6 BEST Gusto Competitors & Alternatives (2024)

Best Gusto Alternatives

Gusto is one of the best payroll services that assist more than 200,000 companies in managing human resources, running payroll, etc. They provide employee/contractor payments, time tracking, onboarding, communications, unlimited payroll runs, etc. You can use Gusto to streamline your business operations as it administers employee benefits, assists in tax filings, ensures complete compliance with land law, and more.

However, Gusto also has certain drawbacks, such as a lack of proper 24/7 customer support. That’s why we have got 6 of the best Gusto competitors for all your business needs. We researched payroll, direct deposit times, API support, and more to find the best Gusto alternative for you.

Best Gusto Competitors & Alternatives: Top Picks!

Name Compliance Management Time Duration for Direct Deposit API Benefit Administration Link
OnPay Yes 2 – 4 Days Yes FSA, HAS Plans, 401(k)s, Health, Life and Disability Insurance, etc. Learn More
Rippling Yes 2 Days Yes Dental, Vision, and Medical Insurance, 401(k)s, FSA, HSA, etc. Learn More
ADP Payroll Yes 2- 4 Days Yes Workers’ Compensation Insurance, 401(k)s, Health Insurance, etc. Learn More
Paychex Yes 2 Days Yes Retirement Plans, Employee Benefits/Compensations, Dental, Vision and Medical Insurance, etc. Learn More
QuickBooks Payroll Yes 1 Day Yes Life Insurance, Health Insurance, 401(k), etc. Learn More
Paylocity Yes 1 Day No Health Insurance, Retirement Benefits management, etc. Learn More
Expert advice:

services are a critical part of the working of all businesses. Choosing the right service can go a long way in optimizing and improving your business operations. So, you must wisely select the perfect Gusto alternative for all your needs.

1) OnPay

Best selective administrative access

OnPay provides features for attendance, time tracking, migration, payments, and more to meet all your HR needs. You can automate garnishments deductions for your employees using custom logic, filters, and conditionals. It is one of the best accounting software that offers advanced features to incorporate sick leaves, medical leaves, remote work hours, and more into your payroll system.

You can enjoy free migration and easy importing tools to transition from your current payroll service to OnPay effortlessly. It also offers built-in self-service dashboards to access their documents and tax filing data whenever possible.

OnPay
4.8

Integrations: Guideline, When I Work, Deputy, etc.

Customer Support: Emails, Phone, Live Chat, FAQs, and Forums

Devices Supported: Cloud

Free Trial: 30 Days Free Trial

Visit OnPay

Features:

  • Supports payments via Direct Deposits, Debit Cards, and Credit Cards with no additional costs
  • Provides a detailed knowledge base to teach you how to run payroll, manage HR, and administer employee benefits.
  • Built-in tools to simply human resource management, optimize new hire reporting, automate onboarding, perform document audits, etc.
  • Customizable HR functions to simplify employee management, paperwork, onboarding, PTO, and more.
  • Direct Deposit Time: 2 to 4 Days
  • Automated Pay Runs: No
  • Compliance Management: Yes
  • Benefits Administration: FSA, HAS Plans, 401(k)s, Health, Life and Disability Insurance, etc.
  • Integrations: When I Work, Deputy, Guideline, etc.
  • Tax Management: W-2s and 1099s

Pros

  • Easily Integrated with all primary accounting services
  • Allows quickly building reports with many filters and exporting them in Excel, PDFs, etc.
  • Provides unlimited payrolls with the ability to customize the running frequency

Cons

  • Lacks proper payroll automation

Key specs:

API: Yes
Customer Support: Emails, Phone, Live Chat, FAQs, and Forums
Devices Supported: Cloud
Pricing: $40 + $6 per month
Free Trial: Yes, 30 Days

How does OnPay compare to Gusto?

  • Unlike Gusto, OnPay allows building custom employee onboarding workflows at no extra cost
  • OnPay provides much better real-time reports with plenty of filters to use

Visit OnPay >>


2) Rippling

Best IT-driven robust payroll solution

Rippling is one of the best Gusto alternatives that help you track money, manage human resources, streamline IT operations, and manage logistics. It comes bundled with document management, E-signatures, a smooth employee onboarding process, and portals. The Unified Workforce Directory organizes all employee details and actions to enable quick access.

Rippling is ideal for businesses searching for cost-effective human resource management solutions for their company. It offers management capabilities that let you grant your staff limited administrative access via the Rippling dashboard.

Rippling
5.0

Integrations: Slack, Dropbox, Wrike, Asana, Freshdesk, etc.

Customer Support: Email, Knowledge base, Phone, Chat, and 24/7 Help Desk

Devices Supported: Cloud, Android, iOS, Windows, macOS

Free Trial: No

Visit Rippling

Features:

  • Allows effortless employee location, task, and time tracking,
  • Multiple tools ensure smooth onboarding for recruits
  • Create and export custom reports with a variety of parameters and built-in filters
  • Provides built-in professional workflow templates for effortless automation
  • Direct Deposit Time: 2 Days
  • Automated Pay Runs: Yes
  • Compliance Management: Yes
  • Benefits Administration: Dental, Vision, and Medical Insurance, 401(k)s, FSA, HSA, etc.
  • Integrations: Wrike, Asana, Freshdesk, etc.
  • Tax Management: W4, W2, 1099, and new hire filing
  • Customer Support: 24/7 Support, Email, FAQs, Phone Support, Chat, and Knowledge Base.

Pros

  • Wide range of integrations with third party apps to work effectively with your existing workflow.
  • A simple migration process ensures minimum effort is required for shifting to Rippling.
  • Dedicated onboarding representatives assist you in setup and configuration.

Cons

  • Generally, a complex setup for inexperienced users and small businesses.

Key specs:

API: Yes
Devices Supported: Cloud, Windows, macOS, Android, iOS.
Pricing: Starts at $8 per user per month
Free Trial: No

How does Rippling compare to Gusto?

  • Rippling is better than Gusto in helping you adapt to your changing needs as the business scales up
  • Unlike Gusto, Rippling has a completely integrated system to buy each service individually according to your specific needs and still enjoy very tight integrations

Visit Rippling >>


3) ADP Payroll

Best documentation and guidance to assist developers

ADP provides quality multi-currency payroll services in more than 140 countries. It offers robust payroll features to meet the specific needs of different businesses, including startups, solopreneurs, and MNCs. You can effortlessly set up their time-tracking and attendance management features in your existing business setup.

You can use it to quickly generate quarter and annual business reports to understand, analyze, and optimize your business performance. Their PEO services allow you to establish a proper and efficient setup of all core HR functions without spending too much on it.

ADP
4.7

Integrations: Xero, Wave, ClockShark, When I Work, etc.

Customer Support: Emails, Phone, Live Chat, FAQs, and Forums

Devices Supported: Cloud

Free Trial: 3 Months Free Trial

Visit ADP

Features:

  • Assists in automated tax calculations and payments
  • Built-in self-service dashboard provides easy-to-use tools and attractive perks for all your employees
  • Provides data-driven reports to analyze employee data and focus on the most critical areas
  • Recommendations to help you abide by the ever-changing land laws in all 50 states
  • Direct Deposit Time: 2 to 4 Days
  • Automated Pay Runs: Yes
  • Compliance Management: Yes
  • Benefits Administration: Workers’ Compensation Insurance, 401(k)s, Medical Insurance, etc.
  • Integrations: QuickBooks, Workday, Sage, etc.
  • Tax Management: W2, W4, 1099s, etc.

Pros

  • Multiple features and tools to specifically manage businesses of different sizes
  • Provides tools for smooth recruitment, onboarding, training, and orientation of recruits
  • Realtime activity monitoring allows you to keep an eye on all business aspects.

Cons

  • Often has a lot of hidden fees.

Key specs:

API: Yes
Customer Support: Emails, Phone, Online Live Chat, Community Forums, and Frequently Asked Questions
Devices Supported: Cloud
Pricing: Free Demo
Free Trial: Contact Customer Support For Pricing

How does ADP compare to Gusto?

  • Unlike Gusto, ADP provides 24/7 customer support
  • Provides tools to help in the “return to workplace” transition after COVID-19

Visit ADP Payroll >>


4) Paychex

Best payroll software for accuracy and simplicity

Paychex is an ideal workforce management solution and one of the best Gusto competitors in terms of tools to manage payroll and perform audits over employee files and paperwork. You can use their advanced tools and 200+ dedicated compliance professionals to ensure complete compliance with the ever-changing land law.

This payroll software automatically calculates and submits taxes by minimizing costs while ensuring complete compliance. HR software features help you manage and retain existing employees to attract newer employees. You can enjoy an easily configurable dashboard with multiple views and charts with Paychex.

Paychex
4.7

Integrations: Altametrix, Deputy, Beekeeper, etc.

Customer Support: Live Chat, Emails, Phone, 24/7 Support, and Community

Devices Supported: Cloud, Android, iOS, macOS, Windows.

Free Trial: No

Visit Paychex

Features:

  • Free, user-friendly mobile app for you and your employees
  • Supports payments via Direct Deposits, pay cards, paper checks, etc.
  • This is one of the best companies like gusto, provides tool to calculate, file, and pay payroll taxes effortlessly
  • Direct Deposit Time: 2 Days
  • Automated Pay Runs: Yes
  • Compliance Management: Yes
  • Benefits Administration: Health, Dental, Vision Insurance, Retirement Plans, Disability Insurance, etc.
  • Integrations: Altametrix, Deputy, Beekeeper, etc.
  • Tax Management: W-2s, W-4s and 1099s

Pros

  • Multiple plans for managing the needs of different business sizes
  • Offers additional features like employee retention tax credit can help you.
  • Checks for any issues, mistakes, and omissions before every payroll run.

Cons

  • Lacks proper support for employee discounts
  • Does not provide any free trial.

Key specs:

API: Yes
Customer Support: Live Chat, Emails, Phone, 24/7 Support, and Community
Devices Supported: Cloud, Android, iOS, macOS, Windows.
Pricing: Contact Customer Support For Pricing
Free Trial: No

How does Paychex compare to Gusto?

  • Paychex provides far better plans than Gusto to address the unique needs of SMEs, Solopreneurs, and Medium Scale Businesses
  • Paychex provides much better support for job postings and screening process (including background checks) compared to Gusto

Visit Paychex >>


5) QuickBooks Payroll

Best software to combine invoicing, accounting, and payroll

QuickBooks payroll software is ideal for managing all your financial needs in one place. They provide multiple functional solutions to address your payroll, do proper accounting and generate bills from one place. Its Tax Penalty Protection feature ensures complete compliance in all your taxation-related affairs. You can also take the assistance of their dedicated payroll specialist for easy initial setup and migration from your existing payroll service.

You get professionally designed simple templates for building policies, guidelines, handbooks, checklists, and more. It integrates into your workflow effortlessly by synchronizing with accounting software and many other tools.

Quickbooks
4.6

Integrations: QuickBooks Accounting, Big Time, etc.

Customer Support: Phone, Email Support, Live Online Chat, FAQs, and Community

Devices Supported: Android, iOS, and Cloud.

Free Trial: 30 Day Free Trial

Visit Quickbooks

Features:

  • Highly trained professionals help review/configure your payroll system
  • Allows providing delegate access to your accountants for maintaining records
  • Effortless automated backups help keep all your payroll data safe.
  • This alternatives to gusto tool to help optimize/manage garnishments and deductions
  • Direct Deposit Time: 1 Day
  • Automated Pay Runs: Yes
  • Compliance Management: Yes
  • Benefits Administration: Health Insurance, Life Insurance, 401(k), etc.
  • Integrations: QuickBooks Accounting, Big Time, etc.
  • Tax Management: W-2s and 1099s tax forms

Pros

  • Detailed knowledge base to assist you in learning about payroll and HR services.
  • Fast and dependable 1-Day Direct Deposits to optimize your cash flow.
  • Personal HR Advisors assist you in doing everything right.

Cons

  • Charge additional fees for multiple tax filings.

Key specs:

API: Yes
Customer Support: Phone, Email Support, Live Online Chat, FAQs, and Community
Devices Supported: Android, iOS, and Cloud.
Pricing: $37.50 + $5 per employee month
Free Trial: Yes, 30 Days

How does QuickBooks Payroll compare to Gusto?

  • QuickBooks payroll offers a far better user experience for Android and iOS
  • It gives you much faster payroll processing with next-day deposits, which are not available with Gusto

Visit QuickBooks >>


6) Paylocity

Best employee self-service portal

Paylocity ensures proper payroll execution by testing, reviewing, revising, and verifying your records before every payroll run. It is one of the best payroll services for employee benefits management like 401(K), retirement plans, and more. They provide plenty of payroll solutions built specially to accommodate the needs of small businesses and solopreneurs.

Paylocity’s Garnishment Management Services manage all your employee benefit and deductions requirements while maintaining complete compliance. It provides custom payroll reports about employee-level and company-level taxation in real-time. Their advanced systems take any taxation-related notices without needing you to get involved.

Paylocity

Features:

  • Detailed insights and metrics to understand and optimize your business performance
  • Automatically calculates all employee taxes and assists in federal and local tax filings
  • Assists in mitigating risks of potential compliance penalties
  • Expense management tools help automate reimbursements and eliminate unnecessary paperwork.
  • Direct Deposit Time: 2-3 Days
  • Automated Pay Runs: Yes
  • Compliance Management: Yes
  • Benefits Administration: Medical Insurance, 401(k) Plans, Retirement Benefits, etc.
  • Integrations: 24HourFlex, Alight, AirMason, etc.
  • Tax Management: W-2, W-4 and 1099

Pros

  • Provides data-driven reports and business insights to help you make better decisions
  • Native mobile app to ensure it is accessible from anywhere at any time
  • Dedicated customer support representative to help you with all your issues

Cons

  • The setup takes a lot of time and does not have a very easy-to-use UI

Key specs:

API: Yes
Customer Support: Online Live Chat, Emails, 24/7 Call Support, FAQs, and Online Forum
Devices Supported: Android, iOS, Cloud, Windows, macOS.
Pricing: Contact Customer Support For Pricing
Free Trial: Free Demo

How does Paylocity compare to Gusto?

  • Provides a far more straightforward onboarding process for recruits
  • Unlike Gusto, it has a robust native desktop and mobile app

Link: https://www.paylocity.com/

FAQs

Gusto is one of the ideal payroll and HR software, but they have some drawbacks due to which you might consider switching out of Gusto.

Like:

  • It has a pretty average interface for Android and iOS. Many competitors have far better mobile apps than Gusto.
  • Many Gusto competitors provide quicker direct deposit speeds to pay employees far faster than Gusto.

Here are the best Gusto Competitors: