Gusto vs Tellent Pricing (2026)
Compare / Gusto vs Tellent
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Team size
25 seats

Gusto vs Tellent

HR/HRIS pricing comparison · 2026

Gusto costs $49–$180/mo, while Tellent is quote-based.

Visit
See pricing on each vendor's site
Above-the-fold path — each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
Visit Gusto pricing
Discount programs →
Affiliate partner — does not affect ranking.
Visit Tellent pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Affiliate partner — does not affect ranking.
Compare
2 products · HR/HRIS
Side-by-side · live
Gusto
Gusto is an all-in-one payroll, benefits, and HR platform designed for small businesses.
verified 1d ago
View pricing →
Tellent
Tellent is The People Decision Platform, offering modular HR software for recruitment, peo
verified 2d ago
View pricing →
Estimated license cost
at 25 seats
List price × seats. Click a tier below to lock it.
Plus
$960/yr
year 1 license · flat plan price
Pricing model unknown
Pricing model unknown
no public list price found
What buyers actually pay
median, annual
Vendr deal-flow data. The real benchmark, not list price.
Median annual
$1.4K/yr
Vendr · n=62
No Vendr data
—
Not in Vendr's deal flow
REF · 01

Sources & confidence

Every dollar amount and contract clause below traces back to a sourced fact. We don't manufacture composite scores.

Where this data comes from
Vendr · TrustRadius · Reddit · BBB · official docs
Sources 25 sourced facts
21 hidden-cost · 1 contract · Vendr median · 2 review platforms
Last verified 1d ago
Confidence High confidence
Sources 49 sourced facts
45 hidden-cost · 3 contract · 1 review platform
Last verified 2d ago
Confidence Medium confidence
REF · 02

Plans at a glance

Every tier per product. Lock one to drive the cost row above and reveal a tier-specific outbound CTA.

Tier ladder
Click a tier to lock the cost row to it. Locking surfaces a tier-specific Visit CTA.
REF · 03

Hidden costs

Each cost is severity-ranked, with the dollar range quoted from its source (Vendr, Reddit, TrustRadius, BBB, official docs) — never our estimate.

Beyond the sticker
Severity-ranked, sourced
5 documented
  • Add-on service costs
    10-20% of license costs
    2 sources
  • Per-Employee Costs Scale Quickly
    $6-$12/user/month
    1 source
  • Additional Software Needed for Full Functionality
    $20-$50/month
    2 sources
  • Complex Contractor Payroll Processing
    2-5 hours/month
    1 source
  • Limited Customer Service Access
    $0/user/month
    3 sources
5 documented
  • Additional Job Slot Fees
    $827
    1 source
  • Forced Upgrade to Higher Plan Tier for Small Teams
    15-40% of license costs
    3 sources
  • No Subscription Pause — Permanent Data Loss on Cancellation
    5-15% of license costs
    2 sources
  • No Refunds for Unused Service
    $111-$371
    1 source
  • Data Loss Risk on Cancellation
    5-15% of license costs
    4 sources
REF · 04

Contract terms

The fine print, surfaced. Green = buyer-friendly. Each clause backed by a quoted source.

Gusto
Tellent
Auto-renewal
Yes
Yes
Cancellation
—
Not clearly published; users report difficulty canceling before the next billing cycle and being billed after receiving cancellation confirmation
Commitment
—
Annual
Price escalation
—
Significant mid-contract price increases reported — at least one user reported a 100% price increase applied without any advance notice or email
Can downgrade
—
No
Based on 4 verified sources (Vendr · TrustRadius · BBB)
REF · 05

What users say

Aggregated, with sample sizes. We use whichever review platform has data.

User reviews
TrustRadius · Trustpilot · G2
TrustRadius
10out of 5 (6)
Trustpilot
1.2out of 5 (20)
Best for
Small businesses needing single-state payroll with basic HR
Watch out
Customer service is unresponsive and fails to resolve serious payroll and tax issues
Trustpilot
1.2out of 5 (23)
Best for
Early-stage teams building their hiring foundation
Watch out
Price increases applied without advance notice, including reported doublings of monthly payments
Decide
Get a quote from each vendor
Each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
Visit Gusto pricing
Discount programs →
Affiliate partner — does not affect ranking.
Visit Tellent pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Affiliate partner — does not affect ranking.
License cost is computed from publicly listed plans (real math, list price × seats). Median annual cost is from Vendr's deal flow when available — see source badges. Hidden costs and contract terms each cite their own sources. We do not invent composite scores.
HR/HRIS

Gusto

$49–$180
/mo
4 plans
Full pricing breakdown →
VS
HR/HRIS

Tellent

Custom pricing
3 plans
Full pricing breakdown →

Gusto and Tellent both operate in the hr/hris category. This page compares their list pricing.

Plan-by-Plan Pricing

Plan Gusto Tellent
Simple $49 /month Custom
Plus $80 /month Custom
Premium $180 /month Custom
Solo $49 /month —

What Users Say

Gusto

Trustpilot
1.2out of 5 (20)
TrustRadius
10out of 10 (6)
Top complaints
  • Customer service is unresponsive and fails to resolve serious payroll and tax issues
  • Tax filing errors result in IRS and state agency penalties that customers must absorb
  • Benefits administration failures — canceled coverage, duplicate deductions, unresolved transitions

Tellent

Trustpilot
1.2out of 5 (23)
Top complaints
  • Price increases applied without advance notice, including reported doublings of monthly payments
  • Impossible to reach human customer support — no phone line, tickets go unanswered for days
  • Platform quality declined significantly after Recruitee and KiwiHR were acquired by Tellent

Hidden Costs

Beyond the sticker price — what catches buyers off guard.

Gusto 12 hidden costs

medium
Add-on service costs 10-20% of license costs
medium
Per-Employee Costs Scale Quickly $6-$12/user/month
low
Additional Software Needed for Full Functionality $20-$50/month
low
Complex Contractor Payroll Processing 2-5 hours/month
medium
Limited Customer Service Access $0/user/month
See all Gusto hidden costs →

Tellent 20 hidden costs

high
Additional Job Slot Fees $827 (source dated Dec 2021)
high
Forced Upgrade to Higher Plan Tier for Small Teams 15-40% of license costs
critical
No Subscription Pause — Permanent Data Loss on Cancellation 5-15% of license costs
medium
No Refunds for Unused Service $111-$371
critical
Data Loss Risk on Cancellation 5-15% of license costs
See all Tellent hidden costs →

Contract Terms

Term Gusto Tellent
Auto-renewal Yes Yes
Cancellation — Not clearly published; users report difficulty canceling before the next billing cycle and being billed after receiving cancellation confirmation
Minimum commitment — Annual
Price escalation — Significant mid-contract price increases reported — at least one user reported a 100% price increase applied without any advance notice or email
Can downgrade — No

Continue researching

Gusto

Tellent

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