Hubstaff vs QuickBooks Time: Full Comparison
Hubstaff is built for distributed teams that need screenshots, activity levels, and automated payouts. QuickBooks Time feeds GPS-verified hours into payroll.
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Our quick verdict on both tools
Pick Hubstaff if you manage remote or outsourced staff at a computer and want screenshots, activity levels, and automated payroll payouts. Pick QuickBooks Time if you run a field service or construction crew, already use QuickBooks, and need GPS job costing tied straight into your pay run.
Start tracking freeWhat this comparison covers
Hubstaff and QuickBooks Time are both time tracking tools, compared here side by side so you can see how they differ.
Worth a look too is TimeTracker, built for agencies that bill clients by the hour without screenshot monitoring; see more options on the alternatives page.
Compare the two products at a glance
Both tools solve time tracking. Here is what each one includes, side by side.
Hubstaff
Pairs time tracking with built-in workforce monitoring (screenshots, activity levels, GPS geofencing) and automated payroll payouts.
- Best for
- Distributed teams, agencies, and field service businesses that need proof-of-work tracking tied to payroll.
- Pricing
- No free plan, 14-day trial only. Billed annually: Starter $4.99, Grow $7.50, Team $10 per seat a month, all with a 2 seat minimum, and Enterprise $25. So the real floor is $9.98 a month, not $4.99.
- Start/stop timers with idle detection
- Optional screenshots with blur option
- Activity levels from keyboard/mouse use
- GPS and geofencing, a paid Team-plan add-on
- Automated payroll payouts
- App and URL usage tracking
QuickBooks Time
Owned by Intuit and built to sync natively with QuickBooks Online and Payroll, so timesheets and payroll share one data source.
- Best for
- Small and mid-size field service or construction businesses already running QuickBooks Online or Payroll.
- Pricing
- No free plan. Time Premium $20/mo base + $10/employee/mo; Time Elite $40/mo base + $12/employee/mo. Intuit now also sells Workforce Premium and Elite alongside these.
- GPS time tracking with location breadcrumbs
- Geofencing to remind staff to clock in (Elite)
- Scheduling by shift or job
- Mileage tracking for field staff
- Job and project costing
- Native two-way QuickBooks sync
See how they stack up
Pricing, best fit, and top strengths for both tools, side by side.
Pricing checked 2026-07-31. Confirm current pricing on each vendor's site.
Which one fits your team
Choose Hubstaff when…
You manage remote staff and need proof they were working, not just clocked in.
Optional screenshots and activity levels from keyboard and mouse use give you evidence beyond a timestamp.See how
You pay contractors or staff on a schedule and want payouts handled automatically.
Automated payroll payouts turn tracked hours into a payment without a separate step at the end of the pay period.See how
Your team is a mix of office staff and field workers, and you want one tool for both.
Hubstaff covers desk-based monitoring and GPS geofencing for field staff in the same platform, so you are not running two systems.See how
You need to see which apps and websites staff spend time in during work hours.
App and URL usage tracking shows where the hours actually went, which QuickBooks Time does not offer.See how
You want idle detection so paid hours reflect real activity, not an unattended timer.
Idle detection flags inactivity automatically, so hours logged match hours actually worked.See how
You want to start without committing to a QuickBooks-centered workflow.
Hubstaff works as a standalone tool and does not require any particular accounting software to get full value from it.See how
Choose QuickBooks Time when…
You run a field service or construction crew and need proof of where and when work happened.
GPS time tracking with location breadcrumbs backs up every clocked hour with a record of where the work took place.See how
You already run payroll through QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Payroll.
Native two-way sync means timesheets export straight into a pay run, so hours do not need re-entering by hand.See how
You need to see labor cost by job or project for accurate bidding.
Job and project costing rolls hours up by job, so you can see what a job actually cost to run.See how
You want scheduling built in, not just a record of hours after the fact.
Scheduling by shift or job is included on every plan, so you can plan a crew's week before it starts.See how
Field staff drive between job sites and you need mileage logged as an expense.
Mileage tracking logs drive time as a billable or non-billable expense category, so it does not fall off the books.See how
You would rather not use screenshots or activity monitoring on your team at all.
QuickBooks Time tracks GPS location and hours without the screenshot or keystroke monitoring that Hubstaff offers as an option.See how
You want one vendor handling both your books and your timesheets.
Being owned by Intuit means QuickBooks Time is built and tested against QuickBooks itself, not a bolted-on connector.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
Frequently asked questions
- Is Hubstaff cheaper than QuickBooks Time?
- Usually, yes. Hubstaff starts at about $4.99 a user a month with no base fee. QuickBooks Time charges a monthly base fee on top of a per-employee rate, which often costs more overall. See the billing page for how billing setup compares across tools.
- Does QuickBooks Time take screenshots like Hubstaff?
- No. QuickBooks Time tracks GPS location and hours but does not take screenshots or score activity level. Hubstaff offers screenshots as an option, which some teams use for audit trail and compliance and some teams choose to turn off.
- Can Hubstaff run payroll on its own?
- Yes. Hubstaff includes automated payroll payouts built in, so tracked hours turn into a payment without exporting to a separate tool. QuickBooks Time instead relies on a data export into QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Payroll to actually pay anyone.
- Does Hubstaff offer job costing for construction work?
- Hubstaff tracks time, activity, and location but was not built around construction job costing the way QuickBooks Time was. If cost tracking by job matters most, weigh that before you pick a tool.
- Does geofencing cost extra on either tool?
- It depends on the tool. Hubstaff includes GPS tracking and geofenced job sites as a core feature. QuickBooks Time only turns on geofencing at its Elite plan, its top tier, so you pay more to get the same clock-in alert. This matters most for capacity planning when you are deciding which plan actually covers a field crew.
- Is QuickBooks Time worth it if I do not use QuickBooks?
- Probably not. Its GPS and job costing tools are strong, but most of its value comes from syncing straight into QuickBooks Online or Payroll. Without that, a tool built around time tracking on its own, like Hubstaff, usually fits better.
- Does Hubstaff support scheduling for shift or field workers?
- Hubstaff focuses on time tracking, activity monitoring, and payroll rather than crew scheduling. QuickBooks Time includes scheduling on every plan, which helps with capacity planning for a crew ahead of the work week.
- Do both tools use GPS tracking?
- Yes, both track GPS location, but for different reasons. Hubstaff uses GPS mainly for geofenced job sites within its monitoring suite. QuickBooks Time was built around field work from the start, with location breadcrumbs supporting audit trail and compliance on every job.
- Does QuickBooks Time track mileage for field staff?
- Yes. It logs mileage for staff driving between job sites, which Hubstaff does not offer as a dedicated feature. It shows up as its own expense category alongside tracked hours.
- Is there a third option worth looking at besides these two?
- If you bill clients by the hour and want budgets, approvals, and invoicing without screenshot monitoring, it is worth a look at TimeTracker too. See a wider set of options on the alternatives page to compare more tools side by side.
Still deciding between Hubstaff and QuickBooks Time?
Both are solid tools built for different kinds of teams. Compare features side by side, or check the alternatives page for more options.
See the comparison