Comparing construction time clock software can be difficult. Websites don’t always make it easy to determine what features you’ll get access to when subscribing to software products, and pricing pages are often designed to make products look less expensive than they actually are.

To help you find the right tool for your business’s needs and budget, we’ve put together this detailed comparison of the features and pricing of seven popular construction time tracking apps: QuickBooks Time, Buddy Punch, ClockShark, BusyBusy, Connecteam, Jibble, and Hubstaff.

Below, we’ve listed all of the time tracking and workforce management features that are most important for construction companies, followed by an explanation of what those features do, how they work in the different tools we’re comparing, and how much they cost for each system.

Mobile time tracking, timesheets, and payroll reports

While your crew members may do some work in the shop, yard, or office, most of the time, they’re out working in the field at different job sites. This makes it crucial to give employees an easy way to clock in and out no matter where they’re working, and mobile time tracking apps do just that. 

Mobile time tracking apps allow employees to clock in and out using their smartphones from wherever they’re working. That clock in and out data is then compiled into timesheets and payroll reports in the system with hours calculated for you automatically.

QuickBooks Time, Buddy Punch, ClockShark, BusyBusy, Connecteam, Jibble, and Hubstaff all offer mobile time tracking apps for iOS and Android devices, and all of them automatically turn clock-in and clock-out data into timesheets and payroll reports. 

Below, you’ll find the lowest price for the plans in each system that include mobile time tracking apps, timesheets, and exportable payroll reports:

• QuickBooks Time: $10 per user per month
• Buddy Punch: $4.99 per user per month
• ClockShark: $9.50 per user per month
• BusyBusy: Free for unlimited users
• Connecteam: Free for up to 10 users; $29 per month for 11-30 users
• Jibble: Free for unlimited users
• Hubstaff: $4.99 per seat per month

Multi-language mobile apps

If you have crew members who don’t speak or read English fluently, you may need to invest in a system that has mobile apps available in the other languages your employees speak. Below, you’ll find the languages supported in each system’s mobile apps:

• QuickBooks Time: English, French, Spanish, and Chinese
• Buddy Punch: English and Spanish
• ClockShark: English and Spanish
• BusyBusy: English and Spanish
• Connecteam: English, Hebrew, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Arabic, Greek, Swedish, Russian, Portuguese, Dutch, Burmese, Polish, Nepali, Bosnian (Croatian, Slovenian), Italian, and Danish
• Jibble: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, Turkish, Polish, Indonesian, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, and Dutch
• Hubstaff: English

All of each product’s plans include all of the languages the apps support, so the pricing for multi-language accessibility across all apps is the same as the mobile app pricing in the section above:

• QuickBooks Time: $10 per user per month
• Buddy Punch: $4.99 per user per month
• ClockShark: $9.50 per user per month
• BusyBusy: Free for unlimited users
• Connecteam: Free for up to 10 users; $29 per month for 11-30 users
• Jibble: Free for unlimited users
• Hubstaff: $4.99 per seat per month

Kiosk mode

If you want to have a central system for punching in and out in the office — or if you want a portable time clock that your foreman can bring to job sites for crew members to use to clock in and out — you’ll want to look for a time clock app that offers a kiosk mode.

Kiosk mode lets you download the time tracking app onto an iOS or Android tablet and use it for all employees to clock in and out of. Kiosk mode also commonly offers options for accessing the system that don’t require employees to enter usernames and passwords, such as PINs, QR codes, or NFC/RFID tags.

QuickBooks Time, Buddy Punch, ClockShark, BusyBusy, Connecteam, and Jibble all offer a time clock kiosk feature; Hubstaff does not offer kiosk mode. 

Here is a list of ways employees are able to access the kiosk to clock in and out of work in each of the apps:

• QuickBooks Time: Four-digit PIN
• Buddy Punch: Four-digit PIN, QR code, and facial recognition (facial recognition available on iOS only)
• ClockShark: Four-digit PIN
• BusyBusy: Four-digit PIN
• Connecteam: Four-digit PIN
• Jibble: Four-digit PIN, QR code, facial recognition, NFC tag, and RFID tag

And below, you’ll find the lowest price for plans in each system that include kiosk mode:

• QuickBooks Time: $12 per user per month for unlimited kiosks
• Buddy Punch: $6.99 per user per month for unlimited kiosks
• ClockShark: $9.50 per user per month for unlimited kiosks
• BusyBusy: $9.99 per user per month for unlimited kiosks
• Connecteam: Free for unlimited kiosks and up to 10 users; $29 per month for unlimited kiosks and 11-30 users
• Jibble: Free for one kiosk; $1.99 per user per month for up to three kiosks; $4.49 per user per month for up to 10 kiosks; $7.99 per user per month for unlimited kiosks

Job costing

Job costing features let you attach employee labor hours to specific jobs you’re working on so you can monitor how many labor hours and dollars go into each project, compare them against your estimates, and use that data to bid more accurately on future jobs.

Job costing works by having employees select the job or project they’re working on when they clock in. The system then tallies the total labor hours billed to each of your projects overall or within a specific timeframe you select.

QuickBooks Time, Buddy Punch, ClockShark, BusyBusy, Connecteam, Jibble, and Hubstaff all offer job costing. Below, you’ll find the lowest price for the plans in each system that include job costing:

• QuickBooks Time: $12 per user per month
• Buddy Punch: $4.99 per user per month
• ClockShark: $9.50 per user per month
• BusyBusy: Free for unlimited users
• Connecteam: Free for up to 10 users; $29 per month for 11-30 users
• Jibble: Free for unlimited users
• Hubstaff: $4.99 per seat per month for up to five clients; $7.50 per seat per month for unlimited clients

Payroll integrations

Payroll integrations let you connect your time tracking system directly to your payroll system so your time data can be passed to payroll automatically — no downloading, formatting, or uploading reports. If you’re using different systems for tracking time and running payroll, a payroll integration is a huge time saver.

Here are all of the payroll systems that each of the apps we’re comparing offers integrations with:

• QuickBooks Time: ADP, Square Payroll, Paychex, OnPay, Justworks, PaymentEvolution, and QuickBooks
• Buddy Punch: ADP, Deltek, Deluxe Payroll, Gusto, iSolved, Justworks, Paychex, Paycor, Paylocity, PaymentEvolution, PayPlus, QuickBooks, Rippling, SurePayroll, TriNet Payroll, Viewpoint, Wagepoint, and Workday
• ClockShark: ADP, Paychex, and Gusto
• BusyBusy: QuickBooks, ADP, ConstructionPayroll.com, and Paychex
• Connecteam: Gusto, Paychex, ADP, and PrismHR
• Jibble: QuickBooks and Deel
• Hubstaff: Payoneer, Deel, and Gusto

And here is the lowest price for the plans in each system that include payroll integrations:

• QuickBooks Time: $10 per user per month
• Buddy Punch: $4.99 per user per month
• ClockShark: $9.50 per user per month
• BusyBusy: $9.99 per user per month
• Connecteam: Free for up to 10 users; $29 per month for 11-30 users
• Jibble: Free for unlimited users
• Hubstaff: $7.50 per seat per month for one integration

Built-in payroll

While payroll integrations are an effective way to get your time data to payroll without a lot of manual effort, time tracking systems that offer built-in payroll can be even more efficient because there’s no need to set up an integration. Your time data will either flow instantly into payroll as hours are logged, or you can click a button at the end of a pay period to move all logged hours into payroll.

Of the tools we’re comparing, only QuickBooks Time, Buddy Punch, and BusyBusy offer built-in payroll. ClockShark, Connecteam, Jibble, and Hubstaff do not offer a built-in payroll option.

QuickBooks Time allows you to subscribe to a plan that includes features for both time tracking and payroll. For Buddy Punch and BusyBusy, built-in payroll is sold as an add-on on top of what you pay for time tracking. Here are the prices for each tool’s built-in payroll:

• QuickBooks Time: $13 per employee per month plus an $88 per month base fee for time tracking and payroll
• Buddy Punch: $8 per user per month plus a $49 per month base fee for the payroll add-on
• BusyBusy: $6 per person per month plus a $45 per month base fee for the payroll add-on

Location tracking

Location tracking features let company owners and crew managers verify that their employees were where they were supposed to be while they were on the clock. There are two primary location-tracking features that construction time tracking apps offer: GPS logging on punch and real-time GPS tracking.

GPS logging on punch

A GPS logging on punch feature adds employees’ locations to their timesheets every time they clock in and out. Owners, crew supervisors, and/or site foremen can review these locations to make sure everyone was on site when they clocked in and out.

All of the tools we’re comparing — QuickBooks Time, Buddy Punch, ClockShark, BusyBusy, Connecteam, Jibble, and Hubstaff — offer a GPS logging on punch feature.

Below, you’ll find the lowest price for the plans in each system that include GPS logging on punch:

• QuickBooks Time: $12 per user per month
• Buddy Punch: $4.99 per user per month
• ClockShark: $9.50 per user per month
• BusyBusy: Free for unlimited users
• Connecteam: Free for up to 10 users; $29 per month for 11-30 users
• Jibble: Free for unlimited users
• Hubstaff: $13.33 per seat per month (requires a Team plan subscription and the Locations add-on)

Real-time GPS tracking

Real-time GPS tracking lets you monitor employees’ locations in real time throughout the workday. You can log into the system to see where all tracked employees are located at any time on a map, and you also get access to breadcrumb trails that show everywhere they traveled over the course of a workday.

QuickBooks Time, Buddy Punch, ClockShark, BusyBusy, Connecteam, Jibble, and Hubstaff all offer real-time GPS tracking. Below, you’ll find the lowest price for the plans in each system that include real-time GPS tracking and breadcrumbing:

• QuickBooks Time: $12 per user per month
• Buddy Punch: $6.99 per user per month (Starter plan + Real-Time GPS add-on)
• ClockShark: $9.50 per user per month
• BusyBusy: $9.99 per user per month
• Connecteam: Free for up to 10 users; $99 per month for 11-30 users
• Jibble: $7.99 per user per month
• Hubstaff: $13.33 per seat per month (requires a Team plan subscription and the Locations add-on)

Automatic mileage tracking

Automatic mileage tracking uses GPS data to calculate the total number of miles an employee traveled over the course of a workday. This is useful if your employees drive their personal vehicles for work and you reimburse them for mileage. Instead of checking odometers at the end of each day or relying on employee mileage reporting, you can use the mileage data provided by the app.

QuickBooks Time is the only app in this comparison list that offers automatic mileage tracking. Its plans that include mileage tracking start at $12 per user per month.

Other options, like ClockShark, Buddy Punch, and Connecteam, let your employees report their miles when clocking out but do not offer a way to track mileage automatically. 

Geofencing

A geofence is a digital perimeter created around a job site that can be detected via GPS tracking. When employers put their job sites in a geofence, it allows a time tracking app to do any of several things: prevent offsite punches, notify managers of offsite punches, remind employees to switch job codes, automatically switch job codes for employees, or automatically clock employees out when leaving a job site.

All of the apps we’re comparing can remind employees to switch job codes when entering or exiting a geofence and remind employees to clock out when leaving a site at the end of the day. However, some of the apps also have additional geofence capabilities:

QuickBooks Time: 

• Automatically switch job codes for employees when entering or exiting a geofence

Buddy Punch: 

• Prevent employees from clocking in or out when not within an assigned geofence
• Automatically assign the time an employee logs while within a geofence to that job site’s job code

ClockShark:

• Send admins a notification when an employee clocks in while outside of a geofence

BusyBusy:

• Prevent employees from clocking in or out when not within an assigned geofence

Connecteam:

• Prevent employees from clocking in or out when not within an assigned geofence
• Automatically clock employees out when they leave a geofence

Jibble:

• Prevent employees from clocking in or out when not within an assigned geofence
• Automatically switch job codes for employees when entering or exiting a geofence

Hubstaff:

• Automatically switch job codes for employees when entering or exiting a geofence

It’s worth noting that, in general, time tracking apps cannot remind employees to clock in for the first time for a shift. Since geofence identification uses GPS tracking data, and since these apps don’t start recording GPS data until after an employee has clocked in, geofence reminders are only useful for reminding employees to switch job codes throughout the day or clock out at the end of the day.

Below, you’ll find the lowest price for the plans in each system that include geofencing:

• QuickBooks Time: $12 per user per month for unlimited geofences
• Buddy Punch: $6.99 per user per month for unlimited geofences
• ClockShark: $9.50 per user per month for unlimited geofences
• BusyBusy: $9.99 per user per month for unlimited geofences
• Connecteam: Free for up to 10 users; $49 per month for 10 geofences; $99 per month for unlimited geofences; additional fees apply if you add more than 30 users to any paid plan
• Jibble: Free for two geofences; $1.99 per user per month for up to 10 geofences; $4.49 per user per month for unlimited geofences
• Hubstaff: $13.33 per seat per month (requires a Team plan subscription and the Locations add-on)

Offline mode

Offline mode lets employees clock in and out even when they don’t have an internet connection or phone signal. This is crucial if you have job sites in rural areas where cell phone signals are unreliable. In offline mode, the system saves the clock-in and clock-out data locally and uploads it to the platform when the employee reenters an area with phone or internet service.

QuickBooks Time, Buddy Punch, ClockShark, BusyBusy, Jibble, and Hubstaff all offer offline mode. Connecteam does not; it requires an internet connection or phone signal to work.

Below, you’ll find the lowest price for the plans in each system that include offline mode:

• QuickBooks Time: $10 per user per month
• Buddy Punch: $6.99 per user per month
• ClockShark: $9.50 per user per month
• BusyBusy: Free for unlimited users
• Jibble: Free for unlimited users
• Hubstaff: $4.99 per seat per month

Photo verification or facial recognition

Photo verification and facial recognition features help you prevent the time theft act of buddy punching (where one employee clocks in or out for another) by giving you a way to ensure that employees can only clock themselves in and out.

Photo verification requires employees to take a selfie when clocking in or out. Those photos are added to employees’ timesheets and can be reviewed by managers to ensure all punches include photos of the right employee.

Facial recognition uses technology to analyze employees’ facial features and validate that the employee who’s clocking in or out is the right employee.

QuickBooks Time, Buddy Punch, ClockShark, BusyBusy, Connecteam, and Jibble all offer a photo verification feature. However, note that ClockShark’s photo capturing is tied to its facial recognition feature, and ClockShark, BusyBusy, and Connecteam only offer photo verification when used in kiosk mode — not when using their mobile apps.

Buddy Punch, ClockShark, BusyBusy, and Jibble also offer a facial recognition feature. Note that Buddy Punch’s facial recognition feature can only be used on Apple devices (iPhones and iPads), and ClockShark’s and BusyBusy’s can only be used in kiosk mode (not their mobile apps). Jibble’s facial recognition feature can be used on mobile devices and in kiosk mode.

Below, you’ll find the lowest price for the plans in each system that include photo verification and/or facial recognition:

• QuickBooks Time: $10 per user per month for photo verification
• Buddy Punch: $4.99 per user per month for facial recognition; $6.99 per user per month for photo verification
• ClockShark: $9.50 per user per month for facial recognition and photo verification
• BusyBusy: $9.99 per user per month for facial recognition and photo verification
• Connecteam: $99 per month for the first 30 users for photo verification
• Jibble: Free for unlimited users

Break tracking features

All time tracking apps will let employees clock out and back in for breaks, and those breaks will show up on their timesheets for compliance reporting. However, some tools have additional features that make it easier to ensure you’re staying compliant with state meal and rest break laws.

Note that ClockShark isn’t listed below because it does not offer any break tracking features beyond clocking out and back in for breaks.

QuickBooks Time: 

• Create break rules (e.g., short rest break or lunch break), specify the length of the break and whether it’s paid or unpaid, and assign break rules to employees
• Remove unpaid breaks from employees’ total hours automatically

Buddy Punch:

• Create break rules (e.g., short rest break or lunch break), specify the length of the break and whether it’s paid or unpaid, and assign break rules to employees
• Prevent employees from ending their break before the required break duration has passed
• Remove unpaid breaks from employees’ total hours automatically based on the number of hours worked or the amount of time that’s passed since the last clock-in
• Set a maximum break time for paid breaks; any time an employee logs that goes over the maximum break time will be recorded as unpaid break time
• Get an alert when employees don’t take a required break
• Send a notification to employees when it’s time for them to take a required break
• Schedule employee breaks per shift
• Set up break premium payments for missed, shortened, or late breaks
• Require employees to confirm that they took all required breaks when submitting their timesheets

BusyBusy:

• Use the California Breaks Scanner to identify instances of missed required breaks, breaks that didn’t last long enough, or breaks that were taken outside of the required timeframe
• Send a notification to employees when it’s time for them to take a required break
• Remove unpaid breaks from employees’ total hours automatically based on the number of hours worked or on a specific schedule
• Require employees to confirm that they took a required break that day when clocking out
• Schedule employee breaks per shift
• Have a site foreman clock an entire crew in and out for breaks at the same time

Connecteam:

• Create break rules (e.g., short rest break or lunch break), specify the length of the break and whether it’s paid or unpaid, and assign break rules to employees
• Set up breaks that are triggered based on number of hours worked
• Set a maximum break time for paid breaks; any time an employee logs that goes over the maximum break time will be recorded as unpaid break time
• Remove unpaid breaks from employees’ total hours automatically based on the number of hours worked
• Send a notification to employees when it’s time for them to take a required break
• Allow employees to waive a break generally or waive a break only if it complies with California waived break rules
• See break issue indicators on employees’ timesheets
• Set up break premiums for missed, shortened, or late breaks

Jibble:

• Schedule employees to take specific breaks
• See an alert on an employee’s timesheet if there was a break violation, such as a break that lasted longer than the scheduled time or a break that occurred outside of the scheduled timeframe

Hubstaff:

• Create break policies (e.g., short rest break or lunch break), specify the length of the break and whether it’s paid or unpaid, specify how many times the break can be taken based on day or hours worked, and assign break policies to employees
• Notify employees when it’s time to take a break, when their break is almost over, and when their break has ended
• Get an alert when employees don’t take a required break

Below, you’ll find the lowest price for the plans in each system that include all of the break tracking and compliance features listed for each product above:

• QuickBooks Time: $10 per user per month
• Buddy Punch: $6.99 per user per month
• BusyBusy: $9.99 per user per month
• Connecteam: $99 per month for the first 30 users and $4.20 per user per month for each additional user over 30
• Jibble: Free for unlimited users
• Hubstaff: $10 per seat per month

Timesheet edits and approvals

Timesheet editing features let employees, managers, or admins make edits to timesheets to correct time entries where employees forgot to clock in or out. 

Timesheet approval features require a manager or admin to review and approve employees’ timesheets before payroll is run. 

Both features let you ensure that your time data is accurate before running payroll.

All of the platforms we’re comparing — QuickBooks Time, Buddy Punch, ClockShark, BusyBusy, Connecteam, Jibble, and Hubstaff — have timesheet editing and approval features. There is only one real difference in these features between the platforms.

QuickBooks Time, Buddy Punch, Connecteam, Jibble, and Hubstaff let you opt into allowing employees to edit their own timesheets. When employees make edits, you can choose whether or not a manager or admin needs to review and approve them before the changes are saved. In ClockShark and BusyBusy, only managers and admins can edit timesheets.

Below, you’ll find the lowest price for the plans in each system that include timesheet edits and approvals:

• QuickBooks Time: $10 per user per month
• Buddy Punch: $4.99 per user per month
• ClockShark: $9.50 per user per month
• BusyBusy: $9.99 per user per month
• Connecteam: Free for up to 10 users; $29 per month for 11-30 users
• Jibble: $1.99 per user per month
• Hubstaff: $10 per seat per month

Employee scheduling

Using a single platform for both time tracking and employee scheduling can open up a lot of features that you wouldn’t otherwise have in your time tracking tool. For example, if your time tracking tool knows when an employee is scheduled to work, it can notify you if an employee clocks in late, clocks out early, or misses a shift. It can also enable labor-cost-saving features like preventing employees from clocking in early.

All of the tools we’re comparing — QuickBooks Time, Buddy Punch, ClockShark, BusyBusy, Connecteam, Jibble, and Hubstaff — have employee scheduling in addition to time tracking. However, the scheduling features differ between the tools. Below, we’ve listed which scheduling features each platform offers and the starting price for plans that include those features.

Shift scheduling

A shift scheduling feature lets you assign employees to work in a specific timeframe (e.g., your shift starts at 9 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m.).

• QuickBooks Time: $10 per user per month
• Buddy Punch: $5.99 per user per month (Starter plan + Scheduling add-on)
• ClockShark: $9.50 per user per month
• BusyBusy: $9.99 per user per month
• Connecteam: Free for a single schedule and up to 10 users; $29 per month for a single schedule and up to 30 users; $49 per month for up to six schedules and up to 30 users; $99 per month for up to 12 schedules and up to 30 users
• Jibble: Not available (Jibble’s scheduling is limited to creating fixed schedules for all employees — e.g., everyone works Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
• Hubstaff: $10 per seat per month

Recurring shifts

Recurring shifts let you create a shift once and then repeat it at increments you set. For example, if you have an employee who works the same shift every Monday through Friday, you can create the shift once and then set it to repeat every weekday, either endlessly or up to a date you specify.

• QuickBooks Time: $10 per user per month
• Buddy Punch: $5.99 per user per month (Starter plan + Scheduling add-on)
• ClockShark: $9.50 per user per month
• BusyBusy: $9.99 per user per month
• Connecteam: Free for up to 10 users; $49 per month for 11-30 users
• Jibble: Not available
• Hubstaff: $10 per seat per month

Employee availability

An employee availability feature lets employees or admins enter details about when employees can and can’t work. Managers and admins can see those details while creating schedules, and before the schedule is published, the system will alert you if you’ve accidentally scheduled an employee for a time when they’re unavailable.

• QuickBooks Time: Not available
• Buddy Punch: $5.99 per user per month (Starter plan + Scheduling add-on)
• ClockShark: Not available
• BusyBusy: $9.99 per user per month
• Connecteam: Free for up to 10 users; $29 per month for 11-30 users
• Jibble: Not available
• Hubstaff: Not available

Shift trades and covers

Shift trading and shift covering features let employees trade shifts or volunteer to cover other employees’ shifts directly in the time tracking app. Manager/admin approval can be required for any proposed trades or covers, and accepted trades and covers automatically change the published schedule.

• QuickBooks Time: Not available
• Buddy Punch: $5.99 per user per month (Starter plan + Scheduling add-on)
• ClockShark: Not available
• BusyBusy: Not available
• Connecteam: Free for up to 10 users; $49 per month for 11-30 users
• Jibble: Not available
• Hubstaff: Not available

Attendance alerts/reports

Attendance alerts send admins and managers a notification when employees clock in late, clock out early, or miss a shift. Attendance reports aggregate this data over time so you can see how many attendance infractions specific employees had over a selected timeframe.

• QuickBooks Time: Attendance alerts are not available; plans that include attendance reports start at $10 per user per month
• Buddy Punch: $5.99 per user per month (Starter plan + Scheduling add-on) for both attendance alerts and attendance reports
• ClockShark: Not available
• BusyBusy: Not available
• Connecteam: Attendance alerts are not available; plans that include attendance reports are free for up to 10 users and start at $99 per month for 11-30 users
• Jibble: Attendance alerts are not available; plans that include attendance reports start at $4.49 per user per month
• Hubstaff: Attendance alerts are not available; plans that include attendance reports start at $10 per seat per month

Punch limiting

Punch limiting lets you set restrictions on how soon an employee can clock in before their shift starts. This can help you prevent unexpected labor costs that are caused by employees clocking in early.

• QuickBooks Time: Not available
• Buddy Punch: $5.99 per user per month (Starter plan + Scheduling add-on)
• ClockShark: Not available
• BusyBusy: Not available
• Connecteam: Free for up to 10 users; $99 per month for 11-30 users
• Jibble: $1.99 per user per month
• Hubstaff: $10 per seat per month

Scheduling by location

Scheduling by location allows you to either specify a location when creating shifts or create separate schedules for your different business locations.

• QuickBooks Time: $10 per user per month for adding locations to shifts
• Buddy Punch: $5.99 per user per month (Starter plan + Scheduling add-on) for adding locations to shifts and creating schedules for different locations
• ClockShark: $11.50 per user per month for adding locations to shifts and creating schedules for different locations
• BusyBusy: $9.99 per user per month for adding locations to shifts
• Connecteam: Free for up to 10 users or $29 per month for 11-30 users for adding locations to shifts; for creating schedules for different locations, it’s $49 per month for up to six locations and 30 users or $99 per month for up to 12 locations and 30 users
• Jibble: Not available
• Hubstaff: $10 per seat per month for adding locations to shifts

Schedule templates

Schedule templates let you create a schedule that contains all of the shifts you need to fill in a week and then apply that template to future weeks so all you need to do to complete the schedule is assign employees to your shifts.

• QuickBooks Time: $10 per user per month
• Buddy Punch: $5.99 per user per month (Starter plan + Scheduling add-on)
• ClockShark: Not available
• BusyBusy: Not available
• Connecteam: Free for up to 10 users; $49 per month for 11-30 users
• Jibble: Not available
• Hubstaff: Not available

Auto scheduling

Auto scheduling is a feature where the platform builds schedules for you automatically. It requires you to create profiles for all of your employees that specify what roles they are qualified for, what skills they have, when they’re available, and any limitations they have. With that data, the system will fill open shifts on your schedule for you, and you can review the changes, make edits if needed, and publish the schedule.

The only tool we’re comparing that offers an auto scheduling feature is Connecteam. It’s included in the free plan for up to 10 users. For 11-30 users, it’s $99 per month.

PTO tracking and management

Having PTO management in your time tracking software adds more helpful functionality to your time clock — just like having time tracking and scheduling gives you more options. When your time tracking tool knows that someone is scheduled for time off, it can automatically add those PTO hours to employees’ timesheets so you can ensure they get paid for their paid time off.

Additionally, when you combine PTO tracking and scheduling in the same tool, you can add planned time off to your schedule so you don’t accidentally schedule an employee to work when they’re on PTO — and so other employees can see when someone is off for the day/week.

All of the tools we’re comparing — QuickBooks Time, Buddy Punch, ClockShark, BusyBusy, Connecteam, Jibble, and Hubstaff — have PTO management in addition to time tracking. However, the features included differ between the tools. Below, we’ve listed which PTO management features each platform offers and the starting price for plans that include those features.

PTO accruals

PTO accruals let you add hours to employee PTO balances automatically. Different tools give you access to different accrual methods — whether hours are added to PTO balances annually, monthly, by pay period, or by number of hours worked — so we’ve specified the available options for each tool below.

• QuickBooks Time: $10 per user per month for annual accruals, accruals by pay period, and accruals based on hours worked
• Buddy Punch: $4.99 per user per month for annual accruals, accruals by pay period, and accruals based on hours worked
• ClockShark: $11.50 per user per month for annual accruals, accruals by pay period, and accruals based on hours worked
• BusyBusy: Not available
• Connecteam: Free for up to 10 users and $49 per month for 11-30 users for annual accruals and accruals based on hours worked (note that this requires a subscription to Connecteam’s HR & Skills hub, which is separate from the hub that includes time tracking and scheduling)
• Jibble: $4.49 per user per month for annual and monthly accruals
• Hubstaff: $10 per seat per month for annual accruals, monthly accruals, or accruals by hours worked

PTO requests and approvals

PTO requests and approval features let your employees request time off in the time tracking app. Those requests are sent to managers or admins for approval.

• QuickBooks Time: $10 per user per month
• Buddy Punch: $4.99 per user per month
• ClockShark: $11.50 per user per month
• BusyBusy: $9.99 per user per month
• Connecteam: Free for up to 10 users; $29 per month for 11-30 users (note that this requires a subscription to Connecteam’s HR & Skills hub, which is separate from the hub that includes time tracking and scheduling)
• Jibble: $4.49 per user per month
• Hubstaff: $10 per seat per month

Blackout dates

A blackout dates feature lets you block employees from requesting time off on certain dates or during certain timeframes. This can be used for holidays or very busy periods where you need all hands on deck.

• QuickBooks Time: Not available
• Buddy Punch: $4.99 per user per month
• ClockShark: Not available
• BusyBusy: Not available
• Connecteam: Free for up to 10 users; $29 per month for 11-30 users (note that this requires a subscription to Connecteam’s HR & Skills hub, which is separate from the hub that includes time tracking and scheduling)
• Jibble: Not available
• Hubstaff: Not available

Accrual caps

Accrual caps let you set a maximum amount of time off that employees are allowed to accrue. There are two possible ways to use accrual caps: you can set a maximum number of PTO hours an employee is allowed to have at any one time, or you can set a maximum amount of PTO employees are allowed to earn in a year. We’ve specified which options each tool offers below.

• QuickBooks Time: $10 per user per month to set a cap on how much PTO employees can have in their balance at any time
• Buddy Punch: $4.99 per user per month to set an annual accrual cap or a cap on how much PTO employees can have in their balance at any time
• ClockShark: $11.50 per user per month to set a cap on how much PTO employees can have in their balance at any time
• BusyBusy: Not available
• Connecteam: Free for up to 10 users or $49 per month for 11-30 users to set an annual accrual cap or a cap on how much PTO employees can have in their balance at any time (note that this requires a subscription to Connecteam’s HR & Skills hub, which is separate from the hub that includes time tracking and scheduling)
• Jibble: Not available
• Hubstaff: Not available

Carryover rules

Carryover rules let you dictate what happens to employees’ earned PTO at the end of the year. You can decide to clear PTO balances at the beginning of every year (use it or lose it) or only allow a certain amount of PTO to carry over into the new year. Which specific options each app includes is listed below.

• QuickBooks Time: $10 per user per month to add a use-it-or-lose-it policy
• Buddy Punch: $4.99 per user per month to add a use-it-or-lose-it policy or set rules for how much PTO can be carried over into a new year
• ClockShark: $11.50 per user per month to add a use-it-or-lose-it policy or set rules for how much PTO can be carried over into a new year 
• BusyBusy: Not available
• Connecteam: Free for up to 10 users or $49 per month for 11-30 users to add a use-it-or-lose-it policy or set rules for how much PTO can be carried over into a new year (note that this requires a subscription to Connecteam’s HR & Skills hub, which is separate from the hub that includes time tracking and scheduling)
• Jibble: $4.49 per user per month to add a use-it-or-lose-it policy or set rules for how much PTO can be carried over into a new year
• Hubstaff: $10 per seat per month to add a use-it-or-lose-it policy or set rules for how much PTO can be carried over into a new year

Other things to keep in mind about pricing for each time clock app

There are a few final things worth mentioning that will be helpful to know when comparing pricing for each of the tools:

• All of the prices listed in this guide are for each platform’s annual plans since that’s where you get the lowest possible price. If you don’t sign up for an annual plan and decide to subscribe monthly instead, you’ll pay higher fees.
• QuickBooks Time, Buddy Punch, BusyBusy, Connecteam, Jibble, and Hubstaff all let you subscribe on a monthly basis if preferred, meaning you can decide to cancel your plan any month. ClockShark, however, requires you to commit to a three-year contract to use its software.
• Connecteam has three different hubs that each have four different plans. Time tracking and scheduling are included in the Operations hub, while PTO management is in the HR & Skills hub. So if you want time tracking, scheduling, and PTO tracking and don’t qualify for the free plan, you’ll have to subscribe to plans in two separate hubs. That means, for example, you may end up paying $99 per month for time tracking and scheduling and another $49 per month for PTO management.
• Connecteam’s plans are sold for a flat rate for up to 30 users. If you need to add more than 30 users, you’ll pay a per-user fee for each additional user you add. The per-user fee depends on which plan you’re subscribed to; it’s different for every plan.
• Jibble’s website makes it look like its platform is entirely free, but as you’ve seen in this post, many features can only be accessed on paid plans. Pricing for its paid plans isn’t published on its website; you have to sign up for a free account to see pricing inside of the app.

Additionally, a few of these tools charge a base monthly fee in addition to per-user fees:

• Buddy Punch has a $19 per month base fee, but that base fee covers the cost of all admin users that you add to the platform. You do not have to pay per-user fees for admins.
• QuickBooks Time has a $20 per month base fee if you subscribe to its Time Premium plan and a $40 per month base fee if you subscribe to its Time Elite plan. Both fees only cover the cost of one admin user.
• ClockShark has a $42 per month base fee if you subscribe to its Standard plan and a $63 per month base fee if you subscribe to its Pro plan. The base fee does not cover the cost of any users.

If you need to see if any of the tools offer features we didn’t cover in this guide, we recommend either looking at plan comparison tables on each platform’s website or searching their help centers. Never use the summary table on a pricing page alone to determine how much you’ll pay for a tool; dig into the details!