Forbes

Gusto and Intuit QuickBooks are two payroll providers that receive excellent reviews. While both are comprehensive payroll services, Gusto is known to be more scalable and user-friendly when it comes to startups and new ventures. QuickBooks integrates better with accounting software for a one-stop view of a company’s financial health and enables you to pay employees faster with same-day direct deposits in its top-tiered plan.

Gusto vs. QuickBooks: At a Glance

Gusto and QuickBooks are solid choices when it comes to choosing payroll software. Both scale to businesses, though Gusto is more accommodating to a business scaling from a few employees to several hundred. QuickBooks limits its application to 150 employees.

Both providers offer benefits administration so employers can offer key benefits packages with ease to all employees. However, QuickBooks’ plan is outsourced to a third-party, SimplyInsured. For businesses that work mainly with contractors, either system will give you the option to pay contractors directly, with Gusto even offering a contractors-only plan.

When comparing Gusto and QuickBooks side by side, there are many similarities. Both payroll providers give employees a portal to review and manage their payroll. This eliminates a lot of extra work for payroll administrators. Both plans integrate with third-party providers, such as accounting and time-tracking services, although QuickBooks is best paired with other Intuit products.

Employers can better manage cash flow with ledger reports and analytics provided by the platform. These insights show how much and where money is flowing so you can determine the ROIs of certain departments or projects. While Gusto offers analytics, it doesn’t offer a ledger report as QuickBooks does.

QuickBooks has a slightly more extensive customer support center, available in the early morning hours for business leaders trying to tackle payroll before the workday begins. Overall, both providers are very similar and get similar star ratings in our proprietary reviews.

Bottom Line

We like both Gusto and QuickBooks as payroll provider solutions for small to midsized businesses. Gusto has the ability to scale a bit higher than the 150-employee cap of QuickBooks, making it a bit more dynamic for growing businesses. However, the costs of Gusto can add up quickly for its popular Complete plan, putting a strain on companies with slim budgets for payroll services.