Innov8 Tools

Products / Benefits Administration & Enrollment

GU

Gusto

Public facts

SMB payroll and benefits platform

SMB payroll platform with integrated health, dental, vision, HSA/FSA, 401(k) via Guideline, workers’ comp, and included ACA, Section 125, HIPAA, and COBRA administration when Gusto brokers coverage.

Visit gusto.com

Overview

Gusto, Inc. (formerly ZenPayroll) is a privately held payroll, HR, and benefits company founded in 2011 and based in San Francisco. Official product pages describe online enrollment, licensed benefits advisors, 9,000+ health plans from 30+ carriers, automatic payroll deductions, and compliance administration (ACA, Section 125, HIPAA, COBRA) at no extra software cost when Gusto is the benefits administrator. Published plans are Simple, Plus ($80/month + $12 per person), and Premium ($180/month + $22 per person). Direct gusto.com fetches were Cloudflare-blocked in this research pass; facts below come from indexed official Gusto and Gusto Help Center pages plus reputable secondary sources.

Why it matters Gusto is one of the few SMB payroll products with published software prices and broker-led group health administration in the same login.

Target buyer
U.S. small and midsize businesses that want payroll and benefits in one system, especially employers willing to use Gusto as health-insurance broker.
Pricing model
Published monthly base plus per-person fee (Simple, Plus, Premium); premiums billed separately
Official pricing page (indexed 2026) lists Plus at $80/month + $12 per person and Premium at $180/month + $22 per person. Gusto Help Center says you can add health benefits on any plan and that there is no extra admin cost when Gusto is the health-insurance broker—you pay premiums only. Simple-plan dollar amounts were not fully captured in this pass. Confirm live rates at gusto.com/product/pricing.
Availability
National
Research
Last researched 2026-08-23
Agent-strong category

Key features

  • 100% online employee enrollment, dependents, and plan-detail review in the Gusto account
  • Licensed benefits advisors for employers and employees
  • Health, dental, and vision administration with vendor-stated 9,000+ plans and 30+ carriers
  • Automatic benefits deductions in payroll
  • HSA, FSA, and commuter benefits (vendor-stated add-ons)
  • 401(k) powered by Guideline
  • ACA reporting, Section 125, HIPAA, and COBRA administration included at no extra cost (official benefits-administration page)
  • Workers’ compensation through a broker partner (named as AP Intego in secondary reviews; confirm on Gusto)

Integrations

  • Gusto payroll (native)
  • Guideline (401(k))
  • 30+ health insurance carriers (vendor-stated)
  • QuickBooks
  • Xero

Overview

Gusto is a U.S. payroll, HR, and benefits platform. Wikipedia and company profiles describe a November 2011 founding (as ZenPayroll), San Francisco headquarters, and a product set aimed at small and midsize employers. Official Gusto pages describe hiring, payroll, insurance, and employee support in one small-business platform.

On benefits, Gusto’s official administration page says deductions calculate automatically when payroll runs, employees enroll with Gusto’s team, and Gusto can administer COBRA, HIPAA, ACA reporting, Section 125 filing, and HSA/FSA as the benefits administrator. A related official benefits page cites 9,000+ health plans, 30+ carriers, and licensed advisors. Enrollment is described as 100% online inside the employee’s Gusto account.

Gusto Help Center (“Understanding Gusto plans”) states every plan includes full-service payroll in all 50 states, with Simple covering one state and Plus and above covering multiple states. Benefits can be added to any plan; when Gusto is the health-insurance broker there is no extra administration fee beyond premiums.

Direct fetches of gusto.com in this research pass were stopped by Cloudflare bot protection. The facts above are taken from search-indexed official Gusto URLs and the Gusto Help Center, with company background from secondary encyclopedic sources. A public state-by-state brokerage-appointment list was not verified here, so states_available remains National with a limitation note.

Key Capabilities

  • Online enrollment: elect coverage, add dependents, and review plan details in Gusto.
  • Licensed advisor support by phone or email for employers and employees (official FAQ language).
  • Health insurance administration plus dental and vision.
  • Automatic payroll deductions for elected benefits.
  • Tax-advantaged accounts: HSA, FSA, and commuter benefits described on official administration copy.
  • Retirement: Gusto 401(k) powered by Guideline, with automated tools described on the official benefits page.
  • Compliance administration listed as included at no extra cost: ACA reporting, Section 125, HIPAA, and COBRA.
  • Workers’ compensation is offered as a related Gusto product (official “explore more” links). The specific carrier/broker brand was not confirmed on a successful official-page fetch in this pass.
  • Time-off, HR, and payroll tools on the same account, varying by plan tier.

Integrations & Ecosystem

Benefits are native to Gusto payroll. The Help Center names QuickBooks and Xero as accounting integrations. 401(k) is delivered with Guideline.

Health coverage is brokered through Gusto’s licensed advisors and a vendor-stated set of 30+ carriers. Gusto is a broker, not the insurer; premiums are billed by carriers. A full carrier and state-appointment roster was not captured from a live page in this pass.

Pricing

Gusto publishes software pricing (unlike most HCM suites). Indexed official pricing content for 2026 lists:

  • Plus: $80 per month + $12 per person per month.
  • Premium: $180 per month + $22 per person per month.

Simple-plan dollars were not fully extracted from the blocked live page. The Help Center says to use gusto.com or Settings > Plan & billing for current amounts, and that monthly cost is based on onboarded active employees.

When Gusto is the health broker, official help text says there is no extra admin cost—premiums only. 401(k) via Guideline is a separate product; Guideline’s own fees were not taken from an official Gusto price table in this pass and are omitted.

Insurance premiums vary by census, location, and plan and are not Gusto software fees.

Notes & Limitations

  • Official homepage and several product URLs could not be fetched directly (Cloudflare). Re-verify pricing and plan matrices on gusto.com before buying.
  • Gusto’s brokerage appointments may not cover every state for every line; no official state list was verified here.
  • Secondary reviews claim benefits tools are limited on Simple or that using an outside broker adds a PEPM fee. Those figures were not confirmed on a live official price table and are not treated as facts.
  • Guideline 401(k) pricing is separate and was not confirmed on Gusto’s public pricing page in this pass.
  • Workers’ compensation partner name was not confirmed from a successful official fetch.

Sources

Tags: benefits administration · enrollment · payroll integration · SMB · health insurance brokerage · 401(k)