Gusto pricing
Published pricing Verified . See the pricing page ↗
Run your own numbers
Enter your business details to see what Gusto would cost you per year.
Plans
| Simple | Plus | Premium | Contractor Only | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base fee | $49/month source | $80/month source | $180/month source | $35/month source |
| Per employee | $6 per employee/month source | $12 per employee/month source | $22 per employee/month source | None source |
| Per contractor | Billed like an employee source | Billed like an employee source | Billed like an employee source | $6 per contractor/month source |
| Per payroll run | None source | None source | None source | None source |
| Additional states | None source | Included source | Included source | None source |
| W-2 forms | Not published source | Not published source | Not published source | Included source |
| 1099 forms | Not published source | Not published source | Not published source | $0 per form source |
| Monthly minimum | None source | None source | None source | None source |
| One-time setup | None source | None source | $0 one-time source | None source |
What's included on each plan
| Simple | Plus | Premium | Contractor Only | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employees in more than one state | Not available | Included | Included | Not verified |
| 1099 contractor payments | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Files federal and state payroll taxes for you | Included | Included | Included | Not available |
| Time tracking | Add-on, $6 per employee/month | Included | Included | Not verified |
| Health benefits administration | Included | Included | Included | Not available |
| Workers comp administration | Add-on, from $14/month | Add-on, from $14/month | Add-on, from $14/month | Not available |
| HR tools (documents, onboarding) | Included | Included | Included | Not available |
| Next-day direct deposit | Add-on, $3 per employee/month | Included | Included | Not available |
| City or local payroll tax filing | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not available |
| Tipped employees | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not available |
| Accountant access | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified |
Worked examples
1 employee, 1 state
$660/year on Simple. Simple is the entry plan and covers everything you need.
5 employees, 1 state
$948/year on Simple. Simple is the entry plan and covers everything you need.
10 employees, 2 states
$2,400/year on Plus. Plus because you pay employees in 2 states. Simple has no multi-state payroll.
25 employees, 1 state
$2,388/year on Simple. Simple is the entry plan and covers everything you need.
Compare Gusto
Frequently asked questions
Does Gusto publish its pricing?
Yes. Gusto Simple: $49/month + $6 per employee/month. Every figure on this page links to the page it was read from and shows the date we last checked it.
What does Gusto cost for a business with 5 employees?
About $948 a year on the Simple plan for 5 employees in one state paid biweekly, based on prices verified on September 13, 2026. Enter your own headcount in the calculator for a figure that matches your business.
Which Gusto plan do I need?
It depends on what your business requires. Multi-state payroll, contractor payments, time tracking and similar needs are only on some tiers. The calculator picks the cheapest plan that meets your requirements and tells you which requirement ruled the others out.
Sourced from a full page copy (pricing plus the complete plan-comparison feature table), not just a pricing summary, so this entry has fewer unknowns than most of the launch set. "Tax filings and payments" and "Domestic contractor payments" are both marked "Applicable" for Simple, Plus and Premium in the comparison table, confirmed here as automatic-tax-filing and contractor-payments included on all three. "Health insurance administration" is explicitly "Applicable" on all three as well. Year-end W-2/1099 filing is not specifically named for Simple/Plus/Premium (only the general tax-filing line applies). This is marked unknown rather than assumed from the broader statement, the same treatment QuickBooks Payroll got for the identical situation. Local tax filing, tipped wages, and accountant access were not addressed anywhere in the pasted content.