Gusto vs Patriot Software: no headcount where Gusto is cheaper, $13 to $232 a month apart
Last updated 2026-10-03. Patriot's pricing page was re-read that day. Gusto's pricing page could not be read that day (403), so its figures are as read 2026-09-27.
Short version: does Gusto catch up as the team grows? No
- Gusto Simple is $49 + $6. Patriot's Full Service Payroll is $37 + $5 and its Basic Payroll $17 + $4. Patriot is lower on the base fee and on the per-employee fee, so the gap widens with headcount. There is no crossover.
- Plan against plan where both file the taxes (Gusto Simple against Patriot Full Service): $55 against $42 at one employee, $109 against $87 at ten, $649 against $537 at a hundred.
- Patriot Basic does not file taxes. It is $17 + $4 on the understanding that you file, $57 at ten employees. Against Gusto Simple the gap is $34 at one employee and $232 at a hundred.
- A second state is a $12-a-month add-on on Patriot Full Service and a plan change to Plus ($80 + $12) at Gusto: $99 against $200 at ten employees.
- Patriot gives 30 days free and then 50% off for three months. A first year at ten employees is $826.50 on Full Service (list $1,044); Gusto Simple is $1,308.
Does Gusto catch up at some headcount?
No. The gap between Gusto Simple and Patriot Full Service is the $12 difference in base fees plus $1 for every employee, which is $13 at one and $112 at a hundred. Against Basic it is $32 plus $2 per employee, $34 at one and $232 at a hundred. As long as Patriot is lower on both lines, no headcount reverses it. In the terms this site uses on its crossover page, this pair has no crossover headcount.
Which Patriot plan is the fair comparison?
Full Service. Patriot's pricing page describes Full Service as "Everything in Basic, PLUS" and lists "Federal tax filings & deposits," "State tax filings & deposits" and "Local tax filings & deposits" under it. Basic, in other words, is the plan that does not file, and the plan that does the same job as Gusto Simple (tax filing included) is Full Service.
| Employees | Gusto Simple ($49 + $6) | Patriot Full Service ($37 + $5) | Gap per month | Gap per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $55 ($55 per employee) | $42 ($42 per employee) | $13 | $156 |
| 5 | $79 ($15.80) | $62 ($12.40) | $17 | $204 |
| 10 | $109 ($10.90) | $87 ($8.70) | $22 | $264 |
| 25 | $199 ($7.96) | $162 ($6.48) | $37 | $444 |
| 50 | $349 ($6.98) | $287 ($5.74) | $62 | $744 |
| 100 | $649 ($6.49) | $537 ($5.37) | $112 | $1,344 |
Monthly total, per-employee figure in parentheses. List prices, no promotions. Gusto as read 2026-09-27, Patriot as read 2026-10-03.
Both include direct deposit and off-cycle pay runs (Patriot's page says "Unlimited payrolls"). Year-end W-2s are included on both Patriot plans as "Electronic or printable W-2s"; Gusto's pricing page does not mention them. How much of the tax work the words "full service" actually cover is the subject of article-12.
For a headcount that is not in the table, the calculator returns both totals.
Basic Payroll, if you file the taxes yourself
| Employees | Gusto Simple | Patriot Basic ($17 + $4) | Gap per month | Gap per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $55 | $21 ($21 per employee) | $34 | $408 |
| 5 | $79 | $37 ($7.40) | $42 | $504 |
| 10 | $109 | $57 ($5.70) | $52 | $624 |
| 25 | $199 | $117 ($4.68) | $82 | $984 |
| 50 | $349 | $217 ($4.34) | $132 | $1,584 |
| 100 | $649 | $417 ($4.17) | $232 | $2,784 |
The two sides of this table are not the same job. Basic calculates the taxes and pays the people; filing and depositing with federal, state and local agencies is yours to do. Taking on that work is what the $20 + $1 per employee between Basic and Full Service ($30 at ten employees) stands for.
The second state: $12 at Patriot, a plan change at Gusto
Patriot's page states a "$12 fee for each additional state that we file in" on Full Service. Ten employees in two states is $87 + $12 = $99; in three, $87 + $24 = $111. Over a year the extra state costs $144, two extra states $288. The page does not say how Basic handles more than one state.
Gusto Simple does not include multi-state payroll. A second state means Plus at $80 + $12, and the ten-employee bill becomes $200. Beside Patriot Full Service's two-state $99, that is a $101 gap. Plus carries more than multi-state, so this is the cheapest combination on each side that can run a second state, not two products of the same scope.
Thirty days free, then 50% off: the first year at ten employees
Patriot's page shows "30 days free + 50% off for 3 months" on both plans with no end date. The discounted prices are $8.50 + $2 on Basic and $18.50 + $2.50 on Full Service. Over a first year at ten employees, Full Service comes to $826.50 against $1,044 at list (a difference of $217.50), and Basic to $541.50 against $684 (a difference of $142.50). Gusto Simple is $109 x 12 = $1,308, and the 2026-09-27 reading showed no discount on Simple.
Billed in arrears against month-to-month
Patriot is "billed in arrears," so each month is paid after it has been used. Its page does not state a minimum term or a setup fee. Gusto is "month-to-month, cancel anytime," and its page does not state a setup fee, a trial or a minimum term.
Where this comparison stops
List prices and the conditions on two pricing pages, not a product judgment. We have not used either. What your own time filing taxes on Basic is worth is not priced here. Negotiated rates, state-by-state taxes and support quality are outside it. US prices only.
Sources
- https://gusto.com/pricing, checked 2026-09-27 (returned 403 on 2026-10-03, could not be re-read)
- https://www.patriotsoftware.com/pricing/, checked 2026-10-03
- https://seatbill.com/payroll-pricing/d/gusto, checked 2026-10-03
- https://seatbill.com/payroll-pricing/d/patriot-software, checked 2026-10-03
Related on this site
- Patriot Software's Basic and Full Service, totals by headcount (d/patriot-software)
- Gusto Simple, Plus and Premium by headcount (d/gusto)
- US payroll software for 1 to 4 employees, in order of monthly total (best/us-payroll-1-4)
- Patriot Software against QuickBooks Payroll (vs/patriot-software-vs-quickbooks-payroll)
- Does a full-service payroll plan really take every tax task off your hands? (article-12)
- The headcounts where the cheaper vendor flips (research/crossover-library)
- Your own headcount, both vendors (tool)
Written by Kaz (pen name). Figures are copied from vendors' published pricing pages on the dates shown. We have not used these products.
Written by Kaz, independent publisher. No commercial relationship with the companies named unless it is listed on the disclosure page.
Published September 27, 2026. The figures above come from the government and vendor pages listed under Sources.
I have not used these products. Nothing here is a personal test result.
Corrections: contact form.