What Is Hubstaff? What It Tracks and What It Really Costs

Hubstaff is a time tracker with employee monitoring built in. Here is what it records, what the plans and add-ons really cost, and who it fits.

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Plans read off Hubstaff's own site, 30 July 2026.

Definition

What Hubstaff is, in one sentence

What it is

Hubstaff is a time tracking app that also watches how the work was done. A desktop app runs while the timer is on, and depending on your plan it takes screenshots, scores an activity level from keyboard and mouse use, logs which apps and websites were open, and records GPS on mobile. Managers then turn those hours into reports, invoices and automated payouts. There is no free plan, only a 14-day trial.

Who needs this

Agencies, outsourcing firms and field service teams who pay people by the hour and want proof of what happened in those hours. It fits badly if you only need clean hours for billing, because most of what you pay for is the watching.

Features

What Hubstaff records, feature by feature

Almost every review lists these. What they skip is which plan each one needs, so that is here too, because the plan gates decide the real bill.

The timer and the desktop app

Start and stop a timer in the browser, on the Windows, Mac or Linux desktop app, or on iPhone and Android. The desktop app is the one that matters, because that is where the monitoring runs. Time can also be added by hand later, and a manager can require that manual entries get approved.

Screenshots

While the Hubstaff timer runs, the desktop app can capture the screen at random points. Starter caps this at a few hundred a seat a month, Team and up are unlimited. Shots can be blurred, so a manager sees the shape of the work without reading the text. A worker can delete one, but that deletes the time attached to it.

Activity levels

Hubstaff turns keyboard presses and mouse movement into a percentage for every 10 minute block. It does not read what you typed. It only counts that you moved. That is worth knowing, because it means quiet work like reading, thinking or being on a call scores low even when it is the most valuable hour of the day.

App and URL logs

Hubstaff records which programs and websites were open while its timer ran, and the Insights add-on sorts them into productive and unproductive. Starter gives a limited number of these logs, Team and up give unlimited. This is the feature most employees mean when they call it invasive.

GPS and job sites

Location tracking on mobile, geofences around job sites and work orders now sit in the paid Locations add-on at $3.33 per seat a month, and that add-on needs the Team plan or higher. Several reviews still list GPS as an included feature. Check your own quote before you plan around it.

Payroll payouts

Hubstaff can pay people straight from approved hours through PayPal, Wise, Payoneer and similar services, and it connects to payroll platforms like Deel. For an agency paying 40 contractors in 12 countries this is the strongest thing on the whole list, and very few rivals have it.

Timesheets, approvals and time off

Weekly timesheets, submit and approve, overtime, daily and weekly hour limits, plus leave and holidays. Nearly all of this is gated to the Team plan. On Starter you get timesheets and activity levels and not much else, which is why the entry price is misleading.

Scheduling, tasks and integrations

Hubstaff bundles shift scheduling, attendance rules and a kanban task board, and connects to more than 30 tools including QuickBooks, Asana, Jira, Trello and Slack. Scheduling and unlimited integrations both need the Team plan. The task board is a separate add-on at $2.50 per seat a month.

Plans

Hubstaff pricing, plan by plan

Every rate below is the annual one, per seat a month. Paying monthly costs more. Team is highlighted because it is where most of the features people expect actually start.

Comparison dimension	Starter	Grow	TeamBest fit	Enterprise
Price per seat a month, billed yearly	$4.99	$7.50	$10	$25
Seat minimum	2 seats, so $9.98 a month	2 seats, so $15 a month	2 seats, so $20 a month	No 2 seat floor
Screenshots	Limited each month	More each month	Unlimited	Unlimited
App and URL logs	Limited	More	Unlimited	Unlimited
Idle timeout and project budgets	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Timesheet approvals and time off	No	No	Yes	Yes
Payments and payroll payouts	No	No	Yes	Yes
Shift scheduling and overtime rules	No	No	Yes	Yes
Integrations	None	One	Unlimited	Unlimited
GPS and geofences (Locations add-on)	Not available	Not available	Add $3.33 a seat	Add $3.33 a seat
SOC 2 Type II and single sign-on	No	No	No	Yes

Read off Hubstaff's own pricing page on 30 July 2026. Add-ons stack on top, and a Team seat with all of them lands near $25 a month, the same as Enterprise.

Fact sheet

Hubstaff and TimeTracker side by side

We build TimeTracker, so read this page knowing that. The two tools answer different questions, and the fact sheet is written to show that rather than hide it.

Hubstaff

Time tracking with proof of work attached. Screenshots, activity levels, app and URL logs and GPS, then automated payouts from the same hours.

Best for: Agencies and outsourcing firms paying remote or field workers by the hour.
Pricing: No free plan, a 14-day trial only. Billed yearly it is $4.99 a seat for Starter, $7.50 for Grow, $10 for Team and $25 for Enterprise. The first three carry a 2 seat minimum, so the real floor is $9.98 a month.

Screenshots, blurred if you want
Activity level from mouse and keys
App and website logs
GPS and geofences (paid add-on)
Automated payroll payouts
30+ integrations on Team and up

Compare the alternatives

Best fit

TimeTracker

Proof of hours without proof of keystrokes. It watches nothing on the machine and instead makes the approved hours hard to argue with later.

Best for: Teams whose hours get checked by a client, a payroll run or an auditor.
Pricing: Free for up to 3 people, no credit card needed and no seat minimum. Paid is $15 per user a month, or $12 per user a month when you pay yearly.

No screenshots of any kind
Approvals that lock the period
Every edit after approval recorded
Rounding keeps the real duration
Geofence and IP clock-in rules
Time off with real accrual policies

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Head to head

Where Hubstaff beats us, and where it does not

Hubstaff wins most of the top half of this table. We are not going to pretend otherwise, because the whole point is helping you pick the right side.

Comparison dimension	Hubstaff	TimeTrackerBest fit
Free plan	None, 14-day trial only	Up to 3 users, no card
Cheapest paid seat	$4.99 a month, 2 seat minimum	$15 a month, buy one seat
Screenshots	Yes, blurred if you want	No, none exist
Activity score from mouse and keys	Yes, per 10 minute block	No, nothing is scored
App and website logging	Yes, unlimited on Team	No, nothing is logged
GPS on mobile	Yes, $3.33 add-on on Team	Only to allow or block a clock-in
Pays people automatically	Yes, PayPal, Wise, Payoneer	No, CSV export only
Shift scheduling and offline tracking	Both, on Team and up	Neither
Approvals on the cheapest plan	No, Team plan and up	Yes, even on the free plan
Approved period locks, later edits logged	Approvals, no published lock	Yes, every later edit logged
Keeps raw time beside rounded	Not published	Yes, both are stored
Blocks a clock-in from the wrong place	Records location, geofence alerts	Yes, and previews who it blocks

Checked on each vendor's own site on 30 July 2026. Hubstaff's screenshot, app log and GPS features are optional, but the plans are priced around them, so most buyers switch them on.

Pros and cons

The real strengths and limits of each

Both write-ups follow one rule. Strengths and limits carry equal weight, nothing is invented, and every price was read off the vendor's own site on the date shown.

Hubstaff

Best for

Agencies and outsourcing firms paying remote or field workers by the hour.

Pricing

No free plan, 14-day trial only. Billed yearly: Starter $4.99, Grow $7.50, Team $10 and Enterprise $25 a seat a month. The first three need at least 2 seats.

Checked 30 July 2026

Where it wins

Deepest monitoring in the category: screenshots, activity level, app and URL logs, idle time and GPS in one app
Pays people automatically from approved hours through PayPal, Wise, Payoneer and Deel, which very few rivals do
Screenshots can be blurred, so a manager sees the shape of the work without reading private text
One platform covers desk staff and field crews, which usually takes two tools
Tracking keeps working without a connection and syncs when the signal comes back

Where it falls short

No free plan at all, only a 14-day trial, while Clockify, Jibble and Toggl Track all have one
Starter, Grow and Team carry a 2 seat minimum, so the advertised $4.99 is really $9.98 a month
Approvals, time off, payroll, scheduling and unlimited integrations all need the Team plan at $10 a seat
Add-ons stack fast: Insights, Tasks, extra screenshots and Silent are $2.50 a seat each, Locations is $3.33
GPS moved into the paid Locations add-on and needs Team or higher, so older reviews listing it as included are wrong
Activity level counts mouse and key movement, not value, so reading, thinking and calls all score low

TimeTrackerOurs

Best for

Teams whose hours get checked by a client, a payroll run or an auditor.

Pricing

Free for up to 3 people, no card and no seat minimum. Paid is $15 per user a month, or $12 per user a month billed yearly.

Checked 30 July 2026

Where it wins

No monitoring of any kind, so nobody has to explain a screenshot policy to their team
Approved periods lock against edits, and every change after that is recorded
Rounding to 6, 15 or 30 minutes always keeps the exact raw duration next to the rounded one
Geofence and IP rules can block a clock-in from the wrong place, and you can preview who a rule restricts first
Approvals come with our one paid plan, where Hubstaff makes you climb to the $10 Team tier
Spots a session someone forgot to close and tells them, so attendance data does not drift

Where it falls short

No screenshots, no activity score and no app or website logging. If you need proof of work, Hubstaff is the right tool and we are not
Costs more per seat at $15 a month against Hubstaff's $4.99 annual rate
No automated payouts. Approved hours export to CSV and you run payroll elsewhere
No shift rota builder, and no clock-in without a connection
A much shorter integration list than Hubstaff's 30 plus apps

See all Hubstaff alternatives

Which to pick

Proving the hours, or watching the person?

Choose Hubstaff when…

You pay contractors you have never met and need proof of work.
Screenshots and activity levels exist for exactly this job.
You want the tracker to pay people as well as time them.
Hubstaff pays out through PayPal, Wise and Payoneer. We do not.
Crews move between job sites and you need to see where they were.
Hubstaff has GPS and geofences in the Locations add-on.
You build the rota as well as tracking the hours.
Hubstaff schedules shifts on Team. We only do the hours.
People work where the signal drops out.
Hubstaff keeps tracking offline and syncs later. Ours needs a signal.

Choose TimeTracker when…

Your team would quit over screenshots, but hours still need proof.
We record nothing on the machine. The audit trail does the proving.See how
A client disputes an invoice months after the work.
Approved periods lock and every later edit is on the record.See how
You round billable time and need the real figure kept too.
Both the exact duration and the rounded one are stored.See how
A clock-in should only count from an approved place.
Geofences, IP ranges and accuracy limits can block it outright.
You are one or two people and do not want a seat minimum.
Free for up to 3, then buy exactly the seats you use.See how

FAQ

Common questions about Hubstaff

These are the questions Google shows under the Hubstaff results, plus the ones the ranking reviews answer, in the wording people actually use.

What is Hubstaff used for?: Hubstaff is used to track hours and prove what happened in them. Teams run a timer, and the desktop app records screenshots, an activity level, and which apps and websites were open. Managers use that to bill clients, run payroll and check remote work. For tools that do the hours without the watching, see our Hubstaff alternatives roundup.
Does Hubstaff monitor your screen?: Yes, if your employer switches it on. The desktop app captures screenshots at random points while the Hubstaff timer runs, and it logs the apps and sites you had open. It stops when you stop the timer, so it does not watch outside tracked time. Screenshots can be blurred, and on Team plans they are unlimited. Ask your employer what is enabled rather than assuming nothing is.
How much does Hubstaff cost per month?: Billed yearly it is $4.99 a seat for Starter, $7.50 for Grow, $10 for Team and $25 for Enterprise. Paying monthly costs more. Starter, Grow and Team all need at least 2 seats, so the cheapest real bill is $9.98 a month, not $4.99. Add-ons are extra. Our own pricing is $15 a user a month with no seat minimum.
How to trick Hubstaff activity?: We are not going to help with that, but the question is worth answering honestly. Activity level only counts mouse and keyboard movement, so it rewards fidgeting and punishes reading, thinking and phone calls. If people feel they must fake it, the metric is the problem, not the people. That is the argument for tracking hours and outcomes instead.
Can Hubstaff detect mouse jigglers?: Sometimes. Hubstaff flags unusual activity patterns and a manager can see steady, robotic input next to zero real output on screenshots. But detection is not the useful answer. If a team is buying jigglers, the score has stopped measuring work and the tracking policy needs rethinking.
Is Hubstaff free?: No. Hubstaff has a 14-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee, but there is no permanent free plan. The only free seat is the Project Viewer role, which can read reports but cannot track time. Clockify, Jibble and Toggl Track all have real free tiers, and TimeTracker is free for up to 3 people.
What are Hubstaff's add-on costs?: Insights, Tasks, extra screenshots and the Silent auto-tracking add-on are $2.50 per seat a month each. Locations, which covers GPS and geofences, is $3.33 and needs the Team plan. Longer data retention is $1.67. Stack them all onto a Team seat and you are near $25 a month, the same as Enterprise.
Can Hubstaff be used offline?: Yes. The desktop and mobile apps keep tracking without a connection and upload once you are back online. This is a genuine advantage over TimeTracker, where a clock-in needs a signal. If your crew works in basements, tunnels or remote sites, weigh that heavily.
Does Hubstaff handle payroll and invoicing?: Yes, on the Team plan and up. Hubstaff can pay people straight from approved hours through PayPal, Wise, Payoneer and Deel, and it raises client invoices from billable time. This is one of its strongest features. TimeTracker exports approved hours to CSV and you run payroll in your own system.
Is Hubstaff safe and a legitimate company?: Yes. Hubstaff is an established US company with GDPR, HIPAA and SOC 2 Type II compliance on its Enterprise tier, and it is used by well over 100,000 people. The question worth asking is not whether it is safe, it is what your admin has turned on and how long that data is kept.
What are Hubstaff's biggest weaknesses?: Three, and they compound. There is no free plan. The cheap tiers carry a 2 seat minimum and hold back approvals, time off, payroll, scheduling and integrations until the $10 Team plan. Then the add-ons stack on top. The other weakness is cultural: monitoring changes how a team feels about the work, and no pricing page shows that cost.
What is the best Hubstaff alternative without monitoring?: It depends what the monitoring was replacing. If it was proof for a client, you want an audit trail rather than screenshots, which is how TimeTracker is built. If it was proof for payroll, you want approvals that lock. We compare the honest options in our head-to-head with Hubstaff.

Want the hours without the screenshots?

If you are here because Hubstaff's monitoring is a hard sell to your team, try TimeTracker free for up to 3 people. Approvals and locking come with the one paid plan, and nothing on the machine is ever recorded.

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