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    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

    Payroll by Wave

    Score10 out of 10
    N/AWave Accounting headquartered in Toronto now offers Payroll by Wave, a payroll app for small businesses.N/A
    Pricing
    GustoPayroll by Wave
    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
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    GustoPayroll by Wave
    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
    GustoPayroll by Wave
    Considered Both Products
    Gusto
    No answer on this topic
    Wave
    Chose Payroll by Wave
    All the services we researched were quality options however given our size at the time I settled on Payroll by Wave apps based on cost and how easy it was to run Payroll.
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    92%
    Would buy again
    563 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    5 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    93%
    Delivers good value for the price
    464 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    5 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    95%
    Happy with the feature set
    576 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    5 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    91%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    316 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    94%
    Implementation went as expected
    376 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    GustoPayroll by Wave
    Payroll Management
    Comparison of Payroll Management features of Gusto and Payroll by Wave
    Feature
    Gusto
    9.1
    611 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Payroll by Wave
    9.4
    5 Ratings
    13% above category average
    Pay calculation9.5587 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    Support for external payroll vendors8.58 Ratings9.03 Ratings
    Benefit plan administration8.7417 Ratings9.01 Ratings
    Direct deposit files9.7592 Ratings9.05 Ratings
    Salary revision and increment management9.0462 Ratings9.55 Ratings
    Reimbursement management9.0196 Ratings10.02 Ratings
    Off-cycle/On-Demand payment00 Ratings9.03 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    GustoPayroll by Wave
    Small Businesses
    Patriot Payroll
    Score8.6 out of 10
    Patriot Payroll
    Score8.6 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    APS
    Score5.7 out of 10
    APS
    Score5.7 out of 10
    Enterprises
    ADP Streamline Payroll
    Score6.1 out of 10
    ADP Streamline Payroll
    Score6.1 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    GustoPayroll by Wave
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.1
    (633 ratings)
    10.0
    (6 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    10.0
    (14 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    9.4
    (457 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    4.3
    (27 ratings)
    8.9
    (2 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    9.1
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    GustoPayroll by Wave
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Wave
    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
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Wave
    • An intuitive, clear UI helps you know where everything is, what options are at your disposal. Calendars and timelines show that Wave really thought out how to provide you with useful tool.
    • Pay day can be automated and straightforward.
    • Wave onboarding provides guidance at what information to input next until you are all set up.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Wave
    • Implement an employee time clock option through a separate link which automatically applies to the weekly time sheets.
    • Option to further customize payroll statements
    • Add a per employee payroll dashboard with the option to review rolling, quarterly, and weekly snapshot. Info to include gross pay, employer paid tax, employee paid tax, etc...
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Read full review
    Wave
    No answers on this topic
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Wave
    Very simple & straightforward system to learn and when time is always of the essence the efficiency is much appreciated
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Wave
    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
    Read full review
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Wave
    No answers on this topic
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Wave
    First is the cost. Since QuickBooks removed the inhouse solution and moved everything to the cloud, the cost for a small business is prohibited. Wave is reasonable in cost. Support for QB isn't great they are always trying to upsell and commit. Wave support in comparison is 100% better, and most of the answers are in their manual
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Wave
    • 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
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Gusto Screenshots

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