16 Best Remote Employee Time Tracking & Employee Monitoring Software (2024)

Drowning in the chaos that is tracking remote work hours? While unfortunate, you definitely aren’t alone.

And while that might feel somewhat comforting (🫂), it doesn’t mean you can rest on your laurels and settle for sub-par remote employee time tracking processes.

After all, as a remote company, you likely know that getting time tracking right (i.e., accurate) is essential for keeping those productivity gears turning and ensuring payroll accuracy.

But we totally get it—picking the right software is an overwhelming task that’s likely been thrown on top of your long list of other tasks. That’s why we’ve curated a list of the top 16 employee time tracking tools for 2024.

The software on this list can not only track time accurately to capture every billable moment but also help foster a culture of accountability across your workforce. The ultimate goal? To help transform your team’s workday from chaos to clarity.

How we shortlisted the best remote time tracking tools

First, we looked at the critical features for tracking remote employees’ work hours.

These include:

• Time tracking: Starting, stopping, and pausing timers; logging hours manually; tracking billable time.
• Reporting and analytics: Generating timesheets; analyzing time spent on projects, tasks, and clients; identifying productivity trends.

In addition, some tools also offered project management integrations, team management, and invoicing features.

Other tools also offered employee surveillance features like mouse and keyboard tracking, screenshots, and website and app monitoring. 

We signed up for a free account to compare remote employee time tracking software and tested each tool’s features. We also compared their pricing and looked at reviews from other users.

Here’s a quick summary of what we found:

• Toggl Track: Simple, intuitive time tracking and robust reporting for individuals and remote or hybrid teams.
• Hubstaff: Comprehensive workforce management, including GPS tracking and activity monitoring.
• Harvest: Project-based time tracking with built-in invoicing capabilities.
• Time Doctor: Detailed employee monitoring and distraction management.
• Clockify: Time tracking solution for remote hybrid and field teams.
• Timely: Automatic time tracking with AI-powered suggestions.
• Everhour: Time tracking integrated with project management tools like Asana and Trello.
• TimeCamp: Hybrid teams with both office-based and remote employees.
• ClickTime: Customizable time tracking workflows and reporting.
• Replicon: For large enterprises with complex time tracking and compliance needs.
• Buddy Punch: For small businesses seeking to eliminate time theft and buddy punching.
• When I Work: Scheduling and shift management for hourly employees.
• Paymo: Combines time tracking with project budgeting and invoicing.
• DeskTime: Automatic time tracking and website/app usage monitoring.
• Insightful: Employee monitoring and performance analysis.
• Connecteam: Mobile-first time tracking and communication for field teams.

And here’s the complete research about the top remote employee time tracking software:

Download the research sheet here.

1. Toggl Track

Toggl Track is a simple, intuitive time tracking tool for remote employees that provides robust reporting for individuals and remote teams.

Employees can track billable and non-billable time spent on tasks and projects and create an automatic timesheet detailing their work hours. It also integrates with over 100 software, from project management tools like Asana and Jira to accounting tools like QuickBooks.

For managers and payroll, Toggl Track provides Detailed, Summary, and Weekly reports so you can gain in-depth insight into how employees have spent their time and how long tasks and projects have taken to complete.

Toggl Track stands out because it lacks invasive surveillance features, such as screenshots or website and app tracking, acknowledging that activity does not equal productivity.

Surveillance tools can create mistrust, stress, and anxiety among employees, lowering morale and productivity. They often lead to a focus on appearing busy instead of actual productivity, prioritizing time spent over quality of work, which harms both employees and the business.

Contrastingly, Toggl Track emphasizes autonomy and trust, encouraging employees to manage their time without feeling micromanaged. This fosters a healthier work environment where productivity is measured by results, not arbitrary metrics.  

Toggl Track features for remote employee time tracking

• Detailed report shows every time entry and can be filtered according to user/team, client, project, task, billable/non-billable, and description

• Add time entries using the one-click start/stop timer, manual entries, automatic tracking, and from the calendar view

• Make time entries billable and add billable rates and labor costs to your workspace or team members (on paid plans)

• Time tracking reminders (in the desktop app and Chrome extension) help make sure users don’t forget to start tracking their time

• Idle time notification in the desktop app and browser extension lets you know when you’ve been idle beyond the time set in your preferences

Toggl Track pricing

Toggl Track has four pricing plans for teams with different needs.

• Free: For freelancers and small teams of up to five users. It comes with unlimited time tracking, six months of data storage, 100+ integrations with apps like Asana and Google Calendar, and exportable, shareable reports.
• Starter: Tailored to small teams that need more advanced features, such as time estimates, unlimited data storage, and billable rates. It costs $10 per user per month.
• Premium: This plan is designed for growing teams and includes timesheet approvals, project forecasts, Single Sign-On, and team management tools for $20 per user per month.
• Enterprise: Custom-priced for large teams. It provides priority support, training, and customized solutions.

All Toggl Track accounts come with a free trial of Toggl Track Premium for 30 days.

Is Toggl Track right for you?

Pros	Cons
• Track billable and non-billable hours to gain insight into profitability • Anti-surveillance  • Advanced reports exportable to PDF, CSV, and XLS • Automatic time tracking • Simple, intuitive, and user-friendly	• Advanced features limited to premium accounts • No payment collection features

📌 TL;DR: Toggl Track is ideal for individuals and in-house and remote teams of all sizes. However, if you are interested in employee surveillance features, you might need to look for another tool.

2. Hubstaff

Hubstaff is an employee monitoring and time tracking tool with comprehensive workforce management features.

Hubstaff has many employee surveillance features, including screenshots captured up to three times every 10 minutes, mouse and keyboard activity (but no keystroke logging), and app and website monitoring. These features are optional and can be switched off by the workspace manager.

Users often find these strict surveillance features intrusive, so making them optional is a good decision.  

Hubstaff features for remote employee time tracking

• Track focus time when users are active for more than 30 minutes in a single project or task with less than 90 seconds of unproductive apps or websites, meetings, or communication apps
• One-click start/stop timer
• Compare your business’s activity level to others in the same industry with Industry Comparison

Hubstaff pricing

Hubstaff has four paid pricing plans:

• Starter: Basic features at $7 per user per month.  
• Grow: Includes the Tasks add-on, reports, and one integration for $9 per user per month.
• Team: More advanced features like Auto-discard idle time and tracking time-off and holidays for $12 per user per month.
• Enterprise: Includes all feature add-ons, HIPAA compliance, Single Sign-on, and more for $25 per user per month.

All accounts come with a free 14-day trial of the Team plan.

Is Hubstaff right for you?

Pros	Cons
• Focus time tracking • Unusual activity tracking • Lots of integrations, including payroll and payment software	• Time is not synced between the web and desktop app • Surveillance features are intrusive and create a feeling of distrust • No manual time entries or automatic time tracking

📌 TL;DR: Hubstaff is great for remote teams of various sizes, although the advanced features require a more expensive plan. However, the surveillance features can be intrusive and aren’t ideal if you want to build a trusting work environment (which you definitely should do!).

3. Harvest

Harvest offers project-based time tracking to remote companies and provides built-in invoicing features. It is available as a web app, desktop app (Mac and Windows), mobile app (Android and iOS), native integration, and browser extension.

Harvest features for remote employee time tracking

• Add capacity allowance to each employee to monitor how well they are utilized
• Advanced invoicing functionality, including retainers and recurring invoices and integrations with payment and payroll tools
• Expenses tracker lets you record travel costs, meals, fuel, and any other expenses that contribute to project costs
• Sync across devices automatically

Harvest pricing

Harvest offers two plans:

• Harvest: Free plan for solo users that’s limited to two projects.
• Harvest Pro: Unlimited users and projects for $12/user/month after a 30-day free trial.

Is Harvest right for you?

Pros	Cons
• Smooth onboarding with guided onboarding demo for teams with 50+ seats • Lots of integrations • Syncs across apps • No intrusive surveillance	• Can be expensive for larger teams

📌 TL;DR: Harvest is great for teams of all sizes that deal with many clients, can afford a pricier time tracking solution with advanced features, and don’t want surveillance features.

4. Time Doctor

Time Doctor provides detailed employee monitoring and has robust distraction management features.

The software has comprehensive analytics features that provide the data users need to increase productivity and efficiency.  It is tailored for hybrid and remote teams and has accountability and transparency features, like shift tracking and attendance verification.

Managers can input an employee’s schedule into Time Doctor, and the platform will track when they clock in and whether they did so on time. It also builds an attendance report that gives insight into absenteeism and tardiness.

Users can track their time automatically from when they log in on a work device until they log out or manually with the start/stop timer.

Time Doctor has both project and task tracking and employee monitoring features.  Surveillance screencasts are taken at set intervals decided on a per-employee basis, and they can be filtered to show only low-activity screenshots to help identify productivity issues.

The tool also allows managers to add a custom list of productive and unproductive sites and apps to monitor the number of recorded hours each user spent productively.

Time Doctor features for remote employee time tracking

• Automatic time tracking tracks employee hours from as soon as they log in
• Wellness insights identify overworked and potentially burnt-out employees and provide information about work-life balance at an individual and team level
• Although it does have invasive employee surveillance features, Time Doctor allows employees to blur screenshots to protect employee privacy

Time Doctor pricing

TimeDoctor offers three pricing plans after a 14-day free trial:

• Basic: Billed at $7 per user per month for basic features.
• Standard:  With payroll features, web and app usage reports, break tracking, and inactivity alerts for $14 per monthly user.
• Premium: This plan provides more advanced monitoring features, such as video screen recording and internet connectivity reporting, for $20 per user per month.

Is Time Doctor right for you?

Pros	Cons
• Wellness insights • Employee scheduling and attendance tracking • Automatic and manual time tracking	• Not well suited to individuals as it’s designed for tracking a team, so many features are unnecessary • Invasive surveillance measures • Plans with advanced features are pricey

📌 TL;DR: Time Doctor is a good time tracking tool for large businesses that need to monitor attendance and work hours strictly.

5. Clockify

Clockify is a timekeeping, project management, and reporting platform.  Its features include time tracking on multiple devices, time off management, expense tracking, employee surveillance, and GPS tracking.

The tool has a free forever plan with basic features like billable hours reports, team activity, and mobile time tracking.  

Clockify features for remote employee time tracking

• Manage employee schedules and resource allocation with off-time tracking
• The Pro and Enterprise plans let users view project timelines and manage availability with the Scheduling feature
• Estimated vs actual time reports give insight into project progress and employee productivity
• Track budgets and estimates for projects and monitor estimated vs. actual progress

Clockify pricing

Clockify offers a variety of packages to suit your needs:

• Free:  A free basic time tracking package for unlimited users
• Basic: Includes bulk editing, time auditing, and project templates for $4.99 per user per month.
• Standard: With time off management, invoicing, attendance, and overtime tracking for $6.99 per user per month.
• Pro: Includes scheduling,  forecasting, expenses, and budget tracking for $9.99 per user per month.
• Enterprise: With Single sign-on, control accounts, and audit logs for $14.99 per user per month.
• cake.com bundle: Includes access to Clockify and other cake.com software for project management and team communication for $15.99 per user per month.

Is Clockify right for you?

Pros	Cons
• Add custom functionality with the open-source API • Team management features • All-inclusive tracking tool	• Only one view for time entries • No automatic time tracking • Intense surveillance features • Project-based time tracking only

📌 TL;DR: Clockify is best for remote teams that need an all-inclusive time tracking tool with strict surveillance features and scheduling capabilities.

6. Timely

Using AI automation, Timely records every billable minute and removes the need for manual time entries, creating accurate timesheets with minimal employee input.  

However, employees still have full control over what is shared on their timesheets, making Timely a non-intrusive time tracker (like Toggl Track).

Timely features for remote employee time tracking

• Automatic time tracking means remote employees don’t forget to track their time
• The Memory app tracks an employee’s activity in the background, ensuring every minute is recorded
• Tracked time is converted into a draft timesheet using AI technology, reducing time spent on manual, non-billable tasks
• The Timeline view combines project management and employee scheduling features with the time tracker, giving users a user-friendly drag-and-drop schedule planner
• Managers can see project status and reports, employee capacity, tracked time, and overtime, giving them a thorough overview of activity and progress

Timely pricing

Timely doesn’t have a free plan but offers a 14-day free trial of all features.  Paid plans are available in three tiers:

• Starter: This plan includes automatic time tracking, billable hours reports, and project health monitoring. It costs $11 per user per month for up to five users and 20 projects.
• Premium: This plan is for teams needing more advanced features like budgeting, scheduling, management, and automation. It costs $20 per user per month for up to 50 users.
• Unlimited:  At $28 per user per month, this plan provides access to all of Timely’s features with unlimited users and projects.

Adding task tracking to Timely costs $5 per user per month.

Is Timely right for you?

Pros	Cons
• Non-intrusive • Automatic time tracking and timesheet creation • Capacity planning and employee scheduling features	• No free plan • No manual time entries • No invoice management or expense tracking • No custom reports • Task tracking is an add-on

📌 TL;DR: Timely is useful for teams looking for a nonintrusive automatic time tracker with capacity planning and employee scheduling features. However, it may not be the right fit if you are after a free tool or a solution with custom reports.

7. Everhour

Everhour is a time tracking software that provides users with over 40 seamless third-party integrations with accounting, project management, and communication software.

Managers can track employee availability and attendance, manage time off, plan resources, and schedule tasks all in one place with Everhour.

Everhour features for remote employee time tracking

• Track project progress, time spent on tasks, and compare estimated vs. actual hours
• Create clients, projects, and task lists so you know exactly where each recorded time entry belongs
• Understand workloads and team capacity with the resource planner to help you avoid over- or underutilization.
• Monitor employee activity in real time using the Team view
• Gain an in-depth understanding of team hours with pre-made reports or create your own.

Everhour pricing

Everhour has two plans:

• Free: For freelancers or small remote teams of up to five users.  It gives access to basic features, project and task tracking, reports, and time tracking on multiple platforms.
• Team: Provides access to integrations and more advanced features like invoicing, time off management, time approvals, optional screenshots, and single sign-on.  It costs $10 per user per month.

Is Everhour right for you?

Pros	Cons
• Robust team management features • Team capacity monitoring • Many app integrations	• No automatic time tracking • No offline tracking

📌 TL;DR: Everhour is an ideal choice for teams that need an all-in-one tool for time management and employee scheduling. However, Everhour doesn’t have offline or automatic time tracking capabilities.

8. TimeCamp

TimeCamp monitors employee activity through screenshots and website tracking and has over 30 native integrations with popular project management and accounting software. Thus, tracking time directly from your team’s tools is easy.

The tool also lets you create smart invoices based on the billable hours assigned to specific tasks or projects that you can send directly to your client from within the app.

TimeCamp features for remote employee time tracking

• Automatic time tracking to ensure every work hour is recorded on the timesheet
• Timesheet approval helps to curb time theft
• Employee monitoring features, including screenshots, website, and app tracking, let users track activity and productivity, but employees may find it intrusive
• Create invoices from time tracked on projects and tasks, add expenses, and share them directly with the client via a shareable invoice link to save time on manual invoice creation

TimeCamp pricing

TimeCamp has several plan options:

• Free: A free-forever plan ideal for individuals with basic time tracking needs.
• Starter: With invoicing, export reports to Excel, attendance and time-off management, and overtime tracking for $3.99 per user month.
• Premium: Includes billable time tracking, budget and estimate tracking, apps and website tracking, and management roles for $6.99 per user per month.
• Ultimate: Provides access to timesheet approvals, billing rates, expenses, screenshots, and unlimited integrations for $10.99 per user per month.
• Enterprise: Offers priority support, custom integrations, training and assistance, and self-hosted instances for $14.99 per user per month.

Is TimeCamp right for you?

Pros	Cons
• Timesheet approvals • 30+ native integrationsInvoicing • Automatic time tracking	• Screenshots may capture personal or sensitive information • No real project management features • No invoicing or timesheet approvals on the free plan

📌 TL;DR: TimeCamp is ideal for users looking for a time tracking solution that integrates with the rest of their tool stack.

9. ClickTime

ClickTime is a feature-rich time tracking solution with a handy Overtime Rule tool. It offers customizable and preset overtime rules for different states.

ClickTime has billable time tracking, productivity reporting, capacity planning, financial reports, time-off management, and expense tracking.  

It also has robust planning and team organization features that allow managers to balance workloads, avoid burnout, and schedule resources effectively.

ClickTime has a huge library of pre-built reports, such as utilization, budgets, expenses, billable hours, employee performance, and more.  It also has visual dashboards that provide an overview of projects and employee utilization.

However, despite being optimized for client-based teams like agencies, ClickTime doesn’t offer invoice management features.

ClickTime features for remote employee time tracking

• Managers can track remote employee availability in real-time to assist with efficient resource allocation
• Overtime Rule helps ensure businesses stay compliant with overtime regulations
• Gain a thorough understanding of employee productivity, utilization, and capacity through the utilization report

ClickTime pricing

ClickTime has a 14-day free trial that provides access to all its features.  At the end of the trial, users can choose between four paid plans:

• Starter: This plan includes basic time tracking, email reminders, and over 70 reports for $13 per user per month.
• Team: Gives access to time off management, advanced billing rates, and approval workflows for $17 per user per month.
• Premier: Provides an account manager and project budgeting and resource management features for $28 per user per month.
• Enterprise: Custom integrations and professional services at a custom price.

Is ClickTime right for you?

Pros	Cons
Pros	Cons
• Planning and team organization features • Library of pre-built reports • Overtime Rule tool	• No free plan • No custom reports • No automatic time tracking • No invoice management

📌 TL;DR: ClickTime is a good option for project-based remote teams who need access to many insights and data about project and team performance. However, it isn’t a good fit for teams looking for a cost-effective tool with invoice management or automatic time tracking.

10. Replicon

Source

Replicon’s time tracking tools are built on an AI-powered time tracking platform called ZeroTime.  The tool collects employee time data from various sources to create a pre-filled timesheet remote employees can review and submit.

Replicon’s vast suite of tools includes invoice and expense tracking, scheduling tools, time off management, labor compliance tools, and more.  

Replicon features for remote employee time tracking

• Add time logs for each task, giving managers granular insights for payroll and invoice creation
• Aggregated, centralized reports containing all employee timesheets, including missed breaks and shifts, which helps data-driven employee performance reviews
• Separate product suites for project time tracking and time and attendance products so you only pay for the features you need

Replicon pricing

Replicon offers different product suites for different business needs, so different pricing options exist.  

• Project Time Tracking: If your business is project-based and you need project time and cost data and invoicing features, opt for the Project Time Tracking suite which starts at $12 per month.
• Time & Attendance: The Time & Attendance suite is better suited for tracking time and attendance, scheduling, gross pay compliance, and global paid time off (PTO) tracking and starts at $6 per month.

You can opt for both packages if your needs require it, but the tool starts getting pricey if you need both suites.

Replicon offers a 14-day free trial, but you can only trial one tool at a time, making it difficult to see how the tools work together.

Is Replicon right for you?

Pros	Cons
• Decentralized feature suites, pay for what you need • Scaleable system so you can add more users and features as your remote team grows	• Overwhelming if you have basic needs • Expensive if you need both suites • No free plan

📌 TL;DR: Replicon is a great tool for firms that regularly work on large projects, need to keep track of complex timesheets, and need help ensuring they stay on the right side of labor and wage compliance. However, it is an unnecessarily feature-rich tool for companies that need basic time tracking and timesheet features.

11. Buddy Punch

Source

Buddy Punch is a time clock tool with anti-buddy-punching features that reduce time theft and features that ensure remote employees stick to their schedules.

While some features are innovative, such as using facial recognition to verify an employee’s identity through their webcam, they could be considered an invasion of privacy by employees and don’t contribute to a trusting work environment.

However, some users reported that although the platform is easy to navigate, it was difficult to get customer support when they encountered problems. They only have a Live Chat option and no 24-hour support.

Buddy Punch features for remote employee time tracking

• Buddy Punch offers different ways for employees to clock in, such as using their faces or scanning a QR code
• GPS tracking and facial recognition using webcam images monitor employees clocking in and out to ensure it’s done honestly, although these features can be invasive
• Robust payroll features handle taxes and payments automatically, saving time and reducing errors
• Track the time remote workers spend on different tasks and projects using Job Codes
• Punch Limiting lets managers assign specific clock-in and clock-out times to employees who work shifts to ensure remote employees follow their schedule

Buddy Punch pricing

Buddy Punch offers a 14-day free trial, after which you must sign up for a paid plan.  

• Starter: Offers basic time tracking and employee monitoring features and payroll integrations and starts at $4.99 per user per month, plus a $19 monthly base fee – making it one of the priciest time tracking tools on this list.
• Pro: Adds employee scheduling, shift trades, cover management, availability management, and early/late/absent reports for $5.99 per user per month plus the $19 base fee.
• Premium: Offers real-time GPS tracking and reporting and a location dashboard for $7.99 per user per month plus the base fee.
• Enterprise: Custom-priced for Single Sign-On and API access.

Is Buddy Punch right for you?

Pros	Cons
• Anti-buddy-punching features • Punch Limiting ensures employees stick to their schedule • Lots of features for managing employee time tracking • Different clock-in methods, such as facial recognition and QR codesPayroll features	• Customer support is lacking • Employee monitoring features could be invasive • No free plan

📌 TL;DR: Buddy Punch is ideal for companies who need strict employee tracking features to verify their remote workforce is clocking in themselves and don’t mind the higher price tag.  However, if you’re looking for simple, low-cost time tracking, Buddy Punch may not be the tool for you.

12. When I Work

When I Work is an employee scheduling software targeted to companies with shift-based work schedules. The Time Tracking & Attendance features add to the software’s core purpose of scheduling and communication.

The When I Work time clock can be set up on the mobile app (for Android or iOS) or the desktop app, making it ideal for remote employees.  It syncs with the software’s scheduling features to show employees their upcoming shifts and who works alongside them.

The tool has many employee scheduling features, such as shift swapping, labor forecasting, absence and leave management, etc. Although the time tracking features are an add-on, they integrate nicely with the tool’s key features.

When I Work features for remote employee time tracking

• Tracked time is logged onto a timesheet that aligns with the employee’s shift schedules, helping to reduce manual timesheet creation and errors
• The Time Tracker tool lets users compare scheduled shifts with actual clocked hours to identify discrepancies
• Dashboard shows scheduled vs actual hours (when using both Scheduling and Attendance features), helping to keep track of budget

When I Work pricing

When I Work offers all users a 14-day free trial of its features, after which they must sign up for a paid plan.

• Essentials: Gives unlimited users access to auto-scheduling, multi-week scheduling, and forecast tools for $3 per user per month with Time Tracking & Attendance add-on.
• Pro: Advanced scheduling features, role permissions, and custom reporting for $5 per user per month with Time Tracking & Attendance add-on.
• Premium: Webhooks, API key access, and Single Sign-On for $7 per user per month with Time Tracking & Attendance add-on.

When I Work Payroll can be added to any plan with the Time Tracking & Attendance add-on for $39 per month plus $6 per active user per month.

Is When I Work right for you?

Pros	Cons
• Open API for custom integrations • Robust employee scheduling tool • Payroll features add-on	• Time tracking is an add-on feature so the tool can be overcomplicated • Not many reports • Few direct integrations • No forecasting features • No 24/7 customer support

📌 TL;DR: When I Work is a great tool for shift-based remote teams looking for a powerful scheduling tool with time tracking features. However, as the time tracking and attendance features are a paid add-on, the tool can be overcomplicated and an unnecessary expense for teams needing simple time tracking only.

13. Paymo

Paymo is a project management and time tracking tool with a built-in invoicing system.  It is an ideal time tracking tool for small teams who work in client-facing environments, like creatives, agencies, consultants, and other small businesses. 

Paymo features for remote employee time tracking

• Paymo Track app automates time tracking by recording desktop activities which are then linked to specific projects or tasks, ensuring all work-related activity is logged on the timesheet
• The idle time tracker notifies users when they’ve been inactive for a set time and gives the option to discard or keep it, ensuring accurate time entries
• Task management features let you associate time entries with tasks to better understand how time is spent during the workday
• The invoicing tool automatically generates accurate client invoices and is available on the free plan
• Paymo cleverly combines project management and time tracking to help ensure remote teams are paid correctly
• Pomodoro timer helps employees stay focused on tasks

Paymo pricing

Paymo has a free-forever plan with limited features and users, which is ideal for freelancers. For more advanced features and unlimited users, time tracking, invoices, clients, and projects, Paymo offers three paid plans:

• Starter: Provides the above and access to Kanban and Calendar views, guest access, 5GB storage, and Flat Rate or Retainer projects for $9.90 per user per month. 
• Small Office: Recurring tasks, a Task Spreadsheet view, active timers, timesheet reports, and profitability tracking for $15.90 per user per month. 
• Business: Gantt Chart views, task dependencies, and employee scheduling and workload for $23.90 per user per month. 

Is Paymo right for you?

Pros	Cons
• Built-in invoicing, task management, planning, and scheduling tools • Pomodoro timer • No invasive monitoring tools • Add bulk time in a few clicks	• Fewer integration options than other time tracking tools • Limited reporting features • Basic desktop appLess customer support on lower plans • Not made for teams of more than 20 • No integrated chat system

📌 TL;DR: Paymo is a good tool for small teams who need robust project management capabilities and invoicing on top of time tracking. However, if you’re looking for a time tracking solution with many integrations, reports, and a seamlessly integrated chat system, Paymo isn’t the tool for you.

14. DeskTime

DeskTime tracks time automatically and generates productivity statistics by monitoring employees with surveillance features like screenshots and website activity tracking.

The tool has a simple, easy-to-use interface, and reports that show employee productivity, effectiveness, offline time, and more. 

DeskTime features for remote employee time tracking

• Identify improvement opportunities with productivity statistics
• The Private Time feature lets employees stop the timer when they want to check private, non-work-related apps or websites, making the employee monitoring features less invasive
• The Absence Calendar gives project managers full visibility into which employees are available and who is off for better resource allocation
• Understand remote employee productivity levels with detailed productivity data reports

DeskTime pricing

DeskTime has a free plan for solo users. It has three paid plans with more advanced features for larger teams:

• Pro: Provides automatic and manual time tracking, URL and app tracking, and productivity calculations for $7 per user per month.
• Premium: Offers screenshots, absence calendar, integrations, API, and shift scheduling for $10 per user per month.
• Enterprise: VIP support, unlimited projects, tasks, data history, and custom API for $20 per user per month.

Is DeskTime right for you?

Pros	Cons
• Productivity tracking and reports • Private mode to help curb privacy invasion of surveillance features • Automatic time tracking	• Takes a long time to get a response from support • No detailed reports • Screenshots are intrusive • No offline time tracking

📌 TL;DR: DeskTime is best suited for teams that need moderate employee surveillance features built into their time tracking solution.

15. Insightful

Insightful (formerly Workpuls) is employee monitoring, time tracking, and performance analysis software. Its features aim to boost productivity while employees work remotely.

An interesting Insight feature is the location-based productivity insights, which are ideal for hybrid-remote teams. Managers can understand which of their employees work better in different locations and give them more opportunities.

Users say Insightful has a user-friendly, intuitive interface, and “the real-time insights and time and attendance tracking features are highlighted as particularly useful for boosting productivity.”

Insightful has a customizable screen-monitoring app that lets managers choose how often screenshots are captured and offers timestamped screen monitoring. It also has app and website tracking and real-time monitoring, which could be intrusive.

Insightful features for remote employee time tracking

• Automatic time tracking runs in the background, so there’s no need for employees to switch apps, reducing human error
• Time is automatically allocated to the right projects and tasks
• Location-Based Insights show productivity levels in different locations
• Insight into employee burnout so early signs are spotted before they become an issue
• Insider threat detection alerts help safeguard your business and sensitive data
• Tech stack utilization helps reduce unneeded software, remove distractions, and boost productive time

Insightful pricing

Insightful has four pricing packages:

• Productivity Management:  App and web activity analysis, attendance tracking, screenshots, and productivity reports for $8 per user per month. NB:  This package does not include time tracking.
• Time Tracking:  Project management, project and task time tracking, budgeting, and invoicing features for $10 per user per month.
• Process Improvement:  Automated time tracking, workflow analysis, and industry-specific process optimization for $15 per user per month.
• Enterprise Solution:  Capacity analysis, on-premise deployment, advanced reporting, and insider threat detection available for a custom price.

There is no free plan, but Insightful offers a 7-day free trial.

Is Insightful right for you?

Pros	Cons
• Location-based insights • Productivity insights • Automated time tracking and task allocation	• Time tracking and automated time tracking are only available on higher packages • Employee privacy concerns due to detailed monitoring features

📌 TL;DR: Insightful is ideal for large teams with complex security needs and a higher budget for time tracking and employee monitoring software.

16. Connecteam

Connecteam is a mobile-first team management solution that provides GPS-powered time tracking, task management, built-in training and onboarding, timesheets, and more.  

It is tailored to deskless employees like field workers rather than specifically remote employees who work from home. Using the GPS tracker, employees can clock in and out when they’re within a certain location, which many users find helpful.

Connecteam features for remote employee time tracking

• Sync schedules to let staff clock in at the start of a shift or job
• Real-time attendance tracking and notifications for late or missed clock-in
• Break and overtime rules that comply with local, state, and federal labor laws
• Discrepancy alerts for double bookings and exceeded overtime limits help ensure timesheets are compliant
• Segment timesheets into hours, breaks, overtime, and off-time automatically to speed up payroll processing

Connecteam pricing

Connecteam offers four plans:

• The Small Business Plan: A free plan for small businesses with up to 10 users with access to all hubs and features.
• Basic:  Time tracking with all report types, GPS, and unlimited jobs, payroll software integration, and shift information for $35 per month. for the first 30 users for the basic plan (additional users $0.60 each per month).
• Advanced:  Time clock geofence, recurring shifts, schedule templates, and auto clock out for $59 for 30 users ($1.80 per month for each additional user).
• Expert:  Add automatic shift assignments, live GPS tracking, process automation, and in-app links for $119 for the first 30 users ($3.60 per additional user per month).

Is Connecteam right for you?

Pros	Cons
• Bulk price for the first 30 users makes it one of the cheaper platforms • Limited Plan access to other Connecteam hubs with a subscription • Bulk timesheet approvals  • Free plan for small businesses with access to all features	• Limited advanced features on lower tiers • No geofencing on the Basic plan • No offline tracking

📌 TL;DR: Connecteam is ideal for small businesses that need accurate location data for their employees while working. It may not be ideal for remote teams with employees who only work from one location, like their home office or coworking space, and excludes working nomads.

What is remote employee time tracking software?

Whoops—did I forget to provide some context? If you’ve made it this far, you likely have some idea about what employee time tracking software is, but just in case…

Remote employee time tracking software tracks remote employees’ time on specific tasks and projects during their workday. It is very different from employee monitoring software, and it is important to make that distinction before you get too far in your decision-making process.

Remote employee time tracking vs. monitoring software

Time tracking tools simply record an employee’s work hours. Monitoring software uses surveillance features like screenshots, website tracking, and keystroke monitoring to monitor what employees do during their work time.

This information can be beneficial for productivity tracking. It holds employees accountable for their work time and promotes good time management practices. However, it can often be intrusive and damage employee morale by promoting a sense of distrust.

Time tracking tools	Employee monitoring tools
Tracks time spent on tasks or projects to help create accurate invoices, assist in future project estimates, and ensure correct and timely payroll	Monitors employee activity during work hours by taking screenshots and monitoring keystrokes and mouse movements to track activity and productivity levels

Benefits of remote employee time tracking software

Remote employee time tracking software has many benefits, especially in enhancing operational efficiency and productivity. Here are some of the main benefits:

• Better time management: Because time tracking tools give employees and managers in-depth insights into how they spend their time, inefficiencies and time sinks can be identified and addressed.
• Increased productivity: Tracking the time remote employees spend on tasks is a great way to hold them accountable for their own productivity and thereby incentivize them to be more productive.
• Accurate client billing: Tracking the time your remote employees spend on client work can help you create accurate, detailed invoices.
• Accurate payroll: Just as time tracking helps you bill clients accurately, it also helps you pay your remote employees accurately—especially when your time tracking tool integrates with your accounting software.

The best remote employee time tracking software compared

There is a lot of information in this article, so here’s a quick breakdown of the tools we reviewed.  

Product	Best for	Unique feature	Priced from
Toggl Track	Accurate time tracking, detailed reports, profitability analysis	Billable time tracking	$10/user/month
Hubstaff	Workforce monitoring and management	Productivity analysis	$7/user/month
Harvest	Billable time tracking with payment integrations	Project-based time tracking and invoicing	$12/user/month
Time Doctor	Performance and employee monitoring	Distraction management and wellness insights	$7/user/month
Clockify	All-in-one time tracking for remote hybrid teams	Estimated vs actual progress reports	$4.99/user/month
Timely	Automatic, AI-powered time tracking	AI time tracking	$11/user/month
Everhour	Integrations with project management tools	Basic timesheets	$10/user/month
TimeCamp	Hybrid team time tracking	30+ native integrations	$3.99/user/month
ClickTime	Customizable time tracking workflows	Huge number of pre-built reports	$13/user/month
Replicon	Complex time tracking and compliance	Multiple time tracking tools in the suite	$6/user/month
Buddy Punch	Time theft reduction	Facial recognition clock in	$19 base fee + $4.99/user/month
When I Work	Scheduling and shift management	Shift schedule comparisons	$3/user/month
Paymo	Time tracking combined with project budgeting and invoicing for small teams	Built-in invoicing and payment systems	$9.90/user/month
DeskTime	Automatic time tracking and website usage monitoring	Private Time feature	$7/user/month
Insightful	Data-driven performance analysis	Automatic task time allocation	$8/user/month
Connecteam	Mobile-first time tracking for field teams	Free small business plan with access to all features	$35/month for up to 30 users

How to choose the best remote employee time tracking software for your needs?

When choosing the best remote employee time tracking software, no one tool does everything. Each tool has its pros and cons. So, how do you choose the right one for your needs?

First, ask yourself these questions:

• What key features does the tool offer, and does it support remote employee task and project time tracking?
• Can the tool seamlessly integrate with other systems and tools we currently use?
• Is the tool user-friendly and accessible across various devices (mobile, tablet, desktop)?
• What is the pricing model, and are there additional costs for extra features or scalability?
• How does the tool ensure access to historic data, data security, and compliance with relevant regulations?
• What’s the level of customer support provided?
• Can the tool easily accommodate growth in team size or project complexity?

Next, shortlist and try a couple of tools from the above list. Testing the tools with pilot teams will help you identify the potential challenges when implementing it across your business.

Finally, compile all the feedback from participating pilot teams and choose the best remote employee time tracking software for your needs.

Get started with Toggl Track for free

Want to test out a remote employee time tracking software just to see what it’s like? Try Toggl Track.

It helps improve productivity and efficiency for remote employees and comes with automatic time tracking, timesheets, and detailed reporting. Plus, it’s free for five users and comes with an optional, free 30-day trial to try all the premium features.

Sign up for free now.