Payroll is a necessary task within any business. If employees and contractors aren’t getting paid, the business will—quite literally—come to a grinding halt.
While you can’t avoid payroll, you can avoid it overtaking your workweek. To spare your human resources team from countless hours spent calculating payments, onboarding new employees, or setting up benefits administration, you need the right tools.
If you’re considering moving away from Gusto, keep reading. Below, we dive into the best alternatives to Gusto to simplify human resources management.
Summarize this article for me pleaseWhat Is Gusto? How Does It Work?
Gusto is a payroll and human resources platform built for small businesses and startups. With Gusto, contractors or full-time employees can set up their own profiles, go through the onboarding process, track their time, select health insurance or other benefits packages, and get paid. Businesses can leverage Gusto to pay their federal and state taxes, make direct deposits for employees, or save countless hours on recruiting through the talent management portal. ⏰
To begin using Gusto, companies take the following actions:
- Enter all company data, such as tax information, onboarding documents, employee benefits, or bank account details
- Fill out a Gusto questionnaire to discover which plan best fits your business
- Enter all employee data, such as Social Security information, salary details, and tax withholdings
- Set up workflow automations to save countless hours in human resources each week
How to choose the best Gusto alternatives
Looking for a human resources and payroll service to replace Gusto and reach your business goals? As you evaluate various alternatives to Gusto, be sure your potential solution comes equipped with these features:
- Software integrations: The best payroll software won’t work in a silo. Instead, it should integrate with other human resources applications to save you time each week
- More than payroll: The right Gusto solution should go beyond basic payroll services. Instead, it should help employees submit expense reports, select their benefits package, and manage deductions
- HR and recruiting: Many Gusto competitors help human resources professionals save countless hours each week—streamlining recruiting, hiring, applicant tracking, and onboarding procedures
- Automated workflows: HR software can require countless hours for the initial setup. However, the right solution will pay dividends later on through automated workflows that cut down time on repetitive tasks
- Compliant with all devices: The best payroll processing platforms come complete with a mobile app, allowing employees to submit expenses or get paid on-the-go
Summarize this article for me please10 Best Gusto Alternatives
Looking for a payroll processing platform to replace Gusto? Below, we share the best alternatives to Gusto, including their top features, limitations, pricing, and reviews from existing customers.
1. Rippling
Rippling is a human resources, finance, and IT platform for managing employee benefits, payments, and expenses.
Through the Finance Cloud, companies can manage company credit cards, pay bills, and review employee expense reports. Through the HR Cloud, human resources professionals can save time on approving PTO requests, recruiting, employee time tracking, and managing benefits packages. Lastly, the solution can be customized to fit your unique business through workflow automations, permissions, and analytics.
Rippling best features
- Onboard new employees in as little as 90 seconds
- Pay employees and contractors in minutes with a solution that guarantees 100% accuracy
- Schedule and share financial reports across department lines
- Automate repetitive tasks—like onboarding emails and approval processes—without writing a single line of code
Rippling limitations
- The price increases depend upon how many apps you use
- Several features are not available on the mobile app
Ripping pricing
- Starts at $8/month per user
Rippling ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.8/5 (2,000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.9/5 (2,000+ reviews)
2. QuickBooks Payroll
QuickBooks Payroll is a Gusto alternative that lets small business owners pay their employees and file state and federal taxes. With QuickBooks Online, business owners can approve timesheets, run payroll automatically, and make same-day direct deposits.
Plus, QuickBooks offers 24/7 customer support and up to $25,000 in tax penalty protection if you receive a penalty from the IRS.
QuickBooks Payroll best features
- Automatic tax filing, calculations, and payment on your behalf
- Track, submit, and approve timesheets anywhere from the QuickBooks Workforce app
- Automatically get paychecks deposited the same day you run payroll
- Manage workers’ compensation, 401(k) plans, health insurance, and other benefits all in one place
QuickBooks Payroll limitations
- Some users have found the platform difficult to navigate
- You need to have a QuickBooks bookkeeping subscription in order to add a payroll subscription
QuickBooks Payroll pricing
- Payroll Core: $45/month plus $6/month per employee
- Payroll Premium: $80/month plus $8/month per employee
- Payroll Elite: $125/month plus $10/month per employee
QuickBooks Payroll ratings and reviews
- G2: 3.8/5 (60+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (800+ reviews)
3. Paychex
Payroll is an all-in-one human resources and payroll solution built for scaling businesses. This Gusto alternative allows business owners to quickly set up online payroll, tax filings, and employee benefits packages. Plus, Paychex offers a number of customizable packages to fit a small business budget.
Paychex best features
- Invite new employees to automatically enroll in mobile payroll via a Paychex Flex account
- Reduce hours spent on onboarding and training through the easy-to-use e-learning platform
- Use the online employee handbook builder to communicate company, state, and federal policies for employees
- Digitize employee communications to simplify performance management
Paychex limitations
- The solution doesn’t have as many integrations as other payroll platforms
- It can be difficult to manage contractor payments (versus salaried employees)
Paychex pricing
- Paychex Flex Essentials: $39/month plus $5 per employee
- Paychex Flex Select: Contact for pricing
- Paychex Flex Pro: Contact for pricing
Paychex ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.2/5 (1,400+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.1/5 (1,400+ reviews)
4. Square Payroll
Square Payroll is a cloud-based solution that allows human resources professionals to manage payroll, pay payroll taxes, and handle compliance issues, all in one place. Square Payroll makes it easy to pay salaried and hourly employees, including handling time-off requests, PTO, and sick leave.
Plus, with the Square Team App, remote HR professionals can manage their team from anywhere.
Square Payroll best features
- Pay full-time employees and contractors directly from the Square Dashboard
- Pay employees through direct deposit, manual checks, or Cash App
- Get automated W-2 and 1099-NEC filings at year-end
- Handle multiple pay rates, commissions, bonuses, tips, and other payment methods
Square Payroll limitations
- There are limited customizations available for employee deductions
- Some features available on the desktop app are not available on the mobile app
Square Payroll pricing
- Contractor-only payroll: $6/month per employee
- Full-service payroll: $35/month plus $6 per employee
Square Payroll ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.2/5 (25+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (600+ reviews)
5. ADP
ADP is a comprehensive payroll and employee management solution built for companies of all sizes. With this Gusto alternative, you can manage time tracking and attendance, set up benefits and insurance packages, and save time with recruiting and hiring. Plus, ADP integrates with your favorite applications and offers its own add-on marketplace for customized new hire reporting.
ADP best features
- Get access to an employee self-service portal via the mobile app
- Seamlessly integrate your payroll system with your favorite business software, accounting software, HR systems, and ERPs
- Manage employee benefits like 401(k)s, IRAs, group health insurance, and business insurance all in one place
- With ADP TotalSource, get access to a professional employer organization (PEO) for HR support
ADP limitations
- Some reports lack customization functionalities
- New users can be overwhelmed by the vast number of HR tools in the software
ADP pricing
- Pricing varies depending on your business needs
ADP ratings and reviews
- G2: 3.8/5 (200+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.4/5 (3,000+ reviews)
6. Patriot
Patriot is an online accounting and payroll platform known for its ease of use. Through the employee portal, team members can access their pay stubs, pay history, W-2s, and time-off requests. The platform automatically handles tax filing, pays contractors and salaried professionals, manages on-the-fly pay changes, and integrates with Patriot HR for access to even more tools.
Patriot best features
- Manage all pay frequencies, including bi-weekly, semi-monthly, or monthly payments
- Change employee hourly rates on the fly, without needing to exit the page or run a new payroll
- Set payroll budgets for different departments
- Add unlimited users with different permissions to your platform
Patriot limitations
- Can’t change salaried rates on the fly
- The initial setup requires considerable time
Patriot pricing
- Basic: $17/month plus $4 per employee
- Full service: $37/month plus $4 per employee
Patriot ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.8/5 (500+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.8/5 (3,000+ reviews)
7. SurePayroll
SurePayroll is an all-in-one platform working to simplify payroll management. With this Gusto alternative, you can automate payroll, run reports, and file taxes. Plus, manage your employee benefits packages, including workers’ comp, 401(k) plans, and healthcare plans.
SurePayroll best features
- Conduct pre-employment screening for background and drug checks
- Manage 401(k) deductions, FSA and HSA funds, and other benefits in one place
- Process payroll on the go with the mobile app
- Use the “set it and forget it” function to automatically run payroll for employees
SurePayroll limitations
- The initial setup can be confusing if you’ve never worked with a payroll platform
- It can be difficult to set up payroll for employees living in different states
SurePayroll pricing
- Contact for a custom quote
SurePayroll ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.4/5 (500+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.1/5 (200+ reviews)
8. OnPay
OnPay simplifies payroll and workforce management for nonprofits, startups, and medium-sized businesses. This Gusto alternative pairs you with an expert to streamline the initial setup and handles all local, state, and federal taxes on your behalf. Plus, OnPay integrates with QuickBooks, Xero, and popular time-keeping software.
OnPay best features
- Leverage the Report Designers to build custom payroll reports
- Pay W-2 and 1099 workers through direct deposit, debit card, or check
- Request, approve, and get notifications for time-off requests
- Build a visual org chart for your company—organized by employee location, department, or team
OnPay limitations
- Some automation tools are not as clear-cut as other payroll providers
- The platform doesn’t have as many integrations as other payroll software solutions
OnPay pricing
- $40/month plus $6 per employee
OnPay ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.8/5 (200+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.8/5 (400+ reviews)
9. Homebase
Homebase is a payroll and employee onboarding platform built for hourly teams. With this Gusto alternative, managers can streamline HR processes by transforming timesheets into payroll, automating tax calculations, and running new hire reporting. Plus, Homebase sets up breaks, calculates overtime, stores time cards, and automates payroll services for multiple locations.
Homebase best services
- Automatically calculate hours, breaks, overtime, and PTO from Homebase’s built-in time clock
- Streamline the onboarding process by having new hires e-sign payroll and onboarding forms
- Use the app to build schedules, post open shifts, and set black-out dates
- Start with a library of pre-written job description templates to speed up the hiring process
Homebase limitations
- The payroll and HR solutions aren’t built for salaried employees
- It can be difficult to run manual HR functions (e.g., fixing a clock-in or clock-out error)
Homebase pricing
- Basic: $0
- Essentials: $20/month per location
- Plus: $48/month per location
- All-in-one: $80/month per location
Homebase ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.3/5 (100+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.6/5 (900+ reviews)
10. Zenefits
Zenefits is an intuitive platform that helps companies run employee onboarding, benefits, and payroll more efficiently. The user-friendly solution comes complete with unlimited payroll runs, multiple schedules and pay rates, garnishment support, and even tips reporting.
Plus, Zenefits simplifies workforce management by putting together compensation packages, streamlining the onboarding process, and building an org chart for your company.
Zenefits best features
- Create PTO policies and automatically manage time-off requests
- Sync new hires to payroll immediately, getting them up and running on day one
- Use Zenefits time and scheduling tools to get breaks, time off, and hours automatically synced to payroll
- Automatically execute the proper deductions once employees select their benefits package
Zenefits limitations
- The platform doesn’t offer as many automated workflows as other payroll management tools
- The dashboard can be difficult to customize
Zenefits pricing
- Essentials: $8/month per employee
- Growth: $16/month per employee
- Zen: $27/month per employee
Zenefits ratings and reviews
- G2: 4/5 (400+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.2/5 (800+ reviews)
Check out these Zenefits alternatives!
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Summarize this article for me pleaseOther AI Tools
Platforms like Gusto and its competitors can help streamline payroll. However, there are plenty of other tools that help your human resources team save time throughout the workday, starting with ClickUp.
ClickUp
ClickUp for human resources offers an all-in-one platform to help HR departments recruit, onboard new team members, and monitor employees. Plus, ClickUp comes complete with a vast library of HR templates, like the Payroll Report Template, to help your team run more efficiently.
With ClickUp AI, human resources professionals can automatically write summaries, copy-edit their work, or build subtasks for vast projects. With ClickUp Docs, the entire HR department can collaborate on a single document at once.
Using ClickUp Table view, you can track new talent in the pipeline or employee performance reviews. Plus, ClickUp Automations allows HR professionals to move assignees, streamline approval processes, and update statuses automatically. ✨
ClickUp best features
- Cut down on hours spent on payroll review by collecting employee data through payroll report templates
- Streamline employee training with tasks and subtasks, docs, and comments
- Collect data from candidates in your talent pipeline through custom fields
- Strengthen company communication through task comments, tags, and confidential chat channels
ClickUp limitations
- ClickUp doesn’t do payroll but does offer payroll templates
- The vast number of features may be overwhelming to new users
ClickUp pricing
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ClickUp ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.7/5 (9,000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (3,000+ reviews)
Summarize this article for me pleaseStreamline Your Human Resources Department With ClickUp
The right payroll software compared to Gusto will cut down on hours spent on payroll services, employee onboarding, and even talent management.
To better equip your HR team beyond payroll, choose ClickUp. ClickUp is the all-in-one AI platform complete with a library of templates, thousands of integrations, customizable views, and custom fields to help your HR department run more smoothly. To save countless hours each week, try ClickUp today.
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