Gusto: our default pick for payroll

Gusto is the payroll platform we recommend most often, especially for businesses running their first payroll or managing a small, straightforward team. Here's why.

Pricing that scales with the size of the team

Gusto has three main plans for businesses with W-2 employees:

• Simple ($49/mo + $6/employee): single-state payroll, basic onboarding, and standard employee self-service.
• Plus ($80/mo + $12/employee): adds multi-state payroll and time tracking, which matters for any business with remote employees or more than one location.
• Premium ($180/mo + $22/employee): full-service payroll, benefits, and HR support with a dedicated customer success manager, built for larger or more complex teams.

There's also a contractor-only plan at $35/mo + $6/contractor for businesses that only pay 1099 contractors. Gusto is month to month, so nothing locks you into a plan you've outgrown or a plan that's too much for where you are.

No charge for running payroll more than once

Some payroll providers charge extra for off-cycle runs: a bonus check, a correction, a termination that can't wait until the next scheduled pay date. Gusto includes unlimited payroll runs on every plan, so a business owner isn't stuck delaying a fix to avoid a fee, or scrambling to combine an off-cycle payment into the next regular run.

Every plan also includes automatic tax filings and compliance support, which covers most of the reason payroll feels risky to run in the first place: getting the filings wrong.

It handles contractors without extra per-person fees

If your team is a mix of employees and 1099 contractors, or entirely contractors, Gusto supports payments to contractors in more than 120 countries with no monthly per-contractor fee. That matters for businesses that scaled up with freelance or international talent before hiring their first W-2 employee, which describes a lot of the small businesses we work with.

It connects to the rest of your books

Gusto syncs with QuickBooks Online, so payroll expenses, tax liabilities, and employer contributions land in the right accounts without manual journal entries. For a business already using QBO for its books, that connection is most of the reason payroll software choice matters at all.

Where it's not the right fit

Gusto works well for small to mid-sized teams, but a business with complex multi-entity payroll, certified payroll requirements, or a large workforce with heavy HR needs may outgrow it. We work with a few clients on other platforms for exactly that reason. Part of our job is matching you to the tool that fits your team, not just the one we recommend most often.

Want to set up payroll with Gusto?

You can start with Gusto here.

Not sure if your payroll setup is working for you?

A Vibe Check is a good place to start. We'll look at what you're using now and whether it's serving you. No pressure, just a clear picture. Schedule yours here.

Keep reading

• What QuickBooks Online gets right, and where it stops making sense — where Gusto's payroll data lands once it's synced.
• Hiring your first employee: what you need to do — EIN, I-9, payroll setup, and everything else that comes before your first payroll run.

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