PeopleMuster vs Gusto
Gusto is payroll first. PeopleMuster is built for the rest of the working week: attendance, leave, timesheets, capacity and client projects in one database. It costs $3 per person a month with no base fee, where Gusto starts at $49 a month plus $6 a person. For a team running client work, PeopleMuster is the clear pick.
What each one costs
| Product | Price | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Gusto Simple | $49 a month + $6 per person | single-state payroll |
| Gusto Plus | $80 a month + $12 per person | multi-state payroll from this tier up |
| Gusto Premium | $180 a month + $22 per person | the top published tier |
| PeopleMuster | $3 | per person / month, no base fee, every module included |
Gusto figures verified on gusto.com/pricing on 22 September 2026. Each tier is a base fee every month plus a per-person fee, and both rise with the tier.
Why teams choose PeopleMuster
- No base fee. Three dollars per person is the whole bill, so ten people cost thirty dollars a month, less than Gusto's base fee alone.
- Attendance goes deep. Punches from a fingerprint terminal or browser check-in, an on-time rate, late minutes per person, a partial-day state and a working-hours histogram.
- Gusto does not run client projects. PeopleMuster does: timesheets by project with approvals, project health scores and client records with local times.
- A capacity grid by person and day, with approved leave and holidays removed, and utilisation reporting you can post into Slack.
- Meeting transcripts from Fireflies file against the right project, with admin-only risk signals from a prompt an admin can edit.
- Sign-in is passwordless: a one-time code to the work email, behind bot protection.
Questions people ask
Could Gusto and PeopleMuster run together?
Yes. Gusto for pay, and PeopleMuster for attendance, leave, timesheets and client projects. Each does the job it was built for.
Which is cheaper for ten people?
Ten people here cost thirty dollars a month, with every module included. On Gusto Simple, the same ten pay the $49 base plus $6 each.
What does a small team get for $3 a head?
Attendance, leave, timesheets, the capacity grid, client projects, a directory and org chart, and an IT asset register. Every live module, with no tier above it.