Gusto vs QuickBooks Payroll
Two payroll & HR tools side by side. Prices are the starting plan a small business would pick, in USD.
Short version
Gusto costs less for a six-person team.
QuickBooks Payroll: Books and payroll in one place.
| Compare | GustoGusto | QuickBooks PayrollIntuit |
|---|---|---|
| In one line | Payroll, benefits, and onboarding for small teams | Payroll inside QuickBooks Online, sold as a bundle |
| Starting price | From $49/mo + $7/person | From $88/mo + $7/person |
| Six-person team | $91/mo | $130/mo |
| Plans | Simple $49/mo + $7 per person; Plus $99/mo + $12 per person; Premium $179/mo + $22 per person; no yearly price shown | Now sold as QuickBooks Workforce: Payroll + Simple Start $88/mo; Payroll + Essentials $135/mo, both + $7/employee; Premium + Plus $228/mo + $13/employee; often 50% off for 3 months |
| Pricing model | Paid | Paid |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Users | Per person | Per employee |
| Both connect to | QuickBooks Online, Homebase Scheduling, Connecteam, Buddy Punch, When I Work | |
| Also connects to | Xero, FreshBooks, Jobber, ZipBooks, Bench, Kick, Vagaro | Planday |
| Team size | Just me · 2–10 people · 11–50 people | 2–10 people · 11–50 people |
| Available in | US | US |
| Phone support | Not looked up yet | Plans not stated (US) |
| Live chat | Plans not stated | Every paid plan |
| Support hours | Not published | Help center: Mon–Fri 6 AM–6 PM PT, weekends closed (Workforce Payroll), Mon–Fri 5 AM–7 PM PT, Sat–Sun 6 AM–3 PM PT (Workforce Premium and Elite) · Phone: Monday- Friday 6am -6pm PST |
| 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 | 5 incidents posted on Intuit's status page, which covers all Intuit products and regions, in the 90 days to Oct 27, 2026; 2 marked major or critical by Intuit. 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 | 85 |
| Fit: Restaurant or café | 88 | 82 |
| Fit: Service business | 92 | 88 |
| Fit: Agency or studio | 92 | 85 |
| Fit: Trades or contractor | 85 | 88 |
| Fit: Online store | 85 | 78 |
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| Where it falls short |
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| Visit Gusto | Visit QuickBooks 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
Gusto and QuickBooks Payroll: partner links. We may earn a commission; it never affects rankings.
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