Gusto vs. Rippling: What's the Best All-in-One Payroll and HR Platform for Small Business?

Drowning in spreadsheets, calculators, and endless HR paperwork? You’re not alone. Running payroll shouldn’t mean staying up late fixing errors or chasing down compliance updates.

That’s why choosing the right payroll and HR tool is so important—it keeps your team paid on time,your business running smoothly, and your sleep schedule in check. 

Whether you’ve just started looking or you’re already neck-deep in research, we’re here to help. We did the homework, comparing Gusto vs. Rippling, so you don’t have to. 

Learn about their pros, cons, and pricing and find the best fit for your team.

Key takeaways

• Gusto is a great pick for small to mid-sized teams who want a simple, easy-to-use payroll and HR solution with clear pricing and helpful automation.
• Rippling is built for businesses with complex needs, like managing a global team or integrating with IT systems, and offers customization.
• Homebase is the best all-in-one payroll option if you run a local business with hourly workers. We combine time tracking, scheduling, team messaging, and payroll all in a single app, so you can manage your team from anywhere.
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Overview: Why Gusto vs. Rippling?

If you’re deciding between Gusto vs. Rippling, you’re already on the right track—both are highly rated payroll and HR platforms for small businesses. Forbes rated Gusto a 4.5 and Rippling a 4.0.

 But they solve different problems, and choosing the wrong one can create extra work down the road.

• Gusto focuses on making payroll and basic HR easy and affordable. 
• Rippling is built for businesses that want deeper IT and operations integration alongside HR.

This side-by-side breakdown will help you figure out which tool makes the most sense for your business’s size, complexity, and goals, so you can avoid growing pains later.

What is Gusto?

Gusto is a cloud-based payroll and HR platform made for small businesses. 

It includes automated payroll and benefits, compliance, and onboarding. If you want a tool that makes it easy to stay on top of HR without hiring extra help, Gusto fits the bill.

What is Rippling?

Rippling is a full team management system that helps you manage everything from payroll and benefits to computers and apps across a global team.

If your business is growing fast, has international team members, or needs to integrate HR and IT, Rippling has the flexibility you need to keep everything running smoothly.

Feature comparison: Gusto vs. Rippling

Payroll processing

Gusto works across multiple states and even includes automated payroll and tax filings. This is perfect if you don’t want to worry about manual calculations before every pay period.

Rippling takes payroll a step further with global processing. If your team is spread out across the country—or the world—it automatically calculates payroll taxes and helps keep your business compliant.

HR and benefits

Gusto covers the basics: health insurance, 401(k), workers’ comp, and hiring and onboarding tools. If you’re just getting started and want a solid foundation, Gusto can get you up and running quickly.

Rippling offers more flexibility with benefits, including international options. You can customize packages based on where your employees are located—great for a growing team.

Employee onboarding

Gusto makes it easy to welcome new hires with digital offer letters and self-onboarding. You’ll save time and make a good first impression, even if you don’t have a full HR team.

Rippling automates even more, including setting up laptops and apps for new employees. If you’re spending a lot of energy on tech setup, Rippling could be a huge timesaver.

Right now, are you using different apps to post jobs, track applicants, and onboard new teammates? If that sounds familiar, there’s a better way! 

You can do all that plus manage your team’s payroll, scheduling, and messaging with the one app to rule all teams: Homebase. Join today for free and see how simple hiring can be.

Compliance and tax filing

Gusto handles tax filings at the federal, state, and local levels, so when tax time rolls around, you’re ready to go.

Rippling is better if you need US and global compliance. It automatically enforces policies and keeps your team aligned with different international regulations.

IT and device management

Gusto sticks to HR and payroll, so you won’t find IT tools on it. That works just fine if you don’t need them.

If you’re dealing with remote onboarding or want to have a reliable IT process for your team’s device setup and tech access, Rippling will cover that.

Pricing transparency

Gusto keeps pricing simple with three clear plans. You can see everything online, know exactly what you’re getting, and see if they fit within your budget.

Rippling uses a modular pricing model based on which features you choose. This gives you flexibility, but it also means you won’t know what you’re paying until you ask them for a quote.

Customer support

Gusto offers support through chat, email, and phone, so you can ask for help however you want

Rippling has premium support options, including dedicated account managers. That might be worth it if you want personalized help, but it’ll cost more.

Scalability

Gusto is ideal for small to mid-sized businesses looking for a dependable, no-fuss solution. If your team is growing fast or going global, you may outgrow Gusto and need a more sophisticated tool.

Rippling is built for scale. Whether you’re expanding to new locations or managing a large remote team, it’s ready to grow with you and your team.

Key Differences in features

Both tools have strong payroll and HR features, but here’s the gist of Gusto vs. Rippling feature differences:

• Gusto is designed for small businesses that want straightforward tools and reliable automation.
• Rippling covers more ground than just the basics with IT device management and international operations—best for large businesses.
• Pricing: Gusto offers transparent, tiered pricing. Rippling is custom, modular, and more expensive.

If your gut is telling you neither of these is quite what you’re looking for, don’t worry. We’ve also reviewed other HR software solutions that might be a better match.

Gusto: Pros and cons

Advantages of Gusto

TL;DR: Gusto helps small businesses do payroll and HR easily and without a steep learning curve. 

Here are the deets:

• Easy to use: A simple and intuitive platform, so you don’t need to be a payroll expert to get started.
• Transparent pricing: No surprises—just clear pricing plans that help you stay within your budget.
• All-in-one tools: From payroll to hiring to taxes, Gusto puts your HR essentials in one place—no need for a collection of different apps.
• Integrations: Connects with accounting tools like QuickBooks and Xero.
• Employee self-service: Your team can access their pay stubs, benefits, and tax forms without you playing the middleman.
• International support: Gusto also supports global payroll for over 120 countries, so you won’t need to jump through hoops to pay your international contractors.

Drawbacks of Gusto

TL;DR: While Gusto excels in simplicity, businesses requiring advanced customization and IT integration might find it lacking. 

More specifically:

• Not ideal for big teams: Because Gusto is built for smaller teams, if you’re planning to grow, Gusto’s tools and level of sophistication might feel limited. 
• Limited customization: If you have complex payroll and HR needs, Gusto likely won’t fit the bill.
• No IT and device management: They don’t have IT provisioning and security tools, so if this is a must-have for you, consider a tool like Rippling instead.

Rippling: Pros and cons

Advantages of Rippling

TL:DR: Rippling offers an all-in-one solution for larger businesses with complex payroll and HR needs.

What that means for you:

• End-to-end workforce management: HR, IT, and finance solutions in one platform, so you don’t need to juggle multiple different tools.
• Global payroll and compliance: Run payroll for employees and contractors worldwide (over 185 countries and 50 currencies).
• IT and device management: Rippling can also manage employee devices and software access.
• Highly customizable: Rippling lets you build exactly what you need by choosing different modules for payroll, HR, IT, and more. No paying for things you don’t need or won’t use.
• Automation and AI: With advanced automation for payroll and compliance, you’ll save manual effort and always be compliant with local and international labor laws.

Drawbacks of Rippling

TL;DR: While Rippling is powerful for large teams that benefit from customization, smaller businesses may find it harder to learn and not worth the price.

Specific downsides include:

• Steeper learning curve: Rippling’s advanced features mean there’s a steeper learning curve, especially if you don’t have dedicated HR or IT staff.
• More expensive: Modular pricing can be costly, especially for small businesses.
• Custom pricing: You won’t know what you can expect to pay for your custom needs until you talk to Sales.

If you’re thinking Rippling isn’t for you, then maybe you need something more affordable, easy to use, and that checks all the boxes for a reliable payroll and HR app.

Homebase is built for hourly teams, small business owners, and busy managers who want payroll to be simple, seamless, and stress-free. You can try it out for free today.

Gusto vs. Rippling: Pricing Breakdown

Next, you’ll want to understand the pricing of each payroll platform and which one will give you the best bang for your buck.

Gusto Pricing

Gusto offers three main pricing tiers, each designed to support businesses at different stages of growth:

• Simple plan: Get the essential payroll and benefits administration tools—perfect for small teams that need automated payroll processing, tax filings, and basic HR.
• Plus plan: Designed for growing businesses and includes additional HR features like compliance support, hiring and onboarding tools, and advanced integrations.
• Premium plan: Best for larger teams needing dedicated customer service, enhanced HR tools, and advanced features like performance management and employee surveys.

Each tier increases in price as you add more features and services. But Gusto’s transparent pricing makes it easy to see what you’ll get (and won’t get) with each plan.

Rippling pricing

Instead of bundled plans like Gusto, Rippling takes a modular pricing approach. This means:

• They offer custom pricing based on the specific features and services you choose.
• You’ll pay only for the modules you want, like payroll, benefits administration, IT device management, or global workforce management.

This flexibility lets you tailor the platform to your unique needs. But it also means costs can pile up quickly. So, it’s less budget-friendly if you have a small business that needs only the basics.

Cost considerations

When it comes to the value between Gusto vs. Rippling:

• Gusto is better if you want an affordable, transparent payroll solution with a solid set of HR tools (functional and easy to use, but nothing fancy).
• Rippling is better if you want an all-in-one workforce management system, particularly if you need IT and global payroll.

If neither of these tools sounds right for you (in terms of pricing, features, or both!), we want to help you find a better fit. Check out these other payroll solutions for small businesses—one of them might be your dream payroll app. 

Why Homebase is a strong alternative to Gusto and Rippling

If you’re running a local business with hourly workers, there’s another option you might want to consider: Us—AKA Homebase.

Unlike Gusto and Rippling, we designed our app specifically for small businesses with hourly teams.

What is Homebase?

Homebase is an all-in-one team management tool ideal for local businesses in industries like retail, restaurants, and hospitality.

We help you manage your hourly team with:

• Payroll processing: Automates payroll calculations, tax filings, and direct deposits, so your team gets paid accurately and on time without you lifting a single calculator .
• Employee scheduling: A simple drag-and-drop scheduler, easy shift swapping, and schedule notifications to keep your team informed.
• Time tracking: Tracks employee hours through built-in time clocks, manages PTO, and ensures compliance with labor laws.
• Hiring and onboarding: Helps you recruit and track applicants, onboard new teammates, and manage employee documentation—saves you the time and confusion of flipping through stacks of paperwork.
• Team communication: Use the app to message your team about shift changes, so their schedule and important updates are all in the same place (less confusion = a happier team).

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Benefits of choosing Homebase over Gusto and Rippling

Homebase offers many benefits over Gusto and Rippling, especially if you’re running an hourly team at a local business:

• All-in-one team management: We combine payroll, scheduling, and HR tools in one place—check off things on your to-do list without opening more than one app.
• More affordable for small businesses: Homebase’s pricing is more budget-friendly for teams that don’t need the extra bells and whistles that Rippling offers.
• Better scheduling and time tracking: Homebase combines payroll, scheduling, and HR tools in a single app, unlike Gusto and Rippling, which require third-party integrations for advanced scheduling and time tracking .

Why businesses prefer Homebase

Many small businesses prefer Homebase because it’s easy to use, has everything you need in one app, and was made specifically for hourly teams.

Here’s why businesses choose us:

• Ideal for hourly teams: Homebase is built for managing shift workers, making it more helpful for industries like restaurants, retail, and hospitality.
• Simpler than Rippling, more team-focused than Gusto: Homebase avoids the complexity of Rippling’s IT modules while providing more team management tools than Gusto.
• Eliminates the need for multiple tools: We combined payroll, scheduling, time tracking, and HR into one toolkit. No more juggling different apps!.

Don’t just take our word for it. Forbes called us “a paragon of simplicity and usability.” 

And Mandana Shabani, owner of Zood Restaurant, says, “Homebase simplifies scheduling, payroll, and HR in a way that is easy to navigate and understand. We highly recommend it.”

Choosing between Gusto, Rippling, and Homebase comes down to your business’s priorities:

• Use Homebase if you’re a small business managing hourly workers and want the best all-in-one, affordable solution. 
• Use Gusto if you want affordable payroll with straightforward HR tools and transparent pricing.
• Use Rippling if you need a highly customizable platform with IT, HR, and global payroll.

“Homebase makes running a business easier because you get into the business to focus on what you’re doing. I’m running restaurants, that’s my focus” — Christine Ha, Owner, The Blind Goat and Xin Chao

Do you need a straightforward payroll tool made by people who know what it’s like to be an hourly worker? Look no further. With Homebase, you can simplify your scheduling, eliminate no-shows, and adjust to shift swaps on the fly. Try it for free today. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Can I switch from Gusto or Rippling to Homebase?

Yes, you can switch from Gusto or Rippling to Homebase by migrating payroll and HR data between platforms. Homebase provides tools to help with payroll transitions, and Homebase integrates well with existing accounting and HR software.

Does Homebase offer the same HR and compliance support as Rippling?

Homebase doesn’t offer the same HR and compliance support as Rippling. 

While Homebase gives you essential HR tools, including hiring, onboarding, and compliance support, we don’t have the extensive IT and global payroll capabilities of Rippling. 

But for US-based small businesses, Homebase covers all your key compliance needs.

Which platform is more cost-effective between Gusto vs. Rippling?

Between Gusto vs. Rippling, Gusto is more cost-effective for small businesses because its tiered plans are affordable and transparent.  Rippling offers customized plans where costs can add up easily and become expensive for small businesses. 

Compared to both Gusto and Rippling, Homebase is the most cost-effective choice for small businesses needing payroll, scheduling, and HR in one affordable app.