Gusto charges $40-80/month plus $6-12 per employee for payroll and HR. Wave's payroll and free accounting handle small teams cheaply, and Zoho People covers HR records free. Here are the best free Gusto alternatives.
| Alternative | Price | Best For | No Signup? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wave (Payroll + Accounting) | Free (payroll by state, $4-20/employee) | Payroll + free accounting combo | Account needed |
| Zoho People (Free) | Free (up to 5 employees) | HR records & time off free | Account needed |
| OnPay (Free Trial, low cost) | Free trial, then $40/month flat | Flat-fee full payroll | Account needed |
| Spreadsheet + Direct Deposit | Free (manual) | Solo founders & 1-2 person teams | ✅ Yes |
Wave pairs self-serve payroll with completely free accounting, invoicing, and receipts — small businesses run payroll and bookkeeping in one free platform.
Zoho People's free plan covers employee records, leave management, and attendance for up to 5 employees — the HR side of Gusto at $0.
OnPay charges a flat $40/month for unlimited payroll runs and employees — no per-head fees, making it far cheaper than Gusto for larger teams.
For very small teams, a payroll spreadsheet plus bank direct deposit handles payments at $0 — pair with free tax calculators for withholdings.
Gusto costs $40-80/month + $6-12/employee. That is $480-960/year every year — money that could go toward building an AI-powered income stream instead. Our case studies show that you can build complete revenue-generating systems using only free tools.
| Option | Monthly Cost | Annual Cost | 5-Year Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gusto | $40-80 | $480-960 | $2,400-4,800 |
| Free Alternatives | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Savings | $480-960/year/year saved | ||
The best free alternative to Gusto depends on your needs. Wave (Payroll + Accounting) is ideal for payroll + free accounting combo. Zoho People (Free) is ideal for hr records & time off free. OnPay (Free Trial, low cost) is ideal for flat-fee full payroll. All of these alternatives are free or have generous free tiers.
Gusto costs $40-80/month + $6-12/employee. For most individual users and small projects, the free alternatives listed here provide 80-100% of the functionality at zero cost. Teams with complex collaboration needs may find the paid version worthwhile, but solo creators and small businesses can save hundreds per year.
Yes. The alternatives we list are production-ready tools used by millions. Most people switching from Gusto find that 2-3 free tools combined cover all their needs, often with better specialised features than the all-in-one paid product.
Yes. Every alternative listed is a well-established tool with active development, large user bases, and transparent privacy policies. Open-source options like those from Hugging Face and Ollama are additionally auditable — you can inspect the code yourself.
Switching from Gusto ($40-80/month + $6-12/employee) to free alternatives saves you $480-960/year per year. Over 5 years, that is enough to fund a side business or invest in other tools.
Browse All Free Alternatives →