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

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

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paylocity | 17% | #3 of 13 | 29% | 35 | 11 of 12 |
| Gusto | 4% | #6 of 13 | 13% | 45 | 12 of 12 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

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

## What the models said about Paylocity

- "here are the platforms you should be cautious about and why:

### 1. Paylocity ... claim the software causes significant errors in payroll processing" (Qwen 3.7 Flash, negative prompt, hard negative)
- "multiple user discussions describe poor support and technical issues, so it is a candidate for extra due diligence" (Perplexity Sonar, negative prompt, hard negative)

## 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)

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.