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Gusto time tracking: what it costs and how to set it up

Hours that flow straight into payroll, with overtime worked out for you. Here’s what it costs on each plan, what the location feature really does, and the cheaper way to get it.

Shanin Drucquer

Shanin DrucquerGusto user since 2024 · Updated October 2026

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Short answer

Gusto’s time tracking is included on Plus and costs $6/person a month on Simple, which is $31 a month cheaper than upgrading. Approved hours flow straight into payroll with overtime calculated.

$6/person

A month on Simple; included on Plus and Premium

$31

Saved a month by adding it to Simple instead of moving to Plus

3

Ways to clock in: browser, mobile app, or kiosk

2

Location stamps per shift: clock-in and clock-out

Have these ready

  • Which people are paid hourly
  • Where your team works, if you want location checks
  • Your overtime and time-off policies
  • A shared tablet, if you want a kiosk

  1. Step 1 of 6 · 2 min

    Turn on time tracking

    On Plus or Premium, time tracking is already part of your plan; turn it on in Gusto’s time tools. On Simple, add Time & Attendance Plus first, at $6/person a month.

    Only need hours and overtime? Add it to Simple instead of upgrading. The plan change costs $31 a month more for the same time tools.

  2. Step 2 of 6 · 2 min

    Choose who tracks time

    Turn it on for the people paid by the hour: hourly employees, salaried employees who earn overtime, and U.S. contractors you pay hourly. Salaried people who don’t earn overtime don’t need to clock in.

  3. Step 3 of 6 · 3 min

    Add work locations

    Optional. Add the addresses where people should clock in, and ask employees to share their location in Gusto’s mobile app. Time tracked anywhere else gets flagged for you to review.

    Watch out

    Gusto can’t require location sharing, and it records location only at clock-in and clock-out, not during the shift. Editing hours afterward removes the location stamp.

  4. Step 4 of 6 · 4 min

    Set up time off

    Add your paid time off and sick leave policies so requests, approvals, and balances live in the same place as hours, and both land on the paycheck.

  5. Step 5 of 6 · 2 min

    Have your team clock in

    Employees clock in and out from a browser or Gusto’s mobile app, or from a shared tablet set up as a kiosk.

  6. Step 6 of 6 · 2 min

    Approve hours before payroll

    Before each payroll, review timesheets, fix missed punches, and approve. Approved hours fill in payroll on their own, with overtime calculated.

Simple plus the add-on beats upgrading to Plus

Plus includes time tracking, but at $80 + $12/person it costs more than Simple ($49 + $6/person) plus Time & Attendance Plus at $6/person. The gap is $31 a month at every team size.

Move to Plus for its other features, multi-state payroll and next-day direct deposit, not for time tracking.

Team sizeSimple + time trackingPlusYou save
5 people$109/mo$140/mo$31/mo
10 people$169/mo$200/mo$31/mo
20 people$289/mo$320/mo$31/mo

List prices checked September 2026. Simple covers one state; Plus adds multi-state payroll and next-day pay.

What the location feature does, and doesn’t

Gusto’s location tracking is a check, not a lock. It records where someone clocks in and out, through the mobile app only, and flags time tracked away from the locations you set.

It doesn’t follow anyone during a shift, it can’t block a clock-in from the wrong place, and employees can decline to share location. If you need hard geofencing that only allows clock-ins on site, a dedicated time app that syncs to Gusto is the better fit.

When to skip it

If your team already logs hours in another app, you may not need Gusto’s. Field service software like Jobber tracks time on each job, and time apps such as Homebase and Deputy sync hours into Gusto.

I track my crew’s hours in Jobber and type the totals into Gusto each payroll. It takes a few minutes, and I don’t pay for time tracking twice.

“I track my crew’s hours in Jobber and enter them in Gusto, so I don’t pay for time tracking twice.”
Shanin Drucquer, Iconic Landscaping

Common questions

Does Gusto have time tracking?

Yes. It’s included on the Plus and Premium plans, and Simple can add it as Time & Attendance Plus for $6/person a month.

Is Gusto time tracking free?

It has no extra charge on Plus ($80 + $12/person) and Premium. On Simple, it’s $6/person a month, which still costs less than moving to Plus.

Can employees clock in on their phones?

Yes, through Gusto’s mobile app. They can also clock in from a browser or a shared tablet set up as a kiosk.

Does Gusto have geofencing?

Not strict geofencing. Gusto can record location at clock-in and clock-out and flag time tracked away from your set locations, but it can’t block those clock-ins, and employees can decline to share location.

Does Gusto calculate overtime automatically?

Yes. Approved hours flow into payroll, and overtime is calculated for employees who earn it.

Can contractors track time in Gusto?

Yes, U.S. contractors you pay by the hour can track time, along with hourly employees and salaried employees who earn overtime.

Sources: Gusto time tools, Gusto pricing, Gusto: location sharing for time tracking.

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