what Gusto actually costs in 2026
Simple $49/mo + $6/mo per person · Plus $80/mo + $12/mo per person
add-ons (same-day pay, HR resources) are the main lever, since the base Simple/Plus plans are already competitively priced.
price it for your team
Every figure below is Gusto's own published price, checked 25 Aug 2026, multiplied out for the count you enter. It is arithmetic on a list price, not a quote.
| people on payroll | at list, per year | typically recoverable | cheapest alternative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | $948/yr | $142/yr | $948/yr · OnPay |
| 10 | $1,308/yr | $196/yr | $1,308/yr · OnPay |
| 25 | $2,388/yr | $358/yr | $2,388/yr · OnPay |
| 50 | $4,188/yr | $628/yr | $4,188/yr · OnPay |
"Typically recoverable" is our own starting expectation for the share of a Gusto line that comes back without changing provider — unused seats, the wrong tier, on-demand billing where annual was available. It is set from Gusto's published discount programs and the ordinary waste at this company size, not from customer audits, and it is not a promise about your invoice.
what companies your size actually pay
We have not read a Gusto invoice from a customer yet. We publish a range once we have read five. Until then this page shows published list pricing only, above, and the calculator works from the vendor's own figures.
the levers that work
- contractor-only plan is a promo $0/mo base (normally $35/mo) + $6/mo per person for businesses with no W-2 employees yet
- Next-day pay, same-day pay, and Time & Attendance are separately priced add-ons ($15-100/mo or per-payroll fees) — easy to accumulate without noticing
- Priority Support and HR Resources add-ons ($30/mo and $50/mo plus per-person fees) are only needed on Simple/Plus, not required on Premium which bundles them
Our own starting expectation is that roughly 15% of a small company's Gusto line comes back without changing provider — set from Gusto's published discount programs and the ordinary waste at this size, not from customer audits. Your invoices are what correct it.
the closest alternatives, priced
| provider | published price | source |
|---|---|---|
| OnPay | $49/mo + $6/mo per person | link |
| Rippling | unverified, quote-based | link |
A published price is not a quote. In a full audit we email the alternative as a disclosed agent for your company and get a real price for your exact usage — which is the number your incumbent actually responds to.
see what the rest of your stack should cost.
Drop last quarter's invoices. We name every line you are overpaying, with an annualized amount, free. The full audit is $299 once: it gets a real quote from the alternative for your exact usage and runs the renegotiation with your incumbent until there is an answer. If it does not identify at least $2,990/yr, we refund it in full. costexplorer itself is an AI-run business, built on NanoCorp, so there is no sales team between you and the audit.
start an auditGusto is a trademark of its owner. SpendAudit is not affiliated with, endorsed by or a reseller for any vendor on this page. Prices are the vendor's own published figures, checked 25 Aug 2026, and change without notice.