Hubstaff vs Toggl Track: Full Comparison
Hubstaff adds screenshots, activity levels, GPS, and payroll on top of time tracking. Toggl Track keeps it simple: a fast timer with no monitoring at all.
Free to start. No credit card needed.
Our quick verdict on both tools
Pick Hubstaff if you manage remote or field workers and need proof of work, GPS tracking, and payroll in one place. Pick Toggl Track if you want the fastest, simplest timer for a small team and do not need monitoring or payroll built in.
Start tracking freeWhat this comparison covers
Hubstaff and Toggl Track 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 monitoring features and instead ties tracked hours to project budgets, approvals, and client invoicing in one place.
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
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 2026-07-31. Confirm current pricing on each vendor's site.
Which one fits your team
Choose Hubstaff when…
You manage remote workers and need proof that billed hours were actually worked.
Optional screenshots and activity levels from keyboard and mouse use give you evidence Toggl Track does not track at all.
Your team includes field staff who work at client sites or job locations.
GPS tracking and geofenced job sites confirm someone clocked in from the right location, which a desk-based timer cannot do.
You want tracked hours to turn into a payout without a separate payroll tool.
Automated payroll payouts run straight off tracked time, so you skip a manual step Toggl Track leaves to you.
You need to see which apps and websites your team uses during work hours.
App and URL usage tracking shows where time actually went, which is useful for outsourced or contract work.
You manage a mix of office staff and field workers on one platform.
Hubstaff covers both desk-based timers and GPS-based field tracking in the same account, so you are not running two tools.
Choose Toggl Track when…
You want the fastest possible timer with almost no setup.
Toggl Track's one-click timer and clean interface get a new team tracking real hours within minutes, not days.See how
You do not want any screenshots or activity monitoring on your team.
Toggl Track tracks time only, with no screenshots or keystroke logging, which suits teams that find monitoring invasive.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, which goes further than most free tiers.See how
You want idle detection and a built-in Pomodoro timer for focus work.
Idle detection catches forgotten timers, and the built-in Pomodoro timer helps individuals structure a work session.See how
You want simple billable rates and budget alerts without a full monitoring suite.
Toggl Track's Starter plan adds billable rates and budget alerts, enough for light budgeting without screenshots or GPS.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→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→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→Use cases this solves
Compare other tools
Frequently asked questions
- Is Hubstaff more expensive than Toggl Track?
- Hubstaff starts at about $4.99 a user a month with no permanent free plan. Toggl Track has a free plan for up to 5 users, then starts at $9 a user a month for its Starter plan. Compare both against a simple time tracking setup to see which fits your budget once you add the features you actually need.
- Does Toggl Track have screenshots or activity monitoring like Hubstaff?
- No. Toggl Track tracks time only and has no screenshots, keystroke logging, or activity levels. If you need proof of work, see how time tracking tools handle it, since that is a Hubstaff strength that Toggl Track does not try to match.
- Which tool is better for managing field workers?
- Hubstaff, by a clear margin. It has GPS tracking and geofenced job sites built in, which is useful for on-site or traveling staff. Toggl Track has no location features, since it is built for desk-based work.
- Can either tool pay my team automatically?
- Hubstaff includes automated payroll payouts based on tracked hours. Toggl Track does not run payroll, so hours would need to feed into a separate payroll tool. Neither connects hours to client invoicing quite as directly as a tool built around billing.
- Which tool is easier to learn for a new team?
- Toggl Track is widely seen as the easier one to pick up. Its time tracking starts with a single click and needs almost no setup. Hubstaff takes a bit longer since there are monitoring settings, GPS zones, and payroll rules to configure first.
- Does Toggl Track offer project budgets and profitability like Hubstaff?
- Both offer some form of budgeting, but neither goes deep on profitability. Toggl Track adds project budgeting and profitability analysis on its Premium plan. Hubstaff focuses more on labor cost versus activity than on client profit margins.
- Is Hubstaff too invasive for a team that dislikes monitoring?
- Screenshots and activity levels can feel invasive to some staff, which is a fair concern. If that is a dealbreaker, Toggl Track or a lighter non-billable time tracking setup avoids the issue entirely.
- Which tool has more integrations?
- Both connect to a wide range of apps, and neither has a clear edge here. What matters more for most teams is whether the reporting each tool builds on top of that data actually answers the questions you have about your team's time.
- Can I use Toggl Track's free plan for a growing team?
- Only up to 5 users. Past that, you move to a paid plan just like you would with Hubstaff, which has no free tier at all. Either way, check time tracking tags and other lightweight organizing tools before paying for features you will not use.
- Is there a third option worth checking besides these two?
- Yes. If you bill clients hourly and want budgets, approvals, and invoicing tied to the same tracked hours, it is worth comparing more tools on our Hubstaff alternatives page, which covers TimeTracker and others alongside Hubstaff and Toggl Track.
Still deciding between Hubstaff and Toggl Track?
Both are solid tools built for different jobs. If you bill clients hourly, it is worth comparing a few more options before you pick one.
See time tracking options