TimeTracker vs Time Doctor: Full Comparison
Time Doctor proves that work happened, with screenshots and activity scores. TimeTracker proves that work was profitable, with budgets and invoicing.
Free to start. No credit card needed.
Our quick verdict on both tools
Pick Time Doctor if you manage offshore or outsourced staff and need screenshots, activity scores, and payroll to prove work got done. Pick TimeTracker if you bill clients for time and want project budgets, approvals, and invoicing without the monitoring layer.
Start tracking freeWhat this comparison covers
TimeTracker and Time Doctor are both time tracking tools, compared here side by side so you can see how they differ.
Anyone deciding between TimeTracker and Time Doctor for time tracking should start with the quick verdict above.
Compare the two products at a glance
Both tools solve time tracking. Here is what each one includes, side by side.
TimeTracker
Every task carries operational and financial context together. Tracked time, budget impact, and invoicing live in one connected system, so you know if a project is still profitable before it becomes a problem.
- Best for
- Agencies and consultancies of 2 to 50 people who bill clients for time and need to see project profit, not just hours.
- Pricing
- Free for up to 3 people, no credit card needed. Pro is $15 per user a month, or $12 per user a month billed yearly, with a 14-day trial.
- One-click task timers
- Timesheet submission and approvals
- Effective-dated billing and cost rates
- Live project budgets and profitability
- Client invoicing and payments
- Client portal with a cost firewall
- Reports and dashboards
- Expense tracking with billable markup
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 TimeTracker when…
You bill clients by the hour and want the invoice to match tracked time exactly.
Approved hours flow straight into an invoice, so what you bill always matches what was tracked.See how
You need to see if a project is still profitable while it is still running.
Live budgets compare cost to price as the team logs hours, so a losing project shows up early, not at invoice time.See how
You want a manager to approve hours before they turn into a client bill.
Timesheets lock after approval, so nobody bills a client for hours no one signed off on.See how
Your rates change by client or by person and old invoices need to stay correct.
Rate changes are effective dated, so past invoices keep the rate that was active at the time.See how
Choose Time Doctor when…
You manage offshore or outsourced staff and need proof that work actually happened.
Random screenshots, keystroke activity, and an activity score give you evidence you can audit, which TimeTracker does not offer.See how
You want idle detection and distraction alerts to catch downtime as it happens.
Time Doctor flags idle time and distracting websites in real time, built specifically for monitoring remote workers closely.See how
You want to pay your team and track their hours in the same tool.
Time Doctor has payroll built in, so hours-to-payout is one workflow instead of two separate systems.See how
Your clients want to log in and see monitoring reports directly, not just a summary.
Time Doctor's client login shows raw activity data to clients, which suits agencies that sell proof of oversight as part of the service.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
Compare other tools
Frequently asked questions
- Is TimeTracker cheaper than Time Doctor?
- Time Doctor starts around $8 a user a month for its Basic plan, which has no integrations or payroll. TimeTracker starts at $15 a user a month, or $12 if you pay yearly, and includes budgets, approvals, and invoicing from the start. See the full breakdown on the billing page.
- Does Time Doctor take screenshots of my screen?
- Yes. Time Doctor takes random screenshots and can blur them, plus it scores activity level and tracks app and website use. TimeTracker does not do this kind of monitoring. It focuses on time tracking tied to clients and projects, not on watching how the screen is used. For the full list of what it captures, read what Time Doctor is.
- Which tool shows project profitability better?
- TimeTracker shows cost against price live as hours are logged, so you can see project profit before the project ends. Time Doctor tracks hours and activity but does not connect cost rates to show profit the same way.
- Can both tools send invoices to clients?
- TimeTracker turns approved hours straight into an invoice, see how invoicing from tracked time works. Time Doctor does not build invoices. It focuses on payroll and reporting instead.
- Does Time Doctor have payroll built in?
- Yes, and this is one place Time Doctor is genuinely ahead. It pays your team directly from tracked hours, which TimeTracker does not do. TimeTracker instead focuses on turning approved hours into a client invoice, see timesheet approvals for how hours get signed off first.
- Do I have to approve timesheets in TimeTracker?
- Approvals are built in but not required. A manager can lock a week's hours before they are billed, see how timesheet approvals work.
- Can I set different rates for different clients in TimeTracker?
- Yes. Rates can be set per client and per person, and old rates stay attached to invoices you already sent. See rate management for the full picture.
- Is Time Doctor's monitoring too much for a small in-house team?
- For a small team that already trusts each other, screenshots and activity scores can feel invasive and add friction. TimeTracker skips that layer and focuses on utilization tracking at a team level instead of watching individual screens.
- How hard is it to move from Time Doctor to TimeTracker?
- You add clients, projects, and tasks, then track time the same way with one-click timers. Most teams are up and running within a day, though you lose screenshot and payroll features Time Doctor had.
- Which one should an agency managing offshore staff pick?
- If proof of work for offshore or outsourced staff matters most, Time Doctor's screenshots and activity scores are hard to beat. If billing clients accurately and tracking project profit matters more, TimeTracker usually fits better. See our Time Doctor alternatives page for more options.
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Set up your first client and project in minutes. Track hours, approve timesheets, and turn tracked time into an invoice without leaving TimeTracker.
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