Gusto - Best all-in-one clock-in app for employees
Overview
Gusto tops our list for best all-in-one clock in and out app with a wealth of easy-to-use features and fully integrated functionality that take the complexity out of managing hours for your team. Clocking in is easy for employees and can be done from web, mobile, or time kiosk. With GPS-enabled clock-ins you can see where employees are clocking in from and restrict clock-in access based on custom locations.
Fully Integrated Payroll & HR
While their simple clock in clock out app isn’t the most powerful on the market, what sets Gusto apart is the seamless integration with their award-winning payroll and HR offerings. Timesheets and hours automatically sync to payroll and can be reviewed and approved by a manager in just a few clicks. No need to set up an integration with third-party software or deal with multiple logins and payments each month.
Every time you run payroll, all federal, state, and local taxes are automatically calculated, filed, and paid. You can build custom PTO packages for different employees, and time off automatically accrues each pay cycle. Employees and admins can request and approve time off from anywhere.
Plus, Gusto’s robust suite of HR tools including hiring, onboarding, and benefits administration are all included in Plus and Premium plans at no extra cost.
Time Kiosk
For extra accountability and peace of mind, you can add on Gusto’s time clock kiosk—a centralized clock-in clock-out system that lets employees easily clock in and out with a 4-digit PIN. Got multiple locations? Add as many kiosks as you need at no extra cost.
Built-in Compliance & Reporting
Gusto’s built-in compliance means you never have to worry about missing breaks, meal times, or miscalculating overtime. And their powerful job- and workforce costing reports help you to better manage your team and keep labor costs down.
Key Features
- Seamlessly integrated payroll, HR, and benefits
- Automated timesheets
- Custom PTO policies and automated accruals
- Built-in compliance for employee breaks, overtime, and labor laws
- Centralized clock-in kiosk or mobile app clock in
- GPS tracking while clocking in and out
- Time tracking by project
- Robust workforce costing reports
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Intuitive, easy to use interface | No biometric clock-in support |
| All-in-one solution for payroll, time tracking, and HR | Time tracking isn’t available with the Simple plan |
| Transparent pricing, no hidden fees | |
| Job-specific time tracking and workforce costing reports | |
| Great customer service | |
| Easy to fix employee clock-in errors | |
| Clock in app is included with Plus and Premium plans |
Gusto’s time tracking tools come included at no extra cost with their Plus and Premium plans. Plus plans start at $80/mo plus $12/mo per user. Time kiosk costs an additional $4/mo per Time Kiosk user on the Plus plan. (Free for a limited time.)
Premium plans are priced exclusively, and include everything Gusto has to offer with no hidden monthly fees. For more info on Premium pricing, contact their sales team today.
Free Trial? Yes, you don’t pay until you run your first payroll.
Free Plan: No.
Upgrade your time management - learn more about Gusto's Time Clock Kiosk and keep your team on track.
Create accountDeputy – Best clock in app for shift-based scheduling
Overview
Deputy is built specifically for shift-based businesses and it shows. While their time clock app is well-rated and comes loaded with biometric, geolocation, and touchless clock in options, Deputy really shines when it comes to their powerful scheduling tools.
Retail, hospitality, healthcare, and logistics companies can all benefit from AI-optimized schedules, POS integration, streamlined employee shift swapping, SMS shift notifications, built-in labor law compliance, and robust workforce costing reports.
Scheduling by skillset is another powerful tool to make sure you have the people you need onsite at the right time—whether it’s first aid, food prep, or heavy machinery.
Key Features
- Clock in via web, mobile, or kiosk
- Facial recognition & geolocation clock-in options
- AI-optimized schedules
- Employee shift swapping
- Scheduling by skillset
- Built-in meal and break notifications and compliance
- POS integration
- SMS shift notifications
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Built specifically for shift-based businesses | Requires third-party payroll and accounting integration |
| AI-optimized scheduling can save hours each week | Time Clock app for Android tablet has limited functionality |
| Strong value for the price | |
| Good for businesses with multiple locations |
Pricing
For the basic scheduling functionality, Deputy costs $3.50 per user per month. However, their scheduling tool does not include Time Clock, Timesheets, or Payroll Integration.
If you want time & attendance tools, it’s also $3.50 per user per month, but does not include any scheduling tools, schedule templates, or meal and break planning.
To get both scheduling and time and attendance tools, it costs $4.90 per user per month. For businesses with more than 250 employees, contact Deputy for custom pricing.
Free Trial? Yes, one month.
Free Plan: No.
Learn more about Deputy
TimeCamp - Best clock in app for hybrid & remote teams
Overview
The future of distributed work is here, but keeping track of your team isn’t always easy when people are working from across the state and across the country.
TimeCamp’s clock in and out tool does more than just tell you who’s working, when. It allows employees to track time manually by project as well as automatically based on which websites or programs they’re using. Increase accountability to make sure your team is spending time in the right places, all while getting insight into employee productivity, project costing, and more.
TimeCamp supports both work-from-home and in-office employees. Set up a centralized clock-in kiosk in the office and see who’s clocking in from where. Easily track remote working days, on-site days, vacation days, and sick days at a glance.
TimeCamp’s more advanced plans also support invoicing for projects, making it easy to create and send invoices to clients while keeping project costs within budget.
Key Features
- Time tracking by project
- Free for basic tracking and clock in tools
- Track billable vs. non-billable hours
- Invoicing for clients
- Insight into employee activity and productivity
- Automated project tracking by app, keyword, or website
- Integrates with popular productivity tools like Google Calendar, iCal, Asana, JIRA, Trello, and more
- Time clock kiosk and geofencing come included with all plans
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Unlimited users and projects on all plans | No biometric clock-in support |
| Integrates with dozens of productivity, accounting, and payroll tools | Requires third-party payroll and accounting integration |
| Color-coded timesheets make it easy to see how employees are using their time | Learning curve can cut into initial productivity |
| Employee project tracking increases productivity | All the most useful features are behind a paywall |
Pricing
TimeCamp has four pricing tiers plus Enterprise level pricing.
Basic time tracking and clock in and out functionality is free for unlimited users.
The Starter plan adds on attendance, time-off, and overtime tracking at $3.99 per month.
The Basic plan, at $7.99 per month, includes billable time and apps & website tracking.
And their Pro plan at $10.99 per month includes billable rates, labor costs, invoicing, timesheet approval, and more.
Free Trial? Yes, 14 days.
Free Plan: Yes.
Learn more about TimeCamp
Clockify – Best clock in app for project tracking & reporting
Overview
Clockify offers easy clock in options for work-from-home, in-office, and field-based employees. Set up a centralized clock-in kiosk in the office, have employees use the clock in app, or auto-start the clock when they log into their computers from home. GPS-enabled tracking allows you to see where your team is spending their time, in real time.
Employees can manually start a timer for whatever project they’re working on, or the automated tracker will start up when you log on and tell you which apps and websites you’ve been working in. At the end of the day, you can assign time where it needs to go. Unlike TimeCamp, Clockify’s auto tracker is only visible to the user, and managers and admin are not able to micromanage what their team members are spending time on until the timer is added to the timesheet.
While Clockify is overall a more robust project-tracking tool, it comes in behind TimeCamp due to its lack of integration with accounting and payroll software.
Key Features
- Manual and automated time tracking including idle detection
- Time kiosk, web, and app-based clock in
- Track billable vs. non-billable hours
- GPS-tracking for field-based teams
- Expense tracking by project
- PTO tracking, accrual, and approval
- Automated clock-out options for timers left running
- Built-in Pomodoro reminders boost productivity
- User-friendly dashboard with at-a-glance overviews
- Detailed project costing, budgeting, and attendance reports
Pros and Cons
| Great for project- and client-based work | No biometric clock-in support |
| Robust reporting and forecasting options | Limited accounting integration and lacks integration with payroll providers |
| Powerful productivity and time management tools | Most powerful reporting and project costing tools only available with highest-tier plan |
| Retains privacy for team members | |
| Unlimited time tracking on all plans |
Pricing
Clockify has four pricing tiers available, each with a monthly rate and annual discounted rate. Their free version offers basic time tracking tools such as calendar, autotracker, and Pomodoro reminders, as well as unlimited time tracking. Kiosk clock in costs extra, no matter which plan you choose, starting at $0.99 per user per month.
The Basic plan, at $4.99 per month, doesn’t add much in terms of functionality and probably isn’t worth the jump.
The Standard plan, at $6.99 per month includes important features such as employee time off, attendance, variable pay rates based on task or project, client invoicing, and timesheet approval.
The Pro plan, at $9.99 per month, is where Clockify really shines. Project reporting, costing, forecasting, and budgeting are the best of what Clockify has to offer.
Free Trial? Yes, 14 days.
Free Plan: Yes.
Learn more about Clockify
Hubstaff – Best clock in app for productivity & employee monitoring
Overview
Hubstaff is one of the more robust clock in and out apps on the market. Far more than a time clock, its advanced features will help you get the most out of your team while keeping remote employees accountable and engaged.
Employees can clock in and out from any mobile device or computer, and GPS location allows you to see who’s clocking in from where, or set up auto clock-in when someone enters a geofenced job site. While Hubstaff does have scheduling tools and other site-based capabilities, their real power lies in their productivity suite.
Workforce optimization software helps you pinpoint productivity while cutting operational costs. Understand which employees are more efficient at which type of work, and assign the right tasks to the right people.
Keep your remote employees accountable and on task with full reports of URLs visited, keystrokes, mouse movements, and automated screenshots throughout the day.
Key Features
- Manual and automated time tracking
- GPS-tracking for field-based teams
- Alerts for when employees leave and arrive early and late
- Set work limits by employee or project
- Employee engagement tool for remote teams
- Robust workforce optimization tools including screenshots, activity rates, idle tracking, and keystrokes
- Detailed project costing, budgeting, and attendance reports
- Integrated payment options with multi-currency support
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Over 30 integrations with payment, payroll, communications, and productivity tools | Expensive, starting at $4.99 per user per month for bare bones functionality |
| The most powerful productivity and employee monitoring tools | No support for ACH payments or direct deposit; only third-party payment integrations |
| “Insights” and “Tasks” packages not included in pricing plans |
Pricing
Hubstaff has three pricing tiers in addition to Enterprise level. The Starter plan offers basic time tracking, timesheets, and some limited monitoring tools, but integrations aren’t possible, and it probably isn’t worth the price tag of $4.99 per user per month.
The Grow plan starts at $7.50 per user per month and includes 1 integration along with idle timeouts, expenses, and breaks.
The Team plan costs $10 per user per month, and only here can you access the powerful monitoring, scheduling, payroll, and time tools that set Hubstaff apart. Unfortunately, the “Tasks” and “Insights” packages that provide more advanced efficiency and collaboration tools must be added at additional cost.
Free Trial? Yes, 14 days.
Free Plan: Yes, but only for a single user.
Learn more about Hubstaff
Workyard – Best clock in app for field workers
Overview
Workyard may sell themselves as a clock in app for the construction industry, but their high accuracy GPS is great for any field-based business that needs to track their employees’ locations throughout the day. This includes landscapers, contractors, home health services, house cleaning companies, and more.
Push notification reminders pop up when employees arrive on site to make sure they don’t forget to clock in, and Workyard records labor costs by job and project type. The built-in scheduling feature makes it easy to assign jobs, add checklists, and make sure everyone knows what needs to be done, and where.
Since Workyard doesn’t rely on geofencing to tell you when an employee is working, you don’t have to add a job site for every Home Depot in town. Workyard automatically switches to high accuracy mode when it detects driving, recording driving routes, travel time, and mileage. Get live updates on employee locations anytime you need them.
Key Features
- High-accuracy GPS tracking for field-based teams
- Push notification clock-in and clock-out reminders
- Add hours and expenses by location and project type
- Real-time project and labor costing along with robust reporting and invoicing options
- Seamlessly integrates with payroll processors like Gusto
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Easy-to-use app increases accountability | Expensive, starting at $50 per month + $6 per month per user |
| Higher accuracy than most GPS-enabled employee clock in apps | |
| Robust job and workforce costing reports | |
| Easily integrates with payroll |
Pricing
Workyard offers two pricing plans along with custom Enterprise pricing. The Time Tracking plan costs $50 per month plus $6 per month per user. It comes loaded with the full suite of time tracking tools including GPS tracking, break and overtime compliance, timesheet control, and payroll integrations.
The Workforce Management plan costs $50 per month plus $13 per user per month and comes with all of the time tracking tools in addition to scheduling tools, checklists, project tracking, labor cost reporting, and accounting software integrations.
Free Trial? Yes, 14 days.
Free Plan: No.
Learn more about Workyard
Connecteam – Best free clock in clock out app for small business
Overview
While plenty of employee clock in apps offer a free version with limited functionality, Connecteam’s free version offers access to all of their scheduling, clock-in, communications, and HR features for up to 10 employees at a single location.
Connecteam touts itself as an “all-in-one solution for managing employees,” but their product offering isn’t quite robust enough to support this claim. Payroll has to be processed through a third-party app, their HR tools are somewhat limited, they don’t have job and workforce cost reporting, and they don’t offer any benefits or benefits integrations. Connecteam is better thought of as a great time tracking and communication app with extra features to help take care of your team.
Connecteam is packaged in three different “hubs:” Operations, Communications, and HR & Skills. The Operations hub contains all the time tracking tools including time clock, geofencing, kiosk, shift scheduling, and task management. The Communications hub includes in-app chat, employee directory, surveys, and knowledge base, and the HR & Skills includes time off, document storage, courses and quizzes, as well as recognition and rewards.
Key Features
- Fully free for businesses with up to 10 employees at a single location
- Powerful scheduling tool including employee qualifications, preferences, time off, overtime limits, and shift swapping
- Time clock includes geofencing, clock in- and out-reminders, and break management
- Native communication and chat features
- Track time by job, project, or client
- Export timesheets or integrate with accounting and payroll processors like Gusto and Quickbooks
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Great for businesses with fewer than 10 employees | The Basic plan lacks functionality |
| Powerful clock in, scheduling, and time tracking features | Complex pricing structure for communications and HR tools |
| More free features than most competitors | Price jumps up very quickly for larger teams or access to all tools and hubs |
| Limited reporting and integration support |
Pricing
Connecteam offers 3 pricing tiers in addition to the free and enterprise versions, though depending on if you’re looking for communications and HR tools, the price per month can quickly jump up.
All of their pricing plans are based on a single price for up to 30 users, and add a cost per user per month above that, which varies depending on the plan you choose.
All time tracking and scheduling features are bundled in their “Operations” packages. The Operations Basic plan is $29 a month for the first 30 users, the Advanced plan jumps up to $49 per month, and the Expert plan is $99 per month. All Operations plans come with limited access to the Communications and HR & Skills hubs, though it’s unclear how much “limited” means.
You are free to mix and match pricing packages in each hub (for example, going “Expert” in Operations but adding the “Basic” plan for Communications), but these monthly costs add up quickly.
Free Trial? Yes, 14 days.
Free Plan: Yes.
Learn more about Connecteam
Buddy Punch – Most secure clock in app for employees
Overview
If time theft is your #1 concern, then Buddy Punch is the time clock you’re looking for. Buddy Punch comes loaded with all the tools you need to keep your team accountable and hours accurate.
Their facial recognition software puts an end to buddy punching and gives you peace of mind that team members can never clock each other in or out. They also have options to clock in with a 4-digit pin or QR-code + webcam photo. Buddy Punch also lets you limit clock-ins to scheduled shifts, custom time frames, or geofenced locations. Set the geofencing perimeter to meet your needs—whether small office or massive warehouse—and set up automatic punch-out to make sure the clock is never left running.
Buddy Punch also offers a basic drag-and-drop employee scheduling tool that includes push notifications for team members as well as lets you manage time-off requests. And finally, in addition to timekeeping and scheduling, Buddy Punch recently released basic payroll services that include direct deposit along with federal, state, and local tax filings. However, the payroll feature is bare bones, and while they will calculate and file taxes, it’s still up to you to get them paid.
Key Features
- Facial recognition, PIN-based, and QR-code punch ins, all with webcam photos for added security
- Punch limiting to specific times, hours, schedules, or geolocations
- Basic employee scheduling tools
- Basic payroll service
- Export timesheets or integrate with accounting and payroll processors like Gusto and Quickbooks
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Robust security features | Payroll overpriced for what you get |
| Integrates with top payroll and accounting software | Adjusting time card errors can be difficult |
| Affordable time clock solution | Limited reporting customization |
| Easy to use with great reviews |
Pricing
Buddy Punch has two pricing tiers in addition to their custom Enterprise pricing. Time tracking starts at just $19 per month plus $2.99 per user per month (billed annually). The Standard plan includes all of their time tracking features including biometric clock in, break planning, and payroll integrations.
To access scheduling features, you’ll need to sign up for the Pro plan at $19 per month plus $3.99 per user per month billed annually. This includes all the time tracking and clock in features plus shift scheduling, shift notifications, shift swapping, and early/late/absent reports.
To add payroll, you’ll pay $39 a month plus $6 per user.
Free Trial? Yes, 14 days.
Free Plan: No.
Learn more about Buddy Punch