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
TriNet
Score 7.9 out of 10
N/A
TriNet provides small and medium size businesses (SMBs) with full-service HR and payroll solutions tailored by industry. TriNet also offers specialized services through client access to HR representatives for advice and notifications on impactful regulatory changes.N/A
Pricing
GustoTriNet
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
GustoTriNet
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
GustoTriNet
Considered Both Products
Gusto
Chose Gusto
My employer had already selected Gusto. I would say it's about the same, but the UX is better. TriNet has a better benefit page that clearly breaks down what is included in your insurance. I got a much better monthly payment for similar health insurance with Gusto than I did …
Chose Gusto
Payroll is on par, however, the benefits management is not even close. BambooHR and TriNet both offered better benefit plans and over the course of years, never caused my teams to be uninsured for any period of time. BambooHR and TriNet support teams have always communicated …
Chose Gusto
TriNet is definitely a more robust platform that offers better benefit options, however Gusto is more cost effective and simple to use. Also, TriNet customer service isn't the best. I haven't had to use Gusto's customer service for anything, so I'm not sure how it compares but …
Chose Gusto
Gusto is the easiest to use out of all the payroll programs that I have tried out at various companies. Manually entering time is less complicated and requires less time on gusto than on the others.
Chose Gusto
Gusto has been my favorite option both as an end-user (ie. employee) and admin (ie. employer). It's easy to use, has all the features we need, integrates with Guideline (our preferred 401k provider), and priced well for great value.
Chose Gusto
Gusto was affordable and worked the best for what our organization needed. We only have four employees, so we didn't want something expensive or hard to use. Gusto is easy and works for us!
TriNet
Chose TriNet
TriNet has quite a bit more functionality, albeit at a greater cost. For those companies moving from small to medium in size, TriNet is likely the better solution. For those that are very small, Gusto may be the better solution. Both should be evaluated side by side for each …
Chose TriNet
I use Gusto for a non-profit client. It's fine as a payroll service, but is not as comprehensive as a PEO in the HR management arena.
Chose TriNet
Gusto is geared more specifically to small businesses, which would service the majority of my clients. I find their platform and customer service are also quite good. Since they are more geared to a small business, under 5 employees, the cost difference is helpful for those …
Chose TriNet
When Astrolabe was founded we used Gusto. They have a slick portal and they are significantly cheaper than TriNet (order of magnitude or more). Unfortunately, Gusto does not provide small companies (less than 5 employees) with benefits or any concrete HR services other than …
Chose TriNet
I looked into Gusto, Concierge, but then I started seeing terrible reviews from my colleagues who utilize their service so I did not pursue a relationship with them.
Chose TriNet
Out of all of the platforms, I still think that Gusto is the most user friendly for employers and employees. However, they did not provide the support that I get with TriNet. In just a year, I feel that TriNet is listening to it clients and have already made changes to improve …
Chose TriNet
Trinet has more features than Gusto and QuickBooks Online as far as HR reporting, census, off-cycle payroll, tax reports etc. But the biggest thing it doesn't have that all of these other do is a live chat feature that is completely necessary for immediate payroll issues that …
Chose TriNet
TriNet is a less modern interface and less friendly UI than Gusto and Deel
Chose TriNet
TriNet has way more features and functionalities than Gusto. Specifically, the HR function is a big life from mine and the VP of Operations shoulders, and it's nice to have an HR function where we can direct the team to.
Chose TriNet
Both Insperity and TriNet have failed us in the same and different ways. Justworks was initially more expensive for benefits than TriNet. However, TriNet's benefits renewed with an average 10% increase, so we did not see savings for very long. If we could just be free of a …
Chose TriNet
Neither are as robust or as easy to use as Trinet. Customer service is not nearly as good as TriNet.
Chose TriNet
We thought the PEO route was the way to go, but for our smaller company it was a mistake I believe.
Chose TriNet
Very bottom of the list - I did not select TriNet, as I joined the company after it had already been implemented and in use for some time. If I had been involved, Rippling and/or Zenefits would have been my top choices due to their wide breadth of HR/Payroll/People support …
Chose TriNet
TriNet has fulfilled our requirements and making a switch would require us to change our benefit offerings quite a bit. From that standpoint, it paid to stay with TriNet. They also have been extremely responsive and we enjoy the level of support we receive. The only issue we …
Chose TriNet
TriNet by far is superior in terms of service and platform. Their focus on state and federal compliance is unparalleled compared to the other products I have used in the past.
Chose TriNet
TriNet had a more comprehensive approach and their online platform was very intuitive!
Chose TriNet
I think TriNet is the most streamlined and the most cost-effective. It also offers the best support for both employees and for the employer.
Chose TriNet
We have used Zenefits and Gusto in the past. They were ok but didn't have the complete suite of features that we were looking for. The only advantage Gusto has over TriNet is that contractor payments and 1099 generation is built in and handled by their service on regular …
Features
GustoTriNet
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
9.1
611 Ratings
10% above category average
TriNet
8.0
792 Ratings
2% below category average
Pay calculation9.5587 Ratings8.3768 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors8.58 Ratings8.05 Ratings
Benefit plan administration8.7417 Ratings8.5777 Ratings
Direct deposit files9.7592 Ratings8.4724 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management9.1462 Ratings8.2640 Ratings
Reimbursement management9.0196 Ratings7.5397 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment00 Ratings7.2283 Ratings
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
TriNet
7.3
735 Ratings
11% below category average
Employee demographic data00 Ratings7.5527 Ratings
Employment history00 Ratings7.3558 Ratings
Job profiles and administration00 Ratings7.5527 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.00 Ratings7.0620 Ratings
Organizational charting00 Ratings6.9441 Ratings
Organization and location management00 Ratings7.0469 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)00 Ratings7.7586 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
TriNet
7.0
522 Ratings
16% below category average
Approval workflow00 Ratings7.8439 Ratings
Balance details00 Ratings6.6499 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment00 Ratings6.6409 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
TriNet
7.5
774 Ratings
10% below category average
View and generate pay and benefit information00 Ratings8.7753 Ratings
Update personal information00 Ratings8.5768 Ratings
View company policy documentation00 Ratings7.3658 Ratings
Employee recognition00 Ratings5.6239 Ratings
View job history00 Ratings7.5580 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
TriNet
1.0
1 Ratings
156% below category average
Tracking of all physical assets00 Ratings1.01 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
TriNet
6.5
651 Ratings
15% below category average
Report builder00 Ratings6.2563 Ratings
Pre-built reports00 Ratings6.9619 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data00 Ratings6.4320 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
TriNet
7.1
636 Ratings
12% below category average
New hire portal00 Ratings7.1635 Ratings
Manager tracking tools00 Ratings7.1401 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
TriNet
6.1
124 Ratings
28% below category average
Corporate goal setting00 Ratings5.9108 Ratings
Individual goal setting00 Ratings6.1120 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility00 Ratings6.0106 Ratings
Performance tracking00 Ratings6.3120 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
TriNet
6.7
208 Ratings
18% below category average
Performance plans00 Ratings6.7184 Ratings
Performance improvement plans00 Ratings6.3171 Ratings
Review status tracking00 Ratings6.4168 Ratings
Review reminders00 Ratings7.1179 Ratings
Multiple review frequency00 Ratings6.814 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
TriNet
7.0
99 Ratings
12% below category average
Candidate ranking00 Ratings8.21 Ratings
Candidate search00 Ratings6.893 Ratings
Candidate development00 Ratings5.988 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
TriNet
7.1
141 Ratings
11% below category average
Job Requisition Management00 Ratings6.7110 Ratings
Company Website Posting00 Ratings5.51 Ratings
Publish to Social Media00 Ratings7.492 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting00 Ratings6.8112 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention00 Ratings9.11 Ratings
Applicant Tracking00 Ratings6.8119 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts00 Ratings7.2129 Ratings
Best Alternatives
GustoTriNet
Small Businesses
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.2 out of 10
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.2 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
GustoTriNet
Likelihood to Recommend
9.1
(633 ratings)
7.7
(808 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(14 ratings)
5.7
(59 ratings)
Usability
9.4
(457 ratings)
7.7
(705 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
8.5
(23 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
7.7
(22 ratings)
Support Rating
4.0
(27 ratings)
6.8
(786 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.4
(6 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
8.1
(10 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.1
(3 ratings)
9.6
(31 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
5.2
(16 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
-
(0 ratings)
5.5
(6 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
5.2
(12 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
7.7
(22 ratings)
Professional Services
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(7 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
7.1
(20 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
6.8
(20 ratings)
User Testimonials
GustoTriNet
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.
Read full review
TriNet
I truly believe TriNet is the best PEO out there. Our specialist, [...], was top notch and always made me feel special. I appreciate all the features available, not just for my employees but for me, as an HR specialist. The benefits I am now able to offer is why we joined but all the features and ease of use is what will keep us clients moving forward. My only issue was feeling a bit rushed through training. I was told I would get written procedures but they were pretty antiquated.
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
TriNet
  • Customer support is great when working with Amy Hoffman. She's always very quick to respond and helpful. I'd say she's the thing that makes me want to stay with TriNet the most.
  • The webinars are very helpful. I utilize those frequently and our CFO has signed up for some as well.
  • The expense management system has been very helpful. There are a couple issues with it, but it's leaps better than what the company was doing before this system through TriNet.
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
TriNet
  • The online interface for the annual benefits strategy is difficult to navigate and not intuitive.
  • Sometimes the payroll processing division provides explanations that are not very clear or accessible to non-HR professionals.
  • The cost of the service is at the higher end of the market offerings.
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
TriNet
e are currently seeing a massive shift in HR tech, with rapid strides being made in the integration of AI and Machine Learning models. These advancements allow for:Predictive analytics for workforce planning.Automated, intelligent chatbots for instant employee support.Smart data synthesis that provides actionable insights rather than just raw numbers.TriNet appears to be lagging in these areas, missing opportunities to leverage AI to reduce administrative overhead and improve data accuracy
Read full review
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.
Read full review
TriNet
The platform is highly intuitive and user-friendly, making it easy to navigate for both admins and employees when handling everyday tasks like payroll processing, benefits enrollment, and HR reporting. The flexibility in HR and payroll features does not require a need for extensive training. The mobile app stands out as amazing, with a great interface that enables quick access to employee related items
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Gusto
No answers on this topic
TriNet
We had an issue with application errors - took TriNet 5 months to fix it, mean while we had someone manually tracking and keeping up with many requests and questions about the application error which affected time off. When we were all registering for Benefits during open enrollment there were lots of bugs that caused issues with registering for benefits or being able to see what benefits were available
Read full review
Performance
Gusto
No answers on this topic
TriNet
For the most part pages load quickly. Working for a software company we understand performance is everything, even a few seconds delay can feel like a lifetime, that being said, we ran into a few times where pages didn't load, information didn't load correctly, and an influx in users (like open enrollment) cause things to slow down
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
TriNet
The support overall is very good. There seems to be a good number of customer support staff and they are knowledgeable and pleasant to deal with and it almost all cases are able to resolve the question or issue very quickly. My only complaint would be having to wait in some cases as I'm based in the UK and the correct department may not be open 24 hours.
Read full review
In-Person Training
Gusto
No answers on this topic
TriNet
it's been awhile, but I recall them being helpful. I got through a lot of it and when I needed help, they can walk me through it over the phone. It's also pretty user friendly in general at a platform. I don't really know what else to type, but they came and helped me in person and also when there was something new, they came and talked to me. They have not done that since with the new model that I hate
Read full review
Online Training
Gusto
No answers on this topic
TriNet
Since this was already implemented. I have another employee briefly train me. Then Trinet rep gave me some training as needed for things that came up. For one payroll preview report I figured it could be done, but I had asked the rep to be sure. One important training was when there was an employee leaving the company.
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
TriNet
not applicable as I implementation was done 5 years ago and have no recollection of the details of the process. Above it says to skip question if not involved in the process but it will not allow me to skip it as it states explanation requitred thus making this process extremely frustrating.
Read full review
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
Read full review
TriNet
I liked Rippling's software better than TriNet. However, the pricing on employee benefits was through the roof, and they don't offer many selections/options. If it was a software only decision, I would go with Rippling (the 2.0 version of Zenefits which TriNet offers). However, the software isn't a major need, compared to smooth payroll and benefits that I get from TriNet (and great service). I'm happy at TriNet long term as long as the health insurance rates aren't exhorbinant.
Read full review
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Gusto
No answers on this topic
TriNet
Very reasonable vs other competitors - worked out a good deal.
Read full review
Scalability
Gusto
No answers on this topic
TriNet
We are a small company, do we use it across departments and sites? Yes, we are all remote working, so there are as many sites as there are people. We also have our entire staff using TriNet, so every department from Accounting, Admin, HR, Development, QA, and Management are all using this. Can't say for sure how great the scalability is as we are only about 30 employees
Read full review
Professional Services
Gusto
No answers on this topic
TriNet
Incredible professional resources are available.
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.
Read full review
TriNet
  • Stay within HR Compliance - when the new laws about Salary change came into effect I received an email on impacted employees and how to address.
  • More involvement in employee benefits. With greater benefit selection more employees were able to find plans that suited their needs.
  • The TimeClock took a little time to get used to. It is still a little frustrating at times for hourly employees to be able to track how many hours they actually have for the week/pay-period. The off the clock meals count towards "hours" and employees have to subtract that out to be able to see what they need for the rest of the week.
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