Gusto vs Patriot Payroll

Two payroll & HR tools side by side. Prices are the starting plan a small business would pick, in USD.

Compare	GustoGusto	Patriot PayrollPatriot Software
In one line	Payroll, benefits, and onboarding for small teams	The cheapest full-service payroll for a handful of employees
Starting price	From $49/mo + $7/person	From $17/mo + $4/person
Six-person team	$91/mo	$41/mo
Plans	Simple $49/mo + $7 per person; Plus $99/mo + $12 per person; Premium $179/mo + $22 per person; no yearly price shown	Basic $17/mo + $4/worker (you file taxes); Full Service $37/mo + $5/worker; 30-day free trial; 50% off for 3 months
Pricing model	Paid	Free trial
Free trial	—	30 days
Users	Per person	Per worker paid
Both connect to	QuickBooks Online
Also connects to	Xero, FreshBooks, Homebase Scheduling, Jobber, Connecteam, Buddy Punch, When I Work, ZipBooks +3 more	Patriot Accounting
Team size	Just me · 2–10 people · 11–50 people	Just me · 2–10 people
Available in	US	US
Phone support	Not looked up yet	Every plan
Live chat	Plans not stated	Every plan
Support hours	Not published	Phone: 9 a.m. - 7 p.m. ET, Monday - Friday · Live chat: 9 a.m. - 7 p.m. ET, Monday - Friday
Incidents posted	0 incidents posted on Gusto's status page, which covers all Gusto products and regions, in the 90 days to Oct 27, 2026. Status page	2 incidents posted on Patriot Software's status page, which covers all Patriot Software products and regions, in the 90 days to Oct 27, 2026; 2 marked major or critical by Patriot Software. Status page
Capterra score	4.6 / 5 from 4,230 reviews	Not listed
Trustpilot score	1.9 / 5 from 2,550 reviews	Not listed
Fit: Retail shop	90	78
Fit: Restaurant or café	88	75
Fit: Service business	92	82
Fit: Agency or studio	92	72
Fit: Trades or contractor	85	82
Fit: Online store	85	65
Why people pick it	All 50 states, automatic filings Benefits on the same platform Contractor-only plan at $35/mo	Lowest price in the category US-based support
Where it falls short	Multi-state needs the Plus tier Support can be slow at quarter end	Dated interface Few integrations
	Visit Gusto ↗	Visit Patriot Payroll ↗

Six-person prices are what a team of six would pay on the published plans; "Not listed" means those plans don't cover six. How we calculate prices

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