Gusto vs OnPay 2026: Same $49 Base Price, Different Total Cost

OnPay costs less for a small business that pays people in more than one state. Ten employees across two states cost $1,308 a year on OnPay's single plan and $2,400 a year on Gusto, because Gusto's Simple plan runs payroll in one state only and the second state pushes you to Plus at $80 a month plus $12 per person. In one state the two are identical at $109 a month. Prices read on both vendors' pricing pages on October 26, 2026.

The two vendors print the same entry sticker and then diverge on what it buys. OnPay sells one plan, Payroll Essentials, with multi-state payroll, automatic state tax registrations, benefits administration and accounting sync included, and prices HR and time tracking as add-ons. Gusto sells three tiers, Simple, Plus and Premium, and moves multi-state payroll, time tracking and next-day pay up to Plus. Every total below is our arithmetic on those printed prices.

Toolradar data: the payroll software ranking on Toolradar, the software directory we run, tracks 76 payroll tools as of October 25, 2026, and the median cheapest paid plan across the 22 that publish a price is $22 a month, so both of these vendors sit well above the category's cheapest tier. Gusto is the third most-listed alternative among those 76 tools; OnPay has its own record there. For the third name most buyers shortlist, see QuickBooks Payroll pricing on this site.

At a glance

Gusto's page describes Simple as "basic payroll in one state" and lists multi-state payroll as a Plus feature. OnPay's page lists multi-state payroll under its base plan with "no additional cost, pay in as many states as you need". That single line is the whole price gap for a business with staff in two states.

The scenario: 10 employees in 2 states for 12 months

Take a ten-person company with its office in one state and three remote hires in another, paid twice a month for a full year, with no HR add-ons. Both vendors file federal, state and local payroll taxes and year-end W-2s and 1099s inside the plan price, so the comparison is the subscription itself.

The gap is $1,092 a year, or $91 a month, for the same ten people. Gusto Simple would have cost the same $1,308 as OnPay, but it cannot run the second state's payroll, so the upgrade is not optional. Gusto's Plus plan does bundle things OnPay charges extra for, which the next section prices, but a company that wants payroll alone pays almost twice as much on Gusto the day it hires across a state line.

Two Gusto add-ons can also appear on a multi-state bill. State tax registration, where Gusto handles the paperwork when you first file payroll taxes in a new state, is priced "varies by state" on the pricing page. Gusto Business Compliance, which tracks registrations and annual reports as you expand, is $85 a month per state on an annual contract, included on Premium. OnPay lists automatic state tax registrations inside Payroll Essentials.

What Gusto Plus includes that OnPay sells separately

Plus is not only a multi-state license. Gusto's pricing page lists time tracking and scheduling, unlimited next-day pay, contractor invoice management and onboarding tools on Plus. A company that wants those features on OnPay buys the Time Tracking add-on at $15 a month plus $4 per worker and the HR add-on at $15 plus $2 per worker, or OnPay's discounted bundle of both at $70 base plus $10 per worker, per its pricing page.

So the gap shrinks to $360 a year once the company wants hourly time tracking and HR workflows, and it would close further if you value next-day pay, which Gusto includes on Plus and sells as a paid add-on on Simple. OnPay does not list a next-day or same-day pay option on its pricing page. For a salaried team that needs neither, the first table is the real comparison.

One state: a tie on price, a difference on support

A ten-person company in a single state pays $109 a month on either vendor, $1,308 a year, with unlimited payroll runs, tax filings and year-end forms on both. The differences are in what sits behind the price. OnPay's base plan includes phone, email and chat support with extended weekday hours, free migration of prior wage data and expert-led setup. Gusto's Simple plan includes Basic Support, which is the help center plus phone and chat in business hours; faster queueing is the Priority Support add-on at $30 a month plus $3 per person, which adds $60 a month for ten people, or $720 a year.

Gusto's add-on list is longer because its platform is broader. The pricing page prices instant pay at $100 per payroll, same-day pay at $90 per payroll, a health insurance broker integration priced per eligible employee, workers' compensation from $14 a month and a Gusto Money Plus account at $19 a month, with health insurance itself at premium cost only through Gusto's own brokers. OnPay's benefits line is simpler: health, dental, vision, life, disability, HSA and FSA plans at premium cost with administration included, and integrated workers' comp and 401(k) at premium cost.

Billing terms that change the bill

Both vendors bill month to month with no contract, and both include unlimited pay runs. Gusto charges only for active employees, bills US contractors at the per-person rate only in months you pay them, and applies downgrades on the first of the next billing period. OnPay lists no implementation or integration fees and advertises the first month free for new accounts, an introductory offer rather than a list price, so the annual totals above assume twelve paid months on both.

Gusto's cheapest plan is cheapest only until the first out-of-state hire. That is the trap in a like-for-like comparison of the two identical stickers, and it is why the brief answer to "which costs less" depends on where your people live before it depends on headcount. OnPay's single plan means the price per person stays flat whatever the state mix; Gusto's per-person rate doubles when you cross a state line, and a company with 25 employees in two states would pay $4,560 a year on Gusto Plus against $2,388 on OnPay, a $2,172 gap, on the same arithmetic.

Who should pick which

Pick OnPay if you run payroll in more than one state, if you want benefits administration and accountant access without a tier upgrade, or if your team is salaried and needs no built-in time clock. Its one-plan pricing is the easier budget line, and the add-ons are priced per feature rather than per tier.

Pick Gusto if you want time tracking, next-day pay and onboarding workflows in one subscription and your people are in one state, where Simple matches OnPay's price, or if you expect to use Gusto's wider platform: instant and same-day pay, its own money account, R&D tax credit scans at 15% of identified credits, global contractor payments at $5 per payment, and a Premium tier with a named advisor. In two or more states, budget Plus from day one and compare it with OnPay's bundle, not its base plan.

If you keep the books in QuickBooks Online, the QuickBooks Payroll pricing page on this site prices Intuit's own option, and how to pay yourself from an LLC covers the owner-payroll question that often decides between Gusto's Solo plan and a full subscription. For the accounting side, see QuickBooks Online pricing, Xero pricing and the cheapest accounting software for a small business; both payroll vendors list integrations with QuickBooks and Xero, and how to do bookkeeping for a small business explains where the payroll journal lands. The business banking fees guide covers the account the payroll debits come from. A new company should also price an EIN, which both vendors need before the first pay run, and the cost of starting an LLC.

How we compared

Louis Corneloup, founder of Dupple and Toolradar, wrote this comparison from the vendors' own pages, read on October 26, 2026: Gusto's pricing page and its per-plan checkout pages for Simple and Plus, and OnPay's costs and pricing page. The scenario totals are our arithmetic on those list prices, excluding benefits premiums, state registration fees that Gusto prices by state, and tax. The Toolradar figures are from its live payroll ranking that week. This page reports published prices and documented features only and carries no sponsored placement.

FAQ

Is OnPay cheaper than Gusto?

For a business paying employees in more than one state, yes. OnPay's Payroll Essentials plan includes multi-state payroll at the shared base price, while Gusto needs its Plus plan at $80 a month plus $12 per person to cover a second state. Ten employees in two states cost $1,308 a year on OnPay and $2,400 on Gusto Plus. In a single state the two cost the same.

How much does Gusto cost per month in 2026?

Gusto Simple costs the same as OnPay's base plan and covers one-state payroll, Plus is $80 plus $12 per person with multi-state payroll and time tracking, and Premium is $180 plus $22 per person with a named advisor and compliance tools. Add-ons include Priority Support at $30 plus $3 per person, next-day pay as a Simple add-on, and Business Compliance at $85 a month per state.

How much does OnPay cost per month in 2026?

OnPay has one base plan, Payroll Essentials, at $49 a month plus $6 per worker, which includes multi-state payroll, tax filings, year-end forms, benefits administration and accountant access. Add-ons are HR at $15 plus $2 per worker, Time Tracking at $15 plus $4 per worker, Compliance Resources at $10 a month and Live HR Support at $65 a month, with bundles that discount the combinations.

Does Gusto charge extra for multi-state payroll?

Yes, through its plan tiers. Gusto's pricing page describes Simple as basic payroll in one state and lists multi-state payroll on Plus, which doubles the per-person fee and raises the base fee to $80. State tax registration for a new state is a separate add-on priced by state.

Does OnPay include time tracking?

Not in the base plan. OnPay sells Time Tracking as an add-on with a base fee plus a per-worker fee, with time clocks, overtime rules, timesheet approvals and automatic sync into payroll. Gusto includes time tracking on Plus and Premium and charges per person for it on Simple.

Do Gusto and OnPay require a contract?

No. Both bill month to month and let you cancel at any time. Gusto applies downgrades at the start of the next billing period and bills contractors only in months you pay them. OnPay lists no implementation or integration fees and offers the first month free to new customers.

Cite this: Finpresso, "Gusto vs OnPay 2026: Same $49 Base Price, Different Total Cost", November 2026.

Finpresso's free daily brief tracks price changes like these across the payroll, banking and accounting tools small businesses run on: finpresso.com.

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