Gusto vs ADP is a choice between a price you can see and a quote you have to ask for. Gusto fits a team of 1 to 49 that wants the cost first: Simple is $49 a month plus $6 per person per month, with unlimited payroll runs.
RUN Powered by ADP, ADP’s platform for businesses with 1 to 49 employees, fits owners who want 24/7 payroll support and HR help from people. All four RUN packages read “Get pricing”, so you budget from a quote.
Quick verdict
Pick Gusto if you want the bill before you talk to anyone, or you run bonus and correction payrolls often. Its plans are month to month, and off-cycle runs cost nothing extra unless you pay them same-day or instantly on Simple or Plus.
Pick RUN Powered by ADP if you want a payroll professional reachable 24/7, or live HR support and legal services in the package. ADP quotes each account, and its payroll fees rise with frequency.
The trade-off is price certainty against service depth: Gusto’s phone and chat run in business hours, and RUN’s cost stays unknown until the quote arrives.
Choose Gusto if
- You want the monthly total before a sales call
- You run off-cycle or bonus payrolls, which every Gusto plan includes at no extra charge unless paid same-day or instantly below Premium
Choose ADP if
- You want payroll answers 24/7 from ADP’s payroll professionals
- You want ADP’s HR support in the payroll package: basic on RUN Complete, enhanced on HR Pro
In This Article (10 sections)
Gusto vs ADP at a Glance
The two differ most on price visibility, extra-run fees and support hours.
| Attribute | Gusto | RUN Powered by ADP |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Owners who want a printed price and run extra payrolls | Owners who want 24/7 payroll support and HR help from people |
| How pricing works | Monthly base fee plus a per-person fee, month to month | Each package card reads “Get pricing”; ADP offers a quote |
| Entry price | Simple: $49/mo + $6/mo per person | Essential: Not published (“Get pricing”) |
| Extra payroll runs | Unlimited on every plan, off-cycle included; same-day and instant pay cost extra below Premium | Not published; payroll frequency is one of the cost factors |
| Support hours | 24/7 Help Center; phone and chat in business hours | 24/7 payroll support from payroll professionals |
Sources: Gusto pricing page, Gusto’s plans help article, RUN Powered by ADP small business payroll page, checked October 2026.
On size, ADP places RUN Powered by ADP at 1-49 employees and moves businesses of 50 or more to ADP Workforce Now. Gusto’s pricing page lists no employee ceiling.
Key Differences Between Gusto and ADP
Four differences decide this choice, and each favours a different kind of owner.
- Price visibility: Gusto prints a base fee and a per-person fee per plan; ADP builds a RUN quote from headcount, pay frequency and add-ons. Only Gusto lets you budget before a call.
- Extra payroll runs: Gusto includes off-cycle runs on every plan. ADP says RUN’s payroll fees increase with frequency. On Gusto, a bonus run costs extra only when you pay it same-day or instantly below Premium.
- Support hours: Gusto answers phone and chat in business hours; RUN lists 24/7 payroll support. That matters to owners who run payroll at night or on weekends.
- Setup model: Gusto is built for an owner to set up alone; RUN uses a guided setup with ADP experts. A first-time employer who wants a person on the setup leans toward ADP.
Gusto vs ADP: Features Compared
Gusto ties features to three plans with a printed price each, while RUN Powered by ADP ties them to four packages whose cards each read “Get pricing”.
| Feature | Gusto | RUN Powered by ADP |
|---|---|---|
| Off-cycle and bonus runs | All plans, no extra charge; same-day and instant pay extra below Premium | Price not published; payroll frequency is a cost factor |
| Multi-state payroll | Plus, Premium (Simple: one state) | All 50 states; price set in the quote |
| Contractor payments | All plans; billed in months paid | Pays contractors; price not published |
| Time tracking | Plus, Premium; Add-on on Simple | Add-on |
| ZipRecruiter job posting | Not listed on the pricing page | Enhanced, and Complete and HR Pro through Enhanced |
| HR support from people | Premium (HR guidance, Premium Account Support); Add-on: HR Partners (eligible Plus, Premium) | Complete (basic HR support), HR Pro (enhanced HR support) |
| Legal services | Not listed on the pricing page | HR Pro (Upnetic Legal Services) |
| 24/7 payroll support | Not listed; phone and chat in business hours | Listed among RUN key features |
Sources: Gusto pricing page, Gusto vs ADP page on gusto.com (Gusto facts only), RUN Powered by ADP small business payroll page, RUN Powered by ADP product page, checked October 2026.
Payroll runs and tax filing
Extra payrolls cost nothing more on Gusto unless you pay them same-day or instantly. Every Gusto plan comes with unlimited payroll runs, and Gusto says it never charges extra for off-cycle payrolls. On Simple and Plus, same-day pay costs $90 per payroll and instant pay $100.
ADP lets RUN Powered by ADP customers process payroll outside the regular schedule if needed, though ADP states that “payroll fees increase with frequency.”
That rule compounds. ADP generally recommends weekly or biweekly pay periods, and a weekly schedule doubles the regular runs of a biweekly one before any bonus run.
Both file federal, state and local payroll taxes and W-2 and 1099 forms. ADP’s own pricing checklist asks whether year-end forms are “included or separately priced,” so get that line in writing.
Verdict: payroll frequency
Gusto fits better for a team that runs bonus or correction payrolls often, because an off-cycle run adds nothing to its bill unless it is paid same-day or instantly below Premium. The caveat: ADP’s per-run fee sits in the quote, so a one-schedule business should compare quoted totals.
Multi-state payroll and contractors
Gusto Simple pays staff in one state; Plus and Premium cover multiple states, and RUN covers all 50 states with the price set in the quote. Simple’s single-state limit is the upgrade trigger a small team hits first.
A 10-person company that hires in a second state moves from Simple at $49 + 10 x $6 = $109 a month to Plus at $80 + 10 x $12, almost double. Gusto’s state tax registration add-on, priced by state, comes on top.
Contractors follow two billing models:
- Gusto: US contractors cost the plan’s per-person price, only in months you pay them. Gusto closed its Contractor-only plan on October 1, 2026, so new customers pay contractors on Simple, Plus or Premium.
- RUN Powered by ADP: ADP’s contractor payment bundle charges a monthly base price plus a per-contractor fee, and year-end processing fees apply. ADP prints none of those amounts.
Verdict: contractors
ADP’s page gives no contractor-bundle price, so there is not enough evidence to call the cost. Gusto’s rule is predictable: a contractor you pay in March and not in April costs nothing in April. ADP describes its contractor bundle but prints no amount, so put a contractor-heavy month into the quote request.
HR tools and HR support
Gusto puts HR guidance and tools in Premium and sells fractional HR support as an add-on, while RUN Powered by ADP adds basic HR support at Complete and enhanced HR support at HR Pro.
On Gusto, Plus and Premium add offer letters and onboarding. Premium adds HR guidance and tools, a dedicated Premium Account Partner and Gusto Business Compliance. Simple and Plus can add Gusto Business Compliance at $85 a month per state on an annual contract.
Gusto HR Partners, fractional HR support, is open to eligible Plus and Premium customers, with no price on the pricing page. ADP’s RUN ladder:
- Essential: ADP’s core payroll and tax features
- Enhanced: ADP adds HR tools, background checks and ZipRecruiter job posting
- Complete: ADP adds live HR support, compliance tools and handbooks
- HR Pro: ADP adds advanced HR help, training and legal support from Upnetic Legal Services
For an owner who wants a person to call about a policy or a handbook, ADP’s RUN Complete is the tier to price.
Verdict: HR help
Depends on plan. RUN Powered by ADP includes basic HR support in Complete and enhanced HR support in HR Pro; Gusto offers HR help through Premium’s HR guidance or the HR Partners add-on.
Gusto prints Premium’s price but not HR Partners’. ADP’s Complete and HR Pro cards both read “Get pricing”.
Benefits, time tracking and integrations
Gusto prints the fees for benefits administration and time tracking, while RUN Powered by ADP sells health insurance, retirement, time tracking and workers’ comp as add-ons with no published price.
- Gusto: with Gusto as your broker, health insurance administration costs nothing extra; keeping your own broker costs $6 a month per eligible employee.
- RUN: insurance is sold through ADP’s affiliate ADPIA, and retirement and workers’ compensation are add-ons with no published fee.
Time tracking synced to payroll is part of Gusto Plus and Premium, an add-on at $6 per person per month on Simple, and an add-on on RUN.
Ten people on Simple with time tracking pay $49 + 10 x $6 + 10 x $6 = $169 a month, still below Plus. A second state, not time tracking, is what justifies Plus.
Gusto connects with QuickBooks and Xero. ADP’s general ledger interface exports RUN journal entries to QuickBooks, Xero and Wave without re-keying data. Accounting links rarely decide this choice.
Customer support
RUN lists 24/7 payroll support from experienced payroll professionals, while Gusto keeps its Help Center open 24/7 and answers phone and chat during business hours.
Simple and Plus include Basic Support and can add Priority Support at $30 a month plus $3 per person per month for “prioritized positioning” in the queue. Premium includes a dedicated Premium Account Partner.
For 10 people, Priority Support adds $30 + 10 x $3 = $60 a month for a faster place in the queue; the pricing page lists no longer hours with it.
ADP does not split support by package, and its pricing guide says support level can change the price.
Verdict: support hours
ADP fits better for after-hours help: an owner who runs payroll at night or on a weekend can reach a payroll professional on RUN. The caveat: support level is one of the inputs ADP prices, so its cost sits inside the quote.
Features pick the tier; the next question is what that tier costs at your headcount.
Gusto vs ADP Pricing
Gusto prints a monthly base fee plus a per-person fee: Simple is $49 a month plus $6 per person per month, Plus $80 plus $12, Premium $180 plus $22. ADP prints none for RUN; all four packages read “Get pricing.”
| Plan tier | Gusto | RUN Powered by ADP |
|---|---|---|
| Entry: payroll and tax filing | Simple: $49/mo + $6/mo per person (one state) | Essential: Not published (“Get pricing”) |
| Mid: multi-state and HR tools | Plus: $80/mo + $12/mo per person | Enhanced or Complete: Not published (“Get pricing”) |
| Top: advisor and HR help | Premium: $180/mo + $22/mo per person, billed after a call | HR Pro: Not published (“Get pricing”) |
| Extra payroll runs | Included; same-day pay $90 and instant pay $100 per payroll on Simple and Plus | Not published; payroll frequency is a cost factor |
Sources: Gusto pricing page, Gusto’s plan-change help article, RUN Powered by ADP small business payroll page, checked October 2026.
The plans are matched by job, because ADP gives no price to match. The billing basis and contract terms differ too:
- Gusto bills for onboarded, active employees, one month behind, and will not bill Premium until you have discussed it with its team. Its plans are month to month, and you can cancel anytime.
- ADP prices RUN in a consultation. ADP needs no contract to start RUN, and services can be terminated at any time. Once you agree to ADP’s tailored proposal, ADP provides a contract, as its payroll pricing guide explains.
Gusto’s printed price grows through add-ons. On Simple and Plus, same-day pay is $90 per payroll and instant pay $100 per payroll, both included in Premium.
Next-day pay is $15 a month plus $3 per person on Simple and included in Plus. Gusto’s pricing page lists its other add-ons, and my Gusto pricing breakdown sets them out plan by plan.
What a 5-, 10- and 25-person team pays on Gusto
On Gusto, the monthly bill is the base fee plus the per-person fee times your headcount, and the table runs that formula for common team sizes.
| Team | Gusto plan | Monthly cost | Annual cost | RUN Powered by ADP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 employees, one state | Simple | $49 + 5 x $6 = $79 | $79 x 12 = $948 | Not published (quote) |
| 10 employees, one state | Simple | $49 + 10 x $6 = $109 | $109 x 12 = $1,308 | Not published (quote) |
| 10 employees, two states | Plus | $80 + 10 x $12 = $200 | $200 x 12 = $2,400 | Not published (quote) |
| 25 employees, two states | Plus | $80 + 25 x $12 = $380 | $380 x 12 = $4,560 | Not published (quote) |
| 25 employees, account partner | Premium | $180 + 25 x $22 = $730 | $730 x 12 = $8,760 | Not published (quote) |
| 10 employees + 15 contractors paid that month | Plus | $80 + 25 x $12 = $380 | Varies by month | Not published (quote) |
Sources: Gusto pricing page, checked October 2026. Assumptions: list prices read on October 29, 2026, month-to-month billing, every person active for the month. Excludes Priority Support, same-day or instant pay, state tax registration, benefits premiums, workers’ comp, the $200 annual tax-advantaged account charge and payroll taxes.
Per-person fees are most of a Gusto bill: at 25 people on Plus, they come to 25 x $12 = $300 a month against the $80 base fee. The contractor row shows the other rule, since the same account drops back to the 10-employee price in a month with no contractor paid.
Same-day pay can make Premium the cheaper plan. Ten people on Plus with three same-day payrolls a month pay $80 + 10 x $12 + 3 x $90 = $470, against Premium at $180 + 10 x $22 = $400 with unlimited same-day pay.
How ADP quotes RUN, and what to ask for
ADP sets a RUN price from how often you run payroll, how many people you pay, how often you add or remove payees and which add-ons you take. Ask for the same team’s monthly total, itemized, and set each line against Gusto’s published equivalent:
| Quote line to get in writing | What ADP’s pages say | Gusto’s published equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Base fee | Pricing tailored to each business | $49, $80 or $180 a month by plan |
| Per-person fee | Price depends on how many people you pay | $6, $12 or $22 per person a month |
| Off-cycle and bonus runs | Payroll frequency is a cost factor | Included on every plan; same-day and instant pay extra below Premium |
| Year-end W-2 and 1099 forms | ADP creates, delivers and e-files them; no price shown | Filed on every plan |
| Multistate payroll | All 50 states; no price shown | Plus and Premium |
| Contractors | Pays contractors; no price shown | Per-person fee in months paid |
| Time tracking | Add-on | Plus, Premium; $6/mo per person on Simple |
| Setup | Guided setup with ADP experts; no price shown | Free account setup |
| Support level | 24/7 payroll support; no price shown | Basic included; Priority $30/mo + $3/mo per person |
Sources: RUN Powered by ADP small business payroll page, RUN Powered by ADP product page, ADP’s payroll pricing guide, Gusto pricing page, checked October 2026. Press hardest on the off-cycle row: Gusto’s figure is zero, and ADP’s is the line its pages say rises as you use RUN more.
If you are pricing ADP in more depth, see my ADP payroll pricing guide.
ADP switch offer
ADP’s packages page, read on October 29, 2026, offers up to 6 months free to businesses that switch payroll and HR before November 26, 2026; terms apply. Free months lower year one only, so compare the quote’s regular monthly price with Gusto’s.
Setup and Day-to-Day Payroll
The setup question is whether you want to do it yourself or have someone configure it with you. Gusto is built for an owner to work through alone, and RUN uses three guided steps with ADP experts.
Moving payroll to Gusto means having your EIN, your team’s addresses and salaries, and any mid-year tax filings ready; account setup is free. RUN’s guided setup tells you what to have handy, and ADP experts help set up payroll and benefits.
After setup, both can run payroll without you:
- Gusto: Payroll on AutoPilot and payroll approvals are on every plan.
- RUN: RUN & DONE puts recurring payroll on autopilot, and ADP Assist flags errors before payroll is submitted and answers payroll questions.
For a first-time employer unsure of withholding rules, ADP Assist’s error flagging and the expert-led setup are the case for RUN. An owner comfortable with a self-serve form gets running on Gusto without waiting for a call.
Gusto vs ADP: Pros and Cons
Gusto’s strengths are price and billing; RUN’s are service and HR depth.
Gusto pros and cons
For a verdict on Gusto alone, beyond this head-to-head, my full Gusto review covers it.
Pros
- Every plan’s base and per-person price is printed, so a 10-person team knows its bill before signing up
- Unlimited payroll runs on every plan, off-cycle included
- US contractors cost the per-person fee only in months they are paid
- Month to month, with free account setup
Cons
- Simple covers one state; a second state means Plus
- Phone and chat run in business hours; Priority Support ($30/mo + $3/mo per person) buys a faster place in the queue
- Premium is billed only after a call with Gusto
- Same-day and instant pay cost $90 and $100 per payroll below Premium
RUN Powered by ADP pros and cons
If ADP is your front-runner, read my ADP RUN review for the full picture.
Pros
- 24/7 payroll support from payroll professionals
- ADP includes live HR support in RUN Complete and legal services from Upnetic in HR Pro
- ADP calculates, files and pays federal, state and local payroll taxes for you, with support on IRS inquiries
- A stated path to ADP Workforce Now at 50+ employees
Cons
- No published price for any RUN package
- Payroll fees increase with payroll frequency
- ADP’s contractor bundle adds a base fee, a per-contractor fee and year-end fees
- ADP sells time tracking as an add-on
Which Is Better for Your Needs?
Gusto fits a budget-first owner with irregular payroll, and RUN Powered by ADP fits an owner who wants payroll help around the clock or HR support built into the package.
| Your priority | Better fit | Reason | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| A price before any call | Gusto | Base and per-person prices are printed for all three plans | Premium is billed only after a call |
| Frequent bonus or off-cycle runs | Gusto | Unlimited runs on every plan, off-cycle included | Same-day pay is $90 per payroll below Premium |
| Payroll help at night or on weekends | ADP | RUN lists 24/7 payroll support | Support level feeds the quote |
| HR help from people | Depends | RUN Complete adds basic HR support and HR Pro enhanced HR support; Gusto offers Premium’s HR guidance or the HR Partners add-on | HR Partners has no printed price, and every RUN package card reads “Get pricing” |
| Staff in several states on a budget | Depends | Gusto Plus prices multi-state; RUN covers all 50 states on a quote | Gusto Simple is one state only |
| Expect to pass 49 employees | ADP | ADP names Workforce Now as its platform for 50+ | Workforce Now is custom-priced |
Sources: Gusto pricing page, RUN Powered by ADP small business payroll page, ADP’s RUN vs Workforce Now guide, checked October 2026.
A one-state team of five that needs neither after-hours payroll help nor HR support from people can price Gusto Simple on the spot, without a quote. A weekly payroll with frequent bonus runs points to Gusto unless the RUN quote prices extra runs at zero.
An owner who wants a person on the phone late in the evening on payday, or help writing a handbook, should price ADP’s RUN Complete. A company near 49 employees should weigh ADP more, since ADP moves businesses of 50 and up to Workforce Now.
ADP’s own comparison pages set RUN against Gusto, Paychex, QuickBooks and SurePayroll. If neither of these two fits, the payroll software for small businesses I compared covers the other options.
Switching Between Gusto and ADP
Moving in either direction is a data transfer plus a timing decision.
Moving from ADP to Gusto:
- Gather your EIN, your team’s addresses and salaries, and this year’s payroll tax filings.
- For larger teams, Gusto can often handle the payroll data transfer and move eligible health plans.
- Gusto says it gets you running payroll the same day you sign up, with no call required.
- Gusto bills in arrears, so the last invoice after you leave covers the month before.
Moving from Gusto to ADP:
- ADP supports switching at any time of year, with its experts guiding each step, and notes that a switch requires data transfer and training.
- ADP says a new RUN customer can start payroll right away when the EIN, tax paperwork and bank account are ready.
- Read the contract ADP provides after you agree to its proposal, and time the move against ADP’s November 26, 2026 switch deadline if you want the free months.
How I Compared Gusto and ADP
I built this comparison from each vendor’s own pricing, product and help pages, read on October 29, 2026, and matched plans by the job they do rather than by price.
The Gusto side rests on Gusto’s pricing page, its plans help articles and its own pages about ADP. The ADP side rests on ADP’s RUN pages, its pricing and platform guides and its ADP vs Gusto page. Each vendor’s page about its rival backed facts about that vendor only.
ADP does not publish a price for any RUN package, nor its per-run, multistate, year-end form, contractor, time-tracking or setup fees. Gusto does not publish an HR Partners price or an employee ceiling. Where a price is missing, the page gives the question to ask instead.
Final Verdict: Gusto or ADP?
Gusto is the pick when the payroll cost must be settled before signing; RUN Powered by ADP is the pick when people on call and HR help matter more.
Choose Gusto if
- You want the price before a call, from $49 a month plus $6 per person on Simple
- You run bonus or correction payrolls, which add nothing to Gusto’s bill unless paid same-day or instantly below Premium
- You pay contractors irregularly and want to pay for them only in months they are paid
- You pay staff in one state now and can move to Plus when you add a second
Choose ADP if
- You want payroll support 24/7 from payroll professionals
- You want HR support from ADP built into RUN, from basic on Complete to enhanced on HR Pro
- You expect to pass 49 employees and want ADP Workforce Now as the next step
- You prefer ADP experts to guide your setup
The main trade-off is certainty against service. Gusto gives you a bill you can compute today, with phone support in business hours. RUN gives you round-the-clock payroll help and HR services from people, at a price you learn only from a quote.
Who should skip each: Gusto is not for an owner buying mainly for after-hours payroll help or live HR support in the package. RUN is not for an owner who needs a budget before any sales call or runs many off-cycle payrolls.
