How Much Does Gusto Cost? Real Monthly Examples by Team Size (2026)

Gusto costs a base fee plus a per-employee fee, starting at $49/month plus $6 per employee on the Simple plan — so a 5-person team pays about $79/month all in. Because Gusto’s pricing is published and bundles tax filing and direct deposit at no extra cost, you can calculate your real monthly bill before you ever sign up. After three years running my agency’s payroll on Gusto, my invoice has never surprised me.

Below are worked monthly totals by team size on each plan, plus contractor-only costs and how the referral offer reduces year-one spend.

How Gusto pricing works

Every Gusto plan is a flat base fee plus a per-employee fee:

• Simple — $49/month + $6 per employee
• Plus — $80/month + $12 per employee
• Premium — $180/month + $22 per employee
• Contractor Only — $35/month (free first 6 months) + $6 per contractor

That’s the whole formula. There are no separate charges for direct deposit, pay stubs, payroll tax filing, or year-end W-2s and 1099s — all included. Unlimited payroll runs come standard, so paying weekly costs the same as paying monthly. For the full plan breakdown, see my Gusto pricing post.

The reason this matters is that “base plus per-employee” makes your bill fully predictable. You don’t get charged for the number of payroll runs, for adding a second state, or for generating tax forms at year-end. Once you know your headcount and your plan, you know your monthly cost to the dollar — which is rarer than it should be in payroll software.

Real monthly cost by team size

Here’s what each plan actually costs at 1, 5, 10, and 25 employees. The math is just base + (per-employee × headcount).

A few things to notice. At one or two employees, the base fee dominates, so the cheaper Simple plan is usually the right call. As headcount grows, the per-employee fee becomes the bigger driver — which is why the gap between plans widens at 25 employees. Choose the lowest tier that has the features you need.

What it costs per year

Monthly numbers understate the decision, so here are the same plans annualized — multiply the monthly total by twelve. This is the number worth comparing against the cost of a bookkeeper or the hours you’d spend doing payroll yourself.

The Plus premium is where the annual view changes how you think. Moving a 10-person team from Simple to Plus costs an extra $1,092 a year. If that buys time tracking you’d otherwise do in a spreadsheet and re-key by hand, it can pay for itself; if your team is salaried and you don’t track hours, it’s money spent on features you won’t use.

Which plan fits which size

• 1–5 employees: Simple ($49 + $6) is plenty for core payroll and tax filing. Most micro-businesses I know stay here.
• 5–25 employees: Consider Plus ($80 + $12) if you want next-day direct deposit, time tracking, and PTO management.
• Larger or compliance-heavy teams: Premium ($180 + $22) adds priority support and HR expert access.

The features, not just headcount, should drive the choice. A 5-person team that needs time tracking may be happier on Plus; a 25-person team with simple needs can stay on Simple at $199/month.

Contractor-only cost

If you pay only 1099 contractors and have no W-2 employees, the Contractor Only plan is $35/month plus $6 per contractor, and the $35 base is free for the first six months. So five contractors cost just $30/month (5 × $6) for the first half-year, then $65/month after. Gusto files the 1099-NECs and handles contractor self-onboarding and direct deposit.

Worked across the first year, the savings are concrete. Five contractors pay $30/month for months one through six (base waived) and $65/month for months seven through twelve — about $570 for the full year, versus $780 if the base applied the whole time. The free-base window makes this the cheapest way to pay a team through Gusto, and it’s a clean fit for agencies or studios that work entirely with freelancers and don’t carry W-2 staff.

How Gusto compares on price

Against other payroll tools, Gusto sits in the middle of the market — not the cheapest, but bundling more into the base price. Some budget competitors advertise a lower base, around $40/month as of 2026 (verify current pricing before deciding), but charge separately for filing in additional states, faster direct deposit, or year-end forms. Enterprise platforms like ADP often quote custom pricing rather than a published rate, which makes a like-for-like comparison harder; see my Gusto vs ADP comparison for that. The fair way to compare is to add a competitor’s base to every fee you’d actually incur, then put that next to Gusto’s all-in number — the gap usually narrows or disappears.

How the offer lowers your cost

Gusto has no typed coupon code. The current offer is a referral link that pays a Visa gift card after your first paid payroll — $100 for businesses with fewer than 10 employees, $200 for 10 or more — plus 3 months free on your subscription. Click the referral link before you sign up, create your account, and run one paid payroll to qualify. The gift card arrives within 30 days of your first paid invoice, per Gusto’s Referral Rewards Terms.

For a 5-person team on Simple, three months free saves about $237 (3 × $79), and the $100 Visa gift card brings the effective year-one cost down further — roughly $948 minus $237 minus $100, or about $611 for the first year instead of the full sticker. For a 10-person team on Simple, three free months saves about $327 (3 × $109) and the gift card jumps to $200, cutting roughly $527 off year one. That combination usually makes the first year materially cheaper than the table above suggests.

Frequently asked questions

How much does Gusto cost per month for a small business?

For a typical small business, Gusto costs $55–$200/month on the Simple or Plus plan. A 1-person business pays $55/month on Simple ($49 + $6), a 5-person team pays $79/month, and a 10-person team pays $109/month on Simple or $200/month on Plus.

Does Gusto charge per payroll run?

No. Gusto includes unlimited payroll runs on every plan, so paying employees weekly costs the same as paying monthly. You’re charged a flat base fee plus a per-employee fee, not per run — a key difference from some per-run competitors covered in my Gusto vs ADP comparison.

Is Gusto cheaper for contractors only?

Yes. The Contractor Only plan is $35/month plus $6 per contractor, with the $35 base waived for the first six months. If you have no W-2 employees, this is the cheapest way to pay your team through Gusto.

Are there hidden fees with Gusto?

No hidden fees for core payroll. Direct deposit, pay stubs, tax filing, and year-end forms are all included. You only pay extra for optional add-ons like health insurance premiums or 401(k) administration. See the full Gusto reviews post, the blog, or the homepage for more.

How much does Gusto cost for 50 employees?

On Simple, 50 employees comes to $349/month ($49 + 50 × $6), or $4,188 a year. On Plus it’s $680/month ($80 + 50 × $12), about $8,160 a year. At this size the per-employee fee dominates the bill, so the plan you choose — and whether you actually use the higher tier’s features — matters far more than the base fee.

Does the price change as I add employees?

Yes, but predictably. Each employee you add costs exactly the per-employee fee for your plan — $6 on Simple, $12 on Plus, $22 on Premium — with no setup charge or tier jump. Add one employee to a 5-person Simple team and your bill goes from $79 to $85; there are no surprises.