Paychex Flex vs Gusto

by Gralio Feb 26, 2025

Paychex Flex and Gusto are both robust HR platforms, but cater to different needs. Paychex Flex is a comprehensive solution for businesses of all sizes, offering a wide range of features and integrations. Gusto, on the other hand, focuses on simplicity and ease of use, making it ideal for smaller businesses.

At Gralio.ai we help to simplify your decision-making process by offering detailed, side-by-side software comparisons like this one, to help you confidently choose the tool that aligns with your business goals.

This comparison was created by analysing 7697 reviews and 60 websites, saving 1 day, 19 hours, 15 minutes of reading.

Paychex Flex

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Gusto

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About

Paychex Flex is a cloud-based platform designed to simplify HR processes for businesses of all sizes. It offers a comprehensive suite of services, including payroll, time and attendance, benefits administration, HR consulting, and more. With Paychex Flex, you can manage employee data, automate tasks, and ensure compliance from a single, user-friendly interface. It integrates with other software and provides 24/7 support. Paychex Flex aims to streamline HR operations and provide businesses with the tools they need to manage their workforce effectively.

Gusto is an all-in-one HR platform designed for small and medium-sized businesses in the USA. It offers payroll, benefits administration, hiring and onboarding tools, and HR management features. Gusto aims to simplify and automate HR processes, ensuring compliance and saving you time. It's known for its user-friendly interface, strong customer satisfaction ratings, and comprehensive feature set.

Summary

Main difference

Paychex Flex offers a broader range of services, including HR consulting and more specialized integrations, making it suitable for larger or complex businesses needing advanced features. Gusto stands out with its user-friendly interface and focus on simplicity, making it ideal for smaller businesses seeking an easy-to-use, all-in-one HR solution.

Relative strengths of Paychex Flex (compared to Gusto)

Wider range of services and integrations catering to complex needs.
Strong reporting capabilities for in-depth payroll data analysis.
Offers HR consulting services for additional support.

Relative weaknesses of Paychex Flex (compared to Gusto)

Can be more expensive than Gusto, especially for smaller businesses.
User interface can be less intuitive compared to Gusto.
Customer support has mixed reviews with reports of long wait times.

Who should use Paychex Flex VS. Gusto

Paychex Flex simplifies HR and payroll for businesses of all sizes. Users praise its user-friendly interface, comprehensive reporting, and convenient mobile app. However, some dislike the customer support and report payroll processing issues. Despite these drawbacks, its wide range of services, from 401k management to HR consulting, makes it a valuable tool for businesses seeking to streamline HR operations.

Gusto is a user-friendly HR platform ideal for small and medium-sized businesses in the USA. It offers payroll, benefits, hiring, and HR tools in one place. Users praise Gusto's intuitive interface and helpful customer support. Some users have reported issues with transit benefits and one-time salary adjustments.

Ideal for businesses of all sizes, especially those with 1-1000+ employees.
Suitable for most industries, including Healthcare, Retail, and Technology.

Best for small to medium-sized businesses (1-1000 employees) in the US.
Particularly well-suited for Professional Services, Healthcare, and Real Estate.

Paychex Flex and Gusto features

Supported

Partially supported

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Type in the name of the feature or in your own words tell us what you need

Payroll processing

Supported

Paychex Flex calculates and processes payroll, handles deductions, and manages taxes.

Supported

Gusto calculates and processes payroll, handles various pay structures, deductions, and taxes.
Automated tax administration

Supported

Paychex Flex automates tax calculations, payments, and filings.

Supported

Gusto automates tax calculations, filings, and payments, ensuring compliance.
Benefits Administration

Supported

Paychex Flex supports benefits administration, including enrollment and various programs.

Supported

Gusto supports benefits administration, including health insurance, retirement plans, and other benefits programs.
Mobile payroll

Supported

Paychex Flex allows employees to access their payroll information via their mobile app.

Supported

Gusto supports mobile payroll through the Gusto Wallet app, enabling employees to view paychecks, tax documents, pay insights, and manage their finances.
Payroll integration

Supported

Paychex Flex offers seamless integration with payroll systems for automatic transfer of benefit deductions.

Supported

Gusto seamlessly integrates with payroll systems, enabling automatic transfer of benefit deductions and other HR-related data.
Tax compliance

Supported

Paychex Flex automates tax calculation, filing, and payment, including generating forms like Form 940, Form 941, Form 943, and Form 944, ensuring compliance with tax regulations. It also offers a tax guarantee.

Supported

Gusto fully supports managing and submitting payroll taxes.

Qualities

Value and Pricing Transparency

-0.42

Rather negative sentiment

No data
Customer Service

+0.27

Neutral sentiment

No data
Ease of Use

+0.79

Strongly positive sentiment

No data
Reliability and Performance

+0.22

Neutral sentiment

No data
Ease of Implementation

+0.03

Neutral sentiment

No data
Scalability

-0.33

Rather negative sentiment

No data

Paychex Flex and Gusto Pricing

No data

User sentiment

Rather negative

-0.42

See full Pricing page

Gusto offers flexible plans to support a variety of business needs, from simple payroll to comprehensive HR solutions. Additional features are available a la carte to further customize your plan.

Plans

See full Pricing page

Paychex Flex and Gusto review insights

3034 reviews analysed from and

Users love

User-friendly interface for payroll and basic HR functions.
Comprehensive reporting features, providing valuable insights into payroll data.
Convenient mobile app for employees to access pay stubs and other information.
Wide range of services available, including 401k, benefits administration, and HR consulting.

Gusto is known for its user-friendly interface and ease of use.
Excellent customer support, readily available and responsive to queries.
Streamlined onboarding process, allowing employees to self-onboard and handle their information.
Comprehensive features covering payroll, benefits, hiring, and HR management.

Users dislike

Difficult to get live customer support; long wait times and few communication options.
Many users report issues with payroll processing, including errors and delays.
Time and attendance features can be glitchy and unreliable, with reports of missed punches.
Account representatives change frequently, leading to inconsistent support and lack of personalized service.

Accessing transit benefits through Gusto is overly complicated.
It is difficult to make one-time salary adjustments. The process requires adjusting the annual salary and then reverting it.
There is no option to set recurring amounts for contractors. Manual entry is required for each payment.
Some users report payroll deposit delays, occasionally extending into the afternoon.

Paychex Flex and Gusto Ratings

G2

4.2/5

(1532)
Capterra

4.2/5

(1502)
TrustPilot

1.1/5

(90)

Glassdoor

3.2/5

(893)

Company health

Employee growth

No data

18% increase in the last year

Web traffic

No data

21% increase in the last quarter

Financing

No data

October 2022 - $746M

How do Gusto and Paychex Flex compare in ease of use for onboarding new employees?

Both Gusto and Paychex Flex offer features to streamline employee onboarding. Gusto is praised for its user-friendly interface and streamlined onboarding process that allows for employee self-service. While Paychex Flex also has a user-friendly interface for basic HR functions, its overall ease of use for onboarding is not as consistently highlighted in user reviews as Gusto's. Therefore, Gusto may offer a slightly more user-friendly onboarding experience.

Which product, Gusto or Paychex Flex, offers better customer support responsiveness and accessibility?

Gusto appears to offer better customer support responsiveness and accessibility. While Paychex Flex advertises 24/7 support, user reviews highlight difficulties reaching support and long wait times. Conversely, Gusto receives praise for its readily available and responsive customer support. Therefore, despite both offering extensive support options, user feedback suggests Gusto provides a superior customer support experience.

What are the advantages of Paychex Flex?

Paychex Flex offers a comprehensive suite of HR services, including payroll, benefits administration, and HR consulting, all within a single platform. It provides robust reporting features to give businesses valuable insights into their payroll data. Employees can access their payroll information and other resources through a convenient mobile app. Paychex Flex also integrates with other software, increasing its flexibility and potential for streamlining workflows. Finally, Paychex offers 24/7 support, which can be crucial for businesses needing assistance outside of regular business hours.

What are the disadvantages of Paychex Flex?

Paychex Flex suffers from customer support challenges, with users reporting long wait times and difficulty reaching live representatives. Payroll processing errors and delays are a recurring complaint, impacting a core function of the software. Additionally, the time and attendance features are considered unreliable by some users, and the frequent turnover of account representatives leads to inconsistent service and a lack of personalized support.

Alternatives to Paychex Flex and Gusto

Rippling

Rippling is a comprehensive employee management platform designed for businesses of all sizes. It streamlines and automates various HR, IT, and finance processes, including payroll, benefits, device management, and expense tracking. By centralizing these functions, Rippling aims to simplify employee lifecycle management, reduce administrative burden, and improve operational efficiency for businesses. The platform is particularly valuable for companies with global operations, offering localized solutions for international payroll, benefits, and compliance.

Paycom

Paycom is an all-in-one HR and payroll software designed for mid-sized and larger companies. It offers a range of features including payroll, time and attendance, benefits, talent management, and HR reporting, all within a single database. Paycom emphasizes automation, particularly with its employee-driven payroll feature, Beti, aiming to reduce manual work for HR teams. It also highlights its dedicated customer service and robust security measures.

Paycor

Paycor is a cloud-based software that streamlines HR tasks for businesses of all sizes, although it places a special focus on mid-sized to large companies in various industries like healthcare, manufacturing, and professional services. It brings together features such as payroll, recruiting, onboarding, benefits administration, time tracking, and talent management into a single platform. This helps businesses improve efficiency, reduce compliance risks, and gain insights into their workforce data to make better decisions. Paycor also boasts numerous integrations with other popular business software, ensuring data flows smoothly across different systems.

Paylocity

Paylocity is a cloud-based HR and payroll software platform designed for mid-sized businesses. It offers a range of features including payroll, benefits administration, talent management, time tracking, and employee experience tools. Paylocity aims to streamline HR tasks, improve employee engagement, and provide data-driven insights for better decision-making. They emphasize strong customer support and a partnership approach to help businesses achieve their goals.

ADP Workforce Now

ADP Workforce Now is a comprehensive HR software suite designed for mid-sized companies (50-5,000 employees). This cloud-based platform combines core HR functions like payroll, benefits, and talent management into a single, easy-to-use system. ADP Workforce Now helps businesses streamline HR processes, improve compliance, and make better decisions with data-driven insights. It also offers a mobile app for convenient employee and manager self-service.

TriNet

TriNet is a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) that provides small and medium-sized businesses with outsourced HR services. This includes payroll, benefits administration, compliance assistance, and risk management. By handling these complex tasks, TriNet allows companies to focus on their core operations and growth. They offer solutions tailored to different industries and pride themselves on providing access to large-company benefits and expert HR guidance.

Page co-authored by

Michal Kaczor

CEO at Gralio

Michal has worked at startups for many years and writes about topics relating to software selection and IT management. As a former consultant for Bain, a business advisory company, he also knows how to understand needs of any business and find solutions to its problems.

Tymon Terlikiewicz

CTO at Gralio

Tymon is a seasoned CTO who loves finding the perfect tools for any task. He recently headed up the tech department at Batmaid, a well-known Swiss company, where he managed about 60 software purchases, including CX, HR, Payroll, Marketing automation and various developer tools.

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