Gusto Alternatives 2026: 7 Options, 3 Free
Gusto alternatives: Frappe HR, Horilla, Homebase, OnPay and 3 more. Prices and licenses checked October 22, 2026.
•4 min read•Payroll, HR & Hiring
Verdict:Gusto's list prices run $49 plus $6 per person for Simple, $80 plus $12 for Plus and $180 plus $22 for Premium, billed monthly. It has no free plan, only free setup. So most payroll alternatives are cheaper paid products, not free ones. Patriot lists $17 plus $4 per worker and Square Payroll $35 plus $6, both under Gusto Simple. OnPay lists the same $49 plus $6 as Gusto Simple, so its appeal is the plan details and not the price. Homebase has a free Basic plan for up to 10 employees, but payroll is a paid add-on. Frappe HR and Horilla are free open-source options that include payroll modules, but they are self-hosted tools, so tax tables, filings and payments become your responsibility, so check whether either supports US tax filing. That is the key trade-off: payroll mistakes carry penalties, and a hosted service with filings included is a different kind of product from software you run. Before switching, compare the number of workers, states and contractors you pay with each plan's base and per-person fee, and ask a payroll adviser which year-end forms you will need from the new provider.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frappe HR | Free (Free to self-host; Frappe Cloud hosting starts at $5 per month for Sites) | Web, Self-hosted | Technical teams who can host their own payroll | Docs only |
| Horilla | Free (Free open source, self-hosted) | Web, Self-hosted | Self-hosters who want payroll inside an HR system | Docs only |
| Homebase | Free (Basic plan at $0: up to 10 employees at one location, 90 days of timesheet storage); paid from $30 per location/month (Essentials) | Web | Hourly teams at one location | Docs only |
| OnPay | Paid from $49 per month plus $6 per worker | Web | Small employers who want one flat plan | Docs only |
| Patriot Payroll | Paid from $17 per month plus $4 per worker paid (Basic Payroll, regular price) | Web | Very small employers with simple payroll | Docs only |
| Square Payroll | Paid from $35 per month plus $6 per person paid | Web | Contractor-heavy small businesses | Docs only |
| Rippling | Paid from $8 per employee/month, plus a monthly base fee | Web | Growing companies that want HR and IT bundled | Docs only |
| ADP | See pricing page | Web | Payroll and HR | Docs only |
| Paychex Flex | See pricing page | Web | Payroll | Docs only |
| Deel | Paid from $49 per contractor/month (Hire contractors) | Web | Global payroll and EOR | Docs only |
Independent comparison. Paid placements are labelled separately; editorial links earn no affiliate commissions. Learn more.
Good fit if
- You want the cheapest hosted payroll for a few staff (Patriot Payroll is the pick)
- You pay mostly contractors (Square Payroll is the pick)
- You manage hourly staff and want free scheduling (Homebase is the pick)
- You can self-host and want payroll inside HR software (Frappe HR is the pick)
- You want payroll bundled with HR and IT (Rippling is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You rely on Gusto features or integrations that these tools do not replicate
Gusto today: Paid from $49 per month plus $6 per person (Simple) (Gusto pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Frappe HR
Compared with Gusto: Frappe HR is GPL-3.0 with payroll, leave and attendance and no per-person fee, against Gusto Simple's $49 plus $6 per person. You host it yourself, and the payroll examples on its page cover income tax slabs, so check US tax filing before relying on it.
Price: Free (Free to self-host; Frappe Cloud hosting starts at $5 per month for Sites) (Frappe HR pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. GPL-3.0 (open source).
Project activity: 9k GitHub stars · latest release v16.52.0 (Oct 22, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Technical teams who can host their own payroll.
Worth knowing: Covers payroll (salary structures, income tax slabs, payroll runs), leave and attendance. Check that payroll and tax rules fit your country before relying on it.
Horilla
Compared with Gusto: Horilla is LGPL-2.1 with a payroll module listed among nine HR modules, free to self-host. Gusto is a managed service with support; Horilla gives no vendor to call, so confirm it handles US payroll tax filing before switching.
Price: Free (Free open source, self-hosted) (Horilla pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. LGPL-2.1 (open source).
Project activity: 1.5k GitHub stars · latest release 2.2.0 (Oct 21, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Self-hosters who want payroll inside an HR system.
Worth knowing: README lists nine modules: employee management, recruitment, onboarding and offboarding, attendance, leave, payroll, performance, assets and helpdesk.
Homebase
Compared with Gusto: Homebase Basic is $0 for up to 10 employees at one location, and its payroll add-on is free for 6 months, then $49 plus $6 per employee paid. That is the same $49 and $6 as Gusto Simple, so the saving is the time-tracking plan, not payroll.
Price: Free (Basic plan at $0: up to 10 employees at one location, 90 days of timesheet storage); paid from $30 per location/month (Essentials) (Homebase pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web. Proprietary SaaS.
Best for: Hourly teams at one location.
Worth knowing: Plus is $70 and All-in-One $120 per location per month. Payroll is an add-on at $49 per month plus $6 per employee paid after a 6-month free period.
OnPay
Compared with Gusto: OnPay lists $49 plus $6 per worker, the same as Gusto Simple, with W-2s, 1099s, unlimited pay runs and federal, state and local filings included. Time tracking, HR and benefits are add-ons, so the saving depends on what you buy.
Price: Paid from $49 per month plus $6 per worker (OnPay pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web. Proprietary SaaS.
Best for: Small employers who want one flat plan.
Worth knowing: All plans include W-2s, 1099s, year-end filings, unlimited pay runs and federal, state and local tax filings. Time tracking, HR and benefits are add-ons.
Patriot Payroll
Compared with Gusto: Patriot Basic Payroll lists $17 a month plus $4 per worker, against Gusto Simple's $49 plus $6. It is cheaper, with a 30-day free trial and 50% off for 3 months, but you give up Gusto's higher tiers for multi-state needs.
Price: Paid from $17 per month plus $4 per worker paid (Basic Payroll, regular price) (Patriot Payroll pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web. Proprietary SaaS.
Best for: Very small employers with simple payroll.
Worth knowing: Full Service Payroll is $37 plus $5 per worker. Promo prices are half for 3 months after a 30-day free trial.
Square Payroll
Compared with Gusto: Square Payroll lists $35 a month plus $6 per person paid, or $6 per person with no base fee for contractor-only payroll. It undercuts Gusto Simple's $49 base and suits contractor-heavy teams.
Price: Paid from $35 per month plus $6 per person paid (Square Payroll pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web. Proprietary SaaS.
Best for: Contractor-heavy small businesses.
Rippling
Compared with Gusto: Rippling plans start at $8 per employee per month plus a base fee, with total cost depending on products. It covers more than payroll, but unlike Gusto it publishes no simple flat figure, and a free trial is not listed.
Price: Paid from $8 per employee/month, plus a monthly base fee (Rippling pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web. Proprietary SaaS.
Best for: Growing companies that want HR and IT bundled.
Worth knowing: Global Payroll and Global Contractors are quote-based. A startup program gives eligible US VC-backed startups six months free access.
Other popular options (paid)
ADP
Compared with Gusto: Plans for 1-49 and 50+ employees are priced by quote, while Gusto lists $49 plus $6 per person. The page advertises up to 6 months free payroll for new small-business sign-ups under separate terms.
Price: See pricing page (ADP pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Paychex Flex
Compared with Gusto: No prices are published; you request a quote based on employee count, and setup, NSF, delivery, 401(k) and time and attendance fees are billed separately. Gusto lists $49 plus $6 per person.
Price: See pricing page (Paychex Flex pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Deel
Compared with Gusto: Listed per month: contractors $49, US PEO $125 per employee, employer of record $599 per employee. It targets global hiring and contractor payments more than Gusto's US-focused small-business payroll.
Price: Paid from $49 per contractor/month (Hire contractors) (Deel pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Which one to pick
- You want the cheapest hosted payroll for a few staff: Patriot Payroll
- You pay mostly contractors: Square Payroll
- You manage hourly staff and want free scheduling: Homebase
- You can self-host and want payroll inside HR software: Frappe HR
- You want payroll bundled with HR and IT: Rippling
Limits of this review
Docs-only for Frappe HR, Horilla, Homebase, OnPay, Patriot Payroll, Square Payroll, Rippling: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages and we did not test import from Gusto. Vendor prices and free limits change; confirm on the linked pricing page before you buy or migrate.
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Kevin Fan
Kevin Fan is a SaaS founder. He runs Free Instead Of, which tracks free and open-source alternatives to paid software and checks each price and free-plan limit against the vendor's own pages.
Methodology
Based on official pricing and product pages checked 2026-10-22: Gusto, Frappe HR, Horilla, Homebase, OnPay, Patriot Payroll, Square Payroll, Rippling, ADP, Paychex Flex, Deel. Prices, free limits and licenses are the figures shown on those pages on those dates. No tool on this page was installed or run. No accounts were created.