Deel vs Gusto: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Deel reported $1.5B of revenue in FY2026 and — of net income. Gusto reported $1B of revenue in FY2026 and — of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Financial summary
Deel
Deel is private and does not publish audited financials, but it discloses ARR milestones. ARR rose from about $57 million at the end of 2021 to $295 million at the end of 2022 (TechCrunch), $800 million by December 2024, more than $1 billion by June 2025, and more than $1.5 billion in the first half of 2026. Deel says it recorded its first $100 million revenue month in September 2025 and describes itself as profitable, without disclosing margins. Funding includes a $425 million Series D at $5.5 billion (October 2021), a $12 billion valuation in May 2022, a $12.6 billion secondary sale in early 2025, and a $300 million Series E at $17.3 billion (October 2025) led by Ribbit Capital with Andreessen Horowitz and Coatue. In November 2025 it hired former Intuit executive Joe Kauffman as CFO, a move widely read as IPO preparation.
Gusto
Gusto does not publish audited financials, but it has disclosed several milestones. CNBC reported more than $500 million of annualized revenue as of 2023. In May 2026 the company told TechCrunch it had surpassed $1 billion in revenue over the trailing twelve months, a recognized-revenue figure rather than ARR, that growth had accelerated for five consecutive quarters, and that it had been cash-flow positive for several years. Gusto has raised roughly $700 million in primary equity, including a $175 million Series E in 2021 at about $9.5 billion. A $200 million-plus employee tender offer led by Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan in June 2025 valued it at $9.3 billion, close to its early-2022 level. Its largest deal, the 2025 Guideline purchase, cost about $600 million according to TechCrunch sources.
Revenue and profit by year
Deel
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | $1.5B | — | 0.0% | +50.0% | Source |
| FY2025 | $1B | — | 0.0% | +25.0% | Source |
| FY2024 | $800M | — | 0.0% | — | Source |
| FY2022 | $295M | — | 0.0% | +417.5% | Source |
| FY2021 | $57M | — | 0.0% | — | Source |
Gusto
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | $1B | — | 0.0% | — | Source |
| FY2023 | $500M | — | 0.0% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
Deel
- Employer of Record (EOR) fees
Not disclosed
Monthly per-employee fees (list price from $599) for employing staff abroad through Deel's local entities.
- Contractor management subscriptions
Not disclosed
Monthly per-contractor fees (from $49) for contracts, compliance, and payouts; Deel Shield is priced on top.
- Global Payroll and HR modules
Not disclosed
Per-employee fees for payroll on clients' own entities, plus paid HR, immigration, and PEO services.
- Deel IT, payouts, and FX
Not disclosed
Equipment provisioning fees and income from currency conversion and worker payout products such as the Deel Card.
Gusto
- SaaS Platform Subscriptions & PEPM Fees
Not disclosed
Monthly base software fees plus per-employee-per-month (PEPM) charges paid by small business employers for automated payroll and HR tools.
- Benefits Brokerage, Workers' Comp & 401(k) Fees
Not disclosed
Recurring commissions and administrative fees earned from health insurance carriers, 401(k) retirement providers, and workers' compensation policies.
- Embedded Payroll API Licensing
Not disclosed
Revenue-sharing agreements and API licensing fees paid by vertical SaaS software providers integrating Gusto's payroll engine.
- Float Interest & Gusto Wallet Interchange
Not disclosed
Interest yield earned on custodial funds held in transit during payroll tax settlement cycles, plus debit card interchange fees.
Business model and strategy
Deel
How it makes money
Deel sells recurring, per-worker services. When a company wants to hire someone in a country where it has no legal entity, Deel's local entity becomes the Employer of Record: it signs the employment contract, runs payroll, withholds taxes, and provides statutory benefits, while the client directs the work and pays Deel one invoice.
Growth strategy
Deel is expanding from international hiring into running payroll and HR for a company's whole workforce. Levers include Global Payroll for clients' own entities (strengthened by buying Safeguard Global's enterprise payroll business in March 2025), domestic US payroll and PEO services, a free HRIS that pulls in small and mid-size companies, and acquisitions;
Competitive advantage
Deel's advantage is owned coverage plus product breadth. It operates its own entities and payroll capability in most of the countries it serves, so it can onboard workers quickly and control compliance instead of relaying work to local partners.
Gusto
How it makes money
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.
Growth strategy
Gusto grows by adding small business customers through accountants, partners and self-serve sign-up, then raising revenue per customer with benefits, workers' comp, HR tiers and 401(k) plans. The 2025 Guideline acquisition brought about 65,000 retirement plan customers and roughly $140M in ARR.
Competitive advantage
Gusto's edge is a self-serve product that a non-specialist owner can set up and run without an implementation team, backed by in-house payroll tax technology (it bought tax-engine maker Symmetry in 2021) that files federal, state and local payroll taxes automatically.
Questions about Deel vs Gusto
Which company has higher revenue — Deel, Inc. or Gusto (ZenPayroll, Inc.)?
Deel, Inc. reported $1.5B (FY2026), while Gusto (ZenPayroll, Inc.) reported $1.0B (FY2026). By last reported revenue, Deel, Inc. is the larger business, with Gusto (ZenPayroll, Inc.) reporting a smaller revenue base.
Which is more financially efficient — Deel, Inc. or Gusto (ZenPayroll, Inc.)?
Deel, Inc. generates $156k / employee in revenue per employee, while Gusto (ZenPayroll, Inc.) generates $313k / employee. Gusto (ZenPayroll, Inc.) shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do Deel, Inc. and Gusto (ZenPayroll, Inc.) make money?
Deel, Inc. and Gusto (ZenPayroll, Inc.) generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Deel, Inc.: Deel sells recurring, per-worker services. Gusto (ZenPayroll, Inc.): 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.
Is Deel, Inc. bigger than Gusto (ZenPayroll, Inc.)?
By last reported revenue, Deel, Inc. ($1.5B (FY2026)) is the larger company compared to Gusto (ZenPayroll, Inc.) ($1.0B (FY2026)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Deel vs Gusto overview