The Gusto alternative you own outright
Gusto handles payroll well, and it charges per employee per month for a system that sits apart from how your people actually work. Some of it is worth keeping, and some of it belongs in a system you own.
What renting Gusto really costs
- Per-employee pricing every month, whether or not features are used.
- Onboarding, time, and documents split across separate paid modules.
- HR and people data held apart from your operations.
Gusto vs ZAM: side by side
| Gusto | ZAM, owned | |
|---|---|---|
| How you pay | Per employee / month | One-time build, hosting at cost |
| HR & payroll | Yes, their way | Yes, shaped to how you work |
| Connected to the rest of the business | Through integrations | Same system, same records |
| Who owns the data | Held on their platform | You, in your own accounts |
| Cost as the team grows | Rises with seats or usage | A new login |
| Live on day one | Sign up and start | A scoped build first |
What we build instead
We build the operational side of people, onboarding, time, scheduling, documents, and approvals, into the system you own and connected to the work, while the regulated payroll run stays where it belongs.
When to keep Gusto
Keep a compliant payroll and tax-filing provider, that is genuinely specialist work. What you can own is the HR and people operations wrapped around it.
How switching from Gusto works
- List what you use: We go through Gusto with you and list the data, the steps and the automations you actually rely on.
- Build it into one system: We rebuild those parts around how your team works, connected to the rest of the business.
- Run both side by side: The new system runs next to the old one on real work until your team is happy with it.
- Move the data, then cancel: Your records move across with their history, and only then do you cancel Gusto.
Other tools we replace
- GoHighLevel alternative
- Jobber alternative
- ServiceTitan alternative
- DocuSign alternative
- Calendly alternative
- Zapier alternative
- Monday.com alternative
- HubSpot alternative
- Typeform alternative
- Zendesk alternative
- Mailchimp alternative
- Salesforce alternative
- Asana alternative
- Slack alternative
- Notion alternative
- QuickBooks alternative
- Intercom alternative
- Dropbox alternative
- All alternatives
Frequently asked questions
- What is the best Gusto alternative?
- It depends on why you are leaving. If you only want a cheaper version of the same thing, another subscription will do. If you are tired of renting hr & payroll that sits apart from the rest of the business, the alternative is owning it: ZAM builds it into one operating system you own outright.
- Can I move my data out of Gusto?
- Yes. We export what Gusto lets you export, import it with its history, and rebuild the automations around it. The old system stays on until the new one is proven.
- How much does it cost to replace Gusto with ZAM?
- ZAM Builds: $1,000 to $14,000, fixed price, one payment. ZAM Systems: $2,000 to $12,000, one-time, plus hosting at cost. Hosting is at cost and there is nothing to renew. The free SaaS teardown shows what you pay today.
- When should I keep Gusto?
- Keep a compliant payroll and tax-filing provider, that is genuinely specialist work. What you can own is the HR and people operations wrapped around it.