Gusto vs QuickBooks Payroll: Real Cost Comparison for 1–50 Employees (2026)

Quick answer: For a single-state business, Gusto Simple is cheaper than QuickBooks Payroll’s entry plan at every headcount — $109 vs. $120 a month at 10 employees, and $349 vs. $400 at 50. But the moment you pay someone in a second state, the result flips: Gusto forces you up to its Plus plan, while QuickBooks adds a flat $12. At 10 employees across two states, QuickBooks costs about $132/month vs. Gusto’s $200.

Want your exact number? Drag the slider in our Total Cost of Ownership calculator and tick “Employees in 2+ states.”

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2026 list prices at a glance

Both companies charge a monthly base fee plus a fee for every person you pay. Prices below are list rates checked in October 2026, before promotions.

Plan	Base fee / mo	Per employee / mo	What you get on top of the plan below
Gusto Simple	$49	$6	Full-service payroll, federal/state/local filing, single state
Gusto Plus	$80	$12	Multi-state payroll, time tracking, PTO, next-day deposit
Gusto Premium	$180	$22	Dedicated support, HR experts, same-day/instant pay
QuickBooks Workforce Payroll (Core)	$50	$7	Full-service payroll, federal/state filing, next-day deposit
QuickBooks Workforce Premium	$88	$13	Time tracking, local tax filing, same-day deposit, setup review
QuickBooks Workforce Elite	$134	$17	Tax penalty protection, multi-state included, personal HR advisor

Two details that matter more than the headline price:

1. QuickBooks promotions discount only the base fee. In October 2026 QuickBooks is running 50% off the base subscription for three months, which takes Core from $50 to $25 — but the $7 per employee is billed in full from day one.
2. Gusto Simple is single-state. One remote hire in another state moves you to Plus, which doubles the per-person rate.

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Monthly cost by headcount (single state)

Employees	Gusto Simple	QuickBooks Core	Difference
1	$55	$57	Gusto saves $2
5	$79	$85	Gusto saves $6
10	$109	$120	Gusto saves $11
25	$199	$225	Gusto saves $26
50	$349	$400	Gusto saves $51 ($612/yr)

Because Gusto’s per-person fee is $1 lower, the gap grows by $1 for every hire. At 50 employees it’s roughly $600 a year — real money, but rarely enough on its own to justify a migration.

Monthly cost by headcount (two states)

Employees	Gusto Plus	QuickBooks Core + 1 state ($12)	Difference
1	$92	$69	QuickBooks saves $23
5	$140	$97	QuickBooks saves $43
10	$200	$132	QuickBooks saves $68
25	$380	$237	QuickBooks saves $143
50	$680	$412	QuickBooks saves $268 ($3,216/yr)

This is the single most overlooked line in the Gusto vs QuickBooks Payroll decision. If remote hiring is even plausible in the next year, price the two-state column before you sign up.

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Comparing the mid and top tiers

If you need time tracking, the comparison changes again because each vendor gates it differently.

Employees	Gusto Plus (time tracking included)	QuickBooks Premium (time tracking included)
10	$200	$218
25	$380	$413
50	$680	$738

At the top end, Gusto Premium ($180 + $22) costs noticeably more than QuickBooks Elite ($134 + $17): about $1,280 vs. $984 a month at 50 employees. QuickBooks Elite also bundles tax penalty protection and multi-state payroll, so if those are must-haves, Elite is the better value per dollar.

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Features that don’t show up in the price

Tax filing and penalties

• Gusto files federal, state and local payroll taxes on every plan and covers penalties that result from its own filing errors.
• QuickBooks files federal and state taxes on every plan, but local tax filing starts at Premium. Full tax penalty protection is limited to Elite.

If you’re in a state or city with local income taxes (Ohio, Pennsylvania, parts of Maryland, Kentucky and others), Gusto Simple handles that for less than QuickBooks Premium.

Accounting integration

QuickBooks Payroll’s biggest advantage is that it lives inside QuickBooks Online. Wages, employer taxes and liabilities post to your books with no sync to maintain. Gusto also integrates cleanly with QuickBooks Online (and Xero), but it’s a connection you configure and occasionally troubleshoot.

Rule of thumb: if your bookkeeper lives in QuickBooks Online and you’re single-state, the ~$1/employee premium for QuickBooks can be worth it purely for cleaner books.

HR tools

Gusto includes onboarding, offer letters, and employee self-service on Simple, with an applicant tracking system on Plus and Premium. QuickBooks’ HR Support Center starts at Premium. For a company that’s hiring regularly, Gusto gives you more HR value per dollar.

Point-of-sale integrations

For restaurants and retail, Gusto connects with POS systems like Square, Toast, Clover and Shopify POS. QuickBooks Payroll leans on QuickBooks Time for hours and has fewer direct POS connections. See our guide to payroll for food trucks and mobile concessions for a POS-first comparison.

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Which should you choose?

Choose Gusto if:

• All your employees are in one state
• You want the lowest list price at the entry tier
• You need local tax filing without paying for a mid-tier plan
• Onboarding and HR tools matter to you

See Gusto’s current plans and pricing →

Choose QuickBooks Payroll if:

• Your books are already in QuickBooks Online
• You pay (or soon will pay) employees in more than one state
• You want built-in tax penalty protection (Elite)

Consider neither if:

• You want the absolute lowest full-service price: Patriot Software Full Service is $37 + $5/worker ($287/month at 50 employees).
• You need multi-state with no surcharge at a low price: OnPay ($49 + $6) and Square Payroll ($35 + $6) include it.

Compare all 11 providers at your headcount with our interactive cost calculator.

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FAQ

Is Gusto cheaper than QuickBooks Payroll? At the entry tier for a single-state business, yes — by $1 per employee per month plus $1 on the base fee. For multi-state businesses, QuickBooks Core plus its $12 extra-state fee is usually cheaper than Gusto Plus.

Does QuickBooks Payroll require QuickBooks Online? QuickBooks Payroll is designed to run alongside QuickBooks Online, and bundles are sold together. If you don’t use QuickBooks accounting, most of its advantage disappears.

Can I switch from QuickBooks Payroll to Gusto mid-year? Yes. Switching at the start of a quarter is easiest, because you avoid splitting a Form 941 quarter between two providers. Both companies import year-to-date wages so W-2s stay accurate.

Do either charge per payroll run? No. Both include unlimited payroll runs on all plans.

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Prices are list prices checked in October 2026 and exclude promotions, add-ons, benefits premiums and workers’ compensation. Confirm current pricing on each provider’s site before buying. This article is for general information and isn’t tax or legal advice.