Gusto Pricing 2026: Every Plan With Real Examples

§1Gusto plan overview

Gusto

OnPay

Patriot

Gusto offers three main plans for businesses with W-2 employees, with the former standalone Contractor Only plan retained for existing subscribers after its October 1, 2026 closure to new signups and switches. Payroll coverage depends on the selected plan: Simple is single-state, while Plus and Premium support multiple states. Plans include applicable tax filing, direct deposit, W-2 and 1099 generation, new hire reporting, employee self-service, and unlimited payroll runs.

§2Real cost by team size

5 employees: Simple $79/mo | Plus $140/mo. A legacy Contractor Only account at $35 + $6 per paid contractor would cost $65 for five contractors; that closed offer is not a new-customer quote.

10 employees: Simple $109/mo | Plus $200/mo

25 employees: Simple $199/mo | Plus $380/mo

50 employees: Simple $349/mo | Plus $680/mo, at this size, evaluate Rippling or one of our other Gusto alternatives.

Add Guideline 401(k) on top: the Core plan (the tier that supports employer matching) runs ~$119/mo base + $8/emp/mo. A 10-person team on Plus = $200 (Gusto) + $199 (Guideline Core) = $399/month all-in for payroll + benefits admin + 401(k). That is the real number to budget against.

§3Simple plan: who it is actually for

The Simple plan covers the payroll workflow most small businesses need: payroll runs, applicable filings for single-state payroll, approved direct deposit, W-2 and 1099 generation, new hire reporting, basic employee onboarding (I-9, W-4, direct deposit), and basic time-off tracking.

G2 reviewers (4.6/5, roughly 12,848 reviews) most commonly cite ease of setup as the top benefit, most teams run first payroll within a day of signup. The most common complaint: hitting the ceiling of Simple features (specifically next-day deposit and PTO policy management) and needing to upgrade sooner than expected.

Stay on Simple if: under 15 employees, straightforward payroll, the required health-benefit service is supported, and approved payment timing works. Start on Plus if: you need multi-state payroll or its included time tools. Price eligible Simple next-day pay and the required benefits service separately before deciding.

§4Plus plan: when the upgrade pays off

The jump from Simple to Plus raises the base ($49→$80) and doubles the per-employee fee ($6→$12). For 10 employees: $91/month more. Worth it if:

Next-day direct deposit is included in Plus and Premium, with funding approval and payroll deadlines still applicable. Eligible Simple accounts can instead add it for $15 monthly plus $3 per person; compare complete subscription costs for the needed workflow.

Time tracking + manager approval, eliminates a separate time tracking subscription.

Benefits administration needs service-specific pricing. Gusto-brokered health insurance administration has no separate fee, while insurance premiums, outside-broker administration and other benefits products can add costs. Health coverage alone does not make Plus mandatory.

Performance check-ins, lightweight goal-setting and review cycles, functional for teams that want basics without a separate HR tool.

§5Contractor-only plan: legacy accounts and current alternatives

The former Contractor Only offer charged $35 monthly plus $6 per contractor, or $65 for five paid contractors. Since October 1, 2026, new customers cannot select it and other accounts cannot switch into it. Existing subscribers keep their terms; confirm their payment, W-9 and filing inclusions. New US-only contractor teams can pay contractors on an available Gusto payroll plan and should price the selected service.

Legacy-price illustration versus Deel: for 5 contractors, Gusto's $35/month base plus $6/contractor pricing totals $65/month against Deel's $49/contractor, or $245/month, a base-price ratio of roughly 3.8 to one under those stated assumptions. The gap narrows for a single contractor (Gusto's $41/month, including the base fee, vs. Deel's $49) but widens toward Gusto's old 8x advantage as headcount grows and the base fee amortizes. Deel's premium is justified for international contractors (150+ countries, local compliance). This old-plan illustration cannot establish a new-buyer cost winner; compare available plans, worker locations and the required compliance services.

Existing Contractor Only subscribers can consider an employee plan when adding W-2 staff. Before switching, verify data transfer and the selected price; the closed standalone plan is not available for a later switch back.

§6Premium plan: when it makes sense

Gusto's Premium tier dropped its old "call us for a quote" model and now lists at $180/month base plus $22 per employee. At 10 people that's roughly $400/month, versus about $200/month on Plus ($80 + $12/employee). You're paying a premium of $200+/month, so the math only works when the included services replace something you'd otherwise buy.

The two features that justify it: HR Resource Center with certified HR advisors (live access to a team that reviews handbooks and answers employee-relations questions) and a dedicated support line that skips the general queue. A standalone HR advisory subscription from a PEO-lite provider runs $50-$150/month on its own, so if you're already considering that, Premium folds it into one bill.

Premium also adds compliance alerts tied to your specific states and headcount thresholds, which is useful once you cross 50 employees and ACA reporting (Forms 1095-C) kicks in, or when you operate in 3+ states with different paid-sick-leave and final-paycheck rules. Plus tier does not include the advisor line or proactive compliance monitoring. Misclassified exempt roles are a separate liability; our exempt vs non-exempt guide covers the salary and duties tests that no payroll tier replaces.

Skip Premium if you're under 15 employees in a single state with a simple W-2 workforce. Plus covers multi-state payroll, next-day direct deposit, and time tracking, which is plenty. The companies that actually extract value are 25-75 employee firms in regulated industries (healthcare, food service, construction) where one mishandled wage-and-hour question costs more than a year of the upgrade. G2 reviewers consistently rate the advisor access as the standout reason to move up a tier.

§7Add-on costs: health benefits broker fee, 401(k), workers' comp, and R&D credits

The sticker price isn't the whole bill. Gusto bundles several add-ons that carry their own fees, and some are easy to miss until they hit the statement.

Health benefits. Gusto acts as the broker in 38+ states and charges no separate broker fee, since the carrier pays them commission, and you pay standard premiums. That's genuinely cheaper than a traditional broker markup. But administration of benefits you bring from an outside broker ("bring your own broker") runs $6 per employee per month on top of your plan. Verify your state is supported before assuming you can enroll through Gusto.

401(k) via Guideline. Gusto's retirement integration uses Guideline, priced separately from payroll: $119/month base plus $8 per participating employee on the Core plan, the tier needed for employer matching (a cheaper Starter plan exists at $49/month base plus $6/employee but does not support employer contributions), with participants paying about 0.15-0.35% in account fees. At 15 enrolled employees that's around $239/month on Core, billed by Guideline, not Gusto. It's competitive, but budget for it as a distinct line item.

Workers' comp. Gusto offers pay-as-you-go workers' compensation through NEXT Insurance with no upfront deposit and premiums calculated off actual payroll each run. There's no Gusto surcharge, but factor in the policy premium itself, which varies wildly by class code, from about $0.30 per $100 of payroll for clerical work to more than $15 for roofing.

R&D tax credits. For startups, Gusto partners on R&D credit identification and applies the payroll-tax offset (up to $500,000/year against employer Social Security and Medicare under the post-2022 rules). The service typically takes a percentage of the credit captured, so it's contingency-based rather than a flat monthly cost, so it is worth it only if you have qualifying engineering or product-development wages.

§8Gusto vs OnPay vs Patriot at 5, 15, and 30 employees: total cost

Per-employee pricing scales differently across the three most-compared SMB platforms, and selected add-ons can change the complete cost. Here's the monthly full-service payroll math using each vendor's standard published rates: Gusto Plus ($80 + $12/employee), OnPay (Payroll Essentials $49 + $6/paid worker, before optional HR/time), and Patriot Full Service ($37 + $5/employee).

At 5 employees: Gusto Plus runs $140, OnPay $79, Patriot $62. These are subscription-only figures; add required state filings, time tools and HR services before judging complete cost. Gusto's higher base only pays off if you're using its benefits, time tracking, or onboarding tools heavily.

At 15 employees: Gusto Plus $260, OnPay $139, Patriot $112. The gap widens, and Patriot and OnPay both land near half of Gusto's cost. At this size Gusto's value case rests almost entirely on its integrated benefits brokerage and slicker UI, since the core payroll engines are comparable.

At 30 employees: Gusto Plus $440, OnPay $229, Patriot $187. The listed subscriptions differ by $2,532/year for OnPay and $3,036/year for Patriot before required extras. Those differences are not guaranteed savings for an equivalent configuration. The tradeoff: Patriot's benefits administration is thinner and its interface dated, while OnPay handles multi-state and specialized payrolls (nonprofits, ag, clergy) that Patriot charges extra for or doesn't cover.

Bottom line by size. Under 10 employees in one state, compare the entry subscriptions and every required service. From 15-30, the decision hinges on whether you'll use Gusto's benefits and HR layer. If you're running health insurance and 401(k) through one vendor, the consolidated admin can offset the price gap. For payroll at scale, include each selected plan and optional service in the quote comparison.

§9Hidden fees and gotchas

Gusto's pricing is more transparent than most, but several charges surprise new users. Read the fine print on these before you migrate.

The biggest one: you're billed per person who received any pay in a month, not per active seat. Run a final paycheck for a terminated employee, pay a one-time bonus to a contractor, or process an off-cycle severance, and that person counts toward your per-employee fee for the full month. Seasonal businesses get hit hardest.

Two more worth flagging. State tax registration needs a separate decision. You can open the required agency accounts yourself or quote Gusto's registration assistance in supported states; its fee varies by state. Tax filing does not mean every registration is included free. Confirm the required account setup before paying workers. And switching mid-year means re-entering year-to-date wage data; get it wrong and your W-2s won't reconcile, so run a parallel test payroll before cutting over from your old provider.

None of these are dealbreakers, but they explain why a quoted "$80 + $12/employee" can land 10-20% higher on the actual invoice. Model your real headcount including off-cycle payments before committing.

§10Frequently asked questions

How much did Gusto's pricing actually go up? The Simple plan base fee rose from $40 to $49/month in March 2026, a roughly 22% increase on the entry tier. The per-employee rates ($6 on Simple, $12 on Plus) have stayed the same.

Do I get billed for an employee I only paid once this month? Yes. The fee follows who received pay during the billing period, regardless of how long they stayed. One last paycheck to someone who has left, or a single bonus, adds a whole extra per-head charge to that period's invoice. Businesses with seasonal staff notice it most.

Is Gusto's 401(k) included in the Plus or Premium price? No. Guideline bills retirement separately from Gusto. Its Core plan, the one that allows an employer match, charges a $119 monthly base and $8 for each enrolled staff member. The Starter tier costs $49 a month and $6 per person but rules out a match. Guideline sends its own invoice, so none of this appears on your Gusto statement.

When does Premium actually pay for itself? Premium's list price is a $180 monthly base and $22 per employee, well above Plus. It usually pays off at 25-75 employees in a regulated industry, where access to HR advisors and the compliance alerts stand in for a separate advisory service that would otherwise run $50-150 a month.

Are there hidden fees beyond the advertised base and per-employee rate? A few: running benefits you sourced elsewhere adds $6 per employee monthly, off-cycle corrections and reversals can trigger extra fees when submitted past the payroll deadline, and you must arrange the required state accounts, either directly or by purchasing the supported service at its quoted state-specific price. Check those prerequisites before the initial pay run.

Is Gusto cheaper than OnPay or Patriot at any team size? Compare the same services and billing assumptions. Gusto Simple and OnPay now both charge a $49 base plus $6 per employee, so those two tie whether you have 5, 15, or 30 people, while Patriot's lower base and per-employee rate undercut both. Compared with Gusto Plus the gap widens sharply, sometimes by more than half at 30 employees. HR, time and benefits additions can change these base-price comparisons; a headcount alone cannot identify the least expensive complete setup.

For that exact comparison, see our Nanny & Household Payroll software guide.

See Payroll software for Veterinary Practices if that's closer to what you're evaluating.

Is Gusto cheaper than QuickBooks? Gusto Simple lists a $49 monthly base and $6 per paid person. Intuit's standalone Workforce Payroll standard rate is $50 plus $7 per employee from July 1, 2026, subject to protected subscriptions and promotions. Accounting bundles are separate offers: the listed Payroll plus Simple Start bundle uses $88 plus $6.50, so that valid bundle rate should not be substituted for standalone payroll. Compare the accounting subscription, required services and applicable offer rather than assuming everyone must buy the same bundle or that one complete setup is always cheaper.

Is Gusto or ADP cheaper? For small businesses, Gusto is almost always cheaper and more transparent. ADP RUN does not publish pricing, requires a custom quote, and charges extra for things Gusto includes at no additional cost, like unlimited pay runs and W-2/1099 filing. ADP tends to close the gap only for larger or more complex organizations that need its deeper HR and compliance tooling.

How does Gusto pricing compare to Paychex for the same headcount? Paychex does not publish rates; our Paychex pricing guide collects quote ranges buyers report. Gusto's published tiers make apples-to-apples math easier for teams under 50, but Paychex buyers often pay for the named specialist, not the software alone.