Gusto Pricing (2026): Plans, Costs & Alternatives

Gusto pricing ranges from $49 to $180 per month as a base fee, plus $6 to $22 per employee depending on the plan you choose. For a 10-person team, that works out to $109–$400 per month — or $1,308–$4,800 per year. Gusto also offers a Contractor Only plan at $35/month plus $6 per contractor.

But the sticker price doesn't tell the full story. Add-ons like time tracking, multi-state payroll, and benefits administration can push your real cost significantly higher. This guide breaks down every Gusto plan, exposes the hidden fees, and shows you what you'll actually pay at different team sizes.

Gusto Pricing Overview (2026)

Gusto structures its pricing around a monthly base fee plus a per-employee charge. Every plan includes unlimited payroll runs, automatic tax filings, and basic compliance support. The difference between tiers comes down to HR depth, reporting, and customer service access.

Here's the quick summary:

Worth noting: Gusto raised the Simple plan base from $40 to $49 in March 2025, a 22% increase. The Plus and Premium tiers have also crept up over the past two years. If you're budgeting based on older pricing info, recalculate — the numbers have changed.

There's no free plan available. Gusto does offer a free trial for new accounts, but it's limited in scope and won't give you a full picture of what payroll management feels like at scale.

Gusto Plans Compared: Simple vs Plus vs Premium

Choosing the right Gusto plan depends on two things: how many states you operate in and how much HR functionality you need beyond payroll. Here's how the three main plans stack up.

Gusto Simple Plan — $49/mo + $6/employee

The Simple plan covers the basics. You get full-service single-state payroll, W-2 and 1099 filings, new hire reporting, and employee self-service. It also includes basic hiring and onboarding tools.

The catch? It only works for teams in a single state. The moment you hire someone across state lines, you'll need to upgrade. Time tracking and PTO management aren't included either — those are add-ons or part of higher tiers.

Best for: Teams under 15 people, all in one state, who just need payroll to work.

Gusto Plus Plan — $80/mo + $12/employee

The Plus plan is where most growing companies land. It adds multi-state payroll, next-day direct deposit, PTO policies and tracking, time and project tracking, performance reviews, and employee surveys.

For a 25-person team, the Plus plan costs $380/month ($4,560/year). That's a significant jump from Simple, but you're getting substantially more HR infrastructure. According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the average cost of HR administration continues to climb, making integrated tools increasingly valuable.

Best for: Multi-state teams of 15–50 who need PTO tracking and basic performance management.

Gusto Premium Plan — $180/mo + $22/employee

The Premium plan targets companies with complex compliance needs. You get everything in Plus, plus a dedicated Customer Success Manager, HR Resource Center with certified HR experts, compliance alerts, full-service payroll migration, and priority support.

At 50 employees, this plan costs $1,280/month — $15,360/year. That's serious money, and it puts Gusto squarely in enterprise HR territory pricing-wise. For teams this size, it's worth comparing against platforms like Rippling or BambooHR to see if you're getting comparable value.

Best for: Companies with 50+ employees, multi-state complexity, and a need for dedicated support.

What Each Plan Includes

Not every Gusto feature is available on every plan. This matters because some features you'd expect — like time tracking or PTO management — require upgrading or paying extra.

A 30-person marketing agency in Denver discovered this the hard way. They signed up for the Simple plan expecting PTO tracking to be included. When they realized it wasn't, they had to upgrade mid-cycle to Plus, which nearly doubled their monthly bill. The lesson: read the feature matrix before committing.

If your team needs PTO tracking or time management — which most teams do — the Simple plan probably won't cut it. Budget for Plus from the start.

Hidden Costs and Add-Ons to Watch For

The per-employee pricing on Gusto's site looks clean. But several costs don't show up on the pricing page, and they can add 20–40% to your monthly bill.

Multi-state setup fees. Each time you register in a new state, Gusto charges a one-time fee for tax registration. If you're hiring across 5+ states, these fees stack up fast.

Benefits administration. Gusto offers health insurance, 401(k), and other benefits through third-party providers. The premiums are billed separately and vary significantly by location and plan type. Gusto acts as a broker, not an insurer.

Time and attendance add-ons. On the Simple plan, time tracking costs approximately $6 per employee per month extra. That's the same per-employee cost as the base plan itself — effectively doubling your spend per head.

Health insurance broker integration. Available on Premium, but if you want to use your own broker on lower tiers, there's an additional per-employee fee of roughly $6/month.

International contractor payments. Gusto's Contractor Only plan only covers U.S.-based payments. For international contractors, you'll need a separate platform or pay additional fees through partner integrations.

Custom integrations. Some API and third-party integrations are restricted to Premium. If your tech stack depends on specific HR tool connections, check compatibility before signing up.

The U.S. Department of Labor provides compliance guidelines that can help you understand which payroll features are legally required for your situation — useful context when deciding which Gusto add-ons are truly necessary versus nice-to-have.

Gusto Pricing Calculator: Real Cost for Your Team Size

Abstract pricing doesn't help much. Here's what Gusto actually costs per employee at real team sizes — a much clearer picture of the gusto cost per employee.

10-Person Team

25-Person Team

50-Person Team

A pattern emerges: the per-employee cost drops as your team grows because the base fee spreads across more people. But even at 50 employees, Gusto's Plus plan costs over $8,000 per year — and that's before add-ons.

Use our total compensation calculator to see how payroll software costs fit into your overall employee spend. It helps put these numbers in context alongside salary, benefits, and taxes.

Gusto vs Competitors: Price Comparison Table

How does gusto payroll pricing compare to other popular HR and payroll platforms? Here's a side-by-side look at annual costs for a 25-person team.

The cost difference is dramatic. Per-seat pricing models punish growth — every new hire increases your bill. Flat-rate platforms like Tiny Team charge the same whether you have 5 people or 50.

For a deeper dive into how Gusto stacks up against specific competitors, check out our comparisons: BambooHR vs Gusto and Gusto alternatives. Also worth reviewing is our best HR software for small business roundup for a broader view.

When Gusto Gets Expensive (and What to Do About It)

Gusto works beautifully for a 5-person team in one state running basic payroll. But costs escalate quickly in three specific scenarios.

Scenario 1: Multi-state hiring. The moment you hire across state lines, you're forced off the Simple plan. That's an immediate jump from $6 to $12 per employee per month, plus state registration fees. A 20-person distributed team goes from $169/month to $320/month overnight.

Scenario 2: Adding HR features piecemeal. Need time tracking? That's extra. PTO management? Upgrade to Plus. Performance reviews? Also Plus. Each feature you add pushes you toward the next tier, and Gusto's tier structure means you pay for everything in that tier — even features you don't use.

Scenario 3: Rapid growth. Per-employee pricing is a tax on success. Hire 10 people in a quarter and your Gusto bill jumps by $60–$220 per month depending on your plan. Over a year, that's $720–$2,640 in additional cost — just for the software, not the people. According to Forbes, this scaling cost is a common pain point for growing companies using per-seat payroll platforms.

What to do about it: If you're hitting any of these triggers, it's time to evaluate flat-rate alternatives. Platforms that charge a fixed annual fee regardless of headcount — like Tiny Team at $899/year for up to 50 people — eliminate the growth penalty entirely.

Best Gusto Alternatives for Budget-Conscious Teams

If Gusto's per-seat pricing doesn't work for your budget, these alternatives offer different pricing models worth considering.

Tiny Team — Flat-rate HR platform starting at $299/year for up to 15 people. Includes people management, team calendar, documents, hiring, performance reviews, and compensation tracking. No per-employee fees. The Growth plan covers up to 50 people for $899/year — that's what one month of Gusto Premium costs at the same team size.

Rippling — Starts at $8/employee/month with a modular approach. You pick the features you need and pay only for those. Good flexibility, but costs add up quickly once you stack modules. See our full Rippling pricing breakdown.

BambooHR — Starts around $13/employee/month. Strong HR features with a focus on employee experience, onboarding, and performance management. Less focused on payroll than Gusto. Read our BambooHR pricing analysis for details.

Paychex Flex — Starts around $39/month + $5/employee. Good for very small teams needing basic payroll with optional HR add-ons. Limited in HR features compared to Gusto's Plus tier.

Justworks — PEO model starting at $8/employee/month. Includes payroll, benefits, and compliance, but you're effectively co-employing your team, which isn't right for everyone.

For a comprehensive comparison, our guide to Gusto alternatives covers five options in detail, with feature-by-feature analysis and recommendations by team size.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does Gusto cost per month?

Gusto's monthly cost depends on your plan and team size. The Simple plan starts at $49/month plus $6 per employee. The Plus plan is $80/month plus $12 per employee. The Premium plan runs $180/month plus $22 per employee. For a 10-person team, expect $109–$400 per month before add-ons.

Does Gusto offer a free plan or free trial?

Gusto does not offer a free plan. They do provide a limited trial for new accounts, and the Contractor Only plan sometimes runs promotions with a waived base fee for the first six months. There's no permanent free tier for payroll.

What's the cheapest Gusto plan for a small team?

The Contractor Only plan at $35/month + $6/contractor is the cheapest, but it's only for 1099 payments. For W-2 employees, the Simple plan at $49/month + $6/employee is the entry point. A 5-person team pays $79/month ($948/year) on Simple.

How does Gusto pricing compare to BambooHR?

BambooHR typically costs around $13 per employee per month, while Gusto's Plus plan (the most comparable tier) costs $80/month base plus $12 per employee. For small teams under 15, BambooHR may be cheaper. For larger teams, the base fee dilution makes Gusto slightly more competitive per head. See our full BambooHR vs Gusto comparison.

Is Gusto worth the price for startups?

For seed-stage startups under 10 employees in one state, Gusto's Simple plan is competitive and easy to set up. But if you're growing quickly or hiring remotely across states, the per-employee costs scale faster than flat-rate alternatives. At 25+ employees, platforms like Tiny Team can save you thousands annually.

What hidden fees should I know about with Gusto?

The main hidden costs include multi-state registration fees, benefits administration premiums (billed separately by insurance providers), time tracking add-ons on the Simple plan (~$6/employee/month extra), and international contractor payment fees. Always request a full cost estimate for your specific situation before committing.