Gusto offers payroll, benefits and compliance capabilities. Gusto is scaled for small to mid-sized businesses, and emphasizes an easy to use interface.
$46
per month
TriNet HR Platform
Score 6.9 out of 10
N/A
Zenefits is a free, cloud-based core-HR platform. It primarily services small to mid-sized businesses and provides time management and benefits administration capabilities.
$10
per month
Pricing
Gusto
TriNet HR Platform
Editions & Modules
Simple: A streamlined set of automatic payroll features and benefits integrations
$40/month + $6/mo per person
$12 per employee/contractor
Plus: Comprehensive payroll, benefits, and HR tools for employers building a great place to work
$80/month + $12/mo per person
Premium: Scalable payroll and benefits, expert HR, and dedicated support for the complex needs of growing teams
Exclusive pricing, contact Gusto
Essentials
$10
per month per employee
Growth
$20
per month per employee
Zen
$33
per month per employee
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Gusto
TriNet HR Platform
Free Trial
Yes
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
No
No
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
Yes
No
Entry-level Setup Fee
No setup fee
No setup fee
Additional Details
Gusto offers three pricing plans for payroll, benefits, and HR.
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.
We left Zenefits for Gusto after Zenefits bungled tax payments to multiple states and had terrible customer service when we were working to get this corrected. So far we have not had similar issues with Gusto. Also, the customer service reps from Gusto are based in the US so I …
Even with Intuit Full Service Payroll the difference that Gusto provides is night and day. I went from constantly filing on time or being fearful that I was not properly taking care of the taxes and paperwork to knowing Gusto has my back. Employees have a portal to login and …
When compared to Zenefits, Gusto is easier to use and set up. Zenefits only had benefit information and I still had to go to Gusto for pay stubs, taxes, etc.
Zenefits isn't the same but they are trying to compete with each other. Zenefits is terrible. We've moved healthcare over to Gusto because Gusto was already doing a good job and Zenefits had very slow and poor service. I'd get off Zenefits entirely but Gusto doesn't support …
I really liked Gusto, and they offer most of the same features. I actually preferred Gusto because their HelpDesk seemed to be better. However, my current company already had Zenefits. It has worked well for us so far.
Overall, we picked Zenefits since they still fit our small business needs but have the capability and technology to seamlessly hire and retain talent. I love the fact that Zenefits is easy for administrators and users to use. Compared to Gusto, their reporting and compliance …
Verified User
Employee
Chose TriNet HR Platform
Zenefits and Gusto used to work really well together and I think they're a sort of similar product, but since they have become less integrated it's been really difficult linking my payroll and having to deal with deductions separately. I wish they would find a better way to …
Zenefits is my favorite payroll provider. I have used them all (ADP, Zenefits, Gusto, Intuit Payroll etc etc) and none compare in terms of features and price.
I personally run two businesses and have had no problems receiving support from Gusto. In my opinion, it has been an absolute delight in comparison to Zenefits.
Verified User
Director
Chose TriNet HR Platform
I have only used Gusto as an employee, not an administrator. I found both Zenefits and Gusto to be user-friendly and easy from the employee perspective. Ultimately, as an administrator, I went with Zenefits because they offer a discount for nonprofit organizations.
Love the UX of Zenefits, and the pricing was very fair.
Verified User
Administrator
Chose TriNet HR Platform
Zenefits had more features with HR management beyond just payroll. Our payroll situation is not complex so this was better for us.
Verified User
C-Level Executive
Chose TriNet HR Platform
Zenefits low-cost all in one solution was an ideal option for our HR, benefits, and payroll needs. Rather than managing different vendors for these services, Zenefits made an easy to use interface, built around simplicity an easy choice. Our payroll and benefits administrators …
I selected Zenefits because it had more, easier to use features than the rest. The sales process was pleasant and not pushy at all! The cost was better/the same as others with a friendly interface and more reporting.
Zenefits works really well for small businesses. Implementation was quick and we were able to integrate easily with other products in our HR tech stack. While the other products also have similar functionality, Zenefits has an ease of use and a fair pricing model that worked …
A large company with 15k employees acquired the small startup I was working for. Overnight we went from using Zenefits to Workday. The difference in the ease of use between Zenefits and workday was very apparent. Our joke was never to use WorkDay on a rooftop because you would …
I like Zenefits 2nd best only behind Paycom. Too many things in Zenefits are interconnected. As an example in Paycom I can assign different admins for different aspects of 1 employee profile (Manager A can approve their timecard, Manager B is responsible for approve …
Verified User
Partner
Chose TriNet HR Platform
pretty good and can serve as the whole hr hub, but pricey
We looked at a lot of different systems (Gusto, PEOs, Paylocity, etc.) we chose Zenefits for their all in one system. We needed one place that employees could go to that had all employee benefits in one place. Going paperless was also a big factor for us when switching vendors.
It's very easy to use, especially for smaller companies. The site is user-friendly and eye-catching. Everything you need is easily accessible. I have never had to use the customer service side of Gusto, but there is not much that you would need help with or have issues with. I also really enjoy the little pig when logging in.
I think as a small business owner, this system gives peace of mind. When I'm onboarding an employee I can automatically integrate the process with Gmail and Quickbooks. I feel like they are always doing work in the background and I don't have to keep checking up on them or verifying the work that's been done
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!
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.
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.
We've already renewed after our first year with Zenefits due to the cost savings, ease of administration, reduction in overhead required to perform HR functions, and the employees happily embracing and liking the software. I've found employees generally hate anything new, but we've had no complaints about Zenefits outside the first few weeks of getting used to it.
It is a great piece of software, something that I have used since its ZenPayroll days. Its weakest feature at this point is its timekeeping and lack of scheduling. If it adds that, it gets a 10/10 and cannot be replaced by any other payroll software. Like I said, I recommend it to all of my clients and associates.
It's extremely user friendly and customer service is super helpful. The app needed help a while back but it has greatly improved. There were issues with files being cut off, and when I was onboarded, it actually cut my offer letter off hiding important information. Since then, it's been fixed so they are continually improving.
We have not experienced any application errors or unplanned outages in the two years I have been using this app. Sometimes there is a lag in the time keeping/ confirming your location, however, it quickly resolves itself within seconds and more often than not is an internet connection error
This app always loads extremely quickly and in a reasonable time frame. Like I said, when we do experience lags from this app, it is more often than not an internet connection error
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.
Not good at all. Basically I typically feel like they can solve the issue at hand. However, they take forever and it never feels like they really care. It can be frustrating that the agent will never speak with you on the phone or just give you their direct contact info so that you can continue to follow up on the same issue. Once they "close" the issue - you have to go back to the main customer service email or line again, even though it may be related to something you've contacted them about in the past
Unfortunately I do not have any insights on the implementation of Zenefits as I was not employed with this company when Zenefits was introduced. Based on how effortless it is to use Zenefits, I wouldn't image there would be many issues with the implementation of Zenefits
I've used both Workday and Paylocity for years and they don't even compare. Between the mobile app and the website, everything feels seamless, well thought out, and easy to navigate. I'm so used to the frustration of navigating these apps, even after years of working with them. I never considered there was an option like Gusto out there. It's made everything so easy for me. If I ever get a say I'll be a diehard Gusto evangelist from here on out.
Zenefits has been a better tool for our purposes than Paychex Flex. While Zenefits is a fairly rigid tool without a lot of options for customization, Paychex has even fewer options for customization and their customer services is even more difficult to deal with
California Meal Break Violations cost a full hour of each employees pay rate. If an employee clocks in 1 minute early it costs us at least 10.50 (minimum wage Ca, 15.00 in Los Angeles) which adds up quickly. We had 37 meal break violations when we first rolled it out. They need to add a feature that disallows them to clock in ahead of 30 minutes, or add a feature that shows them how long they've been on break.