Gusto and Paycom are two of the top payroll and human resources (HR) solutions known for their user-friendly interfaces, customer support, and intuitive features. If Gusto boasts its global payroll and comprehensive benefits management, Paycom stands out for its seamless data flow and powerful workforce management tools.  

However, to choose the best option, it’s essential to assess their key functionalities and explore how they can address your HR needs. Let’s see how they stack up against each other in this comprehensive Gusto vs Paycom comparison.  

Gusto Vs Paycom: At A Glance

Feature

Gusto

Paycom

Payroll Management

Unlimited payroll runs in all states and 120+ countries 

Runs error-free payroll with BETI and automated tax filing

Compliance And Benefits Administration

Comprehensive medical, financial, and retirement plans like 401(k), ACA and COBRA compliance

Customizable benefits plans enhanced ACA and COBRA compliance

Workforce Management

Offers tools for time tracking, staff scheduling, and PTO management

Advanced tools for labor costs, project tracking, and reporting

Employee Self-Service

Gusto Android and iOS app

Paycom mobile and web app

Talent Acquisition

Centralized ATS, custom job posts, and automated onboarding

Recruitment and applicant tracking system, automated hiring, and background checks

Pricing

Starts at $40/month plus $6/employee/month 

Offers a customized pricing plan

What Is Gusto?

Gusto HR is a cloud-based platform that helps small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) manage payroll, benefits, and employee administration. Known for its intuitive interface and all-in-one automation features, it streamlines payroll processing, tax compliance, and benefits integration, including health insurance and 401(k) plans.

Additionally, Gusto provides an applicant tracking system (ATS) and integrations with learning management systems (LMS), supporting talent acquisition and retention. These features make it an ideal HR solution for businesses in construction, healthcare, retail, technology, law firms, and hospitality.  

Unique Feature Of Gusto

  • Gusto Global: This payroll feature enables businesses to hire, pay, and manage international contractors and employees in over 120 countries, all within one platform
  • Full-Service Payroll: Gusto streamlines payroll processing, tax filing, and compliance while identifying potential tax credits to save money. Users can run payroll manually or set ‘AutoPilot’ to automate it with unlimited payroll runs and direct deposits
  • Gusto Employee Wallet: This built-in finance tool allows employees to plan pre-tax savings, track earnings, view paystubs and W-2s, and access pay in advance
  • Start Business: Gusto simplifies payroll and benefits management for startups, making it easy for them to pay their teams from day one with no upfront cost until the first payroll run

Pros And Cons Of Gusto

Pros

  • Automated payroll reminders ensure accuracy in processing employee compensation
  • Easy to set up and use for payroll, benefits, and HR tasks, even for users with no prior HR experience
  • Offers unlimited payroll runs at no extra cost

Cons

  • Workers' compensation and state filings could benefit from a more turn-key solution
  • The geofencing feature occasionally misidentifies employees’ location outside of the designated area

What Is Paycom?

Paycom software is a cloud-based human capital management (HCM) solution that streamlines payroll and HR processes. By centralizing employee data, the platform empowers businesses to automate core HR functions such as time-tracking, benefits, and time-off requests in one system.  

Paycom’s stand-out features, BETI and GONE, optimize payroll processing and staff scheduling, ensuring businesses operate at their peak efficiency. Additionally, its talent acquisition and performance management tools make it an ideal choice for medium to large-sized enterprises with complex HR needs.  

Unique Features Of Paycom

  • Better Employee Time Interface (BETI): This automated payroll tool self-starts every pay period by pulling live employee data from their portals. It notifies both employees and managers of pending payroll tasks, identifies errors, and guides users to resolve them before payroll submission
  • GONE: Businesses can standardize time-off decisions using a customizable decision engine through GONE. It considers factors like staffing needs, employee hours, seniority, and company policies to streamline approvals and denials, ensuring fairness and compliance
  • Manager On-The-Go®: Paycom’s mobile app allows managers to streamline tasks related to their direct reports, simplifying the review of time-off requests, expense management, and employee inquiries
  • Global HCM: Paycom’s ‘Global HCM’ feature streamlines workforce management across 180+ countries, enhancing communication, collaboration, and hiring. With tools to post jobs, track applicants, and a mobile app that supports nearly 20 languages, it ensures seamless global operations

Pros And Cons Of Paycom

Pros

  • Paycom’s Client Relations Representatives offer dedicated remote and onsite support, assisting with training and module utilization
  • Automated updates for tax laws, compliance, and labor regulations help businesses avoid costly penalties
  • Seamless integration between HR and the Payroll system ensures no lag or missing information, avoiding delays and errors

Cons

  • ATS can cause delays, with applicants getting stuck in the pipeline due to minor missing fields in their applications
  • Navigating the employee dashboard can be a little challenging for non-tech users

Gusto And Paycom: Side-By-Side Feature Comparison

Payroll Management

Gusto’s full-service payroll system offers unlimited payroll runs and handles local, state, and federal tax filings. The platform features automated tax calculations, hours synced with payroll, and the option to add bonuses, tips, and reimbursements as well. It supports salaried, hourly, and international contractor payments in over 120 countries, allowing businesses to seamlessly manage their remote and in-house teams.

Paycom provides an automated, employee-driven payroll system that self-starts each pay period and pulls live employee data from Paycom’s human resource information system (HRIS). Its standout feature, BETI, empowers employees to identify and correct errors before payroll submission. The platform also handles taxes, garnishments, and expenses while offering flexible pay options like daily pay and pay cards.

Winner: Gusto takes the lead against Paycom for its advanced global payroll management and automated tax filing.

Benefits Administration

Through its comprehensive benefits administration, Gusto integrates employee benefits with its payroll system. The platform covers medical benefits like dental, vision, and life insurance, as well as financial benefits like 401(k), workers' compensation programs, Health Savings Account (HSA), Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA), and retirement plans.

Additionally, its standout feature, ‘Gusto Employee Wallet,’ helps employees manage pre-tax savings and secure their financial future.

Paycom’s benefits administration automates the enrollment process, allowing employees to review and choose benefits while viewing their impact on pay. The platform also features a ‘Benefit to Carrier’ tool for secure data transfer within the Paycom system and offers dedicated benefits coordinator support.

Winner: Gusto wins this round for its comprehensive benefits and ‘Gusto Employee Wallet’. Paycom, however, remains an ideal choice for businesses requiring more customization, flexibility, and automation in their benefits administration.

Workforce Management Tools

Gusto's workforce management solution features tools for time tracking, which syncs with payroll, scheduling to manage shifts and staffing, and PTO management to track and approve time off. It also offers project tracking, geolocation, and cost reports for managing remote or field teams.

Paycom, on the other hand, boasts ‘BETI’ for employee-reviewed time entries, ‘GONE’ for standardized time-off decisions, and ‘Manager On-The-Go' for timely review of employee requests and queries. Additionally, it's time and attendance tracking , scheduling for shifts and staffing, and project tracking to allocate labor costs ensure businesses achieve peak operational capabilities.

Winner: Paycom wins with its advanced workforce management tools for in-depth reporting and scheduling abilities.

Employee Self-Service

Gusto’s self-service tools empower employees to manage their payroll data, time off, and benefits through mobile and web apps. Employees can track hours, submit time-off requests, and view pay stubs or tax information, while managers can review and approve these requests.

Paycom offers more in-depth self-service tools, enabling employees to manage payroll, track benefits, request time off, and make real-time adjustments with tools like BETI for payroll accuracy and GONE for timekeeping. This allows employees to fully control their HR data and information through Paycom’s mobile or web apps.

Winner: Paycom excels in employee self-service tools, offering greater autonomy to employees over their payroll, HR, and benefits information whilst streamlining processes to reduce HR workload.

Talent Acquisition

Gusto simplifies talent acquisition and retention with its advanced tools for hiring, onboarding, and beyond. It offers a centralized ATS, custom job posts, automated direct deposit, and 1099 form submissions. The platform automates the new hire paperwork through an email invite to log into the dashboard and complete all the necessary steps digitally from there.

Paycom offers a recruiting and applicant tracking system that streamlines talent scouting, tracking, and its movement in the hiring pipeline. Other features include automated onboarding, enhanced background checks, and performance and compensation management.

Winner:

Gusto simplifies talent acquisition and retention with its advanced tools for hiring, onboarding, and beyond. It offers a centralized ATS, custom job posts, automated direct deposit, and 1099 form submissions. The platform automates the new hire paperwork through an email invite to log into the dashboard and complete all the necessary steps digitally from there.

Paycom offers a recruiting and applicant tracking system that streamlines talent scouting, tracking, and its movement in the hiring pipeline. Other features include automated onboarding, enhanced background checks, and performance and compensation management.

Gusto Vs Paycom: Choosing The Right Payroll And HR Solution

All the detailed discussions and feature comparisons of Gusto and Paycom bring us to this ultimate question: Gusto vs Paycom – which HR solution best suits your business needs? The answer depends on several key factors, including your company size, industry, scalability, and specific HR requirements.  

If you are a small to medium-sized business seeking a solid payroll system with a centralized ATS and time-tracking tools, Gusto is a great option for you. However, if you need advanced payroll features along with effective workforce management, complex reporting, and scalability for a larger team, Paycom is likely a better fit.

The final decision rests on your business needs and the HR solutions you are interested in. If you want a more personalized suggestion tailored to your company's requirements, contact us.