Is Gusto or Xero better?

Neither clearly leads. Gusto starts at $49/month and Xero at $13/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Gusto or Xero?

Gusto starts at $49/month and Xero at $13/month.

Does Gusto or Xero run on more platforms?

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

What can Gusto do that Xero cannot?

Gusto covers Automated payroll, Tax filing, Benefits administration, Time tracking. Xero covers Bank reconciliation, Invoicing, Bill payment, Expense claims. Both handle Square, SOC2, 2FA.

All industries · head to head

Gusto vs Xero

Gusto

All industries

The people platform for small businesses

From: $49/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

Xero

All industries

Beautiful accounting software

From: $13/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: Gusto customer service can be slow and unresponsive to issues; Xero the Early plan caps you at 20 invoices and 5 bills per month, and the invoice limit counts both approving and sending
They diverge on capability: Gusto covers Automated payroll, Xero covers Bank reconciliation.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Gusto and Xero actually diverge.

Attributes where Gusto and Xero differ
Attribute	Gusto	Xero
Starting price	$49/month	$13/month
Pricing model	Unknown	subscription
Platforms	Web	Web, Ios, Android, Api
Founded	2011	2006

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (All industries).

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 Xero

Bank reconciliation
Invoicing
Bill payment
Expense claims
Financial reporting
Inventory tracking
Project tracking
Mobile apps

Both cover

Square
SOC2
2FA

What people use each for

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

Gusto

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

Xero

Small business bookkeeping, invoicing and bank reconciliationnot Gusto
Bill payment and purchase order managementnot Gusto
Sharing books with an accountant or bookkeepernot 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

Xero

The Early plan caps you at 20 invoices and 5 bills per month, and the invoice limit counts both approving and sending
Invoices created by connected app partners count against the Early plan invoice limit
Multiple currencies, project time and cost tracking, employee expense and mileage claims and industry benchmarking are restricted to the top Established plan at $90 per month
Cash flow forecasting is capped at 30 days on Early and 60 days on Growing, with 180 days only on Established
Payroll is not included in any plan and costs an extra $36 a month plus $6 per employee or contractor through Gusto
Inventory Plus is a paid optional add-on rather than part of any plan
The advertised 90% off applies only to the first 6 months, after which the regular $25, $55 or $90 monthly price auto-renews
The introductory discount excludes add-ons, usage charges and payment fees
Payment fees apply to online invoice payments and to bill payments other than standard domestic ACH, and are billed on top of the subscription
Subscriptions are billed monthly with no annual payment option, and after upgrading you must wait one month before downgrading to a cheaper plan
Xero states subscription prices are increasing from October 1, 2026

Pricing, plan by plan

Gusto

$49/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Gusto review.

Xero

$13/month

Early$13/month
- Send 20 invoices
- Enter 5 bills
- Reconcile bank transactions
Growing$37/month
- Unlimited invoices & bills
- Bulk reconcile transactions
- Short-term cash flow
Established$70/month
- Everything in Growing
- Use multiple currencies
- Track projects

Which should you pick?

Choose Gusto if

You need automated payroll.
You also want tax filing.

Gusto review

Choose Xero if

You need bank reconciliation.
You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
You also want invoicing.

Xero review

Questions people ask

Is Gusto or Xero better?: Neither clearly leads. Gusto starts at $49/month and Xero at $13/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Gusto or Xero?: Gusto starts at $49/month and Xero at $13/month.
Does Gusto or Xero run on more platforms?: Gusto runs on Web. Xero 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 Xero is typically brought in for.
What can Gusto do that Xero cannot?: Gusto covers Automated payroll, Tax filing, Benefits administration, Time tracking. Xero covers Bank reconciliation, Invoicing, Bill payment, Expense claims. Both handle Square, SOC2, 2FA.

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 Xero

Gusto

Xero

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Gusto

Only in Xero

Both cover

What people use each for

Gusto

Xero

Where each one falls short

Gusto

Xero

Pricing, plan by plan

Gusto

Xero

Which should you pick?

Choose Gusto if

Choose Xero if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Gusto

More on Xero

Keep looking

Other head to heads