Switch to Gusto from Paycom: Honest Comparison + Checklist

Q: Can Gusto import my Paycom history?

Paycom isn't on Gusto's transfer-automation list. Enter earlier payrolls during setup, or start with a January first payday.

Dad’s short answer

If Paycom is working, stay; its reviews are mostly good. Small team that wants a price on a page and a lighter system? Gusto is worth pricing out.

Paycom builds a custom quote, including a one-time implementation fee.⁶
Paycom's reviews are mostly good. If it works for you, that matters more than anything here.⁷
Small team that wants a price on a page and less system? Gusto is the lighter option.

Provider	Best for	Starting price
Gusto	Most small teams that want payroll taxes filed for them, in one state (Simple) or several (Plus)	Simple $49/mo + $6/person; Plus $80/mo + $12/person¹
Patriot Software	The lowest full-service price for teams of 2 or more	Full Service $37/mo + $5/worker; Basic $17 + $4 if you file taxes yourself⁸
QuickBooks Payroll	People already doing their books in QuickBooks	From $88/mo + $6.50/employee, bundled with Simple Start accounting⁹
Square Payroll	Shops and restaurants already on Square POS	$35/mo + $6/person; contractor-only $6/person¹⁰
OnPay	Teams in several states that want one flat rate	$49/mo + $6/person, multi-state included¹¹
Paycom you	Teams that want employees to check their own paychecks before payroll runs	Quote only⁶

Starting list prices from each company’s pricing page, verified Oct 31, 2026. Add-ons and promos not included. Confirm on their site.

Start on Gusto’s website →

Goes through our referral page first. We earn a reward if you sign up; your price doesn’t change.

Who this is for

You run payroll on Paycom today. Gusto fits you if:

You want to see the price before talking to sales.¹
Month-to-month, cancel anytime.¹
You want time tracking, scheduling and next-day pay in one plan (Plus).¹
Gusto files 1099s as part of every plan.²

Why Gusto, compared with Paycom

Dad story

Picture a 14-person HVAC company.

The owner signed up with Paycom when he planned to hit 100 people.

Paycom quoted a price, with a one-time implementation fee built in.⁶

He's still at 14.

Gusto Simple for 14 people: $49 plus 14 × $6. $133.¹

So he pulled out last year's invoice.

Big plans are great. Paying for them before they happen is optional.

(Made-up business. Real prices, checked Oct 31, 2026.)

List prices from each company's own site, read on Oct 31, 2026. Promos and quotes vary.

	Paycom	Gusto
Published pricing	Not published. Each quote is built for your tools and headcount, and includes a one-time implementation fee. “Core” is the minimum every client uses. See current pricing.⁶	Simple $49/mo + $6/mo per person. Plus $80/mo + $12/mo per person. Premium $180/mo + $22/mo per person.¹ Month-to-month, cancel anytime.¹
What's included	Payroll and HR in a single database, including Beti, where employees review their own paychecks before payroll runs, and ongoing support from a dedicated specialist at no extra cost.⁶	Unlimited payroll runs, including off-cycle. Automatic federal, state and local payroll tax filings, including W-2s, 1099s, Form 940 and Form 941.²
Contractor payments	Its pricing page doesn't list contractor terms. Ask in the quote.	US contractors cost your plan's per-person rate, and only in months you pay them.¹ The contractor-only plan closed to new customers on Oct 1, 2026.³
State tax filings	Ask in the quote which state and local filings are included for your locations.	Simple covers one state. Plus and Premium cover multiple states.² Registering in a new state is an add-on; price varies by state.¹
Switching into Gusto	Not on Gusto's import list. Plan to enter earlier payrolls from Paycom's reports, or start in January.	Not on Gusto's transfer-automation list, so you enter earlier payrolls in setup: quarter-to-date totals for past quarters plus this quarter's pay stubs.⁴⁵

What Paycom customers complain about

We read recent public reviews on Oct 31, 2026 and kept only themes that came up more than once. These are our paraphrases, not quotes, and some reviews are from employees rather than owners. Your experience may be fine; if so, the fix is to stay.

Rough implementations. Even happy reviewers mention setup mistakes during onboarding that took time to fix.⁷
Hard-to-search help. Several say the help guides make it hard to find answers, so they end up calling.⁷
Interface changes. Some long-time users don't love the newer interface or the built-in assistant.⁷
Time clock friction comes up now and then.⁷

What it costs for your team

Change the numbers, or type in your last Paycom bill. Dad does the multiplication.

Your numbers

✓ Prices checked Oct 31, 2026

Current provider

What you pay now ($/mo, optional)

W-2 employees

Contractors paid / mo

States

List prices from each company’s own pricing page. Promos, add-ons and taxes not included. Quote-only providers show “quote only.” How we calculate

Start on Gusto’s website →

Goes through our referral page first. We earn a reward if you sign up; your price doesn’t change.

Where Paycom is genuinely better

Employees check their own pay before payroll runs (Beti).⁶
A dedicated specialist at no extra cost.⁶
Reviewers mostly like it. The platform and support staff get a lot of praise.⁷
One database for everything as you grow into more HR tools.⁶

Your Paycom-to-Gusto checklist

Do these in order. Grab a coffee. It's mostly downloading PDFs. Want to tick them off? Use the interactive switching checklist; it remembers your progress.

Company tax IDs. Your EIN, legal name exactly as the IRS has it, and whether you file Form 941 (quarterly) or 944. Pull your federal deposit schedule while you're in there.
State account numbers. State withholding account number, state unemployment (SUI) account number and current rate, and any local tax IDs. Paycom has these on file. Copy them before you cancel.
Year-to-date payroll. A YTD payroll register for every employee paid this year, including people who quit. Gross pay, taxable wages, withholding, deductions, check dates.
Prior quarter 941s and tax payments. Copies of every Form 941 and state quarterly return filed this year, plus proof of tax deposits. Gusto asks for YTD reports and documentation of this year's tax payments.²³
Employee W-4s and direct deposit. Each person's federal W-4 (and state form), pay rate, pay schedule, deductions, garnishments, PTO balances, and bank details.
Contractors. Names, W-9s, and what you've paid each one this year, so 1099s come out right.
Plan to type in earlier payrolls. Gusto asks for quarter-to-date totals from the last pay stub of each finished quarter, plus every pay stub from the current quarter. Include people who already left.⁵
Agree who files what. Only one provider can file a quarterly return for a given quarter. If both file, the second one gets rejected.²³ Get Paycom to confirm in writing which quarters it will file.
Run one payroll in Gusto, then cancel. Download every report and tax form from Paycom first. Once you lose access, those PDFs get hard to find.

Why the end of the year is the easiest time to switch

Gusto handles quarterly returns starting with the quarter of your first Gusto check date.²³ So the cleanest plan is a first Gusto payday in January 2027.

Paycom finishes 2026: the Q4 Form 941 and your 2026 W-2s. W-2s are due to employees and the SSA by February 1, 2027.²⁴ Get Paycom to confirm in writing that it's filing them.
Gusto starts 2027 with a clean slate. With a first check date in Q1, Gusto's list is just the pay stubs from the current quarter.⁵ Start in January and that's close to nothing.
Any other quarter works too. You'll just be entering more history.

If you sign up through our link by Jan 31, 2027 and run a paid payroll, Gusto's referral terms say you get a $100 Visa gift card. We get a referral reward too.²⁵

FAQ: Paycom to Gusto

How much does Paycom cost?

Paycom doesn't publish prices. Quotes are customized to your tools and employee count and include a one-time implementation fee.⁶

Should I leave Paycom?

If it works and the price fits, probably not. Its reviews are mostly positive. Switch if you're small, mostly need payroll, and want a published price.

Can Gusto import my Paycom history?

Paycom isn't on Gusto's transfer-automation list.⁴ Enter earlier payrolls during setup, or start with a January first payday.

Is there a fee to leave Paycom?

That depends on your agreement. Read it, or ask your Paycom specialist, before you pick a switch date.

Sources, checked Oct 31, 2026

Every number on this page comes from one of these pages. Prices change; if a vendor updates its page, theirs wins.