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How we researched this
We did not test either product. This page is built from what each vendor publishes on its own site, plus the public Capterra ratings below. Gusto's prices here come from its own published guides rather than its live pricing page, so confirm them before you decide. Where we could not confirm something, we say "check the vendor's site" rather than guess.
Quick comparison
| Question | Gusto | Rippling |
|---|---|---|
| Capterra rating (checked Nov 2026) | 4.6/5, 4,200+ reviews | 4.8/5, 5,500+ reviews |
| Pricing | Published plans: Simple at $49 a month plus $6 per person, Plus at $80 a month plus $12 per person; confirm on its pricing page | Per employee per month plus a monthly base fee; Rippling says plans start at $8 per employee per month and payroll cost depends on headcount and products chosen, so you need a quote |
| Payroll countries | US businesses | US payroll, plus a separate Global Payroll product; its pages give no country list |
| Contractor payments | Contractor-only plan listed at $35 a month plus $6 per contractor; confirm on its pricing page | Pays contractors "globally" with no entity required, per its Global Payroll page; fees not stated on the pages we read |
| HR features | Check the vendor's site | HRIS, recruiting, performance, learning, benefits administration, time and attendance and more are listed as modules |
| IT features | Check the vendor's site | Device management (macOS, Windows, iOS, iPadOS), app access and automatic provisioning and deprovisioning |
Pricing
Rippling's pricing page says plans start at $8 per employee per month with a monthly base fee, and that most products are priced per employee. It also says the cost of payroll depends on the number of employees and the products and services you select. In practice, that means you will not see your own total until you ask for a quote. Rippling also lists separate modules, so a quote for payroll alone will differ from payroll plus HR and IT.
Gusto publishes its prices. Its own guides list the Simple plan at $49 a month plus $6 per person and the Plus plan at $80 a month plus $12 per person, with a contractor-only plan at $35 a month plus $6 per contractor. For a five-person team on Simple, that works out to $79 a month. Premium pricing is described differently across Gusto's pages, so check its pricing page for that tier and for current rates.
Employees and payroll
Rippling's payroll page says new hires, salary changes and benefit deductions flow from its HR system into payroll automatically. It says payroll taxes are calculated and filed with federal, state and local agencies, that you can compare a pay run with earlier runs before approval, and that you can control who can create, manage and approve pay runs. It lists integrations with Xero, QuickBooks and NetSuite. It also says payroll can be run as often as needed at no extra charge.
Gusto is built for US businesses. For its payroll feature list, check Gusto's site. As with any payroll product, confirm with your accountant that the setup you choose matches the requirements for your state and your team.
Contractors
Many agencies use freelancers, so this matters. Rippling's Global Payroll page says you can hire and pay contractors globally with no entity required. The pages we read do not say which countries, which currencies or what fees apply, so ask before you commit. Rippling's payroll page also says W-2s and 1099s are stored in each profile.
Gusto's contractor payment options and fees are on its own site. How a worker should be classified (employee or contractor) is a legal and tax question; this page does not answer it, and an accountant should.
Countries
Gusto serves US businesses. If any of your team lives and works outside the US, Gusto is not a payroll option for them.
Rippling offers a Global Payroll product and an Employer of Record product, and its hiring guides cover countries including Canada, the UK, Australia, India, France, Germany, Brazil, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. Those are hiring guides, not a statement of payroll coverage, and the pricing page gives no total number of countries. Ask Rippling to confirm each country you need before you rely on it.
HR and IT
This is where Rippling differs most. Its IT pages describe device setup and management across macOS, Windows, iOS and iPadOS, and automatic changes to app access when a role changes or someone leaves. It says it can trigger device and app provisioning for onboarding, offboarding and role changes. For an agency with laptops and a stack of SaaS logins, that is a real convenience. A 3-person team may not need it.
Drawbacks
Gusto
- US businesses only, so it does not work for payroll if you hire staff abroad.
- The price rises with each person you add, and features such as time tracking and advanced HR sit on the higher Plus plan, per Gusto's guides.
- It does not offer Rippling's device and app management, so IT setup stays a separate job.
Rippling
- Quote-based pricing, with a monthly base fee on top of per-employee rates, makes it harder to budget before you talk to sales.
- It sells many modules. A small agency could end up evaluating features it will not use.
- Its pages do not list the countries for global payroll or contractor payments, so you must ask.
What the ratings say
On Capterra, Gusto is rated 4.6 out of 5 from 4,200+ reviews and Rippling 4.8 out of 5 from 5,500+ reviews. Both are high and the gap is small. Ratings reflect many kinds of businesses, not only agencies, so use them as a sanity check rather than a deciding factor.
Which should you pick?
Choose Gusto if everyone you pay is in the US and you want a straightforward payroll tool; confirm the current price on its site. Choose Rippling if you expect to hire or pay people abroad, or you want HR and device and app management tied to payroll; get a quote and ask about countries and contractor fees. If neither is clearly right, ask each for a quote or demo for your exact headcount.
Sources
- Rippling pricing
- Rippling payroll
- Rippling global payroll
- Rippling IT
- Gusto small business payroll guide
- Gusto contractor payroll guide
- Gusto reviews on Capterra
- Rippling on Capterra
Prices and ratings checked November 2026. They change; confirm on the vendor's site.