Gusto vs OnPay: Compare Payroll, Time and HR Packages
Updated: Oct 11
For a small U.S. employer, Gusto and OnPay deserve comparison at the package level. OnPay is worth shortlisting when its payroll base and separately priced modules cover your work at a lower comparable software cost. Gusto is worth shortlisting when its time workflow, broader chosen plan or support availability solves a specific operating problem. Neither is the better purchase simply because a comparison page lists more features.
A twelve-person business can need only payroll, payroll plus approved hours, or payroll plus hiring tasks and time. Those are three different purchases. A payroll subscription that looks inexpensive can become the wrong option when the team prices the missing module or discovers that a supervisor cannot perform the required approval.
Both products now offer native time tools. Do not build this decision on an old claim that OnPay requires an outside clock, or that Gusto always requires Plus for native time tracking. Start with the current package boundaries, then ask each finalist to demonstrate the work that matters to your company.
This guide uses public vendor pricing, product documentation and federal guidance checked on October 8, 2026. It is source-based analysis, not hands-on testing of either product. Prices below are advertised software rates, not a complete employer cost or a promise about your final quote. The Package Purchase Sheet helps you eliminate unsuitable configurations before choosing between the survivors.
Bring the missing work into your shortlist. A free SelectSoftware Reviews advisor consultation can help you explore payroll options. Describe your hours, hiring tasks and existing systems, then confirm the exact package and commitments with the vendor.
Table of contents
Identify which of three purchases you are making
Payroll without a new time system. This fits a team whose approved pay inputs already arrive reliably. Salaried staff may have stable recurring pay, or an existing clock may already deliver the hours payroll needs. The purchase is a payroll processing route plus the necessary tax and employee administration. Avoid paying for a replacement clock until you know why the current one should go.
Payroll with native time. This fits an employer that wants workers to record time, supervisors to review it and payroll to receive the approved result inside the selected product. The important boundary is between recording, approval and pay. A convenient clock-in screen cannot compensate for missing approval authority or a payroll adjustment that no longer agrees with the time record.
Payroll with time and assigned hiring work. This adds a recurring coordination need: somebody must request documents, assign preparation tasks, check completion and make the hire ready for pay. An employee signing a form is one step. It does not establish that a manager arranged equipment, a payroll owner confirmed the rate or a benefits owner handled the appropriate enrollment work.
Write your purchase in a single sentence. For example: “We need payroll with approved hourly time, while our current HR system keeps hiring tasks.” That statement makes an HR bundle optional even if it is attractively priced. Another business may need the opposite: payroll and task assignment, while keeping a specialized clock.
Separate the next twelve months from possible later expansion. Identify a committed second state, a planned hiring volume increase or a real scheduling change. Do not buy a higher package solely because the company might eventually become larger. Conversely, do not describe a confirmed near-term requirement as hypothetical to make a cheaper option appear suitable.
If several states are already involved, validate the supported employer and worker locations before the rest of this comparison. A product's multistate label does not answer every question about registration, local taxes, work locations or the records your employer must supply.
Read the current package boundaries before comparing totals
Gusto's current pricing lists Simple at $49 monthly plus $6 per person, with payroll in one state. Plus is $80 plus $12 per person and includes multistate payroll and time tools. Simple can add Time & Attendance Plus at $6 per person monthly. A single-state hourly employer therefore has a configuration to examine below Plus.
OnPay's current pricing lists Payroll Essentials at $49 monthly plus $6 per worker, with multistate payroll. Time Tracking adds $15 plus $4 per worker; HR adds $15 plus $2. Its advertised Payroll, Time Tracking and HR bundle is $70 plus $10 per worker. Compare that bundle with the work you need, rather than assuming every advertised OnPay feature is in the payroll base.
OnPay distinguishes basic onboarding in Payroll Essentials from advanced workflows, task delegation and other features in the HR add-on. Its HR product description includes assigned onboarding tasks. Ask which of your actual tasks require the paid module, and have the quote name it explicitly.
Gusto's onboarding checklist guidance limits adding custom tasks to Plus and Premium. Use Plus as the starting Gusto configuration when your hiring process requires custom assigned tasks, then confirm the exact permissions in the quote.
Use an explicit package name whenever you record a result. “Gusto supports it” is weaker than “Gusto Simple with Time & Attendance Plus supports the demonstrated employee-time route.” “OnPay includes it” leaves the same ambiguity between Payroll Essentials, an add-on and a bundle.
Keep mandatory and useful features separate. A hiring checklist that would save occasional email is a useful addition. A supervisor approval needed every payroll may be mandatory. The package with the largest feature collection can still lose when the critical approval cannot be demonstrated for the people who will actually use it.
Choose the required work first, identify the package second, and price only configurations that remain suitable. The selectable purchase sheet below carries the decision details.
Build a twelve-person comparison without inventing savings
Consider a fictional single-state employer with twelve employees included in every per-person or per-worker charge shown. All twelve use the purchased time tools. It needs payroll and native time; its HR requirements are still under review. These calculations use the advertised monthly rates above, without promotions or negotiated terms:
Either payroll base: $49 + (12 × $6) = $121 monthly.
OnPay payroll plus Time Tracking: $49 + $15 + (12 × $10) = $184 monthly.
Gusto Simple plus Time & Attendance Plus: $49 + (12 × $12) = $193 monthly.
OnPay Payroll, Time Tracking and HR bundle: $70 + (12 × $10) = $190 monthly.
Gusto Plus: $80 + (12 × $12) = $224 monthly.
The first useful observation is the $9 monthly difference between the two payroll-plus-time configurations in this example. That is $108 over twelve unchanged months. The base subscription price alone reveals none of that comparison. The second observation is that OnPay's advertised bundle adds $6 monthly to its separate payroll-plus-time configuration here. A small incremental price is worth investigating, but it does not make unneeded HR functions mandatory.
When custom assigned hiring tasks are essential, compare the $190 OnPay bundle with $224 Gusto Plus in this example. The configurations are not declared equivalent; the plans have different feature boundaries. Establish the required onboarding, location, payment and administrative workflows before deciding that one replaces the other. A lower number is a usable price advantage only between configurations that both meet the essential requirements.
Keep benefits premiums, workers' compensation, retirement services, optional specialist services and retained software outside this software-only example. Obtain their actual charges if they apply. Confirm which workers are billed, whether an inactive worker is charged, when headcount is measured and whether different modules have different billing rules. Do not silently reduce paid seats to make a preferred vendor cheaper.
Add the cost of keeping an existing clock or HR application to either option if it remains necessary. Include any quoted conversion charge and a realistic allowance for internal setup effort in your purchase budget. A vendor's advertised setup offer does not make your employees' preparation, checking or training time disappear.
Do not label the cheaper subscription “savings” before you know the transition costs and replacement scope. Record software price, other cash charges and staff effort separately. If a payroll owner must still assemble a weekly file, the work remains even when the new software is sold as integrated.
Ask for one corrected timesheet to reach payroll
Use the same fictional employee and pay period with both finalists. Give the employee an ordinary shift, a missed clock-out and a time-off request. State the correct expected hours and the approved leave treatment using your company's valid policies. Ask the demonstrator to show the employee entry, supervisor correction, approval and payroll preview.
Gusto's admin documentation says approved eligible employee hours sync to payroll, and approval locks the timesheet. It also warns that an hours edit in the payroll flow does not update the time record. Its time tool is available through Plus, Premium or the Simple time add-on. Treat those documented boundaries as specific points to inspect, rather than assuming every later payroll change repairs the original record.
OnPay's current time documentation describes native clocking, timecards, supervisor permissions, rules and PTO requests in a paid time offering. Its Time Tracking description says approved hours sync to payroll. Ask the demonstrator to show the exact edit history, approval result and payroll values for your case. Record who can approve the corrected card and who can see the history.
Inspect three records together: the corrected shift, the approved total and the payroll preview. Check the pay period, worker identity, rate and earnings labels as well as total hours. The trial should expose whether somebody must make another adjustment, and which record will explain that adjustment later.
Repeat the approval with the actual role intended for a supervisor, rather than an unrestricted administrator login. Ask what the supervisor can see about other workers and what the backup reviewer can do when the usual manager is absent. Access convenience and an acceptable division of authority are separate requirements.
If your current clock has department, job, location or multiple-rate information, give the vendor a sample with those distinctions. Decide which fields must reach payroll, which must reach accounting and which can remain in the clock. A total-hours match can conceal a lost department assignment that finance needs.
Do not improvise overtime or break requirements from a sales demonstration. Supply the rules confirmed for your workforce and ask how they will be configured, checked and maintained. A configurable rule is a product capability; it is not a determination that your employer has chosen the correct legal rule.
Record the result as a visible outcome, such as “supervisor-approved 37.5 regular hours appear for the correct period, with the correction identifiable.” A promise to send an integration screenshot later leaves that requirement unconfirmed. Keep the candidate pending until the required evidence arrives.
Make onboarding show a completed handoff
Give each finalist a fictional new hire who begins shortly before a payroll input deadline. Include a missing document, a rate approved by a manager and one preparation task owned outside payroll. Ask the vendor to show where incomplete work is visible and who receives the next action.
For OnPay, price the HR add-on or bundle if your required task delegation goes beyond the payroll base's basic onboarding. For Gusto, price Plus when custom assigned hiring tasks are required; first check whether its standard checklist would be enough. Keep a screenshot or written demonstration result tied to the package named in the quote.
Distinguish an invitation sent, a document signed and a hire ready for payroll. Those statuses can have different owners. Your test should make clear whether payroll can identify the outstanding input without asking every manager for an update. Ask to see the outstanding-input view payroll will use.
Use one rejected or incomplete task in the demonstration. Ask who can return it, what message the next person receives and where its eventual completion is recorded. This reveals more than a tour of a finished employee profile. The point is to see how the system handles the ordinary unfinished work that creates payroll chasing.
If you already use an HR application, ask whether this new package duplicates a process you intend to retain. A bundle can be inexpensive yet create two competing records for a start date or manager assignment. Name the record your payroll owner will accept, and state who resolves differences between systems.
Keep benefits administration in a separate decision if necessary. Request confirmation of your existing broker, carriers, eligibility workflow and payroll deductions. Do not assume that a vendor's benefits offering means your current arrangement can move unchanged or that a signed onboarding form completes enrollment.
Compare the package that passed the work review. Bring the time and onboarding results to a free SelectSoftware Reviews advisor consultation to discuss packages that fit them. Name the modules still needed and the questions each finalist must answer directly.
Use a correction case to interpret support availability
Support matters when a payroll action must happen before a deadline. Give both finalists one case: a pay error is found after submission, the usual payroll owner is absent and an authorized backup needs to determine the next supported action. State whether the payment is employee payroll or a contractor payment.
Gusto's correction guidance makes the available route depend on processing status. A submitted payroll that has not been debited may be canceled and resubmitted; later situations can require reversal, another payroll or support. Contractor payments cannot be reversed through the same route. Have the vendor walk the backup through the correct status, rather than presenting cancellation as a universal remedy.
OnPay's pricing description includes editing and canceling pay runs, but that statement alone does not establish a cutoff or a post-debit recovery route. Request the current written procedure for the exact status in your case. An unanswered question stays open; it is not evidence that OnPay lacks the capability.
Compare channels against the time your team actually works. Gusto's published support page lists weekday callback availability and chat on weekdays and weekends, with callback availability varying by plan and issue. OnPay lists weekday support from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern and directs customers to authorized chat or tickets. These are published access routes, not guaranteed correction or resolution times.
If weekend work is normal, Gusto's published weekend chat access is a reason to examine that option. It does not prove that every banking or payroll action can complete on a weekend. If weekday access covers your schedule, inspect authorization, escalation and the specific action before paying more for a support label.
Ask what information the backup must supply and what the vendor can do after receiving it. Note any approval, funding or third-party dependency. A prompt reply that asks for an absent owner's approval may leave your payroll blocked. Design backup permissions before relying on backup support access.
Keep ordinary payroll support distinct from paid HR advice. An HR specialist consultation may help with a policy question, but it is not proof that someone will execute your payroll correction. Buy each service for the work its written scope actually covers.
Complete the Package Purchase Sheet for each configuration
Use a separate copy for Gusto Simple with named add-ons, Gusto Plus, and each viable OnPay configuration. Complete only the copies that could realistically fit your company. Copy these stacked fields into a document or answer them on your phone during the demonstration.
1. Required work. State the output, the people involved and its real deadline. Write one mandatory result precisely enough that a viewer can tell whether it happened. Keep optional conveniences below it.
2. Package and retained systems. Name the plan, paid modules, worker count and applications you will keep. Include the quote date. Identify any capability described on a general product page that still needs plan-specific confirmation.
3. Demonstrated result. Record the sample used, expected result, observed result and evidence location. Say “documentation reviewed” when no demonstration occurred. Do not turn a proposed trial into a claim that you have tested the product.
4. Remaining work. List each manual step, separate system, approval dependency or permission gap. Assign the retained step to a person with capacity to perform it. An accepted manual step is different from an unexplained missing step.
5. Comparable price. Record the recurring software charge, additional services, retained subscriptions and first-year setup costs. State the assumptions. Do not compare a base subscription with a fully configured bundle as if their scope were equal.
6. Purchase result. Choose one of four outcomes: supported, awaiting confirmation, keep an existing tool, or eliminate this configuration. Include the reason and the next action. “Awaiting confirmation” is a pause for evidence, not a favorable result.
For a fictional twelve-person company, one entry might read: “Native approved hours are required; OnPay payroll plus time is $184 monthly under the stated assumptions; supervisor approval is documented, but department handling has not been shown; awaiting confirmation from the vendor.” That entry does not award OnPay a pass or claim a failed product. It makes the remaining decision visible.
If department handling works only by retaining the existing clock, revise both the configuration and the cost. If that retained route is acceptable, record “keep an existing tool.” If the required output cannot be delivered through a staffed, affordable route, eliminate the configuration instead of collecting more optional features.
A documented capability, a demonstrated result and an accepted workaround are different kinds of evidence. Preserve the distinction in your purchase sheet.
Before calling a configuration supported, check:
☐ Its quoted plan and modules cover every mandatory output.
☐ The intended worker, supervisor and payroll roles can perform the required actions.
☐ The corrected time or hiring record agrees with the payroll result.
☐ Any retained manual work has a capable owner and backup.
☐ Support access and correction dependencies fit the payroll deadline.
☐ The comparable price includes the systems and services you will actually keep.
Use elimination rules before optional scoring. A configuration missing a mandatory result does not become suitable by accumulating attractive extras. If two options survive, compare the optional benefits you would use and their incremental cost. Your team can then explain the choice without treating the longest feature list as the winner.
Choose a finalist and define the launch evidence
Choose OnPay when the named base, modules or bundle meet your essential payroll, time and hiring work, and the comparable quote remains favorable. Its advertised multistate payroll base makes it a relevant candidate when Gusto Simple's one-state scope would be too narrow. Verify your actual locations and workflow before treating either label as sufficient.
Choose Gusto when the demonstrated time process, the specific additional capabilities in your selected plan or its published support access address a need that makes the incremental cost worthwhile. A single-state team needing native time should evaluate Simple with the time add-on as well as Plus. Do not upgrade simply because the old comparison you read omitted the add-on.
Keep the existing time or HR application when it performs a required specialized job and the payroll connection can be proven. A native module is an option to assess, not an automatic reason to replace an adequate system. If neither finalist can support the essential workflow at an acceptable total cost, expand the shortlist with the completed sheet.
For the chosen package, obtain a written list of modules, worker billing assumptions, accepted manual steps and unresolved setup conditions. Identify the person who can authorize the purchase and the person who will approve the first payroll. Those may be different people.
Before release, compare approved inputs with the first payroll preview. Check the reports finance will receive. Arrange a separate review of tax accounts and notices. IRS guidance for payroll service providers and reporting agents states that the employer retains its tax obligations and liability; automated filing does not remove that oversight.
Finish with a decision statement: “We chose this configuration because it delivered these essential results, at this comparable price, with these accepted retained steps.” Attach the evidence and the first-payroll checks. That is enough to make the purchase defensible without pretending that a software comparison predicts every future service experience.
Browse the Payroll Software Comparisons collection for other provider decisions. Use the complete Decision Guides library when a specific operating requirement needs a deeper checklist.
Take a complete package brief into the next conversation. SelectSoftware Reviews offers a free advisor consultation. Use your completed purchase sheet to explain the required work, the packages that remain suitable and the commitments you still need from each vendor.
About the author
Ben Scott writes and maintains payroll decision guides for founders and operators. His work focuses on execution realities and how decisions hold up under growth, complexity, and controls and documentation pressure. He works hands-on in HR and leave-management roles that intersect with payroll-adjacent workflows such as benefits coordination, cutovers, and compliance-driven process controls.
