Gusto
Runs payroll, benefits and HR paperwork for a small team, with AI answering compliance questions and flagging errors before they become a filing problem.
What you'd use it for
Running payroll and filing the payroll taxes for a US team without hiring an in-house payroll person.
- Run unlimited payroll for W-2 employees and 1099 contractors, with federal and state taxes filed and paid automatically
- Ask whether hiring in a new state triggers a tax registration requirement, and have Gusto handle that registration for you
- Offer employees health insurance and 401(k) enrolment, with the payroll deductions calculated automatically
- Pay contractors in 120+ countries alongside domestic W-2 payroll, without a separate international tool
- Get same-day or instant pay for employees on the Premium plan, instead of waiting for the standard payroll cycle
The verdict
Gusto is a safe default for a US small business that wants payroll and tax filings handled correctly without hiring a bookkeeper, and its AI layer is genuinely useful for catching a filing gap before it becomes a penalty. It stays a compliance tool rather than an autonomous one — a person still approves every payroll run, which is the right amount of automation for something with legal deadlines attached. The tier structure is worth doing arithmetic on before signing up, since single-state Simple looks cheapest right up until you hire in a second state, at which point Plus becomes mandatory regardless of headcount.
What it costs
| Tier | Price | For | Includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple | $49/month plus $6/month per person | A small team that needs payroll and tax filing without much else. | Unlimited payroll runs, direct deposit, tax filings and payments, the Gusto employee app. |
| Plus | $80/month plus $12/month per person | A business that wants workforce reporting and custom roles on top of payroll. | Everything in Simple, plus workforce cost reports and unlimited custom earning types. |
| Premium | $180/month plus $22/month per person | A company that wants same-day and instant pay, and unlimited admin roles. | Everything in Plus, plus same-day pay, instant pay, and unlimited custom admin roles. |
| Contractor Only | $35/month plus $6/month per contractor | A business paying contractors with no W-2 employees yet. | Domestic contractor payments, 4-day pay, 1099 creation and filing. |
Read from Gusto's own pricing page on 25 Sep 2026. Vendors change prices without notice.
What you need to start
- A US business with a federal EIN, or the ability to apply for one through the setup flow
- A business bank account, with routing and account numbers verified by test deposits before the first payroll runs
- Tax registration in every state where an employee physically works, which Gusto can handle for you at extra cost but which must be in place
- The Plus plan or higher if employees work in more than one state — Simple only covers single-state payroll
15 to 30 minutes of data entry, then a one to two business day wait for Gusto to verify your bank account before the first payroll can run.
Your first run The first real result is a completed payroll run — setup itself is 15 to 30 minutes of entering your EIN, bank details and first employee, but Gusto then needs one to two business days to verify your bank account with small test deposits before that first payroll can actually be submitted.
Where it breaks
Browser-based, US-only payroll and HR (no international payroll beyond contractor payments in 120+ countries as an add-on). No contracts; free account setup.
First entry in this reference. There is no previous check to compare it against.
When not to use it
Not for a business hiring full employees outside the US — Gusto's payroll is US-only, and its international reach extends only to contractor payments in 120+ countries, not to employing someone abroad. Also not for a team already spread across multiple states expecting to stay on the cheapest Simple plan, since multi-state payroll requires upgrading to Plus regardless of team size.
Payroll is one of the few business functions where getting it wrong has a real deadline attached — a missed filing is a penalty, not a redo. Gusto’s job is to make that deadline someone else’s problem: it runs payroll on autopilot once set up, files the taxes, and its AI layer answers the compliance question you would otherwise have paid an accountant by the hour to answer, like whether a state registration is needed before you can hire there.
The pricing is per-person on top of a flat base, which is the standard shape for payroll software and worth doing the arithmetic on before comparing headline numbers against Rippling or Deel — a five-person Plus plan and a fifty-person Simple plan can land at a similar monthly bill for very different reasons.
Where it sits on AI is closer to a smart FAQ than an autonomous agent: it flags likely errors and answers questions on request, but a person still approves each payroll run before money moves. That is the right amount of automation for something with legal consequences — full autonomy is not obviously a feature here.
The Contractor Only plan is worth knowing about separately: a business paying only 1099 contractors, with no employees yet, pays a meaningfully lower base rate than the employee plans, and it is easy to overpay by defaulting to Simple before you’ve actually hired anyone.
Alternatives
Money & invoicingAgentsDeel
A platform for hiring and paying contractors or full employees in over 150 countries, with AI answering local compliance and tax questions as you go.
Money & invoicingAgentsQuickBooks
Bookkeeping, invoicing and payroll for small businesses, with Intuit's AI categorising bank transactions, matching receipts and chasing unpaid invoices on its own.
Get Gusto
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