What is the difference between Lever and Gusto?

Lever is best for Talent teams wanting a combined ATS + CRM, while Gusto is best for Small US businesses wanting easy payroll and benefits. Lever starts at Custom and Gusto starts at $40/mo + $6/person.

Is Lever or Gusto cheaper?

Lever starts at Custom. Gusto starts at $40/mo + $6/person.

Lever vs Gusto

Lever is talent acquisition suite combining ATS and CRM for proactive recruiting, while Gusto is payroll, benefits, and HR platform built for small businesses. The biggest difference up front: Lever is free, while Gusto starts at $40/mo + $6/person. Lever is built for talent teams wanting a combined ats + crm, whereas Gusto targets small us businesses wanting easy payroll and benefits.

At a glance

	Lever	Gusto
Best for	Talent teams wanting a combined ATS + CRM	Small US businesses wanting easy payroll and benefits
Starting price	Custom	$40/mo + $6/person
Free tier	—	—
Open source	—	—
Free tier available	—	—
Open source	—	—
ATS + CRM	✓	—
Analytics	✓	—
Benefits	—	✓
Diversity	✓	—
HR	—	✓
Nurture Campaigns	✓	—
Payroll	—	✓
Time Tracking	—	✓

Lever

Strengths

Includes ATS + CRM as a core feature, purpose-built for hr & recruiting workflows
Includes Nurture Campaigns as a core feature, purpose-built for hr & recruiting workflows
Focused toolset keeps the interface clean and easy to navigate
Established product with 14+ years on the market and a mature ecosystem

Weaknesses

No free tier, so you can't try it without committing to a paid plan
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Ecosystem of third-party integrations is smaller than the market leaders in hr & recruiting
Mobile experience lags behind the desktop version in features and polish

Try Lever → Full review

Gusto

Strengths

Includes Payroll as a core feature, purpose-built for hr & recruiting workflows
Includes Benefits as a core feature, purpose-built for hr & recruiting workflows
Pricing starts at $40/mo + $6/person, which includes the full hr & recruiting feature set
Established product with 14+ years on the market and a mature ecosystem

Weaknesses

Starts at $40/mo + $6/person — on the expensive side, especially for small teams or solo users
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Ecosystem of third-party integrations is smaller than the market leaders in hr & recruiting
Limited team/admin features if your organization eventually scales up

Try Gusto → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Lever is completely free, which makes it the obvious pick if budget is the top concern. Gusto starts at $40/mo + $6/person. That cost buys you a more polished or feature-rich experience, so it comes down to whether the extras justify the spend.

Feature gaps: Lever offers ATS + CRM, Analytics and Diversity that Gusto lacks. Gusto brings Benefits, HR and Payroll that Lever does not have.

Team fit: Lever is geared toward mid-size teams teams, while Gusto is aimed at small teams teams. Pick the one that matches where your team is today and where it is headed — migrating tools later is always painful.

Where each tool shines: Lever's biggest strengths are: includes ats + crm as a core feature, purpose-built for hr & recruiting workflows. includes nurture campaigns as a core feature, purpose-built for hr & recruiting workflows. Gusto's biggest strengths are: includes payroll as a core feature, purpose-built for hr & recruiting workflows. includes benefits as a core feature, purpose-built for hr & recruiting workflows.

Watch out for: With Lever, users commonly note that no free tier, so you can't try it without committing to a paid plan. With Gusto, the main complaint is that starts at $40/mo + $6/person — on the expensive side, especially for small teams or solo users.

Choose Lever if...

You need a tool built for talent teams wanting a combined ats + crm
Budget is a hard constraint — Lever is free, Gusto is not
You specifically need ATS + CRM and Analytics
You care about includes nurture campaigns as a core feature, purpose-built for hr & recruiting workflows
Your team size fits the mid-size teams profile Lever is designed for

Choose Gusto if...

You need a tool built for small us businesses wanting easy payroll and benefits
You specifically need Benefits and HR
You care about includes benefits as a core feature, purpose-built for hr & recruiting workflows
Your team size fits the small teams profile Gusto is designed for