Gusto vs ADP comes down to whether you want the price before or after the sales call. Gusto publishes it: $49 a month plus $6 per person on its cheapest plan. ADP publishes nothing for RUN, its small-business payroll, and quotes after you talk to sales. For a single-state business under 50 employees, we think Gusto is the safer default. ADP is the better bet if you plan to grow past 50 or want a PEO later from the same vendor.
Gusto vs ADP: compare Gusto with RUN, not Workforce Now
ADP sells two payroll products, and most “ADP vs Gusto” comparisons mix them up. ADP itself calls RUN Powered by ADP the “best fit” for businesses with 1 to 49 employees. Workforce Now is for 50 and up, with pricing ADP calls custom. Gusto targets the same 1 to 49 segment, so RUN is the fair comparison.
RUN comes in four packages: Essential, Enhanced, Complete Payroll & HR+, and HR Pro. Every package on the RUN product page shows only a “Get pricing” button. Gusto has three employer plans, Simple, Plus and Premium, each with a published base fee and per-person fee on its pricing page.
The tiers don’t line up neatly. RUN Enhanced adds state unemployment insurance (SUI) service, a garnishment payment service and ZipRecruiter access. Gusto Plus adds multi-state payroll, next-day pay and time tracking. On RUN, time tracking, retirement and insurance are sold as add-ons.
Gusto vs ADP pricing: what we can and can’t calculate
Gusto: worked cost for 5, 15 and 40 employees
Each figure is the base fee plus the per-person fee times headcount. These are list prices, before taxes and add-ons.
| Employees | Simple ($49 + $6/person) | Plus ($80 + $12/person) | Premium ($180 + $22/person) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | $49 + $30 = $79/mo | $80 + $60 = $140/mo | $180 + $110 = $290/mo |
| 15 | $49 + $90 = $139/mo | $80 + $180 = $260/mo | $180 + $330 = $510/mo |
| 40 | $49 + $240 = $289/mo | $80 + $480 = $560/mo | $180 + $880 = $1,060/mo |
Over a year, Simple costs $948 at 5 people, $1,668 at 15 and $3,468 at 40.
Three costs can push those numbers up:
- More than one state. Simple is limited to payroll in one state. One remote hire in another state moves you to Plus, which at 15 people is $260 a month rather than $139.
- Faster pay. Next-day pay on Simple costs $15 a month plus $3 per person. Same-day pay on Simple and Plus costs $90 per payroll (pricing).
- State registration and compliance. If Gusto registers you with a state tax agency through Middesk, it costs $199 per agency account. That’s typically $199 to $398 per state, and it isn’t refundable once submitted. Business Compliance costs $85 per state per month, with a 12-month commitment per state (Gusto help).
Account setup is $0 and there’s no contract on payroll plans.
ADP RUN: why we won’t publish a number
ADP says RUN quotes depend on worker count, worker type, pay frequency, payment method and support level (ADP). We haven’t received a written quote for a sample company, so we have no verified figure to put next to Gusto’s.
Some sites print one anyway. tech.co gives a figure for RUN Essential based on “user reports”. That is a third-party estimate we haven’t verified, and the same article’s table also lists RUN as custom pricing. Don’t budget from it.
The fee types are another reason to be careful. ADP’s own pricing material says fees such as off-cycle runs, delivery and year-end forms may apply, but it doesn’t publish the amounts. Two RUN quotes with the same monthly figure can still produce different annual bills.
The promo. ADP is offering up to six months of free RUN processing to new clients with 1 to 49 employees who pay by direct debit and sign by November 26, 2026. According to the offer terms, the free months are credited in months 4 to 6 and 13 to 15. You must stay on the same bundle for three consecutive months, and off-cycle, delivery, hardware and penalty fees are excluded. It’s a real discount, but it is paid out over 15 months. Treat it as a promo, not as the price.
ADP vs Gusto: the contract fine print
The terms are where the two differ most clearly. Both are summarized in the fine print block above. This is what they mean in practice.
ADP RUN terms (effective February 12, 2026)
From the RUN Terms and Conditions:
- Termination. The agreement renews automatically with each processing cycle. Either party can end it “on at least thirty (30) days prior written notice” (§12A), and outstanding fees fall due on termination (§12B).
- Price changes. After a new client’s first six months, ADP may raise base processing fees with at least 30 days’ notice (§4A). The terms don’t protect your base fee beyond the first six months.
- Idle months. Any 30-day period with no payroll processed triggers a maintenance fee (§4A). Digital self-purchasers are exempt. The amount isn’t published.
- Late payment. Past-due amounts accrue 1.5% interest a month (§4A).
- Records. Download I-9 data before you leave (§1H). ADP may, but need not, keep payroll reports and tax forms afterward (§14A).
- Disputes. The terms use New York law and New Jersey courts, with a jury-trial waiver (§15H).
Your signed Sales Order can override some of this, so read it.
Gusto terms
From Gusto’s Terms of Service (updated August 1, 2025) and its cancellation article:
- Termination. Payroll plans are month-to-month. Gusto bills retroactively. If you cancel after the 5th of the month, or after running payroll that month, you pay the full month. Fees aren’t prorated (§19).
- Price changes. Gusto must give 30 days’ notice of fee changes (§10). It can raise prices too. The difference is that you can leave within a month, without 30 days’ written notice.
- After you leave. If you want Gusto to file the remaining forms, it charges $100 for federal forms, $100 per state and $5 per W-2 or 1099.
- Disputes. Individual arbitration with a 30-day opt-out (§24), and liability capped at fees paid in the prior six months (§22).
In our view, the idle-month fee is the clause that matters most for small businesses. If you pay seasonal staff or pause payroll in slow months, ask ADP for the maintenance fee amount in writing before you sign.
Where ADP is the better choice
ADP has strengths Gusto doesn’t match:
- A path past 50 employees. Moving from RUN to Workforce Now keeps you with the same vendor when you outgrow small-business tools. Gusto’s pricing page lists no separate mid-market product.
- A PEO option. ADP TotalSource is an IRS-certified PEO (CPEO) for businesses with 5 to over 1,000 employees. It covers benefits, workers’ comp and HR under co-employment. Gusto doesn’t offer a PEO on its pricing page.
- Payroll services named in the tiers. SUI service and a garnishment payment service come with RUN Enhanced and above.
- Strong review scores. RUN is rated 4.6 out of 5 on Capterra from 1,577 reviews. Gusto is also 4.6 on Capterra, from 4,233 reviews (checked October 2026).
If you want a rep to set things up and you’re likely to need HR outsourcing within a few years, getting an ADP quote is worth the time.
Where Gusto is the better choice
- You can budget before you buy. Every employer plan has a published price, and the table above is your bill before add-ons.
- Low commitment. Month-to-month, $0 setup, and no idle-month fee in the published pricing.
- One-state teams under about 20 people. Simple at $49 plus $6 per person is cheap, and the base fee is a large share of the bill at that size.
Complaints worth weighing on both sides
Both vendors draw complaints.
- Gusto. Reviewers on Capterra and Trustpilot often describe support as slow or scripted and say escalation is hard. Some Capterra reviewers say costs climb with headcount and that useful features sit in higher tiers.
- ADP. The BBB lists 871 complaints in three years, 207 in the last 12 months. Common themes are billing that continued after cancellation and tax-filing errors. Capterra reviewers say add-ons and fees push the total up for small firms.
A raw complaint count isn’t a rate. The BBB doesn’t show how many customers each company serves, so we don’t rank the two on it.
How to get an ADP quote you can actually compare
If you’re getting an ADP quote, ask for these in writing:
- Base fee and per-employee fee for your headcount and pay frequency, for the exact package (Essential, Enhanced, Complete or HR Pro).
- Per-run fees for off-cycle payrolls, delivery fees and year-end W-2 fees.
- The maintenance fee for a 30-day period with no payroll.
- What the price will be in month 7, once ADP’s right to raise base fees applies.
- Whether the Sales Order changes the 30-day termination clause.
Then compare the annual total with the Gusto table. If you’re also considering Paychex, our Paychex vs ADP comparison covers how both quote-only vendors handle terms. For other options with published prices, see ADP alternatives. If you use QuickBooks for accounting, also check Gusto vs QuickBooks Payroll.
Bottom line
- One state, under 50 employees, you want a known price: start with Gusto Simple, and budget for Plus if you hire in a second state.
- Planning to pass 50 employees or move to a PEO within two years: get an ADP RUN quote, and ask about TotalSource at the same time.
- Seasonal payroll: avoid any contract with an idle-month fee you haven’t seen in writing.
- Switching mid-year: read our guide to switching payroll providers first. In our view, switching at the start of a quarter keeps filings simpler.
How we verified these numbers is on our methodology page.