Prices checked 2026-10-17 to 2026-10-19
Gusto alternatives: 9 payroll providers priced against Gusto
Every payroll provider we track with a published price, set against Gusto’s cheapest plan for 1, 5 and 10 people, with the features that most often make people switch.
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The short answer
- 5 of 9 payroll providers with published prices cost less than Gusto Simple for 5 people ($79/mo): cheapest is Patriot Payroll Full Service Payroll at $62/mo.
- Same price as Gusto: Homebase (with Payroll) Payroll add-on + Basic plan ($49/mo + $6/person).
- Same price as Gusto: OnPay Payroll Essentials ($49/mo + $6/person).
Regular monthly list prices on each provider’s cheapest plan that files and deposits payroll taxes. Price only: plans differ in features.
Why people look for a Gusto alternative
- Price rises: Gusto Simple’s base fee went from $40 to $49 a month (first seen on Gusto’s pricing page 2025-04-10). We’ve recorded 3 plan-level Gusto increases on 2 dates since 2022; see the price tracker.
- One state on Simple: Simple: "Run basic payroll in one state". Plus: "Multi-state payroll". Premium includes everything in Plus.
- Per-person fee: Per active person per month on top of base; US contractors billed at the per-person rate only in months they are paid.
Every alternative, priced against Gusto
Sorted by the monthly cost for 5 people. “Not stated” means the vendor’s pages don’t say either way.
| Provider and cheapest full-service plan | 1 person | 5 people | 10 people | vs Gusto at 5 people | Multi-state | Next-day deposit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gusto (baseline)Simple · $49/mo + $6/person | $55/mo | $79/mo | $109/mo | — | No | Add-on |
| Patriot PayrollFull Service Payroll · $37/mo + $5/person | $42/mo | $62/mo | $87/mo | Patriot Payroll $17 less | Yes | Not stated |
| SurePayrollSmall Business payroll · $29/mo + $7/person | $36/mo | $64/mo | $99/mo | SurePayroll $15 less | Add-on | Not stated |
| Square PayrollFull-service payroll · $35/mo + $6/person | $41/mo | $65/mo | $95/mo | Square Payroll $14 less | Yes | Yes |
| Zoho Payroll (US)Standard · $39/mo + $6/person | $45/mo | $69/mo | $99/mo | Zoho Payroll $10 less | No | Add-on |
| WaveWave Payroll (US) · $40/mo + $6/person | $46/mo | $70/mo | $100/mo | Wave $9 less | Not stated | Not stated |
| Homebase (with Payroll)Payroll add-on + Basic plan · $49/mo + $6/person | $55/mo | $79/mo | $109/mo | Same | Not stated | Yes |
| OnPayPayroll Essentials · $49/mo + $6/person | $55/mo | $79/mo | $109/mo | Same | Yes | Not stated |
| QuickBooks Payroll (QuickBooks Workforce)Workforce Payroll · $50/mo + $7/person | $57/mo | $85/mo | $120/mo | Gusto $6 less | Not stated | Yes |
| JustworksPayroll · $50/mo + $8/person | $58/mo | $90/mo | $130/mo | Gusto $11 less | Yes | Not stated |
| Patriot Payroll Doesn’t file taxesBasic Payroll · $17/mo + $4/person | $21/mo | $37/mo | $57/mo | You file and deposit payroll taxes yourself. Not compared. | Yes | Not stated |
| SurePayroll Doesn’t file taxesNo Tax Filing (Self-Service) · $20/mo + $4/person | $24/mo | $40/mo | $60/mo | You file and deposit payroll taxes yourself. Not compared. | Add-on | Not stated |
Cheaper, but you file the taxes
2 plans cost less still, but leave the payroll tax filing to you, so they aren’t like-for-like with Gusto, which files and deposits payroll taxes on every plan. They’re hidden from the table unless you tick the box above it:
- Patriot Payroll Basic Payroll Doesn’t file taxes: $17/mo + $4/person, $37/mo for 5. You file and deposit payroll taxes yourself.
- SurePayroll No Tax Filing (Self-Service) Doesn’t file taxes: $20/mo + $4/person, $40/mo for 5. You file and deposit payroll taxes yourself.
Quote-only alternatives
RUN Powered by ADP, Paychex Flex, Rippling don’t publish prices, so they can’t be priced against Gusto here.
Head-to-head comparisons
- Gusto vs QuickBooks Payroll: monthly cost by crew size
- Gusto vs ADP RUN for a 5-person business
- Year-one back-office stack: Jobber + QuickBooks + Gusto vs Housecall Pro + QuickBooks
- Gusto vs OnPay: real monthly cost for 1, 5 and 10 people
- Patriot Payroll vs Gusto: cheapest full-service payroll compared
- Square Payroll vs Gusto: cost for hourly crews
Gusto pricing · Cheapest payroll for 1, 2 and 5 employees · Payroll calculator
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