Gusto Review 2026: Pricing, Payroll Features, EOR Coverage, Pros, and Cons

Gusto is a cloud-based HR and payroll platform that is strongest in the United States, where it natively automates local, state, and federal payroll tax filings [04] [08]. The platform is highly tailored for micro to mid-market businesses seeking an all-in-one approach to payroll, benefits administration, and employee onboarding without requiring dedicated HR staff [02] [07] [15].

While Gusto is fundamentally a US-first platform, it has expanded its capabilities to support global hiring [15] [18]. According to the vendor, Gusto Global allows businesses to pay international contractors in over 120 countries and hire full-time employees in 12+ countries through an Employer of Record (EOR) partnership with Remote [03] [18] [29].

Buyers should note that Gusto relies entirely on this partnership for its international EOR legal entities [03]. Scaling enterprises with heavy international headcounts or complex configurability needs may outgrow Gusto and should carefully compare it against native global enterprise solutions [15]. For US-based SMBs, however, the evidence confirms Gusto is a strong, highly automated payroll and HR solution [14] [15].

Gusto is an active US-based software vendor providing core HR, payroll, benefits, and contractor management software [01] [02]. The platform is designed to consolidate basic HR needs for small and medium-sized businesses into a single cloud-based system [02].

Gusto natively handles US domestic payroll, automatically filing taxes across all 50 states [04] [08]. For businesses with international needs, the vendor offers "Gusto Global," a module that facilitates international contractor payments and provides Employer of Record (EOR) services via a partnership with Remote [03] [18].

Best for

• US micro businesses and solopreneurs: Gusto's Simple and Contractor Only plans offer straightforward automated payroll and 1099 payments without requiring dedicated HR staff [07] [19].
• US SMBs needing unified HR: Organizations with 11–200 employees benefit from Gusto's all-in-one approach to payroll, benefits administration, time tracking, and onboarding [02] [15].

Good fit for

• Companies with mixed workforces: Businesses that employ a mix of W-2 employees and domestic or international 1099 contractors [19] [29].

Not ideal for

• Large global enterprises: Gusto does not own its international legal entities and lacks the deep configurability expected by enterprise HR teams [03] [15].

Buyers should verify first

• EOR pricing terms: Third-party sources indicate that while EOR pricing starts at $599 per employee per month, this may vary or increase depending on the contract term [28].
• Third-party pricing discrepancies: Some third-party broker sources list Gusto's Simple plan base fee at $40/month, conflicting with the vendor's official $49/month listing. Buyers should confirm exact pricing directly [33].

• Gusto HR & Payroll: The core cloud software providing local US payroll processing, benefits administration, and HR tools targeting micro, small, and midmarket businesses [02].
• Gusto Global EOR: A module allowing businesses to hire international full-time employees in 12+ countries without setting up a local entity, operated via a partnership with Remote [18].
• Gusto Contractor Only: A dedicated plan for businesses that have not hired W-2 employees, allowing unlimited domestic contractor payments and Form 1099 creation [19] [26].

Gusto's pricing is publicly visible and generally follows a model consisting of a flat monthly base fee plus a per-person monthly fee [20] [21].

US Payroll Plans

• Simple: $49/month base fee + $6/month per person. Includes single-state payroll, unlimited payrolls, tax filings, basic PTO, and domestic contractor payments [20] [21].
• Plus: $80/month base fee + $12/month per person. Adds multi-state payroll, next-day pay, time tracking, and workforce cost reports [22] [23].
• Premium: $180/month base fee + $22/month per person. Adds dedicated service advisors, performance management, custom reports, and payroll migration [24] [25].
• Contractor Only: $35/month base fee + $6/month per contractor. For domestic U.S. contractors. The vendor only bills for contractors in the months they are actually paid [26] [27].

Global Hiring Plans

• Gusto Global EOR: Starts at $599 per employee per month. Includes local compliance, global payroll, taxes, and benefits administration via Remote [28].
• Gusto Global Contractor: $0 monthly per-contractor fee. Instead, Gusto charges transactional service fees (e.g., $5 per payment) and foreign exchange markups per payment [29].

Add-ons

• Priority Support (Simple Plan): $30/month base + $3/month per person [30] [31].
• Priority Support & HR Resources (Plus Plan): $8/month per person [32].

Gusto supports Employer of Record (EOR) hiring in approximately 12 countries [28]. This service is not delivered natively; Gusto partners with Remote, which acts as the legal employer of record to handle local compliance, global payroll, taxes, and benefits [18]. The EOR service also supports converting international contractors to full-time employees [37].

Gusto natively processes US local payroll, automatically handling federal, state, and local tax filings [04] [08]. The platform supports unlimited payroll runs, next-day pay (on Plus and Premium tiers), and multi-state payroll (on Plus and Premium tiers) [20] [22] [24].

The platform supports both domestic (US) and international contractor payments [19] [29]. Gusto can automatically generate Form 1099s for domestic contractors [26]. For international contractors, there is no monthly per-contractor subscription fee, but transactional service fees apply to each payment [29].

Gusto provides an all-in-one platform for basic HR needs [02]. The software includes streamlined onboarding capabilities such as offer letters, e-signatures, and new hire checklists [02]. It also administers health insurance (acting as a broker) and 401(k) plans, allowing organizations to manage medical, dental, and vision coverage directly within the platform [02].

• SOC 2: Gusto maintains SOC 1 and SOC 2 Type II reports, which are updated annually and available to customers via their Trust Center [09].
• HIPAA: The vendor follows HIPAA guidelines to safeguard protected health information (PHI) and maintains business associate agreements (BAAs) with employers and third parties [34].
• Tax Compliance: The platform automatically files local, state, and federal taxes to keep businesses compliant with US tax laws [08].

Gusto provides basic phone and chat support for its customers, with live support generally available 24/5 [36]. Priority support is available as a paid add-on for the Simple and Plus tiers [30] [32]. A dedicated Customer Success Manager and access to certified HR experts are provided exclusively on the Premium plan tier [13].

• Confirm exact pricing for your specific mix of W-2 employees and 1099 contractors [20] [26].
• If hiring internationally, verify that your target countries are included in the 12+ countries supported by the Remote EOR partnership [05] [28].
• Ask about transactional fees and foreign exchange markups for global contractor payments [29].
• Validate whether your team needs the priority support add-on or the dedicated CSM included in the Premium tier [13] [30].
• If you operate in multiple US states, confirm that you are quoting the Plus or Premium tier, as the Simple tier only covers single-state payroll [20] [22].