Automate Basics

Gusto vs Rippling vs Justworks

Pick up to 4 tools and see their free plans, entry prices, platforms and limits in one table. Every fact comes from each vendor's own pages, checked 7 November 2026.

Compared on
Gusto

From $49/mo

Rippling

See pricing

Justworks

Free trial · from $8/mo

What it isUS payroll, benefits and HR for small businessesHR, payroll, IT and finance modules on one employee database, priced per employee on a custom quotePayroll from $8 per employee a month plus a $50 base fee, or PEO plans with benefits and HR support, for US small businesses
Free planNoNoNo
Cheapest paid plan$49/mo (Simple)Gusto pricingNot publishedRippling pricing$8/mo (Payroll)Justworks pricing
What it covers$49 a month base fee plus $6 a month per person paid; payroll in one state.Not statedPayroll is $8 per employee a month plus a $50 monthly base fee; the pricing page does not say whether other billing terms change the price.
Free trialNone statedNo free trial mentioned on the pricing page; it offers a demo request, and eligible US venture-backed startups can get 6 free monthsNo free trial listed on the pricing page; it offers Get Started and demo options
PlatformsWebWebWeb
Integrations (vendor's figure)Not statedThe home page names examples such as Salesforce, Jira, Slack, GitHub and Google Drive but gives no integration countThe pricing page lists accounting software integrations on all plans and applicant tracking and performance management integrations on some, with no count
Open sourceNoNoNo
Good for
  • US small businesses paying employees and contractors
  • Teams that want payroll, benefits and basic HR from one provider
  • Businesses adding employees in a second state
  • Companies that want HR, payroll and IT admin on one record
  • Teams that expect to add modules over time
  • Startups using the vendor's venture-backed startup offer
  • US small businesses that want payroll, benefits and HR support from one provider
  • Teams that want a PEO to handle compliance and benefits
  • Companies planning to hire contractors or employees abroad later
Watch out for
  • Every plan adds a per-person fee on top of the base fee, so cost grows with headcount
  • The Simple plan covers payroll in one state; multi-state payroll starts on Plus
  • Same-day pay ($90 per payroll) and instant pay ($100 per payroll) cost extra below Premium
  • Prices are not published beyond the $8 starting figure; a custom quote is needed
  • Cost depends on the modules chosen and a base fee whose amount is not stated
  • The pricing page does not list countries served, so check payroll coverage for your location
  • The Payroll plan adds a $50 monthly base fee on top of the per-employee price
  • The plans shown are for US teams; the EOR plan is the global option
  • Extras such as time tracking, contractors and dedicated HR consulting cost more per month
Made byGusto, Inc.RipplingJustworks

Entry prices are the cheapest paid plan, as each vendor publishes it; “What it covers” says what that price is per (a user, a channel, a brand, a number of contacts). The sources are listed on each tool's page.

Every tool in HR and payroll tools is on its category page, with the written head-to-heads on Compare.