Is Clockwise or Gusto better?

Neither clearly leads. Clockwise starts at Free and Gusto at $49/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Clockwise or Gusto?

Clockwise has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Clockwise and $49/month for Gusto.

Does Clockwise or Gusto run on more platforms?

Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.

Can I use Clockwise for free?

Yes. Clockwise has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Gusto starts at $49/month.

What is Clockwise best used for?

Clockwise is most often used for scheduling, appointment booking, time tracking, resource management. Of those, scheduling and appointment booking are not what Gusto is typically brought in for.

What can Clockwise do that Gusto cannot?

Clockwise covers Focus Time protection, Meeting optimization, Scheduling links, Team analytics. Gusto covers Automated payroll, Tax filing, Benefits administration, Time tracking. Both handle Google Calendar, Slack.

Project Management · head to head

Clockwise vs Gusto

Clockwise

Project Management

Intelligent calendar management for teams

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Gusto

All industries

The people platform for small businesses

From: $49/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Clockwise has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Clockwise service discontinued and shut down on March 27, 2026; Gusto customer service can be slow and unresponsive to issues
They diverge on capability: Clockwise covers Focus Time protection, Gusto covers Automated payroll.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Clockwise and Gusto actually diverge.

Attributes where Clockwise and Gusto differ
Attribute	Clockwise	Gusto
Starting price	Free	$49/month
Pricing model	freemium	Unknown
Free tier	Yes	No
Category	Project Management	All industries
Founded	2016	2011

Identical on both: platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Clockwise

Focus Time protection
Meeting optimization
Scheduling links
Team analytics
Conflict resolution
Zoom
Asana
Web support

Only in Gusto

Automated payroll
Tax filing
Benefits administration
Time tracking
Employee onboarding
HR compliance
Workers' comp
401(k) management

Both cover

Google Calendar
Slack

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Clockwise

Schedulingnot Gusto
Appointment bookingnot Gusto
Time tracking
Resource managementnot Gusto
Team coordinationnot Gusto

Gusto

Payroll processingnot Clockwise
Benefits administrationnot Clockwise
Tax compliancenot Clockwise
Employee onboardingnot Clockwise
Time tracking

Both are used for time tracking, on those jobs the choice comes down to price and fit rather than capability.

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Clockwise

Service discontinued and shut down on March 27, 2026
All user data was deleted upon shutdown
Integration with Asana was removed during product lifecycle

Gusto

Customer service can be slow and unresponsive to issues
Weak reporting capabilities, cannot export data to spreadsheets for analysis
Support staff lacks deep payroll expertise and knowledge
Rehired employees do not have settings reset, causing manual cleanup work
City tax handling requires additional monitoring and monitoring
Onboarding can have issues with bank account verification and tax registration

Pricing, plan by plan

Clockwise

Free

FreeFree
- Focus Time
- Meeting optimization
- Personal analytics
Teams$6.75/month
- Team analytics
- Flexible meetings
- Admin controls

Gusto

$49/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Gusto review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Clockwise if

You need focus time protection.
You want to start without paying.
You also want meeting optimization.

Clockwise review

Choose Gusto if

You need automated payroll.
You also want tax filing.

Gusto review

Questions people ask

Is Clockwise or Gusto better?: Neither clearly leads. Clockwise starts at Free and Gusto at $49/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Clockwise or Gusto?: Clockwise has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Clockwise and $49/month for Gusto.
Does Clockwise or Gusto run on more platforms?: Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Clockwise for free?: Yes. Clockwise has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Gusto starts at $49/month.
What is Clockwise best used for?: Clockwise is most often used for scheduling, appointment booking, time tracking, resource management. Of those, scheduling and appointment booking are not what Gusto is typically brought in for.
What can Clockwise do that Gusto cannot?: Clockwise covers Focus Time protection, Meeting optimization, Scheduling links, Team analytics. Gusto covers Automated payroll, Tax filing, Benefits administration, Time tracking. Both handle Google Calendar, Slack.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Clockwise: What happened to Clockwise?

Clockwise was acquired by Salesforce and shut down on March 27, 2026. The company announced the team was joining Salesforce to work on Agentforce. User data was deleted and prorated refunds were issued to paying customers.

Source

Gusto: What is Gusto's starting price?

Gusto starts at $49 per month plus $6 per person. The company also offers a Contractor-only plan for $35 per month plus $6 per contractor.

Source

Clockwise: What integrations did Clockwise support?

Clockwise integrated with Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, Slack, and previously Asana (though this integration was discontinued).

Source

Gusto: Does Gusto include unlimited payroll runs?

Yes, all Gusto plans include unlimited payroll runs at no extra charge, including off-cycle payrolls.

Source

Clockwise: What were Clockwise's key features?

Clockwise offered AI-powered focus time protection, automatic meeting buffers, Slack status sync, smart lunch breaks, and team calendar synchronization to optimize schedules and prevent burnout.

Source

Gusto: What core features are included in Gusto?

All plans include payroll processing, tax administration, digital onboarding, benefits enrollment, time tracking, performance management, and next-day direct deposit for most plans.

Source

Gusto: Does Gusto support integrations?

Yes, Gusto integrates with accounting software, applicant tracking systems, benefits providers, time-tracking tools, and other business platforms to reduce data entry.

Source

Clockwise vs Gusto

Clockwise

Gusto

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Clockwise

Only in Gusto

Both cover

What people use each for

Clockwise

Gusto

Where each one falls short

Clockwise

Gusto

Pricing, plan by plan

Clockwise

Gusto

Which should you pick?

Choose Clockwise if

Choose Gusto if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Clockwise

More on Gusto

Keep looking

Other head to heads