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Most buyers should pick Paycom.
Choose Gusto if you want published starting prices and payroll tools for a growing team: Simple starts at $49 monthly plus $6 per person, and Plus adds time tracking and multi-state payroll. Choose Paycom if a single HR and payroll database, employee self-service and dedicated support matter more than upfront price transparency. Paycom’s pricing is quote-based, and its review score is slightly higher: 6.5 versus Gusto’s 6.3.
01Side by side
| Gusto | Paycom | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $49/month + $6 per person | Custom quote; rates not published |
| Free plan | No free plan listed | No free plan listed |
| Best for | Businesses wanting published payroll plans and benefits | Organizations wanting customized HR and payroll in one system |
| Core strength | Payroll automation, benefits and HR tools | HR and payroll data in one database |
| Learning curve | Ease-of-use review score: 7/10 | Ease-of-use review score: 7/10 |
| Integrations/data | Team time syncs with payroll | Employee data stays in one database |
| Team/seat costs | Per-person fees published; paid US contractors count | Customized by workforce size; rates unpublished |
| Support | Support review score: 4/10 | Dedicated support; review score: 6/10 |
Gusto Choose Gusto if
- Choose Gusto if you want published monthly plan prices.
- Choose Gusto if you need payroll, benefits and HR tools.
- Choose Gusto if per-person costs need to be clear upfront.
Paycom Choose Paycom if
- Choose Paycom if you want HR and payroll in one database.
- Choose Paycom if employee self-service is a priority.
- Choose Paycom if dedicated support matters more than published pricing.
02Pricing compared
Gusto publishes monthly prices; Paycom does not. Gusto Simple starts at $49 per month plus $6 per person, and covers basic payroll in one state. Plus is $80 plus $12 per person monthly, adding time tracking, scheduling and multi-state payroll. Premium is $180 plus $22 per person, with HR guidance and support. Gusto says its plans are month-to-month and cancellable anytime; it does not list annual rates. Paycom’s pricing page does not publish rates. Its quote is customized by workforce size and selected modules, so there is no public starting price to compare. Add-ons can change Gusto’s bill: for example, Business Compliance is $85 per month per state on an annual contract unless included with Premium. Compare a written Paycom quote against Gusto’s per-person charges and any add-ons your team needs.
03Features and depth
Both products cover payroll and HR, but their listed strengths differ. Gusto’s plans spell out payroll, tax filings, PTO, and—in Plus—time tracking, scheduling, multi-state payroll and contractor invoice management. Its broader feature set also includes hiring and onboarding, employee benefits, compliance support and time synced with payroll. Some services carry extra fees, and the pricing page lists certain features as plan inclusions rather than separate add-ons. Paycom centers its offer on a single database for HR and payroll, employee self-service and automation. Its Beti tool builds payroll and lets employees find and fix errors before a run; GONE automates time-off request decisions. Paycom also lists IWant AI for questions about employee profiles, applicant data, policies and dashboards. The available information does not establish which product has greater overall feature depth: Paycom’s modules and pricing are customized, while Gusto publishes more plan-level detail. Choose by workflow, not feature-list length.
04Ease of use and learning curve
Neither source provides enough detail to compare setup time or training needs. Gusto’s listed workflows include payroll automation, onboarding checklists, digital signatures and time tracking synced with payroll. Paycom says employees can manage their own HR and payroll information, and its dedicated team handles implementation, payroll processing and ongoing support. That may matter if you want vendor help, but the quote-based price makes the cost of that support unclear from the published information. Both products have a 7/10 ease-of-use score in their reviews. Those scores do not tell us how the systems perform for a particular team, so ask each vendor to walk through your payroll, time-off and onboarding workflows before switching.
Questions people ask
Are Paycor and Paycom the same thing?
We can’t verify the relationship between Paycor and Paycom from the published published material, which covers Paycom only. It describes Paycom as HR and payroll software with a single database, employee self-service and customized pricing. Check each vendor’s official site before treating product names or quotes as interchangeable.
Is Gusto a good payroll service?
Gusto’s review gives it a 6.3 overall, with an 8 for features and 7 for ease of use. It offers payroll, tax filings and HR tools, but per-person pricing and reported support complaints temper the case. Whether it fits depends on your required features and the full monthly cost.
How do I terminate my Gusto account?
The published Gusto information does not include account-termination steps, so we can’t give reliable instructions. It says Gusto plans are month-to-month and cancellable anytime, but that is not the same as a confirmed account-closure process. Check Gusto’s current help documentation or contact its support team for the required steps.
What is the Paycom controversy?
The published published material does not identify or substantiate a specific Paycom controversy. It describes Paycom’s HR and payroll features, customized quote-based pricing and review score, but provides no reporting on controversies. We can’t responsibly attribute a claim without a named, reliable source and more context.