2023 Gusto vs Justworks: What We Recommend & Why

Gusto and Justworks both offer HR and payroll support and earn high scores in our evaluations for features and ease of use. Gusto is a payroll software that helps you manage your payroll and offer benefits, while Justworks is a professional employer organization (PEO) that focuses heavily on ensuring your business is complying with payroll and HR laws and offering the best benefits.

So, which one should you choose? In our assessment of Gusto vs Justworks, we recommend both for the following niches:

• Gusto: Best for small businesses wanting affordable but feature-rich software that helps them process payroll more efficiently while adding some HR support
• Justworks: Best for businesses looking for PEO services to fully outsource HR compliance support because they have insufficient or no in-house HR expertise and/or need best-in-class employee benefit rates

There are instances when neither Gusto nor Justworks is best. We found a good alternative if you’re struggling to decide between a PEO and HR or payroll software:

• Rippling: Best for businesses planning to grow that need the option to turn their PEO off and still have access to the HR payroll software system they’re familiar with

Gusto vs Justworks Compared

	Visit Gusto	Visit Justworks
Monthly Base Fees	Starts at $40	N/A
Per-employee Monthly Fees	Starts at $6	Starts at $59 (Basic plan)* Starts at $99 (Plus tier)*
Direct Deposit Processing Timelines	Four- and two-day; next-day processing with premium plans	Four business days prior to specified pay dates
Health Insurance, Retirement, and Commuter Benefits**	✓	✓
Health Insurance Coverage	Four- and two-day; next-day processing with premium plans	Available in all states
Workers’ Compensation	✓	✓
Employee Perks	Free Gusto Wallet app with “Cashout” option for early access to earned wages	Gym benefits and health advocacy services
Payroll Tax Filings and Year-end Reporting	✓	✓
State New Hire Reporting	✓	✓
Time Tracking	Included in premium plans	Paid add-on
Employee Onboarding	✓	✓
Access to HR Advisers	Available in highest tier	✓
Robust Software Integrations	✓	Limited
	Read our Gusto Review	Read our Justworks Review

*Justworks’ starter packages for Basic and Plus cover the first 49 employees. It charges a slightly lower rate as you add or have 50 and more employees.

**Some benefits plans cost extra or have participation fees

When to Consider Gusto & Justworks

Best for Value: Gusto

	Visit Gusto	Visit Justworks
Monthly Base Fees	Simple: $40 Plus: $80 Pro: Call Gusto for quote	N/A
Per-employee Monthly Fees	Simple: $6 Plus: $12 Select: Call Gusto for quote	Basic: $59 for first 49 employees $49 for 50 and more employees   Plus: $99 for first 49 employees $89 for 50 and more employees
Special Plan	Contractor-only Payroll: $6 per contractor monthly	Part-time employees* $59 per worker monthly (for up to 49 part-timers) $49 per worker monthly (for 50 and more part-timers)
Time Tracking	Included in higher tiers	Costs extra (via Justworks Hours); monthly fees start at $20 + $5 per user
Add-ons	Benefits administration using own broker: $6 per eligible employee monthly Health insurance: Pay for premium only 401(k) retirement savings: Pricing varies depending on provider/plan integration 529 college savings: $6 per participant monthly (with an $18 monthly minimum)	Contact Justworks for premium payment details
	Read our Gusto Review	Read our Justworks Review

*This flat-rate pricing only applies to part-time employees with 29 or fewer work hours per week. For months when you don’t have part-time staff, Justworks will charge you its regular rates for full-time employees (and vice versa).

It’s hard to compare Gusto vs Justworks for pricing because the services and solutions these providers offer vary slightly from the other. Plus, both have different pricing schemes—Gusto charges base monthly and per-employee fees, while Justworks has per-employee monthly fees based on the number of workers you have.

However, if you’re only looking at subscription costs, Gusto is more affordable. Its starter plan is priced at only $40 plus $6 per employee monthly (or $46 monthly for one employee); whereas Justworks’ monthly fees for its Basic tier start at $59 per employee (for the first 49 employees).

When to Consider Justworks

While pricing is important, keep in mind that you get what you pay for. Gusto may be far less expensive, but it is a payroll software with only basic time tracking and HR tools. Justworks, on the other hand, offers PEO services. It handles more of the administrative work and takes on more responsibilities, including legal concerns in some cases. So if you don’t have an in-house HR staff and have the budget to spend, then Justworks is an excellent choice.

Gusto vs Justworks Pricing Calculator

Want to calculate costs? Use our online calculator to compute the estimated monthly and annual fees for Gusto and Justworks.

Best Payroll Features: Gusto

	Visit Gusto	Visit Justworks
Full-service Payroll	✓	✓
Payroll Tax Payment and Filing Services	✓	✓
Year-end Tax Reports (W-2/1099)	✓	✓
Direct Deposit Processing Timelines	Four- and two-day; next-day processing with premium plans	Four business days before specified pay dates*
Manual Paychecks**	✓	Only for supplemental bonus payouts
Pay Card Option	✓	✕
Off-cycle Payments	✓	✓
Vendor Payments	✕	✓
Early Access to Earned Wages	Via Gusto Cashout	✕
	Read our Gusto Review	Read our Justworks Review

*Friday paydays for hourly and nonexempt salaried staff; every 15th and end of the month for salaried employees

**Requires you to prepare paychecks yourself

Gusto lets you manage payroll for any type of employee. Similar to Justworks, it calculates and remits payments; files state, federal, and local taxes; and does end-of-year tax reporting. It also handles multiple pay rates, tips credits, garnishments, PTO policies, and multistate payroll.

You can pay employees by check, direct deposit, or pay card. It even offers employees the option to get an advance of up to 40% of their paycheck through the Cashout feature of its Gusto Wallet app. Time, workforce, and project tracking are also included in its higher tiers, but if you’re already using a time and attendance solution, Gusto integrates with time tracking systems like When I Work, 7shifts, Homebase, and QuickBooks Time (formerly TSheets).

Gusto lets you change paydays, add pay schedules, and activate its “Payroll on AutoPilot” feature if you want automatic pay runs. (Source: Gusto)

When to Consider Justworks for Payroll

Justworks may not have Gusto’s Cashout feature, but it can process payroll for you. It handles all types of payouts, including tips, off-cycle payroll, bonuses, and contractor/vendor payments. However, it pays employees only through direct deposits. It does accept manual check payments for supplemental bonus payouts, but you have to select the “physical check” option in the system and prepare the checks yourself. This is unlike Gusto, which lets you easily switch from direct deposit payouts to check payments if you need to.

While Justworks integrates with QuickBooks Time to capture the work hours you need to pay employees, you can use its “Timecards” feature to directly input time data into the system. However, it also has its own time tracking tool, Justworks Hours, which costs extra—pricing starts at $20 + $5 per employee monthly as of this writing.

With Justworks, you can choose to enter the employees’ work hours yourself or allow workers to input their own time data for pay processing. (Source: Justworks)

Best for HR & Employee Benefits: Justworks

	Visit Gusto	Visit Justworks
Health Insurance, Retirement, and Commuter Benefits*	✓	✓
Health Insurance Coverage	Available in 39 states	Available in all states
Non-standard Employee Benefits	College savings plans; free Gusto Wallet app with “Cashout” option for early access to earned wages	Gym benefits and health advocacy services
Workers’ Compensation	✓	✓**
Wage Garnishment Services	South Carolina excluded	✓
State New Hire Reporting	✓	✓
Employee Onboarding	✓	✓
Job Postings and Applicant Tracking	Basic job postings and applicant tracking	✕
PTO Management	✓	✓
Harassment Prevention and Inclusion Training	✓	✓
Employee Performance Reviews	✓	✕
	Read our Gusto Review	Read our Justworks Review

*Some benefits plans cost extra or have participation fees

**Doesn’t cover businesses with employees doing high-risk manual labor

As a PEO, Justworks will place you in an enterprise-level plan for insurance, which means much better rates—plus they’re available in any state. It works with UnitedHealth, Kaiser, and Aetna. It also provides dental and vision, HSA/FSA, medical reimbursement programs, gym benefits, commuter benefits, life and disability insurance, and health advocacy services. For 401(k) options, Justworks partners with Slavic401k and assumes fiduciary responsibility for it, so you can offer your employees this benefit without incurring legal risk.

While Gusto and Justworks both offer workers’ compensation through AP Intego and have HR experts on hand to answer your questions on compliance issues, Justworks is the stronger of the two for compliance—although, its workers’ comp program doesn’t cover businesses that engage in high-risk manual labor (such as construction). In addition to keeping you up-to-date on the changing laws and regulations, it offers online training for sexual harassment and discrimination prevention, so it’s easy to comply with state and city requirements.

However, it lacks the hiring tools that Gusto offers. For instance, Justworks doesn’t have the capability to help you manage and track employee work goals and performance reviews, but Gusto does.

When to Consider Gusto for HR & Employee Benefits

As a health insurance broker, Gusto has access to over 3,500 plans from more than 100 carriers that work with small businesses. Thus, it can find you a good plan for your employees, and it offers dental and vision insurance, HSA, FSA, retirement savings (through Guideline), commuter benefits, Gusto Cashout for early access of wages, and Gusto Wallet, a free financial management app. However, its health insurance isn’t available in 11 states (Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming); if your business is located in one of the areas it services, Gusto is a good option for you.

Compared to Justworks, Gusto’s compliance support is simpler but includes new hire reporting, workers’ compensation, and Affordable Care Act (ACA), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) compliance. It also handles child support garnishments for all states except South Carolina. Plus, it provides online solutions for tracking applicants, posting open jobs, and monitoring performance reviews.

Best for Ease of Use, Customer Support & Integrations: Gusto

	Visit Gusto	Visit Justworks
Ease of Use	Good	Good
Access to HR Advisers	Available in highest tier	✓
How-to Guides	✓	✓
Third-party Software Integrations	Robust	Limited
Customer Service	Via phone, email, and chat	Via phone, email, chat, SMS, and Slack
24/7 Support	Weekdays only	✓
	Read our Gusto Review	Read our Justworks Review

In assessing Justworks vs Gusto, we found that these two programs have wonderfully intuitive interfaces—and it’s easy to find the tools you need. Both have in-app help, online guides, and access to HR professionals who can give expert advice on HR, payroll, and compliance issues. Although, Justworks includes HR consulting services in all of its plans, whereas Gusto only offers this in its higher tiers.

However, if you need robust third-party software integrations, Gusto has a wider network as compared to Justworks. The latter connects with only QuickBooks Time, QuickBooks, and Xero while the former integrates with accounting, hiring, learning management, time tracking, legal, POS, and collaboration tools.

When to Consider Justworks

If you need 24/7 access to customer support, then consider Justworks. Gusto’s support team is available only on weekdays (from Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific time). You can even contact Justworks’ support team through phone, email, chat, SMS, and Slack. With Gusto, you only get phone, chat, and email support.

Best for Popularity Among Users: Gusto

	Visit Gusto	Visit Justworks
User Feedback	Mostly positive	Mostly positive
Average User Ratings*	4.45 out of 5	4.65 out of 5
Average Number of Reviews*	More than 2,100	Nearly 200
	Read our Gusto Review	Read our Justworks Review

*Data from third-party review sites (such as G2 and Capterra)

To compare Gusto vs Justworks on user popularity, we looked at each providers’ average overall ratings and the number of reviews on third-party review sites like G2 and Capterra. For user ratings, Justworks’ average score is higher than Gusto’s, with a 4.65 out of 5 versus the latter’s 4.45 rating, as of this writing. However, Gusto’s average number of reviews online is higher—it has close to 2,100 compared to Justworks’ nearly 200 reviews.

What Users Think: Gusto vs Justworks

How We Evaluated Gusto vs Justworks

Although we are comparing Gusto vs Justworks, it’s not to declare a winner. Both are excellent services that meet specific needs. Our evaluation highlights the providers’ differences and strengths so that you can decide which service is best for you. Aside from pricing and payroll functionalities, we looked at ease of use, HR features, integration and benefits options, customer support, and whether HR professionals are available to give expert advice.

Click through the tabs below for a more detailed breakdown of our evaluation criteria.

Bottom Line

When choosing Gusto vs Justworks, the main questions you need to ask are, how much HR work do you want to pass to someone else and how important is it for you to offer competitively priced insurance rates?

Both programs offer user-friendly software, access to benefits, and full-service payroll with tax filings and year-end reporting. Although Gusto makes it easy for you to manage your payroll and benefits yourself, Justworks’ PEO service takes on many day-to-day HR tasks and responsibilities.

However, if you want an affordable small business payroll solution with essential HR tools and robust third-party software integrations, Gusto is the best option for you. It may not have Justworks’ PEO services and extensive health insurance coverage (Gusto is limited to only 39 states), but it offers a wide variety of benefits options and even provides employees advance access to a portion of their salaries in case of financial emergencies. Sign up for a Gusto plan today.

Visit Gusto

You May Also Like…

• If you want more alternatives, then check out our guides to the best Justworks competitors and best Gusto competitors.
• If you are looking for more PEO options, then check out our guide to the best PEO companies for small businesses.