The verdict
Rounds split 3–3; Gusto edges it on total score.
There's no universal winner — match the payroll provider to the size and complexity of the business you actually run today, not the one you hope to have.
Choose Gusto if…
- • You want transparent, published pricing and a self-serve online signup
- • You're a small business (roughly 1-100 employees) without complex multi-jurisdiction needs
Choose ADP if…
- • You need a real PEO co-employment option or enterprise-grade compliance scale
- • You're scaling past ~100-150 employees and need a clear upgrade path
Round by round
- Round 1Pricing & TransparencyGusto winsGusto9/10
$49/mo + $6/employee
Simple tier: published base + per-employee price, no sales call
- Published self-serve pricing, no sales call needed
- Simple tier starts at $49/mo + $6/employee
- Premium tier ($180/mo) needed for HR experts, custom reporting
Source: Gusto pricing data
ADP4/10No published pricing, add-ons stack up
- RUN Essential estimated near $79/mo + $4/employee
- No published, self-serve pricing anywhere
- Reported termination fees up to ~50% of remaining contract value
Gusto publishes a real number; ADP makes you ask for one.
- Round 2Core Payroll & Tax FilingADP winsGusto6/10
50 states (multi-state on Plus+)
Automatic tax filing on every plan; multi-state payroll requires Plus or Premium
- Automatic fed/state/local tax filing included on every tier
- Multi-state payroll locked behind Plus ($80/mo) or Premium
- Simple tier restricted to a single state
Source: Gusto plan tiers
ADP8/10Enterprise scale, jurisdiction complaints
- Automatic tax filing included on every RUN tier
- Decades of compliance scale — pays 1 in 6 US workers
- Reviewers report inconsistent handling of multiple local jurisdictions
ADP's scale is real, but so is the local-jurisdiction complaint; Gusto's limit is simpler — it's just about your tier.
- Round 3HR Features & BenefitsADP winsGusto5/10
No direct PEO
Benefits brokerage + basic HR built in, but no customer-facing co-employment PEO
- Benefits brokerage, 401(k) via Guideline, HR tools bundled in
- Certified HR expert access on Premium tier
- No true co-employment PEO for small businesses
- HR/reporting depth plateaus above ~100-150 employees
Source: Gusto product structure
ADP8/10700,000+ worksite employees
ADP TotalSource PEO gives small businesses large-group insurance rates
- ADP TotalSource is a full co-employment PEO, distinct product
- Leverages 700,000+ worksite employees for group insurance rates
- Clear upgrade path: RUN to Workforce Now to TotalSource
- Background checks and HR support center locked behind higher RUN tiers
Source: ADP TotalSource
Gusto covers the basics well; ADP has the one thing Gusto structurally can't offer — real PEO co-employment.
- Round 4Ease of Use & SetupGusto winsGusto9/10
"Very easy to set up and to use"
- Self-serve online signup, no sales call required
- Consistently rated the easiest payroll tool to learn
ADP5/10"Setup...has been a nightmare"
- 24/7 phone access reported by RUN reviewers once active
- Setup requires a sales call, not self-serve
- One reviewer described setup and assistance as 'a nightmare'
Gusto is built to be self-served; ADP's onboarding runs through people, for better and worse.
- Round 5IntegrationsADP winsGusto6/10
11+ native integrations
QuickBooks, Xero, Shopify, Clover, Slack and more
- Deep QuickBooks Online/Desktop and Xero integration
- Covers common small-business tools: Shopify, Clover, Slack
- Smaller integration catalog than enterprise competitors
Source: Gusto integrations page
ADP8/10Hundreds of apps
ADP Marketplace ecosystem plus Checkr, ZipRecruiter, time-clock hardware
- Hundreds of apps via the ADP Marketplace ecosystem
- Deep background-check and hiring integrations (Checkr, ZipRecruiter)
- Reviewers report payroll and time-management modules not always fully communicating
Source: ADP Marketplace
ADP wins on sheer integration count; Gusto wins on how well its shorter list actually fits a small business.
- Round 6Customer Support & TrustGusto winsGusto7/10
4.6/5 vs ~2.3/5
Strong HR-buyer reviews; weaker on Trustpilot, driven by payroll-error/support complaints
- 4.6/5 on both G2 and Capterra from thousands of reviews
- Trustpilot rating around 2.3-2.4/5
- Complaints about non-English-speaking support and app downtime
Source: Gusto sentiment data
ADP4/104.1-4.6/5 G2/Capterra vs ~1.2/5 Trustpilot
- 4.1-4.6/5 on G2/Capterra from HR buyers
- 24/7 phone access reported by RUN reviewers
- Trustpilot rating just ~1.2-1.4/5, one of the widest gaps in the industry
- Persistent complaints about hidden add-on fees and upselling
Both companies split hard between polished HR-buyer reviews and rough Trustpilot reality — but ADP's gap is the wider, uglier one.
Which one is for you?
Small business wanting to sign up online today, no sales call
→ Gusto · Gusto's pricing is published and self-serve
Business that wants a true PEO co-employment option
→ ADP · ADP TotalSource covers 700,000+ worksite employees
Company scaling past 100-150 employees needing deeper HR/compliance
→ ADP · Workforce Now scales into mid-market HCM
Solo founder or small team wanting simple, published pricing
→ Gusto · $49/mo + $6/employee beats ADP's opaque quote
Side by side
- Fully published pricing, no sales call
- Automatic federal/state/local filing praised for accuracy
- 401(k) built in natively via Guideline
- Certified HR pros and compensation tools bundled into Premium
- RUN Essential estimated near $79/mo + $4/employee
- Automatic tax filing included on every RUN tier
- Decades of compliance scale — pays 1 in 6 US workers
- ADP TotalSource is a full co-employment PEO, distinct product
- Multi-state payroll requires upgrading to a pricier tier
- Multi-state filing requires a pricier tier
- Advanced tools locked behind pricier Premium tier
- Trustpilot ~2.3/5, driven by support-response complaints
- No published, self-serve pricing anywhere
- Reported termination fees up to ~50% of remaining contract value
- Reviewers report inconsistent handling of multiple local jurisdictions
- Background checks and HR support center locked behind higher RUN tiers