G

Gusto

HR & People Management

Payroll, benefits, and HR for growing businesses

Founded 2011San Francisco, CA, USA2,000+ employeessubscriptionFrom Simple $40/month + $6/person; Plus $80/month + $12/person; Premium $180/month + $22/personVerified · Sep 2026
Visit Website

About Gusto

Gusto is a cloud-based payroll, benefits, and HR platform built for small businesses in the US, offering full-service payroll, automated tax filings, health benefits, and employee onboarding tools.

Editorial Assessment

Gusto is a US-focused payroll, HR, and benefits platform built for small and medium businesses, offering full-service payroll with automatic tax filing, health insurance administration, 401(k), workers' comp, hiring tools, and onboarding from a single platform. Founded in 2012 by Josh Reeves, Edward Kim, and Tomer London in San Francisco (originally named ZenPayroll), Gusto rebranded in 2015 to reflect its broader HR ambitions. The platform serves over 300,000 businesses and processes over $150 billion in annual payroll. Gusto's core differentiation in the crowded payroll market is its people-first UX: employees receive paystubs, benefits summaries, time-off requests, and financial wellness tools through a polished employee self-service portal. Pricing: Simple ($40/month + $6/person) provides full-service payroll and automated tax filing. Plus ($80/month + $12/person) adds next-day direct deposit, time tracking, and PTO management. Premium ($180/month + $22/person) adds HR advisors, performance reviews, and priority support. The per-person pricing means Gusto becomes more expensive relative to competitors as headcount grows. Gusto does not support international payroll or EOR — it is US-only — which limits its utility for remote-first companies hiring globally. Gusto's strengths are US payroll accuracy, benefits integration (Gusto brokers and administers health insurance in all 50 states), and an onboarding experience that takes new employees through paperwork and benefits enrollment digitally.

Strengths
  • Automatic payroll tax filing and payments in all 50 US states
  • Health insurance brokerage and administration across all 50 states
  • Polished employee self-service portal for paystubs, benefits, and time off
  • 401(k) and financial wellness tools (Gusto Wallet) included
  • Workers' compensation insurance integration
  • Gusto Global for some international contractor payments (not full EOR)
  • Strong onboarding flow for paperwork, I-9, direct deposit setup
Limitations
  • US-only payroll — cannot pay international employees via EOR or local entity
  • Per-person pricing escalates significantly as headcount grows beyond 50+ employees
  • Premium plan required for HR advisor access
  • Performance management and advanced HR features less comprehensive than dedicated HRIS
  • No built-in ATS (applicant tracking) without third-party integration

Best For

US-based small businesses that want automated payroll, benefits, and tax filing in one platform Companies in the 5–100 employee range wanting a modern, employee-friendly payroll experience Businesses that want Gusto to broker and administer health insurance alongside payroll HR-less small businesses where the Simple plan handles everything at low cost

Not Ideal For

Companies hiring internationally — Deel or Remote are needed for EORLarge enterprises (500+ employees) where per-person pricing becomes cost-prohibitiveOrganizations needing advanced talent management, LMS, or performance management

Key Features

Full-service US payroll with auto tax filingHealth insurance brokerage (all 50 states)Employee self-service portal401(k) and financial wellness toolsTime tracking and PTO management (Plus+)Workers' compensation integrationOnboarding and digital document managementHR advisors (Premium)

Who It's For

US small businesses with 5–100 employeesStartups establishing payroll and benefits for first employeesSMBs wanting payroll and health insurance brokered togetherHR managers at companies without dedicated payroll staff

Integrations

QuickBooksXeroSlackCloverTSheetsGreenhouse

Platforms

web ios android

Founders

  • Josh Reeves
  • Edward Kim
  • Tomer London

Products & Tools

Gusto Payroll and HRPayroll / HR
Visit

Full-service US payroll with automatic tax filing, health insurance administration, and employee self-service portal.

subscriptionFrom Simple $40/month + $6/person; Plus $80/month + $12/person
Payroll tax filingHealth insurance brokerage401(k)Employee portalTime tracking

Sources & Verification

Last reviewed September 2026

Alternatives to Gusto

B

BambooHR

HR software for small and mid-sized businesses

R

Rippling

HR, IT, and Finance platform for global companies

View all Gusto alternatives

Related Companies

D

Deel

Global payroll and compliance for distributed teams

L

Lattice

People management platform for performance and growth

C

Culture Amp

Employee experience platform for people-first companies

X

Xero

Cloud accounting software for small businesses

Tags

PayrollHRBenefitsSmall Business

Category

SaaS Companies

HR & People Management

Browse all companies →

Compare

See how Gusto compares to other tools side by side.

Compare

Looking for agencies that work with Gusto?

Browse verified agencies on GoContento that specialise in this platform.

Find Agencies

Official Website

gusto.com

Own This Company?

Claim this listing to manage your company profile on GoContento.

Claim This Listing