Payroll · alternatives
Alternatives to Gusto
23 payroll tools sit alongside Gusto in this directory. Below is what separates each from Gusto on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 23
- With a free tier
- 4
- Cheaper to start
- 3
- Gusto starts at
- $49/month
Why people look past Gusto
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the Gusto entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
It costs more than the category median
Gusto starts at $49/month. Across the 3 payroll tools listed beside it that publish a price, the median entry point is $10/month.
There is no free tier
The record for Gusto carries no free tier, so evaluating it means paying first. 4 of the 23 alternatives below can be used without paying.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
Manage HR, IT, and Finance in one place
- Starts $41 a month cheaper, at $8/month.
All-in-one HR, payroll, talent, and benefits
- Starts $26 a employee per month cheaper, at $23/employee per month.
HR software with heart
- Starts $39 a month per employee cheaper, at $10/month per employee.
Brazilian employee benefits and earned wage access app, owned by Serasa Experian since 2024
- Can be used without paying; Gusto cannot.
Virtual card issuing and spend controls layered onto existing business credit cards
- Can be used without paying; Gusto cannot.
Earned wage access and financial wellness benefit, free to employers and free for standard transfers
- Can be used without paying; Gusto cannot.
Every Gusto alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gusto (this page) | $49/month | - | - | |
| RipplingModern HR and payroll platform with benefits administration | $8/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Gusto |
| ADP Workforce NowEnterprise payroll and HR solution with comprehensive features | $23/employee per month | - | - | vs Gusto |
| BambooHRAffordable HR software with payroll integration options | $10/month per employee | Subscription | - | vs Gusto |
| SalaryFits | Free | Free for employers, fees apply to advances and loans | 1 | vs Gusto |
| Extend | Free | Per user per month, free starter tier | 3 | vs Gusto |
| Payactiv | Free | Free for employers, fees apply only to expedited transfers | 1 | vs Gusto |
| Branch App | Free | Free for employers, fee-free standard access for workers | 1 | vs Gusto |
| Mooncard | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Gusto |
| Hastee | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Gusto |
| Jify | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Gusto |
| Openwage | On request | Per-transfer fee, paid by the employee | 1 | vs Gusto |
| Clair | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Gusto |
| Payhawk | On request | Per module per month | 4 | vs Gusto |
| Immediate | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Gusto |
| Wagestream | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Gusto |
| DailyPay | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Gusto |
| EnKash | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Gusto |
| Volopay | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Gusto |
| Refyne | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Gusto |
| Rain Instant Pay | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Gusto |
| PayFit | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Gusto |
| RemoFirst | On request | Quote | 2 | vs Gusto |
| Omnipresent | On request | Quote | 2 | vs Gusto |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the Gusto badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (4)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
- SalaryFits , Free
- Extend , Free
- Payactiv , Free
- Branch App , Free
Cheaper than Gusto (3)
Entry price under Gusto's $49/month. The record does not say what unit that price is charged in, so confirm per-seat versus flat rate before comparing budgets.
- Rippling , $8/month
- ADP Workforce Now , $23/employee per month
- BambooHR , $10/month per employee
What you would be giving up
Gusto is most often brought in for payroll processing, benefits administration, tax compliance, employee onboarding, time tracking. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If Gusto is broadly right and the question is cost, the Gusto pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Payroll category lists everything the directory holds, and best payroll tools ranks them.
Gusto runs on web. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about Gusto alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Gusto?
- 23 other payroll tools are listed in this directory, led by Rippling, ADP Workforce Now, BambooHR, SalaryFits. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Gusto?
- 4 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: SalaryFits, Extend, Payactiv, Branch App.
- Is there a cheaper alternative to Gusto?
- Yes. 3 of the alternatives below start under Gusto's $49/month: Rippling at $8/month, ADP Workforce Now at $23/employee per month, BambooHR at $10/month per employee.
- Why do people look for an alternative to Gusto?
- On the figures on record, 2 things stand out: it costs more than the category median; there is no free tier. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from Gusto?
- Gusto is most often brought in for payroll processing, benefits administration, tax compliance, employee onboarding, time tracking. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to Gusto?
- None of the payroll tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these Gusto alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Payroll, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare Gusto against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Gusto covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every payroll tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Payroll category, 23 tools beside Gusto. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.