Tracking employee time and productivity is a key challenge for businesses striving to maintain efficiency and accountability. Organizations need reliable tools to monitor work hours, streamline workflows, and optimize team performance. Time Doctor and Hubstaff are two leading solutions designed to address these needs, each offering a unique approach to time tracking and workforce management.
Time Doctor provides in-depth insights into employee productivity through time tracking, task management, and activity monitoring features. With optional screenshot capabilities and detailed reports, it helps businesses ensure accountability while optimizing workflow efficiency.
Hubstaff, on the other hand, combines time tracking with workforce management tools, including GPS tracking, automated payroll, and online timesheets. It is designed for both remote and on-site teams, helping organizations manage distributed workforces effectively.
Hence, this article will compare Time Doctor and Hubstaff, exploring their features, benefits, and how they cater to the needs of HR professionals and businesses looking for robust time-tracking solutions .
Time Doctor Vs Hubstaff: At A Glance
Features
Time Doctor
Hubstaff
Time Tracking
Monitors time by tracking employee activity on webpages or applications
Tracks employee activity in real-time through GPS-tracking, timesheets, etc.
Payroll
Integrates with popular payment gateways such as PayPal
Provides an automated payroll system that connects with multiple payment gateways such as Deel
Analytics
Provides detailed reports on time usage, app and website activity, and work habits
Offers real-time dashboards, budget tracking, and resource allocation insights
Employee Monitoring
Tracks time worked, websites visited, and application usage
Measures activity levels based on keyboard and mouse movements
Pricing
Pricing starts at $6. 70/user/month
Pricing starts at $7/user/month
What Is Time Doctor?
Time Doctor Software is a time tracking and productivity monitoring software that’s designed to help businesses and individuals enhance efficiency and accountability. It offers features such as time tracking, task management, and activity monitoring, providing detailed insights into how work hours are utilized.
As such, Time Doctor caters to various industries, including remote teams, outsourcing companies, and businesses seeking to improve workforce management.
Unique Time Doctor Features
Distraction Alerts – Notifies users when they spend excessive time on non-work-related websites, helping to improve focus and productivity
Offline Time Tracking – Enables employees to track time without an internet connection, automatically syncing data once they reconnect
Time Doctor Pros And Cons
Pros:
Accurately tracks time, enhancing productivity and accountability
Provides detailed reports for insightful performance analysis
Easy to configure, according to users
Cons:
Accessing specific reports or switching between datasets may require extra steps
Managers and staff must sync before tracking can begin, which may feel cumbersome
What Is HubStaff?
Hubstaff Software is a comprehensive workforce management platform that offers time tracking, productivity monitoring, and project management solutions. To this end, it provides tools such as automated payroll processing, employee scheduling, Kanban boards, etc.
Due to its variety of features, Hubstaff serves a diverse clientele, including remote teams, field service companies, software development firms, and consulting agencies. Thus, its solutions are suitable for small businesses to large enterprises seeking to optimize workforce management and productivity.
Unique HubStaff Features
GPS And Geofencing Tracking – Tracks employee locations and automatically starts/stops tracking when they enter or leave designated work areas, making it ideal for field teams and mobile workers
Timesheet Approvals – Allows managers to review and approve employee timesheets before payroll processing, ensuring accuracy and compliance
HubStaff Pros And Cons
Pros:
Clean interface facilitates accurate billing reports
Compatible with Mac, Windows, and Linux platforms
Responsive customer support addresses user queries promptly
Cons:
Minimizing may cause display issues; requires restart
May experience occasional stability issues, such as unexpected logouts
Time Doctor Vs Hubstaff – Features Comparison
Time Tracking
Time Doctor offers a straightforward time tracking system where users can create tasks and start tracking time with a single click. The platform provides detailed productivity analyses accessible via the Time Doctor dashboard, which is available to both employees and managers.
The way Time Doctor works is that it tracks time by monitoring activity on webpages or applications being used by employees. In addition, time tracking also offers offline tracking, meaning that hours are logged even without an internet connection.
In a similar fashion, Hubstaff provides an extensive time tracking solution that captures work hours across desktop, web, and mobile applications. It tracks employee activity in real-time and offers a customizable dashboard to monitor hours worked, earnings, and productivity metrics.
Advanced features, such as GPS time tracking and project cost management, are available through additional modules. The platform also offers geofencing, ensuring employees can only clock in when they are at designated work locations. Finally, Hubstaff also features timesheet approvals, allowing managers to review and approve time logs before payroll processing
Winner: Hubstaff emerges as the clear winner here, offering features such as GPS time tracking and geofencing.
Payroll
Time Doctor offers a customizable payroll feature that streamlines the payment process by automatically calculating payroll amounts based on accurately tracked work hours. Users can set flexible pay periods and choose from various currencies to accommodate global teams.
To process payments, the platform integrates seamlessly with popular payment gateways such as PayPal, Wise, Gusto, Payoneer, ADP, and Deel. This eliminates manual data entry, reducing errors and enhancing payroll efficiency.
Meanwhile, Hubstaff provides an automated payroll system that connects with multiple payment gateways, including Deel, Wise, PayPal, BitWage, Payoneer, and Gusto. Employers can configure the system for manual or automatic payments, with options to approve timesheets before processing payroll.
The software supports various payment frequencies—weekly, bi-weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly—to suit different organizational needs. Thus, by automating the payroll process, Hubstaff helps ensure timely and accurate payments, enhancing operational efficiency.
Winner: This category results in a tie, as both solutions offer similar capabilities and integrations for payroll management.
Analytics
Time Doctor emphasizes productivity analytics, providing detailed reports on time usage, app and website activity, and work habits. It helps businesses track how employees spend their time. The platform also offers workforce analytics with a focus on performance trends and operational efficiency, making it ideal for companies looking to optimize productivity at a granular level.
Hubstaff, on the other hand, offers broader workforce analytics with real-time dashboards, budget tracking, and resource allocation insights. It provides project-based analytics that help businesses monitor labor costs, project progress, and overall team efficiency. Activity rates, idle time tracking, and GPS-based workforce insights make it particularly useful for companies managing remote and field teams.
Winner: Hubstaff takes the lead as the winner, offering more extensive reporting capabilities.
Employee Monitoring
Time Doctor offers extensive employee monitoring features that provide real-time visibility into how employees spend their time. It tracks time worked, websites visited, and application usage, offering detailed analytics for all employees, tasks, projects, and clients.
The platform also includes distraction alerts to notify users when they spend excessive time on non-work-related activities, making it ideal for companies looking to enhance focus and efficiency. Finally, Time Doctor emphasizes a privacy-friendly monitoring, allowing for customizable settings to balance productivity tracking with employee engagement.
Hubstaff, in contrast, provides more intensive monitoring capabilities designed to enhance productivity and accountability. It tracks work hours, measures activity levels based on keyboard and mouse movements, and monitors websites and applications used during work.
In addition, the software also provides real-time tracking of projects and tasks, allowing managers to see progress as work is being completed. It also offers GPS-based tracking, making Hubstaff particularly useful for teams that require location-based monitoring, such as field service workers and remote teams.
Winner: Hubstaff’s various monitoring capabilities in comparison to Time Doctor makes in the winner here. However, Time Doctor’s focus on productivity insights while offering privacy-friendly settings may be more appealing for certain other businesses.
Pricing
Time Doctor offers four pricing plans designed to accommodate various business needs. They are:
Basic: $8/user/month
Standard: $14/user/month
Premium: $20/user/month
Enterprise: Customized Pricing
Essential features such as time tracking are offered in the Basic plan, while more advanced options, such as Unusual Activity AI Reports, are available in higher pricing tiers. Time Doctor also provides a 14-day free trial to allow businesses to evaluate its features before committing.
Similarly, Hubstaff offers four pricing plans that are tailored for different organizational requirements. These are:
Starter - $7/seat/month
Grow - $9/seat/month
Team - $12/seat/month
Enterprise - $25/seat/month
As one may guess, the basic plans offer features such as timesheets and the timer app. Higher pricing tiers offer more features in addition to the essential ones, such as timesheet approvals, benchmarks, etc. Like Time Doctor, Hubstaff gives its audience the opportunity to try the software through a 14-day free trial.
Winner: Both software offer similar pricing structures; however, Time Doctor is marginally cheaper than Hubstaff. Therefore, it wins this round.
Which One To Choose – Time Doctor Or Hubstaff?
In the end, both Time Doctor and Hubstaff provide powerful time tracking and workforce management solutions, but each caters to different business needs.
Time Doctor is best suited for companies focused on detailed productivity monitoring and distraction control, offering features like distraction alerts, offline tracking, and privacy controls. It is ideal for remote teams, outsourcing firms, and businesses prioritizing individual performance insights.
Conversely, Hubstaff excels in workforce management, with advanced features like GPS tracking, automated payroll, and real-time project tracking, making it a strong choice for businesses with mobile teams or field service workers.
Ultimately, the right choice depends on your company's team structure, monitoring requirements, and operational priorities. However, if neither software is what you’re looking for, try out other alternatives such as BambooHR or ResourceInn .
Sami Usman is a writer at Software Finder. He has a background in writing and is interested in crafting content that explains everything while being easy to understand. Sami believes in the power of storytelling and strives to create works that are both enjoyable and engaging. In his free time, Sami enjoys solitude or talking to friends, but not both at the same time.
