Best time tracker for virtual assistants: an honest roundup

There is no one best time tracker for every virtual assistant. Pick by what you need to see: only hours, or the work too. Horapod is our product, so read our part with that in mind. Most facts about other tools come from the vendors' own pages. Some come from third-party sources, marked as such below. Each has a source and the date we read it.

How to choose

• Only hours. A free plan can be enough. Horapod is free for unlimited users, and Jibble says the same about its free plan source 1.
• The work too. Screenshots, apps and activity sit on paid plans in most tools. On Horapod, Starter is $1 per worker per month and adds the live office view, idle detection, activity level, apps and sites, and screenshots.
• A timer your assistant can see. Whatever you pick, your assistant should be able to start and stop the timer, see their own hours, and read what is tracked before they agree.
• Their computer. Horapod runs on Windows and Mac. If your assistant uses Linux, check each tool's "Better than Horapod" line below, which names a full Linux app where a tool has one. Insightful's Linux app is in beta.

Quick picks

• Pick Horapod if you want to see your team at work in a live office, and your team works on Windows or Mac. See how it works with a virtual assistant.
• Pick Hubstaff if your team works on Linux. source 2 Horapod and Hubstaff side by side.
• Pick Time Doctor if your team works on Linux, or you need screen video, an API or SSO. source 3, source 4 Horapod and Time Doctor side by side.
• Pick Clockify if you mostly need hours on a small team, or your team works on Linux. source 5, source 6 Horapod and Clockify side by side.
• Pick DeskTime if your team works on Linux. source 7 Horapod and DeskTime side by side.
• Pick Insightful if you want screen recording, or run a large team that needs on-premise. source 8 Horapod and Insightful side by side.
• Pick Jibble if you want screenshots, face recognition and GPS clock-in on a free plan, or your team works on Chromebooks. source 9, source 10, source 11, source 12 Horapod and Jibble side by side.
• Pick Monitask if your team works on Linux, or you want full URL, search query and document tracking. source 13 Horapod and Monitask side by side.
• Pick Apploye if your team is 10 or fewer and wants a free plan with some screenshots, or works on Linux. source 14 Horapod and Apploye side by side.
• Pick Buddy Punch if your team punches in on site or in the field and needs GPS on every punch, geofences or a shared kiosk. source 15 Horapod and Buddy Punch side by side.

Horapod, our own product

Horapod is free for unlimited users. Starter is $1 per worker per month. Premium is $2.99 per worker per month. Prices are in USD. It runs on Windows and Mac, and workers get phone apps on every plan.

Your assistant sees a small timer in the tray, starts and stops it themselves, and agrees to what is tracked before they can clock in. Nothing is tracked after they clock out. Workers do not see their screenshots, so tell your assistant that up front. The full list is on What we track, and every plan is on Pricing.

Where Horapod is weaker: it has no Linux app, and its Free plan covers hours and attendance, while some rivals give more on a free plan. The sections below say which.

The others, one by one

Prices are in USD per user per month, as each company showed them on the date in the sources. Read their pages again before you buy.

Hubstaff

• Free plan. No free plan. 14‑day trial with all features, no card. source 16
• Price. Cheapest paid plan: Starter, $7 a user a month, billed monthly. source 17
• Windows and Mac. Yes, Windows and Mac apps. source 2
• Fake input detection. Unusual activity reports, in the Insights add‑on: $2.50 per user a month on Starter and Grow, included on Team. source 18, source 17
• Better than Horapod: Linux. Hubstaff has a Linux app. source 2
• Better than Horapod: A 14‑day trial of every feature. Hubstaff gives all features for 14 days, no card. source 16

Horapod and Hubstaff side by side, with every price and feature.

Time Doctor

• Free plan. No free plan. 14‑day trial with all Premium features, no card. source 3
• Price. Cheapest paid plan: Basic, $8 a user a month, billed monthly. source 19
• Time Doctor's pricing page shows placeholders instead of dollar amounts, so these prices come from its help centre. Time Doctor says yearly billing gives two months free. source 19, source 3
• Windows and Mac. Yes, Mac and Linux. source 3
• Fake input detection. Mouse jiggler and clicker detection on Premium. Unusual Activity Reporting is included in Premium. A $3 per user per month add-on on Basic and Standard. source 4, source 3, source 19
• Better than Horapod: Linux. Time Doctor has a Linux app. source 3
• Better than Horapod: Screen video, API and SSO. On Premium. source 4
• Better than Horapod: A 14‑day trial of Premium. Time Doctor gives all Premium features for 14 days, no card. source 3

Horapod and Time Doctor side by side, with every price and feature.

Clockify

• Free plan. Yes. The plan table says up to 5 users; their FAQ says you can invite up to 4 people. 1 month of report data. source 5
• Price. Cheapest paid plan: Basic, $4.99 a user a month, billed monthly. source 5
• Windows and Mac. Yes, Mac, Windows and Linux apps. source 6
• Fake input detection. Not listed on their pages. source 20
• Better than Horapod: More on the free plan. Clockify Free includes idle detection and an app tracker. Horapod Free covers hours, attendance and who is clocked in. source 5
• Better than Horapod: Linux. Clockify has a Linux app. source 6

Horapod and Clockify side by side, with every price and feature.

DeskTime

• Free plan. No free plan. 14‑day trial. source 21
• Price. Cheapest paid plan: Pro, $6.42 a user a month, billed yearly. source 21
• DeskTime's pricing page shows yearly-billed prices only. source 21
• Windows and Mac. Mac: yes. Linux: yes, on Ubuntu LTS 22.04, 24.04 and 26.04. source 21, source 7
• Fake input detection. Not listed on their pages. source 22
• Better than Horapod: Linux. DeskTime has a Linux app for Ubuntu LTS. source 7
• Better than Horapod: A 14‑day trial of every feature. DeskTime gives every feature for 14 days. source 21

Horapod and DeskTime side by side, with every price and feature.

Insightful

• Free plan. No free plan. 7‑day trial, no card. source 8
• Price. Cheapest paid plan: Workforce Analytics, $8 a user a month, billed yearly. source 8
• Insightful's pricing page shows yearly-billed prices per seat only, and charges extra for some screenshot options. source 8
• Windows and Mac. Windows 10 and later, and macOS 11 and later. Linux is in beta. source 23
• Fake input detection. Yes, in all plans. An after-shift alert flags keyboard jamming, mouse click jamming and input-simulation software. Not live. source 24
• Better than Horapod: Screen recording. $4 per seat a month, extra. source 8
• Better than Horapod: Workflow analytics. A Workflow Optimization plan, $12 a seat a month billed yearly, in beta. source 8
• Better than Horapod: Large teams. Enterprise plans, and on-premise for 250 employees and up. source 8
• Better than Horapod: Fake input alerts on every plan. An after-shift alert, included in all plans. source 24

Horapod and Insightful side by side, with every price and feature.

Jibble

• Free plan. Yes. Free for unlimited users, with no time limit. source 1
• Jibble's pricing page showed no paid prices when we read it, so none are listed here. source 1
• Windows and Mac. Yes, Mac and Windows. Linux is not listed. source 12
• Fake input detection. Not listed on their pages. source 25
• Better than Horapod: More on the free plan. Jibble's free plan includes screenshots, blur, face recognition, GPS clock-in and timesheet approval. Horapod Free covers hours, attendance and who is clocked in. source 9, source 10, source 11, source 26
• Better than Horapod: A shared kiosk. A tablet kiosk with NFC, face recognition or a PIN. source 12
• Better than Horapod: ChromeOS and a Chrome extension. Jibble has both, along with Mac and Windows apps. source 12

Horapod and Jibble side by side, with every price and feature.

Monitask

• Free plan. No free plan. 10‑day trial, no card. source 13
• Price. Cheapest paid plan: Pro, $7.99 a user a month, billed monthly. source 13
• Monitask's pricing page shows yearly-billed prices on its plan cards and monthly prices in its FAQ. source 13
• Windows and Mac. Yes. Windows, Mac and Linux apps, and a Chromebook beta. source 13
• Fake input detection. Mouse jiggler detection is listed on their site. Plan not stated. source 13
• Better than Horapod: Linux. Monitask has a Linux app. source 13
• Better than Horapod: Screenshots you can take more often. Add-ons go up to 120 screenshots an hour. source 13
• Better than Horapod: Full URLs, search queries and documents. On Business Premium, $15.99 billed monthly. source 13

Horapod and Monitask side by side, with every price and feature.

Apploye

• Free plan. Yes. Starter is free for up to 10 users. Paid plans have a 10‑day trial, no card. source 14
• Price. Cheapest paid plan: Elite, $7 a user a month, billed monthly. source 14
• Apploye's pricing page shows yearly, quarterly and monthly prices. Its paid plans have a 10‑day trial, no card. source 14
• Windows and Mac. Yes. Windows, Mac and Linux apps. source 14
• Fake input detection. Mouse jiggler and clicker detection on Power. An add-on on Elite, $3 per user a month. source 14
• Better than Horapod: Screenshots on the free plan. Apploye Starter has limited screenshots and app tracking. Horapod Free covers hours, attendance and who is clocked in. source 14
• Better than Horapod: Linux. Apploye has a Linux app. source 14
• Better than Horapod: Screenshots on demand. Live screenshots of any member, on Power. source 14

Horapod and Apploye side by side, with every price and feature.

Buddy Punch

• Free plan. No free plan. 14‑day trial, no card. source 15
• Price. Cheapest paid plan: Starter, $5.99 a user a month, billed monthly. source 15
• Every Buddy Punch plan adds a $19 base fee a month. Administrators are free. Yearly billing is cheaper. source 15
• Windows and Mac. Not confirmed on their pages. They list web punches and phone and tablet apps. source 15
• Fake input detection. Not listed on their pages. source 15
• Better than Horapod: GPS on every plan. GPS on each punch is in Starter. On Horapod, GPS is on Premium. source 15
• Better than Horapod: Geofences and live locations. Geofencing from Pro. Real-Time GPS is included on Advanced; $2 per user a month on Starter and Pro. source 15
• Better than Horapod: A shared kiosk and QR codes. Pin or kiosk punch and QR code scanning, from Pro. source 15
• Better than Horapod: Break rules. Meal and rest break tracking with waivers, from Pro. source 15

Horapod and Buddy Punch side by side, with every price and feature.

Sources

1. Checked 2026-10-25. Jibble home page.
2. Checked 2026-10-23. Hubstaff features page.
3. Checked 2026-10-23. Time Doctor pricing page.
4. Checked 2026-10-23. flowace.ai, a rival's blog (updated August 2026) (third-party source).
5. Checked 2026-10-23. Clockify pricing page.
6. Checked 2026-10-23. Clockify apps page.
7. Checked 2026-10-23. DeskTime Linux page.
8. Checked 2026-10-23. Insightful pricing page.
9. Checked 2026-10-25. Jibble screenshots page.
10. Checked 2026-10-25. Jibble face recognition page.
11. Checked 2026-10-25. Jibble GPS page.
12. Checked 2026-10-25. Jibble apps page.
13. Checked 2026-10-25. Monitask pricing page.
14. Checked 2026-10-25. Apploye pricing page.
15. Checked 2026-10-25. Buddy Punch pricing page.
16. Checked 2026-10-23. Hubstaff pricing page.
17. Checked 2026-10-23. Hubstaff pricing guide.
18. Checked 2026-10-23. Hubstaff's own post on r/Hubstaff.
19. Checked 2026-10-23. Time Doctor help centre.
20. Checked 2026-10-23. Clockify activity monitoring page.
21. Checked 2026-10-23. DeskTime pricing page.
22. Checked 2026-10-23. DeskTime features page.
23. Checked 2026-10-23. Insightful help centre.
24. Checked 2026-10-23. Insightful help centre.
25. Checked 2026-10-25. Jibble employee monitoring page.
26. Checked 2026-10-25. Jibble timesheet page.

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