Who Will Win This Time Tracking Showdown? Time Doctor vs. Hubstaff

If you're a business owner, you know that time is money. That's why it pays to stay on top of how much time your team is spending on tasks and jobs. But with so many time tracking tools and it can be grueling to know which one will actually benefit your business.

This blog takes a closer look at Time Doctor vs. Hubstaff - two of the top contenders in the field - head-to-head to figure out which one offers companies the most bang for their buck.

Why Time Tracking Software is Important

Imagine having a digital assistant to help you manage your workday. That's exactly what time-tracking software does. It not only records your working hours but also provides valuable insights into how you're spending your time during the day.

Many time trackers come with various features like hourly wages and break times, so your team will never miss a minute of work or a crucial moment of rest. These tools are a game-changer for businesses and individuals alike, keeping everyone on track and focused on what really matters.

There are of course many other Remote Work Tips that you can use to improve productivity in your workplace however, time trackers make a significant impact.

Importance of Time Tracking Software for Businesses

As a business owner, juggling various tasks can be overwhelming, but keeping track of time shouldn't be one of them. Time-tracking software is an invaluable tool for modern businesses that's worth its weight in gold. 

With this type of software, you will be able to increase profitability by ensuring accurate invoicing and payment. It also helps to set clear objectives, streamline project management, and boost productivity. Plus, with increased transparency and efficient communication channels, you'll be able to keep your team on track and work toward your goals efficiently. So make sure not to fall into the trap of poor time management. Instead, invest in time-tracking software to simplify your life and help your business grow.

Read more about Why Modern Organizations Need Time Tracking Software.

Time Doctor Vs. Hubstaff: The Showdown

Looking for a workforce management tool that fits your business? You might have come across Time Doctor and Hubstaff in your search. It's tough to decide which one to choose. Therefore, we have taken the responsibility of going down the list of all the pros and cons of Hubstaff as well as the pros and cons of Time Doctor. We will also discuss some Hubstaff & Time Doctor alternatives at the end for businesses looking for something more than workforce management.

Features And Functionality:

Both tools offer features like time tracking, project management, and payroll integrations. But what sets them apart? 

UI & Time Tracking Capabilities

The best time-tracking apps have one common feature: a user-friendly and visually pleasing interface. Hubstaff gets it right with its minimal and intuitive UI, providing the necessary tools to track time effortlessly. With just one click, users can easily switch between projects and tasks while viewing and creating tasks within each one.

Meanwhile, Time Doctor offers a sleek interface that lets users quickly start and stop tracking time and see precisely how much time they've invested in each task. Both these tools make time management more seamless and efficient than ever before.

Device Friendliness

With Hubstaff, you have the flexibility to track your time across multiple platforms, including MacOS, Windows, Linux, Chromebook, iOS, Android, and its web app or the handy Chrome extension. Time Doctor also runs seamlessly on MacOS, Windows, iOS, Android, and the Chrome app.

Mobile Team Management

Hubstaff enables you to track your team's time and location, manage timesheets and schedules, generate detailed reports, and even monitor field teams with GPS tracking. Plus, the convenience of the mobile app means that you can automatically start and stop tracking based on geofenced job sites.

While Time Doctor offers a more basic approach to time tracking, it still offers accurate tracking of your tasks without any unnecessary complexities.

Reports

With Hubstaff, you've got everything you need to delve deep into 17 different reports that cover payments, invoices, project budgets, attendance, job site visits, and much more. Not only that, but you can easily export these reports to spreadsheets and PDF files to review whenever you want.

Productivity reports make your business operations more efficient and seamless so it's important that you understand and apply them to your business strategy. 

Read more about How to Make Productivity Reports Dead Simple.

Time Off Management

In a few simple steps, you can set up a system that awards time off balances and accurately tracks the amount of time earned for every hour worked on Hubstaff. Plus, teams can easily request time off, and managers can quickly approve or reject them all from the Hubstaff app.

On the other hand, Time Doctor lets you mark absent or late days as various types of leaves but lacks the capability of tracking time off balances and accrual.

Monitoring Employee Activity

Hubstaff's activity monitoring feature captures real-time data on keyboard and mouse usage, which means you have the power to see precisely how your team members are putting in their time. Though it is an invasive approach, it allows you to gain insights into their app and website usage, get a better understanding of their work habits, and make data-driven decisions to optimize your workflow.

Time Doctor, on the other hand, may not have activity rates, but it still provides detailed tracking of apps and URLs.

Invasiveness and Screenshots

Hubstaff and Time Doctor are known to use invasive employee surveillance tactics. Both solutions offer a screenshots feature to help managers stay on top of their team's progress, but there are some key differences between the two. Hubstaff's optional screenshots capture random images up to three times every 10 minutes, allowing managers to check in without interrupting work.

However, Time Doctor's screenshots are not optional and capture the computer screen while the time tracker is running. While some businesses may see this as a way to ensure productivity, it's important to remember that taking screenshots can be a serious invasion of employee privacy, affecting their productivity.

Dashboard Complexity

With Hubstaff's dashboard, you can oversee your team's productivity, project progress, and budget utilization from a single location. Its comprehensive interface displays crucial data such as hours tracked, activity levels, timesheets, and earnings to keep you in the loop. 

On the other hand, Time Doctor's dashboard offers a unique approach to tracking your team's output. You can view a summary in three distinct ways: total hours tracked, tasks that took up most of their time, and which apps or websites were used the most.

GPS Tracking And Geo-Fencing

Hubstaff's geofencing feature allows an unlimited number of job sites to be set up and team members to be added to each one. Hubstaff also offers fleet tracking by recording locations and routes from the mobile app.

On the other hand, Time Doctor doesn't offer geofencing, meaning you'll have to manually keep track of your project hours. However, it does offer GPS Tracking to some extent on its Android app. Keep in mind that GPS Tracking remote employees can be considered a violation of their privacy as well, so you must be careful when navigating the upside down of remote work.

Payment, Payrolls, And Invoices

Both these time tracking tools not only offer automated payroll based on timesheets but also automated invoicing based on billable hours. Plus, they seamlessly integrate with popular payment gateways like PayPal.

User Experience

To find out which tool reigns supreme when it comes to user experience, we'll dive into the honest opinions of their customers. We're leaving no stone unturned in our quest for the ultimate UX champion!

Time Doctor’s User Experience

Time Doctor is said to have good UI in the web portal and support multiple integrations. Many people report still retaining their subscription after more than a year and think it to be definitely useful as the basis of timekeeping and salary of many businesses.  The Time Doctor app has also been praised for its usefulness.

On the other hand, the software has also been reported as quite intrusive on the employee's end. It is also said to be too expensive for its features and frustrating to use by multiple accounts. It also seems to have bugs that have yet to be fixed.

Hubstaff’s User Experience

Hubstaff has been praised for its ease of use, customer service, and employee monitoring. However, it has also been reported to be frustrating, with crashing issues and downloading errors.

Pricing And Plans

Here are some key Hubstaff vs, Time Doctor comparisons that set them apart in terms of pricing and plans:

Free Plan/Free Trial

Hubstaff has a free plan with its basic features, perfect for freelancers who don’t need all the bells and whistles. On the other hand, Time Doctor, unfortunately, doesn’t have a free plan. However, both tools do have a 14-day free trial for all their plans.

Basic Plan Features

Hubstaff's Basic plan is perfect for small teams of 10 or fewer and starts at just $5.83 per user per month. This plan grants you 24/7 support, per-user settings, and one integration to improve your workflow.

On the other hand, on Time Doctor, for just $10 per user per month, the Business Time Doctor plan includes all productivity tracking features, payment options, integrations, and support. 

Premium Plan Features

Hubstaff's Premium plan has a range of productivity features, payroll and invoicing capabilities, unlimited integration options, and GPS tracking for all types of teams; office, remote, and field-based. It starts at $8.33 per user each month. Additionally, for bigger businesses and field teams, Hubstaff's Enterprise plan offers unlimited job sites and VIP support for just $16.67 per user monthly. 

On the other hand, Time Doctor's Enterprise plan brings some serious muscle with its Business plan. This premium package boasts powerful tools like video screen capture and client login access for even more streamlined team management. It starts at $20 per user monthly. You can also check out the payment plans offered by timegram to compare.

Find out which payment plans are offered by timegram.

Integrations

Hubstaff integrates with over 30 other apps like PayPal, Trello, and Asana to make your workflow seamless. However, Time Doctor clearly takes the cake with even more integrations, over 40, in fact, including Salesforce, Evernote, or HelpScout, for simplifying your and your team’s workday.

Security and Privacy

Despite time tracking in itself not being an issue, certain employee monitoring features of both these platforms may raise some ethical concerns related to employee privacy, so businesses should be wary not to foster an unfriendly environment for employees with low productivity.

Time Doctor Security and Privacy

It tracks web pages visited, apps used, and keystrokes, and even takes screengrabs and webcam photos for added security. This efficient app uses an advanced time-tracking system that measures keystrokes and mouse movements every few minutes, preventing users from tricking the system. With the app's monitoring capabilities, you can monitor web and app usage and capture hooks into four monitors at once. Plus, the webcam shot feature lets you take snapshots of remote workers in 10-minute intervals, adding an extra layer of protection.

While striving for maximum productivity may be a top priority for many teams, an excessive focus on it can come at the cost of employee privacy. Creating an environment where employees feel constantly monitored and under pressure can lead to a lack of trust and fostering fear. You can also find out how managers handle employee backlash over monitoring to get some pointers on how to deal with such issues.

‍

You really don’t want your employees to be feeling like this.

These feelings can then spill over and negatively impact the team dynamic, ultimately leading to decreased job satisfaction. As a leader, it's important to strike a balance between striving to achieve productivity goals and creating a positive work environment for your team.

Hubstaff Security and Privacy

The Hubstaff app can capture up to three screenshots every 10 minutes, although you have the option to turn off this feature if you prefer. With Hubstaff's permission system, you have control over who can view these screenshots. 

As the owner or manager of an organization, you can see screenshots for any project to which you have access. Hubstaff even monitors your keyboard and mouse activity to track your productivity accurately. Plus, you can track your employees' time, locations, and tasks on the go with Hubstaff's handy iOS or Android app.

While monitoring your team's every move may be within your rights as a business owner or manager, it may lead to a serious erosion of trust. By Counting Work Hours and keeping such close tabs on your employees, you risk sending a message that you don't trust them to do their jobs, which can create a sense of wariness or suspicion, eroding morale and productivity.

It's important to balance the need for accountability with a sense of respect and autonomy for your team members.

Find out if counting work hours the right measure of productivity or not.

Customer Support

Hubstaff has an Email/Help Desk, FAQs/forums, Knowledge Base, 24/7 Live Rep, and Chat, earning them an impressive 4.5 customer service rating on Get App and an 8.9 on g2.

However, Time Doctor, on the other hand, offers a similar range of support options, including Email/Help Desk, FAQs/Forum, Knowledge Base, Phone Support, 24/7 Live Rep, and Chat, and has a slightly lower but still respectable 4.4 customer service rating on Get App and an 8.7 on g2.

Pros And Cons

Here is a compiled list of the pros and cons of both time tracking tools for your convenience:

Pros And Cons Of Hubstaff

Hubstaff is an all-in-one solution for businesses looking to streamline their workflow management.

• With its powerful time-tracking and monitoring features, you can easily keep tabs on your team's daily activities and productivity levels.
• The app allows tracking of the usage of apps and websites, taking screenshots, automating scheduling, and even generating invoices.
• This nifty tool not only helps you switch between various tasks with ease but also comes equipped with an automatic timesheet recorder, which can make payroll and invoicing a breeze.
• And that's not all. Hubstaff offers an extensive reporting system, neatly categorized to save you oodles of time.
• The best part? If you're a company with employees working in different locations, you can use Hubstaff's job site feature to stay connected.
• And let's not forget about the Geofencing tracker location feature, which makes managing employee attendance a piece of cake.

While Hubstaff may offer some desirable features, there are a few drawbacks to keep in mind.

• The free version may not give you the full range of options you need as a solo user, and monthly pricing may be steeper than other options.
• Additionally, improving the payroll feature and support response times could offer a better user experience overall.

Pros And Cons Of Time Doctor

Time Doctor is more than just a tool for tracking employee productivity. With features like time tracking, detailed reporting, and even web usage monitoring, it offers a comprehensive solution that can help businesses gain a better understanding of how their teams spend their time.

• Time Doctor streamlines the time-tracking process with its user-friendly automation.
• It even detects idle time like a pro.
• If you need to switch tasks, no problem. Time Doctor can handle it seamlessly.
• Plus, the monitoring and reporting system is crystal clear for easy performance tracking.

While Time Doctor is a popular time tracking software, there are a few drawbacks to consider.

• For one, the software can't display individual reports on a single page which can be inconvenient for users.
• Additionally, it lacks employee monitoring features, and the reporting system is somewhat limited.
• Unfortunately, the software also doesn't include geofencing features like its competitor Hubstaff.

Overall, while Time Doctor may work for some businesses, these limitations should be carefully considered before making a final decision.

Read more on How Managers are Battling Employee Backlash Over Monitoring.

Conclusion

Overall, it's clear that both Time Doctor and Hubstaff are powerful time-tracking software that offers customers robust platforms to keep their businesses productive and organized.

Time Doctor has many great features, such as GPS tracking and screenshots, as well as user-friendly dashboards and detailed reports. At the same time, Hubstaff provides a more robust experience with its mobile team management tools and Geofencing. Ultimately, it depends on the individual needs of your business when deciding which platform will be best for you.

If you're looking for something simple to help with basic time tracking, then Time Doctor is probably a good fit. However, if your business requires more advanced features, then going with Hubstaff might be the way to go.

Regardless of what you choose, remember to be ethical and ensure to never violate your employees’ privacy above all else. Additionally, take advantage of the free trial period so you can decide if the software fits your organization's needs because when you have the right time-tracking program in place for your company, getting organized comes naturally!

If you wish to learn more about how to maintain your employee privacy with timegram, check out the various features it offers.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Here are some frequently inquired queries you may have:

What is the key difference between Hubstaff and Time Doctor?

Hubstaff's activity tracking system provides a straightforward measurement of keyboard and mouse usage. However, Time Doctor allows users to create and track actual time spent on individual tasks.

How do I choose the right time-tracking software?

Choosing the right time-tracking software can be overwhelming, but fear not! When making your decision, consider your workplace setup, your unique business operations, and your time-tracking requirements. And, of course, ease of use, budget, and employee privacy should factor in as well. With these in mind, you'll be able to find the perfect time-tracking software for your needs in no time!

Can Hubstaff and Time Doctor see my screen?

Wondering about your privacy when using Hubstaff or Time Doctor? Both tools offer insight into your computer usage; Time Doctor provides reports on website usage, and you can access them online or receive them via email. Hubstaff captures active displays when tracking time, and you can view them on the activity page.

Why is employee privacy so important?

The protection of employee privacy is crucial in maintaining a compassionate and thriving community within the workplace. This fundamental human right is integral to embodying our citizenship responsibilities, both as individuals and organizations.

Without it, employees can feel stripped of their independence and face setbacks in their productivity. Additionally, a lack of privacy can harm an employee’s sense of worthiness, leading to a decline in their overall well-being and dissatisfaction with their job.

How do I maintain my team’s privacy while also being productive?

The best to maintain your team’s privacy while also being productive is by using timegram. We believe in building a work environment on trust and respect, which is why we prioritize a privacy-first approach.

Our platform strictly follows a zero-surveillance policy, meaning no keystroke tracking, webcam captures, microphone monitoring, or any other spying tactics are used. With Timegram, you can still ensure your team's success with smart time-tracking capabilities without violating their privacy.