Is Gusto or Basecamp better?

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

Which is cheaper, Gusto or Basecamp?

Basecamp has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $49/month for Gusto and Free for Basecamp.

Does Gusto or Basecamp run on more platforms?

Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.

Can I use Basecamp for free?

Yes. Basecamp has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Gusto starts at $49/month.

What is Gusto best used for?

Gusto is most often used for payroll processing, benefits administration, tax compliance, employee onboarding. Of those, payroll processing and benefits administration are not what Basecamp is typically brought in for.

What can Gusto do that Basecamp cannot?

Gusto covers Automated payroll, Tax filing, Benefits administration, Time tracking. Basecamp covers Message boards, To-do lists, Schedules, Documents & files. Both handle Slack, SOC2, 2FA.

All industries · head to head

Gusto vs Basecamp

Gusto

All industries

The people platform for small businesses

From: $49/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

Basecamp

All industries

Project management & team collaboration software

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Basecamp has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Gusto customer service can be slow and unresponsive to issues; Basecamp the free tier allows one project and 1 GB of storage
They diverge on capability: Gusto covers Automated payroll, Basecamp covers Message boards.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Gusto and Basecamp actually diverge.

Attributes where Gusto and Basecamp differ
Attribute	Gusto	Basecamp
Starting price	$49/month	Free
Pricing model	Unknown	freemium
Free tier	No	Yes
Founded	2011	2004

Identical on both: platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (All industries).

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 Gusto

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

Only in Basecamp

Message boards
To-do lists
Schedules
Documents & files
Group chat
Check-in questions
Hill Charts
Email forwards

Both cover

Slack
SOC2
2FA

What people use each for

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

Gusto

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

Basecamp

Project management for a small team in one placenot Gusto
Message boards and chat alongside to-dosnot Gusto
Client collaboration, since guests are not chargednot Gusto
Flat-rate project management for a larger team on Pro Unlimitednot Gusto

Where each one falls short

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

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

Basecamp

The free tier allows one project and 1 GB of storage
Pro is $15 per user per month, so cost scales with headcount unlike the flat Pro Unlimited at $299 a month billed annually
Storage beyond the plan costs $50 a month per additional terabyte
Timesheet and the Admin Pro Pack are paid upgrades on Pro and only bundled with Pro Unlimited

Pricing, plan by plan

Gusto

$49/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Gusto review.

Basecamp

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Basecamp review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Gusto if

You need automated payroll.
You also want tax filing.

Gusto review

Choose Basecamp if

You need message boards.
You want to start without paying.
You also want to-do lists.

Basecamp review

Questions people ask

Is Gusto or Basecamp better?: Neither clearly leads. Gusto starts at $49/month and Basecamp at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Gusto or Basecamp?: Basecamp has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $49/month for Gusto and Free for Basecamp.
Does Gusto or Basecamp run on more platforms?: Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Basecamp for free?: Yes. Basecamp has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Gusto starts at $49/month.
What is Gusto best used for?: Gusto is most often used for payroll processing, benefits administration, tax compliance, employee onboarding. Of those, payroll processing and benefits administration are not what Basecamp is typically brought in for.
What can Gusto do that Basecamp cannot?: Gusto covers Automated payroll, Tax filing, Benefits administration, Time tracking. Basecamp covers Message boards, To-do lists, Schedules, Documents & files. Both handle Slack, SOC2, 2FA.

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

Gusto vs Basecamp

Gusto

Basecamp

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Gusto

Only in Basecamp

Both cover

What people use each for

Gusto

Basecamp

Where each one falls short

Gusto

Basecamp

Pricing, plan by plan

Gusto

Basecamp

Which should you pick?

Choose Gusto if

Choose Basecamp if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Gusto

More on Basecamp

Keep looking

Other head to heads