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Join For FreeSquare Payroll VS Gusto
Both Square and Gusto offer affordable and easy to use payroll software for small businesses. Which one is the best fit for your needs?
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WRITTEN & RESEARCHED BY
Lead Staff Writer
Last updated onUpdated
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REVIEWED BY
Lead Staff Writer
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When comparing the best payroll software for small businesses, the battle between Square Payroll vs. Gusto is a close one. The good news is that you can’t really go wrong, as both companies offer user-friendly software, solid feature sets, and affordable pricing. But one option might be significantly better for your specific needs, and that’s where we’re here to help.
We’ll dive into each software’s features, pricing, integrations, and more to find out which software is the best option for your business.
| Square | Gusto | |
|---|---|---|
| Ideal For | Independent contractors and businesses with simple accounting needs | Small to mid-sized businesses needing complete payroll software |
| Pricing | $5/month per person – $35/month + add-ons | $6/month per person – $80/month + $12/per person |
| Standout Features |
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| What’s Missing |
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Table of Contents
Square Payroll VS Gusto At A Glance
Both Square Payroll and Gusto have affordable pricing, strong customer support, intuitive interfaces, unlimited payroll runs, and a slew of similar features, putting each of them on our list of the best small business payroll software. The main differences between these payroll options are that Square payroll has a mobile app and integrates with a suite of other Square products, which Gusto offers better benefits and HR features (though some benefit administration options aren’t available in every state).
There are several other more nuanced differences between Square Payroll and Gusto, so let’s dive into the full comparison.
Where Square Payroll Wins
Square is well-known in the small business community for its multitude of products and services, such as point of sale (POS) and payment processing. Square Payroll checks the boxes for easy use and compliance. With any subscription, Square’s features cover all essential payroll functions like direct deposit and tax filing.
For small businesses already using other Square products, tacking on Square Payroll is a logical choice to further integrated operations. For instance, businesses with Square POS can carry over its time-tracking functions at the register for employees to clock in or out of their shifts. It’s as easy as setting up each employee with their own unique code in the system.
The other areas where Square Payroll wins include:
- A mobile app (Gusto has no mobile app)
- Integrations to other Square products
- Services in all 50 states (Gusto services payroll in all 50 states but benefit administration in only 38)
Where Square Payroll Falls Short
Customers who need greater customization in their payroll scheduling and deductions have taken issue with Square’s inability to accommodate their unique needs.
Other drawbacks of Square Payroll include:
- Features are less advanced
- Limited reporting
- Fewer health benefits options
Outside its own applications, Square Payroll has six other possible integrations, most notably QuickBooks, TSheets, and ZipRecruiter. This number is quite small compared to Gusto’s integrations suit.
Where Gusto Wins
Gusto is a cloud-based payroll platform with a reputation for its straightforward interface and the ease at which it can automatically calculate payroll and tax filings. Gusto supports flexible payment schedules too, which comes in handy whether following a standard bi-weekly plan or periodically doling out bonuses and commissions.
Gusto is effective at integrating other aspects of business, such as HR, employee onboarding, and benefits administration, plus the company offers many more software integrations than Square Payroll.
Other perks of Gusto include:
- 24/7 customer support compared to Square Payroll’s support hours of Monday to Friday 6 AM – 6 PM PST
- Extensive benefits options
- More integrations than Square
- Document vault and e-signing
- Extensive add-on options
Where Gusto Falls Short
The biggest issue with Gusto is that health insurance is not available in Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Rhode Island, or West Virginia. Additionally, if you use multiple Square products already, Gusto won’t have the direct integration capabilities you would find by using Square Payroll.
Other limitations of Gusto include:
- Limited time tracking
- Limited reports
- No health insurance in all 50 states
- Customers complain that there’s no international support
Square Payroll VS Gusto Pricing Comparison
| Square Payroll | Gusto | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $5/per month – $35/month + add-ons | $6/month – $80/month |
| Number of users | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Discounts available | No | No |
Square Payroll and Gusto have similar pricing plans in that they both have low-cost entry points for small to mid-sized businesses, but there are some key differences that might help sway you one way or the other.
Square’s Payroll pricing is ideal for very small businesses that only have a handful of independent contractors and costs $5/month per individual paid. This also comes with access to various add-ons like health and retirement benefits. For more features, you can subscribe to the Employees & Contractors pan for $35/month plus $5 per employee, which comes with features like timecards and an employee app plus tax support.
Gusto’s payroll pricing has a few more options and is slightly more expensive, but also has additional features. Like Square Payroll, Gusto has a contractor-only plan that starts at $6/month per individual. The Lite Plan is $40/month + $6/month per employee, and the Plus Plan starts at $80/month + $12/month per employee. There is also a Premier Plan with custom pricing for larger businesses.
As you would probably expect from the pricing differences, Gusto does come with additional features that Square’s base package does not, so, depending on what you might need to add on with Square Payroll, the overall costs could end up being similar. Gusto’s Plus package comes with additional reports and employee tracking, and it also offers far more benefit options than Square Payroll.
The Bottom Line On Gusto VS Square Payroll Pricing: If you’re looking for a complete payroll software system with everything included, Gusto is probably the simplest choice. If you won’t need to tack on multiple features a la carte from Square’s basic services, Square Payroll will likely be more affordable.
Square Payroll VS Gusto Features Comparison
| Feature | Square Payroll | Gusto |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll processing | ||
| Tax Filing | ||
| Direct Deposit | ||
| Unlimited Pay Runs | ||
| Time Tracking | ||
| Benefits Administration | Costs extra | |
| New Hire Reporting | ||
| Mobile App | ||
| Reporting | ||
| Employee Management |
On the surface, Square and Gusto have many of the same payroll features. However, the functionality and cost of certain features are quite different in practice.
Let’s take a closer look at Gusto vs Square payroll to see how they stack up on some key features.
Only Square Features:
- A mobile app for managing payroll
- Direct integrations with Square products
Only Gusto Features:
- More extensive HR management including employee surveys, PTO requests, onboarding support, and more
- Team management built-in to all Gusto plans at no extra cost
- Employer-led onboarding (Square Payroll’s onboarding is employee-led)
- More business software integrations
Read our Gusto review and Square Payroll review for a more detailed breakdown of each company’s features and capabilities.
Is Square Payroll Or Gusto Better For My Business?
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to running a small business, and the same goes for processing payroll. For the most part, small business customers are satisfied with Gusto and Square Payroll. That being said, there are some situations when one option outweighs the other.
With detailed HR and benefits administration, more advanced payroll features, and more software integration options, Gusto is the overall best fit for small businesses.
However, certain small businesses might prefer Square Payroll. If you don’t need the advanced features of Gusto, Square Payroll is more affordable. And if you do need direct Square integrations, Square Payroll can be a great asset for businesses already using the Square suite. The other biggest use case for Square Payroll is if you need a mobile app option since Gusto surprisingly doesn’t offer a mobile app at all.
Still undecided? Here are some points to consider.
Choose Square Payroll If…
- You have a small business that exclusively employs 1099 contractors
- You’re not interested in tons of add-on features
- You already use other Square products, such as Square Online, Square POS, and Square Marketing
- You want a mobile payroll app
Choose Gusto If…
- You run a small or startup businesses
- You value streamlined payroll, HR, and benefits management over sophisticated analytics and reporting
- You need flexible payroll runs for contractors, tipped workers, or employees earning bonuses or commissions
- You need advanced HR features and benefits administration in Gusto’s supported states
Once you’ve made a decision, check out our content on how to run Square Payroll or how to run Gusto. Or, if you want to explore other options, check out the cheapest payroll software for businesses or compare Gusto and Square to other products:
Gusto VS Square Payroll FAQs
Matt Sherman
Lead Staff Writer at Merchant Maverick
Matt has been helping small businesses make decisions since 2017. He has written reviews and articles across many different channels but specializes in the point of sale, payroll, and small business insurance categories and has been quoted in articles for Fox Business, Forbes, and other publications. Prior to joining Merchant Maverick, Matt was a journalist and editor for 14 years for a pair of weekly newspapers. He is a graduate of the University of Oregon and currently resides in Gladstone, Oregon.
View Matt Sherman's professional experience on LinkedIn.
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