Is Gusto or Payhawk better?

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

Which is cheaper, Gusto or Payhawk?

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

Does Gusto or Payhawk run on more platforms?

Gusto runs on Web. Payhawk 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 Payhawk is typically brought in for.

What can Gusto do that Payhawk cannot?

Gusto covers Automated payroll, Tax filing, Benefits administration, Time tracking. Payhawk covers Corporate cards, Accounts payable automation, Procurement module, Travel booking.

Payroll · head to head

Gusto vs Payhawk

Gusto

Payroll

The people platform for small businesses

From: $49/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

Payhawk

Payroll

Modular spend management combining corporate cards, accounts payable, procurement and travel

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; Payhawk buying the full stack of Travel, Accounts Payable, Cards and Procurement separately costs more than a single suite price, since each module carries its own flat monthly fee.
They diverge on capability: Gusto covers Automated payroll, Payhawk covers Corporate cards.
Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Gusto and Payhawk actually diverge.

Attributes where Gusto and Payhawk differ
Attribute	Gusto	Payhawk
Starting price	$49/month	On request
Pricing model	Unknown	Per module per month
Platforms	Web	Web, iOS, Android
Founded	2011	Unknown

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 Payhawk

Corporate cards
Accounts payable automation
Procurement module
Travel booking
ERP integrations
Multi-entity consolidation

What people use each for

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

Gusto

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

Payhawk

A multi-entity European business wanting one system for cards, expenses and payables across currenciesnot Gusto
A finance team that wants to price spend management before a sales call rather than negotiating blindnot Gusto
A company wanting only accounts payable automation without paying for card issuing it does not neednot Gusto
A mid-market business standardising ERP-integrated expense reporting ahead of a fundraise or auditnot 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

Payhawk

Buying the full stack of Travel, Accounts Payable, Cards and Procurement separately costs more than a single suite price, since each module carries its own flat monthly fee.
The unlimited-seats model is a poor fit for a company issuing cards to only a handful of employees, since the fixed module price does not scale down.
Card issuing depends on Payhawk's own banking partners rather than a company's existing bank, so switching away later means reissuing cards and re-training staff on a new tool.
Procurement is a separate paid module rather than a built-in feature, so a company evaluating "Payhawk" from marketing material may be looking at capability it has not actually bought.
International card acceptance and FX handling vary by market, and companies with material spend outside Europe report gaps compared to global card issuers.

Pricing, plan by plan

Gusto

$49/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Gusto review.

Payhawk

On request

Travel$299/month
- Integrated travel booking
- Unlimited employee seats
Accounts Payable$349/month
- Invoice capture and approval routing
- Unlimited document processing
Cards and Expenses$449/month
- Unlimited card transactions
- Multi-entity expense management
Procurement$499/month
- Purchase request and approval workflow
- Vendor management

Which should you pick?

Choose Gusto if

You need automated payroll.
You also want tax filing.

Gusto review

Choose Payhawk if

You need corporate cards.
You work on Web, iOS, Android.
You also want accounts payable automation.

Payhawk review

Questions people ask

Is Gusto or Payhawk better?: Neither clearly leads. Gusto starts at $49/month and Payhawk at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Gusto or Payhawk?: Gusto starts at $49/month and Payhawk at On request.
Does Gusto or Payhawk run on more platforms?: Gusto runs on Web. Payhawk 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 Payhawk is typically brought in for.
What can Gusto do that Payhawk cannot?: Gusto covers Automated payroll, Tax filing, Benefits administration, Time tracking. Payhawk covers Corporate cards, Accounts payable automation, Procurement module, Travel booking.

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

Payhawk: Is Payhawk pricing really public?

Yes, module pricing (Travel, Accounts Payable, Cards and Expenses, Procurement) is published starting at 299 to 499 dollars a month per module, or bundled as Payhawk Complete.

Gusto: Does Gusto include unlimited payroll runs?

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

Source

Payhawk: Does it charge per seat?

No, each module includes unlimited employee seats; the fixed monthly fee does not increase with headcount.

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

Payhawk: Can we buy just one module?

Yes, modules are sold separately, so a company can buy Accounts Payable without Cards or Procurement.

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 Payhawk

Gusto

Payhawk

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Gusto

Only in Payhawk

What people use each for

Gusto

Payhawk

Where each one falls short

Gusto

Payhawk

Pricing, plan by plan

Gusto

Payhawk

Which should you pick?

Choose Gusto if

Choose Payhawk if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Gusto

More on Payhawk

Keep looking

Other head to heads