What Is OnTheClock? What It Does and What It Now Costs

A small business time clock from Michigan. Here is what it tracks, what the bill really comes to, and why the free plan reviews promise is gone.

See the alternatives

Prices read off ontheclock.com, 31 July 2026.

The product

What OnTheClock is

What it is

OnTheClock is an online employee time clock for small businesses, made by a company in Clinton Township, Michigan. Staff clock in from a phone, a browser or a shared tablet, and the punches build time cards that feed a payroll run. Location controls, time off, a shift planner and job costing all come with the base plan rather than sitting behind an upgrade. The company says more than 16,000 businesses use it.

Who needs this

Hourly teams of roughly 5 to 100 people who need a simple punch clock and want the extras included. It is a poor fit if you bill clients by the hour, because there is no invoicing, and a poor fit for a team of two, since the free tier that used to cover you no longer exists.

The features

What OnTheClock actually does

These six things come up in every review that ranks for the brand. All of them sit on the base plan, which is unusual in this market.

Punching from almost anything

Staff clock in from the iPhone or Android app, any web browser, a desktop app, or a shared tablet running OnTheClock in kiosk mode. That last one is the reason a lot of shop floors and kitchens pick it. One device by the door covers the whole crew.

Location controls on the punch

GPS coordinates, geofences and IP restrictions all come standard, not as a paid tier. A geofence refuses a punch from outside the site. An IP rule pins punching to the office network. This is where OnTheClock is genuinely strong for its price.

Checks on who is punching

Beyond a login, OnTheClock offers a fingerprint reader option and IP verification to make a punch harder to fake. TimeTracker has none of that. Everyone signs in as themselves on their own device, which is a different answer to the same problem.

Shift planning and time off

OnTheClock includes a drag-and-drop planner for employee scheduling, plus paid time off with accruals, requests and approvals. Worked hours are then compared against the plan. TimeTracker does time off with real accrual policies, but has no planner.

Overtime, jobs and tips

Overtime rules are calculated for you. Hours can be split across projects and jobs for costing, and there are fields for tips, bonuses and commission, which most time clocks skip. Reporting is fine for payroll but thinner than a full workforce platform.

Payroll, its own and other people's

OnTheClock sells its own payroll product as a paid add-on, and it also pushes approved hours into outside payroll systems including ADP RUN and QuickBooks. TimeTracker exports time cards, leave and balances to CSV, and you import that file yourself.

Pricing

What OnTheClock costs today, base fee included

Read off the vendor's own pricing page on 31 July 2026. Two of the reviews ranking on page one still quote prices that page no longer shows.

$4 per employee, plus $5 a month

One plan covers time tracking, the shift planner, time off, GPS and geofencing, IP rules, overtime and payroll integrations. There is a 30-day trial with no card needed. The $5 monthly base fee applies whatever your headcount.

The free plan is not there any more

OnTheClock was known for a free-forever tier covering up to two employees. It is not on the pricing page now. The page's own calculator puts two employees at $13 a month. If a free plan is what brought you here, that is the single most important thing on this page.

The base fee makes small teams pay more each

Two people is $13 a month, which is $6.50 each. Five people is $25, or $5 each. Ten is $45, or $4.50 each. Twenty-five is $105, or $4.20 each. The headline $4 rate is only close to true once you pass about 20 staff.

The headcount ladder is gone too

Reviews still list a sliding scale, $3.50 an employee for 3 to 10 staff falling to $3.20 for 301 to 400. The current page shows one flat rate and an enterprise conversation above 100 employees. Anyone budgeting off those old numbers will come up short.

Payroll is a separate bill

Adding OnTheClock's payroll costs $6 per employee a month plus a $40 monthly base fee, and there is a one-time $250 onboarding fee on top. For ten people that is $100 a month before the time tracking, and $250 before you start.

How that compares to us

TimeTracker is free for up to 3 people and then $15 per user a month, or $12 billed yearly, with no base fee and no add-ons. Per head, OnTheClock is cheaper and we are not going to pretend otherwise. What you buy from us is what happens after the hours are logged.

Fact sheet

OnTheClock and TimeTracker side by side

We make TimeTracker, so read this page knowing that. Every price below came off the vendor's own pricing page on the date shown.

OnTheClock

A simple punch clock that puts GPS, geofencing, time off and shift planning on the base plan instead of behind an upgrade.

Best for: Hourly teams of 5 to 100 who want a straightforward clock with the extras included.
Pricing: No free plan any more, 30-day trial only. $4 per employee a month plus a $5 monthly base fee, so 2 employees is $13. Payroll adds $6 per employee, a $40 base fee, and a one-time $250 onboarding fee.

Punch from phone, web, desktop or a shared tablet
GPS, geofencing and IP rules on the base plan
OnTheClock's fingerprint reader option at punch
Drag-and-drop shift planner included
PTO with accruals, requests and approvals
OnTheClock pushes hours to ADP RUN

Compare the alternatives

Best fit

TimeTracker

A stricter record of the hours themselves. Approved periods lock, and rounding never overwrites the real duration.

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. Paid is $15 per user a month, or $12 per user a month billed yearly. No base fee and no add-ons.

Approvals that lock the period for good
Every edit after approval is recorded
Rounding keeps the exact raw duration
Preview who a location rule blocks
Time off with real accrual policies
Invoices built from tracked time

Start free

Head to head

Where OnTheClock wins and where it does not

OnTheClock beats us on price per head and on almost everything to do with punching. We are not hiding that, so here is the whole picture.

Comparison dimension	OnTheClock	TimeTrackerBest fit
Free plan	None now, 30-day trial	Up to 3 people
Price per person	$4 plus a $5 base fee	$15, no base fee
Punch from a shared tablet	Yes, OnTheClock has kiosk mode	No, everyone signs in
Proof of which person punched	OnTheClock has a fingerprint option	Sign-in only, nothing stronger
Shift planner	Yes, included	No, hours only
Hours into payroll	OnTheClock pushes them to ADP	CSV file you import
Clock in with no connection	Yes	No
Geofence blocks a punch	Yes, on the base plan	Yes, on the paid plan
Preview who a rule blocks	Not published	Yes, before it goes live
Keeps raw time beside rounded	Not published	Yes, both are stored
Approved period locks	Not published	Yes, every edit logged
Client invoicing	No, none	Yes, from tracked time

Read off ontheclock.com/pricing on 31 July 2026. Workyard still lists a free two-user plan and rates from $3.50 down to $3.20. SpotSaaS still lists $2.95. Neither figure appears on that page now.

Pros and cons

The real strengths and limits of each

Both write-ups follow the same 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.

OnTheClock

Best for

Small hourly teams who want a clock that is easy to set up and cheap per head.

Pricing

No free plan, 30-day trial. $4 per employee a month plus a $5 monthly base fee. Payroll adds $6 per employee plus a $40 base fee and a one-time $250 onboarding fee.

Checked 31 July 2026

Where it wins

Location controls, time off and shift planning are on the base plan, not gated behind an upgrade
One tablet by the door covers a whole crew, and OnTheClock adds a fingerprint reader option on top
Strong review scores: 4.7 out of 5 on Capterra and 4.5 out of 5 on G2
Hours push into ADP RUN and QuickBooks, and OnTheClock sells its own payroll as an add-on
$4 an employee a month is well below most of this market

Where it falls short

The free two-employee plan is gone. The pricing page now prices two employees at $13 a month
The $5 monthly base fee hits the smallest teams hardest, making two people $6.50 each rather than $4
Payroll is a separate bill: $6 an employee, a $40 base fee, and a one-time $250 onboarding fee
No client invoicing at all, so tracked hours cannot become a bill
Reporting is built for payroll, and thins out fast next to a full workforce platform

TimeTrackerOurs

Best for

Teams whose problem is not who punched, but whether the hours hold up when somebody checks.

Pricing

Free for up to 3 people. Paid is $15 per user a month, or $12 per user a month billed yearly.

Checked 31 July 2026

Where it wins

Approvals lock the period, and every later change is on the record
Rounding to 6, 15 or 30 minutes always keeps the exact raw duration beside the rounded figure
Preview who a location rule will restrict before it goes live, so nobody is locked out on a Monday
Free for up to 3 people, with no base fee and no per-user add-ons on any plan
Tracked hours turn into client invoices, which OnTheClock does not do at all

Where it falls short

No shared-device mode. Everyone signs in as themselves, so one tablet by the door will not work
OnTheClock has a fingerprint option and we have nothing like it, so we cannot prove which person punched
No shift planner. We compare worked hours against expected hours, and that is all
Hours leave as a CSV file that you import into payroll yourself, rather than being pushed across
$15 per user a month is several times OnTheClock's rate, and a clock-in needs a connection

See all OnTheClock alternatives

Which to pick

Should you use OnTheClock or something stricter?

Choose OnTheClock when…

A crew shares one tablet by the door to punch in.
OnTheClock runs in kiosk mode. We have no shared-device option.
You need to know which person actually made the punch.
OnTheClock has a fingerprint option. Nothing we have does that.
You plan the week's shifts as well as tracking hours.
OnTheClock includes a planner. We only compare hours to expected.
Hours should land in ADP or QuickBooks without a file.
OnTheClock pushes them across. We hand you a CSV to import.
The budget is a few dollars per person a month.
OnTheClock is $4 plus a $5 base fee. We are $15 a user.

Choose TimeTracker when…

Somebody audits your hours, or a client disputes an invoice.
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
You want to know who a location rule will block first.
Preview the affected people before the rule goes live.
Tracked hours need to become a client bill.
OnTheClock has no invoicing at all. We build invoices from time.See how
The team is 3 people and you wanted the old free plan.
We are free for 3, with no base fee and no add-ons.See how

FAQ

Common questions about OnTheClock

Google shows no People Also Ask box for this brand, so every question below was taken from the FAQ sections of the review pages that currently rank.

What is OnTheClock?: OnTheClock is an online employee time clock for small businesses, built by a company in Clinton Township, Michigan. Staff punch in from a phone, a browser, a desktop app or a shared tablet, and those punches build time cards for payroll. Location controls, time off, shift planning and job costing are all on the base plan. The company says over 16,000 businesses use it.
Is OnTheClock free?: Not any more. OnTheClock used to run a free-forever plan for up to two employees, and most published reviews still describe it. Its pricing page on 31 July 2026 shows no free plan, and the page's own calculator prices two employees at $13 a month. There is a 30-day trial instead. TimeTracker is still free for up to 3 people, and you can see the full plan list on our pricing page.
How much does OnTheClock cost?: It is $4 per employee a month plus a $5 monthly base fee, after a 30-day trial. That makes two employees $13 a month, five $25, ten $45 and twenty-five $105. Adding OnTheClock's payroll costs another $6 per employee plus a $40 base fee, with a one-time $250 onboarding fee. Reviews quoting $3.50, $3.20 or $2.95 are working from an older price list.
What does the OnTheClock app track?: It tracks clock-ins and clock-outs, breaks, the GPS location of each punch, hours split by job or project, overtime, paid time off, and tips or bonuses if you use those fields. It does not watch what is on your screen or which programs you open. It is a punch clock, not a monitoring tool.
Does OnTheClock track you?: It records where a punch happened, if your employer has turned location controls on. That means GPS coordinates at clock-in and clock-out, and it can refuse a punch from outside a geofence or off an approved IP address. Whether it follows you between punches depends on what your employer switched on, so that is the question to ask them.
Can employees clock in from their phones?: Yes. OnTheClock has iPhone and Android apps, and staff can also punch from any web browser, a desktop app, or a shared tablet by the door. TimeTracker has iPhone and Android apps plus the web app too, though each person signs in as themselves rather than sharing a device. Our mobile time clock page covers what that includes.
Does OnTheClock help prevent off site clock ins and buddy punching?: Yes, on both counts. A geofence refuses a punch made outside the site, and IP restrictions pin punching to an approved network, so off-site clock-ins simply do not save. For buddy punching, OnTheClock offers a fingerprint reader option, which is the only check that ties a punch to a person rather than a device.
Can I keep my existing payroll provider?: Yes. OnTheClock's own payroll is an optional add-on, and the time tracking plan pushes approved hours into outside systems including ADP RUN and QuickBooks. TimeTracker works differently. We export time cards, leave and balances to CSV and you import that file into your payroll system, so budget a few minutes each pay run for it.
Is OnTheClock a full HR system?: No. It covers time, attendance, paid time off and shift planning, and it stops there. There is no hiring, onboarding, performance review or benefits administration, and reporting is built around payroll rather than workforce analytics. If you need an HR platform, this is a piece of one, not the whole thing.
What are the top alternatives for OnTheClock?: It depends which part you are replacing. For the punch checks, Buddy Punch, Jibble and QuickBooks Time all cover similar ground. For a free plan, Clockify and Jibble still have one. If your real problem is hours that have to survive an audit, that is the gap we built for, and our OnTheClock alternatives roundup ranks the field, while the head-to-head comparison goes row by row.

Came looking for the free plan?

If the free two-employee tier is what you were after, it is not on OnTheClock's pricing page any more. TimeTracker is free for up to 3 people, with approvals, locking and location rules included rather than sold as add-ons.

Start free