Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Gusto
Score 7.6 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.
$46
per month
Namely
Score 7.3 out of 10
N/A
Namely offers a cloud-based HR platform for integrated core and specialized HR services, including time and employee performance management and onboarding processes.
$9
per month
Pricing
GustoNamely
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
Namely Now
$9
per month per user
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
GustoNamely
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeRequired
Additional DetailsGusto offers three pricing plans for payroll, benefits, and HR, so you can choose the plan that meets your business needs.Namely Now offers small-businesses an HCM including payroll and HR at a budget conscious price. For growing companies we have Namely Plus which includes payroll and HR, talent, time, and other tools to engage and enrich their employees. For companies looking to free up more time internally for strategy, Namely offers Namely Plus People, including managed Payroll and Benefits. And for the business who wants to expand while minimizing risk and liability, our white-glove comprehensive PEO solution is Namely Complete.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
GustoNamely
Considered Both Products
Gusto

No answer on this topic

Namely
Chose Namely
We've used a variety of HRIS and payroll software in the past: ADP, Zenefits, Gusto, Namely, and now, Justworks.

Of all of them but, Justworks and Gusto are far and away the winners. Namely is just not competitive with them from a UX perspective, attractiveness of benefits …
Chose Namely
Namely was able to check all of the boxes in the most affordable way
Chose Namely
I selected Namely because it offered the most functions and integration that I was looking for at the time (two years ago). It was not the most affordable option, but worth the extra features.
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
GustoNamely
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
8.4
153 Ratings
4% above category average
Namely
7.2
127 Ratings
11% below category average
Pay calculation8.4145 Ratings8.8111 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors8.58 Ratings6.953 Ratings
Benefit plan administration7.599 Ratings6.8109 Ratings
Direct deposit files8.4148 Ratings8.3113 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management8.4124 Ratings5.5100 Ratings
Reimbursement management9.511 Ratings7.157 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment00 Ratings7.257 Ratings
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
Namely
6.3
143 Ratings
22% below category average
Employee demographic data00 Ratings6.6132 Ratings
Employment history00 Ratings7.1138 Ratings
Job profiles and administration00 Ratings7.030 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.00 Ratings7.0132 Ratings
Organizational charting00 Ratings4.8134 Ratings
Organization and location management00 Ratings5.8129 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)00 Ratings6.282 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
Namely
7.7
124 Ratings
5% below category average
Approval workflow00 Ratings7.3121 Ratings
Balance details00 Ratings7.5116 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment00 Ratings8.295 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
Namely
7.5
141 Ratings
8% below category average
View and generate pay and benefit information00 Ratings7.9129 Ratings
Update personal information00 Ratings8.2140 Ratings
View company policy documentation00 Ratings7.0127 Ratings
Employee recognition00 Ratings7.3116 Ratings
View job history00 Ratings7.3134 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
Namely
5.7
53 Ratings
30% below category average
Tracking of all physical assets00 Ratings5.753 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
Namely
6.8
121 Ratings
11% below category average
Report builder00 Ratings7.3117 Ratings
Pre-built reports00 Ratings7.6112 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data00 Ratings5.774 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
Namely
6.5
116 Ratings
21% below category average
New hire portal00 Ratings7.4110 Ratings
Manager tracking tools00 Ratings5.685 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
Namely
5.1
96 Ratings
46% below category average
Corporate goal setting00 Ratings6.086 Ratings
Individual goal setting00 Ratings4.894 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility00 Ratings4.372 Ratings
Performance tracking00 Ratings5.289 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
Namely
5.4
107 Ratings
38% below category average
Performance plans00 Ratings5.296 Ratings
Performance improvement plans00 Ratings3.868 Ratings
Review status tracking00 Ratings6.595 Ratings
Review reminders00 Ratings6.298 Ratings
Multiple review frequency00 Ratings5.485 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
Namely
5.6
21 Ratings
34% below category average
Candidate search00 Ratings5.621 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
Gusto
-
Ratings
Namely
7.7
6 Ratings
1% below category average
Job Requisition Management00 Ratings7.75 Ratings
Company Website Posting00 Ratings7.35 Ratings
Publish to Social Media00 Ratings7.35 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting00 Ratings8.05 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention00 Ratings7.55 Ratings
Applicant Tracking00 Ratings7.85 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts00 Ratings8.16 Ratings
Best Alternatives
GustoNamely
Small Businesses
Patriot Software
Patriot Software
Score 9.0 out of 10
Patriot Software
Patriot Software
Score 9.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.5 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.5 out of 10
Enterprises
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.3 out of 10
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.3 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
GustoNamely
Likelihood to Recommend
6.9
(166 ratings)
7.4
(145 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.9
(7 ratings)
8.9
(9 ratings)
Usability
8.1
(3 ratings)
7.1
(71 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
2.1
(23 ratings)
8.0
(27 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.2
(1 ratings)
5.0
(85 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
GustoNamely
Likelihood to Recommend
Gusto
I would love to use Gusto for companies of all staff sizes but I understand that larger businesses will opt for a PEO and willingly give up flexibility and features to do that. However, I love that Gusto can be customized on so many levels – offer letter, adding documents for new hires, document verification, deploying documents to existing staff, tracking who has signed, helping staff select health benefits (love that this is an entirely paperless process!), screen share support (love this!), a host of integrations with other apps are easy to link up. The interface is delightful (love the piglet!), HR support for Master Admins is very professional. There are templates, forms, rules and updates provided for all States. And the reports are so easy to read, customize and understand. Amazing!
Read full review
Namely
Namely is aesthetically very pleasing and navigates like other social media platforms which can be appealing to potentially a remote workforce who interacts more online than in person. Unfortunately, it did not serve our population well as we are primarily manufacturing where people are not as interested in utilizing the HRIS for interactions when they would rather connect in person.
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Pros
Gusto
  • The self-service aspect of the software is very nice. We rarely need to get customer service involved.
  • For the first 2 years of our subscription to Gusto, customer service has been good when we needed it.
  • We have also had good experience with third parties recommended by Gusto including a 401(k) administrator, R&D tax credit analyst, and background check software.
Read full review
Namely
  • Namely has helped with our COVID sick leave response. It has made a major difference both with the weekly payroll and the 941 tax filing
  • Keeping track of our multiple PTO plans. Thank goodness for Namely, I have shredded my old PTO spreadsheets.
  • Employees like the convenience of the cell phone app. As a payroll administrator, I like the Geo Tracking tool where I can see where some are when the clock is in or out.
  • The flexibility inside of the payroll system both as you are finalizing an employee profile and when you are processing payroll is a major advantage.
  • The reports I get out of Namely in Excel format work well for me.
Read full review
Cons
Gusto
  • The support isn't very impressive, although it's rare that we even need their help.
  • I would like to see a better scheduling tool for the staff. Currently I have to use Homebase for this feature alone because Gusto's offering is lacking in this area.
Read full review
Namely
  • Limits to custom reporting
  • No direct feed for Ohio Workers Comp (now a manual process on our end)
  • No option to place an employee on Leave of Absence and exclude them from payroll while they are "inactive"
  • No option to suppress certain deductions for certain pay types (i.e. allow 401K for commissions but block remaining deductions - also now a manual process to uncheck the suppress box for 401K for each commission check)
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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.
Read full review
Namely
Administrators and employees love Namely. It is very easy to use and streamlined. Employees stay engaged with news feed updates and enjoy all the self service options. The time cards are very easy to access and clocking in and out for non-exempt employees is a breeze. Namely is part of our family.
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Usability
Gusto
The UI is clean and simple. It's incredibly easy to find what you need to find, and if you can't, a quick search of their help files will direct you where you need to go about 90% of the time. For that last 10%, a support e-mail will result in a quick answer. Almost any time I try to do something new I haven't done before with Gusto, I can do it in a few minutes.
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Namely
It is very simple to use for myself, the HR team, and our employees. I find the payroll process very user-friendly. Reporting is simple to navigate and produce the required information requested. I know our employees enjoy the self-service feature and use it on a regular basis, which saves me time.
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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
Namely
Unfortunately, in more recent years we've had a lot of difficulty with Namely as they've undergone a lot of internal changes. It took 4 returned emails saying the person no longer worked at Namely to find someone to help me (I finally called payroll) and it took a while to get connected with a direct source of help. Namely now has set up their "pod" feature of communication which works well for the most part, but is different. I felt spoiled when we first started with Namely, but now it feels very much like working with most large companies' help centers. There is a system to go through and you do have the option to click "urgent". In general the help is efficient, but it still takes a few days and it's hard to speak with someone directly. It is all done via online communications and is difficult to actually speak to someone on the phone. This works well for most cases, but I do feel frustrated more often than I'd like to with this type of communication. (2019/2020)
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Implementation Rating
Gusto
Super easy to implement and use!
Read full review
Namely
Implementation was a bit complicated and our company had to carry most of the weight. It often felt like our implementation manager was giving us extra work that she did not want to do herself. It also took much longer than expected - I believe almost 2 months. I believe our company carried a bit too much of the weight.
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Alternatives Considered
Gusto
Gusto was the only payroll provider we used for our business. Before Gusto we were running payroll manually, which was cumbersome and didn’t account for our tax liability. Gusto is heads and shoulders above running payroll manually. It takes the load of payroll management off your shoulders and gives employees and easy to use portal to manage their personal payroll information.
Read full review
Namely
Namely has a robust suite of offerings, and fallows for a la carte selection of add-ons (rather than a single bundled option). This has allowed our company to save money by not purchasing options / functionalities that we dont need, but may drive up the cost for other companies who need more a la carte selections. In all, the size of the company, the size & capabilities of the internal HR team, and considerations like managed payroll and benefits should be key drivers in selection.
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Return on Investment
Gusto
  • Saves me time and time is money so I've definitely saved money using Gusto over other payroll providers
  • 401k integration was not a good fit for my size company unfortunately, which I was disappointed about initially, but if you are a larger company it could be an excellent asset to your benefits structure for your team
  • Has increased employee retention because of its ease of use
Read full review
Namely
  • When we were over 100, it provided a huge benefit to us due to the accuracy of payroll, benefits integration and management, and org chart and performance tracking. Having all of that in one place was a huge improvement from the former disjointed user experience.
  • When we dropped below 100 due to covid, our insurance rates went up 93% to offer comparable plans, and we had to move over to a PEO for benefits which meant we also had to move payroll. It was hugely disruptive, and now our employees have a bad experience when trying to manage their HR lives in multiple places. It is confusing and, again, disjointed.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Gusto Screenshots

Screenshot of Flexible, automated payrollScreenshot of Time-off trackingScreenshot of The source of truth for HR data

Namely Screenshots

Screenshot of Namely News Feed: The home base to make announcements, express appreciation, and to celebrate important milestones.Screenshot of HR Analytics: data to drive confidence in an active people strategy and to encourage pride in provable resultsScreenshot of Talent & Performance Management: connects, engages, and develops the workforce in a platform designed so that employees actually want to use itScreenshot of Benefits Administration: modern, integrated benefits technology makes it easy for employees to enroll and easier to manageScreenshot of Payroll Administration: integrated with HR data and coupled with full payroll tax servicesScreenshot of Namely Mobile App: request time off and access paystubs and benefits information from anywhere