DeskTime vs Hubstaff
This is the most common cross-shop in the category, and the two products answer different questions. DeskTime starts recording when the desktop app opens and reports a productivity percentage per person. Hubstaff waits for someone to press start, then builds its evidence from screenshots and activity levels, and carries GPS and payroll for teams that are not at a desk.
The difference that decides it
Feature lists make these products look interchangeable. This is the axis they actually differ on.
Whether the record depends on somebody remembering. DeskTime captures automatically and the risk is that it captures more context than a team is comfortable with; Hubstaff captures on a timer and the risk is the hours nobody started it for. Everything else about the two follows from that choice.
At a glance
DeskTime and Hubstaff facts come from their own public pages, on the dates shown below the table.
| Dimension | DeskTime | Hubstaff | ActivityPulse |
|---|---|---|---|
| How time gets recorded | Automatically from the moment the desktop app starts, and classified as it is recorded. | A timer the person starts and stops, with idle prompts; app and URL activity is recorded while it runs. | Automatically, from the foreground window. Nobody starts or stops a timer, so nothing is lost to forgetting. |
| What is captured by default | Automatic application and URL tracking with productivity classification applied. | Time plus activity levels from mouse and keyboard frequency; screenshots configurable per organisation. | Foreground app and window metadata only. Nothing more without an explicit admin change. |
| Screenshots | Available on the Premium tier and above. | A core feature, configurable in frequency and available on paid plans. | Off by default. Available on higher plans and only after a compliance review. |
| Keystroke capture | Does not record keystroke content. | Records keystroke and mouse frequency to compute an activity percentage; not the content of what is typed. | Never records keystroke content, on any plan. |
| Productivity scoring | A productivity percentage per person, derived from productive versus unproductive application time. | Activity percentages per person, used as the headline productivity signal. | None. Hours are attributed to projects; the product does not grade the person. |
| Tenant data isolation | Shared multi-tenant architecture. | Shared multi-tenant architecture, per their security documentation. | A separate database per organisation, so isolation is structural. |
| Offline capture | Tracks offline time and reconciles it when the app reconnects. | Offline tracking is supported and syncs when the connection returns. | Queues locally and syncs idempotently — no hour lost, none counted twice. |
| Desktop platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android. | Windows, macOS, Linux, Chrome, iOS and Android. | Windows and macOS. |
| Entry price (per user / month) | Around $7 on the entry paid tier. | Free for one user, then around $7 on the entry paid tier. | Free up to 3 users, then $4 billed annually ($5 monthly). |
Sources: DeskTime (checked 2026-09-05); Hubstaff (checked 2026-09-05). Products change — if something here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.
Choose DeskTime if…
Choose DeskTime if the team sits at desks, you want absence, holiday and shift management from the same vendor, and a ready-made productive/unproductive split is genuinely the report you want to read.
Choose Hubstaff if…
Choose Hubstaff if part of your workforce is in the field, or if payroll and GPS in the same product remove a tool from your stack. It is the broader operations suite and it is the only one of the two that pays people.
Choose ActivityPulse if…
Choose ActivityPulse if you want DeskTime's automatic capture without DeskTime's verdict. It records from the foreground window with no timer to forget, attributes the hours to projects, and computes no productivity percentage about anybody — which is usually what makes the difference between a rollout that lands and one that stalls in consultation.
DeskTime vs Hubstaff — questions
Does DeskTime or Hubstaff track time automatically?
DeskTime does — it records from the moment the desktop app starts. Hubstaff is timer-led: someone starts and stops it, with idle prompts while it runs. If automatic capture is the requirement, DeskTime and ActivityPulse do it and Hubstaff does not.
Which one takes screenshots?
Both can. Screenshots are a core, configurable Hubstaff feature on paid plans, and DeskTime offers them from its Premium tier upward. ActivityPulse has them off by default and gated behind a compliance review.
Which is better for a team that works away from a desk?
Hubstaff. It carries GPS for field teams and runs payroll, neither of which DeskTime or ActivityPulse offers. For desk-based knowledge work that advantage does not apply.
Do either of them score people?
Yes, both. DeskTime reports a productivity percentage per person derived from productive versus unproductive application time; Hubstaff reports activity levels from mouse and keyboard frequency. ActivityPulse produces no score of any kind.
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.