1v1 Pricing Showdown
BambooHR vs Gusto
Side-by-side pricing breakdown for HR & Payroll decision-makers
Prices in USD, verified from the United States. Regional pricing may vary.
When choosing between BambooHR and Gusto for your hr & payroll stack, the right answer depends on three things: your budget, the specific features you actually use day-to-day, and your tolerance for renewal-price increases. Below we lay out the prices each vendor advertises today (verified against their live pricing pages), the plan limits that decide whether they'll fit your team, and the features that differ between them.
BambooHR starts at custom pricing; Gusto starts at $49/mo. The cheaper headline price isn't always the cheaper total cost — renewal pricing, per-user fees, and overage charges can shift the math. Use the plan-by-plan tables below to model your actual spend.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| payroll processing | Add-on | Yes |
| tax filing | Add-on | Yes |
| direct deposit | Add-on | Yes |
| benefits admin | Add-on | Yes |
| time tracking | Yes | Yes |
| onboarding | Yes | Yes |
| global payroll | No | No |
| contractor payments | No | Yes |
| compliance | Yes | Yes |
| integrations | 125 | 250 |
| api | Yes | Yes |
| mobile app | Yes | Yes |
Affiliate links — you pay the same price
Dive Deeper
About the hr & payroll category
HR and payroll pricing in 2026 splits into two worlds: domestic US platforms (Gusto, OnPay, Paychex) and global platforms (Deel, Rippling). For a 20-person US team, costs range from $98.80/mo (Buddy Punch, time tracking only) to $300+/mo (BambooHR with payroll add-on). Gusto and OnPay charge identical rates: $49 base + $6/person. Paychex undercuts both at $39 + $5/person but strips features from its entry tier. The global side is more expensive by design — Deel's EOR service at $599/employee/mo and Rippling's quote-based pricing reflect the complexity of multi-country employment law. Deel disrupted the market with free HR for up to 200 people, making it the most generous free tier in any SaaS category we track.
How to choose between hr & payroll options
Two questions determine your shortlist. First: do you hire internationally? If yes, only Deel and Rippling handle global payroll and contractor payments. Everyone else is US-only, and bolting a second platform onto your domestic payroll creates operational overhead. Second: what do you actually need? If it's just payroll and tax filing, OnPay's single $49 + $6/person plan covers everything with no upsells. If you need HR workflows (performance reviews, PTO management, onboarding), BambooHR and Rippling offer deeper tools. If you need time tracking for field workers, Buddy Punch's GPS and geofencing solve a specific problem no one else addresses. Also compare integration ecosystems: Rippling has 500+, Gusto has 250+, OnPay has just 40 — that gap matters if your accounting software needs to sync automatically.
Building Your Business Stack?
Decision-makers comparing tools often need more than one category. Here are related comparisons:
Frequently Asked Questions
- Which is better, BambooHR or Gusto?
- Gusto scores 8.8/10 compared to BambooHR's 8.3/10 in our analysis. Gusto ranks higher on features and value, but BambooHR may suit specific use cases — see the feature comparison above.
- Are there other hr & payroll alternatives besides BambooHR and Gusto?
- Yes. Our [HR & Payroll pricing comparison](/pricing/hr-payroll/) page covers all major providers with daily-verified prices. You can also see the [cheapest hr & payroll](/pricing/hr-payroll/cheapest/) for budget-focused options.