Rippling vs Gusto: Who’s Best for Payroll in 2021

Rippling and Gusto both have easy-to-use and affordable payroll solutions for small to large-scale businesses. Although Rippling’s core product is HR while Gusto’s specialty is payroll, both offer full-service payroll with unlimited pay runs and direct deposits as well as tax processing and filing. They also handle employee benefits and PTO policies and time-off requests.

Even with the similarities, some differences between the two may lead you to choose one more than the other. We’ll evaluate Rippling and Gusto’s essential features below to help you in choosing the payroll solution that fits your business’ specific needs. Here are our recommendations:

• Gusto: Best for new and small businesses needing to automate their payroll processing
• Rippling: Best for startups and growing companies that need help managing employee data and processes

Rippling vs Gusto Overview

Features
Pricing ($/Month)	Core Employee Management: $10 per employee, per month Payroll: $8 per employee, per month	$39 to $149 monthly plus $6 to $12 per employee
Direct Deposit Processing Timelines	Two days	Two days; next-day process with premium plans
Employee Benefits	Health insurance, medical, dental, vision, 401(k), flexible spending accounts, commuter benefits, health savings account, ACA and COBRA administration	Health insurance, life and disability, flexible spending accounts, commuter benefits, and retirement accounts
Health Insurance Coverage	Available in 50 U.S. states and internationally	Available in only 39 US states
Workers' Compensation	Can purchase and manage within all plans	Can purchase and manage within all plans
Payroll Automation	For salaried and hourly workers	For salaried and hourly workers
HR Support	Self-onboarding, state new hire reporting, time tracking,  and HR advisers	Self-onboarding, state new hire reporting, employee directory and surveys, and HR advisers
Expert Review	Rippling Review	Gusto Review

How We Evaluated Rippling vs Gusto

We used a 5-star scale designed to assess payroll solutions and services for small businesses.

We compared both providers’ employee pay, payroll tax processing functionalities, HR tools, and employee benefits that are part of its offerings. We also looked into other key criteria like ease of use, pricing, and customer support, including whether users have access to expert professionals who can provide HR and payroll advice.

Based on our evaluation criteria for small businesses, Gusto scored the highest with an overall rating of 4.66 out of 5 stars. Rippling, on the other hand, received an overall score of 4.01 out of 5 stars. You can click through the tabs in the box below to see our full evaluation criteria.

RUBRIC SCORECARD CRITERIA:

Want to know what other payroll outsourcing options you have? Check out our guide on payroll outsourcing services. And, if you want to shift to a different payroll company, then read our guide on how to switch payroll providers and what to consider before doing it.

Common Features of Rippling and Gusto

• Full-service payroll
• Unlimited pay runs
• Files and pays federal, state, and local taxes
• Year-end tax reports (W-2s and 1099s)
• Direct deposit and manual check capabilities
• PTO management
• Benefits management, including health insurance
• New hire reporting
• Online employee set up and accounts
• Track Sick and Vacation time
• Manage deductions and garnishments
• Reporting tools

When to Choose Gusto Over Rippling

• You are a small business with up to 100 employees; larger companies can use it successfully, but smaller ones find it much easier.
• You need a direct line for phone support to get fast answers to questions related to payroll, benefits, and HR.
• You want affordable full-service payroll with a low-cost option for paying contractors.

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When to Choose Rippling Over Gusto

• You are a small business planning to grow your business significantly in the next few years.
• You want to manage people operations in just one platform from onboarding to offboarding aside from payroll compliance—rather than just offer payroll.
• You want a customizable plan that suits your business’ needs.

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Pricing: Gusto Wins

Between Rippling and Gusto, the former offers affordably-priced product plans that come with unlimited pay runs. However, if we compare the cost of their starter tiers, Gusto is more budget-friendly than Rippling.

For $39 plus $6 per employee monthly, you get full-service payroll with Gusto’s starter plan, Core. On the other hand, you need to pay for Rippling’s Core Employee Management: $10 per employee, per month, then add $8 per employee, per month for payroll. For a small business, Gusto would cost $99 per month for 10 employees, which equates to $1,188 per year. For Rippling, it would cost $180 per month for 10 employees or $2,160 per year.

In addition, Gusto has multiple plan options that can cater to small to midsize enterprises with 1 to 100 employees. Unlike Rippling, you don’t need to pay for the employee management platform at $10 per employee, per month before you can add its payroll services.

• Gusto pricing plans: Core plan ($39 plus $6 per employee monthly), Complete ($39 plus $12 per employee monthly), and Concierge ($149 plus $12 per employee monthly); Contractor plan ($6 per contractor monthly)
• Rippling pricing plans: Core Employee Management: $10 per employee, per month
  Payroll: $8 per employee, per month
  Employee benefits: $6 per employee, per month
  Flex HSA and FSA benefits: $6 per employee, per month
  HR Help Desk: $100 a month
  App management: $8 per employee, per month
  Device management: $8 per employee, per month

Payroll Features: Gusto Wins

Although they have almost the same features when it comes to payroll processing, Gusto still gains the upper hand. Both offer automated payroll and tax processing as well as year-end tax report preparation and online delivery of Form W-2s and 1099s. However, based on our evaluation criteria, Gusto received a higher rating.

Aside from paying employees via direct deposit, Gusto has pay card and pay on-demand options. It also has a four-day to next-day direct deposit turnaround depending on the plan. Apart from regular payroll, you can process bonus, off-cycle, or missing payroll runs using Gusto. If you need help establishing PTO policies, the system allows you to handle time-off requests.

When Rippling’s Payroll Features Are Enough

With Rippling, you can pay your employees and contractors in minutes, wherever they are, from your corporate headquarters to the satellite office anywhere in the world. You can also create job codes that will allow you to track where your employees’ time goes and the cost of that time—by location, client, task, and more. If you need to change employees’ pay rates as they move from job-to-job, there’s a feature that will handle this automatically.

HR Features and Employee Benefits: Rippling Wins

Both Rippling and Gusto offer employee onboarding tools as well as a self-service portal that employees can use to view their pay stubs and employee benefits online. Aside from that, they both handle new hire state reporting, workers’ compensation, and health insurance, including employee offers and document management.

However, despite the two offering similar HR functionalities, Rippling scored better than Gusto for this criteria.

Here’s why:

• Rippling includes PTO policy customization, including review and approval of employees’ time-off requests in its Core Employee Management Plan—but with Gusto, it is part of the premium plans.
• Also, since Rippling’s core product is employee management software, it offers more advanced HR features some companies needs as they grow. For instance, you can pay extra for its applicant tracking system, a product that Gusto does not have.
• Lastly, although Gusto offers health insurance, it is only available in 39 US states, while Rippling’s benefits management is available in all 50 US states.

When Gusto’s HR Features and Employee Benefits Are Enough

If you need health insurance and you’re not in one of the states Gusto hasn’t yet expanded to (Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, West Virginia, Alaska, and Hawaii), you’ll find it easy for you and your employees to sign up.

Also, Gusto can immediately sync all data to simplify payroll deductions without hassle. Aside from giving you access to online offer letters, customizable onboarding tools, employee surveys, and a staff directory it can also customize whatever benefits you offer. Its self-service portal also allows lifetime access for your employees.

Ease of Use, Customer Support, and Integrations: Gusto Wins

Users of both Rippling and Gusto vouch that both providers have user-friendly and intuitive platforms. However, Gusto won in this category, because it provides live phone support for free with all of its plans while Rippling charges extra. Although both offer highly rated in-app chat and email support, problem resolution is much less frustrating when you can talk to a live person.

As for similarities, both Gusto and Rippling have a setup wizard that helps users get the software up and running in no time. They even offer access to HR advisors (at an extra cost), how-to guides, and easy .csv file downloads to Microsoft Excel. When it comes to third-party software integrations, Gusto connects with many popular software small businesses use; if you have some specific software integration needs, check both, because Rippling has a more robust selection (400+ applications).

Gusto and Rippling Payroll User Reviews

• Gusto: On third-party sites, such as G2 and Capterra, reviewers rated it 4.3 and 4.7 stars, respectively. Reviewers mentioned that they find Gusto user-friendly, with robust payroll features. Others added that it has an intuitive platform. The complaints, meanwhile, include occasional software glitches, unresponsive customer support, and a desire for a wider offering of HR and benefits administration tools.
• Rippling: On both G2 and Capterra, reviewers gave it 4.9 stars. Users mentioned that it is easy to use and most of its functions are automated, which makes HR, payroll, and benefits management processes go up and running in no time. On the other hand, there were mixed reviews on its customer support since some reviewers claim that there was no live phone support to immediately address their issues. Some, on the other hand, like that there was a responsive online support team.

Gusto vs Rippling Takeaway

When you are looking for an affordably-priced full-service payroll with HR support, employee benefit options, and third-party software integration partners, Gusto is the best choice for you. It has a four-tier pricing scheme that is suitable for any type of business—startup to midsize levels. It also has unlimited chat, email, and phone support, should you need help.

However, if you require both full-service payroll and an extensive range of HR tools to help you from onboarding to offboarding, then you should choose Rippling over Gusto. You can even process and pay your employees not only in the US but also those in international branches. Plan customization is available as well since each HR and IT service can be purchased separately, alongside the core platform.

Bottom Line

Choosing between Rippling and Gusto may not be as easy as it seems, because both have outstanding features that your company can utilize to make your payroll more efficient. However, you should first consider the types of features your business currently needs and what it’ll need in the near future.

Start by assessing the level of HR and IT support you need. If you’re actively hiring, need an applicant tracking system, want help purchasing and setting up new computer devices, or have international employees, consider Rippling. It might also be worth it if offering health insurance is a priority and you live in one of the 11 states Gusto doesn’t administer it.

However, if your company is a small business that wants a robust set of payroll features with some HR support, including benefits, then consider Gusto. It offers reasonably-priced plans that you can choose from and also has the most affordable option between the two.

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