Gusto vs SurePayroll: level at 20 employees ($169 each), Gusto cheaper from 21
Last updated 2026-10-03
Short version
- Gusto Simple is $49 a month plus $6 per employee. SurePayroll Small Business Payroll is $29 plus $7. The base fees are $20 apart, the per-employee fees $1 apart.
- At 20 employees both come to $169. SurePayroll is lower up to 19, Gusto is lower from 21. One employee: $36 against $55. Fifty: $379 against $349.
- Not in SurePayroll's headline price: multi-state payroll at $9.99 a month, and year-end W-2 and 1099-NEC forms at $50 a year plus $5 per form. Gusto Simple does not cover multi-state at all; that needs Plus at $80 plus $12.
- SurePayroll's page carries an "every alternating month free" promotion (terms apply). Gusto's page says month-to-month, cancel anytime.
- Gusto's figures were read 2026-09-27; its page could not be re-read on 2026-10-03. SurePayroll's page was re-read on 2026-10-03.
The line sits at 20 employees
The two prices are shaped in opposite ways. SurePayroll's base fee is $20 lower; Gusto's per-employee fee is $1 lower. Twenty dollars divided by one dollar is twenty, so the monthly bills meet at exactly 20 people: $49 + $6 x 20 = $169, and $29 + $7 x 20 = $169.
At 21 employees Gusto is $175 and SurePayroll $176, and from there each extra hire widens the gap by a dollar. Thirty dollars at 50 people, eighty at 100.
| Employees | Gusto Simple | SurePayroll Small Business | Gap per month | Gap per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $55 ($55 each) | $36 ($36 each) | SurePayroll $19 lower | $228 |
| 5 | $79 ($15.80) | $64 ($12.80) | SurePayroll $15 lower | $180 |
| 10 | $109 ($10.90) | $99 ($9.90) | SurePayroll $10 lower | $120 |
| 20 | $169 ($8.45) | $169 ($8.45) | $0 | $0 |
| 21 | $175 ($8.33) | $176 ($8.38) | Gusto $1 lower | $12 |
| 25 | $199 ($7.96) | $204 ($8.16) | Gusto $5 lower | $60 |
| 50 | $349 ($6.98) | $379 ($7.58) | Gusto $30 lower | $360 |
| 100 | $649 ($6.49) | $729 ($7.29) | Gusto $80 lower | $960 |
Monthly total, effective per-employee figure in parentheses. List prices only; no promotions, no add-ons. Gusto read 2026-09-27, SurePayroll read 2026-10-03.
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Twenty is on the high side for a US pair in this dataset. SurePayroll and Square swap at 6 employees, SurePayroll and Roll by ADP at 5. Every pair that changes places, and where is kept on one page.
Pay in two states and neither side is the table figure any more
SurePayroll's page says "First state included. Multi-state payroll for $9.99/month." That is a flat $9.99 whatever the number of states, so ten employees across two states come to $99 + $9.99 = $108.99.
On Gusto's side, Simple does not include multi-state. It starts with Plus, at $80 plus $12 per employee, which is $200 for ten people. For a company with a second state the comparison is $108.99 against $200, and the 20-employee crossover is gone. At 25 it is $213.99 against $380.
Year-end forms: an add-on at SurePayroll, not stated at Gusto
SurePayroll: "Year-end W-2 and 1099-NEC forms are billed annually - not monthly - at a $50 base fee plus $5 per form." Ten forms cost $100 a year, twenty-five forms $175.
Gusto: none of Simple, Plus or Premium says on the pricing page how year-end forms are handled. The dataset holds this as "not stated." It cannot be read here as included or as extra.
Promotion and contract wording
SurePayroll's page says "Get your FREE months when you start today" and "every alternating month will be free," with the terms in the fine print. Read as six months out of twelve, a ten-employee first year comes to $594 against a list-price $1,188. Gusto Simple for ten employees is $1,308 over twelve months. The promotion result depends on its terms, and this site ranks on list price.
Gusto says "Month-to-month, cancel anytime." SurePayroll's page does not state a contract length. Neither page states a setup fee.
At your own headcount
With the line at 20, a team of 15 pays $5 a month less at SurePayroll, and a team of 25 next year pays $5 a month less at Gusto. In that range the gap on either side stays under $10 a month, which is smaller than the $9.99 multi-state fee or the $100 for ten year-end forms. Put your number into the calculator and it adds both totals, with switches for the add-ons.
What this article does not answer
Price only, not product quality. We have not used either. These are list prices, not quotes, and only the US dollar plans are lined up. SurePayroll's Nanny and Household plan and Gusto's Contractor Only plan belong to other articles.
Sources
- https://www.surepayroll.com/pricing (checked 2026-10-03)
- https://gusto.com/pricing (as read 2026-09-27; the page could not be re-read 2026-10-03)
- https://seatbill.com/payroll-pricing/d/gusto (checked 2026-10-03)
- https://seatbill.com/payroll-pricing/d/surepayroll (checked 2026-10-03)
- https://seatbill.com/payroll-pricing/research/crossover-library (checked 2026-10-03)
Related on this site
- SurePayroll's monthly total at each headcount (d/surepayroll)
- Gusto's three tiers, priced out (d/gusto)
- Every headcount where two vendors change places (research/crossover-library)
- Square Payroll against SurePayroll, the pair that swaps at 6 (vs/square-payroll-vs-surepayroll)
- US payroll for 10 to 24 employees, by price (best/us-payroll-10-24)
- Gusto against Roll by ADP, the one with three free months (article-39)
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.