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RecruitADP vs Gusto
This review compares ADP and Gusto, two leading HR platforms, to help you find the best fit for your business.
You’ll get:
- Feature Breakdown – A side-by-side analysis of key capabilities.
- Pricing Comparison – A cost overview to support budgeting.
- Pros & Cons – Unbiased insights into each platform’s strengths and limitations.
Explore how these solutions can enhance efficiency and support your growing team. Let’s dive in!
ADP vs Gusto Overview
Feature | ADP | Gusto | Explanation |
User Reviews | G2: 4.4/5 Trustradius: 6.3/10 | G2: 4.5/5 Trustradius: 8.4/10 | Gusto’s reviews are very good, while ADP’s are mixed. |
Pricing | Not publicly listed | $399 or $599/international employee per month; $35 + $6 / contractor per month | ADP doesn’t post its prices online. Gusto does, and its contractor price is very affordable. It charges $399/month for employees in India and the Philippines and $599 elsewhere. |
User-friendliness | Very good | Excellent | Gusto has excellent reviews for ease of use and support, while ADP’s are somewhat mixed. |
Customer Support | 24/7 live chat and phone support | 24/5 live chat (and phone support in the US) | Gusto has live support just 24/5, while ADP offers live chat and a phone hotline for help all the time. |
Integrations | Excellent | Excellent | ADP integrates with 300+ business applications. Gusto has integrations with nearly 200 apps. |
Data security | Excellent | Excellent | ADP is GDPR, SOC 1, 2, and 3 compliant and ISO 27001 certified. Gusto is HIPAA and SOC 2 compliant. |
International hiring (EOR) | Not offered | Good | Gusto helps with hiring employees in nine countries and contractors in 120+. ADP doesn’t offer international hiring. |
Recruitment | Not offered | Good | Gusto doesn’t recruit independently but integrates with its related Gusto Recruiting job board. ADP offers integration with ZipRecruiter but doesn’t have any direct recruitment services. |
Benefits administration | Excellent | Excellent | Both platforms allow clients to provide extensive like health insurance and pensions for their employees. |
Payroll | Very good | Very good | Gusto’s runs comprehensive payroll services in the US and manages payroll for contractors and international employees. ADP manages payroll as part of its PEO service. |
Comparison of ADP vs Gusto
When comparing top hiring and staffing solutions, ADP and Gusto stand out as key contenders, each catering to different business needs. With its long-standing reputation and extensive resources, ADP offers a comprehensive TotalSource PEO (Professional Employer Organization) service, ideal for businesses seeking full-service HR support.
On the other hand, Gusto takes a more modern, user-friendly approach, making it an excellent choice for companies looking for flexible HR management tools to handle both independent contractors and full-time employees easily.
ADP
ADP, or Automatic Data Processing, is a huge human resources software and services company in the US with revenues of $19 billion in 2024. It was founded in 1949 and has been providing payroll and HR services ever since. It now works in many areas, and this review will focus on one of its branches, ADP TotalSource. This is a full-service PEO or professional employment organization, an HR solution that manages taxes, payroll, hiring, and onboarding of employees for its clients. ADP TotalSource automates these services through its management and benefits administration platform. It’s an IRS-certified PEO and holds Employer Services Assurance Corporation (ESAC) accreditation.
With TotalSource PEO service, ADP gives clients access to a team of experts, including one dedicated assistant the ADP calls your HR business partner or HRBP. They also use the ADP TotalSource HRIS (human resources information system) to store and manage their employees’ data and automate many processes. This service includes payroll, tax preparation and filing, benefits administration, time and attendance monitoring, onboarding and offboarding, reporting, and analytics. ADP also maintains compliance with state and federal employment and tax laws to protect its clients from penalties.
Finally, ADP partners with many of the US’s leading insurers and benefits providers, including AIG and Aetna. Because it manages so many employees through its services, it can usually secure these benefits at excellent prices below market rates. Benefits like medical, dental, vision, disability, accident, and critical illness insurance, HSAs, FSAs, 401(K) plans, and more are available for clients to offer to their employees, and ADP manages their administration.
Services offered by ADP TotalSource
- Comprehensive HR Management: Automates payroll, tax preparation, and employee onboarding.
- Dedicated HR Support: Provides clients with a dedicated HR business partner (HRBP) for personalized assistance.
- HRIS Platform: Uses ADP TotalSource HRIS to store and manage employee data and streamline processes.
- Time and Attendance Monitoring: Tracks employee hours and attendance to facilitate payroll accuracy.
- Benefits Administration: Offers a range of health, dental, and financial benefits managed by ADP.
- Compliance Management: Maintains adherence to employment and tax laws for client protection.
Gusto
Gusto was launched in 2012, primarily as a solution helping companies hire, manage, and pay independent contractors across the US. From that beginning, it has expanded to help with international contractor hiring in over 120 countries. It has even partnered with Remote to provide EOR or employer of record services in nine countries, with more on the way. This means it can hire employees on behalf of clients that don’t have entities in those countries but contracts the employees to work for the clients. It also provides PEO services, including payroll management, benefits, and HR for US employees.
Gusto offers extensive health and financial benefits for clients to provide for their employees. It has thousands of packages from its partner providers, allowing clients to integrate their current brokers’ plans with the Gusto platform.
Gusto’s platform has grown into a software solution that can be used as a standalone human resources management system (HRMS). It helps automate payroll, paid time off (PTO) management, deductions, payroll tax calculation, benefits, and other features needed to manage HR in a single package. Gusto also offers payroll and benefits management services either independently or as part of its PEO and EOR services.
Services offered by Gusto
- Global Contractor Management: Facilitates hiring and managing independent contractors across the US and internationally.
- EOR Services: Allows clients to hire employees in countries without local entities.
- PEO Services: Offers payroll management, benefits, and HR solutions for US-based employees.
- HR Management System: Provides a comprehensive software solution to automate HR tasks.
- Flexible Benefits Packages: Integrates thousands of health and financial benefits from partner providers.
- Payroll Automation: Simplifies payroll calculations, deductions, and tax management.
ADP Pricing
ADP’s pricing model is generally based on a per employee per month (PEPM) basis. This means that the cost of using their services will depend on the number of employees your company has and the specific features or modules you choose.
However, ADP offers a variety of products and services, each with its own pricing structure. For example, their payroll services might have different pricing tiers based on the size of your company and the complexity of your payroll needs.
Their human capital management (HCM) solutions may also have different pricing models, depending on the specific modules you choose and the number of employees using the system.
Gusto Pricing
| Plan | Price per employee/contractor per month |
|---|---|
| Gusto Simple Plan | $40 per month + $6 per employee per month |
| Gusto Plus Plan | $80 per month + $12 per employee per month |
| Gusto Premium Plan | $180 per month + 22 per employee per month |
| Gusto Contractor ONLY | $35 per month + $6 per employee per month |
Key Differences
Service Expansion
- ADP: Offers a comprehensive suite of services, including tailored HR management, compliance, and benefits administration for clients across the US.
- Gusto: Focuses on flexibility, providing extensive global contractor management and EOR services, appealing to businesses with international hiring needs.
Global Reach
- Gusto: Supports international contractor hiring in over 120 countries, partnering with Remote to enhance its global capabilities.
- ADP: Primarily serves US clients and lacks the same level of international contractor management.
Pricing Transparency
- Gusto: Provides clear pricing starting at $39 per month for PEO services, making it accessible for small to medium-sized businesses.
- ADP: Utilizes a custom pricing model, which can vary based on client needs, potentially leading to less transparency for prospective users.
In choosing between ADP TotalSource and Gusto, businesses must weigh their specific requirements—whether they prioritize comprehensive HR services, ease of contractor management, or flexible pricing structures. ADP is an excellent choice for organizations seeking an all-encompassing PEO solution with dedicated support, while Gusto shines in its ability to accommodate global hiring and offer user-friendly HR management tools.
ADP Pros and Cons
ADP’s TotalSource PEO solution is a comprehensive service offered to large and small US companies. The particular advantages and disadvantages of working with this PEO include:
- Pros
Extensive administration tools
ADP TotalSource works as a comprehensive HRIS for managing all of your workers. Its functions include payroll, tax calculations, paid time off (PTO), onboarding, offboarding, time tracking, and many other necessary HR functions.
Mobile app
ADP TotalSource clients can use the ADP Mobile Solutions app – with iOS and Android devices. This app helps employees and employers access pay and tax information, manage schedules, submit and approve timesheets, and review and manage benefits.
Scalability
ADP’s platform can handle as many employees as you need to hire which makes it easy to scale up fast when you need to.
Data security
ADP is compliant with GDPR and SOC 1, 2, and 3 standards for data security as well as ISO 27001 certified.
Benefits packages
ADP offers extensive mandatory and add-on benefits packages that are compliant with regulations in all 50 states. These include health, vision, dental, and life insurance, as well as pensions and more.
Extensive integration
ADP’s platform can integrate with over 300 useful finance, HR, and communication apps. This smooths your workflow by easily moving data and reports smoothly between platforms.
- Cons
No support for international hiring
As a US PEO, ADP TotalSource is only available for managing employees in the US. It hasn’t yet expanded to provide PEO or EOR services in other countries.
Complexity
While the ADP TotalSource platform has an intuitive and easy-to-use user interface (UI), it’s also quite complex. With lots of functions in one place, it can be difficult to set up and learn to administer.
No pricing online
Rippling’s prices aren’t available online for easy comparisons with other providers. You have to ask for a quote to see how much its services will cost your business.
Gusto Pros and Cons
Gusto’s PEO solution provides a robust suite of services tailored for both large and small businesses in the United States. Here are some notable advantages and potential drawbacks of partnering with Gusto as your PEO:
- Pros
Extensive administration tools
Gusto’s platform is extensive and includes payroll entry, PTO management, pre-tax deductions, tax calculation and filing, check and W-2 printing and delivery, and direct deposit management. It has three tiers of service for its platform, however, and only the top tier has its full functionality.
User-friendly interface
Gusto features an easy and user-friendly UI and new users will find its platform easy to learn.
Mobile app
Gusto has a mobile app, Gusto Wallet, for iOS and Android devices. Employees can use it to manage their profiles, edit tax elections, and view their payslips conveniently.
Benefits packages
Gusto provides extensive benefits options, including pensions and health, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance.
- Cons
Limited international hiring
Gusto lets businesses hire full-time employees in nine countries and contractors in over 120. Compared to other EOR services, its list of countries is quite limited.
Limited support
Gusto only offers 24/5 live support, which means things can slow down on weekends. Some user reviews criticize Gusto’s service responses for being slow.
Head to Head Comparison: APD vs Gusto Features
Now that we’ve had the chance to examine each provider individually, it’s time to compare them to see where each one shines. We’ll compare them against different criteria to show you which service provider is a better choice for specific uses.
User-friendly platform: Gusto Wins
Both platforms have clear and simple UIs that are easy to use. However, user reviews rank Gusto’s platform as significantly easier to set up, navigate, and administer, while some warn that ADPs can take much longer to master.
Resources: It’s a tie
Gusto’s resources include many calculators for tax calculation, business planning, and payroll calculation in different states, as well as a useful blog and research and data publications. ADP offers helpful calculators, tax forms, guides, and extensive guides for small and medium-sized businesses. We feel that these resources are pretty equal.
Integration with other software: ADP Wins
Gusto can integrate with over 200 software solutions such as Google Workspace, Hubspot, Zendesk, Cloudflare, and Dropbox to help smooth workflows. ADP offers over 300 integrations, including Quickbooks, Xero, DailyPay, ClockSharks, and more. It comes down to numbers here, and ADP simply links with more apps.
International hiring: Gusto Wins
ADP TotalSource doesn’t give clients the opportunity to hire abroad. Through its partner, Remote, Gusto offers EOR services in nine countries. While this is limited, Gusto’s contractor management service is much more extensive and covers over 120 countries.
PEO Solution: ADP Wins
You can use Gusto’s platform to manage employees, run payroll, manage onboarding, and manage employee benefits. With its Premium service tier ($135/month + $16.50/person per month), you can get dedicated support from a customer success manager and access to licensed HR experts who help you maintain compliance with state and federal laws. This is very similar to ADP’s TotalSource PEO service, but ADP’s is more comprehensive and has already been constructed as a licensed program. Gusto’s services require more self-management.
Employee Benefits: It’s a tie
These two employers both provide extensive benefits options in the US. They let clients choose their packages or incorporate their current brokers into their platforms. As neither posts its prices online, we’re assessing them as equal.
Payroll Management: Gusto Wins
Both platforms make managing payroll extremely easy and highly efficient. They focus on US compliance and are highly effective at generating payslips and automatically calculating taxes. However, only Gusto offers payroll as a separate service for companies that don’t need full PEO service, and this flexibility gives it the win.
Our Verdict: ADP vs Gusto
Instead of trying to choose an overall winner from these two competitors, this ADP vs Gusto review aimed to indicate where each is a better choice. These are our recommendations for using these two service providers.
When to choose ADP
ADP Total Source is designed as a full-service PEO in the US and is a great choice for small and medium-sized businesses that want to outsource their HR functions. It’s also an excellent benefits provider, helping clients offer mandatory benefits and extras that will attract top talent.
When to choose Gusto
Gusto is easy to learn and an effective platform for managing all your business’s HR functions. It makes it easy and convenient to hire contractors in the US and abroad. It also lets you add international talent to your team, albeit in a limited number of countries. Gusto is also a good choice if you need only payroll services.
ADP and Gusto Alternatives
ADP and Gusto are not your only options. If you would like to consider some other payroll platforms, check out reviews of Paylocity, Paycom or Paychex Flex. For further selection on payroll service providers, check out our guide to the leading outsourced payroll providers. For an in-depth consultation on the best payroll outsourcing deals get in touch with Remote People’s global payroll consultants. We also have a great resource on top 8 Gusto alternatives.