Remote work is on the rise. Leaders who manage teams from afar need a way to see what’s going on, no matter where their team works. That’s where time tracking and team management apps like Time Doctor come in. Time Doctor is a popular time tracker and proof of work app — but that doesn’t mean it’s the perfect fit for every team. In fact, you’re probably here because you’re searching for Time Doctor alternatives.

Some users report that Time Doctor is outdated, lacks modern functionality, and has unresponsive customer support. That’s why we’ve set out to identify the best Time Doctor alternatives.

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The best Time Doctor alternatives

We’ve compiled a list of apps to suit the needs of every business. If you don’t see one that fits right away, keep reading. Odds are at least one of these great time tracking apps will be a nice fit for your business.

Click an app to skip ahead.

Table of contents

  1. Hubstaff
  2. Workpuls
  3. DeskTime
  4. QuickBooks Time
  5. ActivTrak
  6. BigTime
  7. Toggl
  8. Harvest
  9. Replicon
  10. Timely
  11. Clockify

1. Hubstaff

Hubstaff

What it does

Hubstaff is a simple but powerful time tracking solution that serves as a perfect Time Doctor alternative for growing remote teams. Its lightweight desktop and mobile apps allow teams to track time from anywhere at any time.

Hubstaff desktop client redesign

Hubstaff tracks the time you spend on different tasks down to the second on iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, and Linux. You can even run Hubstaff in a web browser or download the Google Chrome extension for basic time tracking.

With over 30 integrations, Hubstaff allows you to use your favorite CRM, task management, and communication tools like Slack, Trello, and Asana to increase productivity and profitability.

Hubstaff integrates with popular payroll solutions like PayPal, Gusto, and Wise. Just add team members, set pay rates, and turn tracked time into timesheets to pay users right from Hubstaff. If you work with freelancers, you also have the option to send fixed amounts as well.

Who is it for?

Hubstaff’s versatile dashboard gives managers a clear view of how their team works and allows them to identify and address any roadblocks along the way.

While Time Doctor tends to focus on just professional service industry teams, Hubstaff caters to remote, field, and even in-office teams of all varieties. URL & app usage, GPS tracking, and real-time productivity measurement help you manage employees in any field.

How it’s different

Both Time Doctor and Hubstaff are time tracking software that use screen captures and reporting to bolster productivity. However, Hubstaff stands out because it offers powerful tools like:

  • Custom invoices
  • GPS
  • Geofencing
  • Activity levels and productivity measurement

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You can also utilize automated invoices and even generate expense reports.

Project budget updates

Hubstaff automates timesheets for accurate, effortless payroll. Employees can also indicate their time off for manager approval.

With GPS, route tracking, and geofencing features, Hubstaff can also reach field service teams in a way that Time Doctor can’t.

For example, whenever someone on your team arrives at or leaves a job site, Hubstaff can automatically clock them in or out with geofencing technology.

Hubstaff geofencing on mobile devices

You can take a closer look at Hubstaff vs. Time Doctor here.

Pricing

Hubstaff operates on a per-user/month pricing model and has plans for businesses of any size or industry. Unlike Time Doctor, Hubstaff is great for solo users. The free single-user plan gives you basic time tracking, activity, and proof of work tools.

As your team grows, upgrade your plan for unlimited integrations, mobile GPS tracking, reporting, invoices, and more robust team management tools.

For most teams, the Pro plan is a great balance of affordability and features. Hubstaff’s Pro plan is just half the cost of Time Doctor’s.

HubstaffTime Doctor
Free
$0 per month
Basic
$7 per user/month
Basic
$7 per user/month
Standard
$10 per user/month
Premium
$10 per user/month
Premium
$20 per user/month
Enterprise
$20 per user/month

2. Workpuls

Workpuls

What it does

Workpuls offers activity tracking and attendance features that remote teams have come to expect. Like Time Doctor, managers assess each individual employee’s productivity levels with website and app usage.

For example, Facebook might be considered a highly productive tool for a social media manager, but not for an accountant. With Workpuls, you can identify which tools are helping (or hurting) your team’s productivity.

Who is it for?

Workpuls is an employer-first tool. This can have both positive and negative connotations.

With Workpuls, employers can gain a glimpse into the day-to-day lives of their team. This increased visibility can boost productivity and help leadership make informed decisions.

On the other hand, one could argue that Workpuls’ more authoritarian approach could damage the rapport between a team and its manager. Team members might be concerned about the lack of transparency while they’re being tracked.

While assessing productivity is an admirable goal, Workpuls’ stealth mode can lead to micromanagement. The ability to observe teams without them knowing can take maximizing productivity to intrusive and unethical levels.

How it’s different

Time Doctor and Workpuls both place a strong emphasis on productivity. Unlike Time Doctor, though, Workpuls features:

  • The ability to track office and remote time separately
  • Optional Stealth Mode
  • On-premise hosting

You’ll have to decide if features like Stealth Mode are aligned with your company’s values.

The pros? Workpuls offers on-premise hosting that helps secure company and client data. Like all the tools on this list, the time tracking data and proof of work features are accurate and reliable.

Pricing

Workpuls is considerably cheaper than Time Doctor, which makes it an appealing alternative for growing teams. However, with a slew of new features on the way, that pricing could soon change.

WorkpulsTime Doctor
Employee Monitoring
$8 per user/month
Basic
$7 per user/month
Time Tracking
$10 per user/month
Standard
$10 per user/month
Automatic Time Mapping
$15 per user/month
Premium
$20 per user/month
Enterprise
Request a quote cloud or on-premise

3. DeskTime

DeskTime

What it does

DeskTime is both an app for activity tracking and project management. In addition to time tracking and user interaction features, DeskTime offers a shift-building tool that can help prevent over or understaffing.

Who is it for?

DeskTime puts the employee first. The shift request feature helps field service teams by putting the power in the hands of individual team members.

With DeskTime, users can select their preferred shift times with the click of a button. This also benefits managers by keeping them informed of any shift swapping that may occur without their knowledge.

How it’s different

DeskTime markets itself as more shift-oriented than Time Doctor.

Despite its corporate-sounding name, DeskTime’s shift-based time management capabilities could also make it appealing to more field service-oriented industries.

Real estate agents, construction crews, and even restaurant staff can all benefit from DeskTime. The ability to build shift schedules can help managers eliminate shift swapping that may occur without their input.

However, managers at tech providers, agencies, and BPOs may want to look for a Time Doctor alternative that better suits the way they work.


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Pricing

DeskTime, like many other time tracking tools, operates on a per user basis. Unlike Time Doctor, DeskTime’s rates begin to decrease incrementally for teams with more than ten users. Solos can benefit from the Lite version and upgrade as their team continues to grow.

DeskTimeTime Doctor
Lite
0$ (one user only)
Basic
$7 per user/month
Pro
Starts at $7 per user/month
Standard
$10 per user/month
Premium
Starts at $10 per user/month
Premium
$20 per user/month
Enterprise
Starts at $20 per user/month

4. QuickBooks Time

QuickBooks Time

What it does

Most business owners know Intuit’s QuickBooks as a nearly two-decade-old accounting software. QuickBooks Time (formerly TSheets) is one of the Time Doctor alternatives that strives to keep up with the modern, remote workforce.

By combining time tracking, GPS and geofencing software, and scheduling capabilities, Quickbooks Time can help remote teams in almost any field. Whether your employees are filing timesheets from home or clocking in and out of various worksites, there are plenty of ways this tool can increase your large team’s productivity.

Who is it for?

One of QuickBooks Time’s greatest strengths is its versatility.

Whether you manage a remote development team or a team of independent contractors that specialize in kitchen rehab, QuickBooks Time has features that can help increase productivity (and hopefully your bottom line).

That being said, QuickBooks Time focuses on larger, enterprise-level teams. If your business hasn’t experienced that level of growth, you’ll find a lot of features and settings that add costs you won’t be able to justify.

How it’s different

Arguably the biggest difference to Time Doctor is QuickBooks Time’s Geofencing feature. Unlike Time Doctor, QuickBooks Time allows remote teams to clock in and out automatically when they enter or leave a job site.

Some of QuickBooks Time’s key differences can also be considered drawbacks. Although it has features that TimeDoctor does not, the overall UX of QuickBooks Time has proven difficult.

For instance, some QuickBooks users are still struggling with bugs that force them to manually add payroll mapping for each new team member.

Pricing

QuickBooks Time is designed for larger teams, so that comes with a larger price tag.

The platform offers just two pricing models: Premium and Elite. There is no starter plan or lower-priced option for teams that are just getting started.

Although the per user per month rates for their two plans are comparable to similar levels by Time Doctor, you will need to pay an additional monthly rate of $20 for premium and $40 for elite.

When compared to Time Doctor, QuickBooks Time looks less enticing to teams with a smaller budget that won’t benefit from advanced features like mileage tracking and geofencing.

QuickBooks TimeTime Doctor
Premium
$20/month + $8 per user/month
Basic
$7 per user/month
Elite
$40/month + $10 per user/month
Standard
$10 per user/month
Premium
$20 per user/month

5. ActivTrak

ActivTrak

What it does

ActivTrak is a workforce analytics and productivity management solution based in Austin, Texas. Aside from just tracking time, ActivTrak explores the tools your team uses on a larger scale to help you find cost-effective alternatives.

Easy-to-read charts and reports help you make business decisions with useful, unbiased data. If you’re looking for more robust analytics than what Time Doctor offers, this tool is worth a closer look.

Who is it for?

ActivTrak is for tech-savvy managers that love analyzing data. While Time Doctor identifies time-wasting websites, ActivTrak attempts to go a step further by searching for value in the tools your team uses.

By tracking app usage, you can decide which tools aren’t worth their price tags. Then, pull detailed reports and find alternatives that better meet your needs.

How it’s different

Unlike Time Doctor, ActivTrak prides itself on a non-intrusive approach to proof of work. Instead of screenshots and keystroke logging, they take a data-driven approach.

ActivTrak aims to eliminate burnout by identifying unhealthy patterns.

For example, let’s say your graphic designer falls behind on deadlines. ActivTrak’s reporting might identify that their Zoom usage could be a sign of too many meetings and not enough focus time.

ActivTrak does have its drawbacks. An outdated installation process, non-intuitive UI, and a pesky auto-renewal system have all plagued users.

Pricing

ActivTrak stands out from platforms like Time Doctor because it operates on a freemium model with up to three users. In contrast, Time Doctor offers no free option for small teams and jumps straight to a $7/user per month basic plan.

Even the premium and advanced plans come in a bit cheaper than the Time Doctor equivalent.

ActivTrakTime Doctor
Freemium
$0 (up to three users)
Basic
$7 per user/month
Advanced
$9 per user/month billed annually
Standard
$10 per user/month
Premium
$15 per user/month billed annually (minimum of five users)
Premium
$20 per user/month
Enterprise
Contact for custom quote

6. BigTime

BigTime

What it does

BigTime offers time tracking, billing, and project management solutions for small to mid-sized companies.

With its resource allocation abilities, BigTime helps remote teams spend more time working and less time meeting. By providing availability metrics for each employee, BigTime can help managers assign work across departments and prevent overstaffing.

Who is it for?

BigTime is designed with professional services firms in mind. Accounting firms, IT services, and law firms are just a few of the industries BigTime strives to optimize.

No matter what kind of team you lead, BigTime can streamline your workload with auto-scheduling features.

It’s an excellent tool for teams that share work since it can help you see which people are most available and who needs more help.

How it’s different

Unlike Time Doctor, BigTime positions itself as a project management software first. Instead of emphasizing proof of work features like screenshots and detailed time tracking, BigTime uses tools like Gantt charts to find work for every member of your team.

With auto-scheduling, you can seamlessly address hold-ups and bottlenecks.

For example, let’s say a client is a month late providing the initial deliverables for a project. Instead of rescheduling every single task, BigTime’s auto-schedule feature creates a cascading effect that pushes back all related deadlines.

Teams that already have a project management tool might find a lot of features redundant.

However, if you’re looking for a Time Doctor alternative that does a better job with project planning and tracking, this is a good option.

Pricing

BigTime’s marketing says that they aim to help teams of all sizes.

However, with plans that require at least five users and one of the most expensive per-user rates for this type of tool, it’s difficult to believe that that’s actually true.

While most teams would splurge for more expensive plans as their team grows, BigTime’s user rate triples from Express to Pro. Even their premier plan is double that of Time Doctor’s.

If the steep price wasn’t alarming enough, BigTime doesn’t offer a free trial of any kind. Instead, you’ll have to take a quiz to decide what’s best for your team.

In short, BigTime primarily suits larger teams with big budgets.

BigTimeTime Doctor
Express
$10 per user/month billed annually
(minimum of five users)
Basic
$7 per user/month
Pro
$30 per user/month billed annually (minimum of five users)
Standard
$10 per user/month
Premier
$40 per user/month billed annually (minimum of 10 users)
Premium
$20 per user/month

7. Toggl

Toggl

What it does

Toggl is a Time Doctor alternative designed to alleviate the pressure of time tracking, project management, and hiring.

This easy-to-use platform was created in the early 2000s by a stressed-out Estonian software consultancy looking to show their clients how they allocated time.

Today, Toggl has a three-pronged approach to productivity.

Toggl Track is a Time Doctor-esque tool for clocking in and out. Toggl Plan is intended to compete with project management giants like Asana, Trello, and Monday.com. Toggl Hire helps remote teams find the right crew for the job.

Who is it for?

Toggl is a great option for freelancers (or companies that work closely with them) who want an easy way to report to their clients. Toggl achieves this with a three-tier hierarchy tag system: client, project, and task.

Freelancers can also make customized tags to take notes for themselves or their employers and distribute multiple tags to each task.

How it’s different

Toggl is deliberately less robust than Time Doctor.

While Time Doctor was designed to increase productivity and save remote teams money, Toggl prides itself on its ease of use.

In fact, managers that turn to Toggl often outsource significant amounts of their work. Toggl Hire gives you access to a direct pipeline of freelancers to make this possible.

From there, you can funnel those freelancers into Toggl Track. The goal? A steady flow of freelance talent that requires virtually no training whatsoever.


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Pricing

If you’re leading a team, Toggl is free for up to five people. It supports an unlimited number of projects and clients, different levels of user access rights, an offline tracking mode, and multiple reporting options.

The starter plan offers unlimited team members, billing and invoicing features, report exports, and the option to share timesheets with clients and colleagues. If you’re looking for more transparency on your team, start here.

While Toggl is one of the more affordable Time Doctor alternatives, you certainly get what you pay for. Toggl may seem like the best alternative for freelancers and small companies, but many users have had difficulty pausing and correcting their time.

TogglTime Doctor
Free
$0
Basic
$7 per user/month
Starter
$10 per user/month
Standard
$10 per user/month
Premium
$20 per user/month
Premium
$20 per user/month

8. Harvest

Harvest

What it does

Like many other time tracking platforms, Harvest uses a simple “click to start and stop” timer for employees to record their work.

One of the platform’s unique strengths is the wide range of devices it can operate on — web, desktop, and various mobile operating systems.

Employees can stay productive in flexible work settings, while managers gain insight into when and where their teams are the most effective.

Harvest also allows you to communicate with your team with alerts. Use them to remind your team to submit their timesheets or share important updates.

Who is it for?

Like Time Doctor and other time tracking platforms, Harvest has its fair share of large clients in the professional services sector. However, Harvest is also beneficial to field service teams who spend their days on the go.

Harvest has an excellent mobile app that makes it easy for field teams to track hours, submit timesheets, and file expense reports from their phones.

How it’s different

Because of its flexibility across various devices, Harvest has helped employees work from virtually anywhere. Even on the primary desktop version, Time Doctor users have expressed frustration with slow loading speeds. Meanwhile, Harvest users love the seamless cohesion between the mobile and desktop apps.

However, unlike Hubstaff and QuickBooks Time, no geofencing/route tracking technology is available for Harvest users at this time. Employees still have to remember to clock in and out manually.

Pricing

Harvest has a 30-day free trial and a free solo plan. Its pricing is fixed at $12/user per month for both the solo and team plan. While this is one of the better pricing models on the market, Harvest still has some drawbacks.

The admin-centric nature of Harvest has left users struggling to change their rates and calculate their time. Users have also cited difficulty with finding timesheets as another source of frustration.

If you’re looking for something with more automation and better time tracking reports, Harvest may not be your best alternative.

HarvestTime Doctor
Free
$0
1 seat
2 projects
Basic
$7 per user/month
Pro
$12 per user/month
Standard
$10 per user/month
Premium
$20 per user/month

9. Replicon

Replicon

What it does

Replicon is a cloud-based time and expense management provider. Instead of a single tool, Replicon offers a suite of different software solutions.

TimeBill and ProjectTime allow remote teams to track and manage project hours and costs. Expense and TimeOff generate expense reports and manage PTO, respectively.

When you pair these tools together, you’ll have enterprise-grade solutions to your team’s every need.

Who is it for?

Replicon is popular with IT services, government contractors, consultants, and other professional service companies.

However, these companies tend to be much larger in stature. If your team is on the smaller side, you may be frustrated by the lack of customizability and the platform’s tendency to cater to large, global enterprises.

If you have a global team, Replicon does a great job of helping you understand best practices and labor laws in each country with its compliance library. Unfortunately, it may end up costing you more.

How it’s different

While Time Doctor focuses more on small to midsize companies, Replicon works more effectively with large enterprises. Hyatt, Aon, and Blackbaud are just a few large clients working with Replicon.

To further tap into this market, Replicon recently launched Polaris, an autonomous professional services automation tool. With Polaris, larger companies can automate their time tracking best practices across all of their global teams.

Pricing

Although the app itself can be inflexible, Replicon’s pricing model is anything but.

The Small Business plan operates on a per-user/month model, but more extensive plans can be a lot more difficult to understand.

If you’re not sure where you stand in their elaborate pricing model, they do offer custom quotes. Compared to Time Doctor’s simple monthly model, Replicon’s customizable pricing model only benefits larger companies with unique needs.

RepliconTime Doctor
Small Business
Starts at $3 to $60 per user/month
Basic
$7 per user/month
Medium Enterprise
$6 to $22 per user/month
Standard
$10 per user/month
Large Enterprise
Starts at $8 per user/month
Contact for custom quote
Premium
$20 per user/month

Your guide to increased productivity


10. Timely

Timely

What it does

One of the best alternatives to Time Doctor is Timely. Timely is an automatic time tracking system created by the Norwegian tech company Memory.

With both client and team member safety in mind, Timely works by collecting active time stamps from web and desktop applications. In essence, this is an AI time tracking tool that automatically logs hours and categorizes time without starting and stopping timers.

Who is it for?

Timely has a couple of features that make it great for managers who prioritize clear reporting from their employees.

Team members can “schedule” their work with time estimates. This allows you to clearly see who has too much or too little on their plate.

Timely then tracks a team’s tasks as logged hours and compares them to the estimates that were set before the project.

From there, you can compare the predicted budget to the actual cost of the work completed.

How it’s different

The most obvious difference is that Timely uses machine learning to track time without needing to start and stop a timer.

Timely is great for team members. While Time Doctor features a screenshotting system that helps managers check on their teams, Timely creates trust by putting more control in the hands of each team member.

With Timely, each user has their own private timeline that they can populate with day-to-day tasks. They can decide what information goes public.

Although this method has its perks, it can be exploited. Remote teams with too much freedom could potentially abuse it.

Pricing

Like many other Time Doctor alternatives, Timely operates on a per-user/month model. The Starter plan allows you to track up to 50 projects across three remote teams.

The Premium and Unlimited models have no restrictions on team and project size. If you are not sure what features your team needs, Timely’s free trial lets you explore all of the features of their unlimited model.

TimelyTime Doctor
Starter
$10 per user/month
Basic
$7 per user/month
Premium
$18 per user/month
Standard
$10 per user/month
Unlimited
$26 per user/month
Premium
$20 per user/month

11. Clockify

Clockify

What it does

Clockify is a free Time Doctor alternative. It’s a time tracking app with a powerful, intuitive interface.

Employees can track time to each task on their to-do list. Then, they can look to their dashboard to see work hours, project spend, task breakdowns, and other project insights.

If you want to archive this data, Clockify’s reporting features are very impressive for a free app. You can apply filters and convert reports to PDF, CSV, or Excel files. You’ll have detailed, weekly, and summary reports at your disposal.

Who is it for?

Clockify is great for growing teams. You’ll gain access to basic time tracking, timesheets, and reporting features. As your team continues to expand, you can pay for add-ons that make more sense for a larger company.

If you’re hoping to pay teams directly through your time tracking app, you’ll have to look elsewhere. Clockify still requires users to manually export time tracking data and upload it to a third-party payroll provider.

How it’s different

What sets Clockify apart is the simple, easy-to-use interface. While many Time Doctor users have been frustrated by the app’s UI, Clockify users have been very pleased.

“Clockify is easy to use, inexpensive, and is simple set up. It has a robust API and also provides a lot of great reports that you can customize to be as granular as you’d like.”

Jamie P, GetApp review

Pricing

Clockify is considered a free time tracking tool, but you’ll need to look into paid add-ons to really see any Time Doctor comparisons.

These add-ons start at $3.99 per user/month and include things like project templates, invoicing, screenshots, scheduling, and GPS tracking.

ClockifyTime Doctor
Free
$0
Basic
$7 per user/month
Basic
$3.99 per user/month
Standard
$10 per user/month
Standard
$5.49 per user/month
Premium
$20 per user/month
Pro
$7.99 per user/month
Enterprise
$11.99 per user/month

Next steps

Choosing the best tool for your team can be a process of trial and error. Take advantage of free trials to make sure that a tool is a good fit before you commit.

Bookmark this post. If the alternative you try isn’t the best one for you, come back to this list and check out our latest updates.

This post was originally published in May 2018. It was updated in February 2022.

Category: Time Tracking