Gusto vs Rippling
Verified ratings, feature by feature comparison and real pricing. Everything a North American business needs to pick between these two.
Rippling
Payroll, benefits, devices and app access from one employee record
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Ratings
Every score, at a glance
Verified user ratings across every dimension. Gusto against Rippling, nothing weighted.
Dimensions won
32Gusto 3, Rippling 2
Gusto vs Rippling, across 5 rating dimensions
Widest rating gap
+0.8
Gusto leads on value for money
Verified reviews
331
212 for Gusto, 119 for Rippling
Gusto212 verified reviews
Rippling119 verified reviews
Ratings by dimension
- Gusto
- Rippling
Share of verified reviews
Which product reviewers actually write about.
- Gusto212
- Rippling119
Cost to get started
Cheapest paid plan, shown per month.
Rippling is the cheaper way in. Lower is not automatically better, so weigh it against the ratings above.
Head to head
Where each one wins
Row by row, with the stronger score highlighted. Straight from verified reviews.
| Gusto | Rippling | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.5 | 4.3 |
| Reviews | 212 | 119 |
| Ease of use | 4.8 | 4.5 |
| Value for money | 4.6 | 3.8 |
| Customer service | 4.0 | 4.3 |
| Functionality | 4.6 | 4.7 |
| Starting price | $49/mo | $8/user/mo |
| Free trial | Yes | No |
| Free version | No | No |
Features
Feature by feature, checked off
Everything each product ships, side by side. No marketing gloss.
| Feature | Gusto | Rippling |
|---|---|---|
| Full service US payroll | ||
| Automatic Form 941 and 940 filing | ||
| Automatic W-2 and 1099-NEC filing | ||
| Multi state payroll | ||
| Contractor payments | ||
| Health insurance administration | ||
| 401(k) administration | ||
| Workers compensation | ||
| Time tracking and PTO | ||
| Hiring and onboarding | ||
| Employee self service portal | ||
| Single employee system of record | ||
| Canadian payroll with T4 and ROE | ||
| Automatic onboarding and offboarding | ||
| Device management | ||
| App provisioning and single sign on | ||
| Benefits administration | ||
| Global contractor payments | ||
| Employer of record | ||
| Time and attendance | ||
| Custom workflow automation |
Pricing
Both price lists, side by side
Every plan from both vendors, side by side, priced in US dollars.
Gusto plans
Simple
$49 base plus $6 per person. Single state payroll.
$49/mo
per month
- Full service single state payroll
- Automatic federal and state filings
- Employee self service
- Basic hiring and onboarding
- Health insurance administration
Plus
$80 base plus $12 per person. Multi state and time tracking.
$80/mo
per month
- Everything in Simple
- Multi state payroll
- Time tracking and PTO
- Team management tools
- Next day direct deposit
Premium
$180 base plus $22 per person. Adds HR support and compliance help.
$180/mo
per month
- Everything in Plus
- Access to certified HR experts
- Compliance alerts
- Dedicated support
- Full service payroll migration
Get current pricing
These are list prices and vendors adjust them from time to time. Check with Gusto for the figure you will actually pay.
Rippling plans
Platform
The employee record and HR core. Everything else is a module on top.
$8/user/mo
per user/month
- Employee system of record
- Onboarding and offboarding workflows
- Org chart and reporting
- Custom policies and approvals
- App integrations
Platform plus payroll
The common configuration. Adds full service US payroll.
$16/user/mo
per user/month
- Everything in Platform
- Full service US payroll
- Automatic federal and state filing
- Contractor payments
- Time and attendance
Full suite
Quoted. Payroll, benefits, devices and app management together.
Custom
quoted by the vendor
- Everything in Platform plus payroll
- Benefits administration
- Device management
- App provisioning and single sign on
- Canadian payroll module
Get current pricing
These are list prices and vendors adjust them from time to time. Check with Rippling for the figure you will actually pay.
Verdict
Our verdict
Gusto is payroll. Rippling is payroll, benefits, laptops and app access on one employee record. If you are under about 25 people and US only, Gusto does the job for less and you will not miss what Rippling adds. If you are hiring steadily, issuing hardware, or employing anyone in Canada, Rippling solves problems Gusto does not address at all. Be realistic about the modular pricing: the advertised entry price is not what a working configuration costs.
Written from the reviews on both products. No vendor saw this before publication.