File No. 129 against No. 121
Gusto vs Paychex: what each costs
Gusto is payroll, benefits and HR software for small businesses, and Paychex sells payroll and HR services. The difference in how they bill: Gusto prints a monthly base fee and a per-person fee for every plan, and the Paychex small business payroll page prints no price at all.
The short answer. Gusto vs Paychex 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. Paychex names four plans with no figure and a Get a Quote Now button. Files checked 10 and 8 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 | |
| Paychex Quote only | ||||
| Basic | not published | quote only | Vendor page | |
| Foundations | not published | quote only | Vendor page | |
| Advanced | not published | quote only | Vendor page | |
| Complete | 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 Paychex if a quote from sales is acceptable and one of its four plans (Basic, Foundations, Advanced or Complete) 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 Paychex's pricing page does not say
- The cost cannot be worked out in advance: none of the four plans carries a figure, so the only route to a number is the Get a Quote Now button or the Request Pricing section, both of which lead to sales.
- The page shows four plan names with one line each. What separates Basic from Foundations, Advanced and Complete sits behind a View Payroll Plans button, not on the page itself.
- Hiring and onboarding, time and attendance and workers' compensation are presented as separate solutions that complement payroll, and the page says benefits, time tracking or HR tools can be added later. No price is given for any of them.
- The page asks the question of what payroll costs for small businesses in its own FAQ list, and the visible page still shows no dollar amount anywhere.
Gusto or Paychex: 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. The Paychex price file records four plans (Basic, Foundations, Advanced and Complete), 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 |
| Paychex Basic | not published | quote only |
| Paychex Foundations | not published | quote only |
| Paychex Advanced | not published | quote only |
| Paychex Complete | not published | quote only |
Gusto vs Paychex pricing for a team of 1, 5 and 20
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 | Paychex, any plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 Paychex figure is given at any team size, because the Paychex page has none and an estimate from elsewhere would not be checkable.
Is Gusto cheaper than Paychex
That question has no answer from the two vendors' own pages. Gusto's rates can be worked out in advance. A Paychex rate comes only from its Get a Quote Now button or its Request Pricing section, both of which lead to sales. A buyer comparing the two needs a Paychex quote for the same headcount and the same features to set beside the Gusto sum.
Billing differences
- Contracts. Gusto's file records the statements No contracts and free account setup. The Paychex file records no contract or cancellation terms from its page.
- Free plan. Neither file records a free plan, and neither records a free trial of payroll.
- Add-ons. Gusto prices its add-ons on the page. Paychex presents hiring and onboarding, time and attendance and workers' compensation as separate solutions with no price.
- Plan detail. Gusto lists what each plan adds. On the Paychex page, the differences between the four plans sit behind a View Payroll Plans button.
The full records are in Gusto's price file and the Paychex price file. Other payroll tools are in the payroll drawer, and the Gusto vs ADP comparison and ADP vs Paychex comparison cover the neighboring pairs.
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.