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Index › Core HR and payroll › HRIS and HCM platforms › Paylocity vs Gusto
HRIS and HCM platforms · October 2026 Edition

Paylocity vs Gusto

Two of fourteen models named Paylocity first on the direct prompt; zero named Gusto. Paylocity was named by thirteen of the fourteen models and Gusto by thirteen and Paylocity carries 25 labels and Gusto 34, so the shares are not directly comparable.

Paylocity

accepted challenger

Named in twenty categories this edition.

Gusto

accepted challenger

Named in twenty-four categories this edition.

First-choice share6%4%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate8%24%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#6#7A position in a field of 13; printed, not drawn.
Labels2534A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Paylocity reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Rippling was named alongside these two in eleven of the fourteen direct answers. Rippling vs Paylocity · Rippling vs Gusto · Zoho People vs Paylocity

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the HRIS and HCM platforms page.

By framing

How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
PaylocityFirst choices, of fourteen modelsGusto
Direct201 against Gusto
Paraphrase10
Comparative00
Budget-constrained021 against Gusto
Scale-constrained002 against Gusto
Negative002 against Paylocity · 4 against Gusto
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.

Every model, every framing

The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Paylocity and Gusto stood in it.
ModelDirectParaphraseComparativeBudget-constrainedScale-constrainedNegative
Claude Haiku 4.5
GPT-5.4 mini
Gemini 3.5 Flash
Perplexity Sonar
Grok 4.1 Fast
Mistral Small
DeepSeek V4 Flash
Llama 4 Maverick
Qwen 3.7 Flash
Kimi K2
GLM 4.7 FlashX
MiniMax M2.5
GPT-6 Luna
Muse Glimmer 30B
Paylocity Gusto first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Paylocity on the left and Gusto on the right.

The direct prompt

The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Paylocity and Gusto stood in it.

Paylocity first, Gusto not the choice

2 of 14 modelsGusto was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.
Claude Haiku 4.5HiBob's Bob, Paylocity alternatives: BambooHR, Rippling
Mistral SmallPaylocity, Workday HCM alternatives: ADP Workforce Now

Neither was the first choice, one was named

8 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.
Gemini 3.5 FlashRippling alternatives: ADP Workforce Now, BambooHR, HiBob, Paylocity
Perplexity SonarRippling alternatives: HiBob, Paylocity
Grok 4.1 FastRippling alternatives: ADP Workforce Now, BambooHR, HiBob, Paylocity
DeepSeek V4 FlashRippling alternatives: ADP Workforce Now, BambooHR, HiBob, Paylocity
Qwen 3.7 FlashHiBob, Rippling alternatives: BambooHR, Paylocity
Kimi K2Rippling alternatives: BambooHR, HiBob, Paylocity
GLM 4.7 FlashXHiBob, Rippling alternatives: BambooHR, Paylocity
Muse Glimmer 30BADP Workforce Now alternatives: BambooHR, HiBob, Paylocity, Rippling

Neither was named

4 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.
GPT-5.4 miniRippling alternatives: BambooHR, HiBob
Llama 4 Maverickno first choice
MiniMax M2.5BambooHR, HiBob
GPT-6 LunaRippling alternatives: ADP Workforce Now, HiBob, UKG Ready

Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.

By buyer segment

The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Gusto leads by thirty-two points.
Gusto32%#1 of 10
Paylocity0%#– of 10
The full small business standing →
Mid-marketThe figures above
The order flips: Paylocity leads at mid-market.
Paylocity6%#6 of 13
Gusto4%#7 of 13
The full mid-market standing →
Enterprise
Level: the same share of first choices.
Paylocity0%#– of 9
Gusto0%#– of 9
The full enterprise standing →

What the models said about Paylocity

No label in this category carried a quote.

What the models said about Gusto

No label in this category carried a quote.

Also compared
Rippling vs PaylocityRippling vs GustoZoho People vs PaylocityZoho People vs GustoHiBob vs PaylocityHiBob vs GustoBambooHR vs PaylocityBambooHR vs GustoADP Workforce Now vs PaylocityADP Workforce Now vs GustoPaylocity vs UKG ProGusto vs UKG ProAll twenty-eight head-to-head pages and the full HRIS and HCM platforms standing

Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.