Employee Benefits
Set up and manage health insurance, dental, vision, retirement plans, and other benefits with help from Gusto's licensed partners. A simple way to offer real benefits without bringing in a broker.
Payroll and HR software
Key takeaways
Gusto is cloud-based payroll, benefits, and HR software built for small and mid-size businesses. This Gusto HR software review keeps it simple: most teams pick it because full-service payroll, automatic tax filing, onboarding, and benefits all live in one tidy dashboard. The common complaints are slow customer support and a thin feature set on the entry-level Simple plan. If you run a small team without a dedicated HR person, Gusto payroll software for small business is usually one of the first names worth shortlisting.
Starting price
$40
per month, plus $6 per person
- Simple (+$6/person)$40/mo
- Plus (+$9/person)$60/mo
- Premium (+$16.50/person)$135/mo
- Contractor (per contractor)$6/mo
Gusto payroll pricing is shown for reference and can change. The Contractor plan is free for the first 6 months, then $6 per contractor per month.
What is Gusto?
Gusto is cloud-based payroll, benefits, and HR software made for small and growing businesses. It runs payroll on autopilot, calculates and files federal, state, and local taxes, handles direct deposit, and gives new hires a clean self-serve onboarding flow. Everything lives behind one clear interface, which is a big reason owners and office managers stick with it.
At its core, Gusto is best known as full-service payroll done well. The automation around tax filing and direct deposit is what saves small teams the most time, and the built-in compliance nudges help avoid the kinds of mistakes that turn into IRS letters later.
Integrations
Gusto plays nicely with the accounting, expense, scheduling, and HR tools small teams already use:
- QuickBooks
- Xero
- Expensify
- Clover
- 15Five
- DocuSign
- Asana
- Deputy
What's inside
Features
The Gusto plans and features that small teams actually use week to week, from running payroll to staying compliant.
Time Tracking
Built-in time tracking lets employees clock in and out from a phone or laptop. Hours flow straight into payroll, so wages stay accurate and you skip the manual data entry.
Reporting
Pull customizable payroll, benefits, and compliance reports for budgeting, audits, and planning. Quick to read, easy to share, and detailed enough to spot what is driving workforce cost.
HR Tools
Run onboarding with electronic paperwork, set goals, share feedback, and use performance review templates so the people side of the business does not get stuck in email threads.
Compliance
Automatic alerts for changing labor and tax laws, plus secure storage for documents like I-9s and W-4s. Helps small teams stay on the right side of the rules without hiring a specialist.
The honest trade-offs
Pros and cons
Where Gusto shines and where it slips, pulled from verified user reviews.
Pros
- Self-service portal lets employees handle pay stubs, tax forms, and personal info without HR.
- Clean, easy-to-use interface that owners can run themselves on day one.
- Payroll, benefits, and basic HR live in one place instead of three separate vendors.
- Automatic tax filing and direct deposit handle the parts most owners hate doing manually.
Cons
- Customer support can be slow, with long wait times during busy periods.
- The entry-level Simple plan is light on features, so growing teams often jump to Plus or Premium sooner than expected.
Verified customers
Reviews
What small business owners and HR leads say about running payroll, benefits, and HR on Gusto.
from 1,032 reviews
Jordan
Retail, 1-10 employees
“Payroll runs itself now”
Pros
I set up direct deposit and tax filing once and barely think about payday anymore. New hire onboarding is a link the employee finishes on their phone.
Cons
Wish a few of the deeper HR reports were in the Simple plan instead of locked behind Plus.
Priya
Professional services, 51-100 employees
“Solid platform, support is hit or miss”
Pros
The dashboard is intuitive, benefits enrollment was painless for the team, and the integration with QuickBooks keeps accounting clean.
Cons
When something goes sideways, getting a real person on chat can take a while. More native integrations with niche HR tools would help.
M.R.
Hospitality, 11-50 employees
“Great when it works, frustrating when you need help”
Pros
Tax filings are accurate, employees love the mobile access, and contractor payouts are simple.
Cons
Had a payroll issue mid-quarter and it took several days and three reps to sort out. The cost adds up once you add the per-person fees.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers on Gusto payroll pricing, integrations, mobile access, and support before you book a demo.
No, Gusto does not currently offer public API access for direct integrations.
Gusto is available in English.
Gusto connects with popular tools like QuickBooks, Xero, Expensify, Clover, 15Five, DocuSign, Asana, and Deputy, among others.
Yes, Gusto supports mobile use so employees and admins can handle pay, profiles, and tasks from a phone.
Gusto payroll pricing has four tiers: Simple at $40/mo plus $6 per person, Plus at $60/mo plus $9 per person, Premium at $135/mo plus $16.50 per person, and a Contractor-only plan at $6 per contractor per month (free for the first 6 months). Custom options are available for larger teams.
Gusto is widely used across small and mid-size businesses, including construction, healthcare, restaurants, retail, hospitality, nonprofits, and professional services.
Gusto offers a knowledge base, FAQs, phone support, live chat, and email or help desk tickets.