Eddy vs. Gusto HR Software Comparison
By Eddy Team — Updated May 2024
What’s Similar
Both Eddy and Gusto offer core HR functionalities, along with payroll processing and some level of applicant tracking and recruiting tools. They are both designed to streamline HR tasks and integrate various aspects of human resources management into a cohesive platform.
But how do you decide which HR software is right for your business? Below, you can compare Eddy with Gusto and decide which platform works best for your HR and payroll needs.
Where Eddy Shines
While both Eddy and Gusto have many similarities, Eddy really shines in ways that make it a much better fit for businesses when it comes to a few key areas:
1. Hiring & Onboarding
Eddy’s comprehensive Hiring tool does it all: Job distribution and promotion, automated messaging and scheduling, hiring team communication and collaboration, digital offer letters, background checks, and more. Eddy supports more control and customization than Gusto, so you can design Eddy to match your hiring process and use automated stage action to communicate with the team. Eddy also allows candidates to self-schedule interviews on your calendar.
2. Payroll Entry
Gusto is optimized for a handful of employees, so payroll entry gets tedious when you have more than a few dozen employees. Eddy’s payroll entry is fully automated so hours worked, time off entries, benefits, and deductions all flow directly to payroll. Customers report that manager approval of timesheets is simpler and better in Eddy. For payroll admins it’s quick and easy to add any other reimbursements, tips, bonuses, corrections or additions.
3. Eddy’s better for growing companies
Gusto is designed for smaller businesses, which has a lot of benefits if you are only paying a few employees, but customers comment on the limited flexibility, lack of customization, and the extra time it takes when more employees are added. Eddy offers more flexibility and control across its features—for example Eddy supports custom employee info and allows admins to create custom signable documents from within the platform.
4. Customer Support
Gusto's customer support has reportedly seen a decline in recent years, with longer wait times and less knowledgeable assistance during recent interactions. If you want priority support you’ll have to pay extra—$8 per person per month. That adds up quickly.
5. Easy setup and implementation
Eddy users note that the overall setup process in Eddy is straightforward, with clear instructions and fewer steps to get started. Eddy’s team of payroll experts repeatedly catch potential problems during implementation that can be easily missed using Gusto. This helps clients stay compliant and avoid penalties.
For example a Gusto reviewer recently wrote: “When onboarding [in Gusto], you are completely alone. It is you and their website. They tell you what info to input but it is very easy to make a mistake. I don't know if I made the mistake or if the website did but the NC Unemployment Tax was set to pay quarterly while it should have been set to monthly. About three months into switching to Gusto, I get a letter from the NC Unemployment Commission stating that I owe back taxes, penalties and interest. They were upset because it was filed quarterly when it should have been monthly. I don't know why I would have put in quarterly or why Gusto didn't catch it.”
Pricing
Eddy’s pricing offers more flexibility because you can purchase Eddy’s HR platform without hiring or payroll. This allows you to get started in Eddy at a very affordable price, and add on additional services as you need them.
Gusto pricing
Gusto's pricing is structured into three tiers:
- Simple Plan: $40 per month plus $6 per person per month. This plan includes payroll in just one state, and basic payroll features
- Plus Plan: $80 per month plus $12 per person per month. This includes everything in the Core plan plus some additional HR tools like time tracking and the ability to post jobs and hire.
- Premium Plan: Requires a sales consultation. Gusto’s premium plan adds robust HR support with access to certified HR professionals and an HR compliance center.
Customers can add on priority support and HR resources to the plus plan for $8/mo per person.
Eddy pricing
Eddy’s pricing is structured into three product tiers: Starter, Growth, and Premium. Customers can add on Payroll or Hiring to the Starter or Growth products.
- Starter: $50 per month plus $4 per person per month. Starter includes all the core HR platform features for record tracking, document storage, benefits tracking, onboarding, time tracking, PTO, basic reporting, and more (see the full list)
- Growth: $75 per month plus $8 per person per month. Growth offers everything in Starter, plus: Training tracking, Custom signature documents, Onboarding templates, Custom data fields, Org chart, and Manager approval flows
- Premium: Premium is a bundle of Eddy’s Growth, Hiring, and Payroll products and offers custom pricing.
Why customers love Eddy
Customers appreciate the organization and structure that Eddy provides. One example of many: Eddy helped RevRoad find an all-in-one HR + Payroll platform that was a perfect fit, giving them tools to streamline their hiring, onboarding, time tracking, PTO, payroll and more. And all this in a single system that their employees love.
Before Eddy, RevRoad was using a variety of different solutions—all of it as she says, “duct taped and zip tied together.” She says the contrast now is remarkable. “It's a nice place to house everything—Eddy is like the grownup version of what we need in order to be super organized.”
Read the case study
Final Thoughts
Gusto can be a good fit for companies with under 10 employees. It is affordable and well-liked by users. But once you have more than about 10 employees you start to feel the system’s limitations. Eddy is an excellent graduation path for businesses who need more power and flexibility but who still want a modern well-designed product. Eddy’s pricing is competitive with Gusto so small companies can start from the beginning on Eddy without sacrificing their budget.
*Competitive data on this page was collected as of April 2024 and is subject to change or update. Eddy does not make any representations as to the completeness or accuracy of the information on this page.
