Gusto vs Rippling

by Gralio Feb 03, 2025

Gusto and Rippling both offer robust HR solutions, but cater to different needs. Gusto excels in its user-friendly approach to core HR functions for US-based SMBs, while Rippling provides a more comprehensive platform that integrates HR, IT, and finance management, suitable for larger or internationally operating 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 9520 reviews and 60 websites, saving 2 days, 5 hours, 23 minutes of reading.

Gusto

Website LinkedIn Twitter

Rippling

Website LinkedIn Twitter

About

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.

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.

Summary

Main difference

Gusto is a user-friendly, all-in-one HR platform ideal for small to medium-sized businesses in the USA focusing on core HR needs like payroll, benefits, and hiring. Rippling offers a broader suite of tools encompassing HR, IT, and finance, making it better suited for companies needing to manage devices, expenses, and potentially international operations.

Relative strengths of Gusto (compared to Rippling)

Stronger focus on core HR features for US-based SMBs
More user-friendly for basic HR tasks
Transparent and affordable pricing

Relative weaknesses of Gusto (compared to Rippling)

Lacks IT and finance management tools
Limited international capabilities
Less scalable for rapidly growing businesses

Who should use Gusto VS. Rippling

Gusto is a user-friendly HR platform praised for its streamlined onboarding and comprehensive features, covering payroll, benefits, hiring, and HR management. Some users have reported issues with transit benefits and one-time salary adjustments. Perfect for small and medium-sized businesses in the USA.

Rippling helps businesses manage HR, IT, and finance in one platform. Users love its user-friendly interface and clear organization, especially the searchable org chart. However, some users have reported discrepancies between the mobile and desktop apps and occasional delays in payment notifications. Rippling simplifies payroll, benefits, and device management, making it ideal for companies looking to centralize operations and improve efficiency.

Ideal for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the USA, particularly those with under 100 employees.
A good fit for businesses across various sectors, including Healthcare, Finance, Retail, and Technology.

Ideal for small, medium, and enterprise businesses seeking streamlined HR, IT, and finance solutions.
Suitable for most industries, including Healthcare, Finance, E-commerce, Retail, and Technology.

Gusto and Rippling features

Supported

Partially supported

Not supported

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

Benefits Administration

Supported

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

Supported

Rippling offers a unified platform to manage employee benefits, including health insurance and retirement plans.
Time Tracking

Supported

Gusto supports time tracking, including monitoring work hours and payroll calculations. Time-off requests are supported.

Supported

Rippling supports time tracking, including time-off requests and payroll integration.
Hiring and Onboarding

Supported

Gusto offers hiring and onboarding tools, including paperwork, payroll setup, and new hire information.

Supported

Rippling offers automated onboarding workflows, manages paperwork, payroll setup, and provides essential information.
Mobile payroll

Supported

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

Supported

Rippling enables employees to access payroll information via their mobile app.
Payroll integration

Supported

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

Supported

Rippling automatically syncs payroll data with benefits, ensuring that benefit deductions are reflected in the payroll process. It also integrates with accounting systems, ensuring accurate transfer and recording of benefit deductions.
Tax compliance

Supported

Gusto fully supports managing and submitting payroll taxes.

Supported

Rippling automates payroll tax calculations, filing, and form management.

Qualities

Value and Pricing Transparency

+0.13

Neutral sentiment

-0.23

Neutral sentiment
Customer Service

+0.17

Neutral sentiment

+0.21

Neutral sentiment
Ease of Use

+0.89

Strongly positive sentiment

+0.89

Strongly positive sentiment
Reliability and Performance

+0.34

Rather positive sentiment

+0.28

Neutral sentiment
Ease of Implementation

+0.6

Rather positive sentiment

+0.27

Neutral sentiment
Scalability

+0.04

Neutral sentiment

+0.57

Rather positive sentiment

Gusto and Rippling Pricing

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

User sentiment

Neutral

+0.13

See full Pricing page

No data

User sentiment

Neutral

-0.23

See full Pricing page

Gusto and Rippling review insights

9357 reviews analysed from and

Users love

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.

User-friendly interface
Easy to navigate
Clear breakdowns, visually pleasing
Org Chart is searchable

Users dislike

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.

Discrepancies between the mobile and desktop app
Payment notifications via email arrive late
Limited phone numbers available for customer service
Need to go through a lot of clicks sometimes to get back to what i need to access

Gusto and Rippling Ratings

Glassdoor

3.2/5

(893)

Glassdoor

3.8/5

(564)

Company health

Employee growth

18% increase in the last year

57% increase in the last year

Web traffic

21% increase in the last quarter

6% decrease in the last quarter

Financing

October 2022 - $746M

December 2023 - $2B

How do Gusto and Rippling compare for international payroll needs?

Gusto primarily focuses on US-based payroll and HR, while Rippling offers international payroll capabilities. Therefore, for companies with international payroll needs, Rippling is the more suitable choice. Gusto is a good option for US-based businesses seeking a comprehensive HR and payroll solution.

Which platform, Gusto or Rippling, better integrates with existing IT tools?

Rippling is the better platform for integrating with existing IT tools. It offers a broader range of integrations, encompassing not only HR functions but also IT and finance tools, making it a more comprehensive solution for businesses seeking to connect various systems. While Gusto integrates well within the HR ecosystem, Rippling's wider scope and inclusion of IT features like device management suggest a more robust integration capability with a company's existing IT infrastructure.

What are the advantages of Gusto?

Gusto stands out with its user-friendly interface and strong customer satisfaction ratings, making it particularly appealing for SMBs seeking ease of use. It offers a comprehensive suite of HR tools specifically tailored for US-based businesses, including payroll, benefits administration, and hiring/onboarding features, all within a single platform. Gusto also provides transparent pricing plans, which is a significant advantage compared to Rippling's lack of pricing transparency.

What are the disadvantages of Gusto?

Gusto has some drawbacks based on user feedback. These include difficulty managing one-time salary adjustments and recurring contractor payments, which require manual workarounds. Some users also report delays in payroll deposits and overly complicated processes for accessing transit benefits.

Alternatives to Gusto and Rippling

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.

BambooHR

BambooHR is an HR software platform designed for small and medium-sized businesses. It brings together various HR functions like hiring, onboarding, payroll, benefits, and employee data management into one system. This allows for streamlined workflows, automated tasks, and easier access to employee information. BambooHR aims to simplify HR processes, improve data accuracy, and enhance the employee experience. It is used by companies in various industries and boasts features like custom reporting and integrations with other software.

QuickBooks Payroll

QuickBooks Payroll is a cloud-based payroll software designed for small to medium-sized businesses in the USA. It aims to simplify payroll processing with features like automated tax calculations and filings, direct deposit, and integrated time tracking. QuickBooks Payroll also offers additional tools like HR support, workers' compensation administration, and health benefits options. It stands out with its tax penalty protection, promising to cover penalties incurred due to errors within the software.

Deel

Deel is an HR platform designed for companies managing international teams. It simplifies global hiring, payroll, and compliance for both employees and contractors in over 150 countries. Deel acts as your legal Employer of Record (EOR) in foreign countries, taking on the responsibility for local labor laws, taxes, and payroll regulations. This lets you hire talent globally without needing to establish your own legal entities abroad. Deel also offers tools for onboarding, contract creation, expense management, and HR administration, all within a single platform.

Fingercheck

Fingercheck is an all-in-one HR software designed for small to medium-sized businesses in the USA. It aims to simplify HR and payroll tasks by automating processes like payroll, benefits administration, time tracking, and onboarding. This cloud-based platform offers features such as automated tax calculations, employee self-service portals, and compliance support. Fingercheck prides itself on providing affordable, user-friendly software combined with accessible customer support.

Paychex Flex

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.

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.

How are we doing?

Is this information helpful to you? Is there anything we are missing?

Did this help you select your product?

Other issues? Vote & Let us know