Gusto is a payroll and HR company built for US small businesses. Its customers range from restaurants and dental offices to agencies and startups, and the product handles paychecks, tax filings, benefits, onboarding, time tracking and retirement plans in one place. Founded as ZenPayroll in 2011 and renamed in 2015, it is still led by co-founder Josh Reeves and remains private. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
Gusto earns most of its money from recurring software subscriptions: each customer pays a monthly base fee plus a per-employee fee, with higher tiers (Simple, Plus, Premium) adding HR, time tracking and advisory features. On top of that it earns commissions as a licensed health insurance broker, fees on workers' compensation and benefits administration, 401(k) plan fees (now in-house after buying Guideline in 2025), revenue from Gusto Embedded, which lets other software platforms offer payroll under their own brand, and interest on payroll funds held briefly before they are paid out. Accountants and bookkeepers are a major distribution channel. Gusto does not disclose the revenue split between these streams.