Hubstaff (Starter) review 2027

What problem does Hubstaff solve for hourly and remote teams?

Hubstaff is built for one job: paying people by the tracked hour. The worker starts the timer, sees everything collected, and gets paid from it. That is the whole design, and it is why the product ranks second of seven in this category with a score of 8.3.

For agencies billing hours it does the whole job. The timer feeds a timesheet, the timesheet feeds automated payroll, and the same data produces client invoices. Field teams get GPS and geofencing on top, so a crew clocking in at a site is recorded at that site. Anyone paying by the tracked hour is the buyer this was written for.

The tagline says it plainly: time tracking with optional screenshots and GPS that runs payroll at the end of it. The word optional matters. Screenshots are not the default state of the product, and the worker can see and delete their own screenshots before submission.

How did we score Hubstaff across five criteria?

Our test ran five testers across two weeks on Windows, macOS and Linux, comparing the activity, app and idle data against what those testers actually did.

• Visibility & accuracy — 21 of 25. We measured whether activity, app and idle data matched real work, and how much it missed on Mac and Linux.
• Proportionality & worker rights — 20 of 25. Whether the worker can see their own data, whether notice is built in, how granular consent and privacy controls are, and whether a covert mode is the default.
• Productivity insight — 15 of 20. Reports a manager can act on: focus time, workload balance, burnout signals, rather than raw surveillance.
• Deployment & admin — 13 of 15. Silent or visible install, platform coverage, directory integration, data retention controls, export.
• Value — 14 of 15. Monthly price per user for a 20-person team on the plan our test needed.

The pattern is consistent: Hubstaff scores highest where the worker is treated as a participant rather than a target, and loses points where the useful features sit behind a higher tier.

What does Hubstaff do better than the rest of the category?

Platform coverage is the clearest win. Hubstaff was the only product in this test that covered all three of our platforms including Linux, and the spec sheet adds iOS, Android and Chrome to Windows and macOS.

Worker visibility is the second. Workers see a full timesheet and their own screenshots, and can delete screenshots before submission. That is a deliberate choice, and it is why the timer is worker-started rather than covert. It is not a hidden tool, which is the point.

The third is the money end. Tracked hours flow into automated payroll and invoicing without a separate export step, and GPS plus geofencing covers field teams who never sit at a desk.

What is inside Hubstaff, and how is it built?

The nine spec rows describe the product as tested:

• Per user: 7 USD/mo
• Free plan: Yes, 1 user
• Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Chrome
• macOS: Yes
• Screenshots: Optional, worker can see and delete
• Keystroke logging: Activity level only, no logging
• Worker sees own data: Yes, full timesheet and screenshots
• Time tracking & payroll: Yes, with automated payroll
• Best for: Agencies, contractors, field teams

Note the keystroke row. Hubstaff records an activity level and does not log keystrokes, so it sits on the lighter side of this category by design. The screenshots row is the other one to read carefully: capture is optional, and the person being captured can review and remove images before they are submitted.

How does Hubstaff compare with ActivTrak, Time Doctor and DeskTime?

ActivTrak scores 8.9 at $10 per user and takes the analytics route: every employee gets a personal insights dashboard, there is no keystroke logging, and screenshots are optional and off by default. It covers Windows, macOS and Chrome OS, with a free plan for 3 users. Hubstaff is ahead on platform range, including Linux, iOS and Android, and on payroll automation; ActivTrak is ahead on score and on the depth of its workload reporting.

Time Doctor scores 7.9 at $6.70 per user and covers Windows, macOS, Linux, Chrome and Android. It takes screenshots with a blurred option, counts keystrokes without logging them, and shows workers their own data. It is the veteran pick for BPO and outsourced teams. Hubstaff is ahead on score and on automated payroll; Time Doctor is cheaper per seat.

DeskTime scores 7.8 at $7 per user, the same headline price as Hubstaff, and covers Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android. It tracks automatically, sorts apps into productive and unproductive, and adds a Pomodoro timer and an absence calendar. Screenshots sit on the premium tier with a blurred option, and there is no keystroke logging. It suits small offices wanting a light touch; Hubstaff goes further on payroll and field GPS.

Where does Hubstaff fall short?

Features are gated by tier, and that is where it lost ground. Screenshots and app tracking need the $12 Team tier, so the plan our test needed costs more than the $7 headline. There is also a two-seat minimum, which rules out a single freelancer on the entry plan.

The worker-started timer is listed among the drawbacks, but it is the same fact as the product's main strength. Anyone looking for a covert tool will not find one here, and that is intentional.

Is Hubstaff worth $7 per user?

The price summary is $7 per user, with a free plan for 1 user. Value scored 14 of 15, measured as the monthly price per user for a 20-person team on the plan our test needed.

Who should buy Hubstaff?

Anyone paying by the tracked hour. Agencies, contractors and field teams are the named fit, and the combination of worker-visible data, automated payroll and GPS is what makes it work for them. If you need workload analytics instead, ActivTrak is the stronger pick; if you want the cheapest seat, Time Doctor undercuts it.