Gusto vs. HotSchedules and Fourth Payroll and Benefits

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Gusto
Score 8.5 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
HotSchedules and Fourth Payroll and Benefits
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
The Payroll and Benefits solution from HotSchedules, now powered by Fourth, is built specifically for restaurants and hospitality, and allows users to manage multiple employments, varying pay rates, shift work, variable hours, temporary staff, and PTO. Users may optionally outsource payroll to HotSchedules & Fourth.N/A
Pricing
GustoHotSchedules and Fourth Payroll and Benefits
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
GustoHotSchedules and Fourth Payroll and Benefits
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, so you can choose the plan that meets your business needs.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
GustoHotSchedules and Fourth Payroll and Benefits
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
GustoHotSchedules and Fourth Payroll and Benefits
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
8.6
478 Ratings
5% above category average
HotSchedules and Fourth Payroll and Benefits
8.0
1 Ratings
3% below category average
Pay calculation8.8458 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors8.58 Ratings00 Ratings
Benefit plan administration8.3342 Ratings00 Ratings
Direct deposit files8.8463 Ratings00 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management8.5357 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Reimbursement management9.0104 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
GustoHotSchedules and Fourth Payroll and Benefits
Small Businesses
Patriot Software
Patriot Software
Score 9.3 out of 10
Patriot Software
Patriot Software
Score 9.3 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.6 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.6 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
GustoHotSchedules and Fourth Payroll and Benefits
Likelihood to Recommend
8.1
(502 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.9
(12 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.2
(326 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
1.3
(25 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.2
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
GustoHotSchedules and Fourth Payroll and Benefits
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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HotSchedules and Fourth
Hot Schedules/Labour Productivity has been very useful in helping with sales forecasting, utilizing past data combined with weather and national events; however its allocation of staffing is very generic across a large brand, so not much scope for the software to 'learn' what works well for individual sites - e.g. where one restaurant may need 2 people to cover their peak, another may need 4, to account for things like prep, restaurant layout, etc.
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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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HotSchedules and Fourth
  • Personal Information Storage
  • Forecasting
  • Labour Costing
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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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HotSchedules and Fourth
  • Quicker Sales Data Importing
  • Easier Access to Employee Documents
  • Holiday information on employee end
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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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HotSchedules and Fourth
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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HotSchedules and Fourth
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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HotSchedules and Fourth
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Gusto
Super easy to implement and use!
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HotSchedules and Fourth
No answers on this topic
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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HotSchedules and Fourth
No answers on this topic
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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HotSchedules and Fourth
  • More Accurate Forecasting
  • Better Daily Labour Control
  • Holiday Planning
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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