Is Doodle or Gusto better?

Neither clearly leads. Doodle 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, Doodle or Gusto?

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

Does Doodle or Gusto run on more platforms?

Doodle runs on Web, Mobile (iOS, Android). Gusto runs on Web.

Can I use Doodle for free?

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

What is Doodle best used for?

Doodle 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 Doodle do that Gusto cannot?

Doodle covers Group polls, 1:1 scheduling, Booking pages, Calendar sync. Gusto covers Automated payroll, Tax filing, Benefits administration, Time tracking. Both handle Google Calendar, Slack.

Software · head to head

Doodle vs Gusto

Doodle

Software

Find the best time for anything

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Gusto

Software

The people platform for small businesses

From: $49/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Doodle has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Doodle free plan restricted to one active poll and one booking page with 10-slot limit; Gusto customer service can be slow and unresponsive to issues
They diverge on capability: Doodle covers Group polls, Gusto covers Automated payroll.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Doodle and Gusto actually diverge.

Attributes where Doodle and Gusto differ
Attribute	Doodle	Gusto
Starting price	Free	$49/month
Free tier	Yes	No
Platforms	Web, Mobile (iOS, Android)	Web
Founded	2007	2011

Identical on both: pricing model (Unknown), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 Doodle

Group polls
1:1 scheduling
Booking pages
Calendar sync
Time zone support
Outlook
Zoom
Microsoft Teams

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.

Doodle

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

Gusto

Payroll processingnot Doodle
Benefits administrationnot Doodle
Tax compliancenot Doodle
Employee onboardingnot Doodle
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.

Doodle

Free plan restricted to one active poll and one booking page with 10-slot limit
Free users see excessive advertisements on booking pages
Limited customization options for poll types and response formats
Mobile app experiences bugs and has less polished interface than desktop version

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

Doodle

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Doodle review.

Gusto

$49/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Gusto review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Doodle if

You need group polls.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, Mobile (iOS, Android).
You also want 1:1 scheduling.

Doodle review

Choose Gusto if

You need automated payroll.
You also want tax filing.

Gusto review

Questions people ask

Is Doodle or Gusto better?: Neither clearly leads. Doodle 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, Doodle or Gusto?: Doodle has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Doodle and $49/month for Gusto.
Does Doodle or Gusto run on more platforms?: Doodle runs on Web, Mobile (iOS, Android). Gusto runs on Web.
Can I use Doodle for free?: Yes. Doodle has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Gusto starts at $49/month.
What is Doodle best used for?: Doodle 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 Doodle do that Gusto cannot?: Doodle covers Group polls, 1:1 scheduling, Booking pages, Calendar sync. Gusto covers Automated payroll, Tax filing, Benefits administration, Time tracking. Both handle Google Calendar, Slack.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Doodle: Does Doodle offer a free plan?

Yes. Doodle's free plan includes one active group poll, one booking page, and one 1:1 meeting, limited to 10 slots per poll with ads displayed. Premium plans start at $15/month.

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

Doodle: What are Doodle's pricing plans?

Professional plan costs $15/month (or $132/year). Team plan costs $19.95/user/month (or $8.95/user/month billed annually) with a two-seat minimum.

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

Doodle: Does Doodle integrate with calendar apps?

Yes. Doodle integrates with Google Calendar and Outlook Calendar to prevent double-bookings. Slack integration allows poll creation and sharing directly in Slack channels.

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

Doodle vs Gusto

Doodle

Gusto

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Doodle

Only in Gusto

Both cover

What people use each for

Doodle

Gusto

Where each one falls short

Doodle

Gusto

Pricing, plan by plan

Doodle

Gusto

Which should you pick?

Choose Doodle if

Choose Gusto if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Doodle

More on Gusto

Keep looking

Other head to heads