Comparison

MyCo vs Gusto: An Honest Comparison for US SMBs in 2026

Gusto and MyCo both serve US small businesses, but they were built for very different workforces. If your team works at a desk all day, Gusto is excellent. If your team is in the field, on the floor, or behind a counter, MyCo solves problems Gusto can't.

The core difference in one sentence

Gusto is payroll-first, designed for office workers with email addresses. MyCo is mobile-first, designed for hourly and deskless workers who clock in from a phone.

Where Gusto wins

• Pure payroll experience. Gusto's payroll workflow is best-in-class for salaried W-2 employees.
• Health benefits. Gusto's brokerage and benefits administration are deep.
• Accountant integrations. Tight QuickBooks and Xero sync.

Where MyCo wins

• Face-scan attendance. Gusto has none. MyCo's biometric clock-in works offline, blocks buddy-punching, and stamps GPS location for field teams.
• One app for everything. MyCo combines payroll + HR + CRM + task management + team chat. Gusto only does HR/payroll.
• Mobile-first for frontline workers. 80% of MyCo usage happens on the phone. Hourly workers don't have laptops — they have phones.
• Lead capture + sales CRM. Built in. Gusto requires a separate tool (HubSpot, Salesforce).
• Field GPS tracking. Geo-fenced check-ins, route playback, dispatch. Gusto can't do this.
• Lower total cost. Gusto + Hubstaff + HubSpot + Slack = $80–120/user/month. MyCo is closer to $15–30/user/month all-in.

Who should pick Gusto

You have a 5–50 person office team, everyone has email, you only need payroll + benefits, and you're willing to stack other tools for tasks, CRM, and communication.

Who should pick MyCo

You have hourly workers, field teams, multi-shift operations, or a mix of W-2 and 1099 contractors. You want one app instead of five tools. You need attendance you can trust without a punch clock on every job site.

The honest tradeoff

Gusto is more polished if all you need is payroll for office workers. MyCo is more powerful and cheaper if you have a real-world workforce — but the UI is denser because it does more. Most SMBs over 30 employees end up needing what MyCo includes by default.

Try both

Both offer free trials. MyCo gives you 3 months free with full feature access — long enough to actually test it on your real team. Book a 20-minute MyCo demo and we'll show you exactly where Gusto falls short for your specific workflow.