Head to head
Gusto vs QuickBooks Online
Both platforms are scored with the same methodology and the same category rubric. Nothing on this page is influenced by advertising.
62/100 | 70/100Higher score | |
|---|---|---|
| Category rank | #3 | #1 |
| Confidence | High confidence | High confidence |
| External Reputation | 92 | 80 |
| AI Authority | 69 | 73 |
| Web Authority | 23 | 57 |
| Expert Assessment | 46 | 62 |
| TOP10 User Score | — | — |
| Pricing | Reported at USD $35/month + $6 per contractor (Contractor Only) — not vendor-verified · free tier: None published or verified | USD $38/month (Simple Start, 1 user; promo $3.80/mo for 3 months) · free tier: 30-day free trial, offered as an alternative to a 90%-off-for-three-months promotion |
| Pricing model | Subscription (base fee plus per-person fee, with paid add-ons) | Subscription |
| Best for | US small businesses with roughly 1–50 salaried W-2 employees or heavy contractor use, with straightforward payroll, who value fast self-service setup and bundled benefits administration over hands-on account management. | US small businesses of roughly 3-25 people that already need double-entry accounting — inventory, job costing, sales tax, an external accountant — and want invoicing to live in the same ledger. |
| Avoid if | You need a responsive human on the phone when payroll breaks, run shift-based, multi-location or high-volume-hiring operations, require non-standard payroll customisation, are headcount-heavy enough that per-employee fees dominate, or are mid-way through a business banking change. | You are a freelancer or solo operator who only sends invoices, you need batch invoice sending without paying $340/mo, or you require a firm all-in monthly cost including card-processing fees. |
| Markets | SMB, Mid-Market, Contractor-heavy businesses | SMB, Accountants |
| Founded | — | — |
| Headquarters | Denver, Colorado, USA (offices also in San Francisco and New York) | — |
A higher TOP SCORE means more of the evidence favours that platform on this methodology — it is not a recommendation, and it does not account for your specific requirements. Advertisers are never declared the winner of a comparison.