Gusto
US payroll, benefits, and HR in one place
Pricing
From $40/month + $6/person/month
Best For
US-only startups. Teams that want payroll, benefits, and compliance bundled together.
Company Size
Key Features
- Integrated payroll and tax filing
- Health insurance and benefits
- Compliance and HR documents
- Time tracking and expense reporting
- Direct integration with accounting tools
The Good and the Bad
What works
- Dead simple to set up
- Payroll plus benefits is rare and valuable
- Strong compliance and tax accuracy
Watch out for
- Only works for US employees
- Limited international contractor tools
Our Take
Gusto is the default choice for US-only startups. You get payroll, tax filing, benefits administration, and compliance documents in one place for a price that doesn’t require venture funding. Setup takes a day. Payroll runs itself. You can actually forget about it between months.
The bundled benefits are what make Gusto stand out. You can offer your team health insurance through Gusto without moving to a broker. No separate vendor, no separate bill. For early-stage companies, this is huge. You’re showing your team you care about benefits without the complexity of juggling six different vendors.
The catch is obvious: US employees only. If you’re hiring distributed from day one, Gusto handles your domestic payroll and points you elsewhere for international contractors. If you’re a pure US team, it’s the obvious move. If you’re mixed, you’re running Gusto for your domestic team and something else for contractors abroad.
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