Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Gusto
Score 8.9 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.
$49
per month
Personio
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
Personio is presented as an all-in-one HR software for small and medium-sized companies from the company of the same name based in Munich. The platform supports applicant tracking, workforce management features (e.g. attendance tracking, leave management) with employee self-service, as well as support for HR workflows, and employee performance review.N/A
Pricing
GustoPersonio
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
Enterprise
Custom
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
GustoPersonio
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
GustoPersonio
Features
GustoPersonio
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
9.1
602 Ratings
10% above category average
Personio
7.9
2 Ratings
3% below category average
Pay calculation9.5578 Ratings9.02 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors8.58 Ratings7.02 Ratings
Benefit plan administration8.8412 Ratings8.02 Ratings
Direct deposit files9.6583 Ratings8.02 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management9.1453 Ratings6.02 Ratings
Reimbursement management9.1190 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment00 Ratings8.02 Ratings
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
Personio
9.6
2 Ratings
17% above category average
Employee demographic data00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Employment history00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Job profiles and administration00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.00 Ratings7.02 Ratings
Organizational charting00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Organization and location management00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
Personio
10.0
2 Ratings
20% above category average
Approval workflow00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Balance details00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
Personio
10.0
2 Ratings
20% above category average
View and generate pay and benefit information00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Update personal information00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
View company policy documentation00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Employee recognition00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
View job history00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
Personio
10.0
2 Ratings
22% above category average
Tracking of all physical assets00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
Personio
10.0
2 Ratings
28% above category average
Report builder00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Pre-built reports00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
Personio
9.0
2 Ratings
12% above category average
New hire portal00 Ratings9.02 Ratings
Manager tracking tools00 Ratings9.02 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
Personio
9.0
2 Ratings
11% above category average
Corporate goal setting00 Ratings9.02 Ratings
Individual goal setting00 Ratings9.02 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility00 Ratings9.02 Ratings
Performance tracking00 Ratings9.02 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
Personio
9.0
2 Ratings
13% above category average
Performance plans00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Performance improvement plans00 Ratings7.02 Ratings
Review status tracking00 Ratings9.02 Ratings
Review reminders00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Multiple review frequency00 Ratings9.02 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
Personio
5.5
2 Ratings
35% below category average
Create succession plans/pools00 Ratings7.02 Ratings
Candidate ranking00 Ratings5.02 Ratings
Candidate search00 Ratings5.02 Ratings
Candidate development00 Ratings5.02 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
Personio
8.7
2 Ratings
11% above category average
Job Requisition Management00 Ratings6.02 Ratings
Company Website Posting00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Publish to Social Media00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention00 Ratings7.02 Ratings
Applicant Tracking00 Ratings9.02 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts00 Ratings9.02 Ratings
Best Alternatives
GustoPersonio
Small Businesses
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.3 out of 10
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.3 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.1 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.1 out of 10
PeopleStrong
PeopleStrong
Score 10.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
GustoPersonio
Likelihood to Recommend
9.1
(590 ratings)
9.0
(2 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(12 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.5
(414 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
1.9
(26 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.1
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
GustoPersonio
Likelihood to Recommend
Gusto
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.
Read full review
Personio
If you are an SMB or generally just a startup, Personio is a no-brainer for its intuitiveness and easy-to-get-started approach. Employees truly enjoy the UI and possibility to get an easy overview of its own data, not to mention processes to apply for vacations and absence etc. Absolutely recommended if your main focus for the new HR system is directed towards your employees.
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.
Read full review
Personio
  • Allows automatic posting of job offers on different sites and portals to find the perfect candidates for available vacancies.
  • It has employee tracking tools, such as attendance and absence tracking, as well as time monitoring of working hours and overtime.
  • Payroll management is very complete and is done quickly and almost automatically, as it enters hours worked, overtime and absences, with an accurate calculation to avoid errors.
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.
Read full review
Personio
  • From administrative POV, there were indication that some integrations to salarysystems in other countries was lacking
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
Personio
No answers on this topic
Usability
Gusto
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!
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Personio
Personio is an established HCM provider - for good reasons. In particular, for employees and managers, Personio is easy to use and allows for managers and employees to truly focus on what matters, in a modern and flexible way. There are certain points that could be improved in the overall administration of the system, in particular when it comes to integrations and old techstack - but this is the case really for all historical HCM providers. Personio is a solid tool and certainly recommended.
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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.
Read full review
Personio
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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Personio
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
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 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.
Read full review
Personio
Personio is much like HiBob, strong focus on the relationship between managers and employees. Very intuitive UX and UI - staying at the forefront of HCM. Sympa does better in terms of overall connectivity. Personio is a market leader for good reasons, solid and giving its customers good value for the investment.
Read full review
Return on Investment
Gusto
  • 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.
Read full review
Personio
  • This program is complete, so it allows to have all the human resources management in the same panel, along with all the information of the employees, which streamlines the activities of the department, making us more productive. Employees feel more satisfied with our performance, and we have considerably lowered payroll complaints.
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