Gusto vs Sage People comparison

Gusto and Sage are both solutions in the Benefits Administration category. Gusto is ranked #10 with an average rating of 9.0, while Sage is ranked #20. Gusto holds a 1.8% mindshare in BA, compared to Sage’s 2.1% mindshare. Additionally, 80% of Gusto users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 81% of Sage users who would recommend it.

Gusto

Read 4 Gusto reviews

782 Views
438 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

Sage People

Read 15 Sage People reviews

1,497 Views
569 Comparison Views

81% willing to recommend

Gusto

Sage People

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 4, 2024

Sage People and Gusto are top contenders in the HR management solutions category, focusing on payroll, benefits, and employee management. Gusto appears to have an advantage with its payroll features, whereas Sage People is strong in core HR capabilities.

Features: Sage People focuses on comprehensive core HR management, including absence management, an employee database, and performance management tools. Gusto, on the other hand, provides robust payroll services, efficient benefits administration, and user-friendly onboarding features.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Gusto offers a straightforward deployment process with reliable customer support through live chat and email. Sage People provides thorough deployment support but may need more time for full integration, suiting larger organizations.

Pricing and ROI: Sage People has a higher initial setup cost, offering substantial ROI for companies in need of full HR capabilities. Gusto's more affordable pricing model delivers strong ROI for small to mid-sized businesses focusing on payroll and benefits, catering well to their streamlined HR needs.

To learn more, read our detailed Gusto vs. Sage People Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Gusto vs. Sage People

March 2026

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Helped 885,311 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

Gusto

Ranking in Benefits Administration

10th

Ranking in Talent Management

13th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Sage People

Ranking in Benefits Administration

20th

Ranking in Talent Management

27th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Cloud HCM (23rd), HR Analytics Software (9th), Talent Acquisition (16th)

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Benefits Administration category, the mindshare of Gusto is 1.8%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sage People is 2.1%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Benefits Administration Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Gusto	1.8%
Sage People	2.1%
Other	96.1%

Benefits Administration

Featured Reviews

Phil Strazzulla

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.

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Ruth Baker

HRIS Implementation Consultant at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees

A highly scalable product that provides excellent dashboard and reporting features

The initial setup is easy. We need to be technically savvy. We need to have experience with HR systems to be involved in the setups. For someone who's never had an HR system before, it's going to be very overwhelming. The solution has got a lot of functionalities, which is brilliant. It is 90% customizable. We can configure it exactly as we want it. We would definitely need someone with HR systems experience to understand the backend. We can configure the back end as much as we like. We can also do it once we’ve gone live with the system.

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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 think the most value I have gotten from Gusto has been the interface, as it's very simple to use and it's very easy to understand."

"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."

"We used QuickBooks before Gusto; we switched because Gusto is much easier, and it also is used for payroll as an HR IT solution with multiple uses."

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

"I guess I would say maybe that it is a more robust system."

"The most valuable feature of Sage People is the integration with our payroll system."

"The solution provides the ability to trace back records, is reliable, makes life easy, and is secure."

"The report builder and dashboard builder are very, very good."

"The most valuable features of Sage People are the reports that are useful for decision-making and the API that can be integrated well. Additionally, the solution can be accessed from mobile devices onto the cloud."

"Compared to the other system that we were using, I think Sage is more friendly. As an administrator, Sage's dashboard is visually friendly and many tasks are easier to accomplish. Another feature that we've liked since we started using Sage is the reporting. With the other system, we needed to configure a lot of things manually when it came to reporting, but with Sage the reporting tasks are much simpler."

"The product is really easy to customise and configure, and the automation has enabled us to manage several HR processes at the right time in the correct manner."

"Sage makes all the information accessible, like pulling a file because an employee needs something ASAP. It's all in the system. It's easy to find old reports if I need them for payroll purposes. It might take days to do some of this work by hand."

More Sage People pros

Cons

"Their enrollment e-signature, enrollment forms, and other documents need a lot of work."

"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."

"The integration is not so good."

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

"In my opinion, the performance management module of this system could use improvement as it falls behind compared to other specialized performance management platforms."

"The automation in Sage People could improve. The solution is the best used for data storage but the automation could be better to have more functionality."

"The integration with our payroll system could improve. However, it is managed by another company."

"Its stability could be better."

"Right now, Sage doesn't seem to have what we are looking for when it comes to managing HR tickets. In my previous experiences with other HR software, we had to buy another solution to obtain this functionality, and it would be a great feature for Sage to consider adding. For an HR system, Sage would do very well to include it."

"Right now, Sage doesn't seem to have what we are looking for when it comes to managing HR tickets."

"There is a mash-up of Visualforce and apex triggers which bear down heavily on the system."

"The budget module does not work. Sage People need to maybe make it more user-friendly."

More Sage People cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"We have to purchase the solution's license to use it."

"Its cost is moderate for a multi-group licensing model."

"I believe we pay licensing on a yearly basis, but I can't comment on the total amount that we pay on licensing."

"I think it's reasonably priced. But in comparison to other systems, I would choose them over Sage People, regardless of their prices."

"The cost of Sage People varies depending on the financial resources of the organization. While it may be affordable for middle-level companies, it may be more challenging for young companies to bear the cost."

"There is other software on the market that can do similar functions to Sage People that could be better in price. Some solution allows you to do your payroll processes by month or by the process. Small companies could benefit by using another solution."

"The pricing is reasonable."

"From an SME standpoint, I wouldn't necessarily describe it as expensive. However, for the average startup, it may not be affordable since our current annual expenditure on the system, which supports approximately 210-220 users, amounts to approximately £15,000 to £18,000."

More Sage People pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Comms Service Provider

13%

Marketing Services Firm

11%

Construction Company

Outsourcing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Midsize Enterprise	7
Large Enterprise	6

Questions from the Community

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?

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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

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Benefits Administration

March 2026

Download Gusto product report

Buyer's Guide

Sage People

March 2026

Download Sage People product report

Also Known As

ZenPayroll

Fairsail

Overview

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

Connect teams across borders

Customise communications: Deliver business updates to specific groups and gather feedback with surveys.
Personalise experiences: Create engaging, branded experiences – tailored by group or region.
Connect global teams: Manage your entire workforce, wherever they are. Embed global policies while enforcing local regulations.
Help teams thrive, anywhere: Support wellbeing, provide localised benefits packages, and more.

Get ahead with actionable HR analytics

Make informed decisions: Use People analytics for actionable insights in seconds.
Provide real-time insights: Give up-to-the-minute recommendations so leaders jump on trends and adjust plans.
Customise dashboards: Plan hiring, analyse attrition, manage absence, and more.
Get actionable feedback: Understand the employee experience through surveys, tailored to different groups.

Compete successfully for top talent

Deliver a differentiated, stand-out candidate experience with easy-to-use employer branding themes and options that shows off your culture and company story.
Fill roles faster with skilled talent using our unique, AI-powered, intelligent candidate matching.
Have new employees hit the ground running with seamless remote pre-boarding and onboarding experiences.

Sage

Sample Customers

Farmgirl Flowers, Bevel, Pooch Pals, ALL MAVEN

Rocketship Education, Monitise, u-blox, SolarWinds, Mitsubishi, SmartStream, Canonical, Betfair

Buyer's Guide

Gusto vs. Sage People

March 2026

Free Report: Gusto vs. Sage People

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We monitor all Benefits Administration 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.