Deciding on new software for your entire team can be a daunting task. But if you know it’s time to improve your work processes, choosing the right software from the start is crucial for a smooth transition. It also ensures you don’t hit those change management speedbumps that can detail an entire department.
That’s especially true for employee productivity and time tracking tools. You want to get the most out of your investments in employee performance, so we aim to answer that burning question: Which tool is right for you and your team — Hubstaff or ActivTrak?
Find out the key differences, what each app is best suited for, and how their most important features work.
Which one is better?
Although Hubstaff and ActivTrak have similar features, the two apps focus on serving users differently. Hubstaff takes a more holistic approach to team management and improving employee productivity through actionable insights, whereas ActivTrak doubles down on performing as employee monitoring software.
As such, Hubstaff comes with many more features, including productivity measurement, time tracking, project budgeting, payroll management, scheduling, invoicing, and more. Hubstaff also works as an employee monitoring software.
ActivTrak, on the other hand, provides mostly productivity-related features. Based on the features listed on its website and what we’ve seen in the dashboards, these include time tracking, monitoring employee activity, productivity coaching, and scheduling.
Overall, Hubstaff is a more straightforward and complete work management platform with options for advanced functionality around workforce analytics.
Here are the main features we will focus on for the Hubstaff vs ActivTrak comparison:
| Feature | Hubstaff | ActivTrak |
|---|---|---|
Time tracking | Automatic and manual | Automatic |
Timesheets | Yes | No |
Apps | Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, Chrome | Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Chrome |
Detailed reports | Yes | Yes |
Invoicing | Yes | No |
Productivity measurement | Yes | Yes |
Location tracking | Yes | No |
Project budgets | Yes | No |
Shift scheduling | Yes | Yes |
Attendance tracking | Yes | No |
Payroll management | Yes | No |
Time tracking
Hubstaff
With Hubstaff, you can start or stop tracking time at the click of a button. Plus, you can manually add time entries to account for offline work.
Whether you have a Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, or Android device, Hubstaff has a lightweight time tracking app for every preference. Alternatively, you can use the web app or the Chrome extension.
One reason Hubstaff is an intelligent choice for teams and remote work is the option to track time toward tasks or projects. This way, you can see how long it takes to complete particular objectives and make better predictions for future projects.
Not only that, but team members can even track their work breaks and time off.
From a management perspective, you can help your team remember to track time by setting automatic reminders. Or, if any team member goes idle for a long time, you can always give them a nudge.
Because Hubstaff summarizes all the tracked time in automatically generated timesheets, you will always have the most accurate representation of what team members did throughout the day, week, or month. If any time entries need adjusting, you can manually edit them before approving the timesheet.
The time tracking feature comes standard in all Hubstaff options, from our Free and Starter plans to the larger Grow, Team, and Enterprise options. Each is flexible for most business types, while specialty add-ons make it possible to manage your team exactly how you need.
For example, the Locations add-on enables geofencing Job sites for each team or individual. This way, they can automatically start tracking time once they enter the job or customer location. Insights offers workforce analytics options beyond simple time tracking to deliver valuable information on your team and metrics.
You get support for data-driven decisions based on more than just productivity levels or employee time.
Hubstaff's Enterprise plan includes all features so that you can cover all team members in the office, remote, or field. You also get access to a customizable Corporate version of the software.
ActivTrak
With ActivTrak, you automatically track time without clocking in and out directly.
To activate its employee monitoring, you must download and install the tracking agent on your device. The program will then run in the background while you work, tracking your time and categorizing it as productive or unproductive.
Tracking begins the moment you start your computer and ends when you shut it down.
With screen time tracking and application tracking, ActivTrak users can see where they spend most of their time and the time and date when they complete a task.
Like Hubstaff, ActivTrak also records mouse and keyboard usage.
If team members are not using their computer for more than two minutes, their time will receive the “passive time” label. To account for things like meetings, you can label passive time as productive, unproductive, or undefined based on the last actions you took before going passive.
At the end of the workday, all tracked time is sent to a reporting dashboard. It’s worth noting that this is all automated time tracking; manual entry and engagement are limited on the ActivTrak platform.
| Feature | Hubstaff | ActivTrak |
|---|---|---|
Automatic time tracking | Yes | Yes |
Timesheets | Yes | Yes |
Time off tracking | Yes | Yes |
Work breaks | Yes | Yes |
Time tracking reminders | Yes | Yes |
Idle time reminders | Yes | Yes |
Windows app | Yes | Yes |
Mac app | Yes | Yes |
Android app | Yes | Yes |
iOS app | Yes | Yes |
Linux app | Yes | No |
Chrome extension | Yes | Yes |
Manual time entries | Yes | No |
Unlimited To-dos | Yes | No |
Reporting
Hubstaff
With Hubstaff’s reporting feature, you get more than just time tracking and attendance reporting. Productivity, budget, and scheduling reports are just a few additional ways to view your entire team’s activity in detail.
Plus, all the reports are highly customizable. You can easily filter out irrelevant information and only view the type of data you need. Every report has the following filters: day, week, month, team member, project, and client.
Once you’re happy with the report, you can download it in multiple formats and even deliver it automatically to clients or stakeholders.
The reporting feature works great for busy teams because it creates reports automatically based on your activity inside the Hubstaff app. For example, you get to see how much time specific tasks take or how much of the set budget you’ve spent without having to input these details manually.
It’s a smart option for tracking time spent on your most compelling needs.
One of the most valuable reports companies love to review regularly is the Time & Activity report. That’s because it allows you to streamline your processes and see which team members need more guidance to achieve maximum productivity.
We believe options that go beyond activity monitoring and bring in details around project management and employee engagement can help you build a better organization. That’s why you’ll find a broad set of workforce analytics in our Insights platform.
ActivTrak
ActivTrak provides a variety of reports in the Live Reports section of the dashboard. These include top users, productivity, top websites, top applications, top categories, working hours, and activity logs.
In other words, all these functions make ActivTrak a helpful monitoring tool for employee tracking.
One of the most extensive reports is the productivity report. That’s where you can see the total time spent on productive and unproductive activities, when team members take a break, the most frequently used applications, and productivity trends.
You can see which employees are available, passive, or inactive by looking at the daily productivity reports. You can also check the workload balance in the same report. This way, you can see whether team members are taking their breaks or help them avoid burnout if working hours are spiking.
| Feature | Hubstaff | ActivTrak |
|---|---|---|
Customizable reports | Yes | Yes |
App & website reports | Yes | Yes |
Project budget reports | Yes | No |
Attendance reports | Yes | No |
Location reports | Yes | No |
Time off reports | Yes | No |
Payroll reports | Yes | No |
Detailed productivity reports | Yes | Yes |
Invoicing
ActivTrak
At the time of writing, ActivTrak doesn’t have invoicing features.
Hubstaff
Hubstaff allows you to cut down on non-billable hours by automating your invoicing. You can use the feature to create an invoice based on all tracked time and the added manual entries. Once complete, you can send the invoice to clients in just a few clicks.
We help you justify expenses and time with real data, making it easier for you and your clients to trust invoice accuracy.
You’ll see when customers see your invoice or make a payment. And you can even integrate your Hubstaff account with your bookkeeping and accounting software so that you always have these documents under the same roof.
Productivity measurement & activity monitoring
Hubstaff
While time tracking can show you valuable insights into how your team works, productivity metrics take your reports to a whole new level. That’s where Hubstaff comes in — and even stronger if you try our Insights workforce analytics platform.
Hubstaff evaluates the productivity of team members based on when they move their mouse and type on their keyboard.
The more movement they make in a ten-minute period, the better their activity rate will be for that time frame. If there is no activity, the system labels the team member as inactive, and time tracking stops.
Managers can enable Achievements to incentivize team members to reach daily activity goals. This way, team members are motivated by a bit of healthy competition.
Additionally, organizations have the option of taking 1-3 screenshots every 10 minutes while tracking time. Managers, owners, and the employee can see these in the Activity tab and manually delete any screenshots if needed.
However, it’s important to note that team members will always receive a notification when Hubstaff takes a screenshot. As a manager, you can enable, disable, or blur screenshots from the Settings tab on a per-user basis, which makes employee tracking an easy and unintrusive task.
ActivTrak
Because ActivTrak focuses solely on increasing productivity, the platform comes with lots of productivity measurement tools and features, such as:
Team Productivity Pulse
Productivity Coaching
Screenshots
The Team Productivity Pulse feature works as a virtual office, showing each team member’s real-time productivity score. Managers can also compare productivity to members of other teams.
You can also view work efficiency to compare productive time against the goals you have set for the team.
The Productivity Coaching feature gives you weekly feedback and suggestions on how team members can work more efficiently. These are tailored to your team’s workflow and meant to help you take productivity to the next level. Plus, you can also review progress reports to check how your team is improving week by week.
Lastly, because ActivTrak is a monitoring tool, you can capture screenshots of team members’ activities. You can take screenshots only during specific activities or the entire work shift. By seeing how many tabs are open on a team member’s device or what applications are running in the background, you can streamline productivity much easier through feedback and suggestions for improvement.
It’s important to note that screenshots are a $2 per user per month add-on for all plans except its Enterprise package, which has custom pricing.
| Features | Hubstaff | ActivTrak |
|---|---|---|
Productivity features | Yes | Yes |
Achievement badges | Yes | No |
Activity levels | Yes | Yes |
Optional screenshots | Yes | Yes |
App and URLs | Yes | Yes |
Location tracking
ActivTrak
At the time of writing, ActivTrak doesn’t have location-tracking features. It does have a “Locations Insights” functionality, but this is focused on adapting productivity suggestions and other elements to whether someone works in the office, remotely, or has a hybrid schedule.
Hubstaff
Hubstaff Field provides an all-important feature for teams that travel to customer sites – geofenced time tracking. This allows team members to start time tracking automatically as soon as they enter the job site without having to start the timer themselves. Similarly, as they exit the job site, the timer stops tracking immediately.
This way, time cards are always accurate, and workers get paid for the exact hours they worked, significantly reducing the risk of buddy-punching and time theft.
You can easily edit any existing Job site or create new ones and assign the right team members to the right jobs. Plus, with the live map view, you get to see exactly where your crew is working at all times. That’s one of the few ways of monitoring employee performance reliably when you can’t be at every job location.
Also, geofencing lets you see the routes teams take to get to the Job site. That way, you can create more accurate job estimates and even optimize the routes for faster arrival.
Project budgeting
ActivTrak
At the time of writing, ActivTrak doesn’t have project budgeting features.
Hubstaff
Tracking profitability is easy with Hubstaff’s project budgeting feature. You can set a budget based on hours, bill rate, and pay rate from the Project Management tab.
By doing that, you get to see when projects get over budget or are about to go over budget. This gives you the chance to review the cost per user or per project and prioritize certain tasks.
Scheduling
Hubstaff
Hubstaff Team plans and higher enable you to schedule team members to the right jobs as easily as possible.
You can track attendance and schedule shifts with the Hubstaff dashboard, then create work orders and jobs with the Locations add-on for your field teams. Everyone gets all the details about their upcoming jobs in one place. And you get to see what each team member is working on at all times.
ActivTrak
ActivTrak also has a scheduling feature, but it works differently than Hubstaff. To access it, simply toggle to Settings and then Scheduling on the left side of the screen. Here, you can create a schedule for each team member so that ActivTrak only records time and activity between the selected hours instead of using the 24/7 default option.
| Feature | Hubstaff | ActivTrak |
|---|---|---|
Shift scheduling | Yes | Yes |
Shift notifications | Yes | No |
Attendance tracking | Yes | No |
Weekly hour limits | Yes | No |
Work orders and jobs | Yes | No |
Payroll management
ActivTrak
At the time of writing, ActivTrak doesn’t have payroll management features.
Hubstaff
Hubstaff allows you to pay your team automatically through timesheets if you set pay rates for each team member before they track time. Alternatively, you can make manual payments.
To automate this process, simply set up your pay period, which can be weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. Plus, you can make payments directly through the app if you integrate Hubstaff with PayPal, Payoneer, Wise, or one of our other finance partners.
Hubstaff integration also supports popular payroll and accounting software like QuickBooks, FreshBooks, and Gusto, so you won't need to worry about draining time on admin tasks like double-entering time.
Hubstaff vs. ActivTrak:
Which one is right for you?
While both tools are fantastic and offer many valuable features for all kinds of teams, it’s essential to go back to your initial goal to decide which is best for you.
If you’re a freelancer or managing remote teams and your main focus is only on tracking how productive everyone is, ActivTrak might be worth looking into. However, you cannot create projects or tasks, send invoices, or manage payroll inside this app.
When it comes to pricing, ActivTrak has four plans:
Free
Essentials: $10 per user per month
Professional: $17 per user per month
Enterprise: Custom pricing.
Alternatively, if you want a complete workforce management software suite instead of just a productivity platform, Hubstaff is right for you.
With Hubstaff, you get many more features to reduce admin work, increase productivity, manage projects, and manage the entire team.
Hubstaff's pricing goes as follows:
Starter: $4.99 per seat per month
Grow: $7.50 per seat per month
Team: $10 per seat per month
Enterprise: $25 per seat per month
While higher-tier plans include our add-ons, you can also opt to add Locations, Insights, and other bonuses with any plan for a per-seat fee.
We make getting everything you need for your remote, hybrid, office, and field teams easy. No matter where you go or how you work, Hubstaff is here to help.
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