Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Gusto
Score 8.6 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
Heartland Payroll+
Score 3.4 out of 10
N/A
Heartland Payroll+ is presented as a complete management solution, designed to serve as a single point of contact, making it easy to deal with any issue. Customers have online access to their payroll data and employee information, and Heartland’s tools are accessible on the go.N/A
Pricing
GustoHeartland Payroll+
Editions & Modules
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
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
GustoHeartland Payroll+
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsGusto offers three pricing plans for payroll, benefits, and HR.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
GustoHeartland Payroll+
Considered Both Products
Gusto
Chose Gusto
Heartland was cumbersome to load employee data into the system for the first run, took longer to adhere to direct deposit, and made it extremely difficult to fix a system error that resulted in incorrect payments.
Heartland Payroll+

No answer on this topic

Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
GustoHeartland Payroll+
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
8.8
507 Ratings
7% above category average
Heartland Payroll+
5.7
9 Ratings
36% below category average
Pay calculation9.1486 Ratings1.25 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors8.58 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Benefit plan administration8.5355 Ratings9.72 Ratings
Direct deposit files9.0490 Ratings1.27 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management8.7377 Ratings9.35 Ratings
Reimbursement management9.4123 Ratings7.01 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment00 Ratings1.13 Ratings
Best Alternatives
GustoHeartland Payroll+
Small Businesses
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.3 out of 10
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.3 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
GustoHeartland Payroll+
Likelihood to Recommend
8.5
(531 ratings)
1.1
(9 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(12 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.3
(355 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
1.2
(25 ratings)
1.0
(4 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.2
(1 ratings)
1.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
GustoHeartland Payroll+
Likelihood to Recommend
Gusto
It's very easy to use, especially for smaller companies. The site is user-friendly and eye-catching. Everything you need is easily accessible. I have never had to use the customer service side of Gusto, but there is not much that you would need help with or have issues with. I also really enjoy the little pig when logging in.
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Global Payments
We changed payroll companies from Paycom to Heartland this year at the recommendation of our insurance agent who insisted they would integrate with the EASE system, which tracks employee benefits and deductions. However, 8 weeks into it, I regret my decision, since the setup hasn't been completed yet. The lack of responsiveness in some cases is astounding and often we have to ask 3, 4, and 5 times for something to be done. I hate to think what will happen after we are "handed off" from the payroll implementation team to the regular schmucks. We still are not able to track PTO and time off and we have been begging for the self-service feature to be turned on for employees so they can change addresses, bank account info, etc. Their training is NONEXISTENT and their manual is abysmal. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!!!!! I wish I could go back to Paycom!
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Pros
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!
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Global Payments
  • White-glove customer support. All employees are in the United States and they must pay them well, because they don't seem to have turnover there.
  • Technology is awesome. We have Payroll, HR, T&A, ATS, and onboarding with them.
  • Their Tax Credit tech is amazing. I received more money in tax credits last year than payroll cost me. That's a net positive!
  • Compliance with their HR team is great, and they don't hit you over the head on the price for it.
  • Pricing is fantastic with a 3-year price lock. No BS discounting that jumps back up a year later.
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Cons
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.
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Global Payments
  • Sometimes the system (geocode) will not allow me to process address changes by asking for help from our specialist.
  • Response for assistance is usually a lot slower when our dedicated specialist is not available.
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Likelihood to Renew
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.
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Global Payments
No answers on this topic
Usability
Gusto
It is a great piece of software, something that I have used since its ZenPayroll days. Its weakest feature at this point is its timekeeping and lack of scheduling. If it adds that, it gets a 10/10 and cannot be replaced by any other payroll software. Like I said, I recommend it to all of my clients and associates.
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Global Payments
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
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.
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Global Payments
I never have trouble reaching customer support. They always are able to assist with fixing any problems that arise. There honestly haven't been many issues at all. Only ones I've created :)
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Implementation Rating
Gusto
Super easy to implement and use!
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Global Payments
The Heartland team could care less about how difficult your experience is. In fact, I think they delight in seeing you struggle!
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Alternatives Considered
Gusto
I've used both Workday and Paylocity for years and they don't even compare. Between the mobile app and the website, everything feels seamless, well thought out, and easy to navigate. I'm so used to the frustration of navigating these apps, even after years of working with them. I never considered there was an option like Gusto out there. It's made everything so easy for me. If I ever get a say I'll be a diehard Gusto evangelist from here on out.
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Global Payments
I've considered moving payroll over to QuickBooks Online so that everything is in one place, but it would probably take too much work considering that our current system works really well. I think QuickBooks would confuse me, honestly. There are other systems that offer different user interfaces that are neat looking, but I haven't done too much research because Heartland Payroll offered me a really good deal for processing since we are a small company.
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Return on Investment
Gusto
  • It is definitely an easy, intuitive platform to utilize with lots of helpful features!
  • The Benefits package is very poor and is not useful to me at all.
  • I enjoy how it breaks up the spending insights into several categories such as Food, Transportation, Shopping, Housing Medical, etc.
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Global Payments
  • We have a net positive using Heartland. We actually bring more money in from their tax credits than the payroll service actually costs.
  • I used to have a part-time person handing our payroll/HR needs. Now this is done by me because it's so easy.
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ScreenShots

Gusto Screenshots

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