5 Hubstaff Alternatives To Make Your Team More Productive

Today, managers like you want to know the precise time their teams spent on assigned tasks. They use software-based time trackers to gain insights into employee performances that could help them in becoming more efficient and productive.

Hubstaff is one big fish in this pond.

It has  a user base of over 500k and offers features in four different verticals: time tracking, employee monitoring, workforce management, and agile project management.

The tool offers multiple packages starting with a free base plan for a single user, which goes up to $8.33/user/month. There’s also a customized enterprise package that is built and billed around your preferred specifications.   

Key features:

• Time-tracking and reporting
• GPS location tracking, screenshotting, and URL tracking
• Project management
• Invoice tracking

Hubstaff is good, but monopoly is not. All in all, it’s a good time tracking tool to use to ensure optimal productivity levels for your team.

5 Hubstaff Alternatives You Should Try 

Here are 5 alternatives to Hubstaff that you can use for your team’s productivity. 

#1. Time Doctor

Used by over 250,000 users (as advertised), Time Doctor is a full-fledged time-tracking tool dedicated to improving your team’s efficiency by allowing you to dive deep into where and how your team spends its time. Time Doctor is known for its insights feature that turns time-tracking numbers into team performance-related information. 

For instance, managers get  insights like ‘employees with higher than 90% project success rates’ or ‘lowest absenteeism rate’, which can help you gauge employee performances and reward them accordingly. 

Key features:

• Timesheet logging
• Billable hours and employee capacity management for better planning
• Revenue recognition by integrating AP systems
• Automated reminders for employees

Pros of Time Doctor

• It is easy to integrate with other business tools
• The tool is HIPAA compliant, which means data across the app remains protected through a list of protocols
• Employees can see the screenshots taken by managers, which helps diffuse privacy concerns to some extent

Cons of Time Doctor

• The TD feature allows employees to manually edit time, which can be used to tamper with actual working times
• The break-time monitor is inaccurate and gets activated if your mouse doesn’t move for a while. This can be a problem if your primary job involves a lot of brainstorming and reading 
• The desktop activity bar disturbs the working process due to its significant size 
• The app allows taking screenshots 

#2. actiTIME

This time tracker keeps all the basics in-check and sticks to what it does best, project and team management. The app focuses on its time-tracking features to ensure that you get to bill every second accurately, avoiding potential errors while generating invoices. 

actiTIME may not be as extensive as Hubstaff, but it is perfect for small to medium-sized teams that require basic functionality with a hint of additional features. You can easily manage your in-office, remote, and hybrid teams, automate administrative processes, and acquire relevant insights based on the data collected through time-tracking. 

Key features: 

• Time tracking and reporting
• Billable time management
• Automated reminders and payments

Pros of actiTIME

• You can add notes for future reference while logging time 
• Offers a self-hosted tool, which you can host on your preferred server
• It has a dedicated window for leave management to help managers track schedules and assign new tasks

Cons of actiTIME

• You cannot customize the reports and are bound to follow the standard format
• It may create complications while integrating with external planning tools
• A cluttered dashboard that disrupts workflow for managers

#3. timegram

timegram is a privacy-first time-tracking and project management software that packs all the relevant features you need for optimal productivity with remote and hybrid teams. It promotes accountability within teams and comes equipped with three key modules: time tracking, project management, and performance reporting.

You can also set capacities, track individual and team performance, and generate accurate invoices based on billable hours calculated based on the time spent on tasks. Furthermore, timegram tracks time automatically, which means you don’t have to start or stop the timer every time you sit down to work.

Key features: 

• Zero-surveillance policy 
• Automated time-tracking
• Project planning and team management 
• Performance reports and insights
• Automatically generate and share invoices with clients within seconds

Pros of timegram

• As part of its productivity-enhancing model, the app boasts a simple and clean UI that allows everyone from new managers to vetted professionals and employee to get a good grasp of the tool without hassle
• It’s a privacy-first tool, which means no screenshots, no webcam monitoring, no keystroke tracking, and no other employee surveillance tactic – just pure focus on inputs and outputs, leading to clearer performance numbers
• You don’t have to start or stop the timer for every task or project since the desktop app (called Highlights) auto-launches and starts recording all the activities when you start your laptop
• Measuring employee performance is simple and easy, as there are dedicated dashboards for evaluating both team and project based performance 
• Ability to convert time spent on projects into invoices automatically

Cons of timegram

• It doesn’t offer a dedicated sprint management feature, which can be critical for managing agile teams
• The no-surveillance policy can be a deal-breaker for some managers 
• Integrations are limited to certain software 

#4. Wrike

Unlike the other Hubstaff alternatives on our list, Wrike distinguishes itself as a work management tool rather than a time tracking product. The tool features a list of components designed to make your workflow more seamless, be it for in-office or remote teams. 

With Wrike, you get to dive deeper into project management with visual dashboards, greater transparency, Kanban Boards, and much more. 

Key features:

• Workflow automation for seamless processes 
• Project and resource planning 
• Custom integrations 

Pros of Wrike

• It is excellent for complex project management, especially in the case of software teams 
• The free version of this tool allows you to add external collaborators to make project management easier 
• It has a customizable dashboard 

Cons of Wrike

• Onboarding and learning the product can be difficult due to its feature-rich layout 
• It comes with higher price tags 
• It is not practical for small teams 
• Completed projects disappear from the main dashboard and you have to dig them up in the app to regain access if required

#5. TimeCamp

This is another Hubstaff alternative that offers a broad range of project management features alongside time tracking. TimeCamp allows you to collaborate on projects, track billable hours with an additional option to add project complexity, and bill clients accordingly. 

It also comes with a desktop app that tracks employee activity, however, you are required to manually start and stop the timer when you work. Its timeline view allows you to manage multiple projects simultaneously with full efficiency to ensure you meet all of your deadlines. 

Key features: 

• Automated time tracking with reporting and approvals
• Dedicated window to manage leaves
• Generating invoices based on the time tracking data

Pros of TimeCamp

• It is easy to understand for both managers and employees 
• iOS users can download the app to track their logs
• It offers detailed reports with logged hours and wasted time mentioned separately 

Cons of TimeCamp

• Entries from multiple employees working on the same project can become cluttered and difficult to analyze 
• The mobile version offers limited features, ultimately requiring you to access the website for proper utility 
• Pricing plans are not customizable 

Which Time Tracker is the Best?

If you don’t like to invade employee privacy, believe in accountability within teams, and want a full-fledged automated time-tracking and productivity tool, then the best option is timegram. 

It is designed keeping both employees and managers in mind, resulting in a user-friendly, non-invasive product that enables teams to deliver quality results instead of wasting time on maintaining timesheets and reports. 

Get a hands-on experience of timegram today. Sign up now!

Not ready for the big move yet? No worries! 

Take your time and get to know us better. 

FAQs

How do I stop Hubstaff from taking screenshots?

Well, you may not be able to stop Hubstaff from taking screenshots, but what you can do is try a different time tracker that doesn’t take screenshots in the first place. Try timegram. 

Can your employer watch you?

It depends what sort of time-tracking tool your manager is using. A lot of them come with employee surveillance tactics enabled, in which case, yes, they can. If you’re using a tool like timegram, then you can rest assured that your manager will not be able to violate your privacy. 

Can you monitor employees without their knowledge?

Yes, several applications allow managers to spy on their employees without their knowledge. However, this technique has been proven to be counterproductive and can cause your workforce to find ways to cheat the employee surveillance system.