Gusto is an excellent choice for small businesses as it offers reasonably priced plansstarting at $40 plus $6 per employee monthlyand has a wide range of payroll and basic human resources (HR) functions. However, it may not fit every companys needs and budget. In that case, a top competitors product may be the best option.
For this guide, we looked at a dozen payroll software and narrowed the list down to nine best Gusto competitors.
- TriNet Zenefits (formerly Zenefits) : Best for small businesses that need an all-in-one HR payroll system
- Square Payroll : Best for small retailers and restaurants, especially those using Square POS
- QuickBooks Payroll : Best for employers and QuickBooks accounting users wanting fast direct deposit options
- Rippling : Best for tech-heavy companies needing HR, payroll, and information technology (IT) tools with robust integrations
- Paychex : Best for businesses that require a full-service payroll solution that can grow with them
- OnPay : Best for employers looking for robust tools to delegate payroll tasks and analyze labor costs
- Patriot Payroll : Best for startups and small companies that need flexible payroll plans
- SurePayroll : Best for budget-conscious small businesses and household employers wanting affordable payroll tools
- Homebase Payroll : Best for one-location businesses looking for a payroll system with free time tracking, scheduling, and hiring solutions
Top Gusto Competitors Compared
All the Gusto alternatives on our list (and Gusto) offer full-service payroll, automatic tax calculations and tax filings, paid time off (PTO) tracking, and a self-service portal where employees can view pay stubs and access their personal information. Below are each softwares standout features.
| Company | Starter Monthly Pricing | Special Contractor Payroll Plan | Unlimited Pay Runs | Year-end Tax Filings | Standard Direct Deposit Timelines | Health Benefits Available in 50 States | Professional Employer Organization (PEO) Option | Other HR Tools |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $6 per employee + $40 base fee | $6 per contractor monthly | Two and four days | 39 states only |
|
|||
| Visit Gusto | ||||||||
| $16 per employee (includes payroll add-on) | Two days | Hawaii isnt covered |
|
||||
| Visit TriNet Zenefits | ||||||||
| $5 per employee + $35 base fee | $5 per contractor monthly | Four days; instantly with Square payments |
|
||||
| Visit Square Payroll | ||||||||
| $5 per employee + $45 base fee | Next day |
|
|||||
| Visit QuickBooks Payroll | ||||||||
| $8 per employee + $35 base fee* | Two days | Costs extra |
|
||||
| Visit Rippling | ||||||||
| $5 per employee + $39 base fee | Cost extra | Two days |
|
||||
| Visit Paychex | ||||||||
| $6 per employee + $40 base fee | Two or four days, depending on risk assessment |
|
|||||
| Visit OnPay | ||||||||
| $4 per employee + $37 base fee** | Four days |
|
|||||
| Visit Patriot Payroll | ||||||||
| $5 per employee + $29.99 base fee** | Costs extra | Two days |
|
||||
| Visit SurePayroll | ||||||||
| $6 per employee + $39 base fee*** | Four days; two days for qualified companies |
|
|||||
| Visit Homebase Payroll |
| Company | Starter Monthly Pricing | Special Contractor Payroll Plan | Unlimited Pay Runs | Year-end Tax Filings | Standard Direct Deposit Timelines | Health Benefits Available in 50 States | Professional Employer Organization (PEO) Option | Other HR Tools |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| $6 per employee + $40 base fee | $6 per contractor monthly | Two and four days | 39 states only |
|
|||
| Visit Gusto | ||||||||
|
| $16 per employee (includes payroll add-on) | Two days | Hawaii isnt covered |
|
||||
| Visit TriNet Zenefits | ||||||||
|
| $5 per employee + $35 base fee | $5 per contractor monthly | Four days; instantly with Square payments |
|
||||
| Visit Square Payroll | ||||||||
|
| $5 per employee + $45 base fee | Next day |
|
|||||
| Visit QuickBooks Payroll | ||||||||
|
| $8 per employee + $35 base fee* | Two days | Costs extra |
|
||||
| Visit Rippling | ||||||||
|
| $5 per employee + $39 base fee | Cost extra | Two days |
|
||||
| Visit Paychex | ||||||||
|
| $6 per employee + $40 base fee | Two or four days, depending on risk assessment |
|
|||||
| Visit OnPay | ||||||||
|
| $4 per employee + $37 base fee** | Four days |
|
|||||
| Visit Patriot Payroll | ||||||||
|
| $5 per employee + $29.99 base fee** | Costs extra | Two days |
|
||||
| Visit SurePayroll | ||||||||
|
| $6 per employee + $39 base fee*** | Four days; two days for qualified companies |
|
|||||
| Visit Homebase Payroll |
*Monthly fee is based on a quote we received.
**Pricing is for the Full Service payroll plan. Note that the provider also offers a low-cost self-service option with do-it-yourself (DIY) payroll tax filings.
***Homebase Payroll isnt available in Nevada (as of this writing). Its also a paid add-on to the Homebase scheduling and time tracking platform, which has a free plan for one-location businesses.
Want to compare costs? Use our online calculator to compute the estimated monthly and annual fees for Gusto and our top-recommended Gusto alternatives.
Since our Last Update:
Homebase Payroll and OnPay have increased their software fees, while QuickBooks Payroll changed the per-employee fee of its Core planfrom $4 to $5 per employee monthly (plus the same $45 base fee). Gusto also revamped its plans, replacing its four tiers with three new packages.
TriNet Zenefits: Best Gusto Competitor for Small Businesses Looking for an All-in-One HR Payroll Solution
TriNet Zenefits
What We Like
- Unlimited pay runs
- Time tracking and scheduling included in all plans
- Strong compliance, employee communications, and staff engagement tools
What’s Missing
- HR plans and add-ons require a minimum of five employees
- Payroll is an add-on tool
- Health insurance limited to 49 states (Hawaii not covered)
TriNet Zenefits Pricing*
- Essentials: $10 per employee monthly
- Includes onboarding, employee management, time and paid time off (PTO) tracking, and staff scheduling
- Growth: $18 per employee monthly
- Essentials + performance reviews and compensation management
- Zen: $27 per employee monthly
- Growth + employee surveys, a well-being solution, and a People Hub collaboration tool
- Contingent workers: $6 per contractor monthly with any plan
Add-ons*
- Payroll: $6 per employee monthly
- Full-service payroll with tax filing services
- Advisory services: $10 per employee monthly
- Access to certified HR pros
- Benefits administration if you have your own broker: $5 per employee monthly
*Requires at least five employees
At its core, TriNet Zenefits is primarily an HR software with payroll capabilities. Similar to Rippling and Homebase Payroll, it offers its pay processing tools as a paid add-on. Its ideal for small businesses needing an all-in-one HR payroll software because it has a wide suite of HR solutionsmore robust than those of Gusto and the other providers in this guide. It helps you hire, onboard, and pay employees while allowing you to track PTO, plan work schedules, and monitor staff attendance. It even comes with compensation planning tools and custom salary benchmark reports to help you understand how much to pay employees.
While its per-employee monthly fees may seem budget-friendly, you may end up having to pay more, especially if you have many employees. This makes TriNet Zenefits one of the most expensive Gusto alternatives on our listRippling is anotherwith estimated annual fees of $1,920 for a business with 10 employees.
With TriNet Zenefits, you can add reimbursement and bonus payments to an employees pay as you process payroll.
(Source: TriNet Zenefits)
TriNet Zenefits Features
Comprehensive HR solutions
TriNet Zenefits HR solutions make managing the entire employee lifecycle easy for HR teams. It has offer letters and self-onboarding tools to help automate hiring processes. Scheduling and performance management solutions are also available, allowing you to monitor your employees schedules and goals at work easily. It even has compensation planning tools to help you identify whether your staffs salaries are on par with the market and your competitorsa functionality that none of the software in this guide has, including Gusto.
While it provides access to employee benefits options, the coverage of health plans is limitedit isnt available in Hawaii as of this writing. For employee benefits that cover all 50 states in the United States, consider any of the providers in this list except for Homebase Payroll and Patriot Payroll, as neither has this feature. Rippling and Gusto are also good choices, but the formers employee benefits are paid add-ons, while the latters health plans are not available in 11 states: Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
Robust compliance tools
What sets TriNet Zenefits apart from Gusto and the other competitors in this guide is its compliance solutions, which include built-in overtime safeguards and pay stubs that comply with most state regulations. It even has a Compliance Assistant, which alerts you of important form submission deadlines and monitors your compliance with HR, payroll, tax, and benefits rulings.
Time and attendance solutions in every plan
Similar to Homebase Payroll and Square Payroll, TriNet Zenefits includes time tracking functionalities in all payroll plans. Gusto and QuickBooks Payroll also have similar features, but these are included in their higher tiers. Rippling, Paychex, and Patriot Payroll offer this as paid add-ons, while SurePayroll and OnPay dont have built-in time tracking tools.
Full-service payroll
TriNet Zenefits has all the essential tools you need to compute and process employee and contractor payments. It comes with unlimited pay runs, supports direct deposit payments, and handles multiple pay rates and schedules with ease. Aside from calculating and withholding payroll taxes, it also remits tax payments and files tax forms for you at no extra costSurePayroll and Paychex charge additional fees for some of their tax filing services.
Square Payroll: Best Gusto Competitor for Small Retail Shops and Restaurants
Square Payroll
What We Like
- Automatic and unlimited payroll runs
- Preps and files tax forms, including year-end W-2/1099 reports
- Integrates with Square POS and provides free time tracking
What’s Missing
- Standard direct deposit takes four days
- Next-day and instant payout options require a Square payments account
- Phone support requires customer code
- No expert advisers on call
Square Payroll Pricing
- Pay employees and contractors: $35 per month + $5 per employee monthly
- Includes unlimited pay runs, full-service payroll, tax payments and filings, year-end tax reporting, time tracking, pay-as-you-go workers compensation plans, and new hire reporting
- Pay contractors only: $5 per contractor monthly
Square Payroll is a popular payroll system for small retailers and restaurants, especially those already using Squares point-of-sale (POS) solution. It handles payroll for both contractors and employees, calculates and files taxes, manages benefits, and has free time trackinga bonus for those who employ hourly workers. However, its standard four-day direct deposit timeline is slower than Gustos and most of the other competitors in this guide.
The provider made our list of best Gusto alternatives because it offers unlimited pay runs at no extra charge and imports tips and commissions from Square POS automatically into its payroll module for processing. It also syncs seamlessly with QuickBooks Online and other third-party timecard partners. Plus, unlike the other Gusto competitors we reviewed, Square Payroll has a low-cost contractor-only plan thats slightly cheaper than Gustos at $5 per contractor monthly vs $6 per contractor monthly.
With Square Payroll, you can process employee payments through desktop computers, laptops, or mobile devices.
(Source: Square Payroll)
Square Payroll Features
Square Payroll Features
If youre only processing contractor salaries, Square Payroll wont charge you its base monthly fee of $35 and will only charge you a per-person monthly rate of $5 per contractor. This is similar to Gustos contractor planalthough Squares is slightly cheaperand is great for companies that primarily contract work out vs hiring employees . Note that the other providers on this list charge you the same price as youd pay for an employee, which includes a monthly base and per-employee fees .
Multiple employee payment options
Square Payroll lets you pay employees and contractors through manual checks, aside from four-day direct deposits. You can also pay employees via Squares Cash App, which allows you to process two-day direct deposits and even send payments instantlyprovided you use Squares Instant Payments feature.
Tax payments and filings
Square Payroll will file your quarterly and annual taxes automatically and prepare and submit W-2 and 1099 tax forms. This is unlike OnPay and Paychex, which charge extra fees for some of their payroll tax administration services.
Import tips and commissions
A unique feature that Square Payroll offers, which Gusto and the eight other competitors in this guide dont, is that tips and commissions import from Square POS automatically into its payroll solution. This makes it easy for you to process employee payments without manually extracting and uploading tip and commission data from one system to another.
Employee benefits
With Square Payroll, you can offer benefits to employees like health insurance, retirement plans, and pay-as-you-go workers compensation. Similar to the other Gusto alternatives in this guideexcept Homebase Payroll and Patriot Payroll, which dont have this featureSquare Payrolls health benefits are available across the US. In contrast, TriNet Zenefits isnt available in Hawaii, while Gustos is limited to only 39 states.
Seamless payroll tools integration
Aside from unlimited and automatic pay runs for both employees and contractors, Square Payroll seamlessly integrates with Square products, like Square POS and Square Team Management. It also connects with third-party software, like QuickBooks Online and partner timecard solutions.
QuickBooks Payroll: Best Gusto Competitor for QuickBooks Users
QuickBooks Payroll
What We Like
- Same- and next-day direct deposit
- Integrates seamlessly with QuickBooks accounting
- Unlimited and automatic payroll runs
- Offers a tax penalty protection program that covers penalties, up to $25,000 per year, regardless of who makes the mistake
What’s Missing
- Local tax filings are included only in higher tiers
- Tax penalty protection available only in its Elite plan
- Integrates mostly with QuickBooks products; you need its accounting platform to access third-party software integrations
QuickBooks Payroll Pricing
- Core: $45 per month + $5 per employee monthly
- Includes full-service payroll, next-day direct deposit, federal and state tax filings and payments, and access to 401(k) plans and benefits
- Premium: $75 per month + $8 per employee monthly
- Core + same-day direct deposit, local tax payments and filings, workers compensation administration, and HR support center
- Elite: $125 per month + $10 per employee monthly
- Premium + multiple state tax filing, project tracking, personal HR adviser, tax penalty protection up to 25k per year, and expert setup
QuickBooks Payroll is a great payroll software for small business owners already using or planning to use QuickBooks accounting. Data flows seamlessly between the two solutions, making it easy to capture payroll details for your accounting ledgers. QuickBooks Payroll offers online employee onboarding tools, access to employee benefits, and more. However, it doesnt handle local tax filings automatically unless you upgrade to its higher tiersa feature that Gusto and the other providers on our list offer in their starter plans.
What sets QuickBooks Payroll apart from Gusto and its alternatives is its robust tax penalty protection. This program, which is included in the premium Elite plan, covers all tax penalty fees and interests up to $25,000 per year, regardless of who made the error. Note that most providers may have a similar penalty protection program, but its only for tax filing mistakes that they make.
QuickBooks Payrolls main dashboard includes shortcuts to running payroll, paying contractors, adding employees, and more.
(Source: QuickBooks Payroll)
QuickBooks Payroll Features
Efficient pay processing
Running payroll with QuickBooks Payroll is easyyou can even set it to run automatically. Aside from unlimited payroll, it handles tax filings and year-end tax reporting on your behalf. However, you have to get either its Premium or Elite plan if you want the provider to handle local tax filings. Plus, QuickBooks Payroll doesnt have a low-cost contractor-only plan that both Gusto and Square Payroll offer.
Fast direct deposits
Unlike Gusto, which provides next-day direct deposits in its higher tiers, QuickBooks Payroll offers this in its basic Core package, plus a same-day option included in its premium plans. Square Payroll also offers next-day and even instant payouts through its Cash App, but this requires a Square Instant Payments account. Meanwhile, the other Gusto alternatives in this guide have either two- or four-day direct deposit options.
Seamless integration with QuickBooks
While QuickBooks Payroll doesnt integrate with many third-party software, its native integration with QuickBooks accounting allows seamless data transfers between Intuit QuickBooks products. This means that your payroll information can flow directly to the general journal, plus you can use wage-related information for analytics and other reports.
Expert support
You are granted access to payroll experts that you can contact via phone and chat. If you subscribe to its highest tier, you get an HR professional who can provide expert advice. This is unlike Square Payroll and Patriot Payroll, which dont offer access to HR experts, and Rippling and Homebase Payroll, which charge extra for it.
Rippling: Best Gusto Competitor for Tech-heavy Businesses Needing HR, IT & Payroll Tools
Rippling
What We Like
- Unlimited pay runs with global payroll capabilities
- Robust HR and IT products can be purchased separately and as needed
- Integrates with 500-plus third-party software
- Offers a flexible PEO option
What’s Missing
- Core Workforce Management solution must be purchased before any other product
- Payroll and benefits are paid add-ons
- Gets pricey as you add features
- HR help desk option with phone and email support costs extra
Rippling Pricing*
- $35 plus $8 per employee monthly
- Includes Ripplings core workforce management platform, employee onboarding and offboarding, full-service payroll, time tracking, and software integrations
Other Per-Module Costs*
- App, device, and computer inventory management: $5 per employee monthly
- Includes IT tools to manage business apps and computer provisioning and deprovisioning processes
- Benefits administration: Pricing varies, depending on your insurance broker
- HR help desk: Custom-priced
- One-on-one email/phone support from HR experts
*Pricing is based on a quote we received.
Rippling offers a wide range of integrated and modular HR, payroll, and IT products. Its core platform is a workforce management solution, wherein payroll and other modules like benefits, app management, and HR help desk are paid add-ons. It offers an excellent payroll feature set with automatic tax calculations, tax filing services, and year-end tax reporting. It also has online tools to help you handle onboarding and offboarding, time and attendance, document management, and benefits administration.
The program also has essential IT solutions for managing business apps and company computers assigned to employees, and it can store units in its warehouse for you. The downside of using Rippling is that you have to pay for each module, so it can get expensive as you get more features. You also have to pay for its HR help desk feature, which lets you call or email HR professionals if you need expert support. Its live chat function has been praised by users though, and the company now shows the customer service wait time live on its site.
With Rippling, you can preview your current pay periods payroll journal and compare it to your last pay run before finalizing payroll.
(Source: Rippling)
Rippling Features
Unified platform
Rippling has an integrated HR platform in which all of its solutions connect with the other automatically. It lets you manage your employees payroll, benefits, devices, and apps in just one platform. Although the other Gusto alternatives in this guide also offer similar HR and payroll features, the comprehensive app and device management tools are unique with Rippling.
Efficient pay processing
Rippling can handle both your US and global payroll needs while providing your employees easy access to online pay stubs and tax forms through a self-service portal. It also calculates and files payroll taxes automatically, along with year-end tax reporting for you. Note that QuickBooks Payroll requires you to upgrade to its higher tiers if you need local tax filings, while OnPay and Paychex charge extra for some of their tax services.
Robust Integrations
When looking for a more solid set of HR features with robust third-party integrations, you can choose Rippling over Gusto since the former integrates with more than 500 systems. Rippling is also the only provider in this guide with an extensive partner network, which includes accounting, time and attendance, expense management, recruiting, training, and office management solutions.
Expert Support
One-on-one support from certified HR professionals is available at an extra cost. If you dont want to pay extra, consider any of the other Gusto competitors (except Square Payroll, Homebase Payroll, and Patriot Payroll) in this listalthough you have to get their higher tiers.
Flexible PEO
In case your HR needs have grown, but you dont want to hire or expand your HR team, Rippling and Paychex offer PEO services to help you manage day-to-day HR and payroll operations. Gusto and the other alternatives in this guide dont have this option. However, unlike Paychex, Rippling allows you to easily turn its PEO services on and off and switch back to using its software again.
Paychex: Best Gusto Competitor for Businesses Needing a Scalable Payroll Solution
Paychex
What We Like
- Multiple pay options, such as direct deposits, paper checks, pay cards, and pay on-demand
- 24/7 customer support included in all plans
- Has a suite of integrated HR solutions and services like new hire reporting, onboarding, background checks, time and attendance, and PEO
What’s Missing
- Pricing isnt all transparent
- Payroll tax administration and W2/1099 year-end reporting cost extra
- Check signing and stuffing services and access to a dedicated payroll specialist are available only in premium plans
- Doesnt offer unlimited payroll and off-cycle runs
Paychex Pricing
- Paychex Flex Essentials: $39 per month + $5 per employee
- Includes full-service payroll, tax filing services, direct deposits, new hire reporting, garnishment payments, and a financial wellness program
- Paychex Flex Select: Custom-priced
- Essentials + check logo and signing services, learning management, and access to a dedicated payroll specialist
- Paychex Flex Pro: Custom-priced
- Select + onboarding, background checks, state unemployment insurance (SUI) services, and an employee handbook builder
Paychex is a full-featured payroll system with different packages to meet the needs of small to large businesses. Its plans and HR products are flexible enough to handle your growing HR requirements, and it even has a PEO option for when you need expert help in handling day-to-day HR and payroll tasks. In addition to paying employees and contractors, it can handle online onboarding, staff benefits, and payroll tax administration. Subscribing to its premium plans even grants you access to a dedicated payroll specialist and check signing and stuffing services.
Gusto and most alternatives on this guide have fully transparent pricing. However, Paychex and Rippling dont list full pricing on their websites. Both show the starter monthly fees, while the rest of their payroll plans and products are custom-priced. Plus, with Paychex, you need to pay additional fees for some of its quarterly and annual payroll tax filings. Note that these are available for free in almost all the other options we reviewedexcept for SurePayroll, which charges extra for Ohio or Pennsylvania local tax form submissions, and QuickBooks Payroll, which requires you to upgrade to its higher tiers for local tax filings.
Paychex offers customizable payroll views, allowing you to display the employees wage data by pay type, in a grid, or as a single list.
(Source: Paychex)
Paychex Features
Scalable system
Compared to Gusto and the other providers listed in this guide, only Paychex has the system that can grow with your business. It provides efficient pay processing tools regardless of whether you have 10 employees or more than 1,000 workers. You just need to reach out to a Paychex representative who can recommend a package that fits the changing HR needs of your business.
Efficient payroll features
Its easy-to-use online tools aim to simplify the way you pay employees and contractors. You can even set your payroll to run automatically. In addition, it provides automatic W-2 and 1099 tax reports and handles payroll tax calculations, payments, and filings for you. Note, however, that some of its payroll tax administration services may cost extra.
Multiple pay options
Like Gusto, you can pay employees through pay cards, direct deposits, and paper checks. Furthermore, Paychex is the only provider that offers check signing and stuffing services among all the Gusto alternatives on this list. However, it doesnt have QuickBooks Payrolls fast direct deposit options and Square Payrolls instant payments.
Full range of HR features and services
In addition to payroll, Paychex has a suite of HR solutions and services to help you manage hiring, new hire onboarding, time and attendance, workers compensation, garnishment payments, business insurance, employee benefits, and a financial wellness program. None of the Gusto competitors we reviewed have financial wellness tools you can offer your employees.
Dedicated support
Aside from its team of compliance and HR professionals who can provide expert advice, you get dedicated support from a highly trained payroll specialist who will help you with your payroll and tax needs. While the other Gusto competitors in this article may offer HR advisory services, they dont provide dedicated payroll support.
OnPay: Best Gusto Competitor for Delegating Payroll Tasks & Analyzing Labor Costs
OnPay
What We Like
- Affordably priced
- Unlimited pay runs
- Six-level system permissions for controlling access and assigning HR/payroll tasks
- Offers special payroll and tax filing services for niche industries, such as agricultural and farm businesses
What’s Missing
- Direct deposit turnaround timeeither two or four daysis based on OnPays risk assessment
- Limited integration options
- Doesnt offer multiple plan options like Gusto does
OnPay Pricing
- $40 per month + $6 per employee monthly
- Includes payroll processing, multiple payment options, payroll tax management, onboarding and new hire reporting, PTO management, employee benefits, self-service portal, reporting tools, and third-party integrations
Add-ons
- W-2/1099 printing and mailing services: $5 per form, which is free if you print the online forms yourself
- Nonsufficient fund (NSF) return fee*: $50 per returned item
*OnPay charges an NSF fee in case your payroll fund isnt sufficient to cover the cost of a pay run.
OnPay is a good Gusto alternative, especially for small companies (with up to 200 employees) that need an efficient way to view and analyze labor costs. In addition to its premade reports, it has a report designer for creating custom payroll reports. This allows you to set up filters, add/remove 50+ data points, and save report templates. The other providers on our list may have customizable reports, but OnPays is more robust.
OnPay even has customizable checklists and onboarding workflows, including six levels of system permissions for delegating tasks and controlling HR and payroll access. Aside from providing a modern interface that rivals Gustos, OnPay offers unlimited pay runs, manages employee benefits, and files payroll taxes on your behalf.
While Gusto and most of the providers in this guide require you to upgrade to higher tiers to get all of their tools, you get full access to all of OnPays functionalities for a flat monthly fee of $40 plus $6 per employee. This makes OnPay one of the three most affordably priced Gusto competitors on our listPatriot Payroll and SurePayroll are the other twowith sample annual fees costing $1,200 for a company with 10 employees.
However, its tax penalty guarantee only covers mistakes OnPay representatives makeunlike QuickBooks, which covers any tax errors. Plus, its direct deposits have a longer turnaround than some of its competitorswith either a two- or four-day option depending on OnPays risk assessment.
When running payroll with OnPay, you can filter employees by business location and select the workers who should be included in the pay run.
(Source: OnPay)
OnPay Features
Efficient payroll features
OnPay supports multiple pay rates and schedules, including multistate payroll with no extra costSurePayroll and Patriot Payroll charge additional for this. It also enables you to pay employees through direct deposits, manual checks, and pay cards.
However, you cant choose the direct deposit turnaround time of two or four days because OnPay will identify this for you following the results of its risk assessment. If you want to choose a direct deposit that fits your payroll needs, consider any of the providers in this guide or Gusto. If you need next-day or instant payouts, then QuickBooks Payroll or Square Payroll, respectively, are great options.
Special payroll services
OnPay caters to specific niches, including churches and nonprofits, restaurants, and farms. It calculates wages and tip payments (for restaurants) and processes the applicable tax filings for these particular industries at no extra cost. For small agricultural companies with workers on H-2A visas, OnPay can handle the applicable tax calculations. in addition to Form 943 reporting.
Employee benefits
Similar to the other Gusto alternatives in this guideexcept Patriot Payroll and Homebase PayrollOnPay offers benefits plans from most major providers like Aetna, Humana, and United Healthcare. Aside from retirement plans, it has health and dental benefits available in all 50 statesGustos is limited to 39 states, while TriNet Zenefits health plan doesnt cover Hawaii.
Reportdesigner
The other providers on our list may offer customizable reports, but OnPays reporting tools are more robust. It has a report designer that lets you add and remove over 50 data points. You can set up filters, select date ranges, and move columns to fit your reporting requirements. It also lets you save custom reports, and if you dont want to create your own, OnPay has over a dozen built-in payroll reports to help you analyze and plan labor costs.
Patriot Payroll: Best Gusto Competitor for Startups Looking for Flexible Payroll Plans
Patriot Payroll
What We Like
- Unlimited pay runs
- Offers multiple plans
- Full Service Payroll plan is more affordable than Gustos starter tier
What’s Missing
- Standard direct deposit timeline is four days
- Multistate tax filings cost extra
- No benefits plans
Patriot Payroll Pricing
- Basic Payroll with DIY tax filings: $17 per month + $4 per employee monthly
- Includes payroll and tax calculations, unlimited pay runs, PTO accruals, and an employee self-service portal to view payslips and tax forms online
- Full Service Payroll: $37 per month + $4 per employee monthly
- Basic Payroll features + payroll tax payment and filing services
Add-ons
- Time & attendance: $6 per month + $2 per employee
- HR software: $6 per month + $2 per employee
- Online tools for managing employee information and documents
- Multistate tax filings: $12 monthly for each additional state
- 1099 e-filings (for Basic Payroll subscribers only): $20 for up to five 1099 e-filings; an additional $2 per 1099 is required for six to 35 filings (no additional charge for 36 or more)
Patriot Payroll is a cost-effective small business payroll software thats perfect for those looking for a budget-friendly solution. It offers reasonably priced full-service payroll plans and a basic DIY option that costs only $17 plus $4 per employee monthlyprovided you file your own payroll taxes. All plans come with unlimited pay runs, multiple payroll frequencies, and customizable hours, money, and deduction types. And you can pay your employees through manual checks and direct deposits. However, the turnaround time for direct deposits (four days) is longer than that of Gusto and the other providers we reviewed.
Like SurePayroll, Patriot Payroll will handle the payments and filings of all federal, state, and local taxes if you get its full-service plan. Also, it offers a penalty-free guarantee in case of tax filing errors, but only for its representatives mistakes. This is unlike QuickBooks Payroll, which covers all mistakes regardless of who made them. While it lets you add custom deduction types, like benefits contributions, into its system, Patriot Payroll doesnt offer employee benefits options and manage benefits plans for you.
Patriot Payroll supports multiple pay rates, which enables you to add up to five pay rates for each hourly employee.
(Source: Patriot Payroll)
Patriot Payroll Features
Self-service and full-service plan options
If you are on a budget and would prefer to let Patriot take care of your payroll and then file your employees taxes on your own, then you can opt for its Basic plan. If you dont want to handle payroll tax filings yourself, then you should sign up for its Full Service option. Whats great about this package is that its more affordable than Gustos offering. For a company with 10 employees, you have to spend $1,200 per year with Gusto. Patriot Payroll, on the other hand, will only charge you annual fees of $924.
Efficient payroll system
Patriot allows you to run unlimited payroll and pay your employees with different pay schedules, such as weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, and monthly. You can also use its standard hours and money types or create your own, including employee deductions and other company-paid contributions, all for free.
Net-to-Gross Payroll tool
If you are unsure how to calculate bonuses for employees and dont want to do gross-up calculations for taxes yourself, then you can use Patriot Payrolls net-to-gross payroll tool. Simply input the bonus amount to be paid out, and it will automatically gross it up for you. None of the other Gusto competitors on this list have a similar feature.