Gusto vs. QuickBooks: Differences, pros and cons in 2024

Gusto and QuickBooks Payroll are two popular cloud-based payroll software services that help small business owners set up and administer payroll, manage employee benefits and fulfill their business tax requirements.

Gusto is our top choice for automating various payroll and HR processes, from employee payroll to calculating business taxes and reporting new hires to the government on your behalf. QuickBooks Payroll, on the other hand, with its ability to integrate with a wide range of business apps — gets our nod for best integrations. Overall, Gusto beats QuickBooks when it comes to pricing, time tracking and HR features. And, QuickBooks Payroll has the competitive edge with direct deposit and accounting tools.

“When comparing features, consider the unique needs of your business,” says James Allen, an L.A.-based certified public accountant (CPA), certified financial planner (CFP) and founder of Billpin.com, who uses Gusto and regularly works with independent contractors. “Online payroll management platforms can automate the payroll process, saving you time and reducing the risk of errors. They also handle tax calculations and filings, ensuring compliance with federal, state and local laws.”

Featured payroll software offers

OnPay

Learn More

Via OnPay’s website

Monthly fee

$40 per month plus $6 per employee

Direct deposit

Yes

SurePayroll

Learn More

Via SurePayroll’s website

Monthly fee

$29.99 per month plus $5 per employee

Direct deposit

Yes

Gusto

Learn More

Via Gusto’s website

Monthly fee

Starting at $40 plus $6 per month per employee

Direct deposit

Yes

Rippling

Learn More

Via Rippling’s website

Monthly fee

$35 per month + $8 per user

Direct deposit

Yes

Gusto vs. QuickBooks Payroll: Side-by-side comparison

	GUSTO	QUICKBOOKS PAYROLL
Price	Starts at $40 per month + $6 per employee	Starts at $75 per month + $5 per employee
Direct deposit	Yes	Yes
Time tracking	Yes	Yes
Benefits administration	Yes, included	Yes, through a partner
Integrations	Yes, with nearly 200 business apps	Yes, with over 750 business apps
Our rating	4.4	4

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Price

Winner: Gusto 

QuickBooks Payroll is nearly twice the price of Gusto. Simple Start, its most basic plan, is $75 a month plus $5 per employee. Gusto’s monthly pricing starts at $40, plus $6 per employee.

While QuickBooks Payroll offers full-service payroll, direct deposit, 1099 e-file and basic benefits administration, it’s more robust in its bookkeeping features. Gusto’s most basic plan, on the other hand, offers full-service payroll, onboarding, payroll and time off reports and brokered health insurance administration.

Gusto’s Plus plan, which is $80 a month and is more comparable in price to QuickBooks’ basic plan, includes more sophisticated hiring and onboarding, project management and performance review tools.

Direct deposit

Winner: QuickBooks

Gusto’s standard turnaround for direct deposit is two days. If you’re using the Plus or Premium plan, you might qualify for next-day payments.

In contrast, QuickBooks offers next-day direct deposit as its standard, meaning, for most users, it is available in all of Quickbooks Payroll’s Core plans as long as payroll is submitted by 5 p.m. Pacific Time the day before payday. However, this feature is subject to eligibility criteria, and next-day deposits cost an extra $5 per person per month when paying contractors.

Time tracking

Winner: Gusto

Gusto and QuickBooks Payroll both feature time-tracking software enabling employees to clock their time on the job.

Gusto allows employees to clock in and out of work using its mobile wallet app and Time Kiosk, a feature that turns any tablet into a time clock for all employees to clock in and out at the office. It also helps companies understand bottlenecks by allowing employees to tag time spent on each project task, which helps you understand where more labor may be needed. And it allows you to use geofencing to track workers’ time on work sites.

QuickBooks Payroll’s included time tracking features are similar but not quite as robust. For example, while its Simple Start and Essentials plans only offer the ability to input time manually, its Premium plan allows employees to clock in and out. In addition, it offers GPS tracking of employees, but these features can only be used on mobile devices. For an additional $20 to $40 per month, plus $8 to $10 per employee, you can purchase a Quickbooks Time add-on plan, which offers more robust time tracking features such as the ability to sync time tracking to payroll and the ability to track hours worked, overtime, employee break alerts and labor costs from any device.

In summary, while both offer similar features, most of these features are included in Gusto’s plans. However, you must purchase a separate add-on plan to access all time tracking features available to Quickbooks Payroll users. 

Benefits administration

Winner: Gusto

While QuickBooks Payroll offers 401(k) plans; medical, dental and vision plans; and workers’ compensation administration through its partners, it doesn’t offer proprietary HR tools or benefits administration services. Its Payroll Premium + Plus plan, the gold Cadillac tier ($160 a month), includes HR guidance and help with job descriptions through a third party.

Gusto can serve as a health insurance broker, allowing you to purchase medical, dental and vision insurance for your team. Plus, there’s a team of licensed advisors and compliance support available. Gusto offers standard health insurance plans, plus health savings accounts (HSA), disability insurance, flexible spending accounts (FSA) for employees and their dependents and life insurance. It also has in-house features, such as Gusto Wallet, that makes it easy for your team to save and reach their financial goals, an uncommon feature among payroll platforms. 

Integrations

Winner: QuickBooks

Gusto and QuickBooks Payroll have many integration options. However, looking at numbers alone, Gusto offers integration with nearly 200 apps and software services, while QuickBooks offers integration with over 750. Therefore, QuickBooks is likely the better choice to complement your entire business software stack.

Gusto vs. QuickBooks Payroll alternatives

Roll By ADP 

Roll By ADP is a new kid on the payroll software block. However, it brings something new to the payroll software landscape — running payroll with a few chat commands through the Roll by ADP mobile app. 

However, its primary focus is payroll processing and tax compliance; it offers very few HR or benefits administration tools — features Gusto has in abundance. For companies needing more payroll tools than benefits administration tools, Roll by ADP offers a better deal with the ability to run unlimited payrolls in all 50 states for $11 less per month than Gusto’s $40 per month single-state payroll processing plan.

Compared to Roll by ADP, Quickbooks Payroll offers far more expense-management and sales-tracking tools. However, Roll by ADP offers far more mobile payroll processing tools. As such, Quickbooks is a better fit for sales companies needing to track inventory and expenses, while Roll by ADP is a better fit for dispersed teams or field-service companies that need mobile tools to manage payroll processing while on the go. 

Learn more in our comparison of Gusto vs. Roll by ADP.

Rippling 

Rippling payroll software platform is a comprehensive payroll, benefits administration and HR software with a robust offering in all three areas. For example, its payroll processing tools make it not only suitable for running payroll in all 50 U.S. states but globally. And its benefits administration tools allow for locally-relevant offerings around the world. It specializes in all aspects of workforce management and focuses on automations to create scalability for global teams.

Rippling touts itself as catering to small businesses of two to enterprise-level companies of 2,000-plus, and it’s built for businesses that are scaling globally. If you’re a small business with fewer employers, don’t plan on scaling in the near future and have barebones HR and payroll needs, then QuickBooks Payroll might be better suited for your business. If your company plans to scale within the United States but not globally, Gusto may be a more affordable and suitable option.

Payroll4Free

Payroll4Free is a barebones payroll processing tool capable of processing payroll for up to 25 employees with no monthly or per-user fee. However, it does not offer many standard features other payroll software offers, such as automated payroll processing and tax filings, HR tools or benefits administration tools.

When compared to Quickbooks Payroll, Payroll4Free’s core plan is missing many features, including automated payroll processing and tax filing, perform accounting and finance tasks and reporting or offer any type of health insurance, even through a partner. With Payroll4Free, you can pay to add on additional payees (increments of 25 employees). QuickBooks doesn’t mention any caps on employees.

Gusto, in comparison, offers the ability to pay a mid-sized to large workforce across all 50 U.S. states. It also offers automation features and a robust offering of payroll and health administration tools. Its payroll processing capabilities surpass Quickbooks and Payroll4Free in terms of scalability for large or rapidly growing workforces.

All in all, Payroll4Free is best for startups that need payroll processing features but have no budget for a software subscription. Quickbooks is best for small companies needing payroll and expense management features. And, Gusto is best for mid-sized to large companies (or those that plan to quickly scale to that level) that are poised to continue growing their workforces and need a tool to help them scale.

Gusto vs. Quickbooks Payroll customer feedback

On Capterra, QuickBooks Payroll has 4.5 out of five stars from over 800 reviews. Positive ratings praise the software for seamlessly syncing with QuickBooks, its responsiveness, its reliable customer service and ease of use. Negative user reviews note that the onboarding process is a bit laborious and customizing payroll reports isn’t intuitive or easy.

Gusto, on the other hand, has 4.6 out of five stars with over 3,700 reviews on Capterra. It scores highest on its ease of use, sleek interface and customer service. Less favorable reviews note that Gusto isn’t well-built for more complex payroll processing needs and has limited customization capabilities. Reviewers say that the platform isn’t as well positioned to scale business processes as some of its competitors.

On Reddit, users tend to favor Gusto over QuickBooks Payroll, both for its features and cost. Reviewers said:

“Quickbooks Payroll is surprisingly expensive for not that much functionality… I switched to Gusto recently, which [has] a similar price but more functionality.”

“Qb payroll has cost me thousands. I’ve spent months trying to get issues resolved. Their support is an absolute nightmare… I’m either switching to Gusto or most likely my local accountant.”

Featured payroll software offers

OnPay

Learn More

Via OnPay’s website

Monthly fee

$40 per month plus $6 per employee

Direct deposit

Yes

SurePayroll

Learn More

Via SurePayroll’s website

Monthly fee

$29.99 per month plus $5 per employee

Direct deposit

Yes

Gusto

Learn More

Via Gusto’s website

Monthly fee

Starting at $40 plus $6 per month per employee

Direct deposit

Yes

Rippling

Learn More

Via Rippling’s website

Monthly fee

$35 per month + $8 per user

Direct deposit

Yes

Final verdict 

Who is Gusto best for?

Gusto is a better choice for small businesses with simple payroll, benefits administration and HR needs and that lean on automation to efficiently manage their processes. But if you plan on scaling a growing company and are experiencing increasingly complex payroll needs or the need to customize your benefits administration among different work teams or locations — such as your international teams— then you might fare better with another payroll software platform, such as Rippling.

Who is QuickBooks Payroll best for?

In many ways, QuickBooks Payroll feels like it’s a payroll and HR add-on for existing QuickBooks users, as its most robust feature offerings are in its bookkeeping capabilities.
If you already have a benefits administration and HR tool that integrates with Quickbooks Payroll, this software may be a good fit for you. However, if you currently or will need an all-in-one benefits administration, HR and payroll processing tool, you may fare better with an alternative like Gusto or Rippling. 

“As your business grows, your payroll needs will change,” says Allen. “Choosing a platform that can scale with your business can save you the headache of switching platforms down the line.”