BambooHR vs. Gusto

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
BambooHR
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
BambooHR is an on-line human resources solution that provides onboarding, payroll, and benefits management. It also offers automated time-off management and employee self-service.
$250
per month
Gusto
Score 7.5 out of 10
N/A
Gusto offers payroll, benefits and compliance capabilities. Gusto is scaled for small to mid-sized businesses, and emphasizes an easy to use interface.
$46
per month
Pricing
BambooHRGusto
Editions & Modules
Core
$250
per month
Pro
$250
per month
Simple: A streamlined set of automatic payroll features and benefits integrations
$40/month + $6/mo per person
$12 per employee/contractor
Plus: Comprehensive payroll, benefits, and HR tools for employers building a great place to work
$80/month + $12/mo per person
Premium: Scalable payroll and benefits, expert HR, and dedicated support for the complex needs of growing teams
Exclusive pricing, contact Gusto
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BambooHRGusto
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesYes
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional DetailsNo matter what HR looks like at your company, we have the perfect plan for you!Gusto offers three pricing plans for payroll, benefits, and HR, so you can choose the plan that meets your business needs.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
BambooHRGusto
Considered Both Products
BambooHR
Chose BambooHR
We didn’t need a payroll services and other companies we looked at were payroll companies first that have added other HR features.
Chose BambooHR
When reviewing which HRIS to go with, BambooHR came out on top for a few reasons. One was the cost compared to others and what you get for that cost. It saved the company money versus what we had, including Lever, ADP, Calamari, etc., and condensed it into one system. Next, the …
Gusto
Chose Gusto
Payroll is on par, however, the benefits management is not even close. BambooHR and TriNet both offered better benefit plans and over the course of years, never caused my teams to be uninsured for any period of time. BambooHR and TriNet support teams have always communicated …
Chose Gusto
In terms of GUI, Gusto is well-made. It's much prettier than APS and Bamboo. Bamboo and APS both have a lot more capability and, thus, are a little more complicated to use. Bamboo does not have a built-in payroll, though they do have a partner. We ultimately ended up going with …
Chose Gusto
I felt that the customer reviews and feedback for Gusto spoke volumes, and the Gusto interface was straightforward and simple to use. The value of the tier-based subscription model is great too. I found that other HR software plans were more expensive and more cluttered, less …
Chose Gusto
Gusto is far and away the best! I'd certainly recommend any medium-sized company to use it.
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
BambooHRGusto
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
8.1
132 Ratings
3% above category average
Gusto
-
Ratings
Employee demographic data7.7112 Ratings00 Ratings
Employment history8.7120 Ratings00 Ratings
Job profiles and administration8.4118 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.8.2105 Ratings00 Ratings
Organizational charting7.1116 Ratings00 Ratings
Organization and location management8.0106 Ratings00 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)8.663 Ratings00 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
8.0
85 Ratings
0% below category average
Gusto
8.4
163 Ratings
2% above category average
Pay calculation8.258 Ratings8.3155 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors8.248 Ratings8.58 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment8.035 Ratings00 Ratings
Benefit plan administration8.864 Ratings7.6107 Ratings
Direct deposit files8.463 Ratings8.4158 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management8.067 Ratings8.1134 Ratings
Reimbursement management6.734 Ratings9.511 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
8.8
113 Ratings
8% above category average
Gusto
-
Ratings
Approval workflow9.1111 Ratings00 Ratings
Balance details8.9104 Ratings00 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment8.493 Ratings00 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
8.7
126 Ratings
7% above category average
Gusto
-
Ratings
View and generate pay and benefit information7.978 Ratings00 Ratings
Update personal information9.2125 Ratings00 Ratings
View company policy documentation8.9104 Ratings00 Ratings
Employee recognition8.682 Ratings00 Ratings
View job history9.0117 Ratings00 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
7.7
50 Ratings
1% below category average
Gusto
-
Ratings
Tracking of all physical assets7.750 Ratings00 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
7.7
102 Ratings
1% above category average
Gusto
-
Ratings
Report builder8.197 Ratings00 Ratings
Pre-built reports7.796 Ratings00 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data7.469 Ratings00 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
8.6
105 Ratings
7% above category average
Gusto
-
Ratings
New hire portal8.7100 Ratings00 Ratings
Manager tracking tools8.692 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
8.2
64 Ratings
0% above category average
Gusto
-
Ratings
Corporate goal setting8.248 Ratings00 Ratings
Individual goal setting8.262 Ratings00 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility8.247 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance tracking8.158 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
7.9
69 Ratings
1% below category average
Gusto
-
Ratings
Performance plans7.662 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance improvement plans8.055 Ratings00 Ratings
Review status tracking7.963 Ratings00 Ratings
Review reminders8.264 Ratings00 Ratings
Multiple review frequency7.860 Ratings00 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
7.1
52 Ratings
11% below category average
Gusto
-
Ratings
Create succession plans/pools5.834 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate ranking7.742 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate search7.145 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate development7.939 Ratings00 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
8.1
86 Ratings
4% above category average
Gusto
-
Ratings
Job Requisition Management8.062 Ratings00 Ratings
Company Website Posting8.368 Ratings00 Ratings
Publish to Social Media8.260 Ratings00 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting8.264 Ratings00 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention7.458 Ratings00 Ratings
Applicant Tracking8.276 Ratings00 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts8.679 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
BambooHRGusto
Small Businesses
Patriot Software
Patriot Software
Score 9.1 out of 10
Patriot Software
Patriot Software
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.5 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.5 out of 10
Enterprises
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.2 out of 10
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.2 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
BambooHRGusto
Likelihood to Recommend
8.9
(136 ratings)
7.0
(176 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.2
(11 ratings)
8.9
(7 ratings)
Usability
8.5
(63 ratings)
8.1
(3 ratings)
Availability
9.3
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.7
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.5
(58 ratings)
1.5
(24 ratings)
Online Training
9.2
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.2
(4 ratings)
8.2
(1 ratings)
Configurability
8.6
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
8.3
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.6
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.9
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Professional Services
9.2
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.9
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.1
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
BambooHRGusto
Likelihood to Recommend
BambooHR
If someone is looking for a basic HRIS that will serve a small employee population, BambooHR is a great starting point. This works well enough for what a small business needs. It starts to fall apart in larger organizations or as the needs exceed what BambooHR is capable of. There is a severe lack of customization, and it feels like they are afraid of the users breaking the system, so they put in many guardrails. I'm good with having those, but it dampens the experience for more advanced users. Overall, it is a decent starting point, but not a system any company would want to use long-term as they grow.
Read full review
Gusto
I would love to use Gusto for companies of all staff sizes but I understand that larger businesses will opt for a PEO and willingly give up flexibility and features to do that. However, I love that Gusto can be customized on so many levels – offer letter, adding documents for new hires, document verification, deploying documents to existing staff, tracking who has signed, helping staff select health benefits (love that this is an entirely paperless process!), screen share support (love this!), a host of integrations with other apps are easy to link up. The interface is delightful (love the piglet!), HR support for Master Admins is very professional. There are templates, forms, rules and updates provided for all States. And the reports are so easy to read, customize and understand. Amazing!
Read full review
Pros
BambooHR
  • The Applicant Tracking System is pretty good. Has a couple flaws but over all it's a really great module.
  • The HR management system works really well and we love how much we can customize things we need.
  • The Reporting feature is one of my favorite things about BambooHR. I can create any report I want and I love that.
Read full review
Gusto
  • The self-service aspect of the software is very nice. We rarely need to get customer service involved.
  • For the first 2 years of our subscription to Gusto, customer service has been good when we needed it.
  • We have also had good experience with third parties recommended by Gusto including a 401(k) administrator, R&D tax credit analyst, and background check software.
Read full review
Cons
BambooHR
  • The performance feature is a little clunky and not adjustable, so I would love to have more customizable options.
  • When a candidate signs an offer letter, it would be great if it could show up under the documents tab. Right now, it gets a little buried.
Read full review
Gusto
  • The support isn't very impressive, although it's rare that we even need their help.
  • I would like to see a better scheduling tool for the staff. Currently I have to use Homebase for this feature alone because Gusto's offering is lacking in this area.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
BambooHR
There's nothing wrong with this platform. I would recommend it to any business starting with more than 10 employees. I will continue to use the program for as long as I need to, hoping they continue being tremendous and finding other ways to incorporate more technology.
Read full review
Gusto
Unless they break it, I'm never leaving. It's just too easy. Gusto is also really affordable, and for what I pay, it's worth having the historical record within the system. I like that I can go back and pull up W2's for year's past. This sort of easy access reporting, has been helpful especially when getting reports for PPP loans.
Read full review
Usability
BambooHR
It is a very easy page to manage for people that are not used to computers or technology in general. That is one of the main reasons Hermosillo chose this service. It has a very friendly UI for every employee to understand, and that is really important because, in the end, we want our employees to feel comfortable looking at their information.
Read full review
Gusto
The UI is clean and simple. It's incredibly easy to find what you need to find, and if you can't, a quick search of their help files will direct you where you need to go about 90% of the time. For that last 10%, a support e-mail will result in a quick answer. Almost any time I try to do something new I haven't done before with Gusto, I can do it in a few minutes.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
BambooHR
Yes, there is a huge team in the back of the online platform or it looks like it because I have never been left without an answer when I have a question or waiting from a response on my chat .... There must be a huge team, this is so great and I always seem to have someone that is very knowledgeable too. So many times in the past I had to leave with customer service that would connect you with someone else because of the expertise, here everyone seems to be some kind of an expert in the HR function.
Read full review
Gusto
No answers on this topic
Performance
BambooHR
I love BambooHR. Reports are easy to run and download and it usually covers any types of requests I get from the management team. You get excel or .csv downloads/reports and it is fast and simple, not too crowded so it is easy to read through. We don't integrate the tool yet but again, soon we will. we just did not had the time to utilize it yet but that's the plan.
Read full review
Gusto
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
BambooHR
The support is good, they can respond, however the chat sometimes has line to wait, and sometimes you miss your window because you have to keep working. However, they do respond to inquiries and help you to navigate and solve your problems in a timely manner. So, I don't have complaints on that.
Read full review
Gusto
Gusto's customer service has really deteriorated lately and they seem to have really changed their focus. It used to be when you called you were routed to an individual who knew about payroll, benefits, reporting, etc. but now you get someone who seems to have not received the correct training. My last call about a dismissal payroll took me over an hour of my time and the person still could not help me and finally transferred me to someone else.
Read full review
In-Person Training
BambooHR
I didn't have in-person training besides teaching my managers how to use the program. However, I couldn't omit this question (maybe a system glitch).
Read full review
Gusto
No answers on this topic
Online Training
BambooHR
As far as I can recall, everything went well with doing it online and got questions answered. Was thankful to work with a dummy file to get used to some practices prior to getting our own domain within bamboo to then place our personnel information in the system, this helped a lot!
Read full review
Gusto
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
BambooHR
BambooHR's initial implementation team was amazing. We loved having a dedicated person we could call, email or speak to during the entire process. I feel that's so important when you are new to a software. Our process was time consuming, but well worth the final product.
Read full review
Gusto
Super easy to implement and use!
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
BambooHR
BambooHR was already in place when I started. BambooHR has much better intuitive navigation than any of the other systems but not as much customizability as something like Workday
Read full review
Gusto
Gusto was the only payroll provider we used for our business. Before Gusto we were running payroll manually, which was cumbersome and didn’t account for our tax liability. Gusto is heads and shoulders above running payroll manually. It takes the load of payroll management off your shoulders and gives employees and easy to use portal to manage their personal payroll information.
Read full review
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
BambooHR
Since my organization has dropped with employees, I always find ways to reduce costs. I thought there would be a cheaper option, but I was glad that my package included a lot for the price, and downgrading would cost more. The rep could have let me downgraded and taken me to a higher package. I am thankful that didn't happen.
Read full review
Gusto
No answers on this topic
Scalability
BambooHR
There is so much you can do with this platform, it is incredible and so welcoming. We don't utilize it 100% yet just because we are growing and the HR team has not been able to concentrate on other areas offered to us but but we will soon. Which is also why we got the product, specifically because what BambooHR can do to help us meet our growing business needs.
Read full review
Gusto
No answers on this topic
Professional Services
BambooHR
VERY professional!
Read full review
Gusto
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
BambooHR
  • Self Service is great to free up time for Admin.
  • Self-Service/ Tracked PTO and sick days are easy to use and track very well. This frees up Admin time and is transparent for all employees.
  • Easy to use Job postings with very trackable sourcing reports.
  • Easy to use. Easy to onboard and user friendly interface. Requires minimal training.
Read full review
Gusto
  • Saves me time and time is money so I've definitely saved money using Gusto over other payroll providers
  • 401k integration was not a good fit for my size company unfortunately, which I was disappointed about initially, but if you are a larger company it could be an excellent asset to your benefits structure for your team
  • Has increased employee retention because of its ease of use
Read full review
ScreenShots

BambooHR Screenshots

Screenshot of BambooHR's Reporting

Gusto Screenshots

Screenshot of Flexible, automated payrollScreenshot of Time-off trackingScreenshot of The source of truth for HR data