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
Sage HRMS
Score 9.8 out of 10
N/A
Sage HRMS is an HR management solution that integrates payroll, benefits, recruiting, employee self-service, and analytics capabilities.N/A
Pricing
GustoSage HRMS
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
GustoSage HRMS
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsGusto offers three pricing plans for payroll, benefits, and HR.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
GustoSage HRMS
Features
GustoSage HRMS
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
9.1
602 Ratings
10% above category average
Sage HRMS
4.8
7 Ratings
52% below category average
Pay calculation9.5578 Ratings6.17 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors8.58 Ratings4.04 Ratings
Benefit plan administration8.8412 Ratings2.16 Ratings
Direct deposit files9.6583 Ratings8.07 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management9.1453 Ratings3.06 Ratings
Reimbursement management9.1190 Ratings3.27 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment00 Ratings6.92 Ratings
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
Sage HRMS
5.5
9 Ratings
38% below category average
Employee demographic data00 Ratings8.08 Ratings
Employment history00 Ratings8.09 Ratings
Job profiles and administration00 Ratings1.39 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.00 Ratings7.99 Ratings
Organizational charting00 Ratings6.04 Ratings
Organization and location management00 Ratings6.06 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)00 Ratings1.27 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
Sage HRMS
1.2
7 Ratings
149% below category average
Approval workflow00 Ratings1.26 Ratings
Balance details00 Ratings1.27 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment00 Ratings1.06 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
Sage HRMS
3.9
8 Ratings
71% below category average
View and generate pay and benefit information00 Ratings4.18 Ratings
Update personal information00 Ratings4.27 Ratings
View company policy documentation00 Ratings1.16 Ratings
Employee recognition00 Ratings6.04 Ratings
View job history00 Ratings4.05 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
Sage HRMS
7.0
2 Ratings
14% below category average
Tracking of all physical assets00 Ratings7.02 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
Sage HRMS
3.7
8 Ratings
68% below category average
Report builder00 Ratings2.07 Ratings
Pre-built reports00 Ratings1.28 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data00 Ratings8.06 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
Sage HRMS
7.0
4 Ratings
13% below category average
New hire portal00 Ratings7.04 Ratings
Manager tracking tools00 Ratings7.03 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
Sage HRMS
7.3
2 Ratings
10% below category average
Corporate goal setting00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Individual goal setting00 Ratings7.02 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Performance tracking00 Ratings6.02 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
Sage HRMS
7.8
5 Ratings
1% below category average
Performance plans00 Ratings9.03 Ratings
Performance improvement plans00 Ratings8.03 Ratings
Review status tracking00 Ratings7.03 Ratings
Review reminders00 Ratings8.04 Ratings
Multiple review frequency00 Ratings7.03 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
Sage HRMS
8.5
1 Ratings
8% above category average
Create succession plans/pools00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Candidate ranking00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Candidate search00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Candidate development00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
Sage HRMS
7.6
3 Ratings
2% below category average
Job Requisition Management00 Ratings5.02 Ratings
Company Website Posting00 Ratings7.23 Ratings
Publish to Social Media00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Applicant Tracking00 Ratings8.02 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Best Alternatives
GustoSage HRMS
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
GustoSage HRMS
Likelihood to Recommend
9.1
(590 ratings)
1.2
(10 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(12 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
9.5
(414 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
1.8
(26 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.1
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
GustoSage HRMS
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.
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Sage
Sage HRMS is a software that fits in all organizations whether small or large and this makes it the most suitable HR solution as it will help you manage your workforce even if it may appear small. The software has analytics and reporting tools that are applicable in performance management where you will use them in assessing the productivity of your employees and plan on how to improve further as a workforce. It further helps in employee on-boarding, payroll management, and talent management
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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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Sage
  • Ability to see history (like job history) easily at a glance.
  • Ability to make changes easily.
  • Organizing info in the employee record.
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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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Sage
  • We changed our chart of accounts. The system does not allow you to change the numbering format, so we had to start over with new databases.
  • The tax return portion of the software does not file local taxes. We would definitely like to see this functionality in the future.
  • The payroll piece does not handle complicated move up and move downs for union pay. This could definitely be improved upon.
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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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Sage
I do not work with this software anymore, and I am not involved with the renewal of it. However, if I were, I would still suggest using it unless something better was introduced
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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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Sage
No answers on this topic
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
Sage
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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Sage
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.
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Sage
Sage HRMS was very cost effective for a non-profit. It does all that we needed as a company and more. It also allows us to handle payroll ourselves instead of outsourcing [it].
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.
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Sage
  • there can be a high ROI when processing payroll in house compared to outsourced. Not to mention the flexibility you gain.
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