Hubstaff alternatives: time tracking with less cost or less watching
Many people leaving Hubstaff only need clock-ins and payroll hours, and screenshots feel like spying on their staff. Others are tired of paying for every seat that exists, including people who left, plus add-ons for features they saw in the demo. Most are managers of small or remote teams who want a cheaper or lighter tool.
Most tools on this page are affiliate partners of ours, Hubstaff included: we may earn a commission if you sign up through a button here, at no extra cost to you. That is why the page also says when to stay with Hubstaff.
Why people look beyond Hubstaff
- You pay for every seat you created, tracked or not, and the FAQ (read 19 September 2026) says there are no prorated refunds for removed users. Only the Project Viewer role is free.
- Starter, Grow and Team carry a two-seat minimum, so the smallest bill is $9.98 a month on annual billing, and there is no free plan, only a 14-day trial.
- Features from the demo can be add-ons on the lower tiers: Insights, Tasks, Silent app and more screenshots from $2.50 a seat a month, Locations $3.33 and not sold on Starter or Grow at all (pricing page, 19 September 2026).
- In our own test on 31 October 2026 the site said no credit card was required, but in the app the trial only started with a card and automatic yearly billing afterwards.
Hubstaff today: From $4.99 per seat/mo billed annually ($7 monthly); 2-seat minimum, so the first bill is $9.98 - no free plan, only a 14-day trial (read 12 Nov 2026)
The alternatives
1. Jibble
Best forManagers whose staff only clock in and out and who need overtime and payroll-ready timesheets without screenshots.
Why switchHubstaff's own dossier names Jibble for this group, and Jibble's Free plan is €0 for unlimited users with no card, read 25 September 2026.
Watch outFree has one admin and no timesheet approvals or automatic break deductions; approvals start at €1.79 per user a month billed annually (€2.99 monthly), and a 14-day trial of paid features hides those limits for the first two weeks.
Price we readFree for unlimited users; paid plans from €1.79 per user a month billed annually (€2.99 monthly) (read 25 Sep 2026)
Try Jibble →2. Modge
Best forDesk-bound remote or hybrid teams that want automatic hours, app classification, leave and payroll-ready timesheets with screenshots switched off unless they opt in.
Why switchBasic is $4 per seat a month billed yearly ($5 monthly) and Pro $5.50 ($7 monthly), with a 14-day trial and no card, read 16 October 2026.
Watch outThe agent is desktop-only for macOS and Windows with no mobile app or GPS on the page, and SSO and SOC 2 Type II are still marked soon.
Price we readFrom $4 per seat/mo billed annually ($5 monthly) (read 16 Oct 2026)
Try Modge →3. Mera Work
Best forRemote support, BPO or back-office teams on a budget that want time tracking, attendance and activity monitoring under one per-user price.
Why switchIts single plan is $3 per user a month billed annually ($4 monthly), read 30 September 2026, and screenshots and live screen view are included rather than sold as extras.
Watch outRecords are kept on a rolling 90-day basis unless your order form says otherwise, data may be processed in India, and its own dossier sends agencies that bill tracked hours back to Hubstaff.
Try Mera Work →4. Leavo
Best forTeams of 10 to 50 that need time tracking, attendance and overtime banking at a low per-user price.
Why switchProfessional is $2.50 per user a month billed yearly ($3 monthly), which its pricing page puts at $450 a year for 15 users, read 19 October 2026, with a 30-day free trial.
Watch outThere is no permanent free plan, and with per-seat pricing and no published volume break every person you track adds to the bill.
Price we readProfessional $2.50 per user a month billed yearly ($450/yr for 15 users; $3 billed monthly) (read 19 Oct 2026)
Try Leavo →5. Insightful
Best forCOOs and operations leaders who want workforce analytics and a view of how work actually flows, not just a time clock.
Why switchWorkforce Analytics is $8 per seat a month billed annually with a 7-day trial, read 26 September 2026, and adds AI process capture on top of time tracking.
Watch outEvery rate on the page is the annual one, month-to-month pricing is never shown, insider-threat detection is a paid add-on, and its own dossier sends small, cost-watching teams to Modge.
Price we readWorkforce Analytics $8 per seat a month, billed annually (read 26 Sep 2026)
Try Insightful →Stay with Hubstaff if
- You are an agency billing clients by the hour and need records to show them: G2 reviewers (August 2026) say Hubstaff's time tracking, screenshots and payroll-ready output do what they claim, from $4.99 a seat billed annually.
- Your people work in the field: Modge's own dossier sends field crews to Hubstaff, and Hubstaff sells Locations as a $3.33 add-on on Team and includes it on Enterprise.
- You need to look back further than three months: Mera Work keeps 90 days by default, while Hubstaff sells extended data retention at $1.67 a seat a month.
Questions buyers ask
Is there a free alternative to Hubstaff?
Yes. Jibble's Free plan is €0 for unlimited users with one admin, read 25 September 2026. Hubstaff itself has no free plan, only a 14-day trial.
Which alternatives still take screenshots?
Mera Work includes screenshots and live screen view in its single plan. Modge offers screenshots as an opt-in rather than a default. Jibble is a clock-in tool with GPS and facial recognition rather than screen monitoring. We have not tested any of them ourselves.
Does Hubstaff log what my team types?
Not according to Hubstaff. Its how-tracking-works page, read 27 October 2026, lists no keystroke logging and no email monitoring, and says screenshots can be blurred. Mera Work says its keystroke feature records how much typing happened, not the keys themselves.
Where these facts come from
Hubstaff's pricing page and FAQ (re-verified 19 September 2026), its how-tracking-works page (27 October 2026) and our own sign-up test (31 October 2026); the pricing pages of Jibble (25 September 2026), Modge (16 October 2026), Mera Work (30 September 2026), Leavo (19 October 2026) and Insightful (26 September 2026). Prices change: each one carries the date we read it, and our reviews are re-checked against the vendor pages.