Buddy Punch is an online time tracking, scheduling, and payroll application. Track time, time off, locations, and jobs. The solution aims to help make punching in and out intuitive for employees and easy for users to view and export time. Employees can clock in using a browser or the Buddy Punch Google, iOS, and Android apps. Users can view who's working, their GPS position, or even limit where they can punch. The solution integrates with QuickBooks, ADP, Paychex, and SurePayroll, to name a…
$24.99
per month ($19 base fee + 5.99 per user)
Gusto
Score8.9 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.
$49
per month
Justworks
Score7.2 out of 10
N/A
Justworks offers a platform for payroll, benefits, compliance support, with HR tools. As a Professional Employer Organization (PEO), Justworks offers PEO solutions that can bundle payroll, compliance, HR, and benefits under the Justworks umbrella, and help to administer employment-related responsibilities on the user's behalf. With Justworks' group buying power, customers can get access to PEO health insurance and other perks at more affordable rates. The vendor states that as a…
$59
per month per user
Pricing
Buddy Punch
Gusto
Justworks
Editions & Modules
Starter
$5.99
per month per user
Pro
$7.99
per month per user
Advanced
$13.99
per month per user
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
Basic
$59
per month per user
Plus
$99
per month per user
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Buddy Punch
Gusto
Justworks
Free Trial
Yes
Yes
No
Free/Freemium Version
No
No
No
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
No
Yes
No
Entry-level Setup Fee
No setup fee
No setup fee
No setup fee
Additional Details
Three plans are available via a monthly or annual payment option. Each plan has a per user price and a base fee of $19. There are no startup, cancellation, support, or additional fees of any kind. A discount is available for the annual payment option.
Gusto offers three pricing plans for payroll, benefits, and HR.
Owner in Finance and Accounting at Penny Pinch Tax LLC (Accounting, 1-10 employees)
Chose Gusto
Workful was a budget-conscious choice last year. However, it couldn't handle the nuances of a non-profit and was also not available to automate payroll tax filing in every state. They abruptly stopped offering payroll service, leaving me to switch clients immediately. Justwork…
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
Co-Founder and COO in Corporate at BallotReady (Civic & Social Organization, 11-50 employees)
Chose Gusto
Gusto doesn't necessarily have the full power of an ADP or options that Justworks may provide. However, I have found it much easier to use by comparison. It seems to me like a platform created specifically for startups and companies looking for pleasing UX to make sense of …
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
Founder in Corporate at The Paerdegat Group (Management Consulting, 1-10 employees)
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.
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
Founder, CEO in Corporate at Brass Tacks Collective (Marketing & Advertising, 1-10 employees)
Chose Gusto
The cost difference was the first standout as Gusto is a fraction of any of these providers. Next is your ability to self-navigate and easily access support. Finally, while other providers include more services and incentives, they have far less room for error and learning …
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
Supervisor in Finance and Accounting at Wagner Ferber Fine & Ackerman, PLLC (Accounting, 11-50 employees)
Chose Gusto
Gusto is very affordable and offers a solid foundation for payroll and HR. They have also recently released a new tier which offers a few additional bells and whistles for those companies looking for higher-touch service or additional features. It is great to have this …
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
Product Owner in Engineering at Induro (Computer Software, 1-10 employees)
Chose Justworks
We like Justworks over Gusto for the simple reason that Justworks has better benefits offering for a company as small as us. It has turned out that Justworks also has been rolling out new features that we didn't know we wanted (like timecard integrations), and that has also …
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
Customer Success Manager in Customer Service at Aquicore (Renewables & Environment, 51-200 employees)
Chose Justworks
Justworks offers a more robust functionality than Gusto. The ability to track time off, manage pay stubs, distribute and manage benefits administration, and house a company-wide directory with key dates and information about each individual are all extremely helpful. Having a …
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
I think that is very convenient as far as tracking your employees when they are punching in or out to ensure they are physically at the location they are supposed to be for that shift. I also think that the option to download this app to your personal phone is amazing, it makes it more convenient to punch in or out when you aren't near a laptop or a residence to use one. The feature of being able to attach a note with your punches explaining possible late punchers or absences is very beneficial to the employee allows show proof if needed.
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.
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
Justworks is a competitively priced product for small businesses and start-ups and, in my opinion, offers a better product and better customer service than larger PEOs competing in the same small-buisiness space (ex. ADP). I believe Justworks would work well for companies up to 200 employees; after that, I believe a bigger PEO may provide an enterprise solution better suited for a larger company (and their HR reporting needs)
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
Their customer service is second to none. We have requested several changes over the years for the web interface and app; I think all the requests we've made were implemented by this point. I only wish this was the case with other companies we utilize.
They allow you to set different pay rates based on department which allows us to pay employees more for the skilled jobs they perform versus the more basic work they perform. This is a huge benefit to a small company as it encourages employees to strive for more skilled work and they keep moving up the ladder to become even better assets to the company.
The reports you can run are very thorough and work very well for us when it comes time to enter payroll.
Having the ability to set alerts has allowed us to cut back on unnecessary overtime as employees can get reminders prior to going over. We can also set reminders for employees to punch in/out for the ones that have a tendency to forget.
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
Onboarding employees on their first day. We use Justworks to set up the employee calculate the first payroll, and perform the I9 employment verification. The process is seamless and all can be done electronically and automated which makes it very simple
Payroll processing. Justworks automatically calculates the payroll earnings, related taxes and withholdings and will automatically withdraw and deposit the funds. This is a seamless experience
Customer Service. Justworks is incredibly responsive and helpful. HR related issues can be a nightmare but Justworks make it easier and more efficient since they are always on call to answer your questions and make life easier.
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
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.
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
JustWorks couldn't accurately track our PTO. We use an accrual system that maxes out at 88 hours. We incentivise our employees with additional PTO hours based off of goals met. The JustWorks platform allowed our employees to accrue far more PTO than what was offered. They didn't have a feature that offered a Cap and accrual.
When using the JustWorks reports for 401K, if not using their integrated 401K provider, the reports give you every employee regardless of whether or not they contribute. This makes it difficult when adding the contributions in separately.
JustWorks tracks historical data for employees. Whenever there is a salary change made, it keeps track. However, it shows a salary adjustment made on the day they are entered into JustWorks which can be very confusing. We switched from another PEO mid year and it looked like I made salary changes on the beginning date. This made it difficult to differentiate an actual salary adjustment.
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
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.
Most of my employees have figured it out pretty quickly, even the ones who are a little less technically savvy. If you have a phone, then you have the ability to use this app. There are a few quirky things with notes and punches that happen, but this may just be the employees
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
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.
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
Justworks is a really good platform for payroll and even vendor payments. There are some areas of improvement that Justworks could make in the area of bulk processing, to decrease administrative time as well as reporting. There are no reports we currently use from the Justworks platform as we have not found them useful.
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
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.
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
Justworks offers many different options for customer service. You can contact them via email, phone or Slack. They are quick to resolve issues and if your Account Manager is out of office, they have other Managers covering your account who are knowledgable and ready to support. They also have an office in New York, which makes their support even more localized.
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
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
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
We originally scheduled and ran payroll through Homebase, but in the last few months the software became very buggy, customer service was slow and when they did respond, was not helpful. When we cancelled our account they didn't even try to make things right. We are so happy that Buddy Punch is like us--taking care of their clients and really invested in their success!
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
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
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
Justworks is a much simpler platform with better pricing. I remember ADP's cost was tied to a certain percentage of the total payroll, which is not ideal if you have highly compensated employees. Though ADP offered more ancillary benefit options and group employee discounts, we feel Justworks suffices and meets our daily HR needs.
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
Efficiency has definitely gone up switching to Buddy Punch. Ive never quantified specific hours or time lapse it has given to my personal managerial efficiency. But it has without doubt.
I can see a better overview of the employees I need to be concerned with and not have to filter out others not concerning me.
Ease of use has decreased mental stress and angst in maneuvering employee time cards.
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
We're still new to Justworks, but for nearly everyone on our team, this is the dealmaker. Benefits plans are worth more than salaries to the best hires.In fact, part of the process we used to choose Justworks was to send their offering, in advance, to our team to approve of, first.
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
