140k global users trust Hubstaff for time tracking
Hubstaff and ActivTrak are both strong time tracking tools, but they offer different capabilities. Hubstaff is an all-in-one time tracking platform with built-in payments, productivity insights, and workforce analytics capabilities across both personal and company devices. ActivTrak’s power lies in activity monitoring and workforce analytics.
TL;DR: Quick verdict
Analyze which workforce management tool fits your business needs in the blink of an eye.
Choose Hubstaff if:
- You need time tracking that turns hours into automated timesheets for payroll, billing, and budgets.
- You want live AI productivity data on utilization, capacity, and performance from a simple, intuitive dashboard.
- You manage budgets and need visibility into time, costs, and output in one place.
Choose ActivTrak if:
- Your priority is understanding behavioral input patterns, analytics, and team productivity.
- You already rely on other tools for time tracking, payroll, or billing.
- You want analytics-first insights without managing operational workflows.
Hubstaff vs. ActivTrak: At a glance
| Category | Hubstaff | ActivTrak |
|---|---|---|
Starting price | From $4.99/user/month (annual). Higher tiers include: Grow, Team, Enterprise | From $10/user/month (annual). Higher tiers include: Essentials, Professional, Enterprise |
Free trial | 14-day free trial on all plans | Free trial on Professional plans only |
Core focus | Time tracking platform with monitoring, AI analytics, and automated payments | Workforce analytics and productivity insights (Limited, automatic time tracking, and no payroll available) |
Time tracking | Project/task tracking across desktop, mobile, and web; automated timesheets | Primarily desktop-based automatic tracking focused on activity and behavioral analytics |
Workforce analytics | AI workforce analytics surfaces utilization, capacity, focus time, benchmarks, and offers 20+ reports | Captures high-level workforce analytics like focus time, collaboration patterns, and productivity trends |
Payments and payroll | Built-in global payments, payroll, and time-off tracking | No payments or payroll features available |
Integrations | 30+ integrations (PM, CRM, and payments tools) | Around 20 integrations with workplace essentials (Slack, Zoom, etc.) |
Deployment options | Works across personal and company devices; supports automatic tracking on managed devices | Primarily deployed on company devices with background tracking; no personal device option |
Best fit | Global teams in need of time tracking, activity, payments, and operational visibility | Teams focused on productivity insights and behavior analysis |
Key feature comparison
Let’s explore how Hubstaff and ActivTrak’s features compare, so you can better understand their differences, save money, and make a more informed buying decision.
Time tracking vs. activity-based measurement
Hubstaff
Hubstaff is a time tracking software platform that tracks work hours across projects and tasks, seamlessly converting tracked time to automated timesheets for accurate payroll, budget tracking, and billing. Available on desktop and mobile, it provides versatility with timer-based, automatic, and GPS/geofenced time tracking.
Activtrak
ActivTrak offers automatic time tracking that runs in the background. It's primarily focused on tracking and analyzing behavioral insights from activity, including hours worked, schedules, apps, and website usage.
Key takeaway: Hubstaff focuses on structured work data, with flexible, task-based time tracking that seamlessly feeds into payroll. ActivTrak relies on inferred activity patterns and high-level tracking.
Productivity monitoring approach
Hubstaff
Hubstaff comes with built-in productivity monitoring with activity level tracking, fully customizable app and URL tracking, optional screenshots, and idle time tracking. You can also add, remove, blur, or adjust the frequency of tracking options to suit your workstyle with customizable permissions.
ActivTrak
ActivTrak captures app usage and activity data, with screenshots available as an add-on, and focuses on insights like focus time, collaboration, and productivity patterns.
Key takeaway: Hubstaff offers full visibility into how work happens, while ActivTrak interprets behavioral inputs and analytics.
Workforce analytics depth
Hubstaff
Hubstaff’s AI-powered workforce analytics give you a clear view of project cost management and productivity with activity tracking and app and URL data. Insights offers live data on utilization, time spent in meetings, unusual activity, and AI tool categorization, showing how teams use AI and how it impacts performance.
ActivTrak
ActivTrak measures productivity through behavioral analytics, analyzing work trends, collaboration patterns, activity, and workload balance across teams. It relies on activity data collected from apps and devices to power these insights.
Key takeaway: Hubstaff’s main focus is workflow visibility tracking, while ActivTrak is geared toward behavioral analysis of activities. Both tools offer automatic tracking, but Hubstaff also offers a timer-based app that provides increased visibility via a live dashboard that both users and managers can see.
Company device tracking
Hubstaff
Hubstaff offers flexible deployment for both company-owned and personal devices. With automated time tracking on company devices, enterprise teams can eliminate manual entry to streamline tracking and increase security in high-compliance environments.
ActivTrak
ActivTrak collects background activity data only on company devices. There’s no personal device tracking option available, which can limit remote teams or those employing contractors.
Key takeaway: Hubstaff offers flexible tracking across any device, while ActivTrak is limited to background tracking on company-owned hardware.
Integrations and ecosystems
Hubstaff
Hubstaff integrates with 30+ tools across project management, payroll, invoicing, accounting, and CRM, making it easy to build a seamless, end-to-end operational workflow. With API access, teams can further customize workflows and tailor the experience to fit their business needs.
ActivTrak
ActivTrak integrates with around 20 core collaboration tools, including Microsoft Outlook and Google Calendar. It also provides API access, but its integrations are more limited for operational workflows like time tracking and payroll, often requiring additional tools to connect ActivTrak analytics with timesheets and execution.
Key takeaway: Hubstaff enables end-to-end operational workflows with built-in integrations, while ActivTrak focuses on analytics and relies on additional tools for payroll execution.
Pricing comparison
A side-by-side look at Hubstaff and ActivTrak, breaking down pricing tiers, features with each plan, and the value each platform delivers. Hubstaff offers more cost-effective entry and mid-tier pricing with time tracking, payment options, and analytics, while ActivTrak focuses primarily on monitoring and analytics and may require additional tools.
| Plan tier | Hubstaff | ActivTrak |
|---|---|---|
Free | 14-day free trial (full features) | Free plan ($0/user/month, up to 3 users, limited features) |
Entry plan | Starter $4.99/user/month (billed annually) (Includes basic time tracking & productivity tools) | Essentials $10/user/month billed annually (Includes basic monitoring & productivity reports) |
Mid tier | Grow $7.50/user/month (billed annually) (Includes advanced reporting, integrations) | Essentials Plus – $15/user/month (Includes productivity goals, alerts, visibility) |
Advanced | Team $10/user/month (Includes automated payments, scheduling, unlimited integrations) | Professional $19/user/month (Includes capacity planning, team performance insights) |
Enterprise | Enterprise $25/user/month (Includes custom setup, advanced security & support) | Custom pricing available for enterprise features and volume discounts. |
What our customers say
“We work in a lot of different industries, so I can’t always know what’s a 45-minute task and what’s a four-hour task. With tools like Hubstaff, you can tell. You then decide if a whole project should’ve taken 16 hours or if someone is just not the right fit.”
OneIMS President and Founder
“We believe — just like Hubstaff — that talent is everywhere and people should be able to work any time, anywhere, even in their pajamas,” says Kothari. “As a company, we believe in the same future of work as Hubstaff, which is great because our values align.”
Co-founder at Tallyfy
Ease of use and support
When it comes to usability and support, Hubstaff and ActivTrak take different approaches.
Hubstaff
As outlined in the G2 review summary, users appreciate Hubstaff for its ease of use and reliable time tracking, which helps them manage remote work effectively. Hubstaff brings ease of use and support together by offering:
- Multi-platform usability as a desktop, web, and mobile app
- Clear time tracking with a start/stop timer or automated tracking
- Automated timesheets created from tracked time with a task breakdown
- A central dashboard for managers to view team productivity with
- Many configuration and customization options with guided support
- 24/7 help center, onboarding resources, and VIP phone support for enterprise teams
Key takeaway: Easy-to-navigate UI built for teams that need both time tracking and management in one structured platform.
ActivTrak
ActivTrak is known for increasing visibility into employee productivity through workforce monitoring. It offers:
- Strong analytics with 20+ dashboards
- Minimal setup, pre-installed on company devices, and runs in the background
- The interface is organized around key workforce reports and insights
- No manual interaction required for tracking, as data gets collected automatically
- Guided account setup available for self-onboarding
Key takeaway: The ActivTrak UX focused on quickly surfacing workforce analytics and activity insights, with less emphasis on active user input or workflow management.
Hubstaff takes a hands-on, workflow-focused approach, offering active time tracking, project management, and built-in payments at a more accessible price point. In contrast, ActivTrak primarily offers background tracking, emphasizing workforce analytics and activity insights with minimal user input.
Hubstaff vs. ActivTrak: Who should use each?
Both Hubstaff and ActivTrak serve different use cases, though there is some overlap for teams looking to improve visibility and productivity.
- Hubstaff: Hubstaff is an all-in-one time tracking platform built for growing, global teams that need simplified workflows. By combining time tracking, project management, payroll, and AI analytics, it makes a strong fit for agencies, BPOs, and hybrid teams.
- ActivTrak: ActivTrak is the perfect choice for organizations focused on behavioral analytics. It works well for teams that already have other time tracking and payroll tools but need support with in-depth employee activity and productivity insights.
Final verdict: Hubstaff vs. ActivTrak
After analyzing both tools, we can conclude that Hubstaff and ActivTrak, in their own ways, solve different layers of the same problem.
Hubstaff focuses on tracking work hours and connecting them to projects, costs, and payments, while also giving visibility into team productivity and operations. Whereas ActivTrak is built to analyze how work gets done, with a strong focus on behavioral insights and workforce analytics.
- Choose Hubstaff if you need robust time tracking, visibility into global team workflows, and a simple way to manage accurate payments, all from one platform.
- Choose ActivTrak if your priority is analyzing activity and understanding how your team works.