Switch to Gusto from Paycor: Prices, Pain Points, Checklist

Dad’s short answer

Under 50 people and mostly running payroll? Gusto Simple is cheaper at list price and simpler. Using Paycor’s recruiting and HR tools every week? Stay.

Paycor publishes prices for under-50 teams: Basic $99/mo + $5 per employee. Gusto Simple is $49 + $6.⁶¹
Under about 50 people, Gusto Simple is cheaper at list price. 10 people: $109 vs $149.⁶¹
Paycor wins on HR depth: recruiting, HR support and talent tools as you climb the tiers.⁶

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
Paycor you	Growing teams that want HR, time and hiring tools in one suite	Basic $99/mo + $5/employee; Essential $149 + $7; Core $199 + $8⁶

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 Paycor today. Gusto fits you if:

You're under 50 people and want a lower list price: Gusto Simple is $49 + $6 per person.¹
You want time tracking, scheduling and next-day pay in one plan (Plus).¹
Month-to-month, cancel anytime.¹
Gusto files 1099s as part of every plan.²

Why Gusto, compared with Paycor

Dad story

Picture a 10-person machine shop outside Cincinnati.

The owner uses Paycor for payroll. Just payroll.

Paycor Basic: $99 a month plus $5 a person. That's $149.⁶

Gusto Simple: $49 plus $6 a person. That's $109.¹

Forty dollars a month.

For tools nobody in the shop opens.

A torque wrench is great. Paying monthly for six you don't use is less great.

(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.

	Paycor	Gusto
Published pricing	Under 50 employees: Basic $99/mo + $5/employee, Essential $149 + $7, Core $199 + $8; Complete by quote. Paycor was advertising 50% off for 6 months to new customers.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	Basic covers payroll and tax service: federal and state tax filing, direct deposit, employee self-service and new-hire filing. Higher tiers add more, like recruiting job slots (3 on Essential, 5 on Core, unlimited on Complete).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	Paycor's pricing page doesn't list a contractor price. Ask before you compare.⁶	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	Federal and state filing is in the payroll service. Additional state and local tax authorities show up as their own line items, with no price on the page.⁶	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 Paycor'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 Paycor 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.

Support got harder to reach. Several admins say service slipped after the Paychex purchase: chat sessions cut off, and tickets promised a callback that never came.²³⁷
Extras that weren't mentioned up front. One recurring theme: features like custom reports turning out to cost extra after signing.²³
Billing and leaving. Reviewers describe being billed for employees who'd left, and account closures dragging on for months.²³
Slow time entry. Some users say the timekeeping screens lag on every punch.²³

What it costs for your team

Change the numbers, or type in your last Paycor 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 Paycor is genuinely better

HR depth. Recruiting, onboarding, HR Support Center with one-on-one guidance from a certified HR professional, and talent tools, all in one suite.⁶
Room to grow. Paycor sells separate packages for 50–1,000 and 1,000+ employees.⁶
A big first-year promo. 50% off for 6 months for new customers, if you're shopping anyway.⁶
Job costing and labor distribution reports for shops that bill by job.⁶

Your Paycor-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. Paycor 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.²⁴
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.²⁴ Get Paycor to confirm in writing which quarters it will file.
Run one payroll in Gusto, then cancel. Download every report and tax form from Paycor 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.²⁴ So the cleanest plan is a first Gusto payday in January 2027.

Paycor finishes 2026: the Q4 Form 941 and your 2026 W-2s. W-2s are due to employees and the SSA by February 1, 2027.²⁵ Get Paycor 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.²⁶

FAQ: Paycor to Gusto

Is Paycor more expensive than Gusto?

For small teams at list price, usually yes. Paycor Basic is $99 + $5 per employee; Gusto Simple is $49 + $6. 10 people: $149 vs $109.⁶ Paycor's 50% off promo narrows that for six months.

Is Paycor part of Paychex now?

Yes. Paychex completed its acquisition of Paycor on April 14, 2025.⁷

Can Gusto import my Paycor payroll history?

Paycor isn't on Gusto's transfer-automation list (QuickBooks, ADP Run, Paychex).⁴ You'll enter earlier payrolls during setup. A January first payday keeps that short.

How do I cancel Paycor?

Read your agreement for the notice period and how notice has to be given. Reviewers mention a 30-day notice given through an online process. Download every report and tax form first.

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.