Gusto vs Shopify
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Gusto and Shopify.
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Verdict: Shopify wins
Shopify scores 4.6/5, edging out Gusto at 4.3/5. Anyone from solo sellers to scaling brands who wants a complete, hosted commerce stack — payments, inventory, POS, B2B and shipping — with AI tooling bundled rather than metered.
Gusto Payroll & HR (VS) |  Shopify Complete ecommerce platform for online stores | |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.3 (1 review) | 4.6 (1 review) |
| Pricing Model | paid | freemium |
| Starting Price | Pricing varies | Free tier available |
| Best For | Best for US small businesses with 5–50 employees that want payroll, taxes and benefits handled in one system by a non-specialist. | Anyone from solo sellers to scaling brands who wants a complete, hosted commerce stack — payments, inventory, POS, B2B and shipping — with AI tooling bundled rather than metered. |
| Free Tier | ||
| API Access | ||
| Team Features | ||
| Open Source | ||
| Tags | — | team featuresmobile appfree tierapi access |
| Visit Shopify → |
Gusto
Pros
- + Full-service payroll with unlimited runs and automatic federal/state/local tax filings included on every paid plan (gusto.com/pricing)
- + Setup wizard and payroll worksheet made my first test run a review-and-approve job, not a calculation job — a first-time employer can configure a 5-person team in under an hour
- + Transparent per-person pricing with a published plan comparison; a 10-person team is $109/month on Simple at time of writing
- + Benefits stack (health, 401(k), HSA/FSA, workers' comp, commuter) is integrated with payroll rather than a separate portal
- + Premium includes payroll migration from a previous provider plus same-day and instant pay — the only plan where the white-glove service exists
Cons
- - US-only: no international payroll or EOR, so any overseas hire needs a second system
- - Base fee distorts value for micro-teams — $79/month effective for 5 people on Simple versus $6.49/person at 100 (peopleopsclub.com)
- - Multi-state payroll, time tracking and configurable PTO are gated to Plus at $80 + $12/person, a 91% monthly jump for a 25-person company over Simple
- - Add-ons can exceed the next tier: Plus-level features bought on Simple ran ~$214/month versus $200 for Plus itself on published rates
- - Priority support is sold separately ($30/month + $3/person per published add-on rates) and compliance alerts sit on Premium only
Shopify
Pros
- + From empty account to live store with payments, theme and shipping took me under an hour — the defaults are the product
- + Sidekick and 'millions of tokens' of AI usage are bundled into every paid plan including Basic, not metered as an add-on (vendor pricing page, at time of writing)
- + Transparent, published rate card: third-party transaction fees fall 2%/1%/0.6%/0.2% across tiers, so upgrade decisions are calculable arithmetic
- + Yearly billing cuts every core plan roughly 25% ($29/$79/$299 per month vs $39/$105/$399), with no negotiation required
- + Every plan now carries 200+ real-time reports, 10 inventory locations, 3 B2B catalogs and unlimited products — the base feature floor is high
Cons
- - Basic includes no additional staff accounts and no third-party carrier-calculated shipping, walls that bite quickly once you have any help
- - Checkout customization is locked to Plus (from $2,300/month on a 3-year term) except for limited thank-you-page edits
- - Third-party payment providers add 2% on Basic — an invisible tax that changes the plan math entirely if Shopify Payments is unavailable in your market
- - Real store costs are driven by paid apps, which are unvetted in quality and can double the platform spend
- - Sidekick's custom-app generation was gated to Grow and above in April 2026, and the 'millions of tokens' allowance is a vendor claim with no published metering
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is better, Gusto or Shopify?▼
Shopify scores higher at 4.6/5 vs 4.3/5 for Gusto, making it the better-rated option in our comparison.
What is the difference between Gusto and Shopify?▼
Gusto: Gusto is payroll and HR software for US small businesses, covering pay runs, tax filing, benefits and onboarding. Shopify: Shopify is an all-in-one commerce platform for building and running an online store, with tools for payments, inventory, marketing, and an AI assistant called Sidekick.
Is Gusto or Shopify more affordable?▼
Gusto starts at €0/mo, Shopify starts at €0/mo. Check the comparison table above for current pricing.
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