Gusto pricing: what it costs per year (2026)

Plans

	Simple	Plus	Premium
Base fee	$49/month source	$80/month source	$180/month source
Per employee	$6 per employee/month source	$12 per employee/month source	$22 per employee/month source
Per contractor	Billed like an employee source	Billed like an employee source	Billed like an employee source
Per payroll run	None source	None source	None source
Additional states	None source	Included source	Included source
W-2 forms	Not published source	Not published source	Not published source
1099 forms	Not published source	Not published source	Not published source
Monthly minimum	None source	None source	None source
One-time setup	None source	None source	$0 one-time source

What's included on each plan

	Simple	Plus	Premium
Employees in more than one state	Not available	Included	Included
1099 contractor payments	Included	Included	Included
Files federal and state payroll taxes for you	Included	Included	Included
Time tracking	Add-on, $6 per employee/month	Included	Included
Health benefits administration	Included	Included	Included
Workers comp administration	Add-on, from $14/month	Add-on, from $14/month	Add-on, from $14/month
HR tools (documents, onboarding)	Included	Included	Included
Next-day direct deposit	Add-on, $3 per employee/month	Included	Included
City or local payroll tax filing	Not stated on Gusto's pricing page	Not stated on Gusto's pricing page	Not stated on Gusto's pricing page
Tipped employees	Not stated on Gusto's pricing page	Not stated on Gusto's pricing page	Not stated on Gusto's pricing page
Accountant access	Not stated on Gusto's pricing page	Not stated on Gusto's pricing page	Not stated on Gusto's pricing page

Before you choose Gusto

Every plan files your payroll taxes, pays US contractors and can administer your health insurance.
Gusto stopped selling its contractor-only plan on October 1, 2026. If you only pay contractors, you now need a full plan.
Gusto’s site doesn’t spell out, plan by plan, whether it files local taxes, supports tipped employees or gives your accountant access. Ask if any of those matter to you.

Worked examples

1 employee, 1 state

$660/year on Simple. Simple is the entry plan and covers everything you need.

Medium confidence: Gusto doesn’t say what it charges for W-2 forms, so this total doesn’t include it. Your actual cost may be higher.

5 employees, 1 state

$948/year on Simple. Simple is the entry plan and covers everything you need.

Medium confidence: Gusto doesn’t say what it charges for W-2 forms, so this total doesn’t include it. Your actual cost may be higher.

10 employees, 2 states

$2,400/year on Plus. Plus — the cheapest published Gusto plan with multi-state payroll.

Medium confidence: Gusto doesn’t say what it charges for W-2 forms, so this total doesn’t include it. Your actual cost may be higher.

25 employees, 1 state

$2,388/year on Simple. Simple is the entry plan and covers everything you need.

Medium confidence: Gusto doesn’t say what it charges for W-2 forms, so this total doesn’t include it. Your actual cost may be higher.

Compare Gusto

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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 October 22, 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.