Gusto vs Square Payroll: $14 a month apart at every headcount, $35 apart on contractor plans
Last updated 2026-10-03. Square'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, starting with the promo
- Gusto's pricing page strikes through the $35 base fee on Contractor Only and shows "$0/mo" (limited time, terms apply). Square's Contractor Only Payroll never had a base fee: it is $6 per person paid and nothing else.
- Employee plans, Gusto Simple $49 + $6 against Square Full-Service Payroll $35 + $6: the per-employee fee is the same $6, so the gap is the $14 between the base fees and never moves. $55 against $41 at one employee, $109 against $95 at ten, $649 against $635 at a hundred.
- Contractor plans, Gusto Contractor Only $35 + $6 against Square $0 + $6: $35 a month apart at list, and level for as long as Gusto's $0 base fee runs.
- Square's $35 + $6 includes multi-state payroll and digital W-2s and 1099s; mailing paper copies is $3 per form per year, opt-in. Gusto Simple does not include multi-state, and its page does not mention year-end forms.
- Neither has a long-term contract. Square: "No commitment, no long-term contracts required." Gusto: "month-to-month, cancel anytime."
Employees: $14 on every row
| Employees | Gusto Simple ($49 + $6) | Square Full-Service Payroll ($35 + $6) | Gap per month | Gap per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $55 ($55 per employee) | $41 ($41 per employee) | $14 | $168 |
| 5 | $79 ($15.80) | $65 ($13) | $14 | $168 |
| 10 | $109 ($10.90) | $95 ($9.50) | $14 | $168 |
| 25 | $199 ($7.96) | $185 ($7.40) | $14 | $168 |
| 50 | $349 ($6.98) | $335 ($6.70) | $14 | $168 |
| 100 | $649 ($6.49) | $635 ($6.35) | $14 | $168 |
Monthly total, per-employee figure in parentheses. List prices, no promotions. Gusto as read 2026-09-27, Square as read 2026-10-03.
With both vendors at $6 per employee, the headcount changes nothing: the gap stays at $49 - $35 = $14. Only the per-employee version of that gap shrinks, from $14 at one employee to $1.40 at ten and $0.14 at a hundred. Your own total is one entry in the calculator.
Contractors: $35 apart, or level while Gusto's promo runs
| People paid | Gusto Contractor Only ($35 + $6) | Square Contractor Only Payroll ($0 + $6) | Gap per month | Gap per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $41 | $6 | $35 | $420 |
| 5 | $65 | $30 | $35 | $420 |
| 10 | $95 | $60 | $35 | $420 |
| 25 | $185 | $150 | $35 | $420 |
| 50 | $335 | $300 | $35 | $420 |
| 100 | $635 | $600 | $35 | $420 |
List prices. Square's contractor plan is "$6/month per person paid," so its effective figure is $6 at any headcount. Gusto adds a $35 base fee spread across however many people are paid.
Gusto's page shows Contractor Only as "$35 $0/mo" (limited time offer, terms apply). While the base is $0, Gusto's bill is $6 x headcount, the same as Square's. The page does not say how long that lasts. Article-33 recorded the $0 as the first six months; on that reading, a first year for three contractors is $426 instead of $636 at list, a difference of $210. A different promo length gives a different figure.
In this site's dataset, Square's Contractor Only plan lists tax filing and multi-state as not included and digital 1099 delivery as included. Gusto's pricing page states none of these for Contractor Only.
What rides on each $6
| Line on the pricing page | Gusto Simple (read 2026-09-27) | Square Full-Service Payroll (read 2026-10-03) |
|---|---|---|
| Tax calculation | not stated | included |
| Tax filing and payments | included | included (federal and state) |
| Direct deposit | included | included (check, direct deposit or Cash App) |
| Year-end W-2s and 1099s | not stated | digital delivery included; paper mailing $3 per form per year, opt-in |
| Multi-state payroll | not included (Plus, $80 + $12) | included |
| Off-cycle payments | included | included |
| Contract | month-to-month, cancel anytime | no long-term contracts |
Square's $3 comes to $30 a year for ten paper W-2s, and $0 if everyone takes the digital copy. Gusto's page does not say how year-end forms are handled, so there is nothing to put beside it. On multi-state, Gusto moves from Simple to Plus, which takes ten employees from $109 to $200; Square stays at $35 + $6.
Paying employees and contractors from one account
Square's price is written "per person paid," and its page does not say how contractors are counted on Full-Service Payroll. Gusto publishes the $6 on Simple and the $6 on Contractor Only under separate plan names. How the fees stack when you pay both kinds of worker is covered in article-33 and not repeated here. Overtime and tips for staff who work more than one role, a server who also takes kitchen shifts, are in article-29.
The limits of this page
A list-price comparison with the conditions on two pricing pages, not a product judgment. We have not used either. Nothing here covers how Square Payroll relates to Square's point-of-sale hardware or how Gusto's app works. Negotiated prices, 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://squareup.com/us/en/payroll/pricing, checked 2026-10-03
- https://seatbill.com/payroll-pricing/d/gusto, checked 2026-10-03
- https://seatbill.com/payroll-pricing/d/square-payroll, checked 2026-10-03
Related on this site
- Square Payroll's two plans by headcount (d/square-payroll)
- Gusto's cost by headcount (d/gusto)
- If you pay both employees and contractors, are you charged for both? (article-33)
- Overtime and tips when a server also picks up kitchen shifts (article-29)
- Square Payroll against SurePayroll, $35 + $6 against $29 + $7 (vs/square-payroll-vs-surepayroll)
- Gusto against Homebase, the same $49 + $6 (vs/gusto-vs-homebase)
- Published-price alternatives to Square Payroll (alt/square-payroll-alternatives)
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.
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