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.
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| ADP | Gusto | |
|---|---|---|
| Price we read | 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 read 11 Oct 2026: 3 free months, credited to months 4 to 6, if signed by 22 Oct | 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 |
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.
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.
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 →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 →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.
Read the terms first. The offer we read on 11 Oct 2026 needed a signed order and payroll started by 22 Oct 2026, and credited the free months to months 4, 5 and 6, not the first three. It was for new RUN clients with 1 to 49 employees in the continental US. Its end date had already moved twice since August, so check what is running now.
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.
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.
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. How we review.