Hubstaff vs Time Doctor: Full Comparison
Both track time and watch activity, but they solve different problems. Hubstaff leans into GPS and geofencing for field and remote teams.
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Our quick verdict on both tools
Pick Hubstaff if your team works from different job sites or moves around, and you want GPS proof plus payroll in one place. Pick Time Doctor if you manage an outsourced or offshore desk team and need detailed activity evidence with reports a client can log in and see.
Start tracking freeWhat this comparison covers
Hubstaff and Time Doctor are both time tracking tools, compared here side by side so you can see how they differ.
If neither tool fits, TimeTracker is worth a look too. It skips screenshots and activity scores and instead ties tracked hours straight to project budgets and client invoices.
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
Time Doctor
Pairs strict activity monitoring (screenshots, keystroke activity, idle alerts) with built-in payroll and client-facing reports.
- Best for
- Distributed and outsourced teams, agencies, and BPOs that need proof-of-work evidence tied to billing.
- Pricing
- No free plan, 14-day trial only. Billed annually: Basic $6.67, Standard $11.67, Premium $16.70 per user a month. Month to month it is $8, $14 and $20. Eleven paid add-ons sit on top, from $2 a user a month up to $200 a month each for payroll sync, HRIS sync, SSO and provisioning.
- Idle detection and distraction alerts
- Random screenshots with optional blur
- Activity level scoring
- Website and app usage tracking
- Payroll reports and attendance data (Standard+)
- 60+ integrations (Standard plan+)
- Client login for shared reports
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…
Your staff work from different job sites or move around during the day.
GPS tracking with geofenced job sites confirms someone is where they should be, not just that a timer is running.See how
You want payroll to run straight from tracked hours.
Automated payroll payouts turn approved hours into a payment without a separate payroll step.See how
Your team mixes office staff and field workers on one platform.
Hubstaff covers both hybrid setups without needing a second tool for the field crew.See how
You want screenshots but with a lighter touch, and a blur option.
Optional screenshots with a blur setting give some proof of work without full-detail monitoring.See how
You track app and URL usage alongside time, not just activity percentages.
App and URL usage tracking shows what staff actually worked in, not just how active they were.See how
You want a lower entry price to start with monitoring turned on.
Hubstaff's Starter plan costs less at entry than Time Doctor's Basic plan, which helps a small team try monitoring cheaply.See how
Choose Time Doctor when…
You manage an outsourced or offshore team and need to prove work was done.
Deep activity scoring plus random screenshots give a paper trail an outsourcing client can review.See how
A client wants to log in and see their team's hours themselves.
Client login is unusual among time trackers and lets a client check hours without asking you for a report.See how
You want distraction alerts, not just idle detection.
Time Doctor flags distracting sites and apps as they happen, not only after a timer goes idle.See how
You need payroll built in without adding a third tool.
Payroll payments are part of Time Doctor's paid plans, so hours-to-payout stays in one workflow.See how
You want a wide integration list once you move past the entry plan.
60 plus integrations open up from the Standard plan, covering most project and chat tools a BPO already uses.See how
You want the option to run monitoring cheaply before adding integrations and payroll.
The Basic plan is a low-cost way to test activity monitoring before moving up for integrations and payroll.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 Time Doctor?
- At the entry level, yes. Hubstaff's Starter plan starts lower than Time Doctor's Basic plan. Neither has a free tier, so check the billing page to compare against a non-monitoring tool too.
- Which tool has stricter activity monitoring?
- Time Doctor's activity scoring and distraction alerts go a bit deeper than Hubstaff's activity levels. Both use time tracking as the base layer, then add screenshots and activity data on top of it.
- Does either tool track GPS location?
- Hubstaff has GPS tracking and geofenced job sites built in, which suits field teams. Time Doctor focuses on desk activity instead. See how time tracking by task works if location matters less than task detail for you.
- Which one runs payroll for me?
- Both do. Hubstaff has automated payroll payouts, and Time Doctor bundles payroll into its paid plans too. If you bill clients instead of paying staff by the hour, look at invoicing from tracked time to see a billing-first workflow instead.
- Can a client log in and see their own team's hours?
- Time Doctor offers a client login for shared reports, which Hubstaff does not have in the same form. For client approvals on hours tied to invoices, a billing-focused tool covers this differently.
- Which tool has more integrations?
- Time Doctor opens up 60 plus integrations from its Standard plan. Hubstaff's entry plan is more limited on integrations, so check the reports and dashboards each tool offers before you commit to one.
- Do both tools take screenshots of employees?
- Yes, both take random screenshots, and both offer a blur option. Neither is built for teams that want non-billable time tracking without any activity monitoring at all.
- Which is better for a hybrid team of office and field staff?
- Hubstaff fits a hybrid team better because its GPS and geofencing work well for field staff, while its desk features still cover office staff. See utilization tracking for how to compare time spent across both groups.
- Is there a lighter alternative to both if monitoring feels invasive?
- Yes. If screenshots and activity scores are not what you need, our Hubstaff alternatives page lists tools including TimeTracker, which tracks time and budgets without watching screens.
- Which one should an outsourcing agency managing offshore staff pick?
- An agency managing offshore staff usually leans toward Time Doctor, since its activity detail and client login match that oversight need. A field service company doing estimate vs actual job costing across sites tends to fit Hubstaff's GPS features better.
Not sure either tool is the right fit?
See how TimeTracker handles project budgets, approvals, and invoicing without any screenshots or activity scores at all.
See TimeTracker alternatives