Gusto vs Justworks: What We Recommend & Why

Gusto and Justworks are both fintech startups, but with different approaches. Gusto is a P2P lender focused on helping millennials save money while Justworks is an online human resource platform that helps employers find talent. We outline how these two products compare in terms of usability, cost to the individual & business effectivity.,

Gusto and Justworks are two different payroll services that offer a variety of features. Gusto is more expensive, but it offers more features. I recommend using Gusto for small businesses with less than 50 employees.

Gusto vs Justworks: What We Recommend & Why

Both Gusto and Justworks provide HR and payroll solutions and get top marks for functionality and simplicity of use in our tests. Gusto is a payroll software that lets you manage your payroll and provide benefits, while Justworks is a professional employer organization (PEO) that focuses on ensuring your company complies with payroll and HR requirements while also providing the greatest benefits.

So, which one do you think you should go with? We suggest both Gusto and Justworks for the following niches in our Gusto vs. Justworks comparison:

  • Gusto: Best for small firms looking for cost-effective, feature-rich software that streamlines payroll processing while still providing HR assistance.
  • Justworks: Best for companies who wish to completely outsource HR compliance assistance due to a lack of in-house HR experience or a requirement for best-in-class employee benefit prices.

In certain cases, neither Gusto nor Justworks is the ideal option. If you can’t decide between a professional employer organization (PEO) and HR or payroll software, we identified a decent alternative:

  • Rippling: Best for growing organizations who require the flexibility to switch off their PEO while maintaining access to their existing HR payroll software system.

Justworks vs. Gusto: A Comparison

When Should You Use Gusto?

Gusto is a wonderful alternative for small companies that require payroll since its features are automated, it has several payment methods, including next-day direct deposit, and it offers a variety of employee perks. It’s more of a piece of software than a service, and it interfaces with other popular applications used by small businesses. It also provides a lot for the money.

Gusto is a great place to visit.

When Should You Use JustWorks?

Justworks is more of a service than it is a piece of software. It oversees benefits for your workers, organizes payroll, and files taxes for you under its employer identification number (EIN). It’s ideal for those who want payroll and HR advantages but don’t have the time or skill to handle them all, or for bigger firms that don’t mind giving up some control in exchange for HR administrative responsibilities being taken care of.

Go to JustWorks.com to learn more.

Gusto Pros & Cons


Justworks Pros & Cons


Gusto is the most cost-effective option.

When comparing Gusto and Justworks, the former is less expensive—its beginning plan costs just $39 + $6 per employee, every month (monthly rates for Justworks’ Basic tier begin at $49 per employee). While price matters, bear in mind that you get what you pay for. Gusto is less priced, but it is simply a payroll software with limited time tracking and HR features. Justworks, on the other hand, provides professional employer organization (PEO) services. It takes on greater tasks and handles more administrative work, including legal difficulties in certain situations.

Pricing by Gusto

Gusto now provides a contractor-only service for $6 per month, which covers 1099 processing, four-day direct payments, and new hire reporting for contractors. It also only bills you for the months during which you handled contractor payments.


Pricing for Justworks

If you’re on the Plus plan, you may get a discount if you have part-time workers. Justworks will charge you its Basic plan fee if your part-time employees work fewer than 30 hours per week on average. You must pay the Plus plan fee if your part-timers work an average of 30 or more hours each week.


Gusto’s Best Payroll Features

Gusto allows you to handle payroll for every employee type. It calculates and remits payments, files state, federal, and local taxes, and does end-of-year tax reporting, same as Justworks. Multiple pay rates, tip credits, garnishments, PTO rules, and multistate payroll are also supported.

Employees may be paid via cheque, direct deposit, or pay card. It also allows workers to request a cash advance of up to 40% of their salary using the Gusto Wallet app’s Cashout function. The Complete and Concierge plans feature time, workforce, and project tracking, but if you’re already using a time and attendance system, Gusto interacts with platforms like When I Work, 7shifts, Homebase, and QuickBooks Time (formerly TSheets).

When Should You Consider Using Justworks for Payroll?

Justworks may not provide as many payment alternatives as Gusto or offer the Cashout tool, but it can handle payroll for you. While workers are paid by direct deposits, Justworks may also pay you through checks, which you must print and submit yourself.

Tips, off-cycle payroll, bonuses, and contractor/vendor payments are all handled by this system. You may utilize its time tracking application, Justworks Hours, which is a paid add-on, in addition to QuickBooks Time. However, as of this writing, it is free, and if you join up before the end of December 2021, you will only have to pay $5 per user, per month in 2022.

Best for HR & Employee Benefits: Justworks

Justworks will enroll you in an enterprise-level insurance plan as a PEO, which means you’ll get far better rates—and they’re accessible in any state. It collaborates with UnitedHealth, Kaiser Permanente, and Aetna. Dental and vision insurance, HSA/FSA, medical reimbursement programs, gym perks, commuter benefits, life and disability insurance, and health advocacy services are also available. Justworks collaborates with Slavic and bears fiduciary responsibility for 401(k) plans, so you may provide this benefit to your workers without risking legal liability.

While both Gusto and Justworks provide workers’ compensation via AP Intego and have HR professionals on hand to address your queries about compliance, Justworks is the most compliant of the two. It provides online training for sexual harassment and discrimination prevention, in addition to keeping you up to speed on new laws and regulations, making it simple to comply with state and local standards.

When to Consider Gusto for HR & Employee Benefits

Gusto provides access to over 3,500 policies from over 100 carriers that deal with small companies as a health insurance broker. As a result, it can help you discover a solid plan for your workers, and it provides dental and vision insurance, as well as HSA, FSA, retirement savings (via Guideline), commuter perks, Gusto Cashout for early salary access, and Gusto Wallet, a free financial management tool. Gusto is a suitable alternative if your company is situated in one of the locations it serves (Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming).

Gusto’s compliance support is less comprehensive than Justworks’, but it does include new hire reporting, workers’ compensation, and compliance with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). With the exception of South Carolina, it also handles child support garnishments.

Best for Ease of Use, Customer Support & Integrations: Gusto

In our comparison of Justworks and Gusto, we discovered that both products offer very user-friendly interfaces that make it simple to access the features you need. Both provide in-app assistance, online manuals, and access to HR specialists who can provide expert guidance on HR, payroll, and compliance concerns. Both companies provide email, chat, and phone assistance, while Justworks is accessible 24 hours a day, whilst Gusto is only available during business hours.

Gusto, on the other hand, offers a larger network of third-party software connectors than Justworks. The former links with accounting, hiring, learning management, time tracking, legal, POS, and collaborative technologies, while the latter exclusively connects with QuickBooks Time, QuickBooks, and Xero.

Users’ Opinions on Gusto vs. Justworks

  • Gusto: On third-party sites like G2 and Capterra, Gusto received an average rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars (as of this writing). Users praise it for its user-friendly UI and extensive feature set. Managers complimented the automations and convenience of administering payroll, while employees enjoyed the onboarding and employee site. Customer service, on the other hand, is hit or miss—some customers thought the company’s support crew is helpful, while others grumbled about delayed answers.
  • Justworks: With a G2 and Capterra average rating of 4.7 out of 5, numerous customers praised the same three features: simplicity of use, intuitiveness, and customer service (as of this writing). They also value the substance of the benefit packages they may be able to provide to their workers. Some users, on the other hand, longed for greater connectivity and reporting options, as well as a more powerful PTO calculation.

How Did We Compare Gusto vs. Justworks?

Even though we’re comparing Gusto with Justworks, we’re not trying to choose a winner. Both of these services are outstanding and cater to certain requirements. Our analysis shows the differences and benefits of each provider so you can choose which service is best for you. We looked at simplicity of use, HR features, integration and benefit choices, customer service, and if HR specialists are accessible to provide expert guidance, in addition to cost and payroll functionality. For a more complete overview of our assessment criteria, go through the tabs below.

25% of the overall score

We looked at whether companies had clear pricing, a variety of plan alternatives, and limitless pay runs. We also looked to see if there are any startup fees and whether they offer a plan that is less than $50 per employee. Both Gusto and Justworks scored flawless scores in this category, albeit Gusto is more cheap than Justworks when comparing their basic packages. The first is $39 + $6 per employee per month, whereas the second is $49 per employee per month.

25% of the overall score

We consider automated tax filing services, year-end tax report preparation, automatic pay runs, and two-day direct payments to be vital payroll services. Providers that provide both employee and contractor payroll services, as well as a tax penalty-free promise, are given higher marks. Gusto outperformed Justworks in this category, because to its many employee payment methods.

25% of the overall score

We searched for systems that were easy to use, intuitive, and configurable, as well as those that integrated with popular small company software such as QuickBooks, Homebase, and When I Work. We favor service providers that provide how-to guides and live phone help. Justworks only links with QuickBooks Time, QuickBooks, and Xero. Gusto scored better rankings in this category, owing to its many connectivity choices.

10% of the overall score

One of the most important requirements is having access to a professional who can give expert assistance on compliance concerns, as well as new hire state reporting, online onboarding, and a self-service portal. We also looked for companies that offered a variety of perks, health insurance that was accessible in all 50 states, and a time tracking system. Justworks came out on top in this category—Gusto would have rated better if its health insurance plans didn’t offer such restricted coverage (only 39 states).

10% of the overall score

We used G2 and Capterra’s average review ratings, which are based on a five-star scale; any choice with an average of four or more stars is optimal. In addition, any program having 1,000 or more reviews on a third-party website is preferable. Despite the fact that both Gusto and Justworks obtained average user ratings of 4 and higher, Gusto received perfect marks since it has over 1,000 online reviews.

5% of the overall score

Apart from providing basic payroll reports, we looked at whether they were customisable and whether you could develop additional reports to meet your unique requirements. In this criteria, Gusto and Justworks both received perfect scores.

*Percentages based on total score

Conclusion

When deciding between Gusto and Justworks, the major things to consider are how much HR work you want to delegate and how vital it is for you to provide low insurance prices.

Both plans include easy-to-use software, access to benefits, and full-service payroll that includes tax filing and year-end reporting. Although Gusto makes managing your payroll and benefits simple, Justworks’ PEO service handles many of the day-to-day HR procedures and obligations.

Gusto, on the other hand, is the finest choice for a small company payroll solution with critical HR capabilities and extensive third-party software interfaces. Although it lacks Justworks’ PEO services and comprehensive health insurance coverage (Gusto is only available in 39 states), it does provide a broad range of perks and even gives workers prior access to a part of their wages in case of financial difficulties. Today is the last day to sign up for a free trial.

Gusto is a great place to visit.

Gusto is a health insurance company that offers benefits for both employees and their families. Justworks is another health insurance company that offers benefits for both employees and their families. We recommend Gusto because it has more benefits than Justworks, which makes it worth the extra cost. Reference: gusto health insurance review.

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