Gusto vs QuickBooks Payroll

Full-service payroll for a small business should include the filing and payment of payroll taxes in every state (and city) you operate in. It should include the ability to pay contractors off of normal pay cycles (with no added fees), and simplify things like bonuses, garnishments, and commissions. And finally, if it’s really full-service, they should handle any data migration and setup for you, and guarantee accuracy.

Gusto and QuickBooks Payroll offer free setup and data migration, but only at the highest tier. It’s not included in their base plans. Gusto will file and pay local payroll taxes, but QuickBooks Payroll doesn’t offer this in their core plan. If you need to pay workers in more than one state with Gusto, you’ll be required to make an upgrade that doubles your monthly cost. So while both Gusto and QuickBooks each have their own benefits and drawbacks, our research found that another provider scored higher in most of these areas (and at a better value).

HR features: You may think your business doesn’t need HR functionality, but tools like self-onboarding, document e-sign for offer letters and tax forms, and document audits greatly reduce the time you spend on paperwork. Payroll providers that offer HR services like lifetime access for employee documents, and that integrate with Workers’ Compensation plans, let you relax and run your business without worrying about staying compliant. Plus, who doesn’t like a nice org chart to help everyone know who’s who?

In this category, Gusto has a slight advantage by offering document storage and audits with lifetime employee account access. QuickBooks Payroll offers basic document storage too, but not in their core plan. Payroll providers that are designed for small businesses should offer these features standard.

It’s not always obvious what you need from reports until you suddenly have a question about employee hours or taxes withheld. Since you never know what report you’ll need until the time comes, look for a payroll service that offers a flexible, customizable report builder so you can see only the data that impacts your business the most.

QuickBooks and Gusto both have payroll and employee reports, but neither have a custom payroll listing report builder. While QuickBooks came out ahead of Gusto when it comes to real-time reporting filters, Gusto offers some basic customization of employee-level reports. Some payroll services offer more robust reporting options, so if reporting is important to you, you might want to consider more providers.

It’s a fine line between discount and value. A discount price might be convincing at first, but then will they set you up, or manage a seamless handoff from your previous provider? What happens when you need help? You shouldn’t have to settle for watered down payroll just because you’re not a provider’s biggest client.

There’s no clear winner between QuickBooks Payroll and Gusto in this category. Gusto has a lower base price than QuickBooks, but with a higher per-worker cost plus additional fees for most of the features you might require. QuickBooks also offers multiple pricing tiers as well as add-on packages, which can make shopping by price a little ambiguous. Look for a payroll service with a simple pricing structure to avoid sudden extra fees and costs popping up when you least expect them.