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Gusto Security Assessment

HR & Talent Management

Payroll, benefits, and HR made refreshingly easy.

Data: 5/8(63%)
MODERATE Friction
SECURITY VERIFIED • SAASPOSTURE • JAN 2026
A
Top 10%
Gusto logoGusto
SaaS Posture Assessment

9-Dimension Security Framework

Comprehensive security assessment across 9 critical dimensions including our AI Integration Security dimension. Each dimension is weighted based on security impact, with scores calculated from .
65
Overall Score
Weighted average across all dimensions
A
Security Grade
Top 10%
65% confidence

Identity & Access Management

A+
Score:0
Weight:33%
Grade:A+ (Top 5%)

Compliance & Certification

A+
Score:0
Weight:19%
Grade:A+ (Top 5%)

AI Integration Security

NEW
B+
Score:0
Weight:12%
Grade:B+ (Top 25%)

API Security

A
Score:0
Weight:14%
Grade:A (Top 10%)

Infrastructure Security

D
Score:0
Weight:14%
Grade:D (Below Avg)

Data Protection

F
Score:0
Weight:10%
Grade:F (Critical)

Vulnerability Management

A+
Score:0
Weight:3%
Grade:A+ (Top 5%)

Breach History

A+
Score:0
Weight:1%
Grade:A+ (Top 5%)

Incident Response

F
Score:0
Weight:1%
Grade:F (Critical)
🤖

AI Integration Security Assessment (9th Dimension)

Assess whether SaaS applications are safe for AI agent integration using Anthropic's Model Context Protocol (MCP) standards. Identify Shadow AI risks before they become breaches and make safer AI tool decisions than your competitors.

Last updated: January 16, 2026 at 05:48 AM

Assessment Transparency

See exactly what data backs this security assessment

Data Coverage

5/8 security categories assessed

63%
complete
Identity & Access
Available
Compliance
Available
API Security
Available
Infrastructure
Available
Data Protection
Missing
Vulnerability Mgmt
Available
Incident Response
Missing
Breach History
Missing

Score based on 5 of 8 categories. Missing categories could not be assessed due to lack of public data or vendor restrictions.

Evaluation Friction

MODERATE
Estimated: 2-4 weeks
0% public documentation accessibility

Evaluation friction estimates how long it typically takes to fully evaluate this vendor's security practices, from initial contact to complete assessment.

19 data sources successful

Transparency indicators show data completeness and vendor accessibility

🤖

AI Integration Security

🔒 9th Dimension

Assess whether Gusto is safe for AI agent integration. Identify Shadow AI risks before they become breaches using Anthropic's Model Context Protocol (MCP) standards.

🔌

AI Readiness

Infrastructure for AI integration

F
8/100
MCP Available
🔌 MCP Server20/100
👨‍💻 Developer Experience0/100
📚 Documentation0/100
Top Recommendation:
⚠️ Official MCP server not found. Best alternative: https://github.com/Gusto/grpc-web-ruby (Trust: 35/100)
🛡️

AI Security

Safety controls for AI agents

B+
57.2/100
NOT_RECOMMENDED
🔐 Authentication90%
🔒 Access Control100%
👁️ Observability35%
🔏 Data Privacy0%
✅ Excellent Security:
The documentation references a 'Scopes' section in the navigation and mentions 'strict access, which restricts an access token to only one company'. The OAuth2 guide discusses company-level vs system-level access separation.
⚠️ Needs Attention:
No mfa enforcement
🛡️Unique Assessment: Evaluating AI agent integration safety helps you make safer AI tool decisions than your competitors

Essential Security Analysis

Based on available security assessment data

65
Security Score
A
Security Grade
0
Compliance Frameworks

Compliance & Certifications

0
Active
0
Pending
6
Not Certified

AI Integration Security Assessment

Industry-first assessment evaluating whether Gusto is safe and ready for AI agent integration. Covers AI security controls and readiness infrastructure for Anthropic's Model Context Protocol (MCP).

AI Integration Security

Industry-first assessment for AI agent safety

B+
GRADE
Top 25%
57.2
AI Security Score
🔐Authentication
90
🛡️Access Control
100
👁️Observability
35
🔒Data Privacy
0
📊Confidence Score
89%
NOT_RECOMMENDED

Excellent Security Features

  • The documentation references a 'Scopes' section in the navigation and mentions 'strict access, which restricts an access token to only one company'. The OAuth2 guide discusses company-level vs system-level access separation.
  • The resulting token has a 2 hour expiration. Unlike company access tokens, you may request and use additional system access tokens while other system access tokens are still active.
  • Process Overview includes 'Exchange refresh token for new access/refresh tokens' as a documented step in the OAuth2 flow.
  • System Access Tokens... lets you manage multiple applications per organization and properly perform system-level operations such as company creation and webhooks. System Access Tokens cannot be used for company or employee level access.
  • Extensive webhook documentation with events for: Bank Account Events, Company Events, Company Benefit Events, Contractor Events, Contractor Payment Events, Employee Events, Employee Home Address Events, Employee Work Address Events, Employee Benefit Events, Employee Job Compensation Events, External Payroll Events, Form Events, Location Events, Payroll Events, Pay Schedule Events, Signatory Events.
  • Short 2-hour token expiration for system access tokens
  • Clear separation between system-level and company-level access
  • Comprehensive webhook support with 16+ event types

⚠️Security Gaps & Recommendations

  • No mfa enforcement
  • No pii redaction
  • No training opt out
  • No data residency
  • No gdpr compliance
  • No audit logging
  • No ai attribution
  • No soc2 certified
  • No security program
  • No documented PII redaction capabilities
ℹ️

AI Integration Security evaluates whether Gusto is safe for AI agent access. This assessment considers authentication strength, access controls, observability capabilities, and data privacy protections when APIs are accessed by AI systems like Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, or custom AI agents.

AI Readiness Assessment

Evaluates readiness for AI agent integration

F
GRADE
Critical
8.0
AI Readiness Score
🔌
MCP Server Availability(40% weight)

Official or community MCP server support

20
👨‍💻
Developer Experience(30% weight)

API docs, SDKs, code examples

0
📚
Documentation Quality(30% weight)

API reference, auth flows, error handling

0

MCP Server Available

community

Gusto supports Anthropic's Model Context Protocol (MCP) for secure AI agent integration.

View MCP Server

💡Recommendations

  • ⚠️ Official MCP server not found. Best alternative: https://github.com/Gusto/grpc-web-ruby (Trust: 35/100)
  • ⚠️ 🔴 High Risk: Does not meet basic security standards
  • ❌ Poor AI readiness - not recommended for AI workflows
📊Confidence Score
90%
🕐Last Verified
1/7/2026
ℹ️

AI Readiness measures whether Gustoprovides the infrastructure and developer resources necessary for secure AI agent integration. High readiness indicates official MCP server support, comprehensive API documentation, and developer-friendly tools.

API Intelligence

Transparency indicators showing API availability and access requirements for Gusto.

API Intelligence

Incomplete

API intelligence structure found but no operations extracted. May require manual review.

Incomplete API Intelligence

Our automated extraction found API documentation but couldn't extract specific operations. This may require manual review or vendor assistance.

View Vendor Documentation

AI-Powered Stakeholder Decision Analysis

LLM-generated security perspectives tailored to CISO, CFO, CTO, and Legal stakeholder needs. All analysis is grounded in verified API data with zero fabrication.

Security Posture & Operational Capabilities

Comprehensive assessment of Gusto's security posture, operational maturity, authentication capabilities, security automation APIs, and breach intelligence.

🏢

Operational Data Not Yet Assessed

We haven't collected operational maturity data for Gusto yet.

🤖

Security Automation APIs

Programmatic user management, data operations, and security controls

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Gusto

Gusto's API allows you to integrate the platforms' data directly into your applications, making it easier to manage employee data, payroll records, and company details of your customers.

Source: Search insights from Google, Bing

Gusto Plans & Pricing Tiers

Source: Search insights from Google, Bing

Gusto maintains SOC 1 and SOC 2 reports, which are updated annually. Customers can access these reports via our Trust Center after filling out a nondisclosure agreement. Learn more from the AICPA abou

Source: Search insights from Google, Bing

Gusto integrates seamlessly with Xero, a cloud-based accounting app for small businesses.

Source: Search insights from Google, Bing

Compare with Alternatives

How does Gusto stack up against similar applications in HR & Talent Management? Click column headers to sort by different criteria.

Application
Score
Grade
AI 🤖
Action
GustoCurrent
65🏆
A57.2
48
C+N/AView
44
CN/AView
39
D+N/AView
33
DN/AView
30
DN/AView
26
FN/AView
💡

Security Comparison Insight

Gusto has the highest security score (65/100) among these alternatives. Strong choice for security-conscious organizations.