Switch to Gusto from Patriot Software (2026 Checklist)

Dad’s short answer

If price is the point, stay on Patriot; it’s cheaper. If you want time tracking, scheduling and next-day pay in one plan, Gusto is worth the extra.

Patriot is cheaper at list price. 5 people: $62/mo on Patriot Full Service vs $79 on Gusto Simple.⁶¹
Gusto adds tools. Plus bundles time tracking, scheduling and next-day pay; every plan files 1099s.¹²
Switch in January. Patriot isn't on Gusto's import list, but with a Q1 first payday there's almost nothing to type in.⁵

Provider	Best for	Starting price
Gusto	Most small teams that want payroll taxes filed for them, in one state (Simple) or several (Plus)	Simple $49/mo + $6/person; Plus $80/mo + $12/person¹
Patriot Software you	The lowest full-service price for teams of 2 or more	Full Service $37/mo + $5/worker; Basic $17 + $4 if you file taxes yourself⁶
QuickBooks Payroll	People already doing their books in QuickBooks	From $88/mo + $6.50/employee, bundled with Simple Start accounting⁸
Square Payroll	Shops and restaurants already on Square POS	$35/mo + $6/person; contractor-only $6/person⁹
OnPay	Teams in several states that want one flat rate	$49/mo + $6/person, multi-state included¹⁰

Starting list prices from each company’s pricing page, verified Oct 31, 2026. Add-ons and promos not included. Confirm on their site.

Start on Gusto’s website →

Goes through our referral page first. We earn a reward if you sign up; your price doesn’t change.

Who this is for

You run payroll on Patriot today. Gusto fits you if:

You want time tracking, scheduling and unlimited next-day pay in one plan (Gusto Plus).¹
You're a one-person S-corp. Gusto Solo includes a reasonable-salary calculator and a guided Form 2553.⁷ See our S-corp guide.
You want add-ons in the same login: remote I-9 ($20/submission), E-Verify, same-day or instant pay.¹
Gusto files 1099s as part of every plan.²

Why Gusto, compared with Patriot

Dad story

Picture a landscaping company in Ohio.

Five crew members on payroll.

Patriot Full Service Payroll: $37 a month plus $5 a worker. That's $62.⁶

Gusto Simple: $49 plus $6 a person. That's $79.¹

So the switch costs $17 a month.

Is it worth it? Depends what the $17 buys you.

Seventeen dollars buys a lot of mulch. Make sure it buys you something.

(Made-up business. Real prices, checked Oct 31, 2026.)

List prices from each company's own site, read on Oct 31, 2026. Promos and quotes vary.

	Patriot Software	Gusto
Published pricing	Basic Payroll $17/mo + $4 per worker. Full Service Payroll $37/mo + $5 per worker. (Regular prices; Patriot was advertising 30 days free + 50% off for 3 months.)⁶	Simple $49/mo + $6/mo per person. Plus $80/mo + $12/mo per person. Premium $180/mo + $22/mo per person.¹ Month-to-month, cancel anytime.¹
What's included	Free direct deposit, employee portal, unlimited payrolls. Full Service adds federal, state and local filings and deposits, plus 940, 941, W-2 and W-3 at no extra fee. Free setup help, including entering YTD payroll.⁶	Unlimited payroll runs, including off-cycle. Automatic federal, state and local payroll tax filings, including W-2s, 1099s, Form 940 and Form 941.²
Contractor payments	Pay 1099 contractors inside payroll, with a free contractor portal. 1099 e-filing is optional; nominal fees may apply.⁶	US contractors cost your plan's per-person rate, and only in months you pay them.¹ The contractor-only plan closed to new customers on Oct 1, 2026.³
State tax filings	Full Service files in your state. Each additional state is $12/month.⁶	Simple covers one state. Plus and Premium cover multiple states.² Registering in a new state is an add-on; price varies by state.¹
Switching into Gusto	Patriot offers free setup assistance for people switching to it.⁶ Going the other way, you export reports and Gusto takes it from there.	Not on Gusto's transfer-automation list, so you enter earlier payrolls in setup: quarter-to-date totals for past quarters plus this quarter's pay stubs.⁴⁵

Is the cheap plan really cheaper? Sometimes yes. Sometimes the add-ons and the hours eat the savings. Dad tells his own story, with a calculator you can change: The budget payroll option cost me more than I saved.

What it costs for your team

Change the numbers, or type in your last Patriot bill. Dad does the multiplication.

Your numbers

✓ Prices checked Oct 31, 2026

Current provider

What you pay now ($/mo, optional)

W-2 employees

Contractors paid / mo

States

List prices from each company’s own pricing page. Promos, add-ons and taxes not included. Quote-only providers show “quote only.” How we calculate

Start on Gusto’s website →

Goes through our referral page first. We earn a reward if you sign up; your price doesn’t change.

Where Patriot is genuinely better

Price. For a 5-person team, Patriot Full Service lists $62/month vs $79 for Gusto Simple. If you file your own taxes, Patriot Basic is $17 + $4 a worker.⁶
A second state is cheap. $12/month per extra state on Patriot.⁶ On Gusto, multi-state means moving up to Plus ($80 + $12/person).¹
USA-based phone, chat and email support, 9 a.m.–7 p.m. ET, Monday–Friday.⁶
It's simple. If payroll already runs fine and nobody complains, that's worth something.

Your Patriot-to-Gusto checklist

Do these in order. Grab a coffee. It's mostly downloading PDFs. Want to tick them off? Use the interactive switching checklist; it remembers your progress.

Company tax IDs. Your EIN, legal name exactly as the IRS has it, and whether you file Form 941 (quarterly) or 944. Pull your federal deposit schedule while you're in there.
State account numbers. State withholding account number, state unemployment (SUI) account number and current rate, and any local tax IDs. Patriot has these on file. Copy them before you cancel.
Year-to-date payroll. A YTD payroll register for every employee paid this year, including people who quit. Gross pay, taxable wages, withholding, deductions, check dates.
Prior quarter 941s and tax payments. Copies of every Form 941 and state quarterly return filed this year, plus proof of tax deposits. Gusto asks for YTD reports and documentation of this year's tax payments.²³
Employee W-4s and direct deposit. Each person's federal W-4 (and state form), pay rate, pay schedule, deductions, garnishments, PTO balances, and bank details.
Contractors. Names, W-9s, and what you've paid each one this year, so 1099s come out right.
Plan to type in earlier payrolls. Gusto asks for quarter-to-date totals from the last pay stub of each finished quarter, plus every pay stub from the current quarter. Include people who already left.⁵
Agree who files what. Only one provider can file a quarterly return for a given quarter. If both file, the second one gets rejected.²³ Get Patriot to confirm in writing which quarters it will file.
Run one payroll in Gusto, then cancel. Download every report and tax form from Patriot first. Once you lose access, those PDFs get hard to find.

Why the end of the year is the easiest time to switch

Gusto handles quarterly returns starting with the quarter of your first Gusto check date.²³ So the cleanest plan is a first Gusto payday in January 2027.

Patriot finishes 2026: the Q4 Form 941 and your 2026 W-2s. W-2s are due to employees and the SSA by February 1, 2027.²⁴ Get Patriot to confirm in writing that it's filing them.
Gusto starts 2027 with a clean slate. With a first check date in Q1, Gusto's list is just the pay stubs from the current quarter.⁵ Start in January and that's close to nothing.
Any other quarter works too. You'll just be entering more history.

If you sign up through our link by Jan 31, 2027 and run a paid payroll, Gusto's referral terms say you get a $100 Visa gift card. We get a referral reward too.²⁵

FAQ: Patriot to Gusto

Is Gusto more expensive than Patriot?

Usually, yes. At list prices, 5 people cost $62/month on Patriot Full Service and $79/month on Gusto Simple.⁶ Check both pricing pages before you decide; promos change.

Can Gusto import my Patriot payroll history automatically?

Gusto's transfer automation lists QuickBooks, ADP Run and Paychex, not Patriot.⁴ You'll enter earlier payrolls during setup: quarter-to-date totals for finished quarters and this quarter's pay stubs.

When is the best time to leave Patriot?

Make your first Gusto check date January 2027. Patriot files Q4 and your 2026 W-2s, and Gusto starts the year clean. Get Patriot to confirm in writing which forms it's filing.

Is the budget plan actually cheaper once you count my time?

Sometimes. It depends on add-ons, how many states and contractors you have, and how long payroll takes you. Dad's real-cost guide has a calculator where you plug in your own hours and hourly value.

Do I lose my Patriot reports when I cancel?

Download the YTD payroll register, quarterly 941s, state returns and W-2s before you cancel. Don't count on access afterward.

Sources, checked Oct 31, 2026

Every number on this page comes from one of these pages. Prices change; if a vendor updates its page, theirs wins.