Gusto vs TriNet

Gusto offers straightforward monthly plans with options starting at a monthly base fee of $49, 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.

TriNet HR starts at $8 per employee per month with no base fee, but they require a minimum of five employees. You can use the service if you have fewer than 5 employees, but you’ll still be charged for 5. The base package includes a solid set of HR tools, but no payroll or benefits. TriNet also offers two higher-tier packages that include more advanced workforce management tools. Their highest-tier package includes payroll, but otherwise it will cost an extra $6 per employee per month. Benefits administration costs $5 per employee per month (waived if you choose a TriNet broker), recruiting starts at $35 per month, and Advisory Services at $8 per employee per month. 

TriNet PEO’s pricing is on a flat, per-employee-per-month (PEPM) basis, but they don’t provide any information on what those prices might be. According to analysis from the Small Business Guide, TriNet PEO costs between $80 and $600 per employee per month. According to Forbes, you can expect to pay at least $150 per employee per month just for basic payroll and benefits administration.

Both Gusto and TriNet can run your payroll in just a few clicks. Both platforms automatically calculate, file, and pay all federal, state, and local taxes every time you run payroll. Both platforms support multiple pay rates and schedules across multiple states, and both come with unlimited payroll runs each month. 

But TriNet HR offers payroll only as an add-on to their base packages. Support for contractors was recently added, but is available only through their contractors and global payroll add-on. Their regular payroll package only supports W-2 employees.  

TriNet PEO includes full-service payroll, but you’ll still need to pay extra for contractors or international hires.

Overall, TriNet is an HR-focused company that offers some payroll functionality, while payroll is what Gusto knows best.

Employee Benefits

We know you want to give your employees the best. That’s why Gusto provides leading medical, dental, and vision benefits in all 50 states. No matter where your employees call home, Gusto simplifies health benefits with nationwide coverage, competitive pricing, and expert support. Our licensed health insurance brokers can help you balance cost and coverage to find the best plan for your budget from top-tier networks like Humana, BlueCross BlueShield, United Healthcare, and more.

In addition to a wide range of traditional health benefits, both Gusto and TriNet offer workers’ comp, 401(k)s, FSAs, and HSAs along with compliance support for COBRA and ACA. 

What sets Gusto apart is our wide range of no-cost and low-cost options including commuter plans, 529 college savings plans, and the Gusto Wallet mobile app that lets employees manage their paychecks, save money, access emergency cash, and more. TriNet does offer supplemental benefits like critical accident and illness policies, access to auto and home policies, and commuter benefits, but they fall short when it comes to no-cost, employee-focused perks to help attract and retain talent no matter your budget.

Benefits Administration

TriNet HR offers benefits administration as an add-on for $5 per employee per month. They will waive this fee if you choose one of their brokers, however. 

Using TriNet PEO means your company enters into a shared employment relationship. TriNet becomes the “employer of record” and is responsible for payroll and payroll tax compliance, benefits administration, workers’ compensation, processing unemployment claims, and other administrative tasks. 

Partnering with a PEO can take a lot of admin off your plate, but it also gives you limited flexibility with your benefits. With Gusto, you can craft a flexible, custom package of low-cost, no-cost, and premium benefits options that meets both your needs and budget, no matter how many employees you’re taking care of. And your benefits package can always grow as your business grows.  

And finally, with Gusto, benefits administration is always included, and the only costs are the premiums for the plan you choose. There are no set up fees for 401(k) retirement plans and 529 college savings. As with all PEOs, TriNet charges per-employee fees on top of any premiums you pay.

Employee self-service

Gusto’s self-onboarding makes adding new team members a breeze while confidential information stays confidential. And with Gusto’s lifetime employee access, employees will always be able to access their W-2s and benefits information without having to contact anyone on your team—no matter how long it’s been since they left the company.

TriNet HR and TriNet PEO both offer employee self-service for onboarding, benefits, paystubs, and more.  

Time Tracking & PTO

Gusto’s Plus and Premium plans include time tracking, so employees can easily clock in and out. track hours, request paid time off, and easily view PTO straight from their accounts. And any approved hours automatically sync to payroll. Gusto does not have a built-in scheduling tool, though they do offer integrations with dozens of popular time tracking and scheduling apps. 

Both TriNet HR and TriNet PEO include time tracking and scheduling, along with employee clock-ins and time and attendance reporting. TriNet’s scheduling also offers relatively advanced scheduling compliance for heavily regulated industries, but they offer just two time-tracking integrations: Quickbooks Time and Deputy. 

Hiring & onboarding

Both Gusto and TriNet offer a full suite of tools to help you hire, onboard, and retain your team. While basic tools like e-signing, onboarding checklists, and secure document storage are included with all of Gusto’s plans, our Plus and Premium plans give you access to advanced tools like applicant tracking, job postings, and customizable workflows.

With TriNet HR, job posting and onboarding tools are included in all of their packages, but their recruiting tools, including their ATS, are only available through their JazzHR add-on, starting at $35 per month.  

Team management

With Gusto’s Premium plan, you get access to employee engagement surveys, performance management, career development resources, and robust people analytics. We also integrate with leading performance management tools including Lattice, 15Five, CultureAmp, and more. 

As an HR-focused platform, TriNet also has an impressive suite of people management tools available on higher-tier plans. But in order to access their People Hub and employee engagement suite, you’ll need to sign up for their Zen plan at $33 PEPM.  

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. 

TriNet offers live phone support from 6 a.m. to 12 a.m. ET Monday through Friday, along with email and chat support. But according to SelectHub, more than 70% of reviews who mentioned contacting customer service by phone said it was slow and hard to get through to a person. An analysis from Forbes confirms their customer service representatives often struggle to answer even basic questions.

Our payroll platform integrates with nearly 200 leading software tools for time tracking, expense management, point of sale (POS), accounting, and more. And we never charge extra for integrations. Check out our full list of integrations here.

TriNet currently has around 50 integrations listed on their site, though they are lacking many popular options for time tracking, accounting, and workforce management.