The 9 Best Gusto Alternatives

With nearly 700,000 small business customers, ADP has made a name for itself as a leader among payroll processing companies. Business owners who are new to ADP (or to payroll software, in general) will appreciate the platform’s organized interface.

Additionally, ADP staff are on hand to walk customers through the setup process. ADP’s employee portal is very user-friendly and makes it easy for workers to access pay stubs, tax forms, and other HR information. This level of support is reflected in numerous positive reviews from small business customers. On the flipside, some customers have expressed frustration with less than straightforward pricing structures.

A Quick Look At ADP Pricing

ADP Run includes four different plans—ADP Essential, ADP Enhanced, ADP Complete & HR Plus, and ADP HR Pro—and multiple options for add-on features. However, pricing is not disclosed online so you’ll have to call for a quote. The Enhanced plan gives businesses access to a suite of other payroll and HR services, such as a ZipRecruiter subscription, employee background checks, and assistance complying with local labor laws. ADP’s top-tier plans provide the greatest level of customization to a business’s individual needs.

Read our full Gusto vs ADP comparison for more details about how the two differ.

Square offers an assortment of business software and services. Overall, Square’s products have a reputation for being easy to use and adaptable to a customer’s needs. Square Payroll is ideal if you’re using any of the company’s other services, like the Square point-of-sale platform. Square Payroll can be up and running in a matter of minutes and takes minimal training time, even if you’re not overly familiar with payroll software.

Square covers core payroll functions, such as direct deposit, tax withholdings, and the ability to automate payroll runs. Businesses interested in more complex features, such as benefits administration and employee management, can tack them on a Square plan for an additional cost. Compatibility with other Square products, like Square POS and Square Appointments, for example, makes it easy to coordinate payroll, sales, and scheduling in one place. Square may not be a strong Gusto alternative when it comes to the variety of integrations, but the payroll provider does support a handful of third-party apps, including QuickBooks, ZipRecruiter, SimplyInsured, and QuickBooks Time.

A Quick Look At Square Payroll Pricing

Square payroll has two aptly named plans: the Pay Contractors Only Plan and Pay Employees & Contractors Plan. Businesses employing independent 1099 workers will pay just $5 per contractor paid each month. Any customer with both W-2 and 1099 employees will pay a base fee of $29 a month + $5 per person paid.

Read about Square Payroll vs Gusto for more information about how the two payroll providers compare.

QuickBooks Online Payroll integrates directly with QuickBooks Online, meaning that if you’re already a QuickBooks Online user for accounting, you might want to strongly look into this software as well. It offers full-service payroll across all of its pricing platforms, along with benefits and retirement plan options.

As an ADP alternative, QuickBooks Online Payroll shines when it comes to integrations, as it can sync with over 400 apps, including numerous POS, time tracking, and project management programs. A drawback of QuickBooks is the basic level of the reporting tools. For some small businesses, QuickBooks Online Payroll’s reporting on payroll, taxes, employee benefits, and PTO may be sufficient.

A Quick Look At QuickBooks Online Payroll Pricing

This ADP alternative has three plans from which to choose: Core, Essentials, and Elite. Intuit Online Payroll pricing includes a base fee and variable cost per employee. Here’s how it works out for each plan:

• Core: $70/month + $4/month per employee
• Essentials: $95/month + $4/month per employee
• Elite: $155/month + $8/month per employee

Check out our Gusto VS QuickBooks comparison for a full breakdown of how these payroll solutions differ.

Aside from its core payroll functions, Paychex is reputed for offering benefits administration from “hire to retire.” Small businesses offering health insurance, retirement plans, and other comprehensive benefits may prefer Paychex’s in-depth offerings and ability to integrate everything in one place. It’s worth noting that the extra cost for these add-on features can accumulate quickly.

If customers encounter any problems later on, a Paychex representative is available 24/7 by phone or live chat. And with over 100 brick-and-mortar offices, in-person assistance may be feasible based on where your business is located. Small business employees can also get the support they need through Paychex’s Help Center.

A Quick Look At Paychex Pricing

Paychex’s Essentials Plan starts at $39 a month plus $5 per additional employee, which is affordable and comparable to Gusto albeit with a basic feature set. Its two higher-tiered plans, which require a call to a representative for a pricing quote, have advanced features like a dedicated specialist and additional integrations.

As its name suggests, benefits are a core component of payroll solution Zenefits. In fact, payroll is an add-on module that must be purchased in combination with one of the company’s three HR software plans: Essentials, Growth, and Zen. Payroll comes at an additional cost of $6 per employee with any of these options.

A robust HR platform has its advantages for Zenefits payroll customers. For example, new hire reporting, time tracking, PTO, and benefits deductions are all automatically synced between the HR and payroll modules. Zenefits also covers direct deposits, tax filings, multiple pay rates, garnishments, reporting on tipped earnings, and issuing bonuses. Zenefits can integrate with a host of productivity, accounting, and learning software too. Meanwhile, extensive reporting options can provide insight into business operations and payroll topics.

A Quick Look At Zenefits Pricing

The Essentials plan costs $10/month per employee and is the most rudimentary in terms of workforce management. Its main features are employee onboarding, document management, scheduling, and a mobile app for recording hours worked and accessing HR information. The Growth plan increases the per employee cost to $18/month, but provides compensation and performance management for employees. The Zen plan, which costs $27/month per employee, gives access to top-level HR management tools and employee benefits.

If you’re looking for more information, our post on Zenefits vs Gusto provides a good breakdown of how the two payroll software apps differ.

Justworks offers basic payroll software for small businesses but, in this case, basic is a good thing. Justworks keeps things simple from its two transparent pricing tiers to its interface, which is so easy to use it can be mastered with minimal training. Larger businesses with complex payroll needs might be wanting some additional features, but for those looking for a platform that simply checks all of the boxes at an affordable price, Justworks gets the job done.

With its basic pricing level, you get things like 24/7 customer support, HR consulting, and PTO management. Its customer service is also extremely highly rated and you can reach them almost instantly at any time of day. Justworks offers only a limited number of integrations if you’re looking to add on to your software.

A Quick Look At Justworks Pricing

Justworks pricing is refreshingly upfront. It starts at $49/month per employee for its Basic plan and its Plus plan is $99/month per employee. When you upgrade, you get access to COBRA administration and health advocacy services. Time tracking is an additional $8/month per employee.

Paylocity is a powerhouse in the world of payroll software with virtually every feature and integration you could imagine. But, also as you might imagine, a feature set that robust puts it on the higher end when it comes to price. As such, Paylocity is probably best suited for mid-sized to larger businesses. The good news is that, for those businesses, even with extensive payroll needs, Paylocity is more than capable.

It has all the basics like time tracking, employee management, and a wide variety of reports. Paylocity really shines when it comes to its integrations, of which it boasts more than 300. It also has strong customer service, although there have been some complaints of the software being difficult to use at times.

A Quick Look At Paylocity Pricing

Unfortunately, Paylocity doesn’t disclose its pricing online and you will need to contact a sales representative for a quote. But you can expect that it will be on par with other similar, higher-end payroll services.

OnPay is an excellent piece of HR software with just one simple and affordable pricing plan. OnPay features automated tax support and has a solid number of integrations, including strong accounting platforms like QuickBooks and Xero. One of its more unique features is that it has a Report Designer, which allows you to save custom payroll reports. It also has employee self-service functionality and a built-in HR platform, giving you everything a small business would need from payroll software.

OnPay’s biggest plus is how simple its pricing structure is. OnPay has a flat fee and even a tool on its website to calculate the cost for your business. While Gusto might be better suited for larger businesses, OnPay’s customizable reports are a really nice feature and its integrations hold up with any of its competitors.

A Quick Look At OnPay Pricing

OnPay’s pricing is extremely simple. It starts at $36/month + $4/month per employee with no additional hidden fees.

Rippling is another excellent solution for medium to larger businesses. The product is exceptionally well-reviewed online with much of the praise revolving around just how easy it is to set up and operate. This is high praise when you consider just how in-depth its features are. Rippling has very strong time tracking, benefits administration, and COBRA administration along with everything else you would expect from a large-scale payroll software service.

It’s also a great option if you have international workers, something which gives it a leg up on Gusto. Rippling has a strong mobile app and in-depth reporting. If there are any issues with Rippling it would be with its customer service department. While many users give it good reviews, more than a handful of others say that representatives have struggled to help when they have had issues.

A Quick Look At Rippling Pricing

To get the full picture of what you can expect to pay with Rippling, you’ll have to speak to a representative; the company does not disclose its pricing online. However, you can get started with Rippling at the most basic level for $8/month per user.