If you want an in-depth Hubstaff vs Toggl Track comparison, you are at the right place.
Hubstaff and Toggl Track are among the most popular options on the market.
Yet, they have different approaches to time tracking. In other words, they work very differently. This can be confusing, and lead to a wrong decision.
Let’s learn more about the principles and differences between the two platforms.
Toggl vs Hubstaff: Quick Comparison
As you can see, Toggl Track and Hubstaff take somewhat different approaches regarding their features and main principles.
Let’s see how their individual features compare.
Hubstaff Intro
Hubstaff is a business software solution that provides several important features. Namely, time and productivity tracking, as well as team management are covered in its offer.
Hubstaff is completely automatic.
The application’s focus is employee monitoring, so it captures a lot of data, including screenshots of employee devices. All data is turned into detailed reports on all aspects of the business.
Any business can use Hubstaff, but we suggest being careful with the use of monitoring features.
Toggl Track Intro
Toggl Track is one of Toggl’s main products.
Time tracking is the platform’s main purpose, but it also has some task and project management features. Thus, it covers some of the most important functions of any business software.
Additionally, the Toggl Track has profit tracking features, as well as an invoicing system.
Users can mark their hours as either billable or non-billable, so the invoices remain as accurate as possible. While the platform doesn’t offer screenshots, it monitors user activity and determines current tasks automatically.
The activity is tracked based on open apps or keywords the employees use while working.
Detailed comparison
Hubstaff vs Toggl time tracking feature
Time tracking is the main feature of both platforms.
However, the time tracking features themselves are very different.
Hubstaff Time Tracking
Hubstaff offers an automatic time tracking system that relies on monitoring activity.
That is to say, the users don’t even have to interact with the platform. It will monitor their activity and compose reports completely automatically.
Users with higher permissions are able to see statistics for entire teams or departments. This includes currently active users, their activity levels, and a weekly graph.
The Activity Levels feature tracks every second of activity and inactivity.
It manages this harrowing task by monitoring user keyboard and mouse activity, in other words, it will only count the time users spend actively working. All collected data is presented in clear timesheets.
These reports show the engagement of each employee on the projects they’re working on.
Toggl Track Time Tracking
Toggl Track offers two options when it comes to time tracking. The first one consists of a manual time tracker.
This tracker is available as a desktop, mobile, and web app. All employees need to do to activate the tracker is to click the Start button.
In the same vein, you stop tracking by clicking Stop. The time clock guarantees a high degree of accuracy as well.
On the other hand, you can also track time completely automatically.
Namely, Toggl Track recognizes the apps the employees use. You can also select different keywords that will be recognized by the system.
In this case, tracked time is automatically allocated to a specific task.
Employee Monitoring
Employee monitoring is an important part of any business.
It comes in many different forms, and both Hubstaff and Toggl Track have some employee monitoring features.
Hubstaff Employee Monitoring
Hubstaff takes employee monitoring very seriously.
Firstly, its entire time tracking aspect depends on understanding activity levels.
Secondly, there are additional options, like screenshots, that allow the management to see how the employees are doing in real-time.
Screenshots aren’t the only way to get an insight into your employees’ activity, though. The platform also allows you to see the URLs employees are frequenting during the day. Additionally, the time spent on each activity is tracked.
The app tracker works on the same principle. That is to say, you will be able to see how much time the employees spent using specific apps.
These results are presented as percentages of total working hours. We need to warn you – many employees aren’t too happy with this level of tracking.
A degree of control this high communicates that the employer doesn’t trust their employees. As a result, the overall productivity and approach to work can dwindle.
Toggl Track Employee Monitoring
Even though Toggl Track doesn’t offer all the tracking elements Hubstaff provides, it still gives the management a clear insight into the employees’ work.
Namely, the platform tracks all apps and websites the employees use for over 10 seconds.
That is to say, in this Hubstaff vs Toggl Track match the focus is largely focused on employee monitoring.
As you can see, Toggl Track doesn’t offer screenshots. So, if this feature is what you’re specifically looking for, this is not the platform for you.
On the other hand, the absence of screenshots will make your employees’ days less stressful.
Integrations
Integrations are a crucial part of business software.
Namely, you don’t want to lose all the data you’ve accumulated on one platform once you start using another. That is why it is important to be able to use the platforms together.
Hubstaff and Toggle Track understand this need and offer integrated solutions.
Hubstaff Integrations
Hubstaff offers over 30 integrations with different business apps.
The most important integrations are dedicated to project management, accounting, time tracking, and payments.
Project management software solutions you can integrate include Hubstaff’s own solution – Hubstaff tasks, as well as some of the most popular alternatives like Asana, GitHub, Jira, Trello, etc.
You can continue communicating with your coworkers through Slack while using Hubstaff with no issues
Accounting solutions (including payments and invoices) are available as well.
They include Payoneer, FreshBooks, PayPal, QuickBooks, etc.
Freshdesk and Zendesk, help desk solutions, can be used alongside Hubstaff as well.
Toggl Track Integrations
Toggl has over 100 integrations with different types of business software.
You can integrate software via native integrations and browser extensions. Additionally, you can use it alongside automation applications as well.
The integrations can be grouped into several categories, with each category having multiple solutions. The categories are:
- Calendars
- Communication apps
- Email apps
- Hr
- Accounting
- IT
- Web development
- Project management
- Sales
- Customer support
- Task management
- To do apps
- Writing
- Documentation
Project Management
Project management elements are present in both Hubstaff and Toggl Track.
Both apps allow users to observe their workflows and make sure they’re staying on track and budget.
Hubstaff Project Management
Hubstaff relies on agile methodology to keep all projects in line.
The approach is characterized by focusing on and improving communication and collaboration.
Large projects are broken down into manageable tasks so the employees don’t get overwhelmed.
On the other hand, the management does check-ins to make sure the employees are staying on track.
Transparency is an important aspect of this method, as all employees have an insight into the project’s progress and their coworkers’ current tasks.
Toggl Track Project Management
Toggle Track provides its users with a dashboard showcasing the progress of each project. in other words, one look is enough to know where you’re standing.
You can create estimates and measure them against the actual time needed for a specific task or project type.
will also be able to manage recurring projects and their fees and billable rates.
Finally, you will receive alerts on approaching deadlines.
This way you will know when to focus more attention on the projects that need it.
Reports
No time tracking software is complete without reports.
These reports reflect the information the platforms have gathered.
As you can imagine, the high level of automation means there are a lot of insightful reports as well.
Hubstaff Reports
Hubstaff delivers seven types of reports.
They cover different aspects of the business and allow the management to make informed decisions regarding their future steps.
General reports are available to all employees. Moreover, they need to check the information frequently for maximum accuracy.
The reports include weekly reports, editing manual entries, and timesheet approval (by a manager).
There are also reports on time and activity, used apps and URLs, and expenses.
Reports on payments show two elements of the business – unpaid billable hours of your company and all payments the company has completed.
Budget reports focus on managing the company budget with maximum accuracy.
Hubstaff manages this by tracking project and client budgets in separate reports. The weekly limits report shows limits for employee spending in a week.
Time off reports show how much off time the employees have (time-off balances), and time off requests that have been approved (time-off transactions).
Attendance reports let the managers know which employees are available. This makes scheduling a lot less complicated.
Invoice reports are important, as they show all invoices, but also differentiate between paid and unpaid ones.
You can track invoices you’ve sent as a whole, or sorted by the sender. You can also see the invoices (both incoming and outgoing) that haven’t been paid for 90 days after they’ve been sent.
Finally, there are Job site reports. These are great options for field teams. Namely, they show employee time spent in a specific location.
Toggl Track Reports
There are fewer reporting options if you choose to use Toggl Track.
Summary reports show tracked and billable hours.
They can be displayed as graphs for easier understanding.
Detailed reports contain all time entries created in a selected period.
The report allows filtering, so you can only see relevant information, i.e. user, client, task, project, etc.
Weekly reports show the number of hours each employee has worked every week.
As you can see, these reports are a lot less detailed. However, this doesn’t necessarily need to be a bad thing. For example, some companies will only need an overview of specific areas of their company.
Payroll Tracking
Automating the payroll process is one of the best ways to save time and effort that can be used elsewhere.
Hubstaff Payroll Tracking
Hubstaff has an automatic payroll option. This is to be expected, as the app truly pays attention to user activity and accurate time tracking.
To put it simply, you will be able to calculate the accurate pay for every employee. You can even synchronize Hubstaff’s timesheets with the payroll to avoid any mistakes.
Toggl Track Payroll Tracking
Toggl Track doesn’t offer a feature for payroll management. Yet, it provides you with detailed timesheets and a huge number of potential integrations.
Invoice Tracking
Creating invoices from scratch isn’t necessary if you already have all the data you need in one convenient place. That is why both platforms have invoice management features, either inbuilt or available through integrations.
Hubstaff Invoice Tracking
Hubstaff offers the invoicing feature exclusively to users who have purchased either the Premium or Enterprise plans.
The invoice generation process can be completed automatically or manually.
The Quickbooks integration makes exporting the tracked time extremely simple.
Additionally, you can create a payment gateway via PayPal, Payoneer, and Transferwise.
This way you’ll be able to receive payments directly and keep a record of them.
Toggl Track Invoice Tracking
Toggl doesn’t handle invoicing with an inbuilt feature either.
Again, the numerous integrations still allow you to connect the solution to the accounting software of your choosing.
A Lightweight Time Tracking Alternative
Reading our Hubstaff vs Toggl Track review has probably given you an idea about the way the applications work.
Both software solutions are strong in their own ways and approach their functions very seriously.
However, some issues show up due to the apps’ complexity and employee monitoring features.
That is why we are bringing you a simpler, yet equally accurate and useful alternative – Time Analytics.
What Sets Time Analytics Apart?
User-friendliness
First and foremost, Time Analytics is based on timesheets the employees fill in themselves.
Remember when we talked about micromanagement and the distrust it signals?
Time Analytics doesn’t have this problem. Moreover, it will show the employees you trust them.
The platform also offers automatic time tracking and manual time entries.
The employees can edit, add, and remove entries, and so can the managers.
Even though there are no monitoring features, the timesheets and reports will show whether any of the employees are being truthful.
Time Analytics’ interface is elegant and intuitive.
Thus, any employee can fill out the timesheets in a matter of minutes.
You can also set up the mandatory fields within each timesheet so you don’t lose any valuable information.
The Price Point
Both Toggl Track and Hubstaff have pretty high prices (except for the limited free plans).
Time Analytics offers its services for a fraction of the price. You can get the Starter plan for $4.99 per user per month, and the Optimum for $6.99. per user per month
Conclusion
Hubstaff and Toggl Track are business software solutions with many differences. While they both take employee monitoring seriously, Hubstaff offers more options. On the other hand, Toggl Track offers many more integrations.
As you can deduce, these tools have some common points but aren’t meant for the same customer. One is very complex, albeit completely automatic. The other has a more hands-on approach and doesn’t offer as many options and features.
Both of these solutions are very popular on the market. Hopefully, our review has helped you understand both solutions a bit better.
We firmly believe that the time tracking solution you choose should suit your business practices and needs. That is to say, we advise you to choose the one your employees are more likely to utilize.
