Managed Payroll · Compared
Both publish their pricing. One is standalone, one is built around QuickBooks accounting. Honest referee breakdown before you pick a login.
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Contender One
Gusto is built as a standalone payroll and HR platform, with published tiers and per-employee pricing you can view before ever speaking to a sales rep. It integrates with several accounting tools rather than being anchored to one, which makes it a fit whether or not your bookkeeping runs through QuickBooks.
Gusto remains software: your team enters hours, reviews the run, and approves payroll every cycle. Higher tiers add features like time tracking and additional HR tools. Because published pricing can change, always confirm current numbers on Gusto's own pricing page.
Contender Two
QuickBooks Payroll also publishes tiered pricing on Intuit's own pricing page. Its core differentiator is integration: if your books already run through QuickBooks Online, payroll data flows directly into your general ledger without a separate sync step, which is the main reason companies already on QuickBooks consider it over a standalone product.
Like Gusto, QuickBooks Payroll remains software your team operates every cycle: entering hours, reviewing runs, approving pay. If you do not use QuickBooks for accounting, that integration advantage disappears and the decision comes down to feature set and published price at your headcount.
Side by Side
| Factor | Gusto | QuickBooks Payroll |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll model | Standalone self-service software, published tiers | Self-service software, published tiers |
| Pricing visibility | Published tiers, linked on Gusto's pricing page | Published tiers, linked on Intuit's pricing page |
| Who runs payroll | You: enter hours, review, approve each cycle | You: enter hours, review, approve each cycle |
| Tax filing responsibility | Platform files on your behalf per your plan | Platform files on your behalf per your plan |
| Ideal company size | Small and growing businesses, any bookkeeping tool | Small businesses already on QuickBooks Online |
| Support model | Self-service help center plus support tickets | Self-service help center plus support tickets |
Tiers per each company's published pricing page: Gusto and QuickBooks Payroll.
How to Actually Decide
Lean QuickBooks Payroll. The direct ledger integration removes a sync step you would otherwise manage manually or through a connector, and it keeps everything under one Intuit login.
Lean Gusto. It was not built around any single accounting product, so you are not paying for an integration advantage you cannot use.
Pause before picking either. Both are tools your team operates every cycle: data entry, review, approval. If the goal is to remove that work entirely, you are comparing the wrong category.
Comparing other platforms too? See ADP vs QuickBooks Payroll or Paychex vs Gusto.
The Referee's Close
If you want software, Gusto and QuickBooks Payroll are both transparent on price and both a reasonable choice depending on your bookkeeping stack. But either way, you still enter hours, review every run, and approve every cycle yourself.
If instead you want payroll run for you, inside your existing system, at a flat rate you can see before you talk to anyone, that is BEG managed payroll: $25-$45 PEPM, all-inclusive, every filing and every W-2 handled. No software login for your team, no subscription tier to outgrow.
See your exact monthly & annual price - no call required
Questions
Yes. Both publish tiered plans on their own pricing pages, typically a base fee plus a per-employee monthly add-on. Confirm current tiers directly on each company's site since published numbers can change.
QuickBooks Payroll is built to integrate tightly with QuickBooks Online, and its core selling point is that integration. If you already do your books in QuickBooks, that connection is the main reason to consider it over a standalone product like Gusto.
Yes. Gusto is a standalone payroll and HR platform that integrates with several accounting tools rather than being built around one. If you use a different bookkeeping system, or none at all, Gusto does not require QuickBooks.
No. Both Gusto and QuickBooks Payroll are software you or your team operate directly. You enter hours, review each run, and approve it every cycle. Neither takes payroll off your desk.
BEG is not a party to either platform. If you want payroll run for you instead of software you log into every cycle, BEG managed payroll is the alternative: a flat $25-$45 PEPM, all-inclusive, inside your existing system, with an instant on-screen estimate instead of a subscription tier.
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