Differences Between Gusto and QuickBooks
The main differences between both payroll platforms are:
- Gusto offers an all-inclusive payroll platform for small businesses. In addition, it offers management of many employee benefits, automated payroll for both salaried and hourly employees, and is easily integrated with multiple third-party accounting software.
- QuickBooks Payroll is best suited for businesses that use the QuickBooks accounting software. In addition, it only allows health benefits management, payroll automation for salaried employees only and has same- and next-day direct deposit processing.
Apart from these, Gusto and QuickBooks Payroll are very similar platforms. Both have three pricing plans with varying offerings and charge additional fees per employee. While both platforms have an employee portal, only Gusto allows employee self-onboarding, which significantly simplifies the onboarding process. With QuickBooks Payroll, you will get professional help transferring employee data from your previous payroll service only with their most expensive Elite plan.
Gusto Vs. QuickBooks Overview
Gusto |
QuickBooks |
Gusto was founded in 2012 and was known as ZenPayroll. Since then, this platform has helped over 100K businesses manage payroll, employee benefits, automate taxes, and HR. In addition, the platform enables the management of many employee benefits like health insurance, managing 401(k) accounts, and automating payroll for hourly and salaried employees. At this time, Gusto has offices in San Francisco, California, and Denver, Colorado. |
QuickBooks Payroll is a part of the Intuit network of products. The first platform was released in 1983; the payroll feature was introduced as a part of the platform in 2002; it was much later when QuickBooks Payroll became a separate product. QuickBooks Payroll allows employers same-day direct deposit, automatic tax reporting, and filing, and more. The QuickBooks Payroll software integrates seamlessly with the QuickBooks accounting platform. |
Gusto Features
The Gusto payroll software has excellent functionalities that help small business owners run payroll without the fear of forgetting any important thing. Here is a list of Gusto’s core functionalities:
- Seamless payroll run
- Automation of payroll taxes
- Employee benefits
- Employee self-onboarding
- Payroll automation
- HR services
- Several payment options
- Simple and user-friendly interface
Gusto is straightforward payroll software, and it has an impressively simple onboarding process. The service supports both W1 and 1099 contractor onboarding and has automatic reports for new hires. In addition, the Gusto employee portal allows the employees and contractors to review pay stubs, hours, benefits, and more.
Gusto allows an unlimited number of payrolls each month, a convenient feature for business that needs to pay different types of employees: full and part-time W2 employee, freelancers, consultants, and 1099 contactors. It also provides the option to save the payroll and review it at a later date. The other Gusto features attractive for small business owners include HR tools, payroll taxes, several payment options, new hires reporting, paid time off management, and more.
QuickBooks Payroll Features
QuickBooks Payroll has plenty of functionalities that make it a good option for running payroll. Here is an overview of this software’s main functionalities:
- Effortless payroll run
- Payroll tax filing
- Automated payment to W2 employees
- Same and next-day direct deposit
- Time tracking option
- Sleek and easy-to-use interface
- Seamless integration with other QuickBooks platforms
QuickBooks Payroll is a well-designed software with plenty of useful functionalities for the seamless running of payroll. These include automated payroll of salaried employees, payroll tax reports and filing, and the option to track time. In addition, the direct deposit payments are processed the same or the next day, which many users find very convenient.
QuickBooks Payroll is a standalone app, but it can seamlessly integrate with other QuickBooks financial applications. You can do unlimited payroll runs with the app, and these are included with all the price plans. Also, the platform allows tracking paid time off and integrated management of health insurance in all 50 US states.
Pricing Plans Comparison
Let’s have a closer look at each platform’s pricing plans and what each of them includes.
Gusto has three pricing plans, each with different functionalities:
- Core – $39/month + $6/month per person. This plan offers full-service payroll, health benefits administration, employee self-service and profiles, employee benefits, and accounting and time tracking integrations.
- Complete – $39/month + $12/month per person. The Complete plan offers all the features from the Core plan; additionally, it has next-day direct deposit, time tracking and paid time off management, project tracking and workforce costing, hiring and onboarding, and team management tools.
- Concierge – $149/month + $12/month per person. The Concierge plan includes everything the Core and Complete plans have, plus certified HR professional help, compliance alerts, dedicated best-in-class support, and an HR resource center.
Apart from the base functions, users can add extra benefits to their select plan. These include 401(k) plans, FSA, worker’s comp, Gusto wallet, health reimbursement, and 529 college savings.
QuickBooks Payroll also has three pricing plans, each with different features:
- Core – $45/month + $4/month per employee. This plan offers full-service payroll, auto payroll, health benefits, 401(k) plans, 1099 e-file, and pay, expert support, and next-day direct deposit.
- Premium – $75/month + $8/month per employee. It offers all the features from the Core plan, along with a same-day deposit, worker’s comp administration, HR support center, time tracking, and expert review.
- Elite – $125/month + $10month per employee. The Elite plan offers all the functionalities of the Core and Premium plans, along with expert setup, 24/7 expert product support, track time and projects on the go, tax penalty protection, and personal HR advisor.
To better grasp the offerings of each payment plan, I’ve prepared the following comparison table between the Gusto and QuickBooks Payroll pricing plans:
CRITERIA |
GUSTO |
QUICKBOOKS |
Price for core plan |
$39/month + $6month per person |
$45month + $4/month per employee |
Full-service payroll |
Yes |
Yes |
Automatic payroll |
For salaried and hourly employees |
Only for salaried employees |
Tax reports and filing |
Yes |
Yes |
Direct deposit |
Two-day processing, next-day direct deposit with Complete plan |
Next-day processing for salaried employees only |
Employee benefits |
401(k) retirement pay-as-you-go worker’s comp plan, |
401(k) retirement plan |
Health Benefits |
Yes, supported in 40 US states |
Yes, in all 50 states |
Accounting integrations |
Supporting integrations with many third-party platforms |
Seamless integration with other QuickBooks apps |
Onboarding process |
Simple employee self-onboarding |
Can be tedious |
Winner: Gusto has a cheaper base plan, but it comes with some up-sells.
Gusto Vs. Quickbooks Onboarding Process
Gusto |
QuickBooks |
When discussing the features of Gusto and QuickBooks Payroll, I consider the onboarding process one of the deciding factors. Gusto has an easy onboarding process. Their employee portal is designed to allow self-service to the employees. It includes payroll self-onboarding, pay stubs, and tax forms. In other words, the employees enroll themselves entirely online. |
The onboarding process in QuickBooks Payroll is a little more complex. The platform lacks a self-onboarding process. Instead, the application provides a step-by-step guide through the onboarding process. You’ll need to have all the necessary information beforehand, like federal and tax ID numbers and banking information. However, this platform has a workforce portal where each employee can log in and check their pay stubs, W-2 forms and check PTO balances and withholding allowances. |
Winner: Gusto
Comparison Between User Experience
Gusto |
QuickBooks |
Gusto has an impeccable user experience. The platform’s design and user interface are very nicely organized and offer an excellent overview of the main functionalities. To make things easier, it is available on all browsers and smartphones, and the dashboard is optimized for both uses. Adding a new employee to the system is very simple: you only provide the employees and contractors with login credentials, and they log in and input their own details. This way, you can save on time and mistakes, as the employees know their info better; you only need to review and approve their profiles. The employees also link their bank accounts, and they can receive payment notifications. |
QuickBooks Payroll is a platform with adequate user experience. The user interface is sleek and provides a good overview but is not as streamlined as other payroll services like Gusto. Many users have said that they find it tricky to learn the platform initially. However, many users have noted that once they get past the initial stage of the platform, the QuickBooks Payroll software is not that difficult to manage. That is because the main screen has a lot of the functionalities ready. In addition, the automated payroll option dramatically helps the user experience. |
Winner: Gusto
Gusto Vs. QuickBooks Customer Service
Gusto |
QuickBooks |
The Gusto customer support leaves something to be desired. Even though Gusto has a good online rating, their very slow customer service is the most often noted thing. While the official website has a good Help center with an extensive FAQ section, their customer support could be better. What people noted was the speed of answering client inquiries. Some Gusto users experienced long waits on the phone, while others stated they got an email response after several days. It could be a potential problem, as users depend on timely answers to their questions. |
On the other hand, QuickBooks Payroll, as a part of the Intuit QuickBooks financial apps, has much better customer support. In addition, the official QuickBooks platform has videos, FAQs, blogs, and forums, all designed to help users deal with any potential issue with the platform. The online reviews regarding QuickBooks Payroll are good, but like Gusto’s, these often note the lack of speedy customer support on the site. The Elite plan, the most expensive one from QuickBooks, includes an HR support center, expert help for onboarding, and a personal HR advisor. |
Winner: QuickBooks Payroll
When to Choose Gusto?
The Gusto payroll platform is a full-service payroll software designed with the needs of the small business. In my opinion, here is when to select Gusto:
- When you run a small business with less than 100 employees
- When in need of a wide array of employee benefits
- When you need an affordable full-service payroll
- When you need to pay both salaried and hourly workers, as well as contractors, freelancers, and consultants
- When you need a platform that integrates with third-party software
The Gusto payroll features are well-designed, and the platform has a straightforward design and intuitive navigation. The payroll and HR features are excellent; once you start using the platform, you can automate many processes like payroll runs, automating tax reporting and filing, and more.
With Gusto, the once tedious payroll process can take you less than five minutes. I particularly like the employee self-onboarding process that simplifies many things and prevents critical mistakes. The area it could use improvement is customer support; otherwise, Gusto is an excellent payroll platform for a small business.
When to Choose QuickBooks?
QuickBooks Payroll is a full-service payroll platform and is a part of the Intuit financial software apps. Here is when you should consider using QuickBooks Payroll:
- When running a small business with less than 100 employees
- When you need a next-day direct deposit
- When you want to offer health insurance for your employees across all 50 US states
- When you use other QuickBooks accounting software
QuickBooks Payroll is a well-designed full-service payroll platform and has good functionalities. The features are helpful, but the user interface could use some improvement, as it takes some getting used to. The onboarding process is a bit complex, but the platform offers a step-by-step guide to help with it.
QuickBooks Payroll enables payroll automation for salaried employees and automation of tax reports and filing. However, I think that they could use better, more efficient customer service with a faster response time. Of course, QuickBooks Payroll integrates seamlessly with the other QuickBooks accounting software, so it makes sense to use the software from the same developer.
The Bottom Line: Opt For The Payroll Service That Fits Your Needs
Gusto and QuickBooks Payroll are full-service payroll platforms that are best suited to the needs of small businesses. Both of them have excellent functionalities and affordable pricing plans. However, the final decision for the software you’ll use should depend on the number of employees you will pay and your HR support and software integration needs.
If you are already using the QuickBooks accounting software, then it makes more sense to use the QuickBooks Payroll platform, as these integrate seamlessly. Also, QuickBooks offers health insurance benefits for all 50 US states.
On the other hand, if you offer and need to manage more employee benefits and pay salaried, hourly, and contractors, Gusto is a better option for your business. The automation payroll processing is an appealing feature and one that Gusto excels at.
