Softwr

Payroll · head to head

Gusto vs Justworks

Gusto logo

Gusto

Payroll

The people platform for small businesses

From
$49/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Justworks logo

Justworks

Payroll

Professional employer organisation with published per-employee pricing and a separate payroll-only tier

From
$8/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Gusto customer service can be slow and unresponsive to issues; Justworks the published per-employee fee is the platform charge, not your cost; health insurance premiums and workers' compensation are billed on top and are usually several times larger, so the transparent price is transparent about the smaller number.
  • They diverge on capability: Gusto covers Automated payroll, Justworks covers Co-employment PEO.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Gusto and Justworks actually diverge.

Attributes where Gusto and Justworks differ
AttributeGustoJustworks
Starting price$49/month$8/month
Pricing modelUnknownPer employee per month
PlatformsWebWeb, iOS, Android
Founded2011Unknown

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 Gusto

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

Only in Justworks

  • Co-employment PEO
  • Large-group benefits
  • Payroll and filings
  • Workers' compensation
  • Compliance support
  • Standalone payroll
  • International contractors
  • HR consulting

What people use each for

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

Gusto

  • Payroll processingnot Justworks
  • Benefits administrationnot Justworks
  • Tax compliancenot Justworks
  • Employee onboardingnot Justworks
  • Time trackingnot Justworks

Justworks

  • A twenty-person US startup that wants health insurance comparable to a large employer without an insurance broker relationshipnot Gusto
  • A company hiring across several US states that does not want to register as an employer and file taxes in each of themnot Gusto
  • A founder replacing a bookkeeper-run payroll with something that will not produce a state tax penalty noticenot Gusto
  • A team that wants payroll and benefits administration only, without co-employment, at the $8 per employee tiernot 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

Justworks

  • The published per-employee fee is the platform charge, not your cost; health insurance premiums and workers' compensation are billed on top and are usually several times larger, so the transparent price is transparent about the smaller number.
  • Leaving a PEO is a project, not a cancellation: you must source your own health plan, obtain your own state employer registrations and unemployment accounts, and time the switch to a plan year, which typically takes months.
  • Coverage is United States only, so the moment you hire your first employee in another country you are running a second system and Justworks handles them only as a contractor.
  • PEO Basic looks like a cheaper way in but excludes the Justworks health plans, which is the main reason companies choose a PEO at all, so most buyers end up on Plus.
  • Benefit plan choice is constrained to what Justworks has negotiated, and a company with strong preferences about carriers or network coverage in a specific region may find the options do not fit.

Pricing, plan by plan

Gusto

$49/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Gusto review.

Justworks

$8/month
  • Payroll$8/month
    • Plus a $50 monthly base fee
    • Payroll, tax filing and benefits administration
    • No co-employment, so no access to Justworks health plans at PEO rates
  • PEO Basic$79/month
    • Full co-employment PEO
    • Payroll, tax filing and compliance
    • Does not include access to Justworks-sponsored health plans
  • PEO Plus$109/month
    • Everything in Basic
    • Access to Justworks health, dental and vision plans
    • Premiums are billed separately and are the larger cost
  • Dedicated HR consulting$30/month
    • Add-on to PEO plans
    • Named HR adviser support

Which should you pick?

Choose Gusto if

  • You need automated payroll.
  • You also want tax filing.
Gusto review

Choose Justworks if

  • You need co-employment peo.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want large-group benefits.
Justworks review

Questions people ask

Is Gusto or Justworks better?
Neither clearly leads. Gusto starts at $49/month and Justworks at $8/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Gusto or Justworks?
Gusto starts at $49/month and Justworks at $8/month.
Does Gusto or Justworks run on more platforms?
Gusto runs on Web. Justworks runs on Web, iOS, Android.
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 Justworks is typically brought in for.
What can Gusto do that Justworks cannot?
Gusto covers Automated payroll, Tax filing, Benefits administration, Time tracking. Justworks covers Co-employment PEO, Large-group benefits, Payroll and filings, Workers' compensation.

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
Justworks: What does co-employment actually mean?

Justworks becomes the employer of record for payroll tax and benefits purposes while you retain full control over hiring, management and day-to-day work. It is a legal arrangement, not an outsourcing of your team.

Gusto: Does Gusto include unlimited payroll runs?

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

Source
Justworks: Is the $79 figure my total monthly cost per employee?

No. It is the platform fee. Health insurance premiums, dental, vision and workers' compensation are additional and typically dwarf it.

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
Justworks: Can Justworks employ people outside the US?

No. It can pay international contractors, but it is not an employer of record abroad.

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
Justworks: What is the difference between the Payroll plan and the PEO?

The Payroll plan handles payroll and benefits administration under your own EIN at $8 per employee per month plus a base fee. The PEO adds co-employment and pooled large-group insurance at $79 or $109.

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