ActivTrak vs Time Doctor
Both watch applications and both grade them, but they are built for different buyers. ActivTrak sells analytics to someone measuring an organisation — focus, collaboration, benchmarks between teams. Time Doctor sells evidence to someone who has to demonstrate that work happened, which is why screenshots and screen video sit at the centre of it.
The difference that decides it
Feature lists make these products look interchangeable. This is the axis they actually differ on.
Analysis versus proof. ActivTrak's output is a trend you present; Time Doctor's output is an artefact you show a client. That also decides the capture model — ActivTrak runs continuously with no timer, Time Doctor is interactive start/stop by default with a silent mode available.
At a glance
ActivTrak and Time Doctor facts come from their own public pages, on the dates shown below the table.
| Dimension | ActivTrak | Time Doctor | ActivityPulse |
|---|---|---|---|
| How time gets recorded | Automatically and continuously while the agent runs; there is no timer for a person to start. | Interactive start/stop tracking by default, with an optional silent mode that records whenever the machine is in use. | Automatically, from the foreground window. Nobody starts or stops a timer, so nothing is lost to forgetting. |
| What is captured by default | Application and website usage, with productivity classification applied automatically. | Time, applications and URLs, with optional screenshots and idle prompts. | Foreground app and window metadata only. Nothing more without an explicit admin change. |
| Screenshots | Optional screen captures, configurable by policy. | Available from the paid tiers, with screen video on the Premium tier. | Off by default. Available on higher plans and only after a compliance review. |
| Keystroke capture | Does not record keystroke content. | Records keyboard and mouse activity levels rather than keystroke content. | Never records keystroke content, on any plan. |
| Productivity scoring | Central to the product: productivity scores, focus and collaboration metrics, and benchmarking across teams. | Classifies applications and sites as productive or unproductive and reports a rating. | None. Hours are attributed to projects; the product does not grade the person. |
| Tenant data isolation | Shared multi-tenant architecture. | Shared multi-tenant architecture. | A separate database per organisation, so isolation is structural. |
| Offline capture | Records activity offline and uploads when the agent reconnects. | Tracks offline and syncs on reconnect; offline time can be reviewed. | Queues locally and syncs idempotently — no hour lost, none counted twice. |
| Desktop platforms | Windows, macOS and ChromeOS. | Windows, macOS, Linux, Chrome and Android. | Windows and macOS. |
| Entry price (per user / month) | Free for up to 3 users, then around $10 with a seat minimum. | Around $7–8 on the entry tier; screenshots from roughly $16.70. | Free up to 3 users, then $4 billed annually ($5 monthly). |
Sources: ActivTrak (checked 2026-09-05); Time Doctor (checked 2026-09-05). Products change — if something here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.
Choose ActivTrak if…
Choose ActivTrak if you want productivity benchmarking as a reporting discipline, across teams and over quarters, and you do not need visual evidence of anything.
Choose Time Doctor if…
Choose Time Doctor if a client or an outsourcing contract explicitly requires screenshot evidence, or if you need its wider integration catalogue. Screen video on the Premium tier is the strongest form of that evidence in this comparison.
Choose ActivityPulse if…
Choose ActivityPulse if you need defensible hours without either. It produces a per-project record detailed enough to put on an invoice — application and window per segment, on a device you can name — with screenshots off by default and behind a compliance review, and no score attached to a person.
ActivTrak vs Time Doctor — questions
Does ActivTrak take screenshots like Time Doctor?
It can — ActivTrak offers optional screen captures configurable by policy. Time Doctor goes further, with screenshots from its paid tiers and screen video on Premium. Neither is comparable to ActivityPulse, where capture is off by default and compliance-gated.
Which one needs employees to start a timer?
Time Doctor, by default — it is interactive start/stop, though it offers a silent mode that records whenever the machine is in use. ActivTrak has no timer and records continuously, as does ActivityPulse.
Do both label applications as unproductive?
Yes. Time Doctor classifies applications and sites as productive or unproductive and reports a rating; ActivTrak applies productivity classification automatically and benchmarks it. ActivityPulse does not classify applications at all.
See where the hours actually went
Free for up to three people. Windows and macOS. No keystroke content on any plan, and screenshots off unless an administrator turns them on.