Gusto

Best Self Hosted Alternatives to Gusto

A curated collection of the 2 best self hosted alternatives to Gusto.

Cloud HR, payroll and benefits platform for small and midsize businesses that automates payroll processing and tax filings, manages employee onboarding and time tracking, administers benefits, and provides compliance and reporting tools.

Alternatives List

#1
Frappe HR

Frappe HR

Open-source HR management and payroll software with employee lifecycle, leave and attendance tracking, performance reviews, and employee self-service portal.

Frappe HR screenshot

Frappe HR is an open-source HRMS and payroll application for managing the employee lifecycle, attendance, leave, expenses, performance, and payroll. Built on the Frappe Framework, it is designed to be modular, customizable, and suitable for both small teams and larger multi-company organizations.

Key Features

  • Employee lifecycle management (onboarding, transfers, promotions, exits)
  • Leave, holiday policies, and attendance with check-in/out and reporting
  • Payroll and taxation with salary structures, payslips, and off-cycle payments
  • Expense claims and advances with multi-level approval workflows
  • Performance management with goals, KRAs, and appraisal cycles
  • Employee self-service portal for profiles, leaves, timesheets, and payslips
  • Custom fields, forms, workflows, and permissions with strong role-based access
  • Integrations via REST APIs and webhook support; seamless integration with ERPNext

Use Cases

  • Centralize HR operations for SMBs with leave, attendance, and payroll
  • Run HR and payroll for distributed or hybrid teams with self-service access
  • Build customized HR workflows and approvals aligned to internal policies

Limitations and Considerations

  • Many features and integrations assume the broader Frappe/ERPNext ecosystem, which may add operational complexity for small deployments

Frappe HR is a comprehensive, extensible HR and payroll solution for organizations that want full control over HR data and workflows. Its modular design and strong customization options make it a practical choice for teams that plan to evolve their HR processes over time.

7.1kstars
1.9kforks
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#2
MintHCM

MintHCM

MintHCM is an open-source HCM platform delivering recruitment, onboarding, time & leave management, employee profiles, performance, analytics, and API integrations.

MintHCM screenshot

MintHCM is a free, open-source Human Capital Management (HCM) system built on the SuiteCRM/SugarCRM lineage. It provides core HR functionality across the employee lifecycle and adds AI-enabled capabilities and mobile access for HR teams.

Key Features

  • Recruitment management including job descriptions and applicant tracking
  • Onboarding and offboarding workflows, employment history tracking
  • Time management, calendars, leave and absence management
  • Employee profiles, competencies, skills and performance evaluations
  • Travel & expenses, resources booking, and workplace management modules
  • Role-based access control and granular permissions for administrators
  • Analytics and reporting dashboards for HR metrics
  • REST API compatible with SuiteCRM-style integrations and extensibility
  • Full-text search powered by Elasticsearch and multilingual support
  • Native iOS/Android mobile apps and a web UI built with Vue/JavaScript

Use Cases

  • Small to medium organizations that need a self-hosted HR system to manage recruitment, onboarding and time off
  • HR teams requiring consolidated employee records, competency tracking and performance evaluations
  • Companies that want extensible HR software with API access for integrations (payroll, ERP, SSO)

Limitations and Considerations

  • Does not include payroll processing; payroll must be integrated from external systems
  • Server requirements include PHP 8.x, an SQL database (MySQL/MariaDB) and Elasticsearch; setup may require infrastructure work
  • Community support is primary for the open-source edition; commercial implementation services are available separately

MintHCM is suitable for organizations that want a customizable, self-hosted HR platform with modern web and mobile clients and API-first integration capabilities.

281stars
62forks
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Why choose an open source alternative?

  • •Data ownership: Keep your data on your own servers
  • •No vendor lock-in: Freedom to switch or modify at any time
  • •Cost savings: Reduce or eliminate subscription fees
  • •Transparency: Audit the code and know exactly what's running