Gusto vs Insperity

Gusto offers straightforward monthly plans with options starting at a monthly base fee of $55, plus an additional $6 per employee per month. If you don’t have W-2 employees, you can use Gusto to pay your contractors for just $35/month plus $6/month per contractor (only in the months you pay them). There are no hidden fees, you can cancel anytime, and our base price includes setup, tax filing, multiple payroll runs, reporting, and other essentials.

Insperity doesn’t offer any upfront pricing information, and you’ll need to set up a phone consultation in order to get a quote. Contracts are annual, though they do allow cancellation within the first 30 days for a fee.

With Gusto, you can run your payroll in just a few clicks, or automate it for salaried employees with Payroll on AutoPilot. As a PEO, Insperity handles payroll for your business, and a payroll specialist will review it with you before it gets sent out. 

Both platforms automatically calculate and file all federal, state, and local taxes every time you run payroll. Both platforms offer options for both paper checks and direct deposit. Insperity, however, isn’t set up to handle contractors or 1099s. They don’t support multiple pay rates and schedules, or payroll across multiple states. Insperity’s payroll system is set up to handle straightforward, regular payroll in the state your business operates in. Gusto offers far more flexibility when it comes to paying your team.

Gusto comes loaded with more than 3,500 small group health insurance choices, free benefits administration, workers’ comp, HSAs, FSAs, commuter benefits, and even free financial planning tools for your team. If you have a benefits provider you already know and love, we’ll handle the migration so you can easily manage benefits for your team all from within the platform. 

One of the best benefits of working with a PEO like Insperity is that they can negotiate benefits packages with carriers at a lower cost. However, they offer only Insperity-sponsored plans, and you’ll need to switch benefits providers if you decide to outsource your HR with them. Like Gusto, they do offer workers’ comp as well as a wide variety of add-ons including HSAs, FSAs, 401(k)s, and supplemental life and disability insurance. 

Insperity is a purebred HR outsourcing solution, meaning they handle everything from employee handbooks to compliant terminations. Their risk management tools are impressive, and they’ll help you craft custom HR policies for your business. For companies who want to take HR completely off their plate, a PEO like Insperity can be a good choice, though it comes at a price. 

Where Gusto really shines is our suite of user-friendly HR tools. Our people-first hiring and onboarding tools are designed to boost employee satisfaction from day one. Time tracking includes geo-fenced clock-ins, integrated scheduling, as well as our time kiosk that turns any tablet into a centralized clock-in location. And our performance management suite includes goal setting, 360 reviews, and happiness surveys to make sure your team is engaged and on track. 

While Insperity does have a robust employee training library and basic time and attendance that syncs to payroll, they don’t offer scheduling or performance management tools, and their hiring and onboarding is bare bones, more focused on compliant documentation than creating an engaging new-hire experience. They will, however, provide guidance on promotions, raises, and goal setting to help increase retention.

All of Gusto’s plans come with full access to our friendly sales and customer support teams via phone, email, and chat Monday through Friday. And our FAQ and Help Center are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Companies with more than 10 employees also benefit from our dedicated onboarding support team. 

Insperity provides dedicated phone and email support to each of their customers. But according to Forbes, reviews about their customer service are mixed. While some reviews report delayed or inadequate responses to their needs, others find Insperity’s support team responsive and professional.

Gusto offers built-in integrations with over 100 popular business tools across accounting, time tracking, point-of-sale (POS), expense management, and more — including platforms like QuickBooks, Xero, FreshBooks, Homebase, and Clover. These integrations are easy to set up, don’t require developer support, and come included at no extra cost.

Insperity takes a more closed, service-oriented approach. While it does provide API access and supports integrations through third-party platforms like Finch and Merge, setup often requires additional coordination, and information about supported apps isn’t readily available.