Is Gusto or Microsoft Power Automate better?

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

Which is cheaper, Gusto or Microsoft Power Automate?

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

Does Gusto or Microsoft Power Automate run on more platforms?

Gusto runs on Web. Microsoft Power Automate runs on Web, Cloud, Desktop.

Can I use Microsoft Power Automate for free?

Yes. Microsoft Power Automate 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 Microsoft Power Automate is typically brought in for.

What can Gusto do that Microsoft Power Automate cannot?

Gusto covers Automated payroll, Tax filing, Benefits administration, Time tracking. Microsoft Power Automate covers Automated flows, Instant flows, Scheduled flows, Desktop automation. Both handle SOC2.

Software · head to head

Gusto vs Microsoft Power Automate

Gusto

Software

The people platform for small businesses

From: $49/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

Microsoft Power Automate

Software

Automate tasks across cloud and on-premises apps

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Microsoft Power Automate 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; Microsoft Power Automate free plan limited to 750 flow runs/month and standard connectors only; premium connectors require paid plans
They diverge on capability: Gusto covers Automated payroll, Microsoft Power Automate covers Automated flows.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Gusto and Microsoft Power Automate actually diverge.

Attributes where Gusto and Microsoft Power Automate differ
Attribute	Gusto	Microsoft Power Automate
Starting price	$49/month	Free
Free tier	No	Yes
Platforms	Web	Web, Cloud, Desktop
Founded	2011	2016

Identical on both: pricing model (Unknown), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 Microsoft Power Automate

Automated flows
Instant flows
Scheduled flows
Desktop automation
Process mining
Business process flows
Approval workflows
500+ connectors

Both cover

SOC2

What people use each for

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

Gusto

Payroll processingnot Microsoft Power Automate
Benefits administrationnot Microsoft Power Automate
Tax compliancenot Microsoft Power Automate
Employee onboardingnot Microsoft Power Automate
Time trackingnot Microsoft Power Automate

Microsoft Power Automate

Workflow Automationnot Gusto
Data Integrationnot Gusto
Process Automationnot Gusto
App Integrationnot Gusto
API Connectivitynot 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

Microsoft Power Automate

Free plan limited to 750 flow runs/month and standard connectors only; premium connectors require paid plans
Not suitable for long-running workflows; can fail unexpectedly without warning
Limited to simple linear logic; fails with complex workflows involving multiple stakeholders
Tasks cannot automate at scale when requiring more than approximately 60 users

Pricing, plan by plan

Gusto

$49/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Gusto review.

Microsoft Power Automate

Free

FreeFree
- 750 flow runs/month
- Standard connectors only
- Basic cloud flows
Premium$15/user/month
- Cloud flows (DPA)
- Attended RPA
- 250 MB Dataverse database
Process$150/bot/month
- Unattended automation
- Cloud and desktop flows
- 50 MB Dataverse database
Hosted Process$215/bot/month
- Microsoft-managed virtual machine
- Unattended automation
- Same Dataverse entitlements as Process plan

Which should you pick?

Choose Gusto if

You need automated payroll.
You also want tax filing.

Gusto review

Choose Microsoft Power Automate if

You need automated flows.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, Cloud, Desktop.
You also want instant flows.

Microsoft Power Automate review

Questions people ask

Is Gusto or Microsoft Power Automate better?: Neither clearly leads. Gusto starts at $49/month and Microsoft Power Automate at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Gusto or Microsoft Power Automate?: Microsoft Power Automate has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $49/month for Gusto and Free for Microsoft Power Automate.
Does Gusto or Microsoft Power Automate run on more platforms?: Gusto runs on Web. Microsoft Power Automate runs on Web, Cloud, Desktop.
Can I use Microsoft Power Automate for free?: Yes. Microsoft Power Automate 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 Microsoft Power Automate is typically brought in for.
What can Gusto do that Microsoft Power Automate cannot?: Gusto covers Automated payroll, Tax filing, Benefits administration, Time tracking. Microsoft Power Automate covers Automated flows, Instant flows, Scheduled flows, Desktop automation. Both handle SOC2.

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

Microsoft Power Automate: Is Power Automate included with Microsoft 365?

Yes. If you have an eligible Microsoft 365 subscription, you can use Power Automate at no extra cost for flows relying only on standard connectors (SharePoint, Outlook, Teams). Premium connectors (Salesforce, SAP, Oracle) require paid plans.

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

Microsoft Power Automate: How many flow runs are allowed on the free plan?

Power Automate's free tier (included with Microsoft 365) is limited to 750 flow runs per month and standard connectors only. Out of 900+ total connectors, the free plan only includes Microsoft ecosystem apps and limited third-party apps.

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

Microsoft Power Automate: What's the difference between Premium and Process plans?

Premium ($15/user/month) provides attended automation with cloud flows and standard RPA. Process plan ($150/bot/month) enables unattended automation where bots run without human intervention on virtual machines for high-volume, repetitive tasks.

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

Microsoft Power Automate: Does Power Automate support long-running workflows?

No. Power Automate is not suitable for long-lasting workflows because they can run without warning and fail unexpectedly. The platform is built for linear, branching logic (if-then) rather than complex, multi-step business processes involving multiple stakeholders.

Source

Gusto vs Microsoft Power Automate

Gusto

Microsoft Power Automate

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Gusto

Only in Microsoft Power Automate

Both cover

What people use each for

Gusto

Microsoft Power Automate

Where each one falls short

Gusto

Microsoft Power Automate

Pricing, plan by plan

Gusto

Microsoft Power Automate

Which should you pick?

Choose Gusto if

Choose Microsoft Power Automate if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Gusto

More on Microsoft Power Automate

Keep looking

Other head to heads