Gusto Reviews

“easy to use but pricing feels high”

Pros

It's so simple to get started with and saves us a ton of time.. It's definitely a great value, even though it's pricey for our small nonprofit.

Cons

I'd love to use the receipt feature on gusto but I can't afford the extra cost. sometimes it feels like there are a lot of additional charges for basic features especially since the product itself is already on the expensive side.

“convenient for me but lacks staff features”

Pros

I appreciate the wallet function, the benefits section, the PTO request tool and being able to sign in with biometrics. all super convenient.

Cons

There's no way for staff to swap shifts with each other and there's no gPs tracking when they clock in. It feels like it's missing some essential features.

“makes team management simple and effective”

Pros

as a user, It is incredibly simple to use. all the employee management tools are easy to understand and it makes handling HR responsibilities for our small team so much easier. Plus, the mobile app is perfect for quick access.

Cons

The time-off features are great but could be a little more flexible. It'd be nice to have a more detailed calendar view for the whole team, so everyone's time off is visible.

“convenient management”

Pros

The payroll app is super convenient since you can access it right from your mobile device which makes handling finances and pay-related tasks much simpler. It works well for both small businesses and individual employees and that shared usefulness is a big plus.

Cons

Doesn't include direct messaging or in-app communication between employers and employees.

“simple to use”

Pros

App feels simple to use and it's simple to move around in day to day. It's more than just a basic time clock-it tracks hours and also handles PTO, vacation requests, the location used for clocking in and out and keeps your tax forms organized too.

Cons

Location tracking wasn't always spot-on. There were moments when it showed I was "next door" even though I was in my office which isn't great if someone is micromanaging employees using the location data.

“FSA integration feels like a mess”

Pros

Gusto's payroll side is pretty close to a four-star experience... it's cute, does the job well and the email updates about your paycheck are genuinely helpful. It's also very simple to use if you're only using it for payroll.

Cons

Once it rolled in Elevate to handle FSA, things turned into a nightmare. We've basically decided we don't even want to keep doing FSA anymore. Just this week, a credit card transaction was denied at a pharmacy. When we reached out to their support, it turned out the pharmacy had been marked as a non-FSA entity-wild since the doctor and the pharmacy process was supposed to be fully automated. Even worse, the pharmacy couldn't reverse the transaction so the family ended up having to go in person, try with a different credit card and lose the ability to use their own FSA funds. Also, when it tried to "fix" the problem, they requested a receipt for the denied transaction. A receipt for something that was already denied seems ridiculous. If its payroll is that solid, they really need to either drop FSA entirely or partner with an FSA provider that actually handles things reliably.

“state tax errors and dismissive emails”

Pros

Nothing about it worked for me... I genuinely couldn't name a single thing I liked.

Cons

They didn't even seem to be accounting for at least one of my state tax obligations across 3 items. I ended up having to point out that they needed to pay something they apparently weren't aware of even though they're positioned as the tax experts. After that, I kept getting emails telling me to relax because they "got this," but it was obvious they didn't.

“Fantastic tool”

Pros

I use it for managing our team payroll and what stands out most isn't a single feature.. it's the full tool suite. It keeps things moving quickly and helps me stay efficient every day.

Cons

Using it has been simple and enjoyable overall. It supported me in setting up payroll, time management and the integrations we needed and it matches what our team looks for. There's really nothing negative to say... User experience has been a great fit for my needs.

“Gusto organizes payroll well”

Pros

It offers strong value for the price and really helps consolidate a bunch of business tasks. The biggest win is how it handles payroll, taxes and onboarding new hires without making everything feel fragmented. Overall, it genuinely makes day-to-day operations easier.

Cons

Customer support isn't available on weekends which can be a little inconvenient. Occasionally I want the built-in reporting options to look different but it hasn't been a big issue, I've just adjusted by tailoring my own reports instead.

“clear UI”

Pros

The smiley face icons and the pricing caught my attention right away. The sales consultation felt direct and reassuring too and it made me expect the migration would go smoothly.

Cons

Once everything started, the migration turned out frustrating. After we signed up, the sales consultant stopped responding and went missing. Also, our first payroll got delayed because our bank wasn't supported by PLAID.

“App is also good”

Pros

A solid full-service payroll platform that works really well for small businesses... As an employee, I appreciate being able to check upcoming paychecks, access pay stubs and tax documents and review my account history right from a convenient mobile app. It also adds some nice community extras... birthday and anniversary reminders for coworkers and staff help keep things personal.

Cons

There's no built-in direct messaging feature for employees to reach their company's HR team.

“solid reporting”

Pros

When everything is working, the platform performs really well and the functionality is genuinely useful. The standout strength is the wide variety of reports along with the customization options which makes it easier to shape the output to match what you need.

Cons

Unfortunately, the system has a habit of going offline at random times which is disruptive. Support also hasn't been very responsive, one example was that the saved payment card for our subscription had expired and the entire system shut down. Nobody reached out to warn us or explain what happened so we lost access without a chance to fix it. Also, it doesn't offer scheduling or employee communication features which are available in another system we evaluated.

“Strong HR tool”

Pros

I mostly liked how it offers a pretty comprehensive set of tools that small business owners can actually use to manage HR services and benefits without feeling overwhelmed.

Cons

What bothered me was the lack of clarity around reclaiming agency taxes after stopping service.. there's a bit too much mystery in that process

“I liked it”

Pros

As an HR professional who's tested plenty of HR and payroll tools, it really stands out. It's the easiest to use, the quickest to learn and feels very adaptive day to day. I genuinely think it's one of the best options if you're managing a small team of employees.

Cons

Feature set is fairly limited so it won't be a good fit for large employers. That said, it performs well for smaller teams and covers what most of them need.

“So good”

Pros

The setup flow feels really simple and it's simple to add team members and submit payroll without having to wonder where the money is going.

Cons

Scheduling could use a bit more power... if the scheduling tools were more efficient, it would be easier to keep everything organized and running in a more organized way.

“scaling glitches at 100 employees”

Pros

Worked well as an HRIS for our startup and covered what we needed across employee payroll, benefits and tax as we grew from about 5 to 100 employees. Their customer support was excellent, whenever we had issues with payroll last-minute corrections, they were quick to jump on a call and walk us through it.

Cons

Once we reached the 100-employee mark, it started feeling like the platform couldn't handle our size as effectively. We'd run into pages that kept loading for minutes, likely because there was just too much data for the system to process smoothly. Also, the reporting tools weren't as strong as what some competing products offer.

“Amazing tool overall”

Pros

Having both a mobile app and a website is really convenient. I can make time edits whenever I need to and there's a built-in option to include a note explaining the change to my supervisor. It's also simple to view pay stubs and tax forms without jumping through extra hoops.

Cons

Occasionally the website and the app feel a bit sluggish. It also seems like the system can get bogged down when lots of people are clocking out around the same time... on those moments, it can just keep going and doesn't quite respond the way you'd expect.

“Liked using it”

Pros

Time tracking feels very simple thanks to the start/stop button, plus there's also an option to manually add time when needed. I also appreciate that you can set a time limit... after that window, further edits are only allowed for a defined number of days. On the admin side, the administrator role can access and update everyone's time accounts. Another helpful detail, whenever someone makes a change, it's shown by name in the overtime overview so the audit trail is clear and changes don't go unnoticed.

Cons

It would be even better if the app supported recording regular feedback discussions directly inside the tool, instead of relying only on uploading a single document to the employee.

“Very efficient payroll service”

Pros

It's a really convenient payroll app that's easy to use on my mobile device. It makes managing finances and payroll tasks so much easier. It's perfect for small businesses and both employers and employees benefit from it.

Cons

It doesn't allow for direct messaging or communication between employers and employees within the app which can be a little inconvenient.

“failed on even basic tasks!”

Pros

Honestly, I didn't like anything about It. There wasn't even one thing that stood out. They couldn't even handle simple things well.

Cons

They weren't even planning to pay one of my state tax obligations. I had to point it out to them even though they're supposed to be tax experts. Then, they sent me emails telling me to relax but they clearly didn't have it under control.