10 Best Gusto Alternatives for Payroll, PEO and EOR

Looking for Gusto alternatives because your payroll bill climbs with every hire, or because you just brought someone on outside the United States?

You are not alone, and the right replacement depends entirely on why you are leaving.

We compared ten providers across four categories: simpler US payroll, all-in-one HR and IT, co-employment PEOs, and global employers of record. Published rates run from $17 a month plus $4 per worker up to $599 per employee, and two of the ten quote only on request.

This guide is for US and other global employers choosing their next payroll or hiring platform, and it covers what each tool does, what it charges as of October 2026, and which situation it fits.

Start with the reason you are shopping around, because it points straight at the shortlist.

Why do companies look for Gusto alternatives?

Most teams leave Gusto for one of three reasons: cost that grows with headcount, a need for deeper HR, IT or benefits in one system, or a hire in a country Gusto cannot employ.

Gusto's own plans are Simple at $49 a month plus $6 per person, Plus at $80 plus $12, and Premium at $180 plus $22, so the per-person line is what buyers watch as they scale.

Gusto runs US payroll, tax filing and benefits well, and it pays contractors in many countries. What it cannot do is become the legal employer of a full-time worker abroad, which is where a global employer of record comes in.

With the three reasons in mind, here are the ten alternatives, starting with the closest like-for-like swap.

1. OnPay

OnPay is the closest like-for-like swap for a small US team that liked Gusto but wants one flat, predictable bill. Every feature is included in a single plan, from tax filing to benefits administration, with no tiered upsell. It covers payroll in all fifty states and leans on phone, chat and email support.

Key features of OnPay:

• Full-service payroll: unlimited pay runs with federal, state and local tax filing included.
• Benefits administration: health, dental, vision and retirement set up at no extra plan cost.
• Multi-state coverage: pay workers across every state inside the base plan.

Best for: small US teams that want flat-rate payroll with every feature switched on.

Pricing: $49 per month plus $6 per worker, as of October 2026.

OnPay keeps payroll simple, but if you want HR, IT and payroll in one console, the next option goes much wider.

2. Rippling

Rippling is the choice when the problem is tool sprawl rather than payroll itself. It runs payroll, HR, benefits, device management and app access from one record, so onboarding a hire also ships their laptop and grants their logins. That breadth helps growing teams, though it is more system than a five-person shop needs. We compare the two in our Rippling versus Gusto breakdown.

Key features of Rippling:

• Unified platform: payroll, HR and IT provisioning tied to one employee record.
• Device management: ship, lock and wipe company laptops from the same console.
• App automation: grant and revoke software access as people join and leave.

Best for: scaling companies consolidating HR, IT and payroll into one system.

Pricing: from $8 per user per month plus a base fee; payroll is quoted per company, as of October 2026.

Want to learn more about Rippling alternatives? Here’s a detailed comparison guide on “Top 10 Rippling competitors & alternatives”.

Rippling keeps everything in one US-centred console. The next provider exists for the moment a hire sits in another country entirely.

3. Deel

Deel is built for the geography problem: you have hired someone abroad and payroll software cannot employ them. As a global employer of record, Deel becomes the legal employer through its own and partner entities in more than 130 countries, and it also pays contractors worldwide. For a team spread across many markets at once, that reach is the draw. See how it stacks up in our Deel versus Gusto comparison.

Key features of Deel:

• Global employer of record: compliant employment in 130 plus countries.
• Contractor payments: onboard and pay contractors worldwide with local compliance.
• Immigration and equipment: visa support and device logistics in many markets.

Best for: companies hiring across many countries in one platform.

Pricing: EOR from $599 per employee per month; contractor management from $49 per contractor per month, as of October 2026.

Read more about Deel alternatives in this detailed 2026 comparison guide on “10 best Deel alternatives & competitors“.

Deel spreads thin across the whole map. If almost all of your hiring lands in one country, a specialist there usually serves you better, which brings us to our own entry.

4. QuickBooks Payroll

QuickBooks Payroll earns its place for one specific reader: the business already running its books in QuickBooks. Payroll sits inside the same ledger, so wages, taxes and liabilities post straight to the accounts without a separate sync. If you are not already in the QuickBooks world, the pull is weaker.

Key features of QuickBooks Payroll:

• Accounting integration: payroll posts directly into the QuickBooks ledger.
• Automated tax filing: federal and state calculations, filings and payments.
• Faster pay runs: same-day or next-day deposits on the higher tiers.

Best for: businesses already using QuickBooks for accounting.

Pricing: from $44 per month plus $6.50 per employee when bundled with QuickBooks Online, as of October 2026.

QuickBooks keeps the books and the pay run together inside the US. The next provider is for when your hires, and your compliance, sit in India.

5. Wisemonk

Wisemonk is the India specialist on this list, and the honest fit is narrow: if the team you are building sits in India, a provider focused on one country beats a generalist spread across many. As an employer of record, Wisemonk employs your staff through its own Indian entities, runs the payroll cycle and handles every statutory filing behind it. It is not US small-business payroll and does not pretend to be; it is the answer when your Gusto gap is a hire in India.

Key features of Wisemonk:

• India employer of record: hire and employ staff in India with no local entity.
• Payroll and compliance: run the India pay cycle with PF, ESI, TDS and gratuity handled.
• Contractors and equipment: engage India contractors and ship laptops to local addresses.

Best for: global companies whose hiring is concentrated in India.

Pricing: employer of record from $99 per employee per month, with transparent all-in quotes.

Wisemonk covers one country deeply. The next three options go back to the US market, starting with the big-name PEO that pools benefits.

6. Justworks

Justworks is a professional employer organization, or PEO, which means it co-employs your US staff and pools them into large-group benefit plans a small company could not access alone. You keep direction of your people; Justworks handles payroll, benefits and HR compliance under shared employer status. Our Gusto versus Justworks guide goes deeper.

Key features of Justworks:

• Co-employment PEO: shared employer status that unlocks large-group benefits.
• Payroll and HR: pay runs, filings and compliance support included.
• Pooled benefits: medical, dental and vision at group rates.

Best for: small US teams wanting big-company benefits.

Pricing: PEO Basic $79 per employee per month, PEO Plus $124; standalone payroll $8 per employee plus a $50 base fee, as of October 2026.

Read more: Gusto vs Justworks: 2026 Comparison

Justworks shares the employer role with you. The next name does payroll at the other end of the scale, with deep compliance muscle.

7. ADP RUN

RUN Powered by ADP is the small-business arm of the largest payroll provider in the country, and its pull is depth: multi-state payroll, tax compliance and HR add-ons backed by decades of regulatory coverage. The trade-off is that ADP quotes per company rather than publishing a rate, so you compare on a proposal, not a price list. We map the field in our ADP competitors guide.

Key features of ADP RUN:

• Full-service payroll: pay runs with federal, state and local tax filing.
• Compliance depth: regulatory coverage across all US states.
• Scalable add-ons: HR, time and benefits modules as you grow.

Best for: teams wanting deep compliance and room to scale.

Pricing: custom quote, as of October 2026.

You can refer to this guide for a side-by-side comparison of Gusto vs ADP: Payroll Pricing, Features and Best Fit.

Read more: ADP vs QuickBooks Payroll: 2026 Comparison

ADP sells on depth and a custom quote. If budget is the whole point, the next option is built to be the cheapest honest payroll you can run.

8. Patriot Payroll

Patriot Payroll is the budget pick, aimed at very small US businesses that want correct pay runs without paying platform prices. It keeps the feature set lean and the bill low, with an optional full-service tier that files your taxes for you. For a handful of employees on straightforward payroll, little else undercuts it.

Key features of Patriot Payroll:

• Low-cost payroll: run pay for a small team at the lowest rates here.
• Full-service option: federal, state and local tax filing on the higher tier.
• Add-ons: time tracking and HR available per employee when needed.

Best for: cost-sensitive small US businesses.

Pricing: Basic Payroll $17 per month plus $4 per worker; Full Service $37 plus $5, as of October 2026.

Patriot wins on price for standard pay. The next provider is for a very different team: the one paying hourly and tipped staff across shifts.

9. Square Payroll

Square Payroll makes sense for businesses already on Square's point-of-sale, especially retail, restaurants and other hourly or tipped workforces. Timecards flow from the POS into payroll, tips are handled, and a contractor-only option strips the base fee for teams that pay 1099 workers. Outside the Square ecosystem the case is thinner.

Key features of Square Payroll:

• POS integration: hours and tips flow from Square point-of-sale into pay runs.
• Tip handling: built for restaurants and tipped staff.
• Contractor-only plan: pay 1099 workers with no monthly base fee.

Best for: retail, restaurant and hourly teams on Square.

Pricing: $35 per month plus $6 per person; contractor-only $6 per person, as of October 2026.

Square covers hourly pay tied to a till. The last option widens that out to scheduling and shift management for any hourly team.

10. Homebase

Homebase starts as scheduling and time tracking for hourly teams and adds payroll on top, so the same tool that builds the rota also runs the pay. For cafes, shops and service businesses juggling shifts, geofenced clock-ins and last-minute cover, that single workflow is the appeal. The free tier covers one location, which is rare at this level.

Key features of Homebase:

• Scheduling and time clocks: build shifts and track hours with geofenced clock-ins.
• Payroll add-on: turn tracked hours into pay runs with tax filing.
• Free starter tier: one location and up to ten employees at no cost.

Best for: shift-based hourly teams that schedule and pay in one place.

Pricing: plans from free to $120 per location per month; payroll add-on $49 per month plus $6 per employee, as of October 2026.

That completes the ten. Before you choose, it helps to see them side by side, first on what they do and then on what they cost.

How do the top Gusto alternatives compare on features?

The fastest way to narrow the list is by category and country coverage, not by brand. Seven of the ten run US payroll, two are global employers of record, and one, Wisemonk, specializes in India. The table below lines them up against Gusto on what each runs and who is the legal employer.

Features tell you what each tool does. Cost tells you what it does to your budget, and the per-person line is where Gusto alternatives diverge most.

How much do Gusto alternatives cost?

Rates run from $17 a month plus $4 per worker for budget US payroll up to $599 per employee for a global employer of record. Two providers, ADP RUN and Rippling payroll, quote per company rather than list a rate. All figures are current as of October 2026.

Price only matters once the category is right. So the real question is which of these fits your specific situation.

Which Gusto alternative is right for your business?

Match the provider to the reason you are leaving. For simpler US payroll, OnPay or Patriot. For HR, IT and payroll in one system, Rippling. For pooled benefits, Justworks. For hourly and shift teams, Square or Homebase. And if someone you hired works outside the US, you need an employer of record in that country, not payroll software at all.

That last case is the one payroll tools cannot solve. If your new hires are in India, a specialist employer of record there handles the employment, the pay run and the compliance of hiring in India as one service.

That is exactly the gap Wisemonk was built to close.

How does Wisemonk help you hire and pay a team in India?

Wisemonk is an India-specialist employer of record that helps global companies hire, pay and manage a team in India without setting up a local entity. We carry the legal employment, the monthly payroll and the statutory compliance so you can direct the work while we handle the administration behind it.

Here's how we help:

• Employer of Record: employ staff in India through our own entities, with laptop procurement and shipping included.
• Contractor of Record: engage India contractors compliantly with IP assignment and tax handling.
• PEO and HR services: run payroll and compliance on your own Indian entity.
• Managed payroll: execute the India pay run and its filings for your existing team.
• Entity setup: incorporate your Indian company and obtain its tax and employer registrations.
• GCC setup: stand up and staff an India capability centre end to end.
• Build, Operate, Transfer: we build and run your India team, then transfer it to your entity.
• Mira AI hiring: post roles and screen India candidates against your scorecard.
• Freelancer and vendor payments: pay Indian freelancers and vendors through compliant channels.
• Background verification: run compliant pre-hire checks on India candidates.

From our experience helping global companies build teams in India, the hard part is never the hiring decision; it is the payroll, the filings and the equipment that follow. We hold 300+ global clients, 2,000+ employees on payroll and a 4.8/5 rating on G2, with employer of record pricing from $99 per employee per month.

We came across Wisemonk and met with the CEO and staff to explain our situation, and were very impressed with their customer-focused approach to their business. Wisemonk onboarded all of my employees in one or two days. They paid my employees' salaries on the day after my payment cleared. Needless to say, my employees and I were very satisfied with their service then and remain so over a year later. We are an American company, so I was very happy to see that they have a US bank account where I can make ACH payments to minimize bank charges. All salary payments are timely. They worked directly with my employees to enroll them in the health care program and explain any coverage-related issues. The best part is that we get to work with a dedicated person assigned to our company. I would highly recommend Wisemonk and think of them as our Indian HR department.
- Frank Menes, Founder & CEO at Senem RFP