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Dayforce HCM vs Gusto comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 4, 2024

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

Dayforce HCM
Ranking in Talent Management
14th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Cloud HCM (9th), Talent Intelligence (2nd)
Gusto
Ranking in Talent Management
13th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Benefits Administration (10th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Talent Management category, the mindshare of Dayforce HCM is 2.2%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Gusto is 0.9%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Talent Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Gusto0.9%
Dayforce HCM2.2%
Other96.9%
Talent Management
 

Featured Reviews

Thomas Noorkah - PeerSpot reviewer
Director of Enterprise Financial Systems at City of Columbus
Greatly improved our efficiency with its integrated time and attendance module
Dayforce has given us near to real-time access to time sheets and clockings since it has an integrated time and attendance module. Within six minutes of someone clocking in, we can see them on the timesheets. Dayforce has enabled us to smooth out our payroll system so not everything is happening at the end of the payroll cycle. We can see the impacts during the week and make it a lot more manageable. It's also been helpful for benefits administration with employees being able to file life and work events online. They can access their pay stubs, request leave, change their address, update their direct deposit details, and other things. We've become much more efficient, and much less paper driven.
PS
Founder at SelectSoftware Reviews
Provides time-saving solutions for small business payrolls
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 for small businesses. Running payroll with Gusto costs half the price and saves us 5 to 10 hours a month. My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. I was not offered a gift card or incentive for this review. I rated Gusto 9 out of 10 because of some customer support issues that kept it from being a 10.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The initial setup is easy."
"We like being able to hire from the Dayforce recruiting module straight into Dayforce and having the file feeds go to our benefits vendor."
"We used the solution to do a lot of performance management during the review cycle and it helped us alleviate the administrative burden."
"The solution's payroll portion is very streamlined."
"The tool has improved a lot in the area of its mobile application, especially considering its added security features, like single sign-on capabilities."
"Ceridian Dayforce HCM is a stable product."
"Configuring your HR policies and rules is straightforward."
"The integrated time clock has provided efficiencies in payroll, as we no longer have to decipher handwritten time sheets and input them into the system."
"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 solution has a lot of glitches."
"I would like to continue to see improvements in the Recruiting module. I would like to see this module interact with Calendars, such as Outlook, etc."
"Customizing the home screen was difficult; I could not remove certain tabs that were irrelevant to our users."
"The solution's initial setup was difficult. Also, the solution's initial deployment took around six months."
"One area to be improved is the solution's reporting function, which can be cumbersome."
"The reporting could be improved."
"Our current software program offers a home page with important company documents and a place for company announcements. Unfortunately, Ceridian Dayfoce does not offer this."
"The solution's dashboards and geofencing could be improved."
"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."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"In terms of pricing, the product is expensive. However, it is crucial to take into account the manner in which the solution will be utilized and the availability of other alternatives."
"I rate the solution's pricing a seven on a scale where one is the lowest and ten is the most expensive."
"Earlier, the price of the product was reasonable. Under present circumstances, the price or cost of the product has been increased."
"We paid for the implementation costs in the first year with the money that we saved by switching to Dayforce HCM."
"Negotiate for everything you want."
"The XOXO program associated with Dayforce allows you to earn credits towards registration and accommodations at their annual Insight Conferences, which can be a real savings to the company when sending employees to the conference."
"Ceridian continually enhances Dayforce HCM. Some of these enhancements they charge for and some are just straight enhancements with no extra charge."
"We found the setup costs and pricing to be very reasonable."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Non Profit
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise5
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Ceridian Dayforce HCM?
The solution's payroll portion is very streamlined.
What needs improvement with Ceridian Dayforce HCM?
Customizing the home screen was difficult; I could not remove certain tabs that were irrelevant to our users. The search functionality is poor as there's no way for administrators to tag keywords t...
What is your primary use case for Ceridian Dayforce HCM?
We have used Dayforce HCM for our HR functionalities and for the learning module over the last five years. We actually just migrated to a new learning management system.
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.
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...
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.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Ceridian Dayforce HCM, Ascender Talent Management, Ceridian Ideal
ZenPayroll
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

ACCO Brands
Farmgirl Flowers, Bevel, Pooch Pals, ALL MAVEN
Find out what your peers are saying about Dayforce HCM vs. Gusto and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,672 professionals have used our research since 2012.