Gusto vs Workday
Gusto and Workday are both HR & People Ops tools. Compare features, pricing, and ratings below to find the best fit for your team.
When to Choose Gusto vs Workday
The question that matters: “In what situation will I regret choosing A over B after 3 months?”
Gusto's benefits advisor surfaces side-by-side health plan comparisons for employees during open enrollment, reducing HR time spent answering benefits questions by giving employees self-serve plan selection tools.
Workday Adaptive Planning connects headcount scenarios directly to the financial model, letting CFOs evaluate the budget impact of a hiring freeze versus a 10% reduction in real time.
Gusto calculates, withholds, and files federal and all 50 state payroll taxes automatically on each pay run, eliminating the quarterly filing cycle that causes penalties for payroll tax mistakes.
Gusto's onboarding checklist sends I-9, W-4, direct deposit, and benefits enrollment forms to new hires before their start date, so day one is spent working rather than filling out paperwork.
Workday Recruiting's ML matching surfaces internal candidates from the talent profile database for open roles before posting externally, cutting time-to-fill for internal mobility by 30-40%.
Workday People Analytics generates compensation equity analyses and headcount trend reports from live HCM data, replacing quarterly reports that lag reality by 90 days.
Pricing Comparison & PlansHigh· Verified Jul 2, 2026
Gusto Plans
Paid plans only
Simple
$49/moBest for: Small businesses needing single-state payroll + basic support
- ✓Full-service payroll
- ✓Direct deposit
- ✓Federal & state tax filing
- ✓W-2s & 1099s
- ✓New hire reporting
Workday Plans
Paid plans only
Standard
Contact SalesBest for: This plan offers foundational HR capabilities
- ✓Planning and modeling capabilities
- ✓Active dashboards
- ✓Unlimited versions
- ✓Unlimited what-if scenarios
- ✓OfficeConnect
Professional
Contact SalesBest for: Designed for growing organizations, this plan expands on Standard with advanced features like talent management and analytics
- ✓Planning and modeling capabilities
- ✓Active dashboards
- ✓Unlimited versions
- ✓Unlimited what-if scenarios
- ✓OfficeConnect
Capability Breakdown
4 differences found across 15 standardized features
- •Payroll Processing
- •Tax Filing
- •Benefits Administration
- •Health Insurance
- •401k Plans
- •Time Tracking
- •PTO Management
- •Employee Onboarding
- •HR Documentation
- •Compliance Alerts
- •Contractor Payments
- •Workers Comp
- •Direct Deposit
- •Reporting
- •Mobile App
- •Human Capital Management
- •Global Payroll
- •Financial Management
- •Talent Management
- •Workforce Planning
- •Benefits Administration
- •Time Tracking
- •Expense Management
- •Analytics
- •Machine Learning Insights
- •Mobile App
- •API Access
- •SSO
- •SCIM
- •Audit Trails
Strengths & Limitations
Evaluative strengths and weaknesses: not feature lists
- +Automated payroll with unlimited runs and off-cycle payments
- +Full-service benefits admin including health, 401(k), and commuter
- +Employee self-onboarding and lifetime portal access
- +Handles multi-state payroll and tax filings automatically
- +Integrates time tracking, PTO, and hiring tools in one platform
- −Payroll processing is limited to the United States only
- −No dedicated account manager on lower-tier plans (Simple, Plus)
- −Advanced HR features (surveys, performance) require Premium plan
- −Limited third-party integrations compared to larger competitors
- −Per-employee pricing can become costly for larger SMBs
- +Comprehensive enterprise HR suite
- +Strong analytics and reporting
- +Unified HR and finance platform
- +Excellent compliance capabilities
- −Workday can be improved in terms of reporting and customization.
- −Workday could improve its custom reporting for beginners.
- −If you want to add more features to your subscription, Workday becomes expensive.
- −Workday does not support many Korean language features.
- −Compared to Dynamics, I feel each company uses their own kind of requirements.
At a Glance
Recent Price History
Gusto removed the "Solo" plan
Plan removed · Jun 5, 2026
Gusto added a new "Select" plan (Custom pricing)
Plan added · Jun 5, 2026
Workday added a new "Standard" plan (Custom pricing)
Plan added · May 28, 2026
Workday added a new "Professional" plan (Custom pricing)
Plan added · May 28, 2026
Gusto added a new "Solo" plan at $49/mo
Plan added · May 26, 2026
Gusto updated "Premium" from Custom to $180/mo
Price change · May 26, 2026
Gusto raised "Simple" from $40/mo to $49/mo (+23%)
Price change · May 26, 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Comparisons
Gustofrom $49/mo
Sources & Data Trail · Gusto
- 1.Official Pricing Page·Source of verified tiers(Checked: 2026-07-02)
- 2.Official Website·Official vendor website
- 3.G2·G2 verified reviews · 4.6/5 · 10,331 reviews
- 4.Capterra·Capterra verified reviews · 4.6/5
- 5.TrustRadius·TrustRadius verified reviews
Sources & Data Trail · Workday
- 1.Official Pricing Page·Source of verified tiers(Checked: 2026-07-02)
- 2.Official Website·Official vendor website
- 3.G2·G2 verified reviews · 4.1/5 · 1,620 reviews
- 4.Capterra·Capterra verified reviews · 4.4/5
- 5.TrustRadius·TrustRadius verified reviews
- 6.PeerSpot·PeerSpot enterprise peer reviews