BambooHR® vs. Gusto

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
BambooHR®
Score 8.4 out of 10
N/A
BambooHR is an cloud-based human resources solution that provides onboarding, payroll, and benefits management. It also offers automated time-off management and employee self-service.
$250
per month
Gusto
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Gusto 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
BambooHR®Gusto
Editions & Modules
Core
$250
per month
Pro
Contact Sales
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
BambooHR®Gusto
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesYes
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional DetailsGusto offers three pricing plans for payroll, benefits, and HR.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
BambooHR®Gusto
Considered Both Products
BambooHR®
Chose BambooHR®
Gusto has an applicant tracking system that we considered using. However, the tool was to simple and did not offer enough customization with application question types, pipeline, and automated emails.
Chose BambooHR®
We switch our clients from the other HRIS platforms to BambooHR, because they do everything better and have amazing customer support.
Chose BambooHR®
BambooHR's system was easier to set up with their support team than previous vendors I've used.
Chose BambooHR®
BambooHR offers a superior employee experience, especially when it comes to onboarding!
Chose BambooHR®
We didn’t need a payroll services and other companies we looked at were payroll companies first that have added other HR features.
Chose BambooHR®
When reviewing which HRIS to go with, BambooHR came out on top for a few reasons. One was the cost compared to others and what you get for that cost. It saved the company money versus what we had, including Lever, ADP, Calamari, etc., and condensed it into one system. Next, the …
Gusto
Chose Gusto
Payroll is on par, however, the benefits management is not even close. BambooHR and TriNet both offered better benefit plans and over the course of years, never caused my teams to be uninsured for any period of time. BambooHR and TriNet support teams have always communicated …
Chose Gusto
ADP is cumbersome, complex, and hard as ever to find anything on the site. The ADP program is focused on Payroll only and does not offer the all-in-one feature that Gusto does. Gusto gives ease of use and practicality, while other programs, such as ADP that boast this, but end …
Chose Gusto
In terms of GUI, Gusto is well-made. It's much prettier than APS and Bamboo. Bamboo and APS both have a lot more capability and, thus, are a little more complicated to use. Bamboo does not have a built-in payroll, though they do have a partner. We ultimately ended up going with …
Chose Gusto
I felt that the customer reviews and feedback for Gusto spoke volumes, and the Gusto interface was straightforward and simple to use. The value of the tier-based subscription model is great too. I found that other HR software plans were more expensive and more cluttered, less …
Chose Gusto
Gusto is far and away the best! I'd certainly recommend any medium-sized company to use it.
Features
BambooHR®Gusto
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR®
7.7
211 Ratings
3% below category average
Gusto
-
Ratings
Employee demographic data8.4188 Ratings00 Ratings
Employment history8.0192 Ratings00 Ratings
Job profiles and administration7.8186 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.7.7177 Ratings00 Ratings
Organizational charting6.8194 Ratings00 Ratings
Organization and location management8.0183 Ratings00 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)7.6103 Ratings00 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR®
7.4
136 Ratings
8% below category average
Gusto
8.9
538 Ratings
8% above category average
Pay calculation7.896 Ratings9.2515 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors7.471 Ratings8.58 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment7.168 Ratings00 Ratings
Benefit plan administration7.1105 Ratings8.6374 Ratings
Direct deposit files7.8100 Ratings9.1521 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management8.1108 Ratings8.8398 Ratings
Reimbursement management6.561 Ratings9.4142 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR®
8.7
183 Ratings
7% above category average
Gusto
-
Ratings
Approval workflow8.5177 Ratings00 Ratings
Balance details8.7169 Ratings00 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment9.0127 Ratings00 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR®
8.3
204 Ratings
2% above category average
Gusto
-
Ratings
View and generate pay and benefit information8.1129 Ratings00 Ratings
Update personal information9.0201 Ratings00 Ratings
View company policy documentation8.3173 Ratings00 Ratings
Employee recognition7.8125 Ratings00 Ratings
View job history8.5192 Ratings00 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR®
8.5
73 Ratings
7% above category average
Gusto
-
Ratings
Tracking of all physical assets8.573 Ratings00 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR®
7.2
173 Ratings
5% below category average
Gusto
-
Ratings
Report builder7.2167 Ratings00 Ratings
Pre-built reports7.4165 Ratings00 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data7.0115 Ratings00 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR®
8.3
174 Ratings
4% above category average
Gusto
-
Ratings
New hire portal8.4168 Ratings00 Ratings
Manager tracking tools8.1154 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR®
7.8
110 Ratings
3% below category average
Gusto
-
Ratings
Corporate goal setting7.377 Ratings00 Ratings
Individual goal setting7.8105 Ratings00 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility8.766 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance tracking7.398 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR®
7.7
125 Ratings
3% below category average
Gusto
-
Ratings
Performance plans7.2113 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance improvement plans7.195 Ratings00 Ratings
Review status tracking8.294 Ratings00 Ratings
Review reminders8.198 Ratings00 Ratings
Multiple review frequency7.6105 Ratings00 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR®
8.1
79 Ratings
4% above category average
Gusto
-
Ratings
Create succession plans/pools7.345 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate ranking8.465 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate search8.166 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate development8.657 Ratings00 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR®
8.0
144 Ratings
4% above category average
Gusto
-
Ratings
Job Requisition Management7.8110 Ratings00 Ratings
Company Website Posting7.9118 Ratings00 Ratings
Publish to Social Media8.889 Ratings00 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting7.7114 Ratings00 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention7.486 Ratings00 Ratings
Applicant Tracking8.2133 Ratings00 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts8.4135 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
BambooHR®Gusto
Small Businesses
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.4 out of 10
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.4 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.7 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.7 out of 10
Enterprises
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.1 out of 10
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
BambooHR®Gusto
Likelihood to Recommend
8.6
(216 ratings)
8.7
(562 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.4
(15 ratings)
10.0
(12 ratings)
Usability
8.5
(143 ratings)
9.4
(386 ratings)
Availability
9.3
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.7
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.4
(115 ratings)
1.2
(26 ratings)
Online Training
9.2
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.7
(6 ratings)
9.0
(2 ratings)
Configurability
8.6
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
8.4
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.6
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.9
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Professional Services
9.2
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.9
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.1
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
BambooHR®Gusto
Likelihood to Recommend
BambooHR
BambooHR® is great for small businesses. I would recommend to anyone looking to get out of spreadsheets and have a more streamlined process in place. However, it becomes more challenging to use the larger the company. It would just depend on the size of the company and their current processes.
Read full review
Gusto
Gusto makes it EASY to run the otherwise time-consuming and tedious HR and payroll functions that need to happen in my small business. It surpasses every other platform in terms of ease of use and value. I use a variety of different tech tools and platforms, and I recommend Gusto to every entrepreneur friend of mine because it's that good. I would highly recommend it for small businesses that need these kinds of tasks taken off their plate. It probably doesn't make sense if your organization has a dedicated HR employee.
Read full review
Pros
BambooHR
  • I have contacted Customer Service several times and everyone I have spoken to has been amazing. I always get my questions answered in a friendly, professional and efficient manner.
  • BambooHR is extremely user-friendly and easy to navigate.
  • I love that I can customize certain features according to our company's needs.
Read full review
Gusto
  • Gusto really kills it on the simplicity. The app and website are very clear and straightforward.
  • Gusto also does a great job at being easy to navigate, visually pleasing, and logically posed.
  • Gusto communicates very clearly and provides just the right amount of communication.
  • Gusto makes the onboarding process very easy. I recently started at a new company and the process of filling out the necessary documents, filling out forms, and getting my benefit information input was soooooo easy!
Read full review
Cons
BambooHR
  • Notices for approving hours don't always coincide with pay periods well.
  • Payroll reports are by pay period without the ability to combine hours, etc. into a monthly report.
  • There is not an easy way to fix payroll errors. Must get it right the first time.
Read full review
Gusto
  • Adding in previous time manually could be more accessible.
  • Notifications for when employees manually change hours.
  • We should allow 1099 users to use the mobile app instead of restricting them to the website, especially since they can just log into the full website on their mobile device.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
BambooHR
There's nothing wrong with this platform. I would recommend it to any business starting with more than 10 employees. I will continue to use the program for as long as I need to, hoping they continue being tremendous and finding other ways to incorporate more technology.
Read full review
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
BambooHR
The usability from a user perspective is pretty straightforward and navigating the system is quite easy. The prompts for managers to approve certain things like time off could be improved as there isn't any follow-through after the first prompt. The availability of customer service can also be hard as we are a UK based company.
Read full review
Gusto
Gusto, a leading HR and payroll software, has a generally positive impact on business objectives. By streamlining administrative tasks and providing tools for employee engagement, Gusto can lead to cost savings, increased productivity, and happier employees, all of which contribute to a higher return on investment.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
BambooHR
Yes, there is a huge team in the back of the online platform or it looks like it because I have never been left without an answer when I have a question or waiting from a response on my chat .... There must be a huge team, this is so great and I always seem to have someone that is very knowledgeable too. So many times in the past I had to leave with customer service that would connect you with someone else because of the expertise, here everyone seems to be some kind of an expert in the HR function.
Read full review
Gusto
No answers on this topic
Performance
BambooHR
I love BambooHR. Reports are easy to run and download and it usually covers any types of requests I get from the management team. You get excel or .csv downloads/reports and it is fast and simple, not too crowded so it is easy to read through. We don't integrate the tool yet but again, soon we will. we just did not had the time to utilize it yet but that's the plan.
Read full review
Gusto
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
BambooHR
There is a lot of good documentation on BambooHR features through their stock support library. Support agents are also typically available for more in-depth questions. Sales representatives, however, are extremely hands-off once they sell you the license. They know only enough to sell the platform, but any in-depth questions require technical support, which can prolong the response time.
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.
Read full review
In-Person Training
BambooHR
I didn't have in-person training besides teaching my managers how to use the program. However, I couldn't omit this question (maybe a system glitch).
Read full review
Gusto
No answers on this topic
Online Training
BambooHR
As far as I can recall, everything went well with doing it online and got questions answered. Was thankful to work with a dummy file to get used to some practices prior to getting our own domain within bamboo to then place our personnel information in the system, this helped a lot!
Read full review
Gusto
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
BambooHR
BambooHR's initial implementation team was amazing. We loved having a dedicated person we could call, email or speak to during the entire process. I feel that's so important when you are new to a software. Our process was time consuming, but well worth the final product.
Read full review
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
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
BambooHR
I felt Bamboo HR was what we needed for our company. Other HRIS systems didn't give me the care and dedication I have gotten from Bamboo. It was almost like I was another notch in their belt. Bamboo has always made me feel like I came first...like I was their only customer!
Read full review
Gusto
We found Gusto to be a better fit for our size and needs. Gusto is much more user-friendly and transparent with pricing. It’s easier to set up, and we liked that everything, from payroll to benefits to time tracking, is in one place without feeling overly complex. ADP felt geared toward much larger companies, while Gusto gave us flexibility and a more modern, intuitive experience.
Read full review
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
BambooHR
Since my organization has dropped with employees, I always find ways to reduce costs. I thought there would be a cheaper option, but I was glad that my package included a lot for the price, and downgrading would cost more. The rep could have let me downgraded and taken me to a higher package. I am thankful that didn't happen.
Read full review
Gusto
No answers on this topic
Scalability
BambooHR
There is so much you can do with this platform, it is incredible and so welcoming. We don't utilize it 100% yet just because we are growing and the HR team has not been able to concentrate on other areas offered to us but but we will soon. Which is also why we got the product, specifically because what BambooHR can do to help us meet our growing business needs.
Read full review
Gusto
No answers on this topic
Professional Services
BambooHR
VERY professional!
Read full review
Gusto
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
BambooHR
  • Gave more time back to HR, Directors, and Managers by providing options for easy reports and a place to have all the information.
  • PTO! This has given so much time back to accounting as they no longer have to manually calculate PTO and it's also allowed our team to feel more comfortable to take time off by having an official way to ask off and see what their balances are.
  • Onboarding and offboarding: this has helped HR with the many many tasks of helping team members come onboard as well as when they leave a company.
  • Professionalism: the ability to create forms and has stepped up our game for new hires and even tracking things we have needed our team to fill out!
Read full review
Gusto
  • For me, it is hard to quantify payroll software as having an ROI. It does save quite a bit of time per pay period, so perhaps we could assign a theoretical number to an employee taking that time. I'd say, at the least, it saves 30-60 minutes a pay period compared to a more difficult-to-use payroll software.
Read full review
ScreenShots

BambooHR® Screenshots

Screenshot of an employee timesheetScreenshot of the Job Info tabScreenshot of a new hire packetScreenshot of a new hire packet (2)Screenshot of an Employee Performance ReportScreenshot of Employee Satisfaction (eNPS®)

Gusto Screenshots

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