Buyers leave Hubstaff when they want monitoring without a payments and field-work platform around it, or when per-seat billing and the blank plan table make the cost hard to forecast. Most move to WorkTime or DeskTime for lighter tracking, or to ActivTrak and Insightful for analytics.
Vendors can pay for more visibility on this website, for example a higher place in a ranking or more room on a page. Commercial relationships can also affect which products we feature and how prominently. Every vendor link is marked the same, whatever the arrangement behind it. The first three alternatives
go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands in a category, wherever the category has them; the
established names follow in their ranked order. How it works:
placement disclosure · editorial process.
What each alternative does differently
1. WorkTime
Non-invasive computer activity tracking for Windows and macOS · Canada
Starts from the assumption that screenshots are the wrong default, and uses a screen productivity measure instead. A free plan covers three employees with two weeks of history; Basic lists 6.99 dollars per employee monthly. Unlimited history comes with paid plans. It has no GPS job sites or contractor payments.
Switch from Hubstaff if you want activity tracking you can defend to a works council, without screenshots.
Pricing: Free plan for up to 3 employees; Basic lists 6.99 dollars per employee per month, with Premium and Enterprise above it. (free plan)
Full review: #1 of 12 in our ranking ·
Visit WorkTime →
2. DeskTime
Visible automatic time tracking from a Latvian publisher · Latvia
Automatic time tracking with a visible timer and private time for employees. Pro lists 5.50 euros per user and Premium 8.25 euros, billed annually and excluding VAT, with a 14-day trial but no permanent free plan. Screenshots sit in Premium. Payments and field tracking are left out.
Switch from Hubstaff if you want transparent, employee-visible tracking from an EU publisher with euro prices.
Pricing: Pro lists 5.50 euros per user per month billed annually, Premium 8.25 euros, excluding VAT; Enterprise on request; 14-day trial. (free trial)
Full review: #2 of 12 in our ranking ·
Visit DeskTime →
3. ActivTrak
Workforce analytics from computer activity data · United States
Behavioural analytics on workload, utilization and schedule adherence rather than a timesheet product. Four tiers run from 10 to 21 dollars per worker, billed annually, and a free plan is capped at three workers. Screen Details, the screenshot add-on, is not priced publicly. It does not pay contractors.
Switch from Hubstaff if you need workload and utilization trends across a few hundred staff, not individual timesheets.
Pricing: Published tiers at 10, 15, 17 and 21 dollars per worker per month billed annually; free plan for 3 workers; Screen Details and AI Insights are add-ons. (free plan)
Full review: #4 of 12 in our ranking ·
Visit ActivTrak →
4. Insightful
Workforce analytics with modular add-ons for screenshots · United States
A core Workforce Analytics plan at 8 dollars per seat, billed annually, with intrusive features sold as separate add-ons at 3 to 4 dollars. A group can begin without screenshots and add them later. The free trial can be cancelled within 7 days. It has no payments module.
Switch from Hubstaff if you want to roll monitoring out in stages and pay for screenshots only where needed.
Pricing: Workforce Analytics lists 8 dollars per seat per month billed annually; screenshots at 3 to 4 dollars, screen recording 4 dollars and a security plan 4 dollars as add-ons. (free trial)
Full review: #5 of 12 in our ranking ·
Visit Insightful →
5. Time Doctor
Time tracking with activity reports for remote teams · United States
Sits closest to Hubstaff as a time tracker with optional screenshots, projects, approvals and attendance. Plan prices load by script, so we could not read Basic, Standard or Premium figures. A 14-day trial covers Premium. Add-ons are priced separately, and payroll integrations cost 200 dollars per integration monthly.
Switch from Hubstaff if you bill clients or contractors by the hour and want a closest like-for-like tracker.
Pricing: Basic, Standard and Premium plans plus Enterprise, per user per month with a 14-day trial; plan prices load by script; add-ons such as Software Cost Insights cost 3 dollars per user. (free trial)
Full review: #8 of 12 in our ranking ·
Visit Time Doctor →
6. Controlio
Computer monitoring with cloud, on-premises and private cloud options · United States
Lists Basic at 6.67 and Advanced at 9.99 dollars per user, billed annually, with a 14-day trial. On-premises deployment is available from 10 users on request and private cloud from 100. Basic keeps data six months, extendable to three years. Export caps vary by plan. There are no payroll features.
Switch from Hubstaff if you need on-premises or private cloud hosting at a mid-range, published price.
Pricing: Plans start at 6.67 dollars per user per month; a higher plan lists 9.99 dollars; annual payment saves 17 percent; enterprise on request; 14-day trial. (free trial)
Full review: #3 of 12 in our ranking ·
Visit Controlio →
7. Teramind
User activity monitoring and insider-risk platform · United States
An insider-risk platform with Starter, UAM, DLP and Enterprise tiers, rather than a timesheet product. Per-seat prices show as dashes on the pricing view, so a quote or calculator is needed. Billing is monthly or yearly, with a yearly saving of 8 percent. It is heavy for plain hour tracking.
Switch from Hubstaff if monitoring is really a security and data-loss question, not a timesheet one.
Pricing: Four tiers (Starter, UAM, DLP, Enterprise) priced per seat per month; the figures are loaded by script, so a quote or the calculator is needed. (free trial)
Full review: #6 of 12 in our ranking ·
Visit Teramind →
8. Veriato
User activity monitoring and insider risk scoring · United States
Built for investigations and audit. User activity monitoring costs 18 dollars per user monthly on annual terms, with a five-user minimum and volume discounts. The insider-risk product has no listed price and needs 20 users. It offers a free trial request, no permanent free plan, and no time-tracking focus.
Switch from Hubstaff if you need case files and an audit trail for investigations, and can pay 18 dollars per user.
Pricing: Licences start at 18 dollars per user per month billed annually; one licence per employee regardless of devices; minimum 5 users for UAM and 20 for IRM. (free trial)
Full review: #7 of 12 in our ranking ·
Visit Veriato →
9. KeepActive (formerly Kickidler)
Screen recording and live monitoring, cloud or on-premise · Cyprus
Formerly Kickidler. Offers a trial of up to 14 days and an on-premise option, with a perpetual licence as an alternative to subscriptions. Prices are not shown on the homepage. The homepage names companies in Cyprus and Kazakhstan without saying which one contracts with the customer. It centres on screen recording rather than payments.
Switch from Hubstaff if you prefer a perpetual licence and recordings stored on your own server.
Pricing: Calculator-based; one licence per computer, billed from one month to three years (10 to 40 percent off) or as a perpetual licence; volume discounts above 50 computers. (free trial)
Full review: #10 of 12 in our ranking ·
Visit KeepActive (formerly Kickidler) →
10. CleverControl
Screen recording and activity monitoring, cloud or local · United States
Screen recording and activity monitoring, with Windows and macOS agents in every plan. Billing runs for 3, 6 or 12 months, with 20 percent off from 30 computers and 30 percent off from 100. Plan prices load by script, so none are quoted here. It is priced per computer, not per person.
Switch from Hubstaff if you manage a fixed fleet of computers and want recording evidence with volume discounts.
Pricing: Billing for 3, 6 or 12 months; 20 percent off for 30+ computers and 30 percent off for 100+; plan prices load by script. (free trial)
Full review: #11 of 12 in our ranking ·
Visit CleverControl →
11. StaffCop
Insider risk, DLP and monitoring on your own servers · Russia
An insider-risk and monitoring suite for on-premises or private cloud deployment, with a free trial of unstated length. No prices or editions appear on the homepage, so buying means contacting the vendor. The category file records a Russian publisher, which an EU buyer should assess before choosing it.
Switch from Hubstaff if your IT team must host every recording on its own servers and accepts a quote-based purchase.
Pricing: No price shown on the pages read; a free trial and a purchase page exist, and the vendor describes on-premises or private cloud deployment. (free trial)
Full review: #12 of 12 in our ranking ·
Visit StaffCop →
Questions and answers
What is the cheapest alternative to Hubstaff for employee monitoring?
WorkTime is the cheapest for a very small team, because its free plan covers three employees with two weeks of history. DeskTime Pro lists 5.50 euros per user per month billed annually. Hubstaff's structured data lists Starter at 4.99 dollars, so compare against the plan you actually use.
Is there a free alternative to Hubstaff?
Yes, two tools have a permanent free plan limited to three people. WorkTime and ActivTrak each offer one. DeskTime, Controlio and Insightful offer trials only. Hubstaff itself offers a 14-day trial with no credit card, not a free plan.
Can I get a refund when I leave Hubstaff?
Only inside the 30-day money-back guarantee on paid plans, which excludes the free trial. Hubstaff's pricing page states that removed seats receive no prorated refund or credit. Cancel the paid term within the window, or let it run out, before you rely on the new tool.
Which Hubstaff alternative can be hosted on our own servers?
Controlio, KeepActive, CleverControl and StaffCop describe on-premises options. Controlio offers on-premises from 10 users on request and private cloud from 100. WorkTime lists cloud or on-premise in the category file. Hubstaff is the cloud product we reviewed, so self-hosting is a reason to move.
Which alternative avoids screenshots?
WorkTime uses a screen productivity measure in place of captured images. ActivTrak keeps screenshots in a separate Screen Details add-on, and Insightful sells them as add-ons at 3 to 4 dollars per seat. Hubstaff attaches screenshots to tracked time, so these tools suit a lighter rollout.
Do these alternatives replace Hubstaff payments and GPS job sites?
No alternative in this category replaces both. Hubstaff pairs tracked hours with payments through partners such as Wise and Deel, and offers GPS job sites. The tools above focus on tracking, analytics or security, so contractor payments need payroll software or a separate payment provider.
