File No. 129 against No. 107
Gusto vs Rippling: what each costs
Gusto and Rippling both sell payroll and HR software to US businesses. The difference in how they bill: Gusto prints a monthly base fee plus a per-person fee for each plan, and Rippling's pricing page is a quote form with no figure.
The short answer. Gusto vs Rippling cannot be settled on published prices, because only Gusto publishes them. Gusto Simple is $49 a month plus $6 per person, Plus is $80 plus $12 and Premium is $180 plus $22. Rippling publishes no figure for any product and sells through a quote. Files checked 10 Oct and 2 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 | |
| Rippling Quote only | ||||
| Rippling Platform (required core) | not published | quote only | Vendor page | |
| Payroll | not published | quote only | Vendor page | |
| Benefits Administration | not published | quote only | Vendor page | |
| Device Management | not published | quote only | Vendor page | |
| Expense Management | not published | quote only | Vendor page | |
Which one is for you
Pick Gusto if the payroll cost has to be known before talking to sales: every plan's base fee and per-person fee are on its pricing page.
Pick Rippling if a quote by company size is acceptable and its products, each bought on top of the required Rippling Platform, match 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 Rippling's pricing page does not say
- The cost cannot be worked out in advance: the page publishes no figure for any product, so the only route to a number is the quote form, which asks for a work email and phone number.
- Every product sits on top of the Rippling Platform, which the FAQ calls core and required, so buying only payroll still means paying for the platform as well.
- The FAQ says most products are billed per employee per month, but some may be charged at, or include, a monthly fee, so the bill is not purely per head.
- The quote form counts employees plus contractors together, so contractors count toward the company size the quote is based on.
Gusto or Rippling: what is published
Gusto's price file records four plans, each a base fee plus a fee per person paid. Rippling's price file records five products (Rippling Platform, Payroll, Benefits Administration, Device Management and Expense Management), every one marked not published and quote only.
| Plan or product | Gusto | Rippling |
|---|---|---|
| Entry payroll | Simple: $49 a month + $6 per person | not published |
| Mid tier | Plus: $80 a month + $12 per person | not published |
| Top tier | Premium: $180 a month + $22 per person | not published |
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 | Rippling, any product |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $49 + 1 x $6 | $80 + 1 x $12 | quote only |
| 5 | $49 + 5 x $6 | $80 + 5 x $12 | quote only |
| 20 | $49 + 20 x $6 | $80 + 20 x $12 | quote only |
The worked totals are in Gusto's file. No Rippling figure is given at any team size, because Rippling's page has none and an estimate from elsewhere would not be checkable.
Is Gusto cheaper than Rippling
The two vendors' own pages do not answer that. Gusto's cost can be worked out in advance. Rippling's FAQ says most products are billed per employee per month, some carry a monthly fee, and every product needs the Rippling Platform. Its quote form counts employees and contractors together. A buyer needs a Rippling quote for the same headcount to set beside the Gusto sum.
Billing differences
- Contracts. Gusto's page states no contracts and free account setup. Rippling's page states no contract terms.
- Free plan. Neither file records a free plan.
- Contractors. Gusto bills US contractors at the plan's per-person fee in months they are paid. Rippling's quote form counts contractors in company size.
- Required base. Rippling requires its Platform under every product. Gusto's base fee is part of each plan.
The full records are in Gusto's price file and Rippling'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.