Switch to Gusto from Rippling: Pricing, Pros, Checklist

Dad’s short answer

Mostly just running payroll? Gusto is simpler and publishes its price. Using Rippling’s HR, IT or global modules? Stay.

Rippling quotes its price: from $8 per employee per month plus a base fee. Gusto publishes its plans.⁶
Use the HR, IT and global modules? Stay. Mostly just payroll? Gusto is simpler.
No automatic import, so plan a January 2027 first payday and keep the typing short.⁴

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
Rippling you	Teams that want HR, IT and payroll in one system	From $8/employee + a base fee; quote⁶

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 Rippling today. Gusto fits you if:

You want a price you can read off a page.¹
Month-to-month, cancel anytime.¹
Payroll is most of what you use.
Global contractors? Gusto pays them in 120+ countries with no monthly per-contractor fee.¹

Why Gusto, compared with Rippling

Dad story

Picture a 7-person architecture studio.

They bought the all-in-one platform.

Rippling says plans start at $8 per employee per month, plus a monthly base fee.⁶

They use payroll.

And a little bit of payroll.

And, on Fridays, payroll.

A Swiss Army knife is great. Most days you just need the knife.

(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.

	Rippling	Gusto
Published pricing	From $8 per employee per month plus a monthly base fee; total depends on modules. Custom quote.⁶ Base fee not published: see current pricing.	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	Modular platform: payroll plus the products you add. Payroll calculates and files federal, state and local taxes automatically.⁷	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	Pays employees and contractors; global payroll and contractor products are sold too.⁷⁶	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, state and local filings.⁷	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	No automated import into Gusto. You'll enter earlier payrolls from Rippling's reports.	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 it costs for your team

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

Global teams. Rippling sells global payroll and contractor-of-record products.⁶
Everything in one system, if you actually use the HR, IT and finance modules.
Mid-year moves in. Rippling says it can import and analyze YTD data from your old provider.⁶
Bigger headcounts. Quote-based modules can make sense as you add departments.

Your Rippling-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. Rippling 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 Rippling to confirm in writing which quarters it will file.
Run one payroll in Gusto, then cancel. Download every report and tax form from Rippling 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.

Rippling 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 Rippling 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: Rippling to Gusto

How much does Rippling cost?

Rippling publishes a starting point of $8 per employee per month plus a monthly base fee and quotes the rest.⁶

Will Gusto import my Rippling payroll history?

Rippling isn't on Gusto's transfer-automation list. Enter earlier payrolls during Gusto setup using Rippling's reports.

What if I still need Rippling's IT or device tools?

Then a full switch may not make sense. Price out what you'd keep before you move payroll.

When should I switch?

Plan a first Gusto check date in January 2027 so Rippling closes out 2026.

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.