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
Namely
Score 7.8 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
TriNet
Score 7.6 out of 10
N/A
TriNet provides small and medium size businesses (SMBs) with full-service HR and payroll solutions tailored by industry. TriNet also offers specialized services through client access to HR representatives for advice and notifications on impactful regulatory changes.
N/A
Pricing
Gusto
Namely
TriNet
Editions & Modules
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
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Gusto
Namely
TriNet
Free Trial
Yes
No
No
Free/Freemium Version
No
No
No
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
Yes
No
Yes
Entry-level Setup Fee
No setup fee
Required
No setup fee
Additional Details
Gusto offers three pricing plans for payroll, benefits, and HR.
My employer had already selected Gusto. I would say it's about the same, but the UX is better. TriNet has a better benefit page that clearly breaks down what is included in your insurance. I got a much better monthly payment for similar health insurance with Gusto than I did …
Payroll is on par, however, the benefits management is not even close. BambooHR and TriNet both offered better benefit plans and over the course of years, never caused my teams to be uninsured for any period of time. BambooHR and TriNet support teams have always communicated …
TriNet is definitely a more robust platform that offers better benefit options, however Gusto is more cost effective and simple to use. Also, TriNet customer service isn't the best. I haven't had to use Gusto's customer service for anything, so I'm not sure how it compares but …
Gusto is the easiest to use out of all the payroll programs that I have tried out at various companies. Manually entering time is less complicated and requires less time on gusto than on the others.
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.
Gusto was affordable and worked the best for what our organization needed. We only have four employees, so we didn't want something expensive or hard to use. Gusto is easy and works for us!
Namely
Verified User
C-Level Executive
Chose Namely
We've used a variety of HRIS and payroll software in the past: ADP, Zenefits, Gusto, Namely, and now, Justworks.
Of all of them but, Justworks and Gusto are far and away the winners. Namely is just not competitive with them from a UX perspective, attractiveness of benefits …
Verified User
Contributor
Chose Namely
Namely was able to check all of the boxes in the most affordable way
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 …
I did not choose Namely, the previous head of HR selected it. I do not find Namely to be better in any area than the tools Ive used in the past. Specifically the user interface - some of my employees have limited experience with technology and this system is not intuitive.
I selected Namely because it offered the most functions and integration that I was looking for at the time (two years ago). It was not the most affordable option, but worth the extra features.
TriNet has quite a bit more functionality, albeit at a greater cost. For those companies moving from small to medium in size, TriNet is likely the better solution. For those that are very small, Gusto may be the better solution. Both should be evaluated side by side for each …
Gusto is geared more specifically to small businesses, which would service the majority of my clients. I find their platform and customer service are also quite good. Since they are more geared to a small business, under 5 employees, the cost difference is helpful for those …
When Astrolabe was founded we used Gusto. They have a slick portal and they are significantly cheaper than TriNet (order of magnitude or more). Unfortunately, Gusto does not provide small companies (less than 5 employees) with benefits or any concrete HR services other than …
I looked into Gusto, Concierge, but then I started seeing terrible reviews from my colleagues who utilize their service so I did not pursue a relationship with them.
Out of all of the platforms, I still think that Gusto is the most user friendly for employers and employees. However, they did not provide the support that I get with TriNet. In just a year, I feel that TriNet is listening to it clients and have already made changes to improve …
Trinet has more features than Gusto and QuickBooks Online as far as HR reporting, census, off-cycle payroll, tax reports etc. But the biggest thing it doesn't have that all of these other do is a live chat feature that is completely necessary for immediate payroll issues that …
TriNet has way more features and functionalities than Gusto. Specifically, the HR function is a big life from mine and the VP of Operations shoulders, and it's nice to have an HR function where we can direct the team to.
We found TriNet to be easier to understand and set up than Gusto.
Verified User
General Manager
Chose TriNet
Both Insperity and TriNet have failed us in the same and different ways. Justworks was initially more expensive for benefits than TriNet. However, TriNet's benefits renewed with an average 10% increase, so we did not see savings for very long. If we could just be free of a …
Verified User
Executive
Chose TriNet
Neither are as robust or as easy to use as Trinet. Customer service is not nearly as good as TriNet.
Very bottom of the list - I did not select TriNet, as I joined the company after it had already been implemented and in use for some time. If I had been involved, Rippling and/or Zenefits would have been my top choices due to their wide breadth of HR/Payroll/People support …
TriNet has fulfilled our requirements and making a switch would require us to change our benefit offerings quite a bit. From that standpoint, it paid to stay with TriNet. They also have been extremely responsive and we enjoy the level of support we receive. The only issue we …
TriNet by far is superior in terms of service and platform. Their focus on state and federal compliance is unparalleled compared to the other products I have used in the past.
We have used Zenefits and Gusto in the past. They were ok but didn't have the complete suite of features that we were looking for. The only advantage Gusto has over TriNet is that contractor payments and 1099 generation is built in and handled by their service on regular …
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.
Namely is aesthetically very pleasing and navigates like other social media platforms which can be appealing to potentially a remote workforce who interacts more online than in person. Unfortunately, it did not serve our population well as we are primarily manufacturing where people are not as interested in utilizing the HRIS for interactions when they would rather connect in person.
I truly believe TriNet is the best PEO out there. Our specialist, [...], was top notch and always made me feel special. I appreciate all the features available, not just for my employees but for me, as an HR specialist. The benefits I am now able to offer is why we joined but all the features and ease of use is what will keep us clients moving forward. My only issue was feeling a bit rushed through training. I was told I would get written procedures but they were pretty antiquated.
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.
Customer support is great when working with Amy Hoffman. She's always very quick to respond and helpful. I'd say she's the thing that makes me want to stay with TriNet the most.
The webinars are very helpful. I utilize those frequently and our CFO has signed up for some as well.
The expense management system has been very helpful. There are a couple issues with it, but it's leaps better than what the company was doing before this system through TriNet.
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.
No direct feed for Ohio Workers Comp (now a manual process on our end)
No option to place an employee on Leave of Absence and exclude them from payroll while they are "inactive"
No option to suppress certain deductions for certain pay types (i.e. allow 401K for commissions but block remaining deductions - also now a manual process to uncheck the suppress box for 401K for each commission check)
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.
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.
e are currently seeing a massive shift in HR tech, with rapid strides being made in the integration of AI and Machine Learning models. These advancements allow for:Predictive analytics for workforce planning.Automated, intelligent chatbots for instant employee support.Smart data synthesis that provides actionable insights rather than just raw numbers.TriNet appears to be lagging in these areas, missing opportunities to leverage AI to reduce administrative overhead and improve data accuracy
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!
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.
The platform is highly intuitive and user-friendly, making it easy to navigate for both admins and employees when handling everyday tasks like payroll processing, benefits enrollment, and HR reporting. The flexibility in HR and payroll features does not require a need for extensive training. The mobile app stands out as amazing, with a great interface that enables quick access to employee related items
We had an issue with application errors - took TriNet 5 months to fix it, mean while we had someone manually tracking and keeping up with many requests and questions about the application error which affected time off. When we were all registering for Benefits during open enrollment there were lots of bugs that caused issues with registering for benefits or being able to see what benefits were available
For the most part pages load quickly. Working for a software company we understand performance is everything, even a few seconds delay can feel like a lifetime, that being said, we ran into a few times where pages didn't load, information didn't load correctly, and an influx in users (like open enrollment) cause things to slow down
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.
Namely platform has pretty good support: knowledgeable and relatively fast response times. Namely Payroll and Namely Benefits are very much depending on the quality of the support agent or CSM: we have had knowledgeable and attentive ones, but also ones that have provided erroneous information or failed to respond to urgent asks in a timely manner
The support overall is very good. There seems to be a good number of customer support staff and they are knowledgeable and pleasant to deal with and it almost all cases are able to resolve the question or issue very quickly. My only complaint would be having to wait in some cases as I'm based in the UK and the correct department may not be open 24 hours.
it's been awhile, but I recall them being helpful. I got through a lot of it and when I needed help, they can walk me through it over the phone. It's also pretty user friendly in general at a platform. I don't really know what else to type, but they came and helped me in person and also when there was something new, they came and talked to me. They have not done that since with the new model that I hate
Since this was already implemented. I have another employee briefly train me. Then Trinet rep gave me some training as needed for things that came up. For one payroll preview report I figured it could be done, but I had asked the rep to be sure. One important training was when there was an employee leaving the company.
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
Implementation was a bit complicated and our company had to carry most of the weight. It often felt like our implementation manager was giving us extra work that she did not want to do herself. It also took much longer than expected - I believe almost 2 months. I believe our company carried a bit too much of the weight.
not applicable as I implementation was done 5 years ago and have no recollection of the details of the process. Above it says to skip question if not involved in the process but it will not allow me to skip it as it states explanation requitred thus making this process extremely frustrating.
It's been a while since I used QuickBooks for payroll, but it doesn't even come close to it. Gusto is infinitely easier, allowing for employee time tracking, handling calculations and payments of payroll and payroll taxes, managing regulatory compliance in the background, and more. I had a lot of moments using QuickBooks Payroll where I thought, "Am I even doing this right?" — it felt like you had to have additional knowledge of HR regulations in your state to do everything correctly. Gusto has it ALL handled so you can focus your time on higher-impact tasks in your business.
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 the worst part of the experience outside of the benefits team.
I liked Rippling's software better than TriNet. However, the pricing on employee benefits was through the roof, and they don't offer many selections/options. If it was a software only decision, I would go with Rippling (the 2.0 version of Zenefits which TriNet offers). However, the software isn't a major need, compared to smooth payroll and benefits that I get from TriNet (and great service). I'm happy at TriNet long term as long as the health insurance rates aren't exhorbinant.
We are a small company, do we use it across departments and sites? Yes, we are all remote working, so there are as many sites as there are people. We also have our entire staff using TriNet, so every department from Accounting, Admin, HR, Development, QA, and Management are all using this. Can't say for sure how great the scalability is as we are only about 30 employees
I am not involved enough to know well, but I would say that Gusto has saved me about 1-2 hours in my onboarding process with my new company compared to my past experiences trying to onboard with ADP. I have also finished the process and am not frustrated like usual.
We were able to transition to a fully digital onboarding process which saved us hours in time per new hire and made the process smoother for the new hire.
Namely is our first HRIS and has helped the HR department to find data and information quickly.
Namely helped us digitize our performance management process which the company undergoes on an annual basis.
Stay within HR Compliance - when the new laws about Salary change came into effect I received an email on impacted employees and how to address.
More involvement in employee benefits. With greater benefit selection more employees were able to find plans that suited their needs.
The TimeClock took a little time to get used to. It is still a little frustrating at times for hourly employees to be able to track how many hours they actually have for the week/pay-period. The off the clock meals count towards "hours" and employees have to subtract that out to be able to see what they need for the rest of the week.
