Hubstaff vs Time Doctor
The two screenshot-led products, and the pair most often shortlisted together. Both are timer-driven, both report activity levels from input frequency, and both are bought by someone who needs to show a client or a contract that work happened. The differences are at the edges, and the edges are where the decision is.
The difference that decides it
Feature lists make these products look interchangeable. This is the axis they actually differ on.
What each adds beyond the screenshot. Hubstaff adds operations — GPS for field teams and a payroll run. Time Doctor adds evidence and reach — screen video on its Premium tier, productivity ratings, and a wider integration catalogue. One extends into the world, the other deeper into the desk.
At a glance
Hubstaff and Time Doctor facts come from their own public pages, on the dates shown below the table.
| Dimension | Hubstaff | Time Doctor | ActivityPulse |
|---|---|---|---|
| How time gets recorded | A timer the person starts and stops, with idle prompts; app and URL activity is recorded while it runs. | 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 | Time plus activity levels from mouse and keyboard frequency; screenshots configurable per organisation. | Time, applications and URLs, with optional screenshots and idle prompts. | Foreground app and window metadata only. Nothing more without an explicit admin change. |
| Screenshots | A core feature, configurable in frequency and available on paid plans. | 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 | Records keystroke and mouse frequency to compute an activity percentage; not the content of what is typed. | Records keyboard and mouse activity levels rather than keystroke content. | Never records keystroke content, on any plan. |
| Productivity scoring | Activity percentages per person, used as the headline productivity signal. | 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, per their security documentation. | Shared multi-tenant architecture. | A separate database per organisation, so isolation is structural. |
| Offline capture | Offline tracking is supported and syncs when the connection returns. | 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, Linux, Chrome, iOS and Android. | Windows, macOS, Linux, Chrome and Android. | Windows and macOS. |
| Entry price (per user / month) | Free for one user, then around $7 on the entry paid tier. | Around $7–8 on the entry tier; screenshots from roughly $16.70. | Free up to 3 users, then $4 billed annually ($5 monthly). |
Sources: Hubstaff (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 Hubstaff if…
Choose Hubstaff if the team is partly mobile, or if paying people from the same product removes a system from your stack.
Choose Time Doctor if…
Choose Time Doctor if the evidence itself is the deliverable — screen video is the strongest form of it here — or if the integration list decides the matter. Its optional silent mode also removes the start-the-timer problem that Hubstaff still has.
Choose ActivityPulse if…
Choose ActivityPulse if screenshots are the thing blocking the rollout rather than the thing enabling it. It gives defensible per-project hours from automatic capture, with the application and window behind every segment, and no visual record of anyone's screen.
Hubstaff vs Time Doctor — questions
Do Hubstaff and Time Doctor both take screenshots?
Yes, and it is central to both. Hubstaff makes them a core configurable feature on paid plans; Time Doctor offers them from its paid tiers with screen video on Premium. ActivityPulse keeps them off by default and compliance-gated.
Which one can track without anyone starting a timer?
Time Doctor, via its optional silent mode, which records whenever the machine is in use. Hubstaff is timer-led. ActivityPulse captures automatically from the foreground window with no timer at all.
Which is cheaper?
They are close at the entry tier — Hubstaff around $7 and Time Doctor around $7–8 — but Time Doctor's screenshots start at roughly $16.70, which is where the real difference appears. ActivityPulse is $4 billed annually.
Do either of them record what is typed?
Neither records keystroke content; both measure keyboard and mouse frequency to produce an activity level. ActivityPulse records no keystroke content on any plan and produces no activity percentage.
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.