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✓ Verified profile · 2026-08-22

Gusto

Gusto is an all-in-one payroll, benefits and HR platform focused on small and mid-sized U.S. businesses, combining full-service payroll and automated tax filing with benefits administration, hiring and onboarding, time tracking and core HR tools.

4.6/5· 8,500+ G2 reviews (as of 2026)
San Francisco, CaliforniaFounded 20111001-5000 employees101 open roles →
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Legal nameGusto
Founded2011
FoundersEdward Kim, Joshua Reeves, Tomer London
HQSan Francisco, California
Employees1001-5000

Decision snapshot

Facts, vendor evidence and marketplace signals are labeled separately · verified 2026-08-22
Best for

Small and mid-sized U.S. employers that want full-service payroll bundled with benefits, hiring and core HR in one easy-to-use platform.

Strong when

Ease of use, automated payroll tax filing, integrated benefits and a simple employee experience are priority requirements.

Validate before buying

Gusto is built for SMB needs; organizations requiring deep enterprise HCM, broad global payroll or heavy configurability should validate fit against larger platforms.

PricingPublished subscription tiers combining a base monthly fee with per-person pricing; confirm the current plan, add-ons and contractor options on the official pricing page.
Implementation referenceSelf-serve onboarding is typical for small teams; validate migration effort for existing payroll history, benefits and prior-provider data.
Businesses served400,000+

Small and mid-sized businesses on Gusto

Gusto official website

Who should evaluate Gusto?

Employee size

1–49 employees50–999 employeesSmall and mid-sized businesses

Operating context

Cross-industryU.S.-based small businessesStartups and growing teams

Regions

United States

Primary use cases

Full-service payroll and tax filingBenefits administrationHiring and onboardingTime tracking and PTOCore HR records and documentsContractor payments

Product portfolio

A portfolio vendor — compare the product and package that matches your workforce, not the company name alone.

Small and mid-sized U.S. employers

Payroll

Full-service payroll with automatic federal, state and local tax filing, W-2 and 1099 generation, flexible pay schedules and contractor payments.

Full-service payrollAutomated tax filingW-2 & 1099Contractor paymentsMultiple pay schedules
Gusto products overview
Employers offering health and financial benefits

Employee benefits

Integrated benefits including health insurance administration, a native 401(k), workers' compensation and additional financial-wellness options, with availability varying by state.

Health insurance401(k)Workers' compHSA/FSA
Gusto products overview
Teams recruiting and onboarding new employees

Hiring and onboarding

Offer letters, e-signatures, onboarding checklists, document storage and automated workflows such as software provisioning and background checks.

Offer lettersE-signaturesOnboarding checklistsDocument storage
Gusto products overview
Employees and administrators

Time, HR tools and employee app

Time tracking and PTO, employee profiles and documents, plus mobile-friendly access to pay and personal data through the Gusto Wallet employee app.

Time trackingPTOEmployee self-serviceGusto Wallet app
Gusto products overview

Core capabilities

Payroll processing and tax filingBenefits administrationHiring and onboardingTime tracking and PTOCore HR / HRISContractor paymentsEmployee self-service

Where Gusto is strong

Ease of use for small teams

Gusto is widely regarded as one of the simplest payroll and HR platforms to operate, which lowers administrative overhead for small businesses without dedicated HR staff.

Gusto official website

Integrated payroll, benefits and HR

Payroll, benefits administration, hiring and core HR are combined in one platform rather than assembled from separate point tools.

Gusto products overview

Automated tax compliance

Full-service payroll automatically files federal, state and local payroll taxes and generates year-end forms.

Gusto products overview

What buyers should validate

SMB focus rather than enterprise HCM

The platform targets small and mid-sized businesses; buyers needing enterprise-grade HCM, complex org structures or broad global payroll should confirm fit.

Gusto products overview

Benefits availability varies by state

Health-insurance and some benefits offerings depend on the employer's state; confirm current availability for your locations.

Gusto products overview

Confirm the current pricing tier and add-ons

Plan tiers, per-person pricing and add-ons change; validate the current published pricing and total cost for your headcount before comparing.

Gusto official website

Commercial & implementation

Pricing modelPublished SMB subscription tiers: base monthly fee plus per-person pricingGusto official website
Contractor optionContractor-only payment plans are offered separately from full employee payrollGusto products overview

Integrations

Accounting and business tools

Gusto connects with common accounting and business applications, including accounting tools such as QuickBooks and Xero, plus time-tracking and productivity integrations.

Gusto products overview

Security & compliance

SOC 1 and SOC 2 Type II

Gusto maintains SOC 1 Type II and SOC 2 Type II reports, updated annually and available through its trust center.

Gusto security and compliance

HIPAA safeguards

Gusto follows HIPAA guidelines for protected health information and maintains business associate agreements with employers and third parties such as insurers.

Gusto security and compliance

Customer evidence

Outcomes reported in the vendor's customer stories — treat as vendor-supplied case-study evidence.

hiline

HR and payroll migration

The accounting firm hiline migrated all of its HR and payroll clients onto Gusto.

Vendor case study reports roughly 50% less time spent on payroll tasks.Gusto customer story: hiline
Little Fish Accounting

From contractor payments to full-service payroll

Little Fish Accounting joined Gusto in 2020 to move from contractor-only payments to full-service payroll and later adopted Gusto People Advisory.

Vendor case study reports the firm doubled its client base and grew monthly revenue.Gusto customer story: Little Fish Accounting

Common alternatives

A shortlist starting point; the right comparison depends on size, geography and the exact product.

Rippling Justworks ADP RUN Paychex OnPayQuickBooks Payroll

Methodology

Company facts, product claims, customer evidence and independent marketplace signals are separated. Time-sensitive data is a dated snapshot. Review all sources →

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Latest Gusto coverage

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Oct 7, 2026Chase for Business Expands Its Integrated Digital Experience with Chase Payroll, Powered by Gusto

Chase for Business has launched Chase Payroll, an embedded payroll product built on Gusto's infrastructure, bringing payroll processing directly into its business banking platform. The move targets small business owners grappling with cash-flow pressures tied to payroll cycles, with Chase citing its own research that 37% of business owners felt payroll strain on cash flow in the past six months.

Oct 7, 2026Chase for Business Expands Its Integrated Digital Experience with Chase Payroll, Powered by Gusto

Chase for Business is launching Chase Payroll, a payroll product powered by Gusto, embedded directly within its business banking platform — a move that brings payroll and banking into a single interface for small business owners, according to Business Wire. The partnership targets cash-flow pain points around payroll funding, with Chase research cited as showing 37% of business owners felt payroll pressure on cash flow in the past six months.

Oct 1, 2026Gusto Launches Business Compliance, Adds HR Partners and a PEO for Growing Small Businesses

Gusto Business Compliance, now available to all Gusto customers, handles state tax registrations, annual reports and government mail when a small business hires in a new state. HR Partners and a PEO round out the lineup.

Oct 1, 2026Gusto launches Business Compliance for multi-state hiring, plus HR Partners and a PEO

Gusto has made Gusto Business Compliance generally available to all its customers. The service registers, files and monitors state and local compliance obligations on a small business's behalf, most notably when it hires an employee in a new state: state tax registration, annual reports, registered agent, foreign qualification and government mail monitoring. Gusto also introduced Gusto HR Partners, which gives owners access to a senior HR leader, and Gusto PEO, coming to eligible customers in the coming months. (Source: PR Newswire / Gusto)

Sep 10, 2026Small Businesses That Adopted AI Are Hiring Faster, New Gusto Research Finds - PR Newswire

Gusto research finds that small businesses using AI tools are achieving faster hiring outcomes, highlighting a measurable link between AI adoption and recruiting speed among SMBs on the payroll and HR platform.

May 7, 2026Gusto Surpasses $1 Billion in Revenue, Serving More Than 500,000 Small Businesses

Gusto has surpassed $1B in trailing 12-month revenue, serving 500,000+ U.S. small businesses. The company added roughly 50,000 customers last quarter, achieved five consecutive quarters of ARR acceleration, and says more…

Sources & verification

Verified 2026-08-22. Source type is shown so buyers can distinguish official, regulatory, marketplace and legacy evidence.

  1. officialGusto official website
  2. officialGusto products overview
  3. officialGusto security and compliance
  4. marketplaceGusto G2 reviews (official summary)
  5. officialGusto customer story: hiline
  6. officialGusto customer story: Little Fish Accounting

Leadership

founders · executives

DHRMap Signals Beta

View the report →

Independent vendor-stability signals for Gusto — fundamentals or funding runway, hiring and coverage momentum, market presence and leadership changes — built only from primary sources and versioned rules.

Gusto — frequently asked questions

What does Gusto do?

Gusto is an all-in-one payroll, benefits and HR platform focused on small and mid-sized U.S. businesses, combining full-service payroll and automated tax filing with benefits administration, hiring and onboarding, time tracking and core HR tools.

Where is Gusto headquartered?

Gusto is headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States.

When was Gusto founded?

Gusto was founded in 2011.

Who founded Gusto?

Gusto was founded by Edward Kim, Joshua Reeves, Tomer London.

How many employees does Gusto have?

Gusto has 1001-5000 employees.

What kind of HR technology is Gusto?

Gusto is categorized under Payroll, HCM, Benefits Administration on DHRMap.

Is this your company?

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