Is Gusto or LiquidPlanner better?

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

Which is cheaper, Gusto or LiquidPlanner?

Gusto starts at $49/month and LiquidPlanner at On request.

Does Gusto or LiquidPlanner run on more platforms?

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

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 LiquidPlanner is typically brought in for.

What can Gusto do that LiquidPlanner cannot?

Gusto covers Automated payroll, Tax filing, Benefits administration, Employee onboarding. LiquidPlanner covers Predictive scheduling, Resource management, Analytics, Workload management. Both handle Time tracking, Slack.

All industries · head to head

Gusto vs LiquidPlanner

Gusto

All industries

The people platform for small businesses

From: $49/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

LiquidPlanner

Project Management

Predictive project management

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: Gusto customer service can be slow and unresponsive to issues; LiquidPlanner rebranded to Tempo Portfolio Manager; the pricing page shows no published figures, only an early access sign-up
They diverge on capability: Gusto covers Automated payroll, LiquidPlanner covers Predictive scheduling.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Gusto and LiquidPlanner actually diverge.

Attributes where Gusto and LiquidPlanner differ
Attribute	Gusto	LiquidPlanner
Starting price	$49/month	On request
Pricing model	Unknown	subscription
Category	All industries	Project Management
Founded	2011	2006

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web), 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 Gusto

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

Only in LiquidPlanner

Predictive scheduling
Resource management
Analytics
Workload management
Jira
Salesforce
SOC 2
Web support

Both cover

Time tracking
Slack

What people use each for

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

Gusto

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

LiquidPlanner

Productivitynot Gusto
Collaborationnot Gusto
Task managementnot Gusto
Organizationnot 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

LiquidPlanner

Rebranded to Tempo Portfolio Manager; the pricing page shows no published figures, only an early access sign-up

Pricing, plan by plan

Gusto

$49/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Gusto review.

LiquidPlanner

On request

Essentials$15/month
- Project management
- Basic scheduling
Professional$25/month
- Predictive scheduling
- Resource management
- Analytics

Which should you pick?

Choose Gusto if

You need automated payroll.
You also want tax filing.

Gusto review

Choose LiquidPlanner if

You need predictive scheduling.
You also want resource management.

LiquidPlanner review

Questions people ask

Is Gusto or LiquidPlanner better?: Neither clearly leads. Gusto starts at $49/month and LiquidPlanner at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Gusto or LiquidPlanner?: Gusto starts at $49/month and LiquidPlanner at On request.
Does Gusto or LiquidPlanner run on more platforms?: Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
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 LiquidPlanner is typically brought in for.
What can Gusto do that LiquidPlanner cannot?: Gusto covers Automated payroll, Tax filing, Benefits administration, Employee onboarding. LiquidPlanner covers Predictive scheduling, Resource management, Analytics, Workload management. Both handle Time tracking, Slack.

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 LiquidPlanner

Gusto

LiquidPlanner

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Gusto

Only in LiquidPlanner

Both cover

What people use each for

Gusto

LiquidPlanner

Where each one falls short

Gusto

LiquidPlanner

Pricing, plan by plan

Gusto

LiquidPlanner

Which should you pick?

Choose Gusto if

Choose LiquidPlanner if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Gusto

More on LiquidPlanner

Keep looking

Other head to heads