Gusto vs Patriot Payroll: Which Is Better for a Small Business?

Which should you pick?

• Best pricePatriot Payroll

  Patriot Full Service is $37 a month plus $5 per worker, and Basic is $17 plus $4 Patriot pricing ↗. Gusto Simple is $49 a month plus $6 per person Gusto pricing ↗.

• Best free trialPatriot Payroll

  Patriot offers 30 days free plus 50 percent off for 3 months Patriot pricing ↗. Gusto's pricing page advertises free setup but no trial for payroll plans Gusto pricing ↗.

• Best customer supportPatriot Payroll

  G2 reviewers score Patriot 9.7 for quality of support against 9.0 for Gusto G2 comparison ↗. Patriot says its support is US based and free by phone, email or chat Patriot payroll ↗.

• Best for HR and benefitsGusto

  Gusto Premium adds HR guidance and compliance tools, and Gusto offers health insurance administration with no extra fee beyond premiums Gusto pricing ↗. Patriot's HR is an add on Patriot pricing ↗.

• Best for fast payGusto

  Gusto Plus includes unlimited next day pay and Premium includes same day and instant pay Gusto pricing ↗. Patriot's standard direct deposit is 4 day, with 2 day for qualifying customers Patriot payroll ↗.

• Best for multi state teamsGusto

  Gusto Plus includes multi state payroll Gusto pricing ↗. Patriot Full Service charges $12 a month for each additional state Patriot pricing ↗.

• Best integrationsGusto

  Gusto names Xero, QuickBooks, Expensify, Clover and Trainual Gusto payroll ↗, and G2 shows more integrations for Gusto G2 comparison ↗. Patriot syncs with QuickBooks and its own accounting software Patriot payroll ↗.

Side by side

From each vendor’s own pages, checked Oct 9, 2026. Prices change often.

Pricing compared

Gusto has three plans, each a monthly base fee plus a fee per person paid. Simple is $49 a month plus $6 per person and runs payroll in one state Gusto pricing ↗. Plus is $80 plus $12 per person and adds multi state payroll, time tracking and scheduling, and unlimited next day pay Gusto pricing ↗. Premium is $180 plus $22 per person and adds a dedicated support partner, HR guidance, compliance tools and same day and instant pay Gusto pricing ↗. US contractors are billed at your plan's per person rate only in months you pay them Gusto pricing ↗.

Patriot has two payroll plans. Basic Payroll is $17 a month plus $4 per worker paid, and Full Service Payroll is $37 plus $5 per worker Patriot pricing ↗. When we checked, Patriot offered a 30 day free trial followed by 50 percent off for three months Patriot pricing ↗. Full Service adds federal, state and local tax filings and deposits, and year end filings such as W-2s at no extra cost Patriot pricing ↗ Patriot payroll ↗. Each additional state is $12 a month, and time tracking and HR are add ons at $6 a month plus $2 per employee each Patriot pricing ↗. In a month with no payroll you pay only the base fee Patriot payroll ↗.

• 5 employees: Patriot Full Service $62, Gusto Simple $79, Gusto Plus $140 a month Patriot pricing ↗ Gusto pricing ↗
• 10 employees: Patriot Full Service $87, Gusto Simple $109, Gusto Plus $200 a month Patriot pricing ↗ Gusto pricing ↗
• 25 employees: Patriot Full Service $162, Gusto Simple $199, Gusto Plus $380 a month Patriot pricing ↗ Gusto pricing ↗
• These are list prices before Patriot's promo; add Patriot's time tracking add on to compare fairly with Gusto Plus

Features that matter

Taxes. Every Gusto plan files federal, state and local payroll taxes for you Gusto pricing ↗. With Patriot, only Full Service does that; Basic Payroll leaves filing and deposits to you Patriot pricing ↗. Most small businesses without a bookkeeper should compare Gusto against Patriot Full Service, not Basic.

Getting paid faster. Gusto Plus includes unlimited next day pay, Premium adds same day and instant pay, and Simple can add next day pay for $15 a month plus $3 per person Gusto pricing ↗. Patriot's free direct deposit is 4 day by default, with 2 day for qualifying customers, and you can also print checks Patriot payroll ↗.

Benefits. Gusto offers health insurance, 401(k), workers' comp and other benefits Gusto payroll ↗; health insurance administration has no extra fee beyond premiums, and workers' comp starts at $14 a month Gusto pricing ↗. Patriot connects for free to health benefits through SimplyInsured, 401(k) through Vestwell and workers' comp through ERGO NEXT Patriot payroll ↗.

Employee access. Gusto gives employees lifetime access to paystubs, W-2s, hours and PTO requests, with iOS and Android apps Gusto payroll ↗. Patriot's employee portal shows paychecks and tax forms, supports self onboarding for W-2 hires, and has Android and iOS apps Patriot payroll ↗.

Accounting. Patriot syncs payroll entries to QuickBooks Online, exports to QuickBooks Desktop and shares one login with Patriot's own accounting software Patriot payroll ↗. Gusto names Xero and QuickBooks among its integrations Gusto payroll ↗.

What about QuickBooks Payroll?

If you already keep your books in QuickBooks, Intuit sells payroll bundled with accounting. When we checked, Workforce Payroll with Simple Start was listed at $88 a month plus $6.50 per employee, with 50 percent off for three months QuickBooks Payroll ↗. It includes full service payroll with tax filing, auto payroll for salaried staff, unlimited 1099 e-filing and next day direct deposit QuickBooks Payroll ↗. Higher bundles add same day deposit, time tracking and HR tools QuickBooks Payroll ↗.

Because that price includes accounting software, compare it with Gusto or Patriot plus what you pay for QuickBooks today. G2's comparison notes that some Patriot reviewers switched from QuickBooks Payroll and ADP to save money G2 comparison ↗.

What users report

On G2, Gusto has a 4.6 out of 5 rating from about 13,400 reviews and Patriot has 4.8 from 630 reviews G2 comparison ↗. Patriot scores higher on ease of use (9.6 vs 9.4), quality of support (9.7 vs 9.0) and ease of admin (9.6 vs 9.3), while Gusto scores slightly higher on ease of setup (9.3 vs 9.2) G2 comparison ↗. G2 lists poor customer support among Gusto's most mentioned cons, and some reviewers note that Gusto's cost rises as headcount grows G2 comparison ↗.

Patriot says more than 80,000 customers use it and that customers average less than three minutes to run a payroll Patriot payroll ↗. Gusto says it covers all 50 states and offers human support on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mountain time Gusto payroll ↗.

Hands on testing of both services is in progress; we'll update this page with results.

Who should pick which

Choose Patriot Full Service if you have a small team in one state, pay on a regular schedule and want the lowest bill with well rated support Patriot pricing ↗ G2 comparison ↗. Use the 30 day trial to run a test payroll Patriot pricing ↗.

Choose Gusto if you want payroll, time tracking, next day pay and benefits in one place, have staff in more than one state, or expect to add HR tools as you grow Gusto pricing ↗. Gusto Plus is the plan most growing teams will compare.

• Lowest cost with tax filing: Patriot Full Service
• You file taxes yourself: Patriot Basic
• Next day pay and time tracking included: Gusto Plus
• Employees in several states: Gusto Plus
• Already on QuickBooks: price QuickBooks Payroll too
• Want HR help: Gusto Premium

How we compared them

We used Gusto's pricing and payroll pages, Patriot's pricing and payroll pages, QuickBooks' payroll pricing page and G2's side by side comparison, all checked October 9, 2026 Gusto pricing ↗ Gusto payroll ↗ Patriot pricing ↗ Patriot payroll ↗ QuickBooks Payroll ↗ G2 comparison ↗. Payroll prices and promotions change often; confirm before you switch, and time a switch for the start of a quarter to keep tax filings simple.

Try them

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