Gusto pricing for 2026, plan by plan: Simple, Plus, Premium, and Contractor Only. What's included, what costs extra, and how the referral offer lowers your bill.

Gusto pricing in 2026 is fully published and starts at $49/month plus $6 per employee on the Simple plan, scaling up to $180/month plus $22 per employee on Premium. There are no hidden fees for direct deposit, pay stubs, or tax filing — those come standard on every tier. I’ve run my agency’s payroll on Gusto for about three years, and the thing I value most is that the number on the pricing page is the number I actually pay.

This breakdown covers all four plans, what each one includes, the add-ons that cost extra, and how the current referral offer cuts your first-year cost.

Gusto pricing plans at a glance

Plan	Base price	Per-employee	Best for
Simple	$49/mo	$6/employee	Small teams that want core full-service payroll
Plus	$80/mo	$12/employee	Growing teams needing next-day deposit and HR tools
Premium	$180/mo	$22/employee	Larger teams wanting dedicated support and compliance help
Contractor Only	$35/mo (free first 6 months)	$6/contractor	Businesses that pay only 1099 contractors

Every paid plan includes unlimited payroll runs, AutoPilot auto-payroll, and automatic filing of federal, state, and local payroll taxes — including year-end W-2s and 1099s. There’s no long-term contract.

Simple: the entry plan

The Simple plan is $49/month plus $6 per employee, and it’s where most of the small businesses I know start. For that you get full-service payroll: Gusto calculates, files, and pays your federal, state, and local payroll taxes automatically, runs unlimited payrolls, and handles W-2s and 1099s at year-end.

Simple includes employee self-onboarding, basic health benefits administration, and two-day direct deposit. For a five-person shop, that’s $49 + $30 = $79/month, all in. There’s no separate charge for direct deposit or for filing your taxes — a contrast with the per-run pricing some competitors use.

Plus: the growth plan

Plus is $80/month plus $12 per employee. The headline upgrades over Simple are next-day direct deposit (versus two-day on Simple) and a deeper set of HR tools: time tracking, project tracking, PTO management, and team-management features like org charts and surveys.

If you’re hiring, paying people across multiple states, or want to keep cash in your account a day longer before each payroll, Plus is usually the right tier. For a 10-person team, Plus runs $80 + $120 = $200/month.

Premium: the full-service plan

Premium is $180/month plus $22 per employee. It layers on priority support, access to certified HR experts, compliance alerts, and a dedicated support line. This tier makes sense once you’re large enough that a payroll or compliance mistake is expensive, or when you’d rather have an HR resource on call than build the expertise in-house.

Contractor Only: for 1099-only businesses

If you don’t have W-2 employees, the Contractor Only plan is $35/month plus $6 per contractor — and the $35 base is waived for the first six months. Gusto files 1099-NECs, handles contractor self-onboarding, and pays contractors by direct deposit. For a deeper team-size breakdown, see my how much does Gusto cost walkthrough.

What costs extra (add-ons)

The base plans cover payroll and tax filing completely. These are billed separately:

Health insurance — Gusto administers health plans in 38+ states at no extra platform fee, but you pay the insurance premiums themselves.
401(k) — offered through Guideline; participation fees apply.
Workers’ comp, HSA/FSA, commuter benefits — available as add-ons with their own pricing.
State registration / multi-state — Gusto can help register you in new states; some of this is included on higher tiers.

What you won’t be charged extra for: direct deposit, pay stubs, payroll tax filing, year-end forms, or additional payroll runs. That bundling is the main reason Gusto’s published price tends to hold up against quote-based rivals like ADP.

How to get Gusto’s best deal

Gusto doesn’t use a typed coupon code, so don’t go hunting for a discount box at checkout. 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.

On the Simple plan, three months free is worth roughly $147 in base fees alone before per-employee savings, and the Visa gift card stacks on top. That effectively makes your first year of Gusto noticeably cheaper than the sticker price.

Frequently asked questions

How much is Gusto per month?

Gusto starts at $49/month plus $6 per employee on the Simple plan. Plus is $80/month plus $12 per employee, Premium is $180/month plus $22 per employee, and Contractor Only is $35/month (free for six months) plus $6 per contractor. Your monthly cost is the base plus per-person fees for your headcount.

Does Gusto charge extra for tax filing or direct deposit?

No. Payroll tax filing, direct deposit, pay stubs, and year-end W-2s and 1099s are all included in every paid plan at no additional cost. You only pay extra for optional add-ons like benefits administration.

Is there an annual discount on Gusto?

Gusto offers an annual billing option that can lower your effective monthly cost, and some nonprofit fees are waived. The biggest first-year saving, though, comes from the referral offer — three months free plus a Visa gift card after your first paid payroll.

Which Gusto plan should I choose?

Most small teams start on Simple. Move to Plus if you want next-day direct deposit and HR tools like time tracking and PTO. Choose Premium if you want priority support and HR compliance help. For a fuller feature comparison, see my Gusto reviews post and the full blog or homepage.

Gusto Pricing (2026): Every Plan, Add-On, and Real Cost Explained