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Payroll · head to head

Gusto vs QuickBooks

Gusto logo

Gusto

Payroll

The people platform for small businesses

From
$49/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
QuickBooks logo

QuickBooks

Accounting

Cloud accounting from Intuit with country specific editions, seat caps by plan and payroll charged separately

From
$30/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Gusto customer service can be slow and unresponsive to issues; QuickBooks plans cap the number of billed users, so an approver who signs off bills and a manager who only reads reports each consume a seat and can force an upgrade to a higher tier for reasons that have nothing to do with accounting complexity.
  • They diverge on capability: Gusto covers Automated payroll, QuickBooks covers General ledger.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Gusto and QuickBooks actually diverge.

Attributes where Gusto and QuickBooks differ
AttributeGustoQuickBooks
Starting price$49/month$30/month
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
PlatformsWebWeb, Ios, Android, Api
CategoryPayrollAccounting
Founded20111983

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 QuickBooks

  • General ledger
  • Bank feeds
  • Reconciliation
  • Sales invoicing
  • Bills and expenses
  • Sales tax and value added tax
  • Multi currency
  • Inventory

Both cover

  • Time tracking

What people use each for

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

Gusto

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

QuickBooks

  • A small business whose accountant works in QuickBooks and can take a free access seat rather than being sent exportsnot Gusto
  • An owner who wants to be able to replace their bookkeeper without also replacing the accounting systemnot Gusto
  • A service business needing project level profitability without buying a separate job costing toolnot Gusto
  • A company that wants a large third party app ecosystem to fill gaps rather than a system that must do everything itselfnot 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

QuickBooks

  • Plans cap the number of billed users, so an approver who signs off bills and a manager who only reads reports each consume a seat and can force an upgrade to a higher tier for reasons that have nothing to do with accounting complexity.
  • Multi currency is confined to the higher tiers and, once enabled, cannot be turned off and the home currency cannot be changed, so a single foreign currency invoice permanently changes the shape of the file and the plan you must remain on.
  • Inventory is average cost only, with no first in first out or standard costing, so a business whose accounts or tax position depend on a different costing method has to track stock outside the ledger and post adjustments.
  • There is no multi entity consolidation, so a group runs a separate subscription and file per company and consolidates in a spreadsheet, and the cost and the manual consolidation both grow with each new entity.
  • The country edition is selected at setup and cannot be changed afterwards, and the editions differ in tax handling and features, so a business that redomiciles or discovers it chose the global edition rather than a localised one starts a new file rather than switching a setting.

Pricing, plan by plan

Gusto

$49/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Gusto review.

QuickBooks

$30/month
  • Simple Start$30/month
    • Income & expense tracking
    • Invoice & payments
    • Tax deductions
  • Essentials$60/month
    • Everything in Simple Start
    • Bill management
    • Time tracking
  • Plus$90/month
    • Everything in Essentials
    • Inventory tracking
    • Project profitability
  • Advanced$200/month
    • Everything in Plus
    • Dedicated account team
    • 25 users

Which should you pick?

Choose Gusto if

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

Choose QuickBooks if

  • You need general ledger.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
  • You also want bank feeds.
QuickBooks review

Questions people ask

Is Gusto or QuickBooks better?
Neither clearly leads. Gusto starts at $49/month and QuickBooks at $30/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Gusto or QuickBooks?
Gusto starts at $49/month and QuickBooks at $30/month.
Does Gusto or QuickBooks run on more platforms?
Gusto runs on Web. QuickBooks runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
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 QuickBooks is typically brought in for.
What can Gusto do that QuickBooks cannot?
Gusto covers Automated payroll, Tax filing, Benefits administration, Employee onboarding. QuickBooks covers General ledger, Bank feeds, Reconciliation, Sales invoicing. Both handle Time tracking.

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
QuickBooks: Which country editions actually exist?

Intuit sells localised editions principally for the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, with a global edition for other markets that has lighter tax localisation. Check that your country has a genuine localised edition before assuming filing support, and note the edition cannot be changed after setup.

Gusto: Does Gusto include unlimited payroll runs?

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

Source
QuickBooks: Does the subscription include payroll?

No. Payroll is a separate subscription with a per employee charge in every market that offers it. Price it alongside the plan rather than after you have committed.

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
QuickBooks: How many users do I get?

It depends on the tier, and the limits are lower than most buyers expect. Accountant access seats are free and separate, but internal approvers and read only reviewers count against the billed limit, so count everyone who needs to sign in before choosing a plan.

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
QuickBooks: Can my accountant work directly in my file?

Yes, that is one of its main advantages. Accountants use a separate practice console and take a free access seat in your company, which is also why so many practices standardise on it.

QuickBooks: Is QuickBooks Desktop still available?

The desktop line persists in the United States for larger installations, but Intuit stopped selling new subscriptions of the smaller desktop products to new customers and the investment is in the online product. Treat desktop as a legacy path rather than a choice for a new business.

QuickBooks: How hard is it to migrate to or from QuickBooks?

Getting in from another system is well trodden and there are tools and specialists for it, though transaction history usually arrives partially rather than completely. Getting out is the harder direction, because your accountant's working knowledge, your app integrations and years of coded history all have to be reproduced. Most businesses move at a year end for that reason.

QuickBooks: Can it consolidate multiple companies?

No. Each legal entity needs its own subscription and file, and the consolidation happens outside the system. Groups with several entities should price that reality in from the start.

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