BambooHR vs Gusto: Pricing and Features Compared
BambooHR vs Gusto for a small business: published rates at 10, 25, and 50 employees, what each includes at base tier, and who should pick which.
These two names arrive together on more shortlists than any other pair I get asked about, yet they are not the same kind of product. One sells the system that holds your people data, and the other sells the machine that pays them. There is no universal winner, but I will show you the two or three facts about your company that decide which one you need.
Both have HR in the marketing copy, and that is where the confusion starts. The difference is invisible in a feature grid and obvious on an invoice. At 10 employees, the cheapest Gusto plan lists at $109 a month while BambooHR starts at a $250 flat rate. At 50 employees the cheapest Gusto plan is still the cheaper of the two, but the top Gusto plan costs more than the top BambooHR plan.
Neither headline figure covers everything a growing team needs. What follows is what each one costs at 10, 25, and 50 employees using rates both vendors publish, what actually lands in the base tier, what sits outside it, where each is genuinely stronger, and which situations point clearly at one or the other.
BambooHR and Gusto side by side
BambooHR is an HR system of record: the main home for your employee data, with hiring and onboarding built in and the operational modules sold separately. Gusto is a payroll and benefits platform with HR tools layered on top of the same subscription. Read the table below as two answers to the question of what belongs in a base price.
| BambooHR | Gusto | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is at heart | An HR system of record | A payroll and benefits engine |
| Entry price | Flat rate from $250/mo at 25 employees or fewer | Simple, $49/mo plus $6/mo per person |
| Plan ladder | Core $10, Pro $17, Elite $25 per employee/month | Simple $49 + $6, Plus $80 + $12, Premium $180 + $22 |
| Payroll | Paid add-on, US employees only, rate not published | In the plan price on every tier, with tax filing |
| Payroll in two states | Through the payroll add-on or your current provider | Plus and Premium; Simple is single-state only |
| Benefits administration | Paid add-on, US employees only | No admin fee when Gusto is your broker, premiums only |
| Time tracking | Time and Attendance add-on | Included on Plus; $6/mo per person add-on on Simple |
| Applicant tracking | Every plan, capped at 5 open jobs on Core | Plus and Premium only |
| Onboarding and e-sign | Every plan, with new hire packets and checklists | Self-onboarding and I-9s on all; custom checklists on Plus |
| Performance reviews | Pro plan and above | Plus and Premium; $3/mo per person add-on on Simple |
| Compensation planning | Elite plan | Plus and Premium, as performance and compensation |
| Compliance and HR help | Compliance Intelligence, plus 1, 15, or 300+ courses | Premium only: HR experts, document generator, handbook, and law updates |
| Contractors | US contractors via the payroll add-on; abroad via Global Employment, powered by Remote | Domestic on every plan; 120+ countries as an add-on |
| Getting started | Free trial, no credit card required | Free account setup, switch or cancel anytime |
| Contract terms | Month to month or an extended term | Month to month, cancel anytime |
One pattern runs through that table. BambooHR puts records, reporting, hiring, and time off in the plan and charges separately for payroll, benefits, and time tracking. Gusto puts payroll, tax filing, and benefits in the plan and charges separately for the deeper HR system work. Neither vendor is padding its price; they simply drew the boundary in different places.
BambooHR reviewed
BambooHR answers a narrow question well: where does employee information live, and how do people get into and out of it cleanly? Every plan carries employee records, a custom report builder, workflows and approvals, dashboards, time off management with unlimited custom policies, benefits tracking, employee satisfaction surveys, and an employee self-service experience that non-technical staff pick up quickly.
Hiring and onboarding are included rather than bolted on. Core ships an applicant tracking system capped at 5 open job postings, plus job posting, candidate records, offer letter templates, a new hire packet, an onboarding checklist, and e-signatures. Pro raises the cap to 25 open jobs and Elite to 50. For a small employer hiring a few roles a year, that means applicant tracking stops being a second subscription.
Pricing is published, which is rare in this category. Core lists at $10 per employee per month, Pro at $17, and Elite at $25, with volume discounts applied automatically as headcount rises.
Companies with 25 employees or fewer pay a flat monthly rate instead of per seat: $250 on Core, $425 on Pro, and $650 on Elite. Registered nonprofits get an additional 15 percent off, and you can choose month to month terms or an extended term.
The catch is everything outside those numbers. Payroll, Benefits Administration, Time and Attendance, and Global Employment are separately priced add-ons, and none of their rates are published. The payroll and benefits add-ons also cover US employees only. There is a 15 percent discount for taking Payroll and Benefits Administration together, but a complete quote still needs a conversation, which is the opposite of how the plan tiers are sold.
What each BambooHR plan adds
The ladder is worth reading closely. Core to Pro is a jump from records into performance and engagement, and Pro to Elite is mostly compensation and analytics. Most small businesses land on Core or Pro.
| Plan | List rate | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Core | $10 per employee/month | Employee records and HR database, custom report builder, workflows and approvals, hiring and onboarding with 5 job openings, e-signatures, time off with unlimited custom policies, benefits tracking, employee satisfaction surveys, wellbeing tools, compliance intelligence with 1 training course, on-demand pay, and an AI assistant for HR questions |
| Pro | $17 per employee/month | Everything in Core, plus 360 degree performance reviews and 1:1 tools, an employee community platform, recognition and rewards, 15 compliance training courses, an enhanced AI assistant covering company policies, and hiring raised to 25 job openings |
| Elite | $25 per employee/month | Everything in Pro, plus compensation planning and salary benchmarking, custom dashboards and advanced analytics, HR benchmark data, premium support services, more than 300 compliance training courses, and hiring raised to 50 job openings |
Gusto reviewed
Gusto starts from the highest risk work a small employer does. Every plan carries unlimited payroll runs, including off-cycle runs, with direct deposits or printable checks. Tax filing is automatic at the federal, state, and local level, including W-2s, 1099s, and forms such as 940 and 941 (the federal unemployment and quarterly payroll tax returns).
Every plan also includes payroll approvals, automated payroll runs, employee and employer mobile apps, time off requests and approvals, multiple pay rates and schedules, and domestic contractor payments.
The HR layer is real but thinner than the payroll layer, and the entry tier is thinner still. Every plan carries employee self-onboarding, digital I-9s and W-4s, offer letter templates, document storage, and state new hire reporting.
Custom onboarding checklists, custom document e-signing, software provisioning, and the org chart start on Plus, and background checks are a paid add-on on every plan. Applicant tracking, performance management, and access to certified HR professionals each sit on a higher tier or behind an add-on rather than in the entry price.
Benefits are where Gusto separates itself from a pure payroll tool. With Gusto acting as broker, health insurance administration carries no extra cost and you pay only the premium, which is a genuine saving against a standalone benefits administration platform.
Keeping your own broker instead of using Gusto is a $6 a month per eligible employee add-on on any plan. Workers compensation starts at $14 a month, pre-tax accounts such as health savings accounts (HSAs) and flexible spending accounts (FSAs) are priced per participant, and 401(k) pricing varies by the retirement provider you connect.
What each Gusto plan adds
The ladder here is about reach rather than depth. Simple is one state and the essentials, Plus adds the things a distributed or hourly team needs, and Premium mostly buys HR help and hands-on support.
| Plan | List rate | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Simple | $49/mo + $6 per person | Single-state full-service payroll, unlimited payroll runs, federal, state, and local tax filing, basic PTO policies and holiday pay, time off requests and approvals, employee self-onboarding with digital I-9s and W-4s, offer letter templates and document storage, domestic contractor payments, expenses and reimbursements, and the employee and employer mobile apps |
| Plus | $80/mo + $12 per person | Everything in Simple, plus multi-state payroll, time tracking and scheduling, next-day pay, workforce cost reports, performance and compensation management, custom onboarding checklists and document e-signing, an org chart and employee directory, and the applicant tracking system |
| Premium | $180/mo + $22 per person | Everything in Plus, plus access to certified HR experts, an HR document generator, an employee handbook, HR law updates, a dedicated service advisor, priority support, custom reports, and payroll migration and account setup |
What each costs at 10, 25, and 50 employees
Both vendors publish rates, so almost every figure in this table is a straight list price; only the BambooHR figures at 50 employees are estimates, as the note under the table explains. The table does need one warning: the Gusto and BambooHR rows are not buying the same thing, because the Gusto figure already contains payroll and the BambooHR figure does not.
| Plan | 10 employees | 25 employees | 50 employees | What the plan covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gusto Simple | $109 | $199 | $349 | Single-state payroll, tax filing, onboarding |
| Gusto Plus | $200 | $380 | $680 | Multi-state payroll, time tracking, applicant tracking |
| Gusto Premium | $400 | $730 | $1,280 | HR experts, dedicated advisor, priority support |
| BambooHR Core | $250 | $250 | $500 | Records, reporting, onboarding, time off, 5 open jobs |
| BambooHR Pro | $425 | $425 | $850 | Adds performance, recognition, 15 compliance courses |
| BambooHR Elite | $650 | $650 | $1,250 | Adds compensation planning and salary benchmarking |
Three patterns matter. First, the BambooHR flat rate does not move between 10 and 25 employees, so a team growing inside that band pays the same $250 a month on Core while the Gusto bill climbs $6 to $22 with every hire.
Per seat, the BambooHR flat rate is a poor deal below 25 people and a good one near 25. Above 25, BambooHR switches to per employee pricing too, so both bills rise with each hire and the gap reopens.
The second pattern is what happens on the top tiers. Gusto Premium at 50 employees lists at $1,280 a month, slightly above BambooHR Elite at $1,250, and the two products at that price are doing different jobs.
The third pattern is the one nobody models: payroll obligations do not disappear because your HR system tracks records. The IRS still expects payroll tax deposits and returns on schedule, so a BambooHR subscription has to sit next to either the payroll add-on or a separate payroll provider.
What sits outside the sticker price
For BambooHR, the operational modules sit outside the sticker price: payroll, benefits administration, time tracking, and global employment are each a separately priced add-on. Gusto keeps payroll and tax filing inside every plan and puts the extras on higher tiers or in add-ons.
Every serious comparison of these two has to name the jobs before it names the products. The table below lists what a small employer actually needs done and where each vendor puts it, which is the fastest way to see why the plan rates are not comparable as printed.
| Job to be done | BambooHR | Gusto |
|---|---|---|
| Running pay and filing taxes | Payroll add-on, US employees only, rate not published | In the plan price on every tier, federal, state, and local |
| Payroll in a second state | Through the payroll add-on or your current payroll provider | Plus or Premium; state tax registration is a separate add-on priced by state |
| Health benefits enrollment | Benefits Administration add-on, US employees only | No administration fee with Gusto as broker; keeping your own broker is $6 per eligible employee on any plan |
| Tracking hours and breaks | Time and Attendance add-on | Included on Plus; Time and Attendance Plus is $6 per person on Simple |
| Posting jobs and tracking candidates | Every plan, capped at 5, 25, or 50 open jobs | Plus and Premium plans |
| Performance reviews | Pro plan and above | Included on Plus and Premium; $3 per person add-on on Simple |
| Pre-tax and retirement accounts | Through the Benefits Administration add-on or your broker | One $200 annual service charge covers HSA, FSA, dependent care, and commuter, plus per participant fees |
| Employing people abroad | Global Employment add-on powered by a partner | Global contractor payments in more than 120 countries as an add-on; an employer of record service powered by Remote |
One row deserves extra attention if you employ hourly staff. Time tracking is an add-on or a tier upgrade on both sides, and it rarely stays optional for long, so budget for it at purchase rather than discovering it in month four.
Federal recordkeeping rules are part of the reason. Fact Sheet 21 from the Department of Labor requires payroll records to be preserved for at least three years, and the federal regulation at 29 CFR 516.6 requires the time cards behind them to be kept for at least two.
Where each one is genuinely stronger
Neither product wins across the board, and the honest answer changes with the situation. The table below maps common small-business circumstances to the platform that handles them better.
| Your situation | Stronger choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll is the thing you are buying | Gusto | Payroll and tax filing sit in the plan price on every tier |
| Payroll already runs somewhere you like | BambooHR | You buy records, hiring, and reporting without a second payroll bill |
| Ten people and a tight budget | Gusto | $109 a month on Simple against a $250 monthly floor |
| Growing from 12 toward 25 employees | BambooHR | The flat $250 holds through 25 people and beats Gusto Plus from 15; Gusto Simple stays cheaper if payroll is all you need |
| Offering health benefits for the first time | Gusto | Licensed brokers, no administration fee, premiums only |
| Hiring several roles a year | BambooHR | Applicant tracking on every plan rather than a tier upgrade |
| Complex or unusual time off policies | BambooHR | Unlimited custom time off policies on every plan |
| Custom HR reporting and dashboards | BambooHR | Custom report builder included at the entry tier |
| Paying contractors, domestic or global | Gusto | Contractor payments and 1099 filing on every plan, with a $35 contractor-only plan |
| Compensation bands and benchmarking | BambooHR Elite | Compensation planning and salary benchmarking sit inside the plan |
The pattern is which half of the employee lifecycle hurts. Gusto is stronger from the moment somebody is on payroll: pay, tax, benefits, contractors. BambooHR is stronger before and around that: hiring, onboarding software, records, policies, and reporting. Companies that pick badly usually do so by comparing headline prices instead of asking which of those two halves is currently costing them time.
Dwight SchruteSales3 people
Darryl PhilbinWarehouse1 person
Kelly KapoorCustomer Service1 personHow to choose between BambooHR and Gusto
Five questions settle this faster than any feature matrix. Answer them before you book either demo.
One more piece of advice for both. Run a complete new hire through each product before you commit, end to end, including document management and signatures. An HR platform is judged by whether managers and employees actually use it, not by the length of its feature list, and one realistic run tells you more about that than a two hour demo ever will.
Before you choose
FirstHR overlaps with these two on the HR records slice: onboarding workflows, e-signature on offer letters and acknowledgments, employee records, document management, and training.
Payroll, payroll tax filing, benefits administration, time tracking, and applicant tracking come from the two products above, which both cover all five through their plans, tiers, or add-ons. If those are the reasons you are shopping, one of them is your answer rather than us, and the employee record side is where we compete.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is BambooHR or Gusto cheaper for a small business?
Gusto, at the entry tier, and the gap is widest at small headcounts. Gusto Simple lists at $49 a month plus $6 per person, so 10 people cost $109, while BambooHR charges teams of 25 or fewer a flat rate starting at $250, near $25 per employee at that size. At 50 employees Gusto Simple lists at $349 and BambooHR Core at $500 before automatic volume discounts. The catch is that the Gusto figure already includes running payroll and the BambooHR figure does not.
Does BambooHR include payroll?
Not in the plan price. Payroll, Benefits Administration, Time and Attendance, and Global Employment are separately priced add-ons, and the payroll and benefits add-ons cover US employees only. A 15 percent discount applies when payroll and benefits are combined with any plan, but add-on rates are not published, so a complete number requires a quote. Plans include benefits tracking, which is record keeping rather than enrollment and carrier administration.
Does Gusto Simple cover payroll in more than one state?
No. Gusto states that Simple covers one state and that Plus and above cover multiple states. A single hire across a state line moves you from $49 plus $6 per person to $80 plus $12 per person, taking a 25 person bill from $199 to $380 a month. State tax registration for a new jurisdiction is sold as a separate add-on, priced by state.
Does BambooHR or Gusto include applicant tracking?
Both do, at different points. BambooHR includes it on every plan, capped at 5 open job postings on Core, 25 on Pro, and 50 on Elite, with job posting, candidate records, and offer letter templates. Gusto states that its applicant tracking system is included in the Plus and Premium plans, so the cheapest Gusto tier does not have it. For a company hiring a few roles a year, that difference is worth more than it looks.
Can you use BambooHR and Gusto together?
Yes, and it is a common setup rather than a workaround. BambooHR becomes the system of record while Gusto runs pay and benefits, and at 25 employees on entry tiers the pair costs roughly $250 plus $199 a month, about $449. Compare that combined figure against one vendor plus its add-on quote before assuming a single platform is cheaper, and confirm with both vendors what their integration syncs today.
Which is better for a company without a dedicated HR person?
It depends which job is eating your week. Gusto is the easier first purchase when payroll and tax filing are the risk, because both sit in the plan price with published rates and month to month terms. BambooHR is better when documents, time off, and hiring are the mess. Both can be set up without a consultant, which is not true of every platform a business with no HR department gets pitched.
Do BambooHR or Gusto require an annual contract?
Neither forces one. Gusto states there are no contracts, that account setup is free, and that you can switch or cancel at any time. BambooHR offers flexible month to month terms or an extended term for added certainty, and accepts credit cards and ACH bank transfers for monthly customers, with wire transfers and checks for annual upfront payment. That makes this pair unusually easy to trial against each other before committing.
What does Gusto charge for benefits administration?
Nothing extra when Gusto is your broker: you pay only the insurance premium. Keeping your existing broker costs $6 a month per eligible employee on any plan. One $200 annual service charge covers health savings accounts, flexible spending accounts, dependent care accounts, and commuter benefits, with per participant fees of $2.50 a month for HSAs and $4 for the others. Workers compensation starts at $14 a month.
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