Honest Review:

Hubstaff

By Asim Qureshi, CEO Jibble

June 5th 2023

As a CEO of a time tracking software company I need to know what my competitors are up to. That means I’m often researching about and/or playing around with their products, you know, it’s part of the job. Here, I share my findings of that research, giving credit to those competitors where credit is due and being honest about which products I believe you really need to avoid. And so, there you have it, this review, and in it, I try to be honest, fair, and insightful…

This review covers:

• Overview
• What Users Like
• What Users Don’t Like
• Pricing Plans
• Standout Features
• Positive User Highlights
• Negative User Highlights
• Ratings from Other Reviews

Overview

Ok so, Hubstaff is an innovative time-tracking and management tool that promises to simplify the way employers manage their businesses.

From GPS location tracking and payroll tracking to work orders and timesheets, Hubstaff offers many features that allow enterprises to easily track their team’s time and manage projects. I was particularly impressed with the platform’s scheduling features that help businesses organize team projects using easy-to-understand timesheets. Not only does Hubstaff offer an impressive array of features, but it also plays nicely with others. With over 30 application integrations, including heavy hitters like Basecamp, Trello, Asana, Github, and Paypal, Hubstaff seamlessly fits into the existing workflows of multiple businesses.

I have to give a shout-out to HubStaff’s solid performance when it comes to tracking time for payroll. However, it is a tad pricey, especially for smaller businesses on a tight budget.

And let’s not forget about those pesky bugs and software crashes that pop up from time to time. They can really put a damper on productivity and leave you feeling frustrated. Plus, the Android app has a low rating of 3.2/5 stars on the Google Play Store, which I think could stem from the play button not changing to a stop, confusing users whether their click to log out has been registered or not, among other reasons.

But don’t get me wrong folks, I still believe that HubStaff is a solid choice for businesses seeking a powerful time-tracking and project-management tool. You just might need to bring a little patience along for the ride.

What Users Like

• Easy to use
• Great customer service
• Zapier integration
• Very customizable
• Smooth UI

Find more on what users love about Hubstaff.

Pricing Plans

Hubstaff offers 3 product versions: 

• Hubstaff Time, for time tracking and reporting
• Hubstaff Desk, for proof of work, time tracking, and team management
• Hubstaff Field, for GPS location tracking and team management

Hubstaff Time and Hubstaff Desk have the same 4 pricing tiers: Time/Desk Free, Time/Desk Starter, Time/ Desk Pro, and Enterprise. The pricing is as follows (if billed annually):

Hubstaff Time: 

Time Free: With it being the free version of the product, Time Free offers time tracking, timesheets, limited payments, and limited reports.

Time Starter: At US$5.83/user/month, Time Starter offers more extensive features like management roles, export reports, 24 hours support, and 1 integration.

Time Pro: At US$8.33/user/month, Time Pro offers features like expense tracking, payments & payroll, invoices, and unlimited integrations.

Enterprise: Enterprise offers additional features like VIP Support, higher limits on public API, SSO, and pay by bank debit (ACH). Its price can be reached through the Hubstaff support team.

Hubstaff Desk:

Desk Free: Like the Time Free plan, Desk Free offers the same time tracking and reporting options with additional activity levels and limited screenshots features.

Desk Starter: At US$5.83/user/month, Desk Starter offers per-user settings, unlimited screenshots, 24-hour support, and full reporting features. 

Desk Pro: At US$8.33/user/month, this plan has the same price as the Time Pro plan, with additional features such as app & URL tracking, time off, unlimited integrations, and invoices.

Enterprise: Offering the same additional features as the Hubstaff Time Enterprise version, its price can also be reached through the Hubstaff support team. 

Hubstaff Field:

Field Pro: At US$10.00/user/month, Field Pro includes time tracking, mobile GPS, invoices, and unlimited integrations. 

Desk Field: At US$12.50/user/month, Desk Field contains additional features such as auto discard idle time, app & URL tracking, unlimited screenshots, and activity levels.

Enterprise: Enterprise adds the same additional features as in the other versions, and its pricing can be reached through Hubstaff customer support.

Hubstaff also has additional add-ons like tasks (US$3.00/user/month), data retention (US$2.00/user/month), and insights (US$2.00/user/month). More info about these add-ons can be found on their website.

For users who are billing annually, Hubstaff offers an additional 2 months free of charge.

Read 5 things you MUST know about Hubstaff’s pricing.

Standout Features of Hubstaff

1. Sprint Management

With Hubstaff, users can set up sprints, add team members, and then pull tasks into set blocks of work. It allows users to add tasks for specific employees with a simple drag & drop technique, add comments, user dates, and other information for more efficient sprint management.

Sprints can also be adjusted to start and stop based on the set duration automatically. Employees can set up auto reminders for daily or weekly standups, removing the risk of delayed projects.

2. Work orders

With Hubstaff’s work orders, users can simplify their workflow by having all the essential information about their work in one place. The feature includes addresses, service requests, upcoming jobs, assigned teams, and a history of actions in that order. 

It also helps employers generate reports, schedule different jobs, and get automatic attendance notifications.

3. GPS Location Tracking

Through Hubstaff’s GPS tracking feature, employers can track employee locations during work hours. Timesheets show employers the start time and the travel routes of employees, that result in accurate work time.

Geofences limit employees to clocking in from a particular device or a specific location. Furthermore, enhancing GPS location tracking helps many on-the-road teams easily find their designated workplace.

4. Payroll Tracking

Through payroll tracking, users can set up their requested payment method and get compensated for accurate working hours. The software tracks the user’s active, idle, and manual time and accordingly assesses their payments. The payments are automatic for all local and international employees but can also be manually requested by the user.

Hubstaff’s software uses integrated payroll solutions like PayPal, Payoneer, Wise, Gusto, and Bitwage.

Selected Positive User Feedback: 

• “The experience is so good that I find me wanting to stay with Hubstaff regardless of whether my need for time tracking reduces.” – Ewan M. (Source Capterra)
• “I love the Hubstaff ecosystem, including the task management integration. It seamlessly connects to their task management web application.” – Justine Fred B. (Source Capterra)
• “The benefits of Hubstaff are very helpful for doing the remote job. It shows the overall time I’ve spent in an activity and browser. It is also user-friendly if ever the time stopped you can easily insert a lost time in your timesheet.” – Verified Reviewer in Marketing and Advertising (Source Capterra)
• “One of the most attractive things about any software is how easy it is to use. Hubstaff is not an exception, 100% intuitive, and the customer service is also really good. ” – Eduardo C. (Source G2)
• “Time tracking is foolproof, an excellent tool if you have remote teams working on your project. The screenshot feature is one of the best options that is not available in other tools” – Karthik V. (Source G2)
• “It allows you to start the employee timer based on location. So, if you are working remotely, you can be sure that your employees are in the field and working.” – Emine Ayşenur B. (Source GetApp)
• “I use Hubstaff daily to track my clients, tasks, and invoices. They’re always there to help and very easy to work with. 100% recommended for any virtual workers!” – Tia G. (Source Capterra)
• “I love how it’s so easy to use for any new team member. I can also teach a new manager quickly how to track those who are below them.” – Le-an Lai L. (Source Capterra)
• “The best thing that we’ve found out in Hubstaff is that by adding the tasks in Asana, they can appear in the time-tracking app. Also, after doing the tasks, the work time automatically gets posted in Asana. That’s a time savior.” – Verified Reviewer in Online Media (Source Capterra)
• “Since implementing Hubstaff, our team has gained so much insight into the time and effort that goes into our various projects and tasks.” – KyleKash (Source PlayStore)
• “I love that this software integrates seamlessly with Asana and allows me to track my time from anywhere. It’s been a great help to me as an SEO consultant, helping me be mindful of how I spend time on growing/maintaining my business.” – Tamara S. (Source G2)
  “Review timing and control of tasks assigned to people is useful.” – Alfredo L. (Source GetApp)
• “Not only can you monitor and organize the work of the team, but they can track time spent on each activity and improve their dead time.” – Andreea C. (Source G2)

Selected Negative User Feedback:

• “The price range is slightly higher than the other employee tracking software.” – Sumit S. (Source G2)
• “Software crashes in between. I would say that working with Hubstaff can get a little pressuring because of the activity system in place.” – Juan M. (Source Capterra)
• “When using the time tracker in the phone. Sometimes the internet connection will interrupt, and you didn’t notice the time tracker the timer won’t continue, hoping to change on that part.” – Justine Paulo Y. (Source GetApp)
• “I would really like it if more integrations were allowed within the Hubstaff standard program. The functionality for the price should be included.” – Zachary K. (Source Capterra)
• “The open project and play buttons were sometimes hard to press (too small a target) but, with the latest release, this has become even harder and the play button no longer changes to a stop so I don’t know if it registered my click.” – Google User (Source by Google Play)” 
• “Far more complicated than it needs to be for basic things like processing weekly payments.” – Steve Stackman (Source Play Store)
• “Screenshotting is useless in practice. Sometimes does not connect to the tracker and there are sudden crashes in software.” – Aleksandr D. (Source G2)
• “Hubstaff totally depends upon the mouse and keyword activity, but they should also focus on the screen time. For content writers, always shows low activity due to their work. ” – Javed K. (Source G2)
• “This is just my opinion, but dashboard UI is somewhat difficult to navigate.” – Denis M. (Source G2)
• “Idle time is sometimes too quick, and screenshots don’t work every time.” – Pierre Claudin N. (Source G2)
• “High pricing. Aside from screenshots being taken a tad too often (which can feel invasive for users), the one improvement I’d suggest is more of a real-time update on the dashboard of reported hours. ” Tiana D (Source GetApp)
• “At a point in time, it gives different recorded times. A different time sent via email from the actual recorded times.” – Paul B (Source Capterra)
• “A little hard to figure out all the functions on the menu. Uses way too much battery power. Buttons don’t work well.” Jennifer (Source by Google Play)

Ratings from Other Reviews

(As of 04/06/2023)

• Capterra: 4.6/5
• G2: 4.3/5 
• TrustRadius: 8.5/10
• GetApp: 4.6/5
• Software Advice: 4.5/5
• Google Play Store: 3.2/5 (in the US)
• App Store: 4.5/5 (in the US)

Final Thoughts

Let me start by saying that Hubstaff is a great tool for those who have on-site teams or mobile workers. With its GPS tracking and geofencing features, it is really easy to monitor your team’s activity and location in real time, which is a big plus. The web dashboard and mobile app are user-friendly and offer in-depth timesheets, project management tools, and scheduling features, all of which are really helpful for managing your team’s workload.

However, Hubstaff’s price point is a bit of a drawback. It’s not among the affordable time tracking and management software out there, and if you’re a freelancer or small business owner, you may find it a bit steep. Additionally, I found that the screen activity system is a bit of a hindrance for certain types of work that don’t require something to be done constantly on the screen. Just a heads up, Hubstaff can sometimes be buggy and crash unexpectedly as well. And if you’re an Android user, watch out for those pesky buttons – they do not always cooperate with you and sometimes become hard to press.

In conclusion, while Hubstaff may have some drawbacks, it remains a valuable option for those looking for smooth time tracking and team management tools. Its additional features like GPS tracking and geofencing make it stand out from the crowd, and its user-friendly interface is a major plus. Just be aware of Hubstaff’s price point and potential bugs, and the software could be a real game-changer for your business.