A quick and easy comparison guide

Gusto vs Square Payroll

The right payroll software ensures that you can pay your team with ease. But which provider should you go with if you’re a small business owner?

This guide explains the differences between Gusto and Square payroll so you can see exactly how these two tools overlap and differ when it comes to running payroll, managing benefits, and other back-office tasks.

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Compare pricing and features: Gusto vs Square Payroll

	Gusto	Square Payroll
Pricing
Monthly fee	Starting at $40/mo + $6/mo per person	Starting at $29/mo + $5/mo per user
Setup fee	Free	Free
Payroll
Unlimited payrolls
Automated federal and state tax filing
Direct deposit
File W-2s
File 1099s
Multiple pay rates and schedules
Multiple states	(Plus and Premium)
Contractor payments
E-sign I-9 and W-4
Lifetime access for employees
Household employer payroll
International payroll	(International contractor add-on)
Benefits
Health benefits	Pay premiums only	Pay premiums only
Workers’ comp	Pay premiums only	Pay premiums only
Available add-ons	Broker integration 401(k) retirement Commuter benefits Life and disability HSA and FSA	401(k) retirement Pre-tax benefit
HR tools
Time tracking	(Plus and Premium)
Team directory and org chart	(Plus and Premium)
Time-off requests	(Plus and Premium)
Online offer letters
Secure document vault and e-signing
Custom employee handbook	(Premium and HR add-on)
Job description and policy templates	(Premium and HR add-on)
Proactive compliance updates	(Premium and HR add-on)
Certified HR pros	(Premium and HR add-on)
Direct phone line for dedicated support	(Premium and HR add-on)
Custom Onboarding Checklist	(Plus and Premium)
Software Provisioning	(Plus and Premium)
Integrations
QuickBooks
Xero
Google (G-suite) SSO

*Competitive data on this page was collected as of June 27th, 2022 and is subject to change or update. Gusto does not make any representations as to the completeness or accuracy of the information on this page. All Gusto services listed in the payroll features comparison chart are provided by Gusto or by one of Gusto’s trusted partners.

What to consider when choosing a payroll provider?

Think about the size of your team.
You might find a payroll company that can help you pay your team today—but what happens if you bring on more employees and contractors? Choose a payroll service that works for your business today, and one that can scale as you expand and your payroll gets more complex.

Consider what’s included in the price.
Many payroll platforms offer additional features for growing businesses, but you might have to go beyond your budget to get more. When you run a small business, you need a payroll platform that doesn’t cram hidden fees into every small upgrade you make.
Take the switch into account.
Transferring payroll data between different software platforms can be a huge task. The best payroll services make the migration process easy and guide you through each step. When shopping for payroll, ask your sales representative about their data migration capabilities.
Ask about integration with other software platforms.
It’s important to double-check that your payroll service integrates with other software that tracks expenses, time off requests, and other essential tasks you’ll need.
Make sure you can get help when you need it.
Before finalizing your payroll decision, check if you get free access to a support team and knowledge base. Verify the company’s business hours for phone, email, and live chat support, along with the links to their help center and FAQ pages.

Comparison details: Gusto vs Square Payroll

Pricing

Setup and monthly fees

Gusto is completely free to get started. The base fee is a straightforward $40 per month, plus an additional $6 per month for each employee on your team. Read more about our four plans and current promotions.

Square Payroll costs $29 per month as its base fee, plus a monthly fee of $5 per employee.

	Gusto	Square Payroll
Monthly fee	Starting at $40/mo. + $6/mo. per user	Starting at $29/mo. + $5/mo. per user
Set up fee	Free	Free

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Payroll

Running payroll

With Gusto, you can run payroll in just a few clicks. You can manage payroll for all types of workers, including W-2 employees and 1099 contractors. Set up AutoPilot to run payroll automatically, which makes a simple task even easier to manage. We don’t have a limit to the number of payrolls you can run each month—whether you’re the only employee or have a team of 100, we’ve got you covered.

Square also allows you to set up and run payroll for employees and contractors. Direct deposit and paper check options are available as well.

Tax filings

Gusto automatically calculates, files, and pays your payroll taxes every time you pay your team. With coverage in all 50 states, you can run payroll compliantly no matter where your employees report to work. Federal, state, and local taxes are all covered.

Square works similarly to Gusto, calculating filings automatically for federal and state taxes. However, they do not cover local taxes like Gusto.

	Gusto	Square Payroll
Unlimited Payrolls	✔	✔
File 1099’s	✔	✔

Benefits

Employee benefits

We have more than 3,500 health insurance plans for your employees to choose from. Each plan comes from highly regarded insurance companies like BlueCross BlueShield, Humana, and United Healthcare. Our online dashboard allows you to easily administer all your employees’ plans from one place. We don’t charge any administration fees to enroll in health benefits–you’ll only pay the premiums.

Health insurance isn’t the only benefit we offer. Gusto also provides financial perks like 401(k) retirement plans and commuter benefits. Learn more about pricing for benefits.

Square offers similar benefits beyond payroll, including health insurance, workers’ compensation, 401(k) plans, and pre-tax benefits through Alice.

Financial benefits

Gusto Cashout™ lets your employees borrow money in between paydays, interest-free. This free benefit from Gusto helps your team cover unexpected financial hardships without worry, and without impacting your books. Square Payroll does not offer this type of financial benefit.

	Gusto	Square Payroll
Health benefits	Pay premiums only	Pay premiums only
Workers’ comp	Pay premiums only	Pay premiums only

The Cashout Program is issued by Sunrise Banks, N.A., Member FDIC. The Sunrise Banks, N.A. Privacy Policy can be found here.

HR tools

Team management

Gusto’s Plus and Premium plans include access to simple time tracking tools to help you track your employees’ hours and time off requests. Those plans also include team management features like anonymous employee surveys, which allow you to collect feedback from your team and use the results to take action.

Square Payroll offers a time tracking tool called Timecards, which enables employees to track their hours worked. Tracked time can be viewed, edited, and deleted as needed by a manager.

Customer service

Support team

At Gusto, we offer best-in-class customer support. Our support teams are available by phone, email, and live chat Monday through Friday. We also have an FAQ and Help Center, available at any time.

Square Payroll offers a payroll-specific FAQ page which answers the most common questions about the platform, plus live chat and phone support.

Integrations

Integration capabilities

Our payroll software easily integrates with other platforms. Gusto supports almost all accounting, point of sale (POS), business operations, expense management, and time tracking platforms, including Accelo, Homebase, Expensify, Intuit QuickBooks, and FreshBooks. View our complete list of compatible platforms.

Square offers product integrations with several platforms like Homebase and QuickBooks.

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Most Innovative Companies in HR
2024

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#1 Payroll Software
2024

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How are Gusto and Square different?

Gusto’s unparalleled all-in-one dashboard empowers small business owners to access payroll, benefits, and HR tools whenever they want, wherever they are. Our unmatched flexibility and features transform payroll into a full support system that helps your employees access what they need to thrive. We’re with you from the moment you onboard a new employee all the way to retirement. The best part is, you’ll never deal with hidden fees, which are common among our competitors.

Learn why so many small businesses use Gusto to manage their teams.

Is Gusto secure?

Our state-of-the-art security safeguards your company’s private information. That’s just one reason why more than 300,000 businesses turn to Gusto to handle more than tens of billions of dollars in payroll annually. Here are more details on how we protect your sensitive information:

Our industry-standard encryption starts at the moment you enter your information to the time it reaches our servers. We use TLS 1.2 encryption on data in transit and AES-256 encryption for data in rest.
We regularly test our platform to identify and path issues before they become problems.
All customer accounts are actively monitored for potential fraudulent transactions or suspicious activity. If we see any red flags, we tell you right away.
We work exclusively with partners that employ top-notch security measures.
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is enabled on all customer accounts so only people who need access to your sensitive information get it.
All Gusto employees complete rigorous, thorough security training.

You can also manage your team’s benefits with peace of mind. At Gusto, our payroll and benefits platforms align with COBRA, HIPAA, and the ACA’s rigid security, compliance, and privacy standards. Learn more about our security measures here.

When should I switch to Gusto?

There’s never a wrong time to switch. While some payroll platforms prefer year-end migrations, our data migration is so seamless that you can switch whenever you want.If you have more than 10 employees, our dedicated team will transfer your important information without hurdles. We’ll pair you with your own personal payroll specialist who will guide you through the transition process step by step. This hands-on approach minimizes the time spent on onboarding, and prevents any errors from cropping up along the way. Once you’re all set up, you’ll find that onboarding new employees couldn’t be easier. Through Gusto’s self-service portal, your employees can enter their info without you.

How do I set up or switch to Gusto?

When you set up or switch to Gusto, you’ll start by completing a quick sign-up form. From that moment on, we’re there with you until your setup is complete. When you first get started, make sure you have basic information about your business on hand, like your EIN, your employees’ Social Security Numbers, addresses, and salaries. If you’re making a mid-year switch, you should also have any documents that show the payroll taxes you’ve paid so far that year.

How can I talk to someone about Gusto?

You can reach our sales team during normal business hours. Get in touch by emailing [email protected], calling (855) 590-3993, or through our live chat tool.