RUN Powered by ADP® vs. Gusto

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
RUN Powered by ADP®
Score 8.5 out of 10
Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
RUN powered by ADP is a benefits administration and payroll platform for small businesses with light additional HR features. It runs on a cloud-based platform with mobile accessibility.N/A
Gusto
Score 7.7 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.
$46
per month
Pricing
RUN Powered by ADP®Gusto
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Simple: A streamlined set of automatic payroll features and benefits integrations
$40/month + $6/mo per person
$12 per employee/contractor
Plus: Comprehensive payroll, benefits, and HR tools for employers building a great place to work
$80/month + $12/mo per person
Premium: Scalable payroll and benefits, expert HR, and dedicated support for the complex needs of growing teams
Exclusive pricing, contact Gusto
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
RUN Powered by ADP®Gusto
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, so you can choose the plan that meets your business needs.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
RUN Powered by ADP®Gusto
Considered Both Products
RUN Powered by ADP®
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
Customer service much better. Gusto based in CA so they were hard to reach due to different time zone and very difficult to get live person on phone. They wanted to do most communications through email and I don’t have 24 hours to wait for a response.
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
Both Gusto & QuickBooks payroll are fine options if you only have a few employees all in one location and rarely make any changes. I switched many of my clients from those platforms because of the increase in remote employees working in different states and the lack of support …
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
I miss many aspects of Gusto, including the new hire/new employee onboarding process and issuance of a formal offer; as well as the employee vaults within the system. But there are a lot of benefits of ADP, including automation.
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
I haven't worked within either system, I just know ADP was more informative on the intro call and had the lower per payroll rates, so I chose ADP.
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
Customer service is superior by far! I get very quick assistance and explanations from the RUN Powered by ADP® team each and every time I interact with them.
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
I've used Intuit, Gusto & Paychex. Whenever I can, I refer clients to use RUN Powered by ADP payroll because of their easy payroll processing and the 24hrs service they provide.
Chose RUN Powered by ADP®
Run was established before I joined the team over a year ago so I did not pick the system. I have looking into other options but have not made the move from ADP as of yet. We will be reconsidering our options this year and may choose another provider like Gusto.
Gusto
Chose Gusto
Gusto has a glitch-free on-boarding process that surpasses all of the other systems that I have ever tried and used. Rippling is the only other platform that comes close to the Gusto online experience, but Rippling has its PEO/behind-the-scenes legacy system glitches, and it's …
Chose Gusto
This system allowed us to approve payroll online, which was an improvement from the prior ADP system where we had to call in via phone to dictate hours and pay for employees. But, RUN was clunky, and seemed cobbled together. It was also expensive for what it provided. Also, I …
Chose Gusto
Comparable prices are overall with other payroll service companies. I can't do all the complicated payrolls like a few others, but overall good to work with 90% of our clients.
Chose Gusto
There are three major concerns for me. Ease of use; how easy is it to perform the payroll. Most systems are competitive here. Tax compliance; how well do they handle tax filings and tax payments. Here Gusto needs to improve a little. Payments are timely and so is reporting, …
Chose Gusto
Gusto is better than IOP because Gusto files payroll returns and pays payroll taxes automatically. IOP also does not have a good support feature. Gusto is better than ADP because they are more responsive and have a better and more extensive website.
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.
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
RUN Powered by ADP®Gusto
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
RUN Powered by ADP®
8.3
206 Ratings
0% above category average
Gusto
8.6
162 Ratings
4% above category average
Pay calculation9.4199 Ratings8.6154 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors7.960 Ratings8.58 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment8.8129 Ratings00 Ratings
Benefit plan administration8.185 Ratings7.9106 Ratings
Direct deposit files9.5192 Ratings8.7157 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management9.3148 Ratings8.4133 Ratings
Reimbursement management5.138 Ratings9.511 Ratings
Best Alternatives
RUN Powered by ADP®Gusto
Small Businesses
Patriot Software
Patriot Software
Score 9.0 out of 10
Patriot Software
Patriot Software
Score 9.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.5 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.5 out of 10
Enterprises
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.3 out of 10
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.3 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
RUN Powered by ADP®Gusto
Likelihood to Recommend
8.5
(272 ratings)
7.2
(175 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.8
(19 ratings)
8.9
(7 ratings)
Usability
9.8
(12 ratings)
8.1
(3 ratings)
Availability
9.2
(6 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.3
(6 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.4
(22 ratings)
2.0
(23 ratings)
In-Person Training
9.6
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
9.6
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.3
(9 ratings)
8.2
(1 ratings)
Configurability
8.2
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.1
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.0
(7 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.4
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
8.2
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
RUN Powered by ADP®Gusto
Likelihood to Recommend
ADP
When we hire remote workers, living in other states, RUN Powered by ADP has been supportive and an excellent resource. We know we can contact them with questions and they will set us in the right direction. From how to get set up in other states (with specific contact information) to general questions, they've been great.
Read full review
Gusto
I would love to use Gusto for companies of all staff sizes but I understand that larger businesses will opt for a PEO and willingly give up flexibility and features to do that. However, I love that Gusto can be customized on so many levels – offer letter, adding documents for new hires, document verification, deploying documents to existing staff, tracking who has signed, helping staff select health benefits (love that this is an entirely paperless process!), screen share support (love this!), a host of integrations with other apps are easy to link up. The interface is delightful (love the piglet!), HR support for Master Admins is very professional. There are templates, forms, rules and updates provided for all States. And the reports are so easy to read, customize and understand. Amazing!
Read full review
Pros
ADP
  • Once set up RUN is simple enough for non-accountants to feel comfortable navigating
  • RUN provides ample notifications to ensure payroll is processed in time for employees to receive their pay checks on schedule.
  • RUN does a great job of making sure all state and federal reporting is taken care of
Read full review
Gusto
  • The self-service aspect of the software is very nice. We rarely need to get customer service involved.
  • For the first 2 years of our subscription to Gusto, customer service has been good when we needed it.
  • We have also had good experience with third parties recommended by Gusto including a 401(k) administrator, R&D tax credit analyst, and background check software.
Read full review
Cons
ADP
  • Being a small company and as a designated owner, the employee who processes payroll is the only person that gets the notification that payroll is submitted. As the "Owner," it would be best if the "owner" could also get a copy of the processing of payroll. I have to log in to review what was actually submitted...so if incorrect and I miss checking immediately, an employee could be paid incorrectly.
  • The PTO / vacation accrual product does not have the ability to provide a "liability" report of what the accrual balances owed are. I started using the product only to find out that a liability report was not available, nor could it be created.
  • Employee change form is only available after payroll is submitted. It would be more helpful to have the change form available before submission so any potential incorrect changes could be identified before running a final payroll.
Read full review
Gusto
  • The support isn't very impressive, although it's rare that we even need their help.
  • I would like to see a better scheduling tool for the staff. Currently I have to use Homebase for this feature alone because Gusto's offering is lacking in this area.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
ADP
It is much better than the payroll system I used previously. The integrations that RUN has for on-boarding new hires are very convenient when they work properly. It saves a tremendous amount of time being able to email a link to new employees that allows them to enter much of their own demographic information. Payroll feature alerts me when someone's pay is significantly less or more than usual.
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
ADP
I have been using this system for years and they have actually made it easier and easier. The system is always making great upgrades that don't necessarily require any additional information or training. I love when I log in and see a new feature or button that I get to use to make my life easier!
Read full review
Gusto
The UI is clean and simple. It's incredibly easy to find what you need to find, and if you can't, a quick search of their help files will direct you where you need to go about 90% of the time. For that last 10%, a support e-mail will result in a quick answer. Almost any time I try to do something new I haven't done before with Gusto, I can do it in a few minutes.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
ADP
I have never had an instance of an outage. It is always available as I have added data while travelling, on weekends, and in after work hours. Retrieving pdf's is also available at any time for employees and benefit participants.
Read full review
Gusto
No answers on this topic
Performance
ADP
ADP Run loads a bit slowly at times, once I put in my credentials. However, that said, I think my perception of the time it takes is impacted by our "instant gratification" expectation of being able to get into everything quickly.
Read full review
Gusto
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
ADP
At times it takes a few minutes to reach someone and sometimes the ADP automated voice prompt does not recognize my name when I say it. Also, sometimes I am forwarded to different departments and I have to explain my issue 2 or 3 times. It is hard to know whether it is an ADP Run/payroll processing issue versus an ADP Time and Attendance issue. Over the last year or so that I have called ADP, sometimes I am left on hold for a very long 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
ADP
they helped up with the 1st payroll after that we were fine - it is very user friendly- they wanted to be sure everything had imported correctly.
Read full review
Gusto
No answers on this topic
Online Training
ADP
very easy to learn i think it took maybe one payroll to have it down and we were up and running
Read full review
Gusto
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
ADP
Make sure there's plenty of time between payrolls for the implementation and be sure to test all the manually inputted fields.
Read full review
Gusto
Super easy to implement and use!
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
ADP
While Paychex Flex was a decent payroll processing product, the customer service support was terrible. We were unable to reach our assigned payroll support team member constantly. If we had issues that were not pressing, we would send a quick email to get insight or to be addressed and it would go unanswered for WEEKS. This was extremely frustration as while it may not have been pressing at the time, but due to the length of time, it can grow into a snowballing effect.
Read full review
Gusto
Gusto was the only payroll provider we used for our business. Before Gusto we were running payroll manually, which was cumbersome and didn’t account for our tax liability. Gusto is heads and shoulders above running payroll manually. It takes the load of payroll management off your shoulders and gives employees and easy to use portal to manage their personal payroll information.
Read full review
Scalability
ADP
Every summer, we hire three new college interns who have to be entered into the system. They can enter their information themselves, which takes a load off me. The onboarding is quite straightforward, and today's college kids are techy enough to be able to understand it.
Read full review
Gusto
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
ADP
  • Our client list tripled in less than two years because current clients spoke positively of ADP
  • Since our client list tripled, so did our revenue which was a tremendous increase
  • ADP is one of the best in the market so when we're selling the payroll package to potential clients, they usually know who ADP is and they already have positive ideas about it
Read full review
Gusto
  • Saves me time and time is money so I've definitely saved money using Gusto over other payroll providers
  • 401k integration was not a good fit for my size company unfortunately, which I was disappointed about initially, but if you are a larger company it could be an excellent asset to your benefits structure for your team
  • Has increased employee retention because of its ease of use
Read full review
ScreenShots

RUN Powered by ADP® Screenshots

Screenshot of the RUN Dashboard with the business' key info front-and-centerScreenshot of the payroll interfaceScreenshot of access to payroll reports and liability amountsScreenshot of the RUN Powered by ADP mobile app, used to process payroll on the goScreenshot of the ADP mobile app, where employees can access their historical payroll statements and year-end tax documents

Gusto Screenshots

Screenshot of Flexible, automated payrollScreenshot of Time-off trackingScreenshot of The source of truth for HR data