# Gusto vs Paycor: which do AI models recommend for payroll software, September 2026

HR AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition, Payroll software. Zero of twelve models named Gusto first on the direct prompt; zero named Paycor. Page: https://hr-ai-index.com/core/payroll-software/gusto-vs-paycor/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gusto | 4% | #6 of 13 | 13% | 45 | 12 of 12 |
| Paycor | 4% | #8 of 13 | 17% | 12 | 8 of 12 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- Claude Haiku 4.5: neither first, one named (first choices: Rippling) (alternatives: Paycor, Paylocity)
- Mistral Small: neither first, one named (first choices: Paycom) (alternatives: ADP, Gusto, Paylocity, Rippling)
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: ADP, Rippling) (alternatives: BambooHR, Gusto, Zenefits)
- Kimi K2: neither first, one named (first choices: Rippling) (alternatives: ADP Workforce Now, Gusto, Paycom)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: neither first, one named (first choices: Paylocity, Rippling) (alternatives: ADP Workforce Now, Paycor, UKG Pro, Workday)
- GPT-5.4 mini: neither named (first choices: Rippling) (alternatives: ADP Global Payroll, ADP Workforce Now / ADP Full Service Payroll, Deel, Paycom)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: neither named (first choices: Rippling) (alternatives: ADP Workforce Now, Deel, Paylocity)
- Perplexity Sonar: neither named (first choices: Paylocity, Rippling) (alternatives: ADP Workforce Now, Paycom)
- Grok 4.1 Fast: neither named (first choices: Paylocity, Rippling) (alternatives: ADP Workforce Now, Paycom)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: neither named (first choices: Paylocity) (alternatives: ADP Workforce Now, Paycom, Rippling, UKG Pro)
- Llama 4 Maverick: neither named
- MiniMax M2.5: neither named (first choices: ADP Workforce Now, Paylocity) (alternatives: Rippling, UKG Pro)

## What the models said about Gusto

- "Gusto is the most popular all\u2011round choice for small businesses, offering a polished employee experience and built\u2011in HR/benefits." (GLM 4.7 FlashX, comparative prompt, first choice)
- "the platforms that most consistently earn positive feedback on simplicity and transparent pricing are Gusto (for small businesses)" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, negative prompt, first choice)

## What the models said about Paycor

- "Poor customer support as the top complaint ... Unexpected hidden fees and price increases." (GLM 4.7 FlashX, negative prompt, hard negative)
- "Paycor - Paycor is an HCM software provider designed for mid-market and enterprise organizations" (Claude Haiku 4.5, paraphrase prompt, first choice)

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all twelve models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category. Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category. Published under CC BY 4.0; the output is the models' output, and nothing here is a recommendation by the index.