With more companies opting for remote and hybrid work models, the use of employee monitoring tools has significantly increased. Statistics also back this fact, with a study highlighted by Forbes revealing that 60% of companies with remote workers use some form of employee monitoring tools. 

These tools help employers track productivity and manage team performance across different locations. That said, selecting the right software is crucial, as it can greatly impact both employee morale and the overall effectiveness of the monitoring process. 

Among the many options available, Time Doctor and Hubstaff stand out as top contenders, each offering advanced features. Let’s find out which of the two is better for your business in this detailed Time Doctor vs Hubstaff comparison. 

Time Doctor Vs Hubstaff: At A Glance

Feature 

Time Doctor 

Hubstaff 

Time Tracking 

Manual, automatic, and silent tracking; website and app monitoring; idle detection 

Automated tracking, activity monitoring, and GPS tracking for field teams 

Productivity Reports 

Deep analytics on time allocation and inefficiencies 

Reports on activity levels, app and website usage, and projects 

Ease of Use 

Intuitive, but the mobile app lacks some features 

User-friendly with easy onboarding; the mobile app needs UI/UX improvements 

Integrations 

60+ integrations (Asana, HubSpot, Google Apps, etc.) 

30+ integrations (ClickUp, Jira, Salesforce, etc.) 

Pricing 

Starts at $8/user/month; 14-day free trial 

Starts at $7/user/month; 30-day money-back guarantee, not including the 14-day free trial 

What Is Time Doctor?

Time Doctor is a powerful time-tracking and productivity management tool particularly designed for businesses and remote teams. It provides detailed insights into how employees spend their time, allowing managers to monitor work hours, track project progress, and improve efficiency. 

With features like automatic time tracking, website and application monitoring, and detailed reports, the platform helps businesses identify productivity bottlenecks and streamline operations. Additionally, Time Doctor supports payroll integration, allowing companies to automate payments based on tracked hours. 

Unique Features Of Time Doctor 

  • Work-Life Balance Analytics: Time Doctor helps employees maintain a healthy work-life balance by tracking work hours and preventing burnout through productivity insights
  • Operational Insights: The platform provides in-depth operational insights, allowing managers to identify inefficiencies and make data-driven decisions to enhance productivity
  • Executive Dashboards: Time Doctor’s executive dashboards offer a high-level overview of team performance, enabling leadership to monitor key metrics and optimize workforce management

Pros And Cons Of Time Doctor 

Pros 

  • Easy to configure and set up across multiple platforms, typically taking just one to two hours for managers 
  • Highly customizable for each employee, allowing adjustments for schedule, pay, time zone, and more
  • The reporting system helps optimize time management by tracking browsing history, top websites, and time management issues 

Cons 

  • Inconsistent performance of the activity bar. It occasionally pauses while tracking runs in the background or turns on automatically, even when not in use 
  • The dashboard can be slow and error-prone when manually adding time, leading to potential inaccuracies in time tracking 

What Is Hubstaff?

Hubstaff is a comprehensive time-tracking and workforce management software that helps businesses monitor productivity, manage remote teams, and streamline payroll. With its intuitive time-tracking feature, employees can log their work hours effortlessly while employers gain real-time insights into task completion and efficiency. 

Beyond time tracking, Hubstaff provides advanced features like productivity monitoring, automated payroll, and invoicing, allowing businesses to optimize operations with minimal manual effort. 

Unique Features Of Hubstaff 

  • Overtime Tracker: This feature helps businesses monitor extra work hours across multiple devices, ensuring compliance with labor laws and preventing employee burnout
  • Billing And Invoicing: Hubstaff streamlines financial processes by generating accurate invoices based on tracked time, making client billing more efficient
  • Online Payroll And Payment: The platform automates payroll by integrating with payment systems, enabling businesses to pay employees and contractors effortlessly
  • Achievement Badges: Hubstaff motivates employees by awarding achievement badges for productivity milestones, fostering engagement and performance improvement

Pros And Cons Of Hubstaff 

Pros 

  • Allows users to view timesheets to track their time on a daily or weekly basis, providing clear insights into productivity 
  • Provides a dedicated version for Chromebook users, ensuring easy access to the platform’s full range of functionalities 
  • Helps monitor potential data breaches on the employee side, enhancing security and protecting sensitive information 

Cons 

  • The mobile app could benefit from UI/UX improvements for smoother navigation 
  • Often, Hubstaff takes a long time to prompt users to share their screens, causing delays and disrupting the workflow 

Time Doctor Vs Hubstaff – Key Features Comparison

Time Tracking

Time Doctor allows users to track time with precision through both manual and automatic tracking modes, ensuring every minute worked is accurately recorded. Employees can start and stop timers as they work on different tasks. Businesses can also enable silent tracking that runs in the background without disrupting workflows.

Additionally, the platform provides real-time dashboards and reports, giving managers insights into work patterns, productivity trends, and potential inefficiencies.

Beyond basic time tracking, Time Doctor enhances productivity with website and application monitoring features, idle time detection, and detailed work session analytics. These tools help identify distractions and unproductive habits, allowing employees to adjust and optimize their workflow.

Hubstaff’s automated time-tracking capabilities effortlessly record hours spent on tasks, projects, and applications, giving businesses a clear picture of productivity. Its advanced features—such as activity level monitoring, optional screenshots, and app and URL tracking—enhance transparency and accountability.

The platform also supports GPS tracking for field teams, enabling businesses to monitor location-based work hours accurately. The software is accessible through intuitive mobile, desktop, and web-based time-tracking apps, allowing users to log hours seamlessly from any device. Additionally, Hubstaff supports time off, holidays, and breaks, enabling businesses to manage paid time off (PTO) and ensure accurate payroll calculations.

Winner: Although Hubstaff includes GPS tracking, which is useful for field teams, Time Doctor’s advanced monitoring options, like manual, automatic, and silent tracking, give businesses a deeper understanding of employee work habits.

Productivity Reports

Time Doctor’s productivity analytics provide businesses with in-depth insights into employee performance, helping managers identify strengths, inefficiencies, and areas for improvement. It generates detailed reports on time allocation, task completion rates, and overall productivity trends.

Additionally, these tools support proactive productivity management by identifying and highlighting potential time-wasting tasks or projects.

With Hubstaff’s productivity insights, businesses can obtain actionable data to optimize team performance and efficiency. The platform offers detailed reports on activity levels, app and website usage, and time allocation, helping managers identify productivity trends and potential bottlenecks.

In addition to individual and team productivity metrics, Hubstaff’s insights include project-level analytics, allowing businesses to monitor progress and allocate resources effectively. This data-driven approach helps businesses streamline operations, meet deadlines, and achieve their goals more efficiently.

Winner: It’s a tie. Both these platforms provide valuable productivity insights. Time Doctor offers deep analytics on time allocation, inefficiencies, and strengths, while Hubstaff excels in activity-level tracking, website and app usage, and project-level analytics.

Ease Of Use

Time Doctor is widely praised for its ease of use, with many users highlighting its intuitive interface and straightforward setup process. The software is easy to navigate, even for those who are not tech-savvy. It has a clear dashboard, which provides quick access to key features, like time tracking, productivity reports, and team management tools.

That said, some users note that the mobile app could be more user-friendly. Furthermore, it lacks some of the functionality available on the desktop version.

Like Time Doctor, Hubstaff is also praised for its user-friendly design, which makes time tracking and employee monitoring straightforward. Users highlight its intuitive interface, which simplifies onboarding for new team members and allows seamless integration into daily workflows.

The platform's straightforward navigation ensures employees can start tracking time with minimal training, reducing the adaptation period for teams. However, the mobile app could benefit from UI/UX improvements for smoother navigation.

Winner: It’s a tie, again. Both these platforms are recognized for their intuitive designs. However, their respective mobile applications have received some criticism.

Integrations

Time Doctor offers extensive integration capabilities, allowing businesses to seamlessly connect time tracking with their existing workflows. It integrates with over 60 popular tools, including project management, payment and invoicing, (customer relationship management) CRM, and communication platforms.

By connecting with the tools companies already use, Time Doctor streamlines operations and ensures accurate time tracking without disrupting daily tasks. Some of the popular integrations include:

Hubstaff seamlessly integrates with over 30 leading tools, enabling businesses to enhance productivity and streamline workflows. It connects with popular CRM, project management, communication, and help desk platforms, ensuring a smooth connection between time tracking and essential business operations.

Some noteworthy integrations include:

Winner: Time Doctor wins this category with its 60+ integrations, including major project management tools, CRM software, and productivity platforms, compared to over 30 integrations of Hubstaff.

Pricing

These plans include:

  • Basic - $8 per user/month
  • Standard - $14 per user/month
  • Premium - $20 per user/month
  • Enterprise - Custom pricing

All plans come with a 14-day free trial, allowing users to test the platform before committing. Furthermore, companies can choose from a range of add-ons available for a monthly fee, including video screen recording, single sign-on (SSO), unusual activity detection, and more.

Hubstaff offers a range of pricing plans designed to suit freelancers, small teams, and large enterprises alike. Businesses can choose the option that best fits their needs while benefiting from seamless integrations and workflow automation.

These include:

  • Starter - $7/seat/month
  • Grow - $9/seat/month
  • Team - $12/seat/month
  • Enterprise - $25/seat/month

Each plan includes a 14-day free trial, allowing users to explore Hubstaff’s features before committing. Additionally, there's a 30-day money-back guarantee for added peace of mind.

Winner: Hubstaff, comparatively, is a more cost-effective option. Furthermore, the 30-day money-back guarantee offers businesses more flexibility, making it the better choice for budget-conscious teams.

Final Verdict - Which Employee Monitoring Tool Prevails?

Overall, both Time Doctor and Hubstaff offer powerful time-tracking and productivity management tools, making them excellent choices for businesses looking to improve efficiency and accountability. Time Doctor stands out with its advanced tracking features, deep productivity analytics, and extensive integration capabilities. On the other hand, Hubstaff shines for its affordability and GPS tracking for remote or field teams. 

Ultimately, the best platform depends on your company’s specific needs. Since both platforms offer free trials, testing them firsthand can help you make an informed decision that best suits your business.