Most Gusto vs Zenefits comparisons were written for a market that no longer exists. Zenefits is not sold as a standalone HR platform any more. TriNet bought it, renamed the software, and folded it into a wider outsourcing service that quotes you a price instead of publishing one.
So the decision has changed. You are no longer comparing two self-service tools with a price tag on the website. You are comparing Gusto, which still publishes its plans, against an outsourced HR service that runs on the old Zenefits software. This guide explains what happened, what each option costs, and who each one suits.
Key Takeaways
- Zenefits is now the TriNet HR Platform, the technology inside TriNet HR Plus. It is no longer offered as a cheap, self-serve HR system.
- Gusto publishes its prices. TriNet does not: HR Plus is quoted per employee per month after a sales conversation.
- Gusto costs $49 a month plus $6 per person on Simple, $80 plus $12 on Plus, and $180 plus $22 on Premium.
- Gusto administers health benefits in all 50 states and Washington DC.
- Reviewers rate the two differently. G2 shows Gusto at 4.6 out of 5 from roughly 12,700 reviews and TriNet HR Plus at 3.9 from 468.
- Pick Gusto if you want to run payroll and HR yourself. Consider TriNet HR Plus if you want to hand the admin to someone else.
What Happened to Zenefits
Zenefits launched as an HRIS, a human resources information system: the database holding employee records, pay details, time off and benefits enrolments. Its selling point was a low monthly fee per employee and a self-service dashboard.
TriNet acquired the company in 2022 and rebranded the software as the TriNet HR Platform, still labelled “TriNet Zenefits” in places on TriNet’s own website. In July 2026, the HR software publication OutSail reported that TriNet had laid off the Zenefits team and discontinued the HRIS-only plan, pointing customers instead to its two service tiers. TriNet has not published a separate announcement, so treat the reporting as informed rather than official. What is verifiable is that TriNet’s site no longer sells the platform on its own: the HR Platform is now described as the technology that comes with HR Plus.
Those service tiers are what you actually buy now, so they are worth understanding.
ASO and PEO in Plain Terms
An ASO, or administrative services organization, takes over your HR paperwork: payroll runs, tax filings, benefits administration and compliance questions. You stay the legal employer of your staff. TriNet HR Plus is an ASO.
A PEO, or professional employer organization, goes further. It becomes a co-employer, which usually means your team joins the provider’s benefits plans and the provider carries more of the compliance risk. TriNet’s PEO is a separate, more expensive product.
For a ten-person company the difference is stark: an ASO is closer to hiring an outsourced HR department, while software like Gusto is a tool your office manager runs in an hour a week.
Gusto in 2026
Gusto started as payroll software and grew into a full small-business HR platform. It handles pay runs, federal and state tax filings, W-2 and 1099 payments, onboarding paperwork, time off and benefits enrolment from one account. Employees get their own login for payslips and tax documents.
What Gusto Costs
Gusto lists every plan publicly, which makes budgeting straightforward:
- Simple: $49 a month plus $6 per person. Single-state payroll, unlimited pay runs, tax filings and payments, basic time off policies.
- Plus: $80 a month plus $12 per person. Adds multi-state payroll, next-day pay and time tracking.
- Premium: $180 a month plus $22 per person. Adds a dedicated service advisor, access to certified HR experts, performance and compensation tools, custom reports and priority support.
- Contractor Only: $35 a month plus $6 per person, currently promoted with the base fee waived. Contractor payments and 1099 filings, no employee payroll.
On the Simple plan, several features are paid add-ons: priority support ($30 a month plus $3 per person), an HR resource library ($50 plus $5), time and attendance ($6 per person) and next-day pay ($15 plus $3). Stack two or three and Plus becomes the cheaper option, so do the arithmetic first. The same pattern runs through consolidating SaaS categories: entry tiers get thinner as vendors push features upmarket.
Where Gusto Is Strong
Payroll is the part Gusto has spent the longest getting right, and reviewers reflect that. It scores 4.6 out of 5 on G2 across roughly 12,700 reviews and 4.6 on Capterra across more than 4,200. Health benefits, including medical, dental, vision, HSA and FSA plans, life and disability, are available in all 50 states and DC, so a distributed team does not run into coverage gaps by state.
The integration directory lists 150 apps, including accounting tools such as QuickBooks Online and Xero, plus time tracking and point-of-sale systems. If you already run FreshBooks or handle expenses through a tool like Expensify, payroll data can flow into the books without re-keying.
Where Gusto Falls Short
The Simple plan is thin once you look past payroll. There is no time tracking, no multi-state payroll and no HR content library unless you pay extra. Companies hiring across state lines will land on Plus quickly.
Gusto is also built around US employment. To pay people abroad you need a second provider; our guide to global payroll solutions covers the options. And Gusto is software, not a service: nobody chases your deadlines unless you are on Premium.
TriNet HR Plus in 2026
HR Plus bundles payroll, payroll tax, benefits administration, recruiting support and compliance guidance, delivered by TriNet staff working in the HR Platform alongside you. Two add-ons deepen the service: Payroll Pro assigns dedicated payroll and tax specialists, and People Pro assigns a certified HR manager for strategic work such as policy design and employee engagement programmes.
What TriNet HR Plus Costs
TriNet does not publish rates. Its pricing page describes a per-employee-per-month model and says the figure depends on headcount and the service level you choose, then routes you to a three-step quote process. The old Zenefits headline of a few dollars per employee, and the five-employee minimum that went with it, no longer appear anywhere on TriNet’s site.
Quote-only pricing is normal for outsourced HR services, but it costs a small buyer something real. You cannot compare without booking a call, cannot model what happens when headcount doubles, and renewal becomes a negotiation.
Who It Suits
HR Plus makes sense when the constraint is people, not software. A 60-person company with no HR manager, staff in several states and open enrolment approaching is buying expertise and hours. That is a different purchase from a payroll tool, and judging it on monthly cost alone misses the point.
The G2 rating of 3.9 out of 5 across 468 reviews is respectable but noticeably below Gusto’s, and the small review count reflects how much narrower the customer base is.
Head to Head
Payroll
Gusto includes full-service payroll on every paid plan, covering W-2 employees and 1099 contractors, with tax filing handled automatically. With HR Plus, payroll is part of the service rather than a module you operate, which means less work for you and less direct control.
Benefits Administration
Gusto brokers health plans in all 50 states and DC and handles enrolment inside the same system that runs payroll, so deductions stay in sync. TriNet’s benefits offering is delivered through its service team, and the plan options depend on the package you are quoted. If competitive benefits are a hiring lever for you, our overview of how employee benefits are changing is a useful companion read.
Onboarding and Everyday HR
Gusto covers the mechanics: offer letters, I-9 and W-4 collection, self-onboarding for new hires and a document store. It does not replace an HR function. HR Plus adds people who answer questions, which matters most in the first weeks of a new job. If your team is distributed, pair either tool with a deliberate process; our guide to remote onboarding and training covers what actually works.
Hiring
Neither platform is an applicant tracking system. If you hire regularly, you will want a dedicated tool alongside payroll: Breezy HR for tracking candidates, Workello for skills testing, and increasingly AI hiring tools for screening. Writing the roles is its own task, and AI-assisted job descriptions can shorten it. Some companies now run early-stage interviews in virtual reality, though that remains a niche.
Data and Compliance
Both systems hold sensitive employee data, which puts them squarely inside the rules covered in our guide to data privacy at work. Ask any HR vendor where employee records are stored, who inside the company can see them, and what happens to the data if you leave.
Pricing Transparency
This is the clearest split. Gusto’s cost is on the website and you can calculate it for your headcount in a minute. TriNet’s is not, and you will spend a sales call finding out. For a business under 25 people, that difference alone often decides it.
Which One Fits Your Business
Choose Gusto if you have fewer than about 100 employees, want to see the price before you commit, and have someone willing to spend an hour a week on payroll and HR admin. It is the stronger fit for startups, agencies and small businesses that value predictable software costs.
Consider TriNet HR Plus if you have no HR staff, employ people across several states, and would rather pay for the work to be done than for a tool to do it with. Budget for a quote process and ask for the per-employee rate in writing at every headcount band you expect to hit.
Look elsewhere if you hire internationally, need deep applicant tracking, or want an employee experience platform with engagement surveys built in. Rippling, BambooHR and Justworks all compete here with different trade-offs; our HR trends guide sets out the wider picture.
Whichever you pick, retention outlives the software decision. Tools handle the mechanics, but as our piece on SaaS tools and employee retention argues, they do not fix why people leave. The same goes for AI in HR management: useful for admin, no substitute for judgement.
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