Buddy Punch vs Toggl Track: Full Comparison
Buddy Punch proves where and when hourly staff clocked in, with GPS and photo capture. Toggl Track is a fast, one-click timer with a generous free plan.
Free to start. No credit card needed.
Our quick verdict on both tools
Pick Buddy Punch if hourly or field staff clock in from different sites and you need proof of where and when, plus scheduling built in. Pick Toggl Track if your team tracks project hours at a desk and wants the fastest, simplest timer with a real free plan.
Start tracking freeWhat this comparison covers
Buddy Punch and Toggl Track are both time tracking tools, compared here side by side so you can see how they differ.
If neither tool fits because you need project budgets and invoicing tied to the same tracked hours, our alternatives page is worth a look too.
Compare the two products at a glance
Both tools solve time tracking. Here is what each one includes, side by side.
Buddy Punch
An easy time clock with a lot of ways to prove who punched: GPS on every punch, plus geofencing, PIN and kiosk punching and a webcam photo from the Pro tier up.
- Best for
- Small and mid-size hourly or field workforces that want an easy time clock with GPS and scheduling.
- Pricing
- No free plan, 14-day trial only. Billed annually: Starter $4.99, Pro $6.99, Advanced $12.99 per user a month, each plus a $19 monthly base fee. Extras are sold per user on top.
- Punch in/out from web, mobile, or kiosk
- GPS coordinates on every punch
- Geofencing, PIN and kiosk punching (Pro)
- Webcam photo on punch (Pro)
- Scheduling, included from Pro
- PTO accrual and approvals
Toggl Track
Known for simplicity and polish: the timer starts in one click and setup takes minutes, making it the most frictionless daily time tracker in the category.
- Best for
- Freelancers, small teams, and agencies who want fast, one-click time tracking with no learning curve.
- Pricing
- Free plan for up to 5 users. Starter $9/user/mo, Premium $18/user/mo (billed annually), Enterprise custom pricing.
- One-click timer with autotracker
- Idle detection
- Unlimited entries, projects, clients on Free
- Built-in Pomodoro timer
- 100+ integrations plus browser extension
- Billable rates and budget alerts (Starter+)
- Profitability analysis (Premium)
See how they stack up
Pricing, best fit, and top strengths for both tools, side by side.
Pricing checked 2026-07-30. Confirm current pricing on each vendor's site.
Which one fits your team
Choose Buddy Punch when…
Your staff clock in from job sites, not one office, and you need proof of location.
GPS tracking with a live map view shows exactly where each punch happened, which a plain project timer cannot do.See how
You want to stop buddy punching, where one worker clocks in for another.
Photo capture on clock-in attaches a picture to every punch, so a supervisor can check who actually showed up.See how
You need staff to only be able to punch in once they are near the job site.
Geofencing with a set radius blocks a clock-in from outside the site, cutting down on early or remote punches.See how
You need to build and share shift schedules, not just record hours after the fact.
Drag-and-drop scheduling lives in the same app as the time clock, so shifts and actual punches sit side by side.See how
You want PTO accrual and approvals handled without a separate leave system.
PTO accrues by policy and requests route for approval, so leave balances stay correct without a spreadsheet.See how
You want a tool with a strong ease-of-use track record from real reviewers.
Buddy Punch holds a 4.8 out of 5 rating on both G2 and Capterra, which reflects how little training it needs.See how
Choose Toggl Track when…
You want the fastest possible timer with almost no setup.
A one-click timer and autotracker start logging in seconds, which suits a team that just wants to get to work.See how
You bill clients by the project and need hours tied to a client and task, not just a shift.
Every entry ties to a client, project, and task, so reports can be sliced the way a client invoice needs.See how
You want a free plan with no cap on tracked time, projects, or clients.
Toggl Track's free plan covers unlimited entries, projects, and clients for up to 5 users, at no cost.See how
You already run a lot of other software and want a wide integration list.
Toggl Track connects to 100 plus tools plus a browser extension, well beyond what most attendance tools offer.See how
You want to see if a project is still profitable, not just how many hours it took.
Profitability analysis on the Premium plan compares tracked hours against a project's value as work happens.See how
You need idle detection so a forgotten running timer does not inflate your hours.
Idle detection flags time where there was no activity, so a report does not overstate billable hours.See how
Popular features
Employee time tracking your team will actually use
One click starts a timer, or people type hours in by hand. Every entry ties to a client, project, and task, so the record stays clean.
Explore Time Tracking→Bill for every hour you earn
Mark each entry billable or non-billable while you work. Approved hours roll straight into reports you can bill from.
Explore Billing→See where the time really goes
Break hours down by client, project, and team member. Find the work that pays off and the projects that run over.
Explore Reports & Dashboards→Use cases this solves
Leave & PTO Tracking
Track accruals and approvals so leave balances stay correct without a spreadsheet.
Explore→Timesheet Approvals
Let a manager sign off on hours before they turn into pay or an invoice.
Explore→Non-Billable Time Tracking
Keep internal hours separate from client-billable hours in the same report.
Explore→
Compare other tools
Frequently asked questions
- Is Buddy Punch more expensive than Toggl Track?
- Buddy Punch starts around $4.49 a user a month plus a flat base fee. Toggl Track has a free plan for up to 5 users, then paid plans from $9 a user a month. For a small desk-based team, Toggl Track's time tracking free plan costs less to start, but Buddy Punch's base fee covers GPS and scheduling that Toggl Track does not offer at any price.
- Which tool is better for staff who work at different job sites?
- Buddy Punch is built for this. GPS tracking and geofencing confirm where a punch happened, which matters when staff move between project sites. Toggl Track tracks project hours well but has no built-in location check on an entry.
- Does Toggl Track have GPS tracking like Buddy Punch?
- No. Toggl Track has no GPS or geofencing at any plan tier. It is built around a desk-based project timer, not verified on-site attendance, which is where Buddy Punch focuses instead.
- Which tool handles timesheet approvals?
- Buddy Punch does. It includes timesheet approvals as part of its PTO and scheduling workflow. Toggl Track does not have a dedicated approvals step. It offers billable rates and budget alerts from its Starter plan and up, not on the free tier, but nothing that locks a timesheet before it goes to payroll.
- Can either tool send invoices to clients?
- Neither tool sends client invoices directly. Toggl Track tracks billable rates and project value on paid plans, and Buddy Punch focuses on attendance and payroll exports instead. If invoicing from tracked time matters most, both fall short of a tool built around that workflow.
- Does Buddy Punch include employee scheduling?
- Yes. Buddy Punch has drag-and-drop scheduling built in, so shifts and actual clock-ins live in one app. Toggl Track does not offer scheduling, since it focuses on project time tracking instead.
- Which tool is easier to set up for a small team?
- Both are known for being simple. Buddy Punch holds a 4.8 out of 5 rating for ease of use. Toggl Track's one-click timer and clean interface need almost no training either, and its free plan lets a team try it with no cost.
- Does Toggl Track track PTO and leave the way Buddy Punch does?
- No. Toggl Track does not offer PTO accrual or leave policies. Buddy Punch's leave and PTO tracking covers that ground, with accrual policies built around hourly attendance.
- Which tool fits a freelancer or consultant billing clients by the hour better?
- Toggl Track fits that better. It ties hours to a client and project for billing, which Buddy Punch is not built around. Buddy Punch is a better fit for attendance and payroll for hourly staff, not solo client billing.
- What if neither tool fits what I need?
- If you need project budgets and invoicing tied to the same tracked hours, neither of these two is built around that. Our Toggl Track alternatives page covers more options, including TimeTracker, which is worth a look for that kind of setup.
Ready to pick the right time tool?
Buddy Punch and Toggl Track solve different problems. Weigh GPS and scheduling against a fast timer and free-plan billing before you commit.
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