File No. 129 against No. 133
Gusto vs ADP: what each costs
Gusto is payroll, benefits and HR software for small businesses, and ADP sells payroll and HR services, with RUN Powered by ADP as its small business product. The difference in how they bill: Gusto prints a monthly base fee and a per-person fee for every plan, and ADP's packages page prints no price at all.
The short answer. Gusto vs ADP cannot be settled on published prices, because only Gusto publishes them. Gusto Simple is $49 a month plus $6 per person per month, Plus is $80 plus $12 and Premium is $180 plus $22. ADP names four RUN packages with no figure, and each ends in a Get pricing link. Files checked 10 and 11 Oct 2026.
What each one costs
Every figure below is read from the two price files at the moment this page loads, so this page cannot drift away from them. Each row links to the vendor page the price came from.
| Plan | Price | Billed | Checked | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gusto From $49/mo + $6/person/mo | ||||
| Simple | $49/mo + $6/person/mo | per month: a base fee plus a fee for each person paid | Vendor page | |
| Plus | $80/mo + $12/person/mo | per month: a base fee plus a fee for each person paid | Vendor page | |
| Premium | $180/mo + $22/person/mo | per month: a base fee plus a fee for each person paid | Vendor page | |
| Solo | $49/mo + $6/person/mo | per month: a base fee plus a fee for each person paid | Vendor page | |
| ADP Quote only | ||||
| Essential Payroll | not published | quote only | Vendor page | |
| Enhanced Payroll | not published | quote only | Vendor page | |
| Complete Payroll & HR Plus | not published | quote only | Vendor page | |
| HR Pro Payroll & HR | not published | quote only | Vendor page | |
Which one is for you
Pick Gusto if the cost has to be known before talking to anyone: Simple at $49 a month plus $6 per person, Plus at $80 plus $12 and Premium at $180 plus $22 are all on its pricing page.
Pick ADP if a quote by headcount and package is acceptable and one of its four RUN packages (Essential, Enhanced, Complete or HR Pro) matches what the business needs.
What Gusto's pricing page does not say
- The large figure on each card is only the base fee. Every plan adds a per-person fee each month: $6 on Simple, $12 on Plus and $22 on Premium.
- Simple is described as payroll in one state. Multi-state payroll starts at Plus.
- State tax registration is an add-on, and the page says its pricing varies by state.
- Faster pay costs extra below Premium. Same-day pay is $90 per payroll and Instant pay is $100 per payroll on Simple and Plus. Next-Day pay is an add-on on Simple, printed on the page as $15/mo + 3/mo per person.
- Priority Support is an add-on at $30/mo + $3/mo per person on Simple and Plus.
- Gusto Business Compliance is $85/mo per state on an annual contract for Simple and Plus, and is included in Premium.
- Tax-advantaged benefits carry a $200 annual service charge, plus $2.50/mo per participant for HSAs and $4/mo per participant ($20/mo minimum) for FSAs, dependent care FSAs and commuter benefits.
- Contractors count toward the per-person fee. The page's answer on contractor billing says US contractors are billed at the plan's per-person cost, only in months when they are paid. Payments to global contractors carry no monthly per-contractor fee, but a service and foreign exchange fee per payment.
What ADP's pricing page does not say
- The cost cannot be worked out in advance: none of the four packages carries a figure, so the only route to a number is a Get pricing link or the sales phone line.
- The page title calls itself a payroll price and plan comparison, and the page text still contains no dollar amount for any package, fee or add on.
- Retirement plans and Workers' Compensation are marked on the page as add ons. No price is given for either.
- Independent contractor payments are presented in a separate box with its own Get Pricing button, apart from the four packages.
- The page covers RUN Powered by ADP, the product for businesses with 1 to 49 employees. The employee count prompt on the page also offers a 50+ Employees option, which leads to other products that this file does not cover.
- The 3 months free banner carries an asterisk and an end date of 10/22. The value of the offer cannot be worked out without the price it applies to.
Gusto or ADP: what is published
Gusto's price file records three plans for paying a team, each a monthly base fee plus a monthly fee for each person paid. ADP's price file records four RUN Powered by ADP packages (Essential Payroll, Enhanced Payroll, Complete Payroll & HR Plus and HR Pro Payroll & HR), every one marked not published and quote only.
| Plan | Published price | Billing |
|---|---|---|
| Gusto Simple | $49 a month plus $6 per person | monthly |
| Gusto Plus | $80 a month plus $12 per person | monthly |
| Gusto Premium | $180 a month plus $22 per person | monthly |
| ADP Essential Payroll | not published | quote only |
| ADP Enhanced Payroll | not published | quote only |
| ADP Complete Payroll & HR Plus | not published | quote only |
| ADP HR Pro Payroll & HR | not published | quote only |
What a team of 1, 5 and 20 pays
On Gusto the monthly bill is the base fee plus the per-person fee times the number of people paid.
| People paid | Gusto Simple | Gusto Plus | Gusto Premium | ADP, any package |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $49 + 1 x $6 | $80 + 1 x $12 | $180 + 1 x $22 | quote only |
| 5 | $49 + 5 x $6 | $80 + 5 x $12 | $180 + 5 x $22 | quote only |
| 20 | $49 + 20 x $6 | $80 + 20 x $12 | $180 + 20 x $22 | quote only |
The worked totals are in Gusto's file. No ADP figure is given at any team size, because ADP's page has none and an estimate from elsewhere would not be checkable.
Is Gusto cheaper than ADP
That question has no answer from the two vendors' own pages. Gusto's rates can be worked out in advance. An ADP rate comes only from a Get pricing link or its sales phone line, and its page first asks how many employees the company has (1-5, 6-49 or 50+), so headcount is the first thing a quote depends on. A buyer comparing the two needs an ADP quote for the same headcount to set beside the Gusto sum.
Billing differences
- Contracts. Gusto's file records the statements No contracts and Cancel any time. ADP's page states no contract length or cancellation terms.
- Free plan. Neither file records a free plan. ADP's page carried a banner offering 3 months free for new small business payroll sign-ups, with terms that were not read.
- Add-ons. Gusto prices its add-ons on the page. ADP marks Retirement and Workers' Compensation as add ons with no price.
The full records are in Gusto's price file and ADP's price file. Other payroll tools are in the payroll drawer.
The evidence
Both vendors' pricing pages, as they looked when the figures were read.
Figures on this page come from the two files named above, each read off the vendor's own pricing page on the date shown. Prices change without notice; check before buying.