Payroll · head to head
DailyPay vs Gusto
DailyPay
Payroll
On demand pay integrated with United States payroll and time systems
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: DailyPay instant transfers cost the employee roughly $2.49 to $3.99 each, deducted from the transfer, so a worker taking money twice a week pays a meaningful share of a low wage over a year.; Gusto customer service can be slow and unresponsive to issues
- They diverge on capability: DailyPay covers Payroll and time integration, Gusto covers Automated payroll.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which DailyPay and Gusto actually diverge.
Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Payroll).
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 DailyPay
- Payroll and time integration
- Instant and standard transfers
- DailyPay prepaid card
- Off cycle payments
- Employer controls
- Automatic payroll reconciliation
- Savings features
- Adoption reporting
Only in Gusto
- Automated payroll
- Tax filing
- Benefits administration
- Time tracking
- Employee onboarding
- HR compliance
- Workers' comp
- 401(k) management
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
DailyPay
- A national restaurant or retail chain using same day pay as a recruitment claim in a tight hourly labour marketnot Gusto
- A staffing agency paying temporary workers immediately after a completed shiftnot Gusto
- A healthcare employer covering nurse and aide shift gaps with instant pay incentivesnot Gusto
- An employer eliminating manual payroll advances and off cycle cheque runs for final paynot Gusto
Gusto
- Payroll processingnot DailyPay
- Benefits administrationnot DailyPay
- Tax compliancenot DailyPay
- Employee onboardingnot DailyPay
- Time trackingnot DailyPay
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
DailyPay
- Instant transfers cost the employee roughly $2.49 to $3.99 each, deducted from the transfer, so a worker taking money twice a week pays a meaningful share of a low wage over a year.
- The fee free route pushes workers onto the DailyPay prepaid card as their direct deposit destination, which monetises them through interchange instead, so no path is genuinely free of cost to the worker.
- The employer usually pays little, which removes the internal pressure to negotiate down a fee that falls entirely on staff.
- Integration touches payroll and time and attendance systems, so employers with fragmented or on premise time capture face a slow implementation and inaccurate accrual until data quality is fixed.
- United States state level earned wage access laws now differ on disclosure, fee caps and whether the product counts as credit, so multi state employers must track a moving compliance picture rather than a single federal rule.
Gusto
- Customer service can be slow and unresponsive to issues
- Weak reporting capabilities, cannot export data to spreadsheets for analysis
- Support staff lacks deep payroll expertise and knowledge
- Rehired employees do not have settings reset, causing manual cleanup work
- City tax handling requires additional monitoring and monitoring
- Onboarding can have issues with bank account verification and tax registration
Pricing, plan by plan
DailyPay
On request- DailyPay for employers$undefined/year
- Employer cost quoted per customer and often minimal
- Employee pays approximately $2.49 to $3.99 per instant transfer
- Standard next business day transfers are free to the employee
Gusto
$49/monthNo published plan breakdown. See the Gusto review.
Which should you pick?
Choose DailyPay if
- You need payroll and time integration.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want instant and standard transfers.
Questions people ask
- Is DailyPay or Gusto better?
- Neither clearly leads. DailyPay starts at On request and Gusto at $49/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, DailyPay or Gusto?
- DailyPay starts at On request and Gusto at $49/month.
- Does DailyPay or Gusto run on more platforms?
- DailyPay runs on Web, iOS, Android. Gusto runs on Web.
- What is DailyPay best used for?
- DailyPay is most often used for a national restaurant or retail chain using same day pay as a recruitment claim in a tight hourly labour market, a staffing agency paying temporary workers immediately after a completed shift, a healthcare employer covering nurse and aide shift gaps with instant pay incentives, an employer eliminating manual payroll advances and off cycle cheque runs for final pay. Of those, a national restaurant or retail chain using same day pay as a recruitment claim in a tight hourly labour market and a staffing agency paying temporary workers immediately after a completed shift are not what Gusto is typically brought in for.
- What can DailyPay do that Gusto cannot?
- DailyPay covers Payroll and time integration, Instant and standard transfers, DailyPay prepaid card, Off cycle payments. Gusto covers Automated payroll, Tax filing, Benefits administration, Time tracking.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
DailyPay: Does the employee pay a fee?
Yes for instant transfers, roughly $2.49 to $3.99 each depending on the employer programme. Next business day transfers are free.
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.
SourceDailyPay: Can employees avoid the fee entirely?
Yes, by using the DailyPay prepaid card as their direct deposit account, which gives instant access without the transfer fee but earns DailyPay interchange instead.
Gusto: Does Gusto include unlimited payroll runs?
Yes, all Gusto plans include unlimited payroll runs at no extra charge, including off-cycle payrolls.
SourceDailyPay: Does the employer fund the advances?
No. DailyPay funds transfers and recovers them at the payroll run, so employer cash flow is unchanged.
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.
SourceGusto: 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.
SourceRelated pages
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