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Recommended Comparisons

    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Gusto

    Score8.9 out of 10
    N/AGusto 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

    Paychex

    Score6.9 out of 10
    N/APaychex Flex, of Paychex' Online Payroll Services, is a cloud-based human resource management and payroll platform. Paychex offers core and specialized services, and scales to meet the needs of small businesses, SMBs, and large enterprises.N/A

    QuickBooks Online

    Score8 out of 10
    N/AQuickBooks Online is a SaaS version of the QuickBooks product. It contains all of the features found in the local version. Higher-priced plans include greater automation, payment management, inventory and time tracking, and analytics features.

    $38

    per month

    Pricing
    GustoPaychexQuickBooks Online
    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
    Paychex Flex Pro
    Custom Pricing
    per month/+$4 per employee
    HR Pro
    Custom Pricing
    HR PEO
    Custom Pricing
    Paychex Flex Select
    Custom Pricing
    Paychex Flex Enterprise
    Custom Pricing
    Simple Start
    $38
    per month
    Essentials
    $75
    per month
    Plus
    $115
    per month
    Advanced
    $275
    per month
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    GustoPaychexQuickBooks Online
    Free Trial
    YesNoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesNoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeRequiredNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsGusto offers three pricing plans for payroll, benefits, and HR.——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    GustoPaychexQuickBooks Online
    Considered Multiple Products
    Gusto
    Chose Gusto
    Paychex way to big for a small business. Never able to get immediate help when needed.

    Toast Payroll outsourced company with lots nice features but needs more time to figure it out.
    Incentivized
    Chose Gusto
    I like Gusto because it's much more user-friendly than Workforce. I would rate QB a 6/10 and Gusto a 10/10 for user reliability and friendliness.
    Incentivized
    Chose Gusto
    Gusto is more cost-effective and has been very responsive to inquiries.
    Incentivized
    Chose Gusto
    Gusto is the far superior product.
    Incentivized
    Chose Gusto
    I prefer Gusto's visual interface and ease of use. The employee visual for Gusto was much better. The customer service support that I have received with Gusto has far exceeded any other payroll processing service that I have used.
    Incentivized
    Chose Gusto
    Gusto is much more easier to use.
    Incentivized
    Chose Gusto
    Gusto was easier and more affordable.
    Incentivized
    Chose Gusto
    I have used the ADP Payroll service, and Gusto's functionality is by far easier to use.
    Incentivized
    Chose Gusto
    ADP is more expensive and too cumbersome for my needs.
    Incentivized
    Chose Gusto
    Cost and efficiency.
    Incentivized
    Chose Gusto
    More modern and user friendly, personal touch
    Incentivized
    Chose Gusto
    I selected Gusto due to pricing and my accountant's recommendation
    Incentivized
    Chose Gusto
    Gusto is so much more user friendly and the customer service is excellent. Waiting on hold for ADP and Quickbooks was very frustrating and I almost never got my issue resolved. When I did get a call back, there was often a “hard sell” attached to the call.
    Incentivized
    Chose Gusto
    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 …
    Incentivized
    Chose Gusto
    Gusto is much easier to use! Cheaper as well.
    Incentivized
    Chose Gusto
    Gusto is more approachable with a less corporate, more personalized feel. When we started, it was helpful for Paychex to be a one-stop shop where they offered a ton of add on services we hadn't thought of but found useful. Now that we are better able to navigate our needs, …
    Incentivized
    Chose Gusto
    Gusto is incredibly user friendly and leaves you with a step by step guide of what you need to do, what you're missing and helps catches everything you might have missed.
    Incentivized
    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…
    Incentivized
    Chose Gusto
    Gusto is way easier to use and understand than other platforms. They just focus on what they're really good at without cluttering up the experience with other offers. The customer service is much better as well. Support is very responsive and helpful.
    Incentivized
    Chose Gusto
    I think Quickbooks is hard to navigate and it has too many outages/down times. In my experience, you have to jump through hoops to get your information updated. I think it is slow and ugly
    Incentivized
    Chose Gusto
    I honestly don't remember any others besides Paychex.. I don't recall having the ability (as an employee) to split my own direct deposits, or even remember a nice portal to log into. Perhaps they do have it and it wasn't communicated well to me. Gusto has always been super easy …
    Incentivized
    Chose Gusto
    Gusto has many more features than this other program has to offer.
    Incentivized
    Chose Gusto
    Gusto seems to offer everything that ADP Payroll does, but at a much more affordable cost. Gusto's prices are much more reasonable for very small businesses and startup businesses. Most of my clients fall into that category. I would say ADP is more for larger small …
    Incentivized
    Chose Gusto
    Gusto offers a better experience for both employees and employers with more intuitive navigation, simplified step-by-step builds for back-end structure, and user-friendly, secure processes for employees. Gusto is a well-designed platform that is years ahead of the others in …
    Incentivized
    Chose Gusto
    Gusto has a better user experience than Paycor and is priced better than Paycor.
    Incentivized
    Paychex Inc.
    Chose Paychex
    Better than Paylocity, it targets different company sizes than Gusto, but Gusto is much easier to use.
    Incentivized
    Chose Paychex
    We currently use Gusto. We would not switch back to Paychex.
    Incentivized
    Chose Paychex
    Gusto is more intuitive than Paychex and easier for smaller companies. Paychex has better customer support than Paylocity. Paychex is easier to navigate than Paycom.
    Incentivized
    Chose Paychex
    Gusto is a much easier platform to use and integrate with. It may lack a few features of Paychex, but it has most features, is easier to work with, costs less money and does most things better.
    Incentivized
    Chose Paychex
    Paychex Flex is hands-down an easier way to manage payroll. I found QuickBooks Online to be somewhat confusing about when and where to file what form, and it was definitely more tedious than the easy flow of using Paychex Flex.
    Incentivized
    Chose Paychex
    I use QuickBooks Desktop Pro and QuickBooks Online for a few of my companies, however the times I've briefly looked into them for payroll services I couldn't picture making the transition. Additionally, when issues arise with those companies, (for other things like merchant …
    Incentivized
    Chose Paychex
    I think the Paychex reporting menus are easier to use and navigate than ADP.
    Incentivized
    Chose Paychex
    They were alright, some of the same issues. Lots of turnover with payroll consultants.
    Incentivized
    Chose Paychex
    Both ADP and Paychex are very good at informing businesses of the latest changes regarding payroll. Not sure which one is better, but very much get the most out of each. Both are informative and always looking at additional topics in a world that is constantly changing. …
    Incentivized
    Chose Paychex
    I did not select Paychex. It was at 2 companies I started with and ended up having them switch out
    Incentivized
    Chose Paychex
    No other products.
    Incentivized
    Chose Paychex
    Paychecks has more product offerings like 401k, benefits and workers compensation insurance.
    Incentivized
    Chose Paychex
    We have not used others.
    Incentivized
    Chose Paychex
    Their prices are way better, but Paychex has actual, responsive customer support. If Square could match your support, I'd consider making the switch.
    Incentivized
    Chose Paychex
    Paychex far exceeds the QuickBook payroll system I used our first year. QuickBooks did not handle local taxes and I was responsible for filing those reports and returns.
    Incentivized
    Chose Paychex
    I previously used Quickbooks payrolls. I will never go back to that system for payroll. Paychex Flex is easier to use and more reliable.
    Incentivized
    Chose Paychex
    Better customer service; support with onboarding; employee self-service. Time savings.
    Incentivized
    Chose Paychex
    I did not make this purchase decision.
    Incentivized
    Chose Paychex
    Moved from Heartland, too many processing issues and site crashes. Paychex Flex site is easy to use and we like the portal for the employees.
    Incentivized
    Chose Paychex
    I think Paychex Flex is slightly better than ADP. Paychex Flex and ADP create the same needed reports and have a lot of the same functions; however, Paychex Flex is more visually pleasing. Paychex Flex uses a tile format and is easy to get into different categories such as …
    Incentivized
    Chose Paychex
    Most of the reporting is a little easier to find and create in Paychex Flex. Most of the web interfaces for submitting payroll are fairly easy just like Paychex Flex.
    Incentivized
    Chose Paychex
    None.
    Incentivized
    Chose Paychex
    Actually, Paychex Flex is my first! I couldn't have asked for a better instructor!!
    Thank you
    Incentivized
    Chose Paychex
    I have reviewed or used many other HRM and Payroll products. Paychex is a very solid program that overall does a very strong job. It is definitely competitive in the sense that it is constantly improving. With any large software system, there are glitches and issues that need …
    Incentivized
    Intuit
    Chose QuickBooks Online
    I use Gusto but have not evaluated it. It works great for us.
    Incentivized
    Chose QuickBooks Online
    The only other service I have used that was similar to QuickBooks was Gusto. My experience with it was pretty limited. We did not use it for very long. We tried it because it was made for small businesses and we are a smaller department. QuickBooks was more scalable and worked …
    Incentivized
    Chose QuickBooks Online
    Sage Intacct is very difficult to use and the inter-face is decades behind QB online. The ease to which one can find and manage information on QB online versus Sage Intacct is remarkable. QB Online is made for people who actually manage and facilitate financial information. I …
    Incentivized
    Chose QuickBooks Online
    As an accountant, QuickBooks Online uses the language I learned in school and throughout my career. Xero tries to simplify it, while actually making it more difficult to understand.
    Incentivized
    Chose QuickBooks Online
    As I've mentioned, there aren't a lot of similar products, and certainly not with all the capability of QuickBooks Online. In my opinion, they nickel and dime for everything but they also do work pretty well across the board. I think the reconciliation process is also by far …
    Incentivized
    Chose QuickBooks Online
    Other software packages such as NetSuite and Intacct I used in the past are more robust in terms of supporting a bigger organization, but at my current company we selected QuickBooks Online as our ERP because it is a perfect fit for the size of the company and our operations as …
    Incentivized
    Chose QuickBooks Online
    I have used larger ERP systems like SAP and Netsuite which do offer a better solution however for the size of business (small) that is best fit for QuickBooks Online, it is a good tool to use. We selected this because its cloud bases, billed easy, low cost, and easy to learn.
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    92%
    Would buy again
    563 Answers
    88%
    Would buy again
    269 Answers
    83%
    Would buy again
    129 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    93%
    Delivers good value for the price
    464 Answers
    90%
    Delivers good value for the price
    242 Answers
    87%
    Delivers good value for the price
    124 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    95%
    Happy with the feature set
    576 Answers
    92%
    Happy with the feature set
    283 Answers
    83%
    Happy with the feature set
    129 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    91%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    316 Answers
    88%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    203 Answers
    82%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    94%
    Implementation went as expected
    376 Answers
    89%
    Implementation went as expected
    218 Answers
    85%
    Implementation went as expected
    117 Answers
    Features
    GustoPaychexQuickBooks Online
    Payroll Management
    Comparison of Payroll Management features of Gusto and Paychex and QuickBooks Online
    Feature
    Gusto
    9.1
    611 Ratings
    10% above category average
    Paychex
    7.6
    323 Ratings
    8% below category average
    QuickBooks Online
    7.7
    125 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Pay calculation9.5587 Ratings8.0305 Ratings8.0114 Ratings
    Support for external payroll vendors8.58 Ratings6.56 Ratings00 Ratings
    Benefit plan administration8.7417 Ratings7.2182 Ratings6.962 Ratings
    Direct deposit files9.7592 Ratings8.3302 Ratings8.1105 Ratings
    Salary revision and increment management9.0462 Ratings8.0216 Ratings7.778 Ratings
    Reimbursement management9.0196 Ratings7.4124 Ratings7.784 Ratings
    Off-cycle/On-Demand payment00 Ratings7.4160 Ratings00 Ratings
    Human Resource Management
    Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Gusto and Paychex and QuickBooks Online
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Paychex
    7.0
    282 Ratings
    16% below category average
    QuickBooks Online
    -
    Ratings
    Employee demographic data00 Ratings7.7228 Ratings00 Ratings
    Employment history00 Ratings7.9252 Ratings00 Ratings
    Job profiles and administration00 Ratings7.7185 Ratings00 Ratings
    Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.00 Ratings7.8183 Ratings00 Ratings
    Organizational charting00 Ratings4.66 Ratings00 Ratings
    Organization and location management00 Ratings7.1166 Ratings00 Ratings
    Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)00 Ratings6.4151 Ratings00 Ratings
    Leave and Attendance Management
    Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Gusto and Paychex and QuickBooks Online
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Paychex
    7.2
    163 Ratings
    13% below category average
    QuickBooks Online
    -
    Ratings
    Approval workflow00 Ratings7.5117 Ratings00 Ratings
    Balance details00 Ratings7.6155 Ratings00 Ratings
    Annual carry-forward and encashment00 Ratings6.3122 Ratings00 Ratings
    Employee Self Service
    Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Gusto and Paychex and QuickBooks Online
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Paychex
    7.2
    280 Ratings
    14% below category average
    QuickBooks Online
    -
    Ratings
    View and generate pay and benefit information00 Ratings8.1258 Ratings00 Ratings
    Update personal information00 Ratings7.6270 Ratings00 Ratings
    View company policy documentation00 Ratings7.4128 Ratings00 Ratings
    Employee recognition00 Ratings5.55 Ratings00 Ratings
    View job history00 Ratings7.6193 Ratings00 Ratings
    Asset Management
    Comparison of Asset Management features of Gusto and Paychex and QuickBooks Online
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Paychex
    6.4
    46 Ratings
    23% below category average
    QuickBooks Online
    -
    Ratings
    Tracking of all physical assets00 Ratings6.446 Ratings00 Ratings
    HR Reporting
    Comparison of HR Reporting features of Gusto and Paychex and QuickBooks Online
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Paychex
    6.1
    182 Ratings
    22% below category average
    QuickBooks Online
    -
    Ratings
    Report builder00 Ratings6.5152 Ratings00 Ratings
    Pre-built reports00 Ratings6.8170 Ratings00 Ratings
    Ability to combine HR data with external data00 Ratings5.095 Ratings00 Ratings
    Onboarding
    Comparison of Onboarding features of Gusto and Paychex and QuickBooks Online
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Paychex
    6.9
    180 Ratings
    15% below category average
    QuickBooks Online
    -
    Ratings
    New hire portal00 Ratings7.0172 Ratings00 Ratings
    Manager tracking tools00 Ratings6.7116 Ratings00 Ratings
    Performance and Goals
    Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Gusto and Paychex and QuickBooks Online
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Paychex
    6.2
    3 Ratings
    26% below category average
    QuickBooks Online
    -
    Ratings
    Corporate goal setting00 Ratings4.82 Ratings00 Ratings
    Individual goal setting00 Ratings5.73 Ratings00 Ratings
    Line-of sight-visibility00 Ratings5.42 Ratings00 Ratings
    Performance tracking00 Ratings8.82 Ratings00 Ratings
    Performance Management
    Comparison of Performance Management features of Gusto and Paychex and QuickBooks Online
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Paychex
    5.8
    3 Ratings
    31% below category average
    QuickBooks Online
    -
    Ratings
    Performance plans00 Ratings6.03 Ratings00 Ratings
    Performance improvement plans00 Ratings6.03 Ratings00 Ratings
    Review status tracking00 Ratings5.73 Ratings00 Ratings
    Review reminders00 Ratings5.73 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multiple review frequency00 Ratings5.73 Ratings00 Ratings
    Succession Planning
    Comparison of Succession Planning features of Gusto and Paychex and QuickBooks Online
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Paychex
    4.6
    4 Ratings
    52% below category average
    QuickBooks Online
    -
    Ratings
    Create succession plans/pools00 Ratings3.62 Ratings00 Ratings
    Candidate ranking00 Ratings4.12 Ratings00 Ratings
    Candidate search00 Ratings5.53 Ratings00 Ratings
    Candidate development00 Ratings5.23 Ratings00 Ratings
    Recruiting / ATS
    Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Gusto and Paychex and QuickBooks Online
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Paychex
    5.4
    73 Ratings
    38% below category average
    QuickBooks Online
    -
    Ratings
    Job Requisition Management00 Ratings5.138 Ratings00 Ratings
    Company Website Posting00 Ratings5.235 Ratings00 Ratings
    Publish to Social Media00 Ratings5.729 Ratings00 Ratings
    Job Search Site Posting00 Ratings6.137 Ratings00 Ratings
    Duplicate Candidate Prevention00 Ratings4.635 Ratings00 Ratings
    Applicant Tracking00 Ratings4.741 Ratings00 Ratings
    Notifications and Alerts00 Ratings6.267 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customization
    Comparison of Customization features of Gusto and Paychex and QuickBooks Online
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Paychex
    -
    Ratings
    QuickBooks Online
    7.0
    116 Ratings
    8% below category average
    API for custom integration00 Ratings00 Ratings6.996 Ratings
    Plug-ins00 Ratings00 Ratings7.198 Ratings
    Security
    Comparison of Security features of Gusto and Paychex and QuickBooks Online
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Paychex
    -
    Ratings
    QuickBooks Online
    8.2
    191 Ratings
    0% above category average
    Single sign-on capability00 Ratings00 Ratings8.3156 Ratings
    Role-based user permissions00 Ratings00 Ratings8.1181 Ratings
    Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Gusto and Paychex and QuickBooks Online
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Paychex
    -
    Ratings
    QuickBooks Online
    8.0
    217 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Dashboards00 Ratings00 Ratings8.1204 Ratings
    Standard reports00 Ratings00 Ratings8.3211 Ratings
    Custom reports00 Ratings00 Ratings7.7195 Ratings
    General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
    Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Gusto and Paychex and QuickBooks Online
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Paychex
    -
    Ratings
    QuickBooks Online
    7.8
    234 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Accounts payable00 Ratings00 Ratings8.5200 Ratings
    Accounts receivable00 Ratings00 Ratings8.6217 Ratings
    Cash management00 Ratings00 Ratings7.9198 Ratings
    Bank reconciliation00 Ratings00 Ratings9.0223 Ratings
    Expense management00 Ratings00 Ratings8.2206 Ratings
    Time tracking00 Ratings00 Ratings6.998 Ratings
    Fixed asset management00 Ratings00 Ratings7.798 Ratings
    Multi-currency support00 Ratings00 Ratings7.549 Ratings
    Multi-division support00 Ratings00 Ratings7.180 Ratings
    Regulations compliance00 Ratings00 Ratings7.979 Ratings
    Electronic tax filing00 Ratings00 Ratings8.0118 Ratings
    Self-service portal00 Ratings00 Ratings7.3126 Ratings
    Global Financial Support00 Ratings00 Ratings6.441 Ratings
    Primary and Secondary Ledgers00 Ratings00 Ratings7.972 Ratings
    Intercompany Accounting00 Ratings00 Ratings7.672 Ratings
    Localizations00 Ratings00 Ratings7.855 Ratings
    Journals and Reconciliations00 Ratings00 Ratings8.5146 Ratings
    Enterprise Accounting00 Ratings00 Ratings7.062 Ratings
    Configurable Accounting00 Ratings00 Ratings7.789 Ratings
    Centralized Rules Framework00 Ratings00 Ratings7.560 Ratings
    Standardized Processes00 Ratings00 Ratings8.6108 Ratings
    Inventory Management
    Comparison of Inventory Management features of Gusto and Paychex and QuickBooks Online
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Paychex
    -
    Ratings
    QuickBooks Online
    6.8
    90 Ratings
    7% below category average
    Inventory tracking00 Ratings00 Ratings6.685 Ratings
    Automatic reordering00 Ratings00 Ratings6.947 Ratings
    Location management00 Ratings00 Ratings7.254 Ratings
    Manufacturing module00 Ratings00 Ratings6.537 Ratings
    Order Management
    Comparison of Order Management features of Gusto and Paychex and QuickBooks Online
    Feature
    Gusto
    -
    Ratings
    Paychex
    -
    Ratings
    QuickBooks Online
    7.7
    144 Ratings
    4% above category average
    Pricing00 Ratings00 Ratings7.991 Ratings
    Order entry00 Ratings00 Ratings7.787 Ratings
    Credit card processing00 Ratings00 Ratings8.3111 Ratings
    Cost of goods sold00 Ratings00 Ratings8.0110 Ratings
    Order Orchestration00 Ratings00 Ratings7.347 Ratings
    End-to-end order visibility00 Ratings00 Ratings7.750 Ratings
    Order exception Resolution00 Ratings00 Ratings7.443 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    GustoPaychexQuickBooks Online
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    Patriot Payroll
    Score8.6 out of 10
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    Score4.1 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    APS
    Score5.7 out of 10
    Zoho People
    Score8.6 out of 10
    MYOB
    Score8.3 out of 10
    Enterprises
    ADP Streamline Payroll
    Score6.1 out of 10
    PeopleStrong
    Score10 out of 10
    Microsoft Dynamics GP
    Score5.4 out of 10
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    User Ratings
    GustoPaychexQuickBooks Online
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.1
    (633 ratings)
    6.8
    (338 ratings)
    8.3
    (252 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    10.0
    (14 ratings)
    7.2
    (48 ratings)
    9.7
    (27 ratings)
    Usability
    9.4
    (457 ratings)
    7.2
    (279 ratings)
    8.2
    (167 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    5.2
    (12 ratings)
    9.0
    (6 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.0
    (12 ratings)
    1.0
    (5 ratings)
    Support Rating
    4.4
    (27 ratings)
    6.5
    (278 ratings)
    9.9
    (70 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    4.5
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    2.7
    (4 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    9.1
    (3 ratings)
    5.1
    (13 ratings)
    10.0
    (7 ratings)
    Configurability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    5.0
    (9 ratings)
    1.0
    (2 ratings)
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    5.0
    (1 ratings)
    CPA Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.4
    (18 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (3 ratings)
    1.3
    (2 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    5.3
    (12 ratings)
    2.0
    (3 ratings)
    Professional Services
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    5.0
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    5.7
    (34 ratings)
    5.0
    (3 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    6.2
    (35 ratings)
    5.0
    (3 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    GustoPaychexQuickBooks Online
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Gusto
    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.
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    Paychex Inc.
    It is best suited for payrolls from 1 to 150 employees, because their constant attention and flex system are easy to use. Any problem is taking care by your Paychex Agent, and they always listen to you. Better yet, when you become a client with more than 5 years, you get special discount on your renewal. Honestly, I can't not think on nothing that will be less appropriate.
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    Intuit
    QBO is a great solution for small and midsize companies. If the goal is to record all transactions and pull reliable financial reports, QBO is a great option. QBO is also a great solution if most operations are run in a system like Ramp. It syncs well with systems like that and turns the data into something management can use to make decisions. QBO is great because so many people use it. It is easy to find training online, and many people have experience with it.
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    Pros
    Gusto
    • New employee/contractor onboarding - all the documents are stored and easily accessible (the same goes for off-boarding).
    • A one-click option for syncing hours worked with payroll.
    • The option to run payroll on auto-pilot.
    • Ensuring I'm tax compliant with the states we have employees in.
    • Always having digital records of payroll runs.
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    Paychex Inc.
    • It provides a well account of Retirement Plan Account Information.
    • Alerts are sent to email when there is new information to access.
    • Employee access both online and thru app.
    • Paperless options.
    • Easy and quick access to paystubs and tax forms.
    • Easy employee retirement management.
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    Intuit
    • Workflows for accounts payable invoice review are terrific.
    • Bill payment allows you to pay vendors online via ACH or check without having to write a physical check, which reduces admin time.
    • The cloud based login lends well to a remote or hybrid work environment for staff.
    • QuickBooks Online allows you to pre-configure vendors' general ledger expense accounts. This helps with general ledger coding accuracy and consistency.
    • QuickBooks Online integrates with Rippling HRIS, Coast, Capital One, JPMorgan Chase, etc., which lends well to an efficient month-end closing and reduced administrative time.
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    Cons
    Gusto
    • Digital compliance tools for remote teams
    • 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.
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    Paychex Inc.
    • I understand logging you out is a security function, but I'd prefer it not to log you out so soon.
    • The training we received for the team's meeting was subpar, in my opinion. Probably better geared for people with little to no computer experience. Very slow pace; we could have easily received all of this from some tutorials in a few minutes.
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    Intuit
    • I dislike that the online bill pay option through QuickBooks is required for their invoicing.
    • The auto-fill portion of the customer setup, specifically the company name, is listed, but it also auto-fills in the name portion, which is inconvenient and time-consuming to remove.
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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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    Paychex Inc.
    Overall I like the features that Paychex Flex offers. I am sure that there are other features that I am unaware of, so I am excited to see if there is more that Flex is capable of to make my job easier. The basic features are really user friendly and easy to access. If there ever is an issue customer service is great
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    Intuit
    It like the product 'right out of the box' and I trust Intuit will continually improve it over the years based on my experience with their desktop products. The large providers of Apps makes customizing the entire package relatively easy and seamless for a wide variety of business types.
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    Usability
    Gusto
    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.
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    Paychex Inc.
    Once you are set up in the system, it is very user-friendly and usability is on par with my expectations. Onboarding new employees is simple, employee access is simple and easy for them to use. Tax documentation, reporting, and entering payroll is easy and user-friendly. Running reports and finding information necessary to keep the flow moving foward is easy to do
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    Intuit
    Beyond being overkill for a small org's needs, QBO is constantly stealing screen real estate and attention by hammering users for account upgrades, connecting to one of their approved consultants or buying add-ons. The idea of using a simple configurable bookeeping and light accounting interface is completely missing. At the very least, we should be able to hide functions like inventory that we will never use.
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    Reliability and Availability
    Gusto
    No answers on this topic
    Paychex Inc.
    We have not experienced any difficulties with unplanned outages. Notifications are always made for outages, and they do not effect normal business operations.
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    Intuit
    We have rarely had outages in the last 10 years. I can only recall 2 times in the last 10 years where we were not able to access our client files.
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    Performance
    Gusto
    No answers on this topic
    Paychex Inc.
    Unless there is lag time within the internet, the Paychex Flex website loads exceptional fast, pages load quickly and reports that I need to print or download load quickly. If I need to create a specialized report, once I complete it I receive an e-mail telling me my report is ready to be downloaded. Changing between web pages is fast as well.
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    Intuit
    Everything process has its bugs lately with the new interface. Nothing has worked smoothly since this all began last month.
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    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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    Paychex Inc.
    The dedicated support we are given is good and very responsive. If there is a change to the dedicated support, we are notified quickly and have temporary support in place while we wait for our new rep. The phone support is knowledgeable and quick to help if there is an immediate need. However, the chat support can be the slowest option and doesn't always launch so I rarely use it.
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    Intuit
    In my experience, most representatives keep me on the phone for hours, literally, for a single issue and then usually cannot resolve it satisfactorily. I have 10 open cases that need resolution and, in my experience, there has been NO follow-up communication on any of them.
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    In-Person Training
    Gusto
    No answers on this topic
    Paychex Inc.
    We did online training only
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    Intuit
    No answers on this topic
    Online Training
    Gusto
    No answers on this topic
    Paychex Inc.
    It was easy to understand and follow along. I do like the informational videos that we can utilize before we opt to call in for customer service support. It has made a difference since sometimes that resolves the issue I may have had and saved myself a phone call to Paychex support.
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    Intuit
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation Rating
    Gusto
    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
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    Paychex Inc.
    Implementation was very smooth. The most cumbersome task was entering the current employees into the system during initial set up, but Paychex staff handled most of that and verified against prior system reports as well as internal reports provided to ensure 100% accuracy.
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    Intuit
    The person in charge of QB needs to be very accurate with record keeping and is recommended to stay on top of tasks. The biggest issue we have is reconciliation, and those issues occur only when too much time has occurred between reconciliations
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    Alternatives Considered
    Gusto
    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
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    Paychex Inc.
    In addition to the ones listed above, we also used BenePay, a local payroll company. We found Paychex Flex priced in the middle, with ADP the most expensive and too complicated, with many features that were unnecessary for us. We found that Paychex Flex's features and reporting to be sized right for our size (around 30 employees). Paychex Flex also offered a very reasonable service to apply for the ERTC
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    Intuit
    As a freelance bookkeeper, the Desktop version of QuickBooks Online doesn't allow for ease of access from any device. Having to be on a computer with the software downloaded creates additional work to gain access to all required filings etc. Also, I personally find the linking functionality on the Online version to be much more streamlined and user friendly.
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    Scalability
    Gusto
    No answers on this topic
    Paychex Inc.
    I generally do payroll at the office, however I have had to go remote due to internet issues and also had to take payroll on vacation with me. Very easy to log in wherever you are and manage your TAA and payroll
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    Intuit
    As we have grown along our professional path, we have also expanded our use of QB. The scalability is easy and features seem to be waiting for you until you need them. We have increased profits by over 10x from our first year in business to the current and have yet to find a reason to look elsewhere
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    Return on Investment
    Gusto
    • Time tracking + payroll calculations me 30-60 minutes every time I run payroll.
    • Integrated workers' comp, so I didn't have to find an outside carrier and get quotes—it's all taken care of in the same platform.
    • Improved employee experience with onboarding.
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    Paychex Inc.
    • With Paychex Flex we have been able to improve our compliance with required documentation for new/rehires
    • Moving everyone to direct deposit and mobile clock in/out eliminated lines at punching stations and paycheck pickup stations
    • Lost checks is a thing of the past
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    Intuit
    • QuickBooks has given us a useful portal by which to get an overview of our financials.
    • QuickBooks has given us a relatively easy way to send out invoices quickly and efficiently.
    • Due to the customization limitations on QuickBooks, we've had to get creative in third-party implementations to better represent our brand and to track financials.
    Incentivized
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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

    Paychex Screenshots

    Screenshot of Paychex Payroll DashboardScreenshot of Employee Background ChecksScreenshot of Paychex HR DashboardScreenshot of Paychex Flex Perks

    QuickBooks Online Screenshots

    Screenshot of the accounting and bank transactions interfaceScreenshot of an overview of the accounting inventoryScreenshot of book marksScreenshot of the business tax overviewScreenshot of the customer hubScreenshot of the dashboard