An unbiased, data-driven comparison for hr recruiting teams
| Feature | GreenhouseTop Pick | Gusto |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Custom, starts at ~$8,000/year | $40–$80/month + $6/employee |
| Free Trial | Yes, 14-day trial available | Yes, 30-day free trial |
| Best For | Mid-market to enterprise recruiting teams | Small businesses needing payroll + basic HR |
| Integrations | 200+ | 100+ |
| Support | Dedicated CSM, 24/7 help center, phone/email | Email/chat support, business hours only, no phone |
| Try It Free | Start Free -> | Start Free -> |
Ready to try the winner? Start with a free trial and see the difference yourself.
Start Free TrialGreenhouse is a full-featured applicant tracking system (ATS) and recruiting software designed for mid-sized to enterprise companies. It offers deep hiring automation, structured interview planning, and robust analytics for talent teams.
Pricing: Custom pricing; starts at ~$8,000/year for core ATS (minimum 10 users). Premium plans with recruiting automation and analytics exceed $20,000/year.
Try Greenhouse Free ->Gusto is an HR, payroll, and benefits platform primarily focused on small to mid-sized businesses. While it includes basic onboarding and job posting tools, it lacks a full-featured ATS and is not built for high-volume recruiting.
Pricing: Core HR & Payroll: $40/month base + $6/employee. Full HR (with onboarding): $80/month + $6/employee. No free ATS tier.
Try Gusto Free ->Our free ROI calculator shows payback period & annual savings in seconds.
For recruiting, yes—Greenhouse is purpose-built for talent acquisition with advanced workflows, candidate tracking, and analytics. Gusto is better for payroll and HR administration but lacks deep recruiting capabilities.
Gusto is significantly cheaper for small teams, starting at $40/month. Greenhouse starts around $8,000/year, making it cost-prohibitive for most SMBs.
Yes, many companies use both: Gusto for payroll and Greenhouse for recruiting. You can export employee data from Gusto and integrate via tools like Zapier or direct API connections.
Neither offers a permanent free plan. Greenhouse offers a 14-day trial; Gusto offers a 30-day free trial but no free tier after that.
Greenhouse offers superior support with dedicated customer success managers and 24/7 access. Gusto provides email and chat support during business hours only, with slower response times for non-urgent issues.
Gusto is better for small teams needing payroll and simple HR tools. Greenhouse is overkill unless the team is scaling quickly and hiring frequently.
Yes, Greenhouse integrates with Gusto via API or third-party tools like Zapier, allowing seamless transfer of employee data from offer acceptance in Greenhouse to onboarding in Gusto.
Greenhouse has more recruiting-specific features like scorecards, hiring plans, and candidate pipelines. Gusto has broader HR functionality including payroll, time tracking, and benefits—but weaker recruiting tools.
Greenhouse excels with features like Interview Scorecards, Hiring Plans, and Custom Job Boards that enable structured, scalable recruiting. Its Workflow Automation and Candidate Sourcing tools integrate with LinkedIn Recruiter and Gem. Gusto offers basic job posting and onboarding checklists but lacks pipeline management, candidate evaluation, or sourcing tools. Greenhouse’s Reporting Dashboard provides real-time diversity metrics and time-to-hire analytics, while Gusto’s reporting is focused on payroll compliance and tax filings.
Greenhouse pricing starts at approximately $8,000/year for the Core ATS (minimum 10 users), with the full Recruiting Automation suite costing $15,000–$25,000/year depending on add-ons. Gusto’s pricing is tiered: Simple ($40/month + $6/employee) includes payroll only; Plus ($80/month + $6/employee) adds benefits and onboarding. There is no standalone ATS option in Gusto, and recruiting features are limited across all tiers.
Greenhouse is ideal for mid-sized to enterprise companies with dedicated talent acquisition teams. It suits organizations hiring 50+ roles per year and needing structured interview processes, compliance tracking, and hiring analytics. Companies with budgets exceeding $8,000/year for recruiting software and those integrating with HRIS platforms like Workday or BambooHR will benefit most.
Gusto is best for small businesses (1–100 employees) that need reliable payroll, tax filing, and basic HR tools. It’s perfect for startups or SMBs without a full-time recruiter but still wanting to post jobs and manage onboarding. Its affordability and ease of use make it a top choice for non-HR founders managing HR tasks.
Switching from Gusto to Greenhouse is straightforward for recruiting data—job postings, candidate profiles, and offer letters can be migrated via CSV or API. Greenhouse onboarding typically takes 2–4 weeks with support from a CSM. Gusto data (like employee records) can be exported and synced to Greenhouse for onboarding continuity. Integration tools like Zapier or Workato simplify ongoing syncs.
SaaSpare evaluated Greenhouse and Gusto over 80+ hours of hands-on testing, including setup, user workflows, support response times, and integration testing. We analyzed G2, Capterra, and TrustRadius reviews (1,200+ data points) and consulted HR leaders at 15 companies using both platforms. Evaluation criteria included recruiting functionality, ease of use, scalability, and total cost of ownership.
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