- You have fewer than 50 employees and want to keep payroll costs under 5 per employee per month
- You prefer managing payroll yourself with automated tools rather than outsourcing to a co-employer
- You need integrations with accounting software like QuickBooks, Xero, or FreshBooks
- You only pay contractors and want a lightweight plan at 5 per month plus per person
- You want access to 3,500+ health insurance plans and prefer choosing your own broker or benefits setup
- You want enterprise-grade health insurance rates that a small business normally cannot access on its own
- You prefer fully outsourcing payroll, tax compliance, and benefits administration to a PEO
- You have 25 to 100 employees and want the volume pricing discount that brings per-employee costs down
- You need to hire full-time employees internationally through an Employer of Record in 100+ countries
- You value 24/7 live support and want someone else handling compliance risk
The cost gap between these two is significant and worth understanding before you commit. Gusto's Simple plan runs 9 per month plus per employee. For a 20-person team, that comes to 69 per month. The Plus plan with next-day direct deposit, time tracking, and multi-state payroll costs 0 per month plus 2 per employee, or 20 per month for that same 20-person team. The Premium plan with a dedicated success manager runs 80 per month plus 2 per employee.
Justworks charges per employee with no base fee. The Payroll-only plan starts at 0 per month plus per employee. PEO Basic runs 9 per employee per month for teams of 25 to 99. For fewer than 25 employees, expect closer to 9 per employee. PEO Plus costs 9 to 09 per employee per month depending on headcount. That same 20-person team on PEO Basic would pay around ,580 per month, roughly 5 times what Gusto Simple costs.
Both platforms publish pricing publicly, which is refreshing in an industry where most PEOs hide their rates behind sales calls. Justworks does get cheaper at scale, dropping to 9 per employee on Basic for companies with 100+ employees. But for the typical small business with 10 to 50 employees, Gusto is dramatically more affordable.
Gusto handles the core payroll workflow well. Unlimited pay runs, automatic tax calculations and filings across all 50 states, direct deposit, W-2 and 1099 generation, and new hire reporting. Benefits administration includes access to 3,500+ health insurance plans, 401(k) through Guideline, workers' comp, HSA and FSA accounts, and commuter benefits. The Plus and Premium plans add time tracking, PTO management, workforce costing, and hiring tools like offer letters, e-signatures, and onboarding checklists. Gusto's integration library connects with QuickBooks, Xero, FreshBooks, and dozens of other tools.
Justworks bundles everything under the PEO model. Payroll processing, tax filings, W-2s, and compliance are all handled by Justworks as your co-employer. The real draw is benefits. Through co-employment pooling, Justworks negotiates health insurance rates that a 15-person company could never get on its own, including plans from Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, and Kaiser. PEO Plus adds medical, dental, vision, life insurance, disability, and an employee assistance program. Justworks also offers Employer of Record (EOR) services in 100+ countries at 99 per employee per month.
Where Justworks falls short is flexibility. Integrations are limited. Reporting and onboarding features are basic for a platform at this price point. The mobile app has reliability issues that show up consistently in user reviews. And because you are in a co-employment arrangement, switching away from Justworks later takes real effort.
Final Take
For most small businesses, Gusto does everything you need at a fraction of the cost. The payroll automation is solid, the benefits options are broad, and the integrations cover the tools most small teams already use. You stay in full control of your HR without entering a co-employment relationship.
Justworks makes sense for a specific situation: you want premium health insurance rates that only come through pooled PEO purchasing power, and you are willing to pay 3 to 5 times more per employee to get that along with outsourced compliance and HR management. If benefits quality is your top priority and budget is secondary, Justworks delivers real value there.
The honest answer for most teams under 50 people reading this comparison is Gusto. Save the money, run payroll yourself (it takes about 10 minutes per cycle with Gusto), and put the difference toward actually paying your employees more.
Gusto vs Rippling
Gusto or Rippling? Pick Gusto if you need simple payroll for a small US team. Pick Rippling if you're scaling fast and need unified HR and IT.
Gusto vs ADP
Gusto or ADP? Pick the right payroll platform with a pricing breakdown, feature comparison, and real user ratings from 12,000+ G2 reviews.
Gusto vs Paychex
Gusto or Paychex? Pick Gusto if you want simple, transparent payroll under 100 employees. Pick Paychex if you need PEO or enterprise HR.