Deciding on new software for your entire team can be a daunting task. But if you know it’s time to improve your work processes, choosing the right software from the start is crucial for a smooth transition.
So which tool is right for you and your team — Hubstaff or ActivTrak?
Find out the key differences, what each app is best suited for, and how their most important features work.
Which one is better?
Although Hubstaff and ActivTrak have some similar features, the two apps focus on serving users in different ways. Hubstaff takes a more holistic approach when it comes to team management and improving employee productivity, whereas ActivTrak doubles down on workforce analytics and works as employee monitoring software.
As such, Hubstaff comes with a lot more features, including productivity measurement, time tracking, project budgeting, payroll management, scheduling, invoicing, and more. Hubstaff also works as an employee monitoring software. ActivTrak, on the other hand, provides mostly productivity-related features, including time tracking, monitoring employee activity, productivity coaching, and scheduling. Overall, Hubstaff is a simpler and more complete work management platform.
Here are the main features we will focus on for Hubstaff vs ActivTrak comparison:
| Feature | Hubstaff | ActivTrak |
|---|---|---|
Time tracking | Automatic and manual | Automatic |
Timesheets | Yes | No |
Apps | Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, Chrome | Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Chrome |
Detailed reports | Yes | Yes |
Invoicing | Yes | No |
Productivity measurement | Yes | Yes |
Location tracking | Yes | No |
Project budgets | Yes | No |
Shift scheduling | Yes | Yes |
Attendance tracking | Yes | No |
Payroll management | Yes | No |
Time tracking
Hubstaff
With Hubstaff, you can start or stop tracking time at the click of a button. Plus, you can add time entries manually to account for offline work. Whether you have a Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, or Android device, Hubstaff has a lightweight time tracking app for every preference. Alternatively, you can simply use the web app or the Chrome extension.
Numerous user reviews state that the functionality of the software is great regardless of the device they use.
One of the reasons that make Hubstaff a great option for teams and remote work is the option to track time toward tasks or projects. This way, you get to see the amount of time it takes to complete certain objectives and make better predictions for future projects. Not only that, but team members can even track their work breaks and time off.
From a management perspective, you can help your team remember to track time by setting automatic reminders. Or, if any team member goes idle for a long time, you can always give them a nudge.
Because Hubstaff summarizes all the tracked time in automatically generated timesheets, you will always have the most accurate representation of what team members did throughout the day, week, or month. If any time entries need adjusting, you can manually edit them before approving the timesheet.
The time tracking feature is embedded in all Hubstaff products, including Hubstaff Time, Hubstaff Desk, and Hubstaff Field. However, each of these products uses time tracking a bit differently.
For example, with Hubstaff Field, you can set geofenced Job sites for each team member. This way, they can automatically start tracking time once they enter the respective job site. With Hubstaff Desk, time tracking helps teams dig deeper into productivity metrics. With Hubstaff Time, you get simple, accurate time tracking that flows into timesheets and reporting in real-time. Hubstaff time tracking software's Enterprise plan includes all features, so you have your team members in the office and in the field covered.
ActivTrak
With ActivTrak, you automatically track time without having to clock in and out using a button. To activate the tracker, you simply need to download and install the tracking agent on your device. The program will then run in the background while you work, tracking time and categorizing it as productive or unproductive. Tracking begins at the moment you start your computer and ends when you shut it down.
Plus, with screen time and application usage, users of ActivTrak can see exactly where they spend most of their time, as well as the time and date when work was completed. ActivTrak also records mouse and keyboard usage.
If team members are not using them for more than two minutes, their time will receive the “passive time” label. Passive time can also be labeled as productive, unproductive, and undefined based on the last activity the user was engaged in before going passive.
At the end of the workday, all tracked time is sent to a reporting dashboard.
| Feature | Hubstaff | ActivTrak |
|---|---|---|
Automatic time tracking | Yes | Yes |
Timesheets | Yes | Yes |
Time off tracking | Yes | Yes |
Work breaks | Yes | Yes |
Time tracking reminders | Yes | Yes |
Idle time reminders | Yes | Yes |
Windows app | Yes | Yes |
Mac app | Yes | Yes |
Android app | Yes | Yes |
iOS app | Yes | Yes |
Linux app | Yes | No |
Chrome extension | Yes | Yes |
Manual time entries | Yes | No |
Unlimited To-dos | Yes | No |
Reporting
Hubstaff
With Hubstaff’s reporting feature, you get more than just time and attendance reporting. Productivity reports, budget reports, and scheduling reports are just a few of the additional ways you can view your entire team’s activity in detail.
Plus, all of the reports are highly customizable, which means you can easily filter out irrelevant information and only view the type of data you need. Every report has the following filters: day, week, month, team member, project, and client. Once you’re happy with the report, you can download it in multiple formats and even deliver it automatically to clients or stakeholders.
The reporting feature works great for busy teams because it creates reports automatically based on your activity inside the Hubstaff app. For example, you get to see how much time specific tasks take or how much of your set budget has been spent without having to input these details manually.
One of the most useful reports that companies love to review regularly is the Time & activity report. That’s because it allows you to streamline your processes and see which team members need more guidance to achieve maximum productivity.
ActivTrak
ActivTrak provides a variety of reports in the Live Reports section of the dashboard. These include top users, productivity, top websites, top applications, top categories, working hours, and activity log. In other words, all these functions make ActivTrak a useful monitoring tool for employee tracking.
One of the most extensive reports is the productivity report. That’s where you can see the total time spent on productive and unproductive activities, when team members are taking a break, the most frequently used applications, as well as productivity trends.
Plus, you can even see which employees are available, passive, or inactive by looking at the daily productivity reports. You can also check the workload balance in the same report. This way, you can see whether team members are taking their breaks or help them avoid burnout if working hours are spiking.
| Feature | Hubstaff | ActivTrak |
|---|---|---|
Customizable reports | Yes | Yes |
App & website reports | Yes | Yes |
Project budget reports | Yes | No |
Attendance reports | Yes | No |
Location reports | Yes | No |
Time off reports | Yes | No |
Payroll reports | Yes | No |
Detailed productivity reports | Yes | Yes |
Invoicing
ActivTrak
At the time of writing, ActivTrak doesn’t have invoicing features.
Hubstaff
Hubstaff allows you to cut down on non-billable hours by automating your invoicing. You can use the feature to create an invoice based on all tracked time and the added manual entries. Once that is done, you can send it to clients in just a few clicks.
You’ll be able to see when they see your invoice or make the payment. And you can even integrate your Hubstaff account with your bookkeeping and accounting software so that you always have these documents under the same roof.
Productivity measurement & activity monitoring
Hubstaff
While time tracking can show you valuable insights into how your team works, productivity metrics take your reports to a whole new level. That’s where Hubstaff comes in.
Hubstaff evaluates the productivity of team members based on when they move their mouse and type on their keyboard.
The more movement in a ten-minute period, the better their activity rate will be for that time frame. If they don’t do anything, they will be labeled as inactive. Managers can enable Achievements to incentivize team members to reach daily activity goals. This way, team members are motivated by a bit of healthy competition.
Additionally, Hubstaff users have the option of taking 1-3 screenshots every 10 minutes while tracking time. These can be accessed through the Activity tab and manually deleted if needed. However, it’s important to note that team members will always receive a notification when Hubstaff takes a screenshot. As a manager, you can enable, disable, or blur screenshots from the Settings tab on a per-user basis, which makes employee tracking an easy and unintrusive task.
ActivTrak
Because ActivTrak focuses solely on increasing productivity, the platform comes with lots of productivity measurement tools and features, such as:
Team Productivity Pulse
Productivity Coaching
Screenshots
The Team Productivity Pulse feature works as a virtual office, where you can see each team member’s productivity score in real-time and how their productivity compares to members of other teams. You’ll also get insights into work efficiency, so you can compare productive time to the goals you have set for the team.
The Productivity Coaching feature gives you weekly feedback and suggestions on how team members can work more efficiently. These are tailored to your team’s workflow and are meant to help you take productivity to the next level. Plus, you can also review progress reports to check how your team is improving week by week.
Lastly, because ActivTrak works as a monitoring tool, it allows you to capture screenshots of team members’ activities. You can choose to take screenshots only during specific activities or during the entire work shift. By seeing how many tabs are open on a team member’s device or what applications are running in the background, you can streamline productivity much easier through feedback and suggestions for improvement.
| Features | Hubstaff | ActivTrak |
|---|---|---|
Productivity features | Yes | Yes |
Achievement badges | Yes | No |
Activity levels | Yes | Yes |
Optional screenshots | Yes | Yes |
App and URLs | Yes | Yes |
Location tracking
ActivTrak
At the time of writing, ActivTrak doesn’t have location tracking features.
Hubstaff
Hubstaff Field provides an all-important feature for field workers – geofenced time tracking. This allows team members to start tracking time automatically as soon as they enter the job site without having to start the timer themselves. Similarly, as they exit the job site, the timer stops tracking time immediately.
This way, time cards are always accurate and workers get paid for the exact hours they worked, while greatly reducing the risk of buddy-punching and time theft.
You can easily edit any existing Job site or create new ones and assign the right team members to the right jobs. Plus, with the live map view, you get to see exactly where your crew is working at all times.
Additionally, with geofencing, you get to see the routes workers take to get to the job site. This allows you to create more accurate job estimates and even optimize the routes for faster arrival.
Project budgeting
ActivTrak
At the time of writing, ActivTrak doesn’t have project budgeting features.
Hubstaff
Tracking profitability is easy with Hubstaff’s project budgeting feature. Budgets can be set based on hours, bill rate, and pay rate from the Project Management tab.
By doing that, you get to see when projects get over budget or are about to go over budget. This gives you the chance to review the cost per user or per project and prioritize certain tasks.
Scheduling
Hubstaff
Hubstaff Time and Hubstaff Field work together to schedule team members to the right jobs in the easiest way.
Track attendance and schedule shifts with Hubstaff Time, then create work orders and jobs with Hubstaff Field. Team members get all the details about their upcoming jobs in one place. And you get to see what each team member is working on at all times.
ActivTrak
ActivTrak also has a scheduling feature, but it works differently than Hubstaff. To access it, simply toggle to Settings and then Scheduling on the left side of the screen. Here you can create a schedule for each team member so that ActivTrak only records time and activity between the selected hours instead of the 24/7 default option.
| Feature | Hubstaff | ActivTrak |
|---|---|---|
Shift scheduling | Yes | Yes |
Shift notifications | Yes | No |
Attendance tracking | Yes | No |
Weekly hour limits | Yes | No |
Work orders and jobs | Yes | No |
Payroll management
ActivTrak
At the time of writing, ActivTrak doesn’t have payroll management features.
Hubstaff
Hubstaff allows you to pay your team automatically through timesheets, providing you first set pay rates for each team member before they track time. Alternatively, you can make manual payments as well.
To automate this process, simply set up your pay period, which can be weekly, bi-weekly or monthly. Plus, if you integrate Hubstaff with PayPal, Payoneer, Wise, or Bitwage, you can make payments directly through the app.
Hubstaff also integrates with popular payroll and accounting software like QuickBooks, FreshBooks, and Gusto, so you won't need to worry about draining time on admin tasks like double-entering time.
Hubstaff vs. ActivTrak:
Which one is right for you?
While both tools are great and offer lots of useful features for all kinds of teams, it’s important to go back to your initial goal to decide which one is best for you.
If you’re a freelancer or managing remote teams and your main focus is only on tracking how productive everyone is, ActivTrak might be worth looking into. However, you will not be able to create projects or tasks, send invoices or manage payroll inside this app. When it comes to pricing, ActivTrak has four plans: Free, Advanced at $9 per month, Premium at $15 per month, and Enterprise.
Alternatively, if you want a complete workforce management software suite instead of just a productivity platform, then Hubstaff is the right tool for you. With Hubstaff, you get a lot more features to reduce admin work, increase productivity, manage projects, and manage the entire team. Hubstaff's pricing goes as follows: Hubstaff Time and Hubstaff Desk offer the same plans, including Free, Starter at $7 per user per month, Pro at $10 per user per month, and Enterprise. Although Hubstaff Field offers several pricing plans as well, there is no free plan available. Get everything you need for your desk workers and employees on the go with Hubstaff Enterprise at a customized price built for your team.
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