Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Benepass
Score 10.0 out of 10
N/A
N/AN/A
Gusto
Score 8.9 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.
$496
per month
Namely
Score 7.7 out of 10
N/A
Namely is an end-to-end HR, benefits, and payroll solution for mid-sized businesses. The cloud-based platform can be used to manage the entire HR process.N/A
Pricing
BenepassGustoNamely
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
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BenepassGustoNamely
Free Trial
NoYesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup feeRequired
Additional DetailsGusto offers three pricing plans for payroll, benefits, and HR.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
BenepassGustoNamely
Considered Multiple Products
Benepass
Chose Benepass
I did not select Benepass as I’m not a decider for that in my company. But as a user, I think Benepass is better than my experience with Airbase due to the ability to track how much of my stipends I have spent. I would say it matches with Expensify, they are both similar to me …
Gusto
Chose Gusto
I think Gusto has much better marketing than the rest of their competition, and it has the assets to get in front of more people, like on live TV during a sports game, so I just knew about it before the others. When comparing, I think feature-wise and usability were big for …
Chose Gusto
Quick Books was more than we needed for a simple consulting firm.
Chose Gusto
I like Gusto because it's much more user-friendly than Workforce. I would rate QB a 6/10 and Gusto a 10/10 for user reliability and friendliness.
Chose Gusto
When I first started with this company 5 years ago we used QuickBooks Time. I used it for about a year before we switched over to Gusto. QB Time was accurate and organized, but very chaotic and clunky to use. That software provided way too much info all at once and was not …
Chose Gusto
In my opinion, Rippling had a super bad UX. I felt like it was impossible to find the areas I wanted to go to- their site navigation simply did not make sense. With Gusto it's so much easier to naviagate.
Chose Gusto
I have not tried any other products like Gusto, so I cannot speak to how it compares.
Chose Gusto
I have evaluated Rippling, it is more expensive but does have more of the features for connecting to other systems to make onboarding and off boarding team members easier. It is more complex and will take time to implement, so I do think Gusto has a lot of whats needed for …
Chose 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.
Chose Gusto
It is more user-friendly, but I feel like the company still has some things to figure out before it is seamless.
Chose Gusto
Gusto was at a price point that fit our budget, without all the extra features our small company would not take advantage of. It was truly the right fit for our growing company, and we are happy that we made this switch! Looking forward to seeing more capabilities come out as …
Chose Gusto
Not sure what we used before I came into my role. We started using Gusto when we changed accounting services and it was their recommended platform to use.
Chose Gusto
Paycom was more than we needed for our payroll and human resource needs at this time. While it may offer additional integrations, features, and other bells and whistles it wasn't something we needed in the short team and Gusto meets our current and short term future needs. We …
Chose Gusto
I believe Gusto is the superior tool compared to these two. It's ease of use and 'all in one' HR platform makes it second to none. Gusto offers more features and does not look ancient like these other tools. Ease and functionality and the numerous possibilities make it above …
Chose Gusto
Gusto is cheaper and just much more user friendly than other tools with similar skill sets that I have used previously. I much prefer its user interface, how the mobile app and desktop work seamlessly, and how just how much more affordable it is. While it still is expensive, …
Chose Gusto
Gusto is a cost-effective solution for small businesses who don't require added modules, complex integrations or advanced reporting. Simple and effective!
Chose Gusto
From an employee point of view, Gusto makes it much easier to track your hours and clock in.
Chose Gusto
They are both user friendly and both are easy to start implementing.
Chose Gusto
Gusto is more cost-effective and has been very responsive to inquiries.
Chose Gusto
Rippling has been more than frustrating to work with, to say the least. Gusto doesn't just do what a payroll software should do; they make it so easy that it doesn't feel like a burden. The comparison is unmatched. Gusto doesn't meet expectations; it blows them out of the …
Chose Gusto
Paychex way to big for a small business. Never able to get immediate help when needed.

Toast Payroll outsourced company with lots nice features but needs more time to figure it out.
Namely
Chose Namely
We had used Namely in conjunction with Wurk for payroll and Ease for benefits enrollment. Unfortunately the "fraken-system" was very cumbersome to manage. The fraken-system was used due to the limited options in the cannabis industry for providers who were willing to work with …
Chose Namely
Namely has a robust suite of offerings, and fallows for a la carte selection of add-ons (rather than a single bundled option). This has allowed our company to save money by not purchasing options / functionalities that we dont need, but may drive up the cost for other …
Chose Namely
I do recall that Namely appeared to be user friendly. The big promise not provided was the connection between Namely and NetSuite.
Chose Namely
ADP Workforce Now, Workday Professional Services Automation and Paychex Flex
Chose Namely
Paychex Flex offered more support for the payroll side. All of the disadvantages that Namely has stem from the fact that Paychex Flex provided these benefits for us before. We selected Namely because it had more features in one place than Paychex Flex did. The feel for the …
Chose Namely
Our experience has traditionally been with entertainment focused HR providers, as our company added other business verticals a need for more traditional HR services became manifest. Namely filled the gap and while is still missing some of the more granular time tracking aspects …
Chose Namely
Namely functionally worked better for our company size and industry. Namely also provides a higher level of customer service and resolves problems timely. Their tax team takes care of all our questions or concerns. Namely provided a higher quality of service and HR workflows …
Chose Namely
Namely was able to check all of the boxes in the most affordable way
Chose Namely
We LOVE rippling and prefer this tool. I would recommend.
Chose Namely
UKG has many bells and whistles that may sound awesome, yet they are not always necessary to complete the tasks necessary. Sometimes less is more. Suppose you make a product so complex in some areas you lose the ease of use. I like that I was able to jump right into using this …
Chose Namely
Namely was selected for their price and all the integrations that it has.
We evaluated more softwares but they didn’t accomplish everything we wanted to made with Namely
Chose Namely
Namely does not compare to Workday because the size and scale of the company is very different. There are a lot of automated features and ATS integrations that Workday offers and I hope Namely will be able to offer someday as well.
Chose Namely
The reason I continued to choose Namely at multiple employers is due to the continuity of employee experience. And the features have continued to grow since I initially onboarded in 2014. Also, through the years, I have had terrific benefits teams. The customer service has been …
Chose Namely
The easy to use feature makes it countable on others. Its compatibilty with other platforms along with management for employee number and employee rating is making it more useful.
Chose Namely
This tool is uniquely different than work productivity tools. When running a growing company it is necessary to have a virtual HR Resource service and Namely has facilitated the need. When I came to work for our company this was my first experience with this type of software …
Chose Namely
BambooHR has eNPS, which is pretty helpful and allows us to send pulse surveys to employees to get an understanding of how they are doing. Namely doesn't have anything like that.
Chose Namely
I think namely is a more user-friendly version of Ceridian for the teammates; however, Ceridian definitely functions more completely.
Chose Namely
In my opinion, the worst in every way. I have talked to other people that do payroll and they steered away from Namely and chose things like Paylocity or others.
Chose Namely
As a user (not administrator) of Namely, I can say that offers an all-in-one human resources software package that I preferred compared to industry-standard tools like Workday because of its excellent design and usability. However, my company switched to Workday (which I don’t …
Chose Namely
We're currently evaluating alternatives, but there appear to be only features to gain no matter where we look.
Features
BenepassGustoNamely
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Benepass
-
Ratings
Gusto
9.1
Ratings
9% above category average
Namely
9.2
Ratings
13% above category average
Pay calculation00 Ratings9.50 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors00 Ratings8.50 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Benefit plan administration00 Ratings8.70 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Direct deposit files00 Ratings9.60 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management00 Ratings9.10 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Reimbursement management00 Ratings9.10 Ratings6.60 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment00 Ratings00 Ratings9.90 Ratings
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
Benepass
-
Ratings
Gusto
-
Ratings
Namely
9.7
Ratings
18% above category average
Employee demographic data00 Ratings00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Employment history00 Ratings00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Job profiles and administration00 Ratings00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.00 Ratings00 Ratings9.90 Ratings
Organizational charting00 Ratings00 Ratings9.90 Ratings
Organization and location management00 Ratings00 Ratings9.90 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)00 Ratings00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
Benepass
-
Ratings
Gusto
-
Ratings
Namely
9.9
Ratings
20% above category average
Approval workflow00 Ratings00 Ratings9.90 Ratings
Balance details00 Ratings00 Ratings9.90 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment00 Ratings00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
Benepass
-
Ratings
Gusto
-
Ratings
Namely
7.2
Ratings
13% below category average
View and generate pay and benefit information00 Ratings00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Update personal information00 Ratings00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
View company policy documentation00 Ratings00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Employee recognition00 Ratings00 Ratings2.10 Ratings
View job history00 Ratings00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
Benepass
-
Ratings
Gusto
-
Ratings
Namely
5.9
Ratings
30% below category average
Tracking of all physical assets00 Ratings00 Ratings5.90 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Benepass
-
Ratings
Gusto
-
Ratings
Namely
7.8
Ratings
4% above category average
Report builder00 Ratings00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Pre-built reports00 Ratings00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data00 Ratings00 Ratings7.50 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
Benepass
-
Ratings
Gusto
-
Ratings
Namely
6.5
Ratings
20% below category average
New hire portal00 Ratings00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Manager tracking tools00 Ratings00 Ratings5.00 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
Benepass
-
Ratings
Gusto
-
Ratings
Namely
6.3
Ratings
24% below category average
Corporate goal setting00 Ratings00 Ratings5.00 Ratings
Individual goal setting00 Ratings00 Ratings3.10 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility00 Ratings00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Performance tracking00 Ratings00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
Benepass
-
Ratings
Gusto
-
Ratings
Namely
6.3
Ratings
22% below category average
Performance plans00 Ratings00 Ratings5.00 Ratings
Performance improvement plans00 Ratings00 Ratings5.00 Ratings
Review status tracking00 Ratings00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Review reminders00 Ratings00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Multiple review frequency00 Ratings00 Ratings7.40 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
Benepass
-
Ratings
Gusto
-
Ratings
Namely
5.9
Ratings
28% below category average
Candidate search00 Ratings00 Ratings5.90 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
Benepass
-
Ratings
Gusto
-
Ratings
Namely
8.8
Ratings
12% above category average
Job Requisition Management00 Ratings00 Ratings8.90 Ratings
Company Website Posting00 Ratings00 Ratings8.80 Ratings
Publish to Social Media00 Ratings00 Ratings8.80 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting00 Ratings00 Ratings8.90 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention00 Ratings00 Ratings8.80 Ratings
Applicant Tracking00 Ratings00 Ratings8.90 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts00 Ratings00 Ratings8.60 Ratings
Best Alternatives
BenepassGustoNamely
Small Businesses
OnPay
OnPay
Score 8.7 out of 10
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.2 out of 10
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.2 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.1 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.1 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.1 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
PeopleStrong
PeopleStrong
Score 10.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
BenepassGustoNamely
Likelihood to Recommend
10.0
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
7.6
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
9.5
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
3.1
(0 ratings)
6.0
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
5.5
(0 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
BenepassGustoNamely
Likelihood to Recommend
Benepass is great for employees that want to keep track of how much of their stipends they have used. It really ensures employees are taking advantage of the perks and benefits their company is offering. Uploading receipts is really easy to use as well so the amount of time spent by employees is minimal when taking advantage of their stipends. I believe this would maximize employee happiness and satisfaction with their company, therefore helping with employee attrition.
Read full review
Gusto is well-suited for small businesses looking for a one-stop platform for payroll, tax-related tasks, and onboarding. It has many automated features that make tasks related to running a business/running an S-Corp simpler. I have not tried any other similar platforms, so I am unsure how it compares, but the pricing Gusto offers feels reasonable compared to other providers.
Read full review
Namely is nice because it has everything all in one place: performance, applicant tracking through Greenhouse, payroll, time off, hourly timesheets, and benefits. From the payroll side, Namely is especially helpful for remote employers who have employees in multiple states, especially Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana. Namely will automatically update the payroll profile of the employee with the state and local tax for the work or home location, whichever the employer chooses. I have found a few mistakes with the local tax being assigned not matching the Ohio Tax Finder, but for the most part, it is accurate. It is also helpful that we can create multiple payrolls for multiple periods and they are included in the overall fee
Read full review
Pros
  • Tracking how much of my stipend I have available to spend each month/year
  • Uploading receipts is easy
  • Adding bank account is seamless and direct deposit occurs quickly after expense approval
Read full review
  • Quarterly tax access for CPA
  • Gusto makes it easy for our CPA to access quarterly tax data directly, which saves us time and ensures tax reporting stays accurate for our LLC.
  • IRS support via human reps
  • Whenever we get confusing IRS mail, I forward it to Gusto. A real human rep either walks me through next steps or handles it directly—huge peace of mind.
  • Payroll automation
  • Once payroll is set up, it runs smoothly and automatically with little effort on my part. It’s reliable, affordable, and a great “set it and forget it” solution for a small business.
Read full review
  • Namely has helped with our COVID sick leave response. It has made a major difference both with the weekly payroll and the 941 tax filing
  • Keeping track of our multiple PTO plans. Thank goodness for Namely, I have shredded my old PTO spreadsheets.
  • Employees like the convenience of the cell phone app. As a payroll administrator, I like the Geo Tracking tool where I can see where some are when the clock is in or out.
  • The flexibility inside of the payroll system both as you are finalizing an employee profile and when you are processing payroll is a major advantage.
  • The reports I get out of Namely in Excel format work well for me.
Read full review
Cons
  • When using a virtual card, I still need to submit details for the expense. It feels like it would just be easier to fill in an expense rather than setup a virtual card for recurring payments that are reimbursed through stipends.
Read full review
  • I honestly don't have any complaints about Gusto as it stands.
  • Maybe add 2-factor authentication for security purposes. I haven't seen that being part of the login process yet.
  • I think Gusto pushes its easy Gusto card payroll method a bit too much. I'd like to see direct deposit as the main method it suggests and the Gusto card as a secondary one.
Read full review
  • in my opinion, HORRIBLE performance review platform, we had a really hard time with it and would not recommend that you use this function
  • In my experience, poor customer service, difficult to get ahold of them when you need support
  • Capabilities are limited in comparison to other more robust HRIS systems
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
No answers on this topic
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
Administrators and employees love Namely. It is very easy to use and streamlined. Employees stay engaged with news feed updates and enjoy all the self service options. The time cards are very easy to access and clocking in and out for non-exempt employees is a breeze. Namely is part of our family.
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Usability
No answers on this topic
Wonderful overall usability – especially for the new business owner. The user interface is clean and intuitive, so it's easy to find what you're looking for. They also have great explanation pages ingrained into the process, so if you get stuck knowing what to do next, there's a link right there to walk you through the process!
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It is very simple to use for myself, the HR team, and our employees. I find the payroll process very user-friendly. Reporting is simple to navigate and produce the required information requested. I know our employees enjoy the self-service feature and use it on a regular basis, which saves me time.
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Support Rating
No answers on this topic
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
Unfortunately, in more recent years we've had a lot of difficulty with Namely as they've undergone a lot of internal changes. It took 4 returned emails saying the person no longer worked at Namely to find someone to help me (I finally called payroll) and it took a while to get connected with a direct source of help. Namely now has set up their "pod" feature of communication which works well for the most part, but is different. I felt spoiled when we first started with Namely, but now it feels very much like working with most large companies' help centers. There is a system to go through and you do have the option to click "urgent". In general the help is efficient, but it still takes a few days and it's hard to speak with someone directly. It is all done via online communications and is difficult to actually speak to someone on the phone. This works well for most cases, but I do feel frustrated more often than I'd like to with this type of communication. (2019/2020)
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Implementation Rating
No answers on this topic
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
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There were so many specialists in the implementation process; it would have been nice to have fewer people who had a more holistic understanding of the platform. Also, the onboarding meetings covered so much technical information that there was relatively little time for questions (though questions were invited). Eventually, everything worked out.
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Alternatives Considered
I did not select Benepass as I’m not a decider for that in my company. But as a user, I think Benepass is better than my experience with Airbase due to the ability to track how much of my stipends I have spent. I would say it matches with Expensify, they are both similar to me and offer the same set of key features such as tracking various stipend spending/amounts and the use of virtual cards.
Read full review
I think Gusto has much better marketing than the rest of their competition, and it has the assets to get in front of more people, like on live TV during a sports game, so I just knew about it before the others. When comparing, I think feature-wise and usability were big for Gusto.
Read full review
We had used Namely in conjunction with Wurk for payroll and Ease for benefits enrollment. Unfortunately the "fraken-system" was very cumbersome to manage. The fraken-system was used due to the limited options in the cannabis industry for providers who were willing to work with us. We eventually transitioned to OnePoint to have an all-in-one system but also left it because it was not able to scale with the organization.
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Return on Investment
  • Employee retention. It helps employees take advantage of the awesome benefits and stipends their employer offers. Without seamless software to use here, employees may easily forget or just not use their benefits.
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  • It saves me time and energy - I'm not worried about being compliant or having everything I need for tax season. It's all there!
  • I don't wonder when my team is working- they can easily log in and out of the system.
  • I don't have to handle updating information when an employee or contractor has changes - they have their own portal.
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  • When we were over 100, it provided a huge benefit to us due to the accuracy of payroll, benefits integration and management, and org chart and performance tracking. Having all of that in one place was a huge improvement from the former disjointed user experience.
  • When we dropped below 100 due to covid, our insurance rates went up 93% to offer comparable plans, and we had to move over to a PEO for benefits which meant we also had to move payroll. It was hugely disruptive, and now our employees have a bad experience when trying to manage their HR lives in multiple places. It is confusing and, again, disjointed.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Gusto Screenshots

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

Namely Screenshots

Screenshot of the Namely employee dashboard. This creates a central hub to access payroll and benefits info, share announcements, celebrate milestones, and navigate everything HR, from a desk or on the go.Screenshot of Namely Payroll, which is backed by automation and built-in compliance.Screenshot of the Onboarding interface, for new hires.Screenshot of the Applicant Tracking interface, which supports processes from job posting to onboarding with tools for hiring teams and candidates.Screenshot of the Benefits Administration interface, which supports open enrollment, plan changes, and employee elections.Screenshot of the Workforce Management interface. From here, viewers can track time, manage schedules, and handle complex workforce needs.