Gusto (gusto.com) has a 1.5 out of 5 rating on OK.one, based on 103 user reviews collected here. It is listed under Business Services and its reputation is poor. 78% of reviews are 1 star, a relatively high share; The business has replied to 86% of negative reviews. Last updated 2026-08-10.
What people say
W
W.B Mason · 2 reviews · Experienced 2026-07-06 ·
★★★★★
Unreliable. Misleading
Unreliable, O'brian wasn't helpful. As specifically answered me " I don't know". For a customer service rep, that is unvalid word to say given you supposedly help raised concerns by individuals. Gusto app is ok but they could've done this better with proper training with all their reps.
Reply from Gusto2026-07-06
Hello,
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We're sorry to hear about your experience with our Support team.
We understand how frustrating it can be when you're looking for answers and do not receive the level of assistance you expect. Providing clear, accurate, and helpful support is important to us, and we appreciate you bringing this experience to our attention.
We would like the opportunity to learn more and review what happened. If you are willing, please reply through your existing support case or contact our Support team so we can investigate your concerns and work toward a resolution.
Thank you again for your feedback. It helps us continue improving our service.
M
Mark · 2 reviews · Experienced 2026-06-14 ·
★★★★★
Beyond user unfriendly
Beyond user unfriendly. Is actually USER HOSTILE. No user support. No Tech support. Gus is a robot with prewrittened canned responses that lead to a vicious circle. Have not been able to reach a human in over a month for help.
Gusto's reply tells me to contact their support team. I've been trying that for many weeks without success due to the robotic gauntlet that prohibits problem resolution.
Reply from Gusto2026-07-06
Hello Mark,
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We're sorry to hear about your experience.
We were unable to locate an account based on the information provided in your review. If you still need assistance, please contact our Support team with your account details, and we'll be happy to look into your concerns.
Thank you again for your feedback.
S
Sarah · 1 review · Experienced 2026-07-02 ·
★★★★★
If I could leave 0 stars I would
If I could leave 0 stars I would. Terrible customer service, no one to help resolve issues, unable to speak to supervisors. A simple task such as sending contractors payment on time is impossible. Recently sent contractor payments for next day payments. Gusto didn't send them but collected payment from our bank account and said there was an error/issue on their back end. when asked for a resolution or a time frame they continue to say its been escalated to engineer department. There was 0 communication from Gusto that there was an issue on their end.
Reply from Gusto2026-07-06
Hello Sarah,
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We're sorry to hear about your experience and understand how frustrating payment delays can be.
We take concerns like yours seriously. If you have an open support case, our team will continue to provide updates there as they become available. If we have not yet connected with you, please reach out to our Support team so we can review your account and assist further.
Thank you again for your feedback.
G
GaianWay · 1 review · Experienced 2026-07-03 ·
★★★★★
Not worth the money
1) Very expensive
2) When I contacted the company to see if there was a lower cost plan for paying just one contractor, the salesperson (who was polite) apologized and said no. And then my price went up another $5/month!!
3) Be careful that the service charges "retroactively" so if you cancel more than a few days into a month they charge you for the month, even if you didn't use it.
4) While it helps with end of year tax forms, the cost of this is so low and the process so easy, it's not worth the hundreds/year it costs.
Reply from Gusto2026-07-06
Hello,
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We appreciate your perspective and are sorry to hear Gusto was not the right fit for your business.
We understand that pricing and billing are important considerations, and we appreciate you sharing your experience. Your feedback helps us continue improving our products and services.
Thank you again, and we wish you all the best.
A
Allan J. Panzer · 3 reviews · Experienced 2026-07-03 ·
★★★★★
Everything has gone wrong since the day…
Everything has gone wrong since the day I started. I could write a book. I would only recommend them to my worst enemy. If I truly hated a company, I'd suggest Gusto. Otherwise, I would say that any other provider might be better. I'm going to search for one. Every time I log in, it says..leave us a review. Then that box disappears in seconds...Hmmm?
Reply from Gusto2026-07-06
Hello Allan,
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We appreciate you sharing your experience with us and are sorry to hear that Gusto has not met your expectations.
We value all customer feedback, as it helps us continue to improve our products and services. We wish you and your business all the best moving forward.
Thank you again for your review.
M
Marie B · 1 review · Experienced 2026-07-01 ·
★★★★★
Been using for over 5 years
Been using for over 5 years, was good now absolutely horrible. System lost after a phone call to remove the I9 for onboarding established payroll. All the employees addresses after it was fixed disappeared. 5 phone calls and getting no where. How can a system lose information that was saved for over 24 hours and no one help. Tell me to reenter it all again. Been hung up on 5 times on hold.
Reply from Gusto2026-07-06
Hello Marie,
Thank you for being a Gusto customer for more than five years and for taking the time to share your feedback. We're sorry to hear about your recent experience and understand how frustrating it is to encounter issues with employee information and repeated support interactions.
We'd like the opportunity to review this further. If you have an open support case, our team will continue working with you there to help reach a resolution.
Thank you again for your feedback.
J
Jim Boston · 1 review · Experienced 2026-06-30 ·
★★★★★
DON'T Choose Gusto - No Customer Service
Our company has been with Gusto for four years. We have employees in different states - specifically one in Kansas. For some reason Gusto did not file the monthly reports with KS that they have been filing for several years. Gusto apparently did file the quarterly and pay the taxes. KS notified us the Jan and Feb returns not filed and said we owed a small fee. On May 18th 2026 we turned in a 'ticket' with Gusto. Crickets. No reply. No action. Late June we receive a notice from KS that our fine is now $1,000. Desperately trying to get someone, anyone from Gusto to communicate with us and fix this simple problem. Cannot get any substantive response. They just don't care apparently. Whatever you do DO NOT choose Gusto as your payroll provider. If there is a problem they WILL NOT give you answers and they WILL NOT fix it.
Reply from Gusto2026-07-06
Hello Jim,
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We're sorry to hear about your experience.
Our records show that you've recently received an update regarding this notice. If you have any additional questions or would like to review the details further, our Support team is happy to assist you.
Thank you again for your feedback.
J
Jennifer Tendero · 1 review · Experienced 2026-06-26 ·
★★★★★
Payroll Nightmare
Gusto: Confirmed Reversal That Never Happened — Contractors
Double Paid
Rating: (1 out of 5) ★☆☆☆☆
We have used Gusto for payroll for over two and a half years without a single issue. We are a
million-dollar cleaning company with 26 employees and contractors who depend on timely pay.
What happened in the last week of June 2026 was a complete system failure on Gusto's part —
and it cost us thousands of dollars and irreparable damage to the trust we have built with our
team.
What Happened
On June 25, we submitted payroll as normal. We had plenty in our Chase business
account — well above the amount needed for payroll. After hours, Gusto emailed saying
they could not process payroll and were rescheduling it to July 1. The real reason, which we
only learned on our first call the next morning, was that Parafin — Gusto's third-party credit
partner — had flagged a compliance issue with our account. No explanation was ever given for
why, after 2.5 years of on-time payroll with no account changes.
We called Gusto six times on June 26 starting at 9:16 AM — before the same-day payroll cutoff.
We were promised supervisor callbacks three times. We were told tickets were submitted as
"priority" and "urgent." Not one person with actual authority ever called us back until 7:30 PM,
when we were told nothing could be done. Parafin did not answer their phone across four
attempts.
On June 26 at 6:04 PM, Gusto agent Karla sent a written email confirming that employee payroll
was reversed and that 11 contractor payment reversals had been successfully processed. We
specifically asked a Gusto representative: "Will it be deposited into their account?" We were
told: "No. It will not. It's been reversed." On June 29, a second Gusto agent confirmed in a chat
transcript that the cancellations were already in the system.
Based on those two written confirmations and a direct verbal assurance, we paid our entire
team manually — Venmo, CashApp, and paper checks — driving across two cities on a Friday
to make sure our housekeepers got paid on time.
On July 1, Gusto paid all 11 contractors anyway. Double paid. And now Gusto intends to
withdraw those funds back from our contractors' personal bank accounts — over the July 4th
holiday weekend — without any warning to them.
The Bottom Line
Two different Gusto agents told us in writing that payroll was reversed and would not be
deposited. It was deposited anyway. We are now out all that we paid manually in good
faith. Our housekeepers — who work hard and deserve better — are now confused and will
have money unexpectedly pulled from their accounts.
We have audio recordings of all six calls, the written email from Karla, and the chat transcript
from Sarah M. We are filing a formal complaint with the CFPB and the Better Business Bureau.
If you are a small business considering Gusto: do not assume that a written confirmation means
anything. Do not assume that "reversed" means what you think it means. And do not assume
that anyone at Gusto has the authority to fix an urgent payroll problem on the day it happens.
Reply from Gusto2026-07-06
Hello Jennifer,
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We're sorry to hear about your experience and understand how important timely and accurate payroll processing is for your business.
Our review indicates there were processing issues that resulted in payroll moving to a four-day timeline. We also found that the request regarding the contractor payments was received after payroll processing activities were already underway, which may have contributed to confusion about the status of the payments.
We appreciate you taking the time to share your experience. Your feedback helps us continue improving our products, processes, and customer experience.
Thank you again for your review.
M
Mark · 1 review · Experienced 2026-06-18 ·
★★★★★
Gusto cancelled my employees' dental…
Gusto cancelled my employees' dental and vision insurance without telling me. Without telling anyone. I only found out because I audited my own benefits — something Gusto should have been doing.
Let me be direct: Gusto is a danger to your business.
I am a COO running a 20-person company. I trusted Gusto with payroll and benefits for my team. That was a mistake I will not make twice. From day one, benefits enrollment was a disaster — no onboarding, no process transparency, no communication. Gusto messaged my employees directly without my knowledge or authorization. We were never told our health insurance application had been approved. The first sign we had coverage was an unexpected bill. That is not a partner. That is a liability.
Then Gusto cancelled our dental and vision plans — entirely, for all 20 employees — while we were modifying only our medical coverage. We did not ask them to touch dental or vision. They did it anyway and told nobody. Not me. Not HR. Not a single person in my organization. My employees had coverage on Monday and none on Tuesday and Gusto was completely silent about it. The only reason this did not turn into a catastrophic failure for my team is because I personally caught it during a routine audit I initiated myself. Gusto had no plan to tell us. Ever. They quietly reinstated and backdated the plans only after I caught the error and forced the issue. If I had not been looking, my employees could have walked into a doctor's office, a dentist, an optometrist — and discovered they had no coverage. That is not a glitch. That is negligence.
On top of that, Gusto has a broken PTO system that cannot be fixed. Updating a paid time off policy automatically cancels the unpaid time off policy. This is a platform bug that has been open and unresolved for months. I have spent more than 15 hours on hold or in calls with support agents who are clearly not empowered to solve anything. I have 7 open support tickets — seven — with a promise that a technician would call me back. That was over two months ago. I have not received a single phone call. My last contact with Gusto support was June 19th, 2026. Complete silence since.
I escalated to Gusto's executive leadership in writing. No response. Not an acknowledgment. Not an auto-reply. Nothing.
Gusto sells itself as a platform built for small businesses and their people. What I experienced was a company that will bill you on time, every time, while your employees' benefits disappear in the background and nobody says a word. The sales process works. Everything after it does not.
We are leaving. Actively. The cost and disruption of switching platforms is significant — and it is still worth it to get off Gusto.
To anyone at Gusto reading this: you have my account, you have my number, you have had months to respond. The fact that this review exists is your answer about how that went. If you want to prove me wrong, you know where to find me.
Reply from Gusto2026-07-06
Hello Mark,
Thank you for taking the time to share your detailed feedback. We're sorry to hear about your experience and understand the concerns you've raised.
We were unable to identify your account based on the information provided in your review, as only a first name was included. We have requested additional information so we can locate your account and review your concerns with the appropriate teams.
Thank you again for your feedback. We look forward to hearing from you.
S
Sue Werner · 1 review · Experienced 2026-07-01 ·
★★★★★
GUSTO - Unbelievably Lousy Payroll Service
Gusto made many, many errors when setting up our payroll account...Gusto onboarding staff left out employees altogether and left out pertinent tax information for others, although we sent Gusto all information in writing. Gusto onboarding staff were careless and inefficient.
When we attempted to contact Gusto to correct the mistakes Gusto had made, their customer service reps were basically unavailable. That is, service was lousy. When we finally were able to reach someone, she (name: Tea) gave us misinformation...She did not seem to know how the Gusto software/system actually worked. She also promised to take care of Gusto errors, but she obviously did not take notes and she never followed through with what she had promised to do. The result for us was a mess Gusto created with federal tax deposits. Our advice: DO NOT USE GUSTO PAYROLL SERVICE.
Reply from Gusto2026-07-06
Hello Sue,
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We're sorry to hear that your onboarding and support experience did not meet your expectations.
We understand how important it is to have payroll set up accurately and to receive timely, reliable support. We appreciate you bringing your concerns to our attention and will share your feedback with the appropriate teams as we continue working to improve our products and services.
Thank you again for your review.
A
Angel · 2 reviews · Experienced 2026-06-29 ·
★★★★★
Gusto billed me $184 with no advance…
Gusto billed me $184 with no advance notice, and when I disputed it, their support couldn't even locate my own account.
I'm a CPA who runs payroll for client businesses on Gusto — every one of those clients came in through my referrals. When I asked about the charge, I was told a promotional payroll benefit had "lapsed" because no new clients were onboarded after March 31, something I was never notified about, and that the charges were now non-refundable.
Then the support breakdown:
- 6/23: My account rep dropped the issue and handed me to an unnamed "appropriate team."
- 6/24: I asked for the new rep's name and a resolution date. No answer.
- 6/25: Support came back asking "which company?" — they couldn't identify my account.
A payroll provider's entire job is accuracy and accountability with other people's money. If Gusto can bill me for something I was never warned about and then lose track of my account mid-dispute, I can't trust them with my clients' payroll. I'm moving everyone to ADP and cancelling before the next billing cycle.
If you're a business owner or fellow practitioner weighing Gusto, read the billing terms closely and test their support before you commit.
Reply from Gusto2026-07-06
Hello there,
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We're sorry to hear about your experience.
We were unable to locate your account based on the information provided in your review. If you're willing, please contact our Support team with your account details so we can review your concerns and assist further.
Thank you again for your feedback.
E
Eric M. · 13 reviews · Experienced 2026-06-29 ·
★★★★★
No Real Support
I've been using Gusto since they were a small company. Now, much bigger (probably purchased by an even larger company), the program works well, when it works. The biggest issue is their support. The support is AI (and not very good AI) or chat with techs who know less about the software than most users. I know I'm going to run into an isssue one day that I can't figure out and tech support will be useless. I suspect they have a support elevation process but I'm guessing that could take a few weeks. Since I run payroll weekly, I'm not sure how I will deal with that. That may be the day I need to switch to another payroll service. What happened to the days when you could get support from techs who actually know their product?
Reply from Gusto2026-07-06
Hello Eric,
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We appreciate you being a long-time Gusto customer.
We're sorry to hear your recent support experiences have not met your expectations. We do offer live support, and we're committed to providing timely, knowledgeable assistance when our customers need it. We appreciate you sharing your perspective and will pass your feedback along to our team as we continue improving the customer experience.
Thank you again for your review.
**1 STAR — DO NOT USE**
**Billing errors + broken support = unreliable payroll processor.**
Gusto left $184 in erroneous charges unresolved
- 6/23: Account rep abandons me; passes to mystery "appropriate team"
- 6/24: I demand new rep's name and close date
- 6/25: Support asks "which company?" — already in their system
**Bottom line:** Gusto can't execute basic billing reversals or maintain account ownership. If they can't get this right, you can't trust them with your payroll.
Stay away.
Reply from Gusto2026-06-26
Hi, we're sorry to hear about your experience and apologize for the frustration this has caused.
We've reached out to request some additional information so we can review your concerns thoroughly. When you have a moment, please respond to our request so our team can continue investigating and work toward a resolution.
We appreciate your time and the opportunity to look into this further.
V
Vincent Karr · 1 review · Experienced 2026-06-24 ·
★★★★★
Very horrible company
Very horrible company. I lost my phone number and couldn’t ever access my account. I requested for the code to be sent to my email so I could access my account and it never happened. Do not use this company
Reply from Gusto2026-06-26
Hello Vincent,
We're sorry to hear about your experience. If you've lost access to the phone number on your account, our sign-in help article(https://support.gusto.com/article/104263831100000/sign-in-to-gusto-or-fix-sign-in-issues) walks through the available recovery steps.
Even if payroll is in at the specified time direct deposits are rarely in on time! This company is horrible!
Reply from Gusto2026-06-23
Hello Amanda,
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We understand how frustrating it can be when funds do not arrive as expected.
While payroll may be submitted by the employer on time, the timing of direct deposits can be affected by several factors outside of payroll processing itself, including the employer's selected pay schedule, federal banking holidays, ACH processing timelines, and individual bank posting practices.
We know timely pay is important, and we encourage employers and employees to review payroll schedules and banking timelines when questions arise. We appreciate your feedback and are always working to improve the payroll experience.
J
Jake Miller · 2 reviews · Experienced 2026-06-18 ·
★★★★★
Customer service is horrible and errors…
Customer service is horrible and errors are abundant. Seems like they are hiring outside US for customer support along with not fixing or filing internal remedies noted. My experience has not been good
Reply from Gusto2026-06-23
Hello Jake,
Thank you for your feedback. We're sorry to hear about your experience.
We understand how frustrating errors and unresolved issues can be. Our goal is to provide accurate, effective support to all customers, and we're disappointed to hear we didn't meet that expectation in your case. We take feedback like yours seriously and are continually working to improve both our service and support experience.
This Gusto is a dishonest company please don’t use them … It’s A Thomas /Christian/ Jim taking money from people account. Fire will fall on dishonesty and it is soo! Ase
Reply from Gusto2026-06-23
Thank you for sharing your feedback. We're sorry to hear about your concerns.
C
CW · 3 reviews · Experienced 2026-06-12 ·
★★★★★
Customer Service AI (+ even the humans act like ai)
If you ever need to contact customer service, you might as well just cancel your account.
I had to contact customer service because a payment amount was incorrect and it would not let me adjust it in the platform. (Showed contact us). I tried the live chat (AI), and it gave me directions, but could not follow them since the options that they had did not match my case (the reason i was contacting them).
So finally called, and the AI tried to help me, but when it couldnt, it gave me the same directions and asked if i was sure I wanted to wait on the phone for an agent. I waiting and got a human (they told me they were not AI when I asked) every couple of seconds the human would say 'mmhhhmmm' or interrupt me and say 'okayyy'.
After 3 holds of about 5 minutes each and 21 minutes on the phone, they deleted the payment for me and I was able to create it again. What a hassle for a simple task.
Reply from Gusto2026-06-23
Thank you for sharing your experience. We're sorry to hear that resolving your payment issue took longer than expected.
We understand how frustrating it can be when self-service options don't match your situation and additional support is needed. While we're glad the issue was ultimately resolved, we recognize that the process should have been more seamless. We appreciate your feedback and will use it to help improve both our support experience and the tools available to customers.
g
gail · 3 reviews · Experienced 2026-05-01 ·
★★★★★
I had to change our bank account
I had to change our bank account. 4, count 'em four payrolls were screwed up and I had to try to talk to a service rep who's first language was not English so the communication was terrible. There are four steps to change the bank account and each payroll I was instructed on one, so each of 4 payrolls were messed up.
Reply from Gusto2026-06-23
Thank you for sharing your experience. We're sorry to hear that changing your bank account led to multiple payroll issues and a frustrating support experience.
We understand how important clear communication and accurate guidance are, especially when managing payroll. While bank account changes can require multiple verification and setup steps, we recognize that expectations should be communicated clearly from the start. We appreciate your feedback and will use it to help improve both our support and onboarding experiences.
F
Fernanda Dias · 1 review · Experienced 2026-06-10 ·
★★★★★
Collected our money twice
Even though we made the wire to make the payroll payment, they collected the money from our bank account and now are refusing to return the money back to us!! Customer service is terrible and don't scalate or care about the mater.
Reply from Gusto2026-06-23
Thank you for sharing your feedback. We're sorry to hear about your experience and understand how concerning this situation must be.
Hello Fernanda,
Our team is actively reviewing your concerns under case #43251312 and will continue working with you to investigate and resolve the matter. We apologize for any disruption this has caused and appreciate your patience while we work toward a resolution. Please know that we take concerns involving payroll funding and account transactions very seriously.
