Gusto pricing includes four plans with base and per-employee fees, covering payroll, tax filing, and direct deposit for growing businesses.
Gusto Plans and Pricing (2026)
Use this quick breakdown to match each plan with the type of business it’s best suited for, from small teams to growing companies.
| Plan | Base Free | Per Employee | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple | $49/month | $6/employee | Small teams, single-state payroll |
| Plus (Most Popular) | $80/month | $12/employee | Growing teams, multi-state payroll |
| Premium | $180/month | $22/employee | Scaling businesses, HR support |
| Contractor Only | $35/month | $6/contractor | Freelancer-only businesses |
Gusto Plan Details: What’s Included?
Gusto Simple Plan
The Simple plan is designed for small businesses with basic payroll needs, usually teams with 1–15 employees.
It costs $40 per month plus $6 per employee and works well for companies that want an easy way to manage payroll without extra tools.
What’s Included in the Simple Plan:
- Unlimited payroll runs and full W-2 payroll in all states
- Two-day direct deposit and contractor payments
- Automatic tax filing, W-2, and 1099 generation
- Digital onboarding and employee self-service tools
- Basic HR features like document storage and reports
- Email and phone support with access to help resources
Who Should Choose the Gusto Simple Plan:
- Your team is salaried or has fixed hourly pay with no need for built-in time tracking
- You already use a separate time-tracking tool that connects with Gusto
- Two-day direct deposit fits your payroll schedule
- Your team works in one or a few states with simple tax needs
- You want full payroll and automatic tax handling without extra features
Gusto Plus Plan
The Gusto Plus plan costs $80 per month plus $12 per employee.
It suits growing teams that need built-in time tracking, PTO management, and support for remote or hourly workers.
What’s Included in the Plus Plan:
- Everything in the Simple plan, plus extra tools for growing teams
- Next-day direct deposit and payroll reminders
- Built-in time tracking with clock-in/out, overtime, and approvals
- PTO management with requests, approvals, and balance tracking
- Holiday setup and automatic payroll adjustments
- Workforce reports to track labor costs and payroll data
- Manager access controls and team-level permissions
Who Should Choose the Gusto Plus Plan:
- Restaurants, retail, and service businesses with hourly staff
- Construction and trade teams with field employees
- Healthcare teams managing staff shifts and hours
- Agencies with a mix of salaried and hourly workers
- Remote teams needing simple time-off and approval workflows
- Any business spending too much time on time tracking and PTO tasks
Gusto Premium Plan
The Gusto Premium plan comes with custom pricing based on your team size and needs, so you’ll need to contact sales for a quote.
It’s best suited for businesses with 50+ employees or companies that need advanced HR support and ongoing compliance monitoring.
What’s Included in the Premium plan:
- Everything in the Plus plan, plus advanced HR support
- Dedicated account manager and priority support
- Help with setup and payroll migration
- Access to HR experts and ready-to-use document templates
- Compliance alerts and support for labor laws, ACA, and benefits
- Tools for surveys, performance reviews, and goal tracking
- Advanced reports for workforce and employee data
Who Should Choose the Gusto Premium plan:
- Companies with 50+ employees that need dedicated HR support
- Businesses in regulated industries like healthcare, finance, or construction
- Teams without an in-house HR manager but needing expert guidance
- Multi-state companies dealing with complex compliance rules
- Businesses that want ongoing monitoring to avoid payroll or HR issues
Gusto Contractor Only Plan
The Gusto Contractor Only plan costs $35 per month, with no fee for the first contractor and $6 per month for each additional one.
It’s ideal for freelancers, solopreneurs, and small businesses that pay only 1099 contractors and don’t have W-2 employees.
What’s Included in the Contractor Only plan:
- Unlimited contractor payments on any schedule
- Direct deposit for all contractors
- Automatic 1099-NEC filing at year-end
- Easy onboarding with digital W-9 and bank setup
- Option to pay international contractors (add-on)
- Full payment history and records stored in one place
- Manage payments through the Gusto app
Who Should Choose the Gusto Contractor Only plan:
- You pay only 1099 contractors with no W-2 employees
- Your work is project-based with freelancers or consultants
- You want to automate payments and 1099 tax filing
- You pay international contractors and need a compliant setup
- You’re a solopreneur or run a small freelance team
Gusto Hidden Costs & Add-On Fees
All four Gusto plans offer optional add-ons that expand features, with separate pricing beyond the base plan and per-employee costs.
Here is the complete list of add-ons and hidden costs you need to budget for before signing up.
| Add-On / Fee | Cost | Available On | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time Tracking | +$6/employee/mo | Simple only | Included free on Plus and Premium. On Simple, this effectively doubles your per-employee cost. |
| Next-Day Direct Deposit | +$15/mo + $3/employee | Simple only | Included on Plus and Premium. Simple defaults to 4-business-day processing. |
| State Tax Registration | $50–$150 per state (one-time) | All plans | Gusto handles the paperwork for registering your business in a new state. You can DIY for free. |
| Health Insurance Broker Integration | $6/eligible employee/mo | Simple & Plus | Free on Premium. If you use Gusto’s own brokerage, this fee is waived — you only pay insurance premiums. |
| Health Savings Account (HSA) | $2.50/participant/mo | All plans | Per-participant fee in addition to any insurance premiums. |
| Flexible Spending Account (FSA) | $4/participant/mo ($20 min) | All plans | $20/month minimum regardless of participant count. |
| 401(k) Administration (via Guideline) | $49/mo + $8/participating employee | All plans | For a 20-person team with 15 participants: $49 + $120 = $169/month added on top of plan cost. |
| Priority Support & HR Resources | +$30/mo base + $3/person | Simple & Plus | Included free on Premium. For 10 employees on Simple: +$60/month. |
| Performance Reviews | +$3/employee/mo | Simple only | Included on Plus and Premium. |
| R&D Tax Credit Scanning | 15% of credits found | All plans | Premium users receive a discount. For a 15-engineer startup, this service can cost $750+/month. |
| Global Contractor Payments | Varies by country | All plans except Contractor Only | Covers 120+ countries. Per-payment fee applies for non-U.S. contractors. |
| Gusto Global EOR (International Employees) | $699/employee/mo | Separate product | Price increased from $599 on March 15, 2026. Only covers 12 countries via Remote white-label. |
How To Get Gusto At The Best Price?
There are several legitimate ways to reduce your Gusto spend.
1. Claim the 3-months-free new customer promotion
Sign up using a Gusto discount coupon to get 3 months free. This is the biggest upfront saving and can be worth $150 to $540 or more, depending on your plan and team size.
2. Choose Gusto’s own health insurance brokerage
If you use Gusto as your health insurance broker, the $6/employee/month broker integration fee is waived.
For a 20-person team, this saves $120/month – $1,440/year compared to bringing your own broker on Simple or Plus.
3. Audit your add-ons before adding them to Simple
If you are on Simple and considering adding time tracking, next-day deposit, and priority support, run the math first.
For most teams above 8 employees, the add-on-adjusted Simple cost exceeds the Plus plan price – and includes all those features natively.
4. Register new states yourself to avoid per-state fees
Gusto charges $50–$150 per state to handle new state tax registration on your behalf. You can complete this process yourself at no cost through each state’s tax authority website.
If expanding to multiple states, this is worth DIY-ing.
5. Negotiate Premium pricing if you have 50+ employees
Gusto’s Premium plan pricing is negotiable for larger teams.
Companies with 50+ employees or those willing to prepay annually have historically received 10–15% off the published per-employee rate. Contact Gusto’s sales team directly.
Is Gusto Worth the Price? Who Should Use It?
Gusto is genuinely excellent for certain business types and a poor fit for others.
Here is an honest assessment based on the pricing structure, feature set, and customer feedback as of April 2026.
Gusto is a great fit if you are:
- A small business with under 50 employees in 1–3 states
- Switching from manual payroll or spreadsheets
- A startup that wants a fast setup (payroll in under 10 minutes)
- An employer offering health, dental, and vision benefits via Gusto brokerage
- A contractor-only business needing simple 1099 management
- A business that values clean UX and a self-service employee portal
- Someone who wants unlimited payroll runs without per-run fees
Gusto may not be the best fit if you are:
- Operating across 5+ states with complex multi-state payroll
- Hiring international employees (Gusto EOR at $699/person is expensive)
- A business with 100+ employees needing enterprise HR
- Experiencing frequent payroll errors that require fast support resolution
- A business heavily reliant on international contractors (limited tools)
- Looking for a tool with invoicing or accounts receivable built in
- A company needing 24/7 payroll support (Gusto: Mon–Fri 8 am–8 pm ET only)
Conclusion: Which Gusto Plan Is Right for You?
For most small businesses with under 20 employees in one state, Gusto’s simple plan at $49/month + $6/employee is the right starting point.
If you have employees across multiple states or need time tracking built in, start on Plus. Only choose Premium if you genuinely need dedicated HR advisory and a customer success manager; it is not worth the 3x cost jump for most teams.
FAQs
How Much Does Gusto Cost Per Month?
Gusto pricing starts at $49/month base + $6 per employee on the simple plan (updated April 2026 from the previous $40 base). The plus plan costs $80/month + $12/employee, the premium plan costs $180/month + $22/employee, and the contractor-only plan costs $35/month + $6 per contractor (billed only in months when contractors are paid).
Does Gusto Charge Per Employee?
Yes, every Gusto plan uses a base fee plus a per-employee per-month pricing model. The per-employee rate is $6 on simple, $12 on plus, and $22 on premium. Gusto only charges for active employees and only bills for contractors in months when they receive a payment.
Is Gusto Free To Try?
No, Gusto does not offer a permanent free plan or a traditional free trial. However, Gusto frequently runs a promotion offering 3 months free for new customers. The Contractor Only plan has also been offered free for the first 6 months during promotional windows. Check Gusto’s current promotions page before signing up.
Which Is The Cheapest Gusto Plan?
The cheapest Gusto plan for businesses with W-2 employees is simple at $49/month + $6 per employee. For businesses paying only contractors, the contractor-only plan at $35/month + $6 per contractor (when paid) is the lowest-cost entry point. A 3-contractor business might pay as little as $53 in an active month.
Does Gusto Charge For Multi-State Payroll?
No, Gusto does not charge an ongoing fee specifically for multi-state payroll, but you must upgrade from simple to plus ($80/month + $12/employee) to access it. Gusto does charge a one-time state tax registration fee of $50–$150 per new state if you want Gusto to handle the paperwork, though you can do this yourself for free through each state’s tax authority.
Does Gusto Pricing Include Health Insurance?
Gusto administers health insurance (medical, dental, vision) at no additional platform cost when you use Gusto’s own brokerage. You pay the insurance premiums to the carrier, but Gusto’s brokerage fee is waived. If you bring your own broker, Gusto charges $6/eligible employee/month for broker integration on simple plus plans. This fee is waived on Premium.
Did Gusto Raise Its Prices In 2026?
Yes, Gusto increased the simple plan base fee from $40 to $49 effective April 2026 – a 23% increase. The Employer of Record (EOR) service for international employees also increased from $599 to $699 per employee per month, effective April 15, 2026. These are the second price increases in 12 months, following a prior round of increases in early 2025.
Can I Cancel Gusto At Any Time?
Yes, Gusto operates on a month-to-month basis with no long-term contracts, setup fees, or cancellation penalties. You can cancel, upgrade, or downgrade at any time. Upgrades take effect immediately; downgrades begin at the start of your next billing cycle.
