Is Zenefits or Gusto better?

Neither clearly leads. Zenefits starts at $8/month and Gusto at $49/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Zenefits or Gusto?

Zenefits starts at $8/month and Gusto at $49/month.

Does Zenefits or Gusto run on more platforms?

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

What can Zenefits do that Gusto cannot?

Zenefits covers HR Administration, Benefits Management, Payroll, Time and Scheduling. Gusto covers Automated payroll, Tax filing, Benefits administration, Time tracking. Both handle Slack, QuickBooks, Xero.

Payroll & Benefits · head to head

Zenefits vs Gusto

Zenefits

Payroll & Benefits

All-in-one HR platform for growing companies

From: $8/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

Gusto

All industries

The people platform for small businesses

From: $49/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: Zenefits product discontinued by parent company TriNet; Gusto customer service can be slow and unresponsive to issues
They diverge on capability: Zenefits covers HR Administration, Gusto covers Automated payroll.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Zenefits and Gusto actually diverge.

Attributes where Zenefits and Gusto differ
Attribute	Zenefits	Gusto
Starting price	$8/month	$49/month
Pricing model	subscription	Unknown
Category	Payroll & Benefits	All industries
Founded	2013	2011

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 Zenefits

HR Administration
Benefits Management
Payroll
Time and Scheduling
Compliance
Performance Management
Google Workspace
Microsoft 365

Only in Gusto

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

Both cover

Slack
QuickBooks
Xero

What people use each for

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

Zenefits

No use cases recorded yet. See the Zenefits review.

Gusto

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

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Zenefits

Product discontinued by parent company TriNet
Remaining customers forced to migrate to more expensive TriNet products

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

Pricing, plan by plan

Zenefits

$8/month

Essentials$8/month
- HR Administration
- Time Off Tracking
- Scheduling
Growth$16/month
- All Essentials features
- Compensation Management
- Performance Management

Gusto

$49/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Gusto review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Zenefits if

You need hr administration.
You also want benefits management.

Zenefits review

Choose Gusto if

You need automated payroll.
You also want tax filing.

Gusto review

Questions people ask

Is Zenefits or Gusto better?: Neither clearly leads. Zenefits starts at $8/month and Gusto at $49/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Zenefits or Gusto?: Zenefits starts at $8/month and Gusto at $49/month.
Does Zenefits or Gusto run on more platforms?: Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What can Zenefits do that Gusto cannot?: Zenefits covers HR Administration, Benefits Management, Payroll, Time and Scheduling. Gusto covers Automated payroll, Tax filing, Benefits administration, Time tracking. Both handle Slack, QuickBooks, Xero.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Zenefits: Is Zenefits still available as a standalone product?

No. Zenefits was discontinued as a standalone product after TriNet's acquisition in 2022. Existing customers are being migrated to TriNet HR Plus (ASO) or TriNet PEO at higher costs.

Source

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

Zenefits: What were Zenefits' main features before discontinuation?

Zenefits provided HR, benefits management, payroll as optional add-on, time and attendance tracking, and compliance tools for small to mid-sized businesses with 10-200 employees.

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

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Zenefits vs Gusto

Zenefits

Gusto

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Zenefits

Only in Gusto

Both cover

What people use each for

Zenefits

Gusto

Where each one falls short

Zenefits

Gusto

Pricing, plan by plan

Zenefits

Gusto

Which should you pick?

Choose Zenefits if

Choose Gusto if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Zenefits

More on Gusto

Keep looking

Other head to heads