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When your team works from five different cities, “How long did that take?” becomes a surprisingly hard question. People guess their hours at the end of the week, client projects run over budget without anyone noticing, and paying contractors turns into a spreadsheet exercise.
Time tracking software fixes most of that. But the options run all the way from simple timers to tools that screenshot people’s desktops, and the wrong pick can create more headaches than it fixes.
So to find the best time tracking software for remote teams, I compared four popular tools — Hubstaff, Time Doctor, Toggl Track, and Clockify. I looked at what each one costs for a real team, how much monitoring it does, and what it handles beyond the timer.
The real problem with tracking time on a remote team
Remote teams tend to run into the same few issues:
- Hours are a guess. People fill in timesheets on Friday from memory, and the numbers drift.
- Budgets slip quietly. Without live tracking, you find out a project went over only when you send the invoice.
- Paying people takes too long. If you pay contractors by the hour, adding up timesheets and sending payments eats into your week.
- Trust gets awkward. Some managers want proof of work. Many team members dislike being watched. The tool you pick sends a message either way.
The right tool should fix the first three without making the fourth one worse.
How I compared these tools
I focused on the five things that matter most for a small remote team.
1. Cost for your whole team
All of these tools charge per user, so a small price difference grows quickly. I looked at what each costs for a ten-person team, not just one person.
2. How much monitoring it does
This is the biggest difference between them. Some tools only track time. Others add activity levels, screenshots, and app or website tracking. More isn’t always better.
3. Timesheet approvals
If managers need to review hours before they’re billed or paid, approvals keep everyone on the same page.
4. Payroll and invoicing
Some tools stop at reports. Others can turn tracked hours into payments or invoices, which matters a lot if you work with contractors.
5. How easy it is for the team
If tracking feels like a chore, people stop doing it. A simple timer and good apps for desktop and mobile go a long way.
Time tracking tools compared
Here’s a quick look at all of them. Prices are per user per month, billed annually, at the time of writing. Always check the official pricing pages before you buy.
| Tool | Starting price | Monitoring | Free option |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hubstaff | $4.99/user | Activity levels and screenshots | 14-day trial |
| Time Doctor | $6.67/user | Screenshots, app and web tracking | 14-day trial |
| Toggl Track | $9/user | None (timer-based) | Free plan |
| Clockify | $3.99/user | Activity tracking on Pro | Free for up to 5 users |
Now let’s look at each one more closely.
Hubstaff
Hubstaff is built for remote and distributed teams, and it covers more of the workflow than most tools here. Beyond tracking time, it can measure activity levels, take screenshots, handle timesheet approvals, and run payroll for hourly workers.
The Starter plan is $4.99 per user per month billed annually ($7 monthly) and includes time tracking, automated timesheets, and activity monitoring with a monthly screenshot allowance. Grow ($7.50 annually, $9 monthly) adds project budgets, expense tracking, more screenshots, and one integration. Team ($10 annually, $12 monthly) adds timesheet approvals, payroll automation, unlimited integrations, and workforce analytics. There’s no free plan, but there is a 14-day trial.
What stands out: Hubstaff connects tracked time to budgets and payments. For a team that pays contractors by the hour, going from tracked time to approved timesheet to payment in one tool saves real time every pay period.
The catch: The features most remote teams want, like approvals and payroll, sit on the Team plan rather than Starter. And monitoring features like screenshots need clear communication with your team, or they can hurt trust.
Time Doctor
Time Doctor leans hardest into monitoring and productivity analytics. It’s a common pick for companies with large remote or outsourced teams that want a detailed look at where everyone’s hours go.
Basic is $6.67 per user per month billed annually ($8 monthly) and includes automatic tracking, projects, tasks, and screenshots. Standard ($11.67 annually, $14 monthly) adds schedules, attendance, time approvals, and web and app usage reports. Premium ($16.70 annually, $20 monthly) adds video screen recording, executive dashboards, and longer data history. New accounts get a 14-day trial of Premium features without a credit card.
What stands out: If you need detailed productivity reports, like which apps and sites people use during work hours, Time Doctor goes deeper than the others.
The catch: That level of monitoring isn’t a good fit for every team. For a small team built on trust, it can feel like overkill, and it costs more per person than Hubstaff at similar plan levels.
Toggl Track
Toggl Track takes the opposite approach. It doesn’t take screenshots or measure activity. It’s a fast, friendly timer that people actually enjoy using, with strong reports on top.
There’s a free plan for a limited number of users with timers, calendar integrations, and basic reports. Starter is $9 per user per month billed annually and adds billable rates, team reports, and project milestones. Premium is $16 per user per month billed annually and adds timesheet approvals, profitability reports, labor costs, and integrations with tools like Jira and Asana. Paid plans come with a 30-day trial.
What stands out: If your team works on trust and you mostly need accurate hours for billing and planning, Toggl Track is the easiest to get people to use consistently.
The catch: Timesheet approvals and profitability reports are only on Premium, which makes it one of the pricier options for a team that needs them. And there’s no payroll built in.
Clockify
Clockify is the budget pick, with a genuinely useful free plan. It’s popular with small teams and freelancers who want solid time tracking without paying per seat right away.
The free plan covers up to 5 users with unlimited tracking, timesheets, a calendar view, and basic reports. Paid plans are per seat: Basic is $3.99 per month billed annually ($4.99 monthly), Standard is $5.49 ($6.99 monthly) and adds invoicing, time-off management, and approvals, and Pro is $7.99 ($9.99 monthly) and adds activity monitoring, scheduling, and expense tracking.
What stands out: Clockify gives you approvals and invoicing for less than most competitors charge for basic tracking. For a small team, it’s hard to beat on value.
The catch: Monitoring and scheduling only arrive on Pro, and the free plan stops at five users. Teams that want payroll will need another tool.
Not ready to pay? Start free
If your team is very small, you may not need to pay at all yet. Clockify’s free plan covers up to five people, and Toggl Track’s free plan works well for a small team that only needs timers and basic reports. Start there, and upgrade when you need approvals, invoicing, or payroll.
What a 10-person remote team would pay
Per-user pricing makes small differences add up. Here’s a rough monthly cost for a ten-person team on the cheapest plan of each tool that includes timesheet approvals, billed annually at the time of writing:
| Tool and plan | Rough monthly cost for 10 users |
|---|---|
| Clockify Standard | About $55 |
| Hubstaff Team | About $100 |
| Time Doctor Standard | About $117 |
| Toggl Track Premium | About $160 |
A few things jump out:
- Clockify is the clear budget winner if approvals and invoicing are what you need.
- Hubstaff costs more than Clockify but includes payroll. If you pay contractors by the hour, that can save more time than the price difference.
- Toggl Track is the priciest here once you need approvals, but you’re paying for a timer people genuinely like, with no monitoring at all.
One more thing on cost: all four tools charge more if you pay month to month. Hubstaff’s Team plan, for example, is $10 per user billed annually but $12 billed monthly, and Clockify and Time Doctor have similar gaps. For a ten-person team, that’s a difference of a couple of hundred dollars a year. If you’re not sure a tool will stick, it’s worth paying monthly for the first month or two and switching to annual billing once the team is happily using it. The savings are real, but not worth getting stuck with a full year of a tool your team doesn’t like.
So before you choose, answer two questions: do you need to see activity, or just hours? And do you need to pay people from the same tool? Those two answers narrow the list fast.
Monitoring: how much is too much?
This is worth thinking about before you pick a tool, because it affects your team as much as your budget.
Time only (Toggl Track, Clockify’s lower plans) records hours and projects. It’s the least intrusive and works well for teams built on trust and clear deliverables.
Activity levels (Hubstaff, Clockify Pro) measure keyboard and mouse activity as a rough signal of focus. Useful for spotting tracking mistakes, but easy to misread.
Screenshots and app tracking (Hubstaff, Time Doctor) capture what’s on screen or which apps are open. You see the most this way, and it’s common with outsourced or hourly teams, but it needs a clear policy.
Whatever you choose, tell your team what’s tracked and why before you turn it on. Monitoring that’s explained up front is much easier to accept than monitoring people find out about later.
Which tool is right for your team?
1. Small teams that just need accurate hours
Start with Clockify’s free plan or Toggl Track. Clockify is cheaper as you grow, while Toggl Track has the friendliest timer and is easiest to get everyone using.
2. Remote teams that pay contractors by the hour
This is where Hubstaff shines, and it’s my top pick for this group. The Team plan takes you from tracked time to approved timesheets to payroll in one place, with optional activity monitoring if you need proof of work. No more adding up timesheets by hand before every payday.
3. Teams that need detailed productivity analytics
If leadership wants in-depth reports on how time is spent, Time Doctor goes deeper than the others, with app and web tracking, attendance, and executive dashboards.
Features you can skip at first
Time tracking tools add features quickly, and higher plans can look tempting. For most small remote teams, these can wait:
- Video screen recording. Screenshots or activity levels are plenty for most teams, and many people find recording uncomfortable.
- Executive dashboards and AI benchmarks. Useful at scale, but a small team can get the same picture from a simple weekly report.
- GPS and location tracking. Important for field teams, but rarely needed when everyone works at a laptop.
- Single sign-on and audit logs. These matter for bigger companies, but usually not for a ten-person team.
What you shouldn’t skip: an easy timer, accurate reports by project or client, and approvals if anyone else reviews hours before they’re paid or billed.
How to roll out time tracking without annoying your team
Even the best tool fails if people resent it. A few habits make the switch much smoother:
- Explain the why. Tell people what the data is for, whether that’s accurate client billing, fair pay, or better project estimates. “We want to see what you’re doing” lands very differently from “we want to stop guessing on quotes.”
- Start with the timer only. Turn on monitoring features later, if at all. Getting everyone into the habit of tracking comes first.
- Make it part of the workflow. Connect the tracker to the project tools your team already uses, so starting a timer is one click from the task.
- Share the reports. When the team sees the same reports managers see, tracking feels like a shared tool rather than surveillance.
- Review after a month. Ask what’s annoying and adjust settings. Small tweaks, like reminders or idle time rules, can make a big difference.
A few tips before you start a trial
- Run it for a full week. One day won’t tell you much. A week shows how tracking fits real work.
- Include your least techy teammate. If they can use it without help, everyone can.
- Test the export or payroll flow. Make sure tracked hours turn into invoices or payments the way you expect.
- Agree on monitoring settings first. Decide what’s tracked before the trial starts, not after.
The bottom line
For most small remote teams, the right time tracking tool depends on two things: how much monitoring you want, and whether you need to pay people from the same tool.
If you just need accurate hours on a budget, Clockify is the best value. But if your team pays contractors by the hour and wants tracking, approvals, and payroll in one place, Hubstaff is the most complete option for a remote team.
Want to see how it fits your team? You can start a 14-day free trial of Hubstaff. Track one real week, run approvals, and test a payroll cycle before you commit.
👉 Start your free Hubstaff trial
FAQ
What is the best time tracking software for remote teams?
It depends on your needs. Clockify is the best value for basic tracking and approvals, Toggl Track is the easiest to use without monitoring, and Hubstaff is a strong choice if you need tracking, approvals, and payroll in one tool.
Is Hubstaff good for remote teams?
Yes, especially for teams that pay hourly contractors. Its Team plan includes timesheet approvals, payroll automation, and workforce analytics, and plans start at $4.99 per user per month billed annually at the time of writing.
Is there free time tracking software for small teams?
Yes. Clockify’s free plan covers up to five users, and Toggl Track has a free plan with timers and basic reports for a limited number of users.
Do time tracking tools take screenshots?
Some do. Hubstaff and Time Doctor can take screenshots and track app usage, while Toggl Track doesn’t monitor activity at all. If you use monitoring, explain the settings to your team first.
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