Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Gusto
Score 8.7 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
Square Payroll
Score 6.1 out of 10
N/A
Square Payroll is a payroll solution for hourly employees, from Square headquartered in San Francisco, California.
$29
per month
Pricing
GustoSquare Payroll
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
Free
$0
per month
Plus
$29
per month
Premium
Custom
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
GustoSquare Payroll
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
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
GustoSquare Payroll
Considered Both Products
Gusto
Chose Gusto
I have only used Gusto from the employee side, but have used Square Payroll from both the employer and employee side and I still think Gusto is much more user friendly, better UX, easier to find information, etc
Chose Gusto
Almost the same price BUT Gusto actually could run the payroll I needed (in multiple states for one employee) and that was ultimately why I switched. Square also didn't make me feel confident about their customer service and I often needed to call a few times about the same …
Chose Gusto
Gusto is better than Square, but more expensive. Worse than Rippling, which is a very advanced offering with a ton of features and customization, but it is more expensive More features than Quickbooks payroll as well and slightly cheaper
Chose Gusto
I could not understand the logic of these platforms and found myself constantly using the help articles, which were also not that helpful. They were very confusing, and I was often not sure if the things I had been trying to do were actually completed.
Chose Gusto
Gusto seems to be more flexible from the start. It makes adjustments to payroll easy.
Chose Gusto
I have used many other alternatives available of Gusto for my business and it is safe to say that this tool has been the best among all. It was so much easier to implement Gusto than all other competitors. Some of the software had awful customer service. Some of them had bad …
Square Payroll
Chose Square Payroll
ADP is much too expensive. Gusto was great for us but we found Square Payroll to be more cost effective, though the difference is not very much.
Features
GustoSquare Payroll
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
8.9
541 Ratings
8% above category average
Square Payroll
7.8
6 Ratings
5% below category average
Pay calculation9.2518 Ratings8.96 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors8.58 Ratings8.65 Ratings
Benefit plan administration8.6377 Ratings9.15 Ratings
Direct deposit files9.1524 Ratings7.06 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management8.8401 Ratings8.94 Ratings
Reimbursement management9.4145 Ratings7.85 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment00 Ratings4.44 Ratings
Best Alternatives
GustoSquare Payroll
Small Businesses
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.4 out of 10
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.4 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.7 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.7 out of 10
Enterprises
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.1 out of 10
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
GustoSquare Payroll
Likelihood to Recommend
8.7
(562 ratings)
4.7
(8 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(12 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.4
(386 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
1.2
(26 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
GustoSquare Payroll
Likelihood to Recommend
Gusto
Gusto makes it EASY to run the otherwise time-consuming and tedious HR and payroll functions that need to happen in my small business. It surpasses every other platform in terms of ease of use and value. I use a variety of different tech tools and platforms, and I recommend Gusto to every entrepreneur friend of mine because it's that good. I would highly recommend it for small businesses that need these kinds of tasks taken off their plate. It probably doesn't make sense if your organization has a dedicated HR employee.
Read full review
Block, Inc (Square)
Square is an amazing platform to have total control over the payroll of all the employees of a company or a specific sector. This platform has a very good functionality to collect exact information on how long each employee works, that is one of its most outstanding characteristics, because it monitors work schedules and overtime and generates detailed reports on the work time of each employee. Square does not allow to schedule payments, that is one of the main problems, however, I consider that it is a very good option for small and medium-sized companies that are looking for a way to have more exact administrative control over the working hours of all their employees. It is a software that works in the cloud, so all the work information that is collected will remain safe without any risk of loss.
Read full review
Pros
Gusto
  • Gusto really kills it on the simplicity. The app and website are very clear and straightforward.
  • Gusto also does a great job at being easy to navigate, visually pleasing, and logically posed.
  • Gusto communicates very clearly and provides just the right amount of communication.
  • Gusto makes the onboarding process very easy. I recently started at a new company and the process of filling out the necessary documents, filling out forms, and getting my benefit information input was soooooo easy!
Read full review
Block, Inc (Square)
  • 1099 contractor payments are easy, and they provide you with the IRS filing as part of the service.
  • Direct deposit/debit from your already connected account to the employee.
  • Reporting and management features are simple yet inclusive.
  • Low cost compared to alternative solutions.
Read full review
Cons
Gusto
  • Adding in previous time manually could be more accessible.
  • Notifications for when employees manually change hours.
  • We should allow 1099 users to use the mobile app instead of restricting them to the website, especially since they can just log into the full website on their mobile device.
Read full review
Block, Inc (Square)
  • It's a bit pricey for larger companies at $5 per person paid per month.
  • Has a bit of a learning curve that seems steeper than necessary
  • reports can be confusing at first
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
Block, Inc (Square)
No answers on this topic
Usability
Gusto
The overall platform and its speed of response are amazing. I would recommend this to any other business owner for ease of use and reliability. Email reminders are great if I’m super busy and have forgotten a few tasks. The price point compared to local payroll service is hands down a huge win.
Read full review
Block, Inc (Square)
It could use a mobile-friendly interface. Other than that it's a simple layout and non-cluttered which allows you to get done what you need to get done. No unnecessary dodads or distractions.
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.
Read full review
Block, Inc (Square)
I think they have quick and helpful customer service reps, however, I give them a 9 because I have had to wait on hold for long periods of time before.
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
Read full review
Block, Inc (Square)
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Gusto
We found Gusto to be a better fit for our size and needs. Gusto is much more user-friendly and transparent with pricing. It’s easier to set up, and we liked that everything, from payroll to benefits to time tracking, is in one place without feeling overly complex. ADP felt geared toward much larger companies, while Gusto gave us flexibility and a more modern, intuitive experience.
Read full review
Block, Inc (Square)
I liked patriot, but I found it to be more confusing than Square and took me too much time to setup. I setup Square Payroll in about an hour. I would also say the Square interface made more sense to me. I also like how Square offers more things like benefits, etc. that can be added on.
Read full review
Return on Investment
Gusto
  • For me, it is hard to quantify payroll software as having an ROI. It does save quite a bit of time per pay period, so perhaps we could assign a theoretical number to an employee taking that time. I'd say, at the least, it saves 30-60 minutes a pay period compared to a more difficult-to-use payroll software.
Read full review
Block, Inc (Square)
  • Square Payroll has dramatically reduced the time it takes to process payroll.
  • We could have a faster payroll with the Square POS integration for commission, but that is not something we've implemented yet.
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