Gusto vs OnPay
Written by Priya Nandakumar ·
Edited by Sebastiaan Smits ·
Fact-checked by Connor Blake ·
Published September 30, 2026 · Updated September 30, 2026
Gusto and OnPay are both full-service US payroll for small employers, priced as a base fee plus a per-person fee. OnPay sells a single plan with everything in it and handles farm, restaurant, household and church pay well. Gusto sells tiers and goes deeper on benefits, integrations and onboarding. Niche employers and price-watchers pick OnPay; benefit-minded ones pick Gusto.
Side by side
 Gusto |  OnPay | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Full-service US payroll with benefits administration built in | One-plan full-service US payroll with niche industry support |
| Best for | US small businesses up to 100 people | Small US businesses wanting one flat plan |
| Headquarters | United States | United States |
| Pricing model | Base fee + per person / month | Base fee + per person / month |
| Pricing | Published tiers with a monthly base fee plus a per-person fee; a cheaper contractor-only plan is available. | One published plan: a monthly base fee plus a per-person fee, with tax filing and HR tools included. |
| Free option | None | Free trial |
| Place in our Payroll software ranking | #1 of 11 | #10 of 11 |
| Website | gusto.com | onpay.com |
Both are reviewed in full in Best Payroll Software in 2026. Position in that ranking can be paid for; the wording of a review or of this comparison cannot. Placement disclosure.
Which one to choose
Choose Gusto if
you want benefits, a 401(k) plan and workers' comp bought and administered through the payroll product, more integrations and reporting, or you pay contractors outside the US.
Gusto, #1 in the ranking · Visit Gusto →
Choose OnPay if
you want one predictable plan with no feature gating, or you run a farm, restaurant, household or church whose pay rules general tools handle awkwardly.
OnPay, #10 in the ranking · Visit OnPay →
Where they differ
Tiers versus one plan
OnPay has a single published plan in which tax filing and HR tools are included, so the quote is simple arithmetic. Gusto publishes tiers, and next-day direct deposit, time tracking and detailed permissions sit on the higher ones. The catch with OnPay is that there is no cheaper option for a tiny team making a few payments a year.
Edge: OnPay
Farms, restaurants, households and churches
OnPay handles agricultural employers with Form 943 filing, restaurants with tip credits and tip reporting, household employers and churches with clergy pay. Gusto files federal, state and local taxes automatically but is stretched by unusual pay: union rules, job costing and complex multi-rate pay push past it quickly. For those niches OnPay fits better than its size suggests.
Edge: OnPay
Benefits, integrations and reports
Gusto administers benefits and 401(k) plans and lets an employer buy health coverage, retirement plans and workers' comp through the product. OnPay's benefits and workers' comp come through partner brokers, its HR features are basic, and it has fewer reports and integrations than Gusto. Gusto's reporting is still basic for a controller, but it is the broader system.
Edge: Gusto
Migration help and paying people abroad
OnPay does the data migration for you, and customers report reaching a knowledgeable support person quickly; Gusto's support is its most common complaint, slow in peak weeks. But OnPay has no foreign contractor payments or global payroll, while Gusto supports international contractor payments. Service favors OnPay, reach favors Gusto, so this depends on your workforce.
Edge: even
Tally: Gusto 1, OnPay 2, even 1.
When neither fits
A very small employer that only wants the cheapest credible payroll should look at Patriot Payroll, which has a do-it-yourself tax option. A fast-growing company wanting a full HR platform around payroll should look at Rippling, which runs payroll, devices and app access from one record.
See Patriot Payroll and Rippling among the 11 products in Best Payroll Software in 2026.
Questions and answers
Can Gusto or OnPay pay workers outside the US?
Gusto can, in part: it supports international contractor payments alongside US payroll. OnPay has no foreign contractor payments or global payroll, so an employer with contractors abroad would need a second tool. Both are US payroll products first, built around federal, state and local tax filing.
Which is better for a restaurant, Gusto or OnPay?
OnPay. It handles tip credits and tip reporting as a listed capability, alongside agricultural, household and nonprofit payroll. Gusto automates tax filing well but is stretched by unusual pay arrangements. Check tip handling in a parallel run before switching.
Do Gusto and OnPay both offer unlimited pay runs and tax filing?
Yes. Each lists unlimited pay runs and full-service tax filing. Gusto adds state tax account registration and W-2 and 1099 processing in its feature list. Neither has a free plan: OnPay offers a free trial, and Gusto has a cheaper contractor-only plan.