OnTheClock vs Time Doctor: Full Comparison
OnTheClock is a simple time clock with GPS, PTO, and scheduling at the base tier. Time Doctor tracks activity in detail, with screenshots and idle alerts.
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Our quick verdict on both tools
Pick OnTheClock if you run a small business with hourly or on-site staff and want clean clock in and out records with PTO and scheduling, without paying extra for GPS. Pick Time Doctor if you manage remote or outsourced workers and need activity evidence, payroll, and client-facing reports in one tool.
Start tracking freeWhat this comparison covers
OnTheClock 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 is built for agencies that bill clients by the hour and want project budgets, approvals, and invoicing tied to the same tracked time.
Compare the two products at a glance
Both tools solve time tracking. Here is what each one includes, side by side.
OnTheClock
GPS tracking, geofencing, and PTO accrual come standard on the base plan, features most rivals gate behind higher tiers.
- Best for
- Small businesses that want a simple time clock with GPS, PTO, and scheduling included at the base tier.
- Pricing
- No free plan, 30-day trial. $4 per employee a month plus a $5 monthly base fee, so 2 employees is $13 a month. Payroll adds $6 per employee plus a $40 base fee, and a one-time $250 onboarding fee.
- GPS tracking and geofencing
- Biometric and IP punch verification
- PTO and leave tracking with accruals
- Drag-and-drop employee scheduling
- Project and job costing
- Tips, bonus, commission 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 OnTheClock when…
You want GPS and geofencing without moving to a pricier plan.
GPS tracking and geofencing come standard on OnTheClock's base plan, so you are not paying extra to confirm where staff clocked in.
Your staff need to clock in with a fingerprint or badge, not just a phone.
Biometric and IP punch verification cut down on buddy punching for on-site or shift-based staff.
You need PTO accrual and scheduling handled in the same tool as the time clock.
PTO and leave tracking with accruals, plus drag-and-drop scheduling, are part of the base plan, not an add-on.
You want to see labor cost by project or job, not just total hours.
Project and job costing ties hours to a job so you can see where labor cost is going without a separate system.
You want a clean, easy dashboard your team can pick up fast.
Reviewers rate OnTheClock highly for ease of use, which matters if you do not have time to train staff on a complex tool.
Choose Time Doctor when…
You manage remote or outsourced staff and need proof of work, not just hours.
Random screenshots and activity level scoring give you evidence of what happened during tracked time, which a plain clock in and out cannot show.
You want payroll to run from the same tool that tracks the hours.
Built-in payroll payments turn approved hours into a payout without exporting to another system first.
Clients want to see what your remote team worked on, directly.
A client login shares reports straight with the client, which is unusual among time trackers and useful for agencies billing out staff time.
You want to know which apps and websites staff use during paid hours.
Website and app usage tracking flags time spent off task, something a physical or GPS clock was never built to catch.
You need idle detection to flag when a tracked timer is running with no activity.
Idle detection and distraction alerts catch a timer left running with nobody at the keyboard, before it turns into a paid hour.
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
- Which costs less, OnTheClock or Time Doctor?
- OnTheClock runs about $4 an employee a month plus a $5 monthly base fee, and payroll is a separate add-on. Time Doctor has no free plan, starting at $8 a user a month for its Basic tier and rising to $20 a user a month for Premium, billed monthly. For a broader look at pricing across the category, see the billing page.
- Does OnTheClock take screenshots like Time Doctor?
- No. OnTheClock records clock in and clock out events, GPS location, and biometric or badge punches, but it does not capture screenshots or score activity levels. Time Doctor does both, with random screenshots and an activity score. Teams that want hours tracked without screen monitoring often prefer a lighter time tracking setup like OnTheClock's.
- Which tool includes GPS tracking without an upgrade?
- OnTheClock includes GPS tracking and geofencing on its base plan. Time Doctor focuses on desktop activity rather than location, so it does not offer the same GPS geofencing feature at all. Field-based teams that need to confirm where staff clocked in usually lean on time tracking with location built in from day one.
- Can either tool run payroll for me?
- Time Doctor has payroll payments built in, so approved hours turn into a payout in the same tool. OnTheClock's payroll is a separate paid add-on, at $40 a month plus $6 an employee a month, rather than part of the base plan. Neither tool turns tracked hours into a billing invoice for an outside client, which is a different workflow than paying your own staff.
- Which tool is better for managing outsourced or offshore staff?
- Time Doctor is built with outsourcing and BPO teams in mind. It has 60 plus integrations on its Standard plan and up, plus a client login so an outside client can see the reports directly. OnTheClock is aimed more at small businesses tracking their own on-site or hourly staff. Agencies weighing this tradeoff also look at utilization tracking to see how outsourced hours actually get used.
- Does OnTheClock handle PTO and scheduling?
- Yes. PTO and leave tracking with accruals, plus drag-and-drop scheduling, are part of OnTheClock's core plan. Time Doctor is built around activity monitoring first, so scheduling and PTO are not its focus. A small business juggling shifts and time off often values this more than non-billable time tracking features aimed at client billing.
- How much history and integration access do I get on Time Doctor's cheapest plan?
- Time Doctor's Basic plan at $8 a user a month has no integrations, no payroll, and keeps only 3 months of history, so most teams end up on Standard or Premium for real use. OnTheClock's single base tier already includes GPS, PTO, and scheduling without a separate lower tier stripped of features. Either way, keeping clean time tracking records matters most once you need to look back at old data.
- Is Time Doctor's monitoring too invasive for my team?
- That depends on your team. Time Doctor's screenshots and activity scoring can feel invasive to some employees. OnTheClock avoids this, since it only logs clock in and clock out events with location. Teams weighing this tradeoff sometimes look at expense tracking and simpler attendance tools instead of full activity monitoring.
- Which tool fits a business with more than one location?
- OnTheClock is built for small businesses that may run a few sites, with job costing to track labor by project. Time Doctor does not center on physical locations at all. It tracks desktop activity wherever a remote or outsourced worker is logged in. Multi-site businesses billing clients across locations may also want client reporting to share hours by site.
- What if neither OnTheClock nor Time Doctor fits how I bill clients?
- Both tools focus on tracking and paying your own staff, not on turning tracked hours into a client invoice. If you bill clients by the hour and want project budgets, approvals, and invoicing built around the same tracked time, it is worth looking at a wider set of options on our alternatives page, which covers tools built specifically for that workflow.
Still deciding between OnTheClock and Time Doctor?
Both tools solve a real problem, simple attendance or detailed activity proof. Match the tool to what you actually need to prove before you commit to a plan.
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