ADP vs Gusto: a named account team or a published price
You run a small US business and want payroll and tax filings done reliably, without them eating your month. You may have tried to price ADP and found you cannot get a number without a salesperson, and now you are checking if Gusto does the same job at a price you can see. If your staff work across state lines, that is a second worry.
Both tools are affiliate partners of ours: we may earn a commission if you sign up through a button on this page, at no extra cost to you. That is why we also say when to pick neither.
ADP and Gusto side by side
| ADP | Gusto | |
|---|---|---|
| Price we read | No one-line price summary yet; the full price breakdown is in our review | Simple $49 a month plus $6 per person (single-state payroll) (read 16 Oct 2026) |
| Entry price | Essential Payroll (RUN): price on request; no figure on any ADP page (checked 11 Oct 2026) | Simple: $49 a month plus $6 per person, single-state payroll (read 16 Oct 2026) |
| How you pay | Quote through sales for one of four RUN packages: Essential, Enhanced, Complete, HR Pro | Base fee plus a per-person fee, month-to-month, no contract, free setup |
| Free plan or trial | No trial stated. Offer terms read 12 Nov 2026: 3 free months, credited to months 4 to 6, if payroll starts by 26 Nov | No free plan or trial stated in our reading |
| Best for | Small and mid-sized employers who want a named account team from the largest provider | US small businesses wanting payroll, benefits and tax filing in one place |
| Main catch | You cannot budget or compare it before giving sales your headcount and phone number | US-only: new international hires go to Remote's EOR, from about $599 per employee a month |
Which one fits you
Pick ADP if
- You would rather have a named account team than a self-service tool. ADP has run payroll for over 75 years and says more than 900,000 small businesses use RUN.
- You want HR support bundled with payroll from one big provider. Complete Payroll & HR Plus adds basic HR support and HR Pro adds enhanced HR support and staff perks, both priced by quote.
Pick Gusto if
- You need a number before you talk to anyone. Gusto Simple is $49 a month plus $6 per person (read 16 Oct 2026), month-to-month with no contract.
- Your staff live and work in different states. Gusto Plus adds multi-state payroll, next-day pay and time tracking at $80 a month plus $12 per person (read 16 Oct 2026).
- You are a one or two person company. A published-price tool covers the same job without ADP's sales call, and Gusto's Solo plan on the 'Pay Myself' tab is $49 a month plus $6 per person (read 16 Oct 2026).
When to pick neither
Most of your team lives outside the US and you want one vendor to pay them all. Gusto refers new international hires to Remote on a separate contract, and nothing in our ADP reading covers staff abroad.
Gusto's own FAQ says a team that is mostly abroad should compare employer-of-record services directly.
What it costs at a real size
Only Gusto can be priced. A team of 10 in one state on Simple: $49 + 10 × $6 = $109 a month. On Plus, for several states: $80 + 10 × $12 = $200 a month (both read 16 Oct 2026). ADP gives no figure, so ask it for the per-employee monthly rate and the per-payroll-run fee separately and set them next to these.
Where to start
ADP
Essential Payroll (RUN), price on request (checked 11 Oct 2026). Before signing, get the ongoing rate in writing and ask what the price becomes at double your headcount.
Start with ADP →Gusto
Simple, $49 a month plus $6 per person, single-state payroll (read 16 Oct 2026). Plus at $80 plus $12 per person if you pay staff in several states.
Start with Gusto →Questions buyers ask
Does ADP publish prices for RUN?
No. On 11 Oct 2026 the package-comparison page showed 'Get pricing' under all four tiers, and adp.com/pricing returned a 404 when we checked in August 2026. Every route ends at a quote form.
Is ADP's three-months-free offer worth it?
Read the terms first. The offer terms we read on 12 Nov 2026 need a signed order and payroll started by 26 Nov 2026, and credit the free months to months 4, 5 and 6, not the first three. They are for new RUN clients with 1 to 49 employees in the continental US. The end date keeps moving (it was 22 Oct when we read the terms on 11 Oct 2026), so check what is running now.
Do I pay Gusto for contractors every month?
No. Gusto's pricing FAQ (read 16 Oct 2026) says you are charged only for active employees, and US contractors are billed at the plan's per-person rate only in months you pay them.
Which one handles custom reports better?
We did not compare reporting. Buyers on Capterra and Trustpilot (Aug 2026) call ADP's reporting rigid for custom needs, and our Gusto research does not cover reporting.
Where these facts come from
ADP's RUN product page, package-comparison page and offer terms, read 29 Aug 2026 and re-checked 11 Oct 2026. Gusto's pricing page and pricing FAQ, read in a browser on 16 Oct 2026. Prices change: each one carries the date we read it, and our reviews are re-checked against the vendor pages.