Gusto is US payroll software for small businesses, from $49 a month plus $6 per person. Deel is a global employment platform: employer of record in 130+ countries at $599 per employee a month, plus contractor payments and US payroll. Choose Gusto if nearly all your people are US employees. Choose Deel if you hire employees or contractors abroad and want one system for them.
Last verified: 11 November 2026. Prices are list prices from each vendor's own pricing pages. We earn a referral fee from some vendors; it does not affect our scores.
| Deel | Gusto | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Global payroll, employer of record and contractor management | US small business payroll, benefits and HR |
| Best for | Distributed and global teams | US employers with roughly 1 to 100 employees |
| US payroll price | Not listed on Deel's pricing page (checked 11 November 2026) | Simple $49 a month plus $6 per person (one state); Plus $80 plus $12 (multi-state); Premium $180 plus $22 (published) |
| Employer of record | $599 per employee a month, 130+ countries, run by Deel (published) | Provided by Remote, in countries where Remote operates; no price on Gusto's page |
| International contractors | $49 per contractor a month, 150+ countries (published) | No monthly per-contractor fee; a service and foreign exchange fee per payment (amount not published); 120+ countries |
| Contractor of record | $325 per contractor a month (published) | Not listed |
| US PEO | $125 per employee a month (published) | Not listed |
| Contract terms | Month to month, no long-term commitment | Month to month, cancel anytime |
| AF Score | 81 | 74 |
A common setup is Gusto for US payroll and Deel for employees and contractors abroad. It keeps the cheaper US payroll, but you run two systems and two feeds into the ledger.
A company has 12 US employees in three states, 2 employees in Germany and 3 contractors abroad.
This is an Audit Friendly estimate from published prices. Employer of record fees exclude salary, employer taxes and benefits. Our Deel review estimates the all-in cost at roughly 30 to 60 percent above the list fee.
Both file federal, state and local payroll taxes in all 50 states. Gusto limits its $49 Simple plan to one state, and each new state registration takes two to four weeks because Gusto does not register for you (our review). Deel's US payroll is newer, and Deel says it does not charge for off-cycle runs.
Deel owns its employer of record service and prices it at $599 per employee a month. Gusto offers employer of record through a partnership with Remote, for full-time salaried employees in countries where Remote operates.
Gusto posts payroll journal entries to QuickBooks Online and Xero. Deel connects to QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite and Sage Intacct, but employer of record and contractor costs arrive as accounts payable bills, not payroll journal entries (our review).
Deel scores 88 on our agent-readiness test and Gusto scores 80. Gusto's official MCP server is read-only. On API and automation the gap is wider, 88 to 42.
| Dimension | Deel | Gusto | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compliance depth | 84 | 78 | Deel |
| Scalability | 90 | 57 | Deel |
| Support | 80 | 60 | Deel |
| Implementation | 82 | 68 | Deel |
| Pricing transparency | 58 | 88 | Gusto |
| AI and agent readiness | 88 | 80 | Deel |
| API and automation | 88 | 42 | Deel |
| GL and ERP fit | 72 | 70 | Deel |
Gusto publishes its price and Deel does not. Twelve employees in several states cost $224 a month on Gusto Plus. Deel's pricing page lists no US payroll price (checked 11 November 2026), so ask Deel for a quote before you compare.
Yes, through Remote. Gusto's site says employer of record services are provided by Remote, in countries where Remote operates, for full-time salaried employees. Gusto does not publish a price for it.
Yes. Deel says it files payroll taxes for all 50 states with the IRS and state and local agencies, and files and distributes W-2s at year end.
The platform fee is $599 per employee a month. Salary, employer taxes and benefits are on top. Our review estimates the all-in cost at roughly 30 to 60 percent above the list fee.
Yes. Many companies run US payroll in Gusto and use Deel for employees and contractors abroad. The cost is two systems to reconcile and two feeds into your ledger.