Time tracking with screenshots, activity scores and project budgets — built for remote teams that need proof of work.
Hubstaff is a time-tracking platform that pairs a desktop timer with optional screenshots, activity levels and URL/app logs. It is aimed squarely at owners who hire freelancers and remote staff and want a paper trail behind every invoiced hour, not just an honour-system spreadsheet.
You install the desktop app on Mac, Windows or Linux (a Chrome extension and mobile apps exist too). Workers start the timer against a project or task. Hubstaff samples the screen up to three times per ten minutes, logs keyboard and mouse activity as a percentage, and ships everything to a web dashboard you control.
Owners get weekly timesheets, idle-time alerts, project budgets that trigger when hours run hot, and an automatic payroll stack that pays via PayPal, Wise, Bitwage or Gusto. GPS tracking and geofences are available on the field-service plans for crews that move between sites.
The marketing pages show four tiers — Starter at $4.99, Grow at $7.99, Team at $10.99 and Enterprise at $25 per seat per month, billed annually. The catch most buyers miss: every paid plan has a two-seat minimum, so the smallest real bill is roughly $10 a month, not $4.99. Monthly billing adds about 10–15%.
Screenshots, activity tracking, payroll integrations and the project-budget alerts all live behind the Grow tier or higher. The free single-user plan exists but strips out almost everything that makes Hubstaff worth using over a free Toggl account.
| Tool | Screenshots | Activity score | Entry price | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hubstaff | Yes (configurable) | Yes | $4.99/seat (2-seat min) | 1 user, basic only |
| Toggl Track | No | No | $9/seat | Up to 5 users |
| Time Doctor | Yes | Yes | $7/seat | 14-day trial |
| Clockify | Add-on | Add-on | $3.99/seat | Unlimited users |
Hubstaff sits between Toggl (lighter, no monitoring) and Time Doctor (more aggressive monitoring, distraction alerts). If you do not want screenshots at all, Clockify and Toggl are both cheaper and friendlier to staff.
Hubstaff is honest about what it is: surveillance-flavoured time tracking that earns its keep when client invoices need backup. Start with the 14-day trial, test screenshots on yourself first, and only roll it out once your team understands what is captured.
Start the 14-day Hubstaff trialAgencies use Hubstaff to log time against specific projects and clients, then export timesheets for invoicing. The idle-time detection prevents overbilling, and budget alerts stop scope creep. Payroll integration means timesheets feed directly into payroll processing.
Plumbers, electricians, and HVAC teams use Hubstaff's GPS tracking to verify site visits and auto-calculate travel time. Technicians clock in/out at each job; Hubstaff logs the route and duration. Payroll and invoicing pull from the same timesheet.
Finance teams connect Hubstaff to QuickBooks or Gusto to eliminate manual timesheet re-entry. Approved hours flow into payroll with no copy-paste errors. Hubstaff also tracks contractor invoices, reducing accounts payable cycle time.
Quarterly access to product leadership.
Bonus credits redeemable on partner tooling.
We re-verify the offer every quarter so it never goes stale.
Hit the button on this page — opens the partner site in a new tab.
Check your investor or accelerator benefits portal for the Hubstaff partner code. Y Combinator, Sequoia, and most Tier 1 VCs have codes available.
Renewals stay at the same rate — verified by us, not the vendor.
| Feature | Hubstaff |
|---|---|
| Free trial | 14 days |
| Cheapest paid plan | $0/mo |
| Annual discount | Up to 25% |
| Refund window | 30 days |
| Setup time | < 1 hour |
| Best for | Founders |
“My clients trust my invoices because of Hubstaff”
“Good for accountability, just have clear policies”
“Transformed how we manage our remote development team”
