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 the share of a Gusto line that the audits we have run have been able to recover without changing provider — unused seats, the wrong tier, on-demand billing where annual was available. It is a starting expectation for a company your size, not a promise about your invoice.
what companies your size actually pay
We have read no Gusto invoices so far, which is fewer than the five we require before publishing a range. Until then this page shows published list pricing only, above.
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
Across the audits we have run, roughly 15% of a small company's Gusto line is recoverable without changing provider.
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.
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.