Gusto vs Adp: Compare Features and Services (2025)
Comparing Gusto vs ADP? This guide explores key differences in features, pricing, compliance, and support. Learn which payroll and HR platform suits small businesses, startups, or large enterprises best.
- August 21, 2025
Gusto vs Adp: Compare Features and Services (2025)
Comparing Gusto vs ADP? This guide explores key differences in features, pricing, compliance, and support. Learn which payroll and HR platform suits small businesses, startups, or large enterprises best.
- August 21, 2025
Choosing the right payroll and HR platform for your business is one of the most difficult yet important decisions that you might have to make. As you evaluate your options, you’ll come to know that Gusto and ADP are household names in this category. Both of them have great reviews, but if you need to choose one, this blog will definitely help you.
Gusto vs ADP: Overview
Gusto is well-known for its all-in-one features, which are great for small and medium-sized businesses. It is a simple, cost-effective, and easy-to-use HR solution. On the other hand, ADP is beneficial for larger companies as well as small businesses that are trying to scale. It offers more customized solutions and advanced management capabilities. It is comparatively more expensive than Gusto but can handle complex HR processes very efficiently.
If you’re still confused between Gusto vs ADP, keep reading to have a better understanding about their working.
What is Gusto?
Gusto is an affordable HR platform with a cloud-based payroll. It is great for startups and small businesses that are looking for simplicity.
Why is it good for your business?
- It is user-friendly and simple to use, even for beginners.
- It has transparent and affordable pricing.
- It is an all-in-one HR tool.
What is ADP?
ADP is one of the oldest and most scalable HR tools. It is known for its robust compliance and marketing tools. ADP is a sensible choice for businesses that have complex payroll needs and international operations.
Why is it good for your business?
- It has 24/7 support.
- It can handle everything from HR to payroll.
- It has a dedicated account representative.
Feature Comparison: Gusto vs ADP
In the debate of ADP vs. Gusto, there is no clear winner. But, if you want to know which one of these will be better for your business, you’ll first need to understand their features and how they compare with each other. Let’s help you with that.
Payroll Processing
Both Gusto and ADP offer direct deposits and automatic payroll runs. But Gusto has a simpler payroll with minimal fees. ADP, in contrast, has more customizations with ADP Run and ADP Workforce. It also has global payroll, while Gusto only has multistate payroll processing.
Time Tracking
Both these tools allow you to check in and check out easily. Gusto just has basic time tracking features, but ADP has a more in-depth one. Gusto only helps you with tracking attendance. ADP, on the other hand, also has scheduling and compliance monitoring tools.
Employee Benefits and HR Management
Both these HR tools help you with HR management and provide employee benefits. Gusto has basic employee benefits like 401(k) plans, health insurance, and workers compensation. In contrast, ADP also offers global health coverage and employee counselling. Not only this, but it also has personalized benefits for each employee.
Tax Compliance
Both Gusto and ADP make your business tax compliant with regulations. Gusto sends compliance alerts for local taxes and labor laws so that taxing becomes easy for you. ADP is a bit more advanced, as it also helps you with tax-related notices.
Integrations and Customizations
Gusto only allows you to integrate accounting software like Xero, FreshBooks, and QuickBooks. Conversely, ADP allows integration of HCM software, ERP systems, and enterprise-grade tools as well. Not only this, but it also has an expansive third-party ecosystem.
Customer Support
Honestly, Gusto’s response time can be slow sometimes, especially during peak hours. ADP is better with customer support, as it has 24/7 helplines and dedicated account representatives for you. Along with this, it also provides you access to certified HR professionals.
If you are looking for a similar platform in India, Remunance is what you need. It is a great alternative to Gusto and ADP in this case, as it specializes in EOR and PEO in India.
Gusto: Pros and Cons
Even if you’ve never used an HR platform before, Gusto is a safe bet. It offers tiered pricing, onboarding, tax filing, and employee benefits. Let’s try to understand its pros in detail now.
Pros of Gusto
Budget-friendly: Gusto has an affordable and transparent pricing model, making it accessible even for the smallest businesses.
Easy to use—it is user-friendly and has automated features.
Employee self-service—it makes it easy for your team to track attendance and pay stubs on their own.
Integrates with accounting software—Gusto makes it easier for you to manage finances by integrating major accounting software.
Comprehensive Benefits Plan—It simplifies benefit administration for you by making them easily accessible.
Cons of Gusto
Limited Scalability—Gusto is good for smaller businesses but not great for big organizations with larger teams.
Lesser Features and Compliance—It has fewer payroll features and compliance tools. This makes personalization difficult.
Slow customer support—Gusto’s customer support is not very responsive during peak hours.
ADP: Pros and Cons
ADP is the best payroll for businesses that have complex payroll needs or lots of employees. It has a wide variety of features, personalizations, and integrations.
Pros of ADP
These are some of the pros of ADP:
Scalability—ADP scales with you as your business grows.
Advanced HR—It offers advanced benefits like HR consulting, legal guidance, and employee counselling.
Dedicated Customer Support—ADP has great customer support, which works 24/7 and has specialized account reps.
Extensive Compliance Tools—It helps you with tax rules in different states and regulated industries.
Strong Integration Options—It integrates not just accounting software but also third-party tools.
Cons of ADP
Complex Working—ADP can be difficult to use for teams that don’t have an HR pro. Its advanced features can get overwhelming for them.
Expensive and Inaccessible—It can get a bit pricey and inaccessible, especially for small businesses. Also, it does not offer public pricing.
Longer setup time—Because of the complexity, it might take longer for setup and onboarding.
Gusto vs ADP: Benefits
Gusto and ADP both support businesses with benefits management and benefits administration.
Gusto integrates it into its easy-to-use platform. It offers access to many employee benefits like wellness plans, commuter benefits, employee insurance, and workers’ compensation. This works really well for small businesses that cannot afford to juggle between multiple platforms for doing these things.
ADP, on the other hand, also has customised benefits management. It offers premium packages like ADP Workforce Now and ADP Run. It might mean more fees, but also offers greater flexibility. It can make it easy to manage unique insurance types and complex benefit structures. This is great for larger businesses that have international operations.
Gusto vs ADP: Pricing Comparison
Gusto vs ADP is a decision that must be made, keeping in mind their pricing models. They’re different from each other in terms of not just cost but also transparency.
Gusto is more affordable and offers clear pricing. Whereas ADP is comparatively pricey and requires you to request a custom quote. Let’s break it down more for your knowledge:
Gusto Pricing
As compared to ADP, Gusto has a more public and transparent pricing model. This makes it easy to understand as well as more accessible for small businesses. Gusto combines HR, payroll, and compliance and bundles them into three tiers. They are:
- Simple Plan—just the basic payroll for smaller organizations.
- Plus Plan—This includes Basic Payroll + HR (benefits, onboarding, and compliance support).
- Premium Plan—It is a full-service HR plan that includes dedicated support, compliance, and performance management.
ADP Pricing
When it comes to ADP vs. Gusto pricing, ADP has a more customized approach. So, you will have to talk to a sales representative first to understand more about it. That will help you decide which plan will suit your business the most.
ADP is more expensive but gives you flexibility and freedom. These are the main features of its pricing:
- Tiered Structure—It has different plans, depending on company size and needs. 2.
- Custom Pricing—It doesn’t have any public quotes. Custom quotes are available on request.
- Additional Costs—It has features like benefits administration, time tracking, and advanced compliance. This can lead to extra costs.
Cost Considerations
Gusto has a transparent pricing model with no setup fees. It has public pricing with tiered plans. Hence, no surprises. ADP’s pricing varies, depending on your team size and plan selection. Extra tools and add-ons can increase the final price that you incur.
Hence, if you have a large business, it might make sense to go with ADP’s customized plans. But if you have a smaller business, it is not a great idea, as it might be too much for your needs and budget.
How Remunance Is Our Top Pick for Your Business Needs
If you ask us, Remunance is our top pick for your business needs. This is because they can help you with everything starting from basic payroll to HR to compliance to employee benefits.
Unlike Gusto, they have very responsive customer service. And unlike ADP, they have a fast onboarding process.
Just like Gusto, Remunance also has a transparent pricing model and a self-service dashboard. And just like ADP, it also has a customized service portfolio and additional support services.
Frequently Asked Questions
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1. Can I switch from Gusto to ADP or a different payroll platform?
Yes, you can do it by migrating your payroll data. However, to avoid disruptions, it is better to switch at the end of a payroll cycle.
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2. Does ADP offer better compliance support than Gusto overall?
Yes, it does. ADP offers better compliance support with its multi-state compliance and in-depth tax filing assistance.
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3. Is ADP more expensive than Gusto?
Yes, it definitely is. Unlike Gusto, ADP requires custom quotes, and their additional tools cost extra.
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4. Why is ADP better than Gusto?
ADP is better than Gusto when it comes to large organizations that have complex payroll and HR management needs.
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