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No free alternative to Gusto yet

Free tools can calculate pay, but none files and pays payroll taxes to federal and state agencies on your behalf.

About this gap

Gusto, Simple, base fee per month

$588 USDa year

≈$838.31 CAD a year (converted from USD)

Build effort

Years, or a funded team

An editor’s estimate for a free tool that ranks Strong.

Demand

Nobody has asked for one yet.

What a free alternative needs

The capabilities that keep people paying for Gusto.

  1. Federal, state and local payroll tax filing

    Quarterly and annual returns and year-end forms filed for you with the agencies.

  2. Automatic tax deposits

    Withholdings collected from the employer account and paid on the agency schedule.

  3. Tax tables kept current for every state

  4. Direct deposit and contractor payments

  5. New-hire reporting and state registrations

Why it is hard

Agency e-filing and deposit integrations need registrations and money movement under regulated partners, and the tax tables change every year in every state.

Closest free options

Each covers part of the job. None replaces Gusto yet.

Building one?

List your tool on Gratistack when it works. Once an editor maps it to Gusto, it shows on this page and in search, and the people waiting here can hear about it.

  • Listing is free. An editor reviews the free queue every week.
  • Want a decision sooner? The optional $49 fast-track gets one within 48 hours. It buys speed, not approval, and a rejection is refunded.
  • Once it is listed as an alternative, you can sponsor the alternatives page for $149 per 30 days. Sponsors are labeled and never change the ranking.
Submit your toolHow sponsorship works

About this page

Last checked : an editor confirmed that no free alternative ranks Strong.

Price: Simple, base fee per month, checked Oct 7, 2026. Price source. USD to CAD at 1.4257 as of Oct 7, 2026.

Know a free alternative? Tell us.

Gusto is a product of Gusto, named here for comparison only.