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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    ADP TotalSource

    Score7.3 out of 10
    N/AADP TotalSource is a Certified Professional Employer Organization (CPEO) that helps businesses manage HR, payroll, benefits, compliance and talent management through a single solution. As an IRS-certified CPEO and ESAC-accredited PEO, ADP TotalSource combines technology with hands-on HR expertise to help organizations navigate the complexities of managing employees. Businesses can streamline processes across the employee lifecycle, from hiring and onboarding to…N/A

    Gusto

    Score8.9 out of 10
    N/AGusto offers payroll, benefits and compliance capabilities. Gusto is scaled for small to mid-sized businesses, and emphasizes an easy to use interface.

    $49

    per month

    Pricing
    ADP TotalSourceGusto
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Simple: A streamlined set of automatic payroll features and benefits integrations
    $49/month + $6/mo per person
    per month
    Plus: Comprehensive payroll, benefits, and HR tools for employers building a great place to work
    $80/month + $12/mo per person
    per month
    Premium: Scalable payroll and benefits, expert HR, and dedicated support for the complex needs of growing teams
    $180/month + $22/mo per person
    per month
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    ADP TotalSourceGusto
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsGusto offers three pricing plans for payroll, benefits, and HR.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    ADP TotalSourceGusto
    Considered Both Products
    ADP
    Chose ADP TotalSource
    [I think that] all other options are about 100X better than ADP TotalSource. [I also think] ADP TotalSource is too comfortable and thinks they don't need to improve to be competitive. However, the reality is, competition is eating up their market. Some ADP staff, in particular, …
    Incentivized
    Chose ADP TotalSource
    ADP TotalSource was selected over other competitors because it fit our needs when we were hundreds of employees. However, these days we have thousands globally and this number changes every day so it is quickly becoming a solution we can not rely on, especially compared to all …
    Incentivized
    Gusto
    Chose Gusto
    Previously, we had to rely on someone else to make changes and updates; now, using Gusto, we can manage it all in-house.
    Incentivized
    Chose Gusto
    While ADP wasn't a terrible platform- very basic ands streamlined. Paycor has lots of room for improvement along with their customer service.
    Incentivized
    Chose Gusto
    Gusto has been my favorite option both as an end-user (ie. employee) and admin (ie. employer). It's easy to use, has all the features we need, integrates with Guideline (our preferred 401k provider), and priced well for great value.
    Incentivized
    Chose Gusto
    Gusto generally wins on price compared to its competitors. Some organizations nickel-and-dime on billing with headcount, states filed, etc. while Gusto's bills are very easy to calculate and understand. Competitors generally will handle state registrations that Gusto won't do, …
    Incentivized
    Chose Gusto
    Gusto was by far the most user-friendly and easy to use. QBO was a close second, but I believe Gusto is better priced for small businesses.
    Incentivized
    Chose Gusto
    I find [it] better as they collect and file and [the] cost is much better.
    Incentivized
    Chose Gusto
    Gusto's customer service is superior. Their response times are excellent and the simplicity of the system is appreciated.
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    31%
    Would buy again
    5 Answers
    92%
    Would buy again
    563 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    43%
    Delivers good value for the price
    6 Answers
    93%
    Delivers good value for the price
    464 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    44%
    Happy with the feature set
    7 Answers
    95%
    Happy with the feature set
    576 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    33%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    5 Answers
    91%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    316 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    43%
    Implementation went as expected
    6 Answers
    94%
    Implementation went as expected
    376 Answers
    Features
    ADP TotalSourceGusto
    Payroll Management
    Comparison of Payroll Management features of ADP TotalSource and Gusto
    Feature
    ADP TotalSource
    -
    Ratings
    Gusto
    9.1
    611 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Pay calculation00 Ratings9.5587 Ratings
    Support for external payroll vendors00 Ratings8.58 Ratings
    Benefit plan administration00 Ratings8.7417 Ratings
    Direct deposit files00 Ratings9.7592 Ratings
    Salary revision and increment management00 Ratings9.0462 Ratings
    Reimbursement management00 Ratings9.0196 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    ADP TotalSourceGusto
    Small Businesses
    Justworks
    Score7.2 out of 10
    Patriot Payroll
    Score8.6 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Justworks
    Score7.2 out of 10
    APS
    Score5.7 out of 10
    Enterprises
    No answers on this topic
    ADP Streamline Payroll
    Score6.1 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    ADP TotalSourceGusto
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.9
    (19 ratings)
    9.1
    (633 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (14 ratings)
    Usability
    9.1
    (3 ratings)
    9.4
    (457 ratings)
    Support Rating
    3.3
    (3 ratings)
    4.2
    (27 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (3 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    ADP TotalSourceGusto
    Likelihood to Recommend
    ADP
    I would not use this company for anything. [I believe my] employees [absolutely] hate the software and there are constantly glitches in the software which occur every payroll run, benefits enrollment, etc. [I have spent] large amounts of time on the phone with outsourced customer support[,] so think twice when comparing [the] cost to other providers. [I feel] you [will] need someone full time to deal with all of their issues. We are currently in the process of setting up another PEO company. The amount of money and time to implement ADP has been a huge loss.
    Read full review
    Gusto
    I think Gusto is well-suited for any business, big or small, to use for accounting purposes. It makes it easy to keep track of many things, such as pay stubs, benefits, paid time off, and much more. Where I could see it being less useful is maybe for enterprise businesses with way more employees.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    ADP
    • Payroll was easy to learn and use with time tracking in a short time frame
    • Tracking team members request offs and approving them were very easy
    • Customizing reports for specific periods of time. This made is very easy for end of year tracking for total hours worked and total dollars paid.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Gusto
    • New employee/contractor onboarding - all the documents are stored and easily accessible (the same goes for off-boarding).
    • A one-click option for syncing hours worked with payroll.
    • The option to run payroll on auto-pilot.
    • Ensuring I'm tax compliant with the states we have employees in.
    • Always having digital records of payroll runs.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    ADP
    • Customer service is horrible
    • Follow up takes 7-10 days, and requires multiple inquiries from you, the client
    • The promised "dedicated team" doesn't exist
    • Onboarding is confusing to new hires
    • Explanation of benefits to new hires is useless and must be done in office, thereby negating any value.
    • They should not provide handling UI claims as as service. They have no ability to actually meet deadlines.
    Read full review
    Gusto
    • Digital compliance tools for remote teams
    • Gusto upsold us labor law posters, but I later found them available for free online. Since we’re a fully remote team, I had to manually download and distribute them digitally. It would be much more efficient if Gusto offered free, auto-distributed digital posters tailored to remote compliance.
    • Benefits setup is unintuitive for startups
    • While our rep was helpful, navigating the benefits system felt complex and not tailored to early-stage companies. More guided flows or simplified options for small, remote startups would be a big help.
    • Limited dashboard customization for remote workflows
    • As a fully online company, we’d benefit from dashboard options that highlight relevant tools for remote operations—like compliance tracking, digital communications, or onboarding checklists.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    ADP
    No answers on this topic
    Gusto
    Unless they break it, I'm never leaving. It's just too easy. Gusto is also really affordable, and for what I pay, it's worth having the historical record within the system. I like that I can go back and pull up W2's for year's past. This sort of easy access reporting, has been helpful especially when getting reports for PPP loans.
    Read full review
    Usability
    ADP
    The report feature can be a little complicated. Other than that, I have found no issues at all with this system
    Read full review
    Gusto
    Gusto is pretty user-friendly, and the website is easy to navigate overall. They also offer good, responsive customer support and have helpful articles available when needed. So far, I have not had any major issues with the platform and am overall very happy with it.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    ADP
    ADP is a great HR solution for most organizations. It is truly all-in-one. I rated it a 7, because of the issues we experienced during implementation and the high cost of service when issues do arise.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Gusto
    Gusto's customer service has really deteriorated lately and they seem to have really changed their focus. It used to be when you called you were routed to an individual who knew about payroll, benefits, reporting, etc. but now you get someone who seems to have not received the correct training. My last call about a dismissal payroll took me over an hour of my time and the person still could not help me and finally transferred me to someone else.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    ADP
    No answers on this topic
    Gusto
    Reach out to support immediately if you are having trouble setting up Gusto. Rather than being confused and trying to figure it out yourself, it's much better to talk to someone who knows what they are doing. Save yourself time and frustration and reach out to support
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    ADP
    At the moment, we have not investigated any of the products available in the drop-down list provided. However, we have evaluated some other (unavailable) products and have been intrigued by the potential decrease in fees along with the potential for a much more "rich" benefit plan. We can't speak to the level of customer service observed by current clients, only to apparent cost savings.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Gusto
    While I never actually got to the point of trying out ADP, I had several conversations with an ADP representative, and it seemed that they would be able to provide the same (if not less) level of service for a significantly higher price
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    ADP
    • It has cost us more money from a financial aspect and then taken away my main/other job duties because I have to focus all of my time on ADP TotalSource and basically fixing errors that happen weekly/every time an employee is added or terminated (which is more than the normal company due to the nature of our business).
    Read full review
    Gusto
    • Time tracking + payroll calculations me 30-60 minutes every time I run payroll.
    • Integrated workers' comp, so I didn't have to find an outside carrier and get quotes—it's all taken care of in the same platform.
    • Improved employee experience with onboarding.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    ADP TotalSource Screenshots

    Screenshot of HomepageScreenshot of Benefits CenterScreenshot of Analytics and BenchmarkingScreenshot of Reporting

    Gusto Screenshots

    Screenshot of Gusto's automated payrollScreenshot of the time-off tracking interfaceScreenshot of the source of truth for HR data