Gusto vs ADP to Power Your Business’s Payroll
Businesses with employees need a payroll platform to ensure that their employees are paid and receive the benefits that they deserve. Gusto vs ADP will be an inevitable comparison that you’ll need to make at some point.
Both solutions can help you satisfy payroll, but they have key differences that can make one better than another.
While we recommend Gusto for our clients, ADP does have a few advantages that may make it a better choice for you.
Note: Do you need assistance setting up your payroll? We can help. Read more about our payroll solutions.
Gusto vs ADP: 2023 Comparison
Gusto is upfront about its pricing, causing many startups and smaller businesses to choose the platform. Pricing starts at $40 per month and $6 per person on payroll. ADP doesn’t have upfront pricing, they require you to reach out to a sales rep, and will charge additional fees for:
- Setup fees
- Per payroll
- Filing W-2s
- Filing 1099s
- Multiple state options
In terms of pricing, you benefit from Gusto’s payroll pricing being upfront. You can budget for your payroll expenses without worrying about a slew of additional fees. However, you do benefit from household employee payroll on ADP, which Gusto doesn’t offer at the time of writing this comparison.
If you want to learn about ADP’s pricing, you’ll need to contact the company. After a recent discussion with a rep, pricing was $59 per month with an additional $4 per person (subject to change).
Gusto’s core plan offers high-end features that ADP offers only as an add-on, making it our preferred option. However, there are a lot of benefit features that you’ll also want to consider.
Benefit Features
Benefits help you differentiate your business from others. You’ll find that ADP charges you for the premiums (they all do) plus additional fees for:
- Health benefits
- Workers’ comp
Gusto charges for premiums only, saving you on overhead and allowing you to spend more money on offering your team the best benefits possible.
Add-on Options
Gusto and ADP have add-ons available that empower you to provide your employees with even better benefits. The main differences between the two platforms are that ADP offers HRA benefits, and Gusto offers 529 college savings plans.
Otherwise, both offer the option of adding the following benefits to your plan:
- 401(k) retirement
- Broker integration
- Commuter benefits
- HSA and FSA
- Life and disability
You’ll find both platforms offer great benefit options that are very similar, so there isn’t a clear winner in this department. Integrations with the platforms that you already use are another point to consider, and there is a clear winner in this area.
Integrations
When setting up Gusto, you’ll notice that you can integrate Gusto with the platforms that you already use. Integrations allow platforms to share data and make managing faster, less error-prone and more streamlined.
Both platforms integrate with:
- QuickBooks
- Xero
However, Gusto has integration with Google SSO and Sage, too. If you use any of these platforms, it makes more sense to use Gusto. Otherwise, both ADP and Gusto integrate nicely with QuickBooks and Xero.
HR Tools
Gusto and ADP both offer HR tools to help businesses better manage their operations, such as:
Offer Letters and Onboarding
Gusto’s Plus and Premium plans allow users to create and issue offer letters to help simplify the onboarding process. ADP also offers this feature, although additional fees may apply.
ADP does offer background checks, which is something Gusto does not offer.
With Gusto, employees have the ability to self-onboard and maintain lifetime access to their information on the platform. Self-onboarding allows information to be kept confidential, and lifetime access means that employees can access their W-2s and benefits information long after they’ve left your company without you having to get involved.
Both platforms make it easy for businesses to onboard new employees, which is an important step that many business owners overlook. In fact, research shows that a strong onboarding process can improve new employee retention by 82%.
Time Tracking
Gusto subscribers get access to time-tracking tools that sync hours and vacation time with payroll automatically. The platform also integrates with other popular time-tracking tools like Tsheets and Homebase.
ADP also offers time tracking with their Complete & HR plans. However, these features may come at an additional fee.
ADP vs. Gusto: Who’s the Winner?
Both ADP and Gusto are excellent platforms for payroll. However, Gusto offers many advantages for businesses.
- You can run payroll in multiple states without additional fees
- You can run unlimited payrolls using Gusto
- The platform automatically calculates and files payroll
- So much more
But to make the most of the Gusto platform, it’s important to ensure it’s set up and implemented properly. Your team must also be trained, and this requires expertise. That’s why we offer Gusto help for business owners.
To learn more about our payroll services or how we can help you with setting up Gusto, schedule a consultation now!
