Cornerstone Performance vs Gusto comparison

Cornerstone OnDemand and Gusto are both solutions in the Talent Management category. Cornerstone OnDemand is ranked #19 with an average rating of 8.0, while Gusto is ranked #16 with an average rating of 9.0. Cornerstone OnDemand holds a 0.5% mindshare in TM, compared to Gusto’s 0.4% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Cornerstone OnDemand users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 80% of Gusto users who would recommend it.

Cornerstone Performance

Read 1 Cornerstone Performance review

194 Views
177 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Gusto

Read 4 Gusto reviews

316 Views
243 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

Cornerstone Performance

Gusto

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Cornerstone Performance and Gusto based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

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To learn more, read our detailed Talent Management Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Talent Management

July 2025

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Helped 865,295 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Cornerstone Performance

Ranking in Talent Management

19th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Gusto

Ranking in Talent Management

16th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Benefits Administration (11th)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Talent Management category, the mindshare of Cornerstone Performance is 0.5%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Gusto is 0.4%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Talent Management

Featured Reviews

Sarra Bannouri

Consultant at a sports company with 501-1,000 employees

Enhanced performance reviews with flexible goal setting and valuable employee feedback

I primarily use Cornerstone Performance for performance appraisals, year-end reviews, check-ins, and competency assessments. It's about managers and direct reports, employees meeting and discussing their progress on milestones, etc The tasks themselves, such as the performance reviews and…

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Mimi Evans

Owner/Operator at Fearless Bookkeeping Services LLC

Simple to use solution that offers a lot; gives employees the option to get cash advances

I think it's great that it syncs with QuickBooks Online and any payroll software that syncs with QuickBooks Online is great. My issue with their syncing was that every single account for a deduction went to a liability account, but not a lot of businesses run that way. As of September, they did not have the ability for me to put an employee's deduction for benefits in anything but a liability account; which made it not difficult, but added a manual step to the syncing of the entering of our payroll between Gusto and QuickBooks Online. I would also like for the tech support to be more responsive. Gusto also advertises their health benefits, but they don't do a good job of explaining why it's a better option to go through them. I think there's more communication that could be done on that. I also think that there are some HR benefits that they could be offering to these lower plans, without having to go to the Premium Plan. I think that that's something that they should consider in the future.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"I would definitely recommend Cornerstone Performance."

"I appreciated the templates that they offered for new hires and onboarding."

"I like the payroll part. We also use documents and forms whenever we hire, such as a new hire form for each state, and we like that as well."

"Gusto is a really good payroll solution for small businesses."

Cons

"The competency assessment is not as flexible as the rest of the solution features. I would like more options for customization."

"In the beginning, their support was top-notch. And then around the beginning of 2022, and end of 2021, their support tanked. We used to get responses in the beginning within one to two business days, and towards the end, we were getting responses in one to two business weeks."

"Their enrollment e-signature, enrollment forms, and other documents need a lot of work. Once we fill in the information, we cannot go back and change any of that. It's a time-taking process. If there is any mistake in the document and if we need to go and change a specific field in the form, it's not possible. We have to redo the entire form."

"My experience with Gusto's customer support sometimes shows they're not responsive, and they have definitely made mistakes in the past."

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Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Cornerstone Performance?

The competency assessment is not as flexible as the rest of the solution features. I would like more options for customization.

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What is your primary use case for Cornerstone Performance?

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What advice do you have for others considering Cornerstone Performance?

I would definitely recommend Cornerstone Performance. The solution should work on making features more customizable.

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What needs improvement with Gusto?

I wish Gusto's customer support was better for improvements. My experience with Gusto's customer support sometimes shows they're not responsive, and they have definitely made mistakes in the past.

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What advice do you have for others considering Gusto?

I would say, relative to another payroll solution, running payroll with Gusto probably costs half the price and saves us 5 to 10 hours a month. I would say Gusto is a really good payroll solution f...

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What is your primary use case for Gusto?

Our main use case for Gusto is for payroll, and we pay our US employees through it. Gusto helps with our payroll process because we use it for tax filings and benefits.

See all answers

Comparisons

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Talent Management

July 2025

Download Cornerstone Performance product report

Buyer's Guide

Benefits Administration

July 2025

Download Gusto product report

Also Known As

Cornerstone Performance Suite, Sonar6

ZenPayroll

Overview

Provide continuous career development with actionable development plans to improve productivity, all while accurately capturing and managing talent data to make better data-driven decisions, in one robust solution.

Cornerstone OnDemand

Gusto provides payroll, benefits and HR to modern companies, by handling payments to employees and contractors and also electronically handling the paperwork necessary to help companies comply with tax, labor, and immigration laws.

Gusto

Sample Customers

New Belgium, Virgin Media, Hershey, University of Southern California, Hyatt, Walgreens, Turner, Commonwealth Bank

Farmgirl Flowers, Bevel, Pooch Pals, ALL MAVEN

Find out what your peers are saying about Workday, SAP, Oracle and others in Talent Management. Updated: July 2025.

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We monitor all Talent Management reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.