File No. 129
Gusto pricing, checked October 2026
Gusto is payroll, benefits and HR software for small businesses. Every plan bills a monthly base fee plus a monthly fee for each person, and a long list of add-ons is priced separately.
The short answer. Gusto pricing starts at $49 a month plus $6 per person per month on the Simple plan. Plus is $80 a month plus $12 per person, and Premium is $180 a month plus $22 per person. There is no free plan. The page states no contracts and free account setup. Read off gusto.com/product/pricing on 10 Oct 2026.
What each plan costs
| Plan | Price | Billed | Checked | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple | $49/mo + $6/person/mo | per month: a base fee plus a fee for each person paid | Vendor page | |
| Described as basic payroll in one state. Lists unlimited payrolls per month, tax filings and payments, and basic PTO policies and holiday pay. price_numeric is the base fee. | ||||
| Plus | $80/mo + $12/person/mo | per month: a base fee plus a fee for each person paid | Vendor page | |
| Adds multi-state payroll, time tracking and scheduling, unlimited next day pay and contractor invoice management. | ||||
| Premium | $180/mo + $22/person/mo | per month: a base fee plus a fee for each person paid | Vendor page | |
| Adds Premium Account Support, HR guidance and tools, Gusto Business Compliance, unlimited same day and instant pay, and unlimited custom admin roles. | ||||
| Solo | $49/mo + $6/person/mo | per month: a base fee plus a fee for each person paid | Vendor page | |
| Shown in the Pay Myself tab, for solopreneurs who need payroll, S corp compliance support and the option to pay contractors. | ||||
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What the free tier actually allows
- The pricing page lists no free plan. The cheapest plans are Simple and Solo, each at $49 a month plus $6 a month per person.
- The page states Free account setup and No contracts. It names no free trial of a payroll plan.
- One add-on, Time & Attendance Plus, is marked Try it free, then $6/mo per person. The length of that free period is not stated.
What the 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.
Gusto pricing for a team of 1, 5 and 20
Each plan is a base fee plus a fee per person, both monthly. The figures below are arithmetic on the prices read on 10 Oct 2026, with no add-ons and before taxes.
| People paid | Plan | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Simple | $49 + 1 x $6 = $55 | $55 x 12 = $660 |
| 5 | Simple | $49 + 5 x $6 = $79 | $79 x 12 = $948 |
| 20 | Simple | $49 + 20 x $6 = $169 | $169 x 12 = $2,028 |
| 1 | Plus | $80 + 1 x $12 = $92 | $92 x 12 = $1,104 |
| 5 | Plus | $80 + 5 x $12 = $140 | $140 x 12 = $1,680 |
| 20 | Plus | $80 + 20 x $12 = $320 | $320 x 12 = $3,840 |
| 1 | Premium | $180 + 1 x $22 = $202 | $202 x 12 = $2,424 |
| 5 | Premium | $180 + 5 x $22 = $290 | $290 x 12 = $3,480 |
| 20 | Premium | $180 + 20 x $22 = $620 | $620 x 12 = $7,440 |
Solo carries the same figures as Simple: $49 a month plus $6 per person.
Which plan fits which team
- Simple: payroll in one state, with tax filings and basic PTO policies.
- Plus: adds multi-state payroll, time tracking and scheduling, and next day pay.
- Premium: adds a named advisor, HR guidance, Gusto Business Compliance, and same day and instant pay.
- Solo: for one owner paying themselves through an S corp, with the option to pay contractors.
What a Simple plan costs with add-ons
Several features that Plus includes are sold separately on Simple. Time & Attendance Plus is $6 a month per person. For 5 people that is 5 x $6 = $30 a month, which brings Simple to $79 + $30 = $109 a month against $140 on Plus. Priority Support is $30 a month plus $3 per person: for 5 people, $30 + 5 x $3 = $45 a month.
Billing details
The page shows monthly figures only and has no annual switch. It states no contracts and that a plan can be switched or canceled at any time. The yearly figures above are 12 months of the monthly price, not a published annual rate. The page's answer on contractors says US contractors are billed at the plan's per-person cost, only in months when they are paid.
Other payroll tools are filed in the payroll drawer. QuickBooks Payroll's price file records the same base plus per-employee structure. Rippling's price file and Paychex's price file record quote-only pricing.
If this one does not fit
- QuickBooks Payroll From $50/mo + $7/employee/mo
- Payroll software that also bills a monthly base price plus a fee per employee, as recorded in its Tooldossier file.
- Rippling Quote only
- Payroll and HR software that publishes no price and sells by quote, as recorded in its Tooldossier file.
- Paychex Quote only
- Payroll provider that publishes no price and sells by quote, as recorded in its Tooldossier file.
Questions
- Is Gusto free?
- No. The Gusto pricing page lists no free plan as of 10 Oct 2026. It states free account setup and no contracts. The cheapest plan is Simple at $49 a month plus $6 a month per person.
- Is there a Gusto free plan?
- No Gusto free plan is shown. The page lists Simple, Plus and Premium in the Pay My Team tab and Solo in the Pay Myself tab, and every one carries a monthly base fee plus a per-person fee.
- What does Gusto cost?
- Gusto cost is a monthly base fee plus a monthly fee per person: $49 plus $6 per person on Simple, $80 plus $12 per person on Plus, and $180 plus $22 per person on Premium. Read on 10 Oct 2026.
- What is the Gusto price per user?
- Gusto prices per person, not per user: $6 a month on Simple and Solo, $12 on Plus and $22 on Premium, each on top of the plan's monthly base fee of $49, $80 or $180.
- What are the Gusto plans?
- The page shows four Gusto plans. Simple, Plus and Premium are for paying a team. Solo is for solopreneurs who pay themselves, with S corp compliance support and the option to pay contractors.
- Does Gusto require a contract?
- The pricing page says No contracts and Switch or cancel anytime. One add-on is the exception on the page: Gusto Business Compliance is priced at $85/mo per state for an annual contract.
- Does Gusto have hidden or setup fees?
- The page states No hidden fees, No contracts and Free account setup. Charges outside the plan fee are listed as add-ons, such as Same-day pay at $90 per payroll on Simple and Plus, Priority Support at $30/mo + $3/mo per person, state tax registration priced by state, and a $200 annual service charge for tax-advantaged benefits.
- Is Gusto billed monthly or annually?
- Monthly. Each plan is a monthly base fee plus a monthly fee per person, for example $49 plus $6 per person on Simple, and the page shows no annual price.
- Is there a minimum number of employees on Gusto?
- The page states no minimum. Simple starts at $49 a month plus $6 per person, and US contractors count toward the per-person fee only in months when they are paid.
What this check confirmed
Read off https://gusto.com/product/pricing on 10 Oct 2026 from a US connection, in both tabs of the page (Pay My Team and Pay Myself). The vendor refused the headless browser with HTTP 403; the capture was made by the capture tool's headed Chrome and returned HTTP 200. Confirmed: Simple at $49/mo + $6/mo per person, Plus at $80/mo + $12/mo per person, Premium at $180/mo + $22/mo per person and, in the Pay Myself tab, Solo at $49/mo + $6/mo per person, all in USD; the statements No hidden fees, Cancel any time, No contracts, Free account setup and Switch or cancel anytime; the add-on prices listed under the plans; the page's answer to its question on how contractors are billed (US contractors at the plan's per-person cost, only in months when they are paid). Not confirmed: the answers to the other pricing questions, which stayed collapsed, whether any annual billing or discount exists (the page shows monthly figures only and no billing switch), prices for state tax registration (varies by state) and 401(k) (varies by integration), accountant pricing, and taxes. The screenshot shows the Pay My Team tab; the Solo figure is in the captured page text only. One add-on line is printed on the page as $15/mo + 3/mo per person, with no dollar sign on the second figure, and is quoted as printed.
Figures on this file were read off the vendor's own pricing page on the dates shown. Prices change without notice; check before buying.
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