Gusto PTO Tracking vs Updoot PTO Tracking: The Complete Comparison

If you are using Gusto for payroll and wondering whether its PTO tracking is enough, or if you are shopping for a dedicated PTO management tool and Gusto keeps coming up in comparisons, this breakdown covers exactly what you need to know. Gusto is a well-known payroll platform that includes time-off tracking as part of its HR suite. Updoot is an all-in-one work management platform that includes PTO tracking alongside time clocking, scheduling, payroll reporting, projects, invoicing, and more.

The key question most small business owners are asking is whether they need to pay for Gusto's full platform just to get PTO tracking, or whether there is a better way to manage time off that does not require a separate payroll subscription. This comparison answers that directly.

What Is Gusto PTO Tracking?

Gusto is primarily a payroll platform. PTO tracking is one component of its HR features, available on the Simple plan and above. Employees can submit time-off requests through the Gusto employee portal, managers receive a notification to approve or deny, and approved time off syncs automatically with payroll so the employee's pay is adjusted accordingly.

Gusto supports multiple types of time-off policies including vacation, sick leave, personal days, and custom categories. Accrual rules can be configured as flat-rate, hours-based, or unlimited PTO. Managers can view team calendars to see who is out and when, and employees can check their own balances without asking HR.

The PTO features work well when they are part of Gusto's payroll ecosystem. The limitation is that Gusto is a payroll-first platform — its PTO tools are designed to serve payroll accuracy, not to serve a broader operational workflow. If you do not run payroll through Gusto, you are paying for a full payroll platform just to access the time-off management piece.

What Is Updoot PTO Tracking?

Updoot includes PTO tracking as part of its complete work management platform. Employees submit time-off requests, managers approve or deny with a notification, balances track automatically, and the approved time off flows directly into payroll reporting alongside clocked hours. Every part of the time-off workflow is built in without requiring a separate payroll subscription.

Because Updoot is not a payroll processing platform, it does not file taxes or cut checks. It generates payroll reports — detailed breakdowns of hours worked, PTO taken, and pay owed — that you hand off to your payroll provider or accountant. This gives you clean, accurate payroll data without locking you into a specific payroll system.

Gusto Pricing in 2026

Gusto pricing uses a base fee plus a per-employee monthly charge, which means costs scale quickly as teams grow.

For a 10-person team, Gusto Simple costs $100 per month — and that is just for payroll and basic HR including PTO. The Plus plan for the same team is $200 per month. Updoot covers PTO tracking, scheduling, time clocking, payroll reporting, projects, invoicing, HR records, and more for $50 per month for the same team. That is half the cost of Gusto Simple for significantly more functionality.

Gusto PTO Tracking Features

Here is what Gusto's PTO tracking actually includes:

• Employee time-off requests via the Gusto portal or mobile app
• Manager approval and denial workflow with email notifications
• Accrual policies: flat-rate, hours-based, unlimited PTO
• Multiple time-off categories: vacation, sick, personal, custom
• Carry-over rules and waiting periods for new hires
• Team time-off calendar for scheduling visibility
• Automatic sync with Gusto payroll for accurate compensation
• Employee self-service balance checking

Updoot PTO Tracking Features

Here is what Updoot's PTO tracking includes:

• Employee time-off requests from the Updoot dashboard or mobile app
• Manager approval and denial with notifications
• Multiple time-off categories configurable by the business
• PTO balance tracking per employee
• Team visibility so managers can see who is out when scheduling
• PTO flows into payroll reports alongside clocked hours
• Tied directly to the time clock — one system for all time data
• No separate payroll subscription required

Feature Comparison: Gusto vs Updoot

Where Gusto Wins

Gusto's clear advantage is full payroll processing. If you need a platform that calculates taxes, files W-2s and 1099s, handles direct deposit, and manages benefits enrollment, Gusto is built for exactly that. The PTO tracking being native to payroll means approved time off automatically adjusts employee pay without any manual step — the integration is seamless because it is all one system.

Gusto also has strong compliance features for businesses in multiple states, benefits administration including health insurance and 401(k), and onboarding tools that cover the entire new hire paperwork process. For businesses that want payroll, benefits, and HR in a single HR-first platform, Gusto is a solid choice.

Where Updoot Wins

Updoot wins on scope, simplicity, and cost for businesses that need more than payroll from their work management platform.

The most important difference is what surrounds the PTO feature. In Gusto, PTO tracking exists to serve payroll accuracy. In Updoot, PTO tracking is part of a complete operational system that also handles time clocking, scheduling, project management, invoicing, SOPs, HR records, performance reviews, KPI tracking, and a sales pipeline — all in one dashboard. The business owner who is running on Gusto for payroll and four other tools for operations ends up with a fragmented, expensive stack. Updoot replaces all of it.

On pricing, the math is straightforward. A 10-person team pays $50 per month on Updoot for everything. The same team on Gusto Simple pays $100 per month for payroll and basic PTO. If they need scheduling and performance reviews they are on Plus at $200 per month — four times the cost of Updoot for less functionality. Updoot does not process payroll directly, but it generates clean payroll reports that work with any payroll provider, including Gusto if you want to keep them for tax filing only.

Frequently Asked Questions