Gusto Pricing: Plans & Cost Calculator 2026
Unlike per-user tools, Gusto charges a flat base fee plus per-person costs across 5 plans, with full payroll from $49 to $180/mo plus a $35 contractor-only option, best for under 20 employees.
Gusto plans and pricing
Billing surface
Pick a plan, set your seat count and switch billing to see the running total. The full breakdown lives in the calculator below.
Contractor Only
Contractor-only businesses (no W-2 employees yet)
Simple
Small businesses needing single-state payroll + basic support
Solo
Solopreneurs needing payroll + S corp compliance + optional contractor payments
Plus
Businesses needing advanced payroll, benefits, HR + time & attendance
Gusto pricing: the quick answer
Gusto costs $49 to $180 per month in base fees for its employee-payroll plans, across five plans, with no free tier. Simple is $49/mo, Plus $80, Premium $180, and Solo matches Simple at $49 for one-person businesses. There is also a Contractor Only plan at $35/mo. Every payroll plan adds a per-person fee on top of the base, so what you owe depends on headcount and whichever optional services you switch on. The base fee alone tells you little.
- Contractor Only$35/mo
- Simple$49/mo
- Solo$49/user/mo
- Plus$80/mo
- Premium$180/mo
At $35/mo to start, Gusto sits 192% above the $12/mo median across 4 hr & people ops tools we track.
Gusto cost calculator
Gusto Hidden Costs & Pitfalls
The base fee only rents you the platform. Per-person charges and the optional add-ons are where your actual monthly bill gets assembled.
Gusto pricing, read against its live plans and category
Positioning
Gusto's entry-level Simple plan starts at $49/mo, matching the category median price, but restricts users to single-state payroll. To unlock multi-state payroll, time tracking, and next-day direct deposits, businesses must upgrade to the Plus plan at $80/mo. While the Contractor Only plan ($35/mo) and Solo plan ($49/mo) offer cost-effective entry points for micro-businesses, scaling organizations will find the steep jump to the Premium plan ($180/mo) difficult to justify just to access dedicated support and HR experts.
Cost drivers
- 1Multi-state payroll requires upgrading from the $49/mo Simple plan to the $80/mo Plus plan.
- 2Per-employee monthly fees of $6/mo or $12/mo apply on top of the base plan prices.
- 3Global contractor payments incur additional service and foreign exchange (FX) fees per transaction.
Watch-outs
Users report sudden, steep price increases, including a recent 23% hike and a complete restructuring of legacy tiers that forced clients onto more expensive plans. Severe operational errors have also been flagged, with users reporting over $3,000 lost due to incorrect tax filings and more than $50,000 temporarily withheld due to account errors.
Strengths
The Contractor Only plan at $35/mo automated payroll with unlimited runs and off-cycle payments.
- 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
What users say
“the second we had more than 50 employees everything broke.”
“Gusto support always has gone above and beyond with every phone call”
Editor’s take
The Solo and Simple plans are best suited for single-state solopreneurs and micro-businesses with straightforward payroll needs. Rapidly growing startups and multi-state employers should look elsewhere, as scaling on Gusto quickly becomes cost-prohibitive. For complex, multi-state, or global workforces, consider Rippling as a more capable alternative.
Oleh KemFounder & Lead AnalystGusto price history
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Frequently asked questions
Sources & verification
| Source | What was checked | Last checked |
|---|---|---|
| Official Pricing Page | Source of verified tiers | July 16, 2026 |
| Official Website | Official vendor website | — |
| G2 | G2 verified user reviews · 4.6/5 · 10,331 reviews | — |
| Capterra | Capterra verified user reviews · 4.6/5 | — |
| TrustRadius | TrustRadius verified reviews | — |
Every fact on this Gusto pricing page is tied to a named source and a verification date. Freshness-sensitive figures trace to the sources above; verify against the vendor before relying on them.
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