Gusto vs. Payroll by Wave

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.

Incentivized

Great for small business payroll needs. Reports and taxes are taken care of, everything is automated and once you're set up it's literally just a matter of minutes to run payroll each time. You also get email reminders which is helpful. There are premium features available for companies with larger/more robust needs, and I would definitely recommend looking into this software if you are searching for a user friendly payroll solution

Incentivized

• Quarterly tax access for CPA
• Gusto makes it easy for our CPA to access quarterly tax data directly, which saves us time and ensures tax reporting stays accurate for our LLC.
• IRS support via human reps
• Whenever we get confusing IRS mail, I forward it to Gusto. A real human rep either walks me through next steps or handles it directly—huge peace of mind.
• Payroll automation
• Once payroll is set up, it runs smoothly and automatically with little effort on my part. It’s reliable, affordable, and a great “set it and forget it” solution for a small business.

Incentivized

• Payroll by Wave processes quickly and deposits to employee accounts automatically
• Simple process to review time sheets, bonuses, commissions, etc...
• Provides detailed reports

Incentivized

• I honestly don't have any complaints about Gusto as it stands.
• Maybe add 2-factor authentication for security purposes. I haven't seen that being part of the login process yet.
• I think Gusto pushes its easy Gusto card payroll method a bit too much. I'd like to see direct deposit as the main method it suggests and the Gusto card as a secondary one.

Incentivized

• Payroll is a paid feature at $10 + $4/employee per month. I suppose this is a normal expense, but other payroll systems I've used, such as ones built into online banking, have cost me a fraction of this.

Incentivized

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.

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!

Incentivized

Very simple & straightforward system to learn and when time is always of the essence the efficiency is much appreciated

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

Quick response times, personalized service. They offer in-depth videos and guides for helping to get set up. Any time I have a question about taxes or reporting, they answer quickly and give comprehensive answers. Members of the team with whom I've interacted have been courteous, friendly, and helpful. Overall, great support.

Incentivized

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

Incentivized

I think Gusto has much better marketing than the rest of their competition, and it has the assets to get in front of more people, like on live TV during a sports game, so I just knew about it before the others. When comparing, I think feature-wise and usability were big for Gusto.

Incentivized

We moved away from Wave as most of our contractors are time-based, and Wave flat out refuses to provide time tracking features. We tried integrations, but the pricing/complexity goes up and reliability goes down when integrating systems which were not intended to communicate. We since moved to Avaza and sacrificed Payroll for more robust time tracking, project management, and a very open feature development process

Incentivized

• It saves me time and energy - I'm not worried about being compliant or having everything I need for tax season. It's all there!
• I don't wonder when my team is working- they can easily log in and out of the system.
• I don't have to handle updating information when an employee or contractor has changes - they have their own portal.

Incentivized

• Peace of mind that all the payroll tax-related stuff is taken care of accurately and on time.
• Easy to use interface saves time and helps ensure I am paid on time.

Incentivized