Top 6 Gusto alternatives and competitors for HR teams

Few tasks are as crucial as payroll for businesses and human resources departments. Not only does payroll significantly impact an organization’s workforce, but it also affects the company itself. Running payroll efficiently means that employees are paid accurately and on time, which is essential in building and maintaining employee satisfaction and trust. Businesses of all sizes, especially smaller ones, benefit from using payroll software like Gusto to automate repetitive tasks, freeing up valuable time and resources.

If you’re considering using Gusto as your payroll platform (or already using it), you might wonder if other payroll or HRIS options might better suit your needs. This article will explore top payroll software competitors. In it, we’ll analyze the features and benefits of other payroll and HR software providers to help you choose how you automate payroll. 

What is Gusto? 

Gusto is a popular cloud-based payroll provider that offers HR tools and support primarily to small businesses and startups. Gusto is a straightforward payroll solution that allows you to customize the platform to the needs of your business. For example, you can set salaries or hourly wage rates and run payroll as often as  you want with unlimited payroll runs. Plus, you can automate the entire process. In addition, Gusto can automatically calculate and take care of payroll tax filing for you, keeping your business compliant with federal, state, and local tax laws. 

Gusto also handles benefits administration. With Gusto, employers can choose and purchase small group benefits like health insurance for their workforce. Employee benefits packages are customizable and can that include college savings, commuter benefits, wellness stipends, and more.

Gusto may fit the bill for smaller companies that don’t require complex payroll and HR solutions. However, for businesses focused on growth, Gusto’s scaling limitations may not meet their long-term goals.

Some other limitations with Gusto:

• Initial set-up requires up-front data entry, which can be substantial if you have a large workforce
• No out-of-the-box workflows
• Mobile app features depend on pricing plan
• Limited integrations
• No invoicing or accounts receivable features
• Limited scalability
• Limited report customizability

Best Gusto alternatives

There are several great Gusto alternatives, and we’ve picked some of the best options. Each platform offers its own set of payroll and HR features and tools, and these may be a better fit for growing companies. Let’s take a closer look at the best alternatives, their pricing, and their pros and cons. 

Rippling

Rippling unifies HR, IT, and Finance systems into one easy-to-use platform. Businesses using Rippling can fully automate repetitive busywork across every system, including global payroll management, benefits, time tracking, app and device management, and more.  Rippling is highly rated by customers and the business press. 

Pricing: Starts at $8 per employee, per month

Pros: 

• Comprehensive and highly customizable platform
• Over 600 integrations
• Over 100 out-of-the-box workflows
• Advanced and customizable reporting

Cons:

• No free trial
• Frequent software updates 
• Some features not available on the mobile app

Paychex 

Paychex is another alternative to Gusto that offers an all-in-one solution that includes payroll, time and attendance, and benefits administration. Customizable packages are available for businesses of all sizes, from self-employed business owners to organizations with 1,000+ employees. 

Pricing:

• Paychex Flex Essentials: $39 per month plus $5 per person
• Paychex Flex Select: $47 per month plus $3 per person
• Paychex Flex Pro: $95 per month plus $3 per person
• Paychex Flex Enterprise: Pricing upon request

Pros:

• Automatic tax calculation and administration
• Packages for different-sized businesses
• Mobile app 

Cons:

• Basic functionalities: Additional fees for administering some benefits (medical, dental, vision), employee portal access not lifetime 
• Legacy platform and technology
• Limited ability to scale 

ADP

ADP is one of the best-known Gusto competitors. ADP Workforce Now is a cloud-based platform for mid- to large-sized businesses. Features include automated payroll processing, time and attendance, benefits management, employee management tools, compliance management, and an employee self-service portal through a mobile app. 

Pricing: Varies depending on the plan selected and number of employees it covers. 

Pros:

• Tax management and compliance
• Employee portal for self-service
• Automated workflows and approvals

Cons:

• Limited configurability
• Cannot create reports that go across every module
• Customer support can be slow

BambooHR

BambooHR is HR management software aimed at small- to medium-sized businesses. It’s an affordable and easy-to-use platform that includes features like employee data management, hiring and employee onboarding tools, time and attendance, performance management, and reporting capabilities. It also supports companies with global payroll needs. 

Pricing: BambooHR has two plans, Core and Pro. The Core HR platform includes the basics (HR reporting, hiring and onboarding, time off (PTO) and benefits tracking, and integrations). Pro offers add-on features like performance management and employee analytics. BambooHR charges a monthly flat rate for companies with 25 or fewer employees. For companies with over 25 employees, pricing is per employee, per month—specific pricing is available upon request. 

Pros:

• Affordable solution for smaller companies
• User-friendly platform
• Easy to implement 

Cons:

• Does not include learning management or headcount planning
• Customers need to direct their own compliance
• Cannot automate across all HR modules 

Paylocity

Paylocity is a cloud-based platform that delivers HR and payroll services tailored to businesses of all sizes and across various industries, including nonprofits. It includes payroll features such as tax and compliance services and seamless integration with Paylocity’s time-tracking tool, which helps minimize manual data entry and reduce human error.

Pricing: Paylocity offers several tailored HR and payroll plans with specific pricing available upon request.

Pros: 

• Feature-rich platform
• Easy to use
• High configurability of payroll tasks

Cons: 

• Lacks pre-built automations such as state and local labor policies
• Cannot create reports that go across every module
• Doesn’t support paying contractors

UKG

UKG offers payroll services as part of their HCM solutions: UKG Ready for smaller businesses and UKG Pro for midsize and large organizations. Both options include HR tools, including payroll, recruiting, a streamlined onboarding process, compliance management, and analytics. The payroll management system is flexible and customizable, providing deep insights and real-time analytics. 

Pricing: UKG pricing depends on the platform and the number of employees. Implementation fees are extra. Specific pricing is available upon request. 

Pros:

• Customizable setup
• Built-in compliance tools
• In-depth reporting and analytics tools

Cons: 

• No standalone payroll solution
• Lacks tax compliance features
• Transitioning between the two options is difficult, making scaling a challenge

Other alternatives to Gusto that you might investigate include TriNet Zenefits, Justworks, Square, Workday, Onpay and Quickbooks Payroll. 

Streamline your HR and payroll workflows with Rippling

Rippling’s full-service payroll solution makes running payroll a breeze. It’s simple, fast, and so powerful it can run itself. Thousands of companies worldwide use Rippling, and it consistently receives high praise for its ease of use and robust payroll and HR tools. With RiIppling, you can make quickly make employee and contractor (local or remote) payments.

Rippling automates calculations and deductions, resulting in a seamless pay run. Compliance work is automated, too, so you can have peace of mind about applicable federal, state, and local laws—no matter where your employees live.

Rippling Payroll integrates with all the payroll tools your business needs. Quickbooks accounting software? No problem. Netsuite? Check. And that’s just two of over 600 available integrations you can choose from. But Rippling is more than just great payroll software. It’s a unified platform that brings together HR services, IT, and Finance to deliver a single source of truth. You can administer benefits, manage time and attendance, reimburse expenses, and set up employee accounts and devices, all in one place. 

Built to support everything from startups to large international enterprises, Rippling is the ideal platform for growing companies. No matter the size of your operation, Rippling provides all the tools you need to onboard new hires, manage, and pay your employees smoothly and easily.

Frequently asked questions

What is a payroll software? 

Payroll software is a collection of tools businesses can use to simplify and automate paying their employees. This can include tasks such as time and attendance, calculating wages and taxes, and issuing paychecks or automatic direct deposits.

What are the best payroll options?

The best payroll options are the ones that fit your business and your needs. Rippling, Gusto, UKG, ADP, and other companies in the payroll and HR space offer a variety of features at many different price points. Check out trusted online reviews and third-party rating platforms to get insights from actual customers. With some due diligence, you’ll find the right software solution for your company. 

What are the differences between Rippling and Gusto

Let’s look at four of the significant differences between Rippling and Gusto:

Scaling: While Gusto generally meets the needs of companies with less than 50 employees, customers find that it lacks the depth, breadth, and configurability needed to scale businesses. If you’ve got big plans for your business, including going global, the ability to scale is a must. 

Advanced reporting: With Rippling, you can pull in nearly any piece of data from your HR, IT, finance, and third-party systems and then view or visualize it right in the Rippling platform. No cumbersome spreadsheets needed.

More automation: In contrast to payroll companies like Gusto, Rippling automates admin work across all of your HR modules. Your HR processes can be automated through the custom workflow builder, which features pre-built workflow templates and can trigger actions in third-party applications.

Higher ratings: According to thousands of real customers on G2 Crowd, Rippling ranks higher than Gusto in many categories. Not only that, Rippling consistently wins accolades and awards for cutting-edge software, world-class support, and time savings for HR professionals, IT teams, and finance departments around the world.

This blog is based on information available to Rippling as of July 8th, 2024.

Disclaimer: Rippling and its affiliates do not provide tax, accounting, or legal advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide or be relied on for tax, accounting, or legal advice. You should consult your own tax, accounting, and legal advisors before engaging in any related activities or transactions.