use, keeps them compliant with taxes, and stores payroll documentation online, but many of those same users want more organized reports and responsive customer service. Multiple users mentioned having to call multiple times to get the assistance they needed. There were also complaints about cost increases from year to year and the representatives’ repetitive attempts at upselling add-on features.

How to Get Started With Paychex

To get started with Paychex, you’ll need to contact them to request a quote. The representative will ask you information about your business before assigning you to a team member who will call you later. Call to set up a free demo today.

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Zenefits: Best Gusto Alternative for Heavily Regulated Industries

Zenefits is software that primarily focuses on HR and compliance with payroll as an add-on. It’s best for companies in heavily regulated industries who need more HR advising like construction companies and restaurants. You can set up an organization chart, company directory, and HR advising package for less than the cost of Gusto.

Payroll is optional with Zenefits and can send your costs well over the cost of Gusto and Gusto competitors if added. Many standard features like year-end reporting and tax filing are available but aren’t always as strong. For instance, you can pay contractors, but the payments don’t sync to payroll. You’ll need to enter payments individually, and you’re limited on how much you can pay them in a five-business-day period. Zenefits determines this based on historical payments.

Zenefits’ Pricing

With Zenefits’ pricing structure, your costs can vary widely depending on the services you choose to add. There is a $40 base monthly fee and a variable cost of $6 (standard plan) or $12 (advanced plan) per employee each month. You’ll also pay an extra $2 per check for each contractor or vendor payment. Zenefits’ basic plan is cheaper than Gusto’s if you only need the basic HR package (no payroll) and have more than one employee.

You can pay as little as $45 per month for the standard plan or $49 per month for the advanced plan if you have one employee and opt for an annual contract instead of monthly. Overall, however, if you run payroll in addition to using the basic HR package, Zenefits is the most expensive option out of Gusto alternatives. You can perform most of the same primary functions with Zenefits vs Gusto, but you will pay more.

Zenefits vs Gusto Pricing & Features Comparison

Zenefits’ Features

Zenefits offers HR information system (HRIS) features in both of its plans and provides payroll, reporting, self-onboarding, and document management. There’s also Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA)-compliance and a compliance assistant to help you with questions about federal, state, and local labor laws. If you have more complex questions, Zenefits provides three add-on advising options, payroll, HR, and a combination of the two.

Zenefits allows you to purchase its basic HR packages as a stand-alone service, and use Gusto, QuickBooks Payroll, and other popular payroll software that it integrates with. This is different from Gusto and Gusto competitors because their primary service is payroll.

What Zenefits Is Missing

Although Zenefits has a downloadable mobile app, you aren’t able to finalize a payroll run from it like you can with SurePayroll or Paychex; you can view and approve employee time cards. Also, payroll isn’t a basic feature of the Zenefits’ platform. You have to pay extra for it.

What Users Think About Zenefits

According to Zenefits’ user reviews, customers like that it provides a one-stop shop for all of their HR and payroll needs. They also like its ease of use and integration with popular software like Slack and Expensify. Some users think the four-day direct deposit processing time for new accounts is too long, and others rate customer service as low or average quality.

How to Get Started With Zenefits

To get started with Zenefits, you can view a demo on the website. You’ll be able to see how you can use the performance management, benefits, and payroll processing tools before speaking with a sales representative. It’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with what the service offers and define your business needs, so you’re prepared beforehand. Watch a Zenefits demo today.

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Bottom Line

Most of the Gusto competitors we discussed cost less than Gusto, with the exception of Paychex and Zenefits that have more HR-heavy features. When it comes to processing payroll, paying taxes, and possibly offering benefits, you have options beyond Gusto that could be cheaper and include perks you need, like labor law posters.

While Gusto is a good payroll service, you should shop around before deciding or if you find it’s not right for you. You may decide you need a payroll software like OnPay that offers benefits in a state Gusto doesn’t service. Sign up for a free trial, and save at least $400 year in payroll costs.

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