Gusto

Gusto is a payroll, benefits, and HR platform that handles the full cycle of employee compensation and compliance for small and mid-sized businesses in the United States. The platform runs payroll automatically on defined schedules, calculates federal, state, and local tax withholdings, and files payroll taxes directly with the relevant government agencies without requiring manual form submission by the employer. Employees and contractors receive pay via direct deposit, with next-day direct deposit available on higher-tier plans for faster payment processing. The Gusto Employee App gives team members self-service access to pay stubs, tax documents, benefits enrollment, time-off requests, and personal details without requiring HR intervention for routine information requests. Health benefits administration allows businesses to offer and manage employee medical, dental, and vision coverage through Gusto's licensed broker network, with benefits enrollment, carrier communications, and cost tracking handled within the platform. Time tracking and project tracking features are available on higher plans, feeding worked hours directly into payroll calculations to reduce manual data entry and payroll errors. Gusto is used by startups and small businesses running their first formal payroll process who need automated tax compliance without hiring a dedicated payroll accountant, by growing companies adding employee benefits administration alongside payroll as their team size increases, and by businesses managing a mixed workforce of full-time employees and contractors who need to process both W-2 and 1099 payments from the same system. A standard payroll workflow involves entering or confirming hours worked, reviewing payroll calculations before approval, and initiating the pay run—with Gusto handling tax calculations, direct deposit scheduling, and tax filing automatically. See related. Multi-state payroll support covers employees working across different states with the corresponding state tax registration and filing requirements managed within the platform. Gusto's Simple plan is $49 per month plus $6 per person and covers single-state payroll, contractor payments, and basic HR tools. The Plus plan is $80 per month plus $12 per person and adds multi-state payroll, time tracking, next-day direct deposit, and advanced HR features. The Premium plan is $180 per month plus $22 per person with dedicated HR support, compliance guidance, and priority service. A contractor-only plan starts at $0 per month plus $6 per contractor per month for businesses paying contractors without W-2 employees. Gusto is available only for US-based businesses and does not support international payroll. Organizations requiring global employee payment capabilities will need a separate international payroll tool Compare alternatives.