Is Airbase or Gusto better?

Neither clearly leads. Airbase starts at $29/month and Gusto at $49/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Airbase or Gusto?

Airbase starts at $29/month and Gusto at $49/month.

Does Airbase or Gusto run on more platforms?

Airbase runs on Web, Ios, Android. Gusto runs on Web.

What is Airbase best used for?

Airbase is most often used for spend management, expense reporting, vendor payments. Of those, spend management and expense reporting are not what Gusto is typically brought in for.

What can Airbase do that Gusto cannot?

Airbase covers Corporate cards, Bill payments, Expense management, Procurement. Gusto covers Automated payroll, Tax filing, Benefits administration, Time tracking. Both handle QuickBooks, Xero, Slack, PCI DSS.

Accounting & Finance · head to head

Airbase vs Gusto

Airbase

Accounting & Finance

The first all-in-one spend management platform

From: $29/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

Gusto

All industries

The people platform for small businesses

From: $49/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: Airbase airbase was acquired by Paylocity; its pricing page now redirects to paylocity.com/pricing and the product is marketed as 'Airbase, a Paylocity Company' within Paylocity's HCM platform rather than as a standalone product.; Gusto customer service can be slow and unresponsive to issues
They diverge on capability: Airbase covers Corporate cards, Gusto covers Automated payroll.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Airbase and Gusto actually diverge.

Attributes where Airbase and Gusto differ
Attribute	Airbase	Gusto
Starting price	$29/month	$49/month
Pricing model	subscription	Unknown
Platforms	Web, Ios, Android	Web
Category	Accounting & Finance	All industries
Founded	2017	2011

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Airbase

Corporate cards
Bill payments
Expense management
Procurement
Approvals
NetSuite
Sage Intacct
SOC 2 Type II

Only in Gusto

Automated payroll
Tax filing
Benefits administration
Time tracking
Employee onboarding
HR compliance
Workers' comp
401(k) management

Both cover

QuickBooks
Xero
Slack
PCI DSS

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Airbase

Spend managementnot Gusto
Expense reportingnot Gusto
Vendor paymentsnot Gusto

Gusto

Payroll processingnot Airbase
Benefits administrationnot Airbase
Tax compliancenot Airbase
Employee onboardingnot Airbase
Time trackingnot Airbase

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Airbase

Airbase was acquired by Paylocity; its pricing page now redirects to paylocity.com/pricing and the product is marketed as 'Airbase, a Paylocity Company' within Paylocity's HCM platform rather than as a standalone product.

Gusto

Customer service can be slow and unresponsive to issues
Weak reporting capabilities, cannot export data to spreadsheets for analysis
Support staff lacks deep payroll expertise and knowledge
Rehired employees do not have settings reset, causing manual cleanup work
City tax handling requires additional monitoring and monitoring
Onboarding can have issues with bank account verification and tax registration

Pricing, plan by plan

Airbase

$29/month

StandardFree
- Corporate cards
- Expense reports
- Bill pay
Premium$10/month
- Advanced approvals
- NetSuite sync
- Procurement
Enterprise$undefined/month
- Custom workflows
- API access
- Dedicated support

Gusto

$49/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Gusto review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Airbase if

You need corporate cards.
You work on Web, Ios, Android.
You also want bill payments.

Airbase review

Choose Gusto if

You need automated payroll.
You also want tax filing.

Gusto review

Questions people ask

Is Airbase or Gusto better?: Neither clearly leads. Airbase starts at $29/month and Gusto at $49/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Airbase or Gusto?: Airbase starts at $29/month and Gusto at $49/month.
Does Airbase or Gusto run on more platforms?: Airbase runs on Web, Ios, Android. Gusto runs on Web.
What is Airbase best used for?: Airbase is most often used for spend management, expense reporting, vendor payments. Of those, spend management and expense reporting are not what Gusto is typically brought in for.
What can Airbase do that Gusto cannot?: Airbase covers Corporate cards, Bill payments, Expense management, Procurement. Gusto covers Automated payroll, Tax filing, Benefits administration, Time tracking. Both handle QuickBooks, Xero, Slack, PCI DSS.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Gusto: What is Gusto's starting price?

Gusto starts at $49 per month plus $6 per person. The company also offers a Contractor-only plan for $35 per month plus $6 per contractor.

Source

Gusto: Does Gusto include unlimited payroll runs?

Yes, all Gusto plans include unlimited payroll runs at no extra charge, including off-cycle payrolls.

Source

Gusto: What core features are included in Gusto?

All plans include payroll processing, tax administration, digital onboarding, benefits enrollment, time tracking, performance management, and next-day direct deposit for most plans.

Source

Gusto: Does Gusto support integrations?

Yes, Gusto integrates with accounting software, applicant tracking systems, benefits providers, time-tracking tools, and other business platforms to reduce data entry.

Source

Airbase vs Gusto

Airbase

Gusto

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Airbase

Only in Gusto

Both cover

What people use each for

Airbase

Gusto

Where each one falls short

Airbase

Gusto

Pricing, plan by plan

Airbase

Gusto

Which should you pick?

Choose Airbase if

Choose Gusto if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Airbase

More on Gusto

Keep looking

Other head to heads