Overview
Gusto is a payroll, benefits, and HR platform built for small businesses. It handles payroll, benefits, hr, and time tracking, and it's best suited for small us businesses wanting easy payroll and benefits. It has been around since 2012, giving it a 14-year head start in building out integrations and refining the product.
Paid plans start at $40/mo + $6/person, which unlocks the full feature set. It's designed for small teams, striking a balance between simplicity and collaboration features.
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
Pricing estimate
Quick info
- Category
- HR & Recruiting
- Starting price
- $40/mo + $6/person
- Free tier
- No
- Open source
- No
- Best for
- Small teams
- Founded
- 2012
Last updated 2026-04-12
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