Gusto drops Contractor Only plan, adds $85 Business Compliance add-on
What happened
Between the Sep 28, 2026 and Oct 5, 2026 captures of Gusto's pricing page, Pulse recorded 5 changes: Plan taglines rewritten; Plus adds contractor invoice management; Premium bullets replaced (Dedicated Service Advisor etc. to Premium Account Support, GBC, project costing, 25 invoice payments); Contractor Only plan ($35/mo + $6/mo per person, with a limited-time $0/mo base for the first 6 months) removed from the Pay My Team tab; FAQ mention of the plan also dropped; New Gusto Business Complian. In detail: New Gusto Business Compliance add-on: $85/mo per state on an annual contract, included in Premium, available on Simple and Plus; Performance add-on ($3/mo per person: reviews, real-time feedback, goals, surveys; Simple plan) removed from the add-ons section; New Remote I-9 ($20/submission) and E-Verify ($5/submission, on top of Remote I-9) add-ons, included on Premium, available on Simple and Plus. Pulse files it as a packaging change (feature change, new add-on, add-on removed, plan removed) with an upward direction. Pulse's latest capture (Oct 12, 2026) lists Simple at $6, Solo at $6, Plus at $80, Premium at $180 and Tax-Advantaged Benefits at $200 per year.
It lands 7 days after Gusto's previous change, "Gusto launches limited-time free Contractor Only plan for 1099-only teams" (Sep 28, 2026). Before that Pulse recorded "Gusto re-gates custom admin roles to Premium, bundles Next-Day pay into Plus and Premium" (Sep 7, 2026). Gusto has been tracked since 2024-10-01.
In the same window Paychex and BambooHR also changed their Workforce Management pricing pages. Those moves are listed further down, and the Pulse Agent can compare them side by side.
- Plus, Premium · FeatureAdded
BeforeNo contractor invoice management
Aftercontractor invoice management
- Gusto Business Compliance, Premium, Simple · Add-onNew add-on
New Gusto Business Compliance add-on: $85/mo per state on an annual contract, included in Premium, available on Simple and Plus.
- Simple · Add-onAdd-on removed
Performance add-on ($3/mo per person: reviews, real-time feedback, goals, surveys; Simple plan) removed from the add-ons section.
- Contractor Only · PlanRemoved
BeforeFAQ mention of the plan
AfterNo FAQ mention of the plan
- Remote I-9, E-Verify, Premium · Add-onNew add-on
New Remote I-9 ($20/submission) and E-Verify ($5/submission, on top of Remote I-9) add-ons, included on Premium, available on Simple and Plus.
| Plan | Field | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plus, Premium | Feature | No contractor invoice management | contractor invoice management | Added |
| Gusto Business Compliance, Premium, Simple | Add-on | New Gusto Business Compliance add-on: $85/mo per state on an annual contract, included in Premium, available on Simple and Plus. | New add-on | |
| Simple | Add-on | Performance add-on ($3/mo per person: reviews, real-time feedback, goals, surveys; Simple plan) removed from the add-ons section. | Add-on removed | |
| Contractor Only | Plan | FAQ mention of the plan | No FAQ mention of the plan | Removed |
| Remote I-9, E-Verify, Premium | Add-on | New Remote I-9 ($20/submission) and E-Verify ($5/submission, on top of Remote I-9) add-ons, included on Premium, available on Simple and Plus. | New add-on | |
Values as written on Gusto's public pricing page in the two captures Pulse compared; where the page states no number, the cells give the wording before and after.
Evidence
The two captures Pulse comparedFull-page captures of Gusto's pricing page (gusto.com) from Sep 28, 2026 and Oct 5, 2026; the change is marked near the top of the page, where contractor invoice management now appears.
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Gusto, the last 90 days
Full history- Oct 12, 2026packagingGusto launches HR Partners add-on with fractional compliance support
- Oct 5, 2026improvedGusto drops Contractor Only plan, adds $85 Business Compliance add-on · this change
- Sep 28, 2026packagingGusto launches limited-time free Contractor Only plan for 1099-only teams
- Sep 7, 2026packagingGusto re-gates custom admin roles to Premium, bundles Next-Day pay into Plus and Premium
Across Workforce Management in the same window
All Workforce Management changes- PaychexOct 19Paychex offers 6 months free, no payments until April 2027, through Oct. 31
- BambooHRJul 6BambooHR renames EOR add-on to Global Employment, swaps in Contractor Management
- BambooHRJul 3BambooHR: On-Demand Pay, Recognition & Rewards, Shift Scheduling added
- PaychexJun 2Paychex rebrands Select plan, strips feature lists from Pro tier
- BambooHRApr 27BambooHR Adds Shift Scheduling to Revamped Time & Attendance
Questions about this change
Did Gusto raise prices in October 2026?
No list-price increase was recorded between Sep 28, 2026 and Oct 5, 2026. The change Pulse detected was a packaging change: feature change, new add-on, add-on removed, plan removed.
What changed on Gusto's pricing page between Sep 28, 2026 and Oct 5, 2026?
Plus, Premium feature: No contractor invoice management → contractor invoice management, added; New Gusto Business Compliance add-on: $85/mo per state on an annual contract, included in Premium, available on Simple and Plus; Performance add-on ($3/mo per person: reviews, real-time feedback, goals, surveys; Simple plan) removed from the add-ons section; Contractor Only plan: FAQ mention of the plan → No FAQ mention of the plan, removed; New Remote I-9 ($20/submission) and E-Verify ($5/submission, on top of Remote I-9) add-ons, included on Premium, available on Simple and Plus. Pulse compared the captures it took on Sep 28, 2026 and Oct 5, 2026; the before/after table above lists each item as written on the page.
How often does Gusto change its pricing?
Pulse recorded 2 other pricing-page changes for Gusto in the 90 days before this one; the previous change was "Gusto launches limited-time free Contractor Only plan for 1099-only teams" on Sep 28, 2026; Gusto has been tracked since 2024-10-01.