# Hubstaff — Time Tracking & Attendance

Hubstaff by Hubstaff holds a panel rating of 2/5 from 6 AI judges (category median 2.5/5), as of 2026-10-21. Provenance: provenance unknown; sovereignty: not determined.

- Vendor: Hubstaff (https://hubstaff.com)
- Category: [Time Tracking & Attendance](https://whats-best.ai/software/time-tracking.md)
- Provenance (editorial classification): provenance unknown
- Canonical page: https://whats-best.ai/software/time-tracking/hubstaff
- Alternatives: https://whats-best.ai/software/time-tracking/hubstaff/alternatives ([markdown](https://whats-best.ai/software/time-tracking/hubstaff/alternatives.md))
- Data as of: 2026-10-21 · evaluated 2026-10-21 · oldest source captured 2026-10-20

**AI-generated.** Every score, rationale and verdict here is written by a panel of AI judges from public evidence — an analysis, not a hands-on test. Every fact quotes the vendor page it was read from. No score can be bought. How scores are made: https://whats-best.ai/methodology

## At a glance

- Vendor: Hubstaff
- Headquarters: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 20 Oct 2026
- Data hosting: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 20 Oct 2026
- Free plan: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 20 Oct 2026

## The panel's verdict

Hubstaff scores highest on project and billing at 7-8: per-person bill rates, hour and budget limits with real-time over-budget alerts, and invoices generated from tracked time with locked line items that cannot be billed twice. Payroll export follows at 5-6 on seven payment gateways, timesheet approvals on by default and a locked date range, though exports are PDF and CSV and we found no public information on DATEV or any German payroll system. Time capture and absence and planning score 4, working time law 3: rostering is real, but published legal guidance is US state overtime law, and we found no public information on the German recording duty or rest-period checks. Weakest are sovereignty and pricing transparency at 0-1: the pages state customer data is retained in the United States, with certification under the EU-U.S. and Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, with Netsoft Holdings, LLC as the contracting entity; beyond a 14-day trial with no credit card required and a one-time $100 credit, no per-user price, billing period or VAT treatment is published. No notable disagreements were computed.

**Speaks for it:**
- Desktop, web, mobile and browser apps with geofences that automatically start and stop tracking around job sites
- Invoices generate automatically from tracked time at per-person bill rates, and locked line items cannot be added to two invoices
- Hour and budget limits fire real-time over-budget alerts when a project is at risk of overrun
- Timesheet approvals are enabled by default and lock the date range from further edits before payroll runs
- Scheduling offers recurring shifts, minimum hours, grace periods and four attendance statuses, from the Team plan and up

**Held against it:**
- The vendor's pages state that customer data is retained in the United States with certification under the EU-U.S. and Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, and the contracting entity is Netsoft Holdings, LLC
- We found no public information on per-user prices, billing period, minimum term or VAT treatment for any plan, and the only dollar figure published is a one-time $100 integration credit
- The published legal guidance covers US state overtime law, and we found no public information on the German recording duty, daily maximum or rest-period checks, or a retention period
- Timesheet exports are PDF and CSV, and we found no public information on DATEV or any German payroll system, or on night, Sunday and holiday surcharges
- We found no public information on offline capture, a shared kiosk or terminal, or bulk corrections with a change history

**Best for:**
- You bill clients from tracked hours and need budgets, alerts and locked invoice lines that flow from time to invoice without re-entry
- You pay your team through named gateways such as Wise, PayPal, Payoneer, Bitwage, Deel, Gusto or Remote and want approved, locked timesheets behind each run
- You roster teams with recurring shifts and attendance statuses and compare scheduled against worked hours
- Your field crews record time on their own devices at geofenced job sites

**Avoid if:**
- Your requirements call for data retention inside the EU — the vendor's own pages state that customer data is retained in the United States
- Your payroll run depends on a German payroll system or on night, Sunday and holiday surcharges — the documented handoffs are payment and HRIS platforms such as Deel, Gusto and Remote, with PDF and CSV exports
- You must compute an annual invoice from public pricing — the pages publish trial terms, plan gating and a one-time $100 credit, and steer larger deployments to a demo call
- Your crews need shared terminals or offline capture — the documented capture paths run on personal desktop, mobile and browser apps with geofenced auto start and stop

## Scores by judge and criterion

Scores out of 5, each judge scoring independently against the published rubric (v1). "n/r" = not rated: the vendor publishes no price.

| Criterion | The Operations Lead | The Payroll Officer | The Works Council Advocate | The Agency Owner | The Field Supervisor | The Skeptic |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Capture in the real workplace | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 |
| Working-time law & audit record | 1.5/5 | 1.5/5 | 1.5/5 | 1.5/5 | 1.5/5 | 1.5/5 |
| Absence & shift planning | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 |
| Project, cost-centre & billing | 4/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 4/5 | 3.5/5 | 4/5 |
| Payroll handoff | 3/5 | 2.5/5 | 2.5/5 | 3/5 | 2.5/5 | 3/5 |
| European sovereignty | 0.5/5 | 0.5/5 | 0.5/5 | 0/5 | 0/5 | 0/5 |
| Pricing transparency | 0/5 | 0/5 | 0.5/5 | 0/5 | 0/5 | 0/5 |
| **Weighted verdict** | **2/5** | **2/5** | **1.5/5** | **2.5/5** | **2/5** | **1.5/5** |

### The judges

- **The Operations Lead** (v1.0): Runs a 200-person operation with office, workshop and field staff, and has to record all of them since the BAG ruling. Wants capture that fits each of those groups and a roster that reflects reality. Unmoved by a beautiful desktop timer that half the workforce cannot use.
- **The Payroll Officer** (v1.0): Turns the recorded month into an payroll run and answers for it. Cares about surcharges for night, Sunday and holiday work, time accounts that reconcile, and corrections that arrive after the close. Treats "export to CSV" as an admission that the handoff was never designed.
- **The Works Council Advocate** (v1.0): Has co-determination over how working time is recorded (BetrVG §87 (1) 6) and will not approve a system that watches more than it measures. Asks what GPS actually stores, who can read an individual's day, what is logged and what can be switched off. Reads "productivity insights" as a warning.
- **The Agency Owner** (v1.0): Bills forty people's hours to clients and lives on the gap between recorded and billable. Wants project structure, rate cards that survive a mid-project change, budget warnings before the overrun, and an export the invoicing system takes. Attendance compliance is the floor, not the product.
- **The Field Supervisor** (v1.0): Supervises crews on sites with no reliable signal and no desks. Judges everything by whether it works in a basement at 6am: offline capture, a shared terminal, corrections a foreman can make without a support ticket. A cloud-only app is a tool that will be filled in from memory on Friday.
- **The Skeptic** (v1.0): Has read a great many pages claiming to be "BAG-konform" and wants to know which feature makes that true. Reads compliance claims for what they do not say: which module, at which tier, and whether the terminal in the photograph costs extra.

## European sovereignty — proven facts

Built only from facts on the vendor's own pages; a dimension we could not prove is left open, never scored as zero. Headline: not determined.

| Dimension | Finding | Points | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal entity | Not determined | — | — |
| Ownership | Not determined | — | — |
| Data residency | Not determined | — | — |
| Subprocessors | Not determined | — | — |

## Key facts

Each fact is the vendor's own statement, cited to the source page it was read from ([S*n*] → Sources).

**Compliance**
- Certifications: yes · yes · yes · yes · yes [S1]
- Certifications: GDPR · SOC 2 Type II · HIPAA · LGPD · CCPA [S3]
- Certifications: GDPR · SOC 2 Type II · HIPAA · LGPD · CCPA [S4]
- Certifications: GDPR · SOC 2 Type II · HIPAA · LGPD · CCPA [S8]
- Certifications: GDPR · SOC 2 Type II · HIPAA · LGPD · CCPA [S10]
- GDPR: yes [S2]
- HIPAA: yes [S2]
- Other standards: LGPD · CCPA · Trust center [S2]
- Privacy shield: EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework · Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Framework · UK Extension · United States [S2]
- SOC 2: yes [S2]
- Trust center: yes · yes · yes · yes · yes · yes [S1]

**Integrations**
- API: yes [S1]
- API: yes [S2]
- Asana: Asana · time tracking on projects [S4]
- Asana: Asana · time tracking to projects and tasks [S8]
- Bitwage: fiat · crypto · Bitwage [S5]
- Cli: yes [S1]
- Comparisons: Toggl · Clockify · Insightful · Apploye · ActivTrak · Time Doctor · Desktime [S3]
- Count: 35+ · Salesforce · Jira · Slack · Deel · PayPal [S1]
- Deel: yes [S2]
- Deel: Deel · payroll/contractor payments [S4]
- Deel: global payroll for contractor payments · Deel [S5]
- Deel: Deel · global payroll and contractor payments [S8]
- Freshbooks: FreshBooks task time tracking integration [S10]
- Gusto: U.S.-based employees and contractors · Gusto [S5]
- Gusto: Gusto payroll integration [S10]
- Jira: yes [S2]
- Mcp: yes [S1]
- Payoneer: Payoneer payments [S10]
- Paypal: PayPal · team payments [S4]
- Paypal: PayPal · team payments [S8]
- Paypal: PayPal payments [S10]
- Payroll providers: Deel · Wise · Bitwage · Payoneer · PayPal · Gusto [S5]
- Quickbooks: yes [S2]
- Quickbooks: time export · QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop [S4]
- Quickbooks: QuickBooks · export tracked time · QuickBooks Online · QuickBooks Desktop [S8]
- Quickbooks: QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop time export [S10]
- Salesforce: yes [S2]
- Salesforce: Salesforce · time tracking on tasks [S4]
- Salesforce: Salesforce · time tracking on assigned tasks [S8]
- Timesheet export formats: pdf · csv [S11]
- Wise: yes [S2]
- Wise: Wise international payments [S10]
- Zendesk: Zendesk · time tracking on tickets [S4]
- Zendesk: Zendesk · time tracking on assigned tickets [S8]

**Legal**
- Copyright holder: Netsoft Holdings, LLC [S11]
- Copyright holder: Netsoft Holdings, LLC [S10]
- Entity: 2026 · Netsoft Holdings, LLC [S1]
- Entity: Netsoft Holdings, LLC [S3]
- Entity: Netsoft Holdings, LLC [S2]
- Entity: Netsoft Holdings, LLC [S4]
- Entity: Netsoft Holdings, LLC [S8]

**Pricing**
- Free trial: 14 · no [S1]
- Free trial: yes · no [S3]
- Free trial: yes · 14 · no [S10]
- Integration coupon: 100 · yes [S12]
- Trial: 14 · yes · no [S4]

**Product**
- Android gps tracking: Android app provides time and GPS location tracking [S3]
- Approval trail: yes [S2]
- Attendance statuses: On Time · Late · Missed · Abandoned [S7]
- Automatic clockins: yes [S4]
- Automatic payments timing: yes · yes [S12]
- Background tracking: yes [S3]
- Bill rate: yes [S12]
- Budget alerts: yes · yes [S1]
- Calendar type setting: Private · Collaborative [S7]
- Cli: yes [S2]
- Comparisons: Toggl · Clockify · Insightful · Apploye · ActivTrak · Time Doctor · Desktime [S5]
- Contractor payments: yes · yes [S2]
- Customizable dashboard: drag-and-drop · hours · earnings · activity [S5]
- Daily email reports: yes [S3]
- Demo: larger or multi-location workforce · yes [S8]
- Deployment options: manual timer start/stop · project and task selection · optional screenshots · app and URL tracking [S2]
- Download platforms: Mac · Linux · Windows · Chrome · Android · iOS · Firefox [S1]
- Educational guides: State overtime laws · Ways to reduce overtime · Travel time pay policies · Double-time pay · Straight time pay · California overtime law [S5]
- Encryption: yes · yes · AES-256 · TLS 1.2+ [S2]
- Export path: Timesheets area in left sidebar, View & edit, filters, then download icon with PDF or CSV choice [S11]
- Failed payment retry: yes [S12]
- Feature modules: Time tracking · Location data · Job sites · Budget tracking · Reporting [S4]
- Feature modules: Time tracking · invoicing · Timesheets · Payroll · Reporting [S10]
- Field services gps: mobile-first time tracking · GPS · job scheduling · Field Services [S8]
- Fund custody: no [S12]
- Gateway integration limit: 7 · Wise · Deel · PayPal · Payoneer · BitWage · Gusto · Remote [S12]
- Geofenced tracking: yes · yes · yes [S4]
- Geofences: yes · yes [S3]
- Gps location time: GPS tracks time spent at job or client site [S3]
- Gps time tracking: GPS-powered time tracking for mobile and field teams [S4]
- Gps tracking: yes · yes [S1]
- Grace period setting: 5 · 10 · 15 · 20 · 30 [S7]
- Healthcare HIPAA: Healthcare · yes [S8]
- Ical sync: yes [S7]
- Insights unusual activity detection: detect inaccurate time records such as mouse jigglers or scripted activity · yes [S1]
- Internal client separation: yes [S2]
- Invoice automatic line items: Automatic line item generation based on bill rates and tracked time [S9]
- Invoice customization: invoices customizable with logos, addresses and automated line items [S10]
- Invoice delivery: send invoices from app or download PDF [S10]
- Invoice filters: date range · client · status (open, closed, draft) [S9]
- Invoice generation: invoices auto-generated from hours worked with line items by timeframe, project, client or team member [S10]
- Invoice global settings: Global invoice settings: organization address, logo, tax ID, tax rate, payment terms, net terms, notes, optional PayPal email, automatic/recurring invoicing [S9]
- Invoice header fields: Invoice header: company logo, client, issue date, due date, invoice number, PO number [S9]
- Invoice include expenses: yes [S9]
- Invoice lifecycle actions: edit · download PDF · close · reopen · delete · resend [S9]
- Invoice line item detail options: Line items can be detailed by project, by to-do, or as a summary with various filters [S9]
- Invoice non billable toggle: yes [S9]
- Invoice payment recording: Record payments with amount, payment date, optional notes; paid mark can be removed [S9]
- Invoice paypal payment: Clients can pay invoices via PayPal [S9]
- Invoice pdf download: PDF · yes [S9]
- Invoice time locking: Generated invoice line items lock tracked time; locked time cannot be added to two invoices [S9]
- Invoicing: invoice generation from bill rates and tracked time [S3]
- Invoicing plan availability: Team · Enterprise [S9]
- Live analytics: yes · yes · yes [S2]
- Logistics industries: manage labor costs and workloads across dispatch operations, warehouses, distribution centers, and back-office teams · Logistics & Transportation [S8]
- Mdm: yes [S2]
- Minimum hours definition: Minimum hours required per shift; unpaid breaks excluded [S7]
- Module tabs: Time tracking · Productivity monitoring · Scheduling · Attendance · Reporting [S8]
- Modules: Time tracking · Timesheets · Payroll · Productivity monitoring · Reporting [S5]
- Msi installer: yes [S2]
- One time payments: Financial > Create payments > ONE-TIME AMOUNT · yes [S12]
- Overtime limits: yes [S5]
- Overtime tracking: Track overtime hours automatically [S5]
- Pay outside option: yes · yes [S12]
- Pay periods: Weekly · Twice weekly · Bi-weekly · Monthly · None [S12]
- Pay types: hourly · fixed [S12]
- Payment approval window: yes · 2 [S12]
- Payment providers: Wise · PayPal · Payoneer · Bitwage · Deel · Gusto · Remote [S12]
- Payment recording: full or partial payments recorded in app; outstanding balance tracking [S10]
- Payment records: Financials > Payment records · yes [S12]
- Payroll plan availability: Team [S12]
- Payroll policies: work breaks · time off · overtime · bonuses · deductions [S12]
- Payroll workflows: Hubstaff payment providers · Calculate & Export · HRIS integration [S12]
- Personal device tracking: yes · yes [S2]
- Platform apps: Mac · Windows · Linux · iOS · Android · Chrome extension [S5]
- Platforms: desktop · web · iOS · Android [S3]
- Platforms: Windows · Mac · Linux · Android · iOS [S2]
- Platforms: Windows · Mac · Linux · Android · iOS [S4]
- Platforms: Mac · Windows · Linux · iOS · Android · Chrome extension · desktop · web · mobile · tablet [S8]
- Platforms: Mac · Windows · Linux · iOS · Android · Chrome extension · web [S10]
- Project budgeting: hour · budget [S3]
- Proof of payment: yes [S12]
- Rbac: Owners · Managers · project-level roles · yes [S2]
- Real time tracking: real-time updates on hours worked and earnings [S10]
- Recurring invoice amount basis: hourly bill rates · fixed price per interval [S9]
- Recurring invoice frequency: monthly · weekly · bi-weekly [S9]
- Recurring invoice reminders: yes [S9]
- Recurring shifts: Recurring shift options: never, weekly, bi-weekly, repeats until [S7]
- Reporting: hours · activity · payroll · yes [S3]
- Review ratings: 4.6 · 1500 · 4.5 · 1300 [S4]
- Reviews: 4.6 · 1500 · 4.6 · 1500 · 4.5 · 1300 [S8]
- Schedule filters: Calendar filterable by holidays, jobs/work orders, scheduled shifts, time offs, teams, members; month/week/day views; timezone selection; group by time or member [S7]
- Schedule vs worked hours: Compare schedules with hours worked, attendance, and earnings [S8]
- Schedules create permissions: organization owners · managers [S7]
- Schedules plan requirement: Team [S7]
- Scheduling capabilities: Create shifts, track attendance, and manage time off from one connected dashboard [S8]
- Screenshots: yes · yes · yes [S3]
- Setup demo call: yes [S12]

**Support**
- Demo: yes [S2]
- Help center: yes [S4]
- Help center: yes [S5]
- Trust center: yes [S5]

19 more facts on the canonical page: https://whats-best.ai/software/time-tracking/hubstaff

## Questions

### Is Hubstaff European?

Not determined: the vendor’s pages as captured do not say where Hubstaff is based.

### Where does Hubstaff store data?

Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 20 Oct 2026.

### Does Hubstaff have a free plan?

Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 20 Oct 2026.

### What are the best alternatives to Hubstaff?

As of 21 Oct 2026, the panel rates [TimeTac (3.5/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/time-tracking/timetac), [clockodo (3/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/time-tracking/clockodo) and [ZEP (3/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/time-tracking/zep) highest among the other 25 Time Tracking & Attendance products evaluated. Ratings that look equal are rounded to half stars; the order uses the unrounded rating, then the name. The highest-rated European alternative is [TimeTac](https://whats-best.ai/software/time-tracking/timetac) (EU-Made). Ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence: [how scores are made](https://whats-best.ai/methodology#ordering). The full list, with European products first: [Hubstaff alternatives](https://whats-best.ai/software/time-tracking/hubstaff/alternatives).

## What this page leaves out

- 15 product facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 1 compliance fact could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and was left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 1 legal fact could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and was left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 1 pricing fact could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and was left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 1 sovereignty dimension could not be confirmed on the vendor’s own pages and is shown as unknown.

## Sources

- [S1] Vendor page: https://hubstaff.com (checked 2026-10-20)
- [S2] Security / trust page — found from the homepage: https://hubstaff.com/enterprise (checked 2026-10-20)
- [S3] Capture in the real workplace — found from sitemap: https://hubstaff.com/android-time-tracking-app-with-gps (checked 2026-10-20)
- [S4] Capture in the real workplace — found from sitemap: https://hubstaff.com/gps-time-tracking (checked 2026-10-20)
- [S5] Working-time law & audit record — found from sitemap: https://hubstaff.com/overtime-tracker (checked 2026-10-20)
- [S6] Working-time law & audit record — found from sitemap: https://support.hubstaff.com/overtime/ (checked 2026-10-20)
- [S7] Absence & shift planning — found from sitemap: https://support.hubstaff.com/schedules/ (checked 2026-10-20)
- [S8] Absence & shift planning — found from sitemap: https://hubstaff.com/employee-scheduling-software (checked 2026-10-20)
- [S9] Project, cost-centre & billing — found from sitemap: https://support.hubstaff.com/invoice-clients/ (checked 2026-10-20)
- [S10] Project, cost-centre & billing — found from sitemap: https://hubstaff.com/time-tracking-invoicing-software (checked 2026-10-20)
- [S11] Payroll handoff — found from sitemap: https://support.hubstaff.com/export-timesheet/ (checked 2026-10-20)
- [S12] Payroll handoff — found from sitemap: https://support.hubstaff.com/payroll-overview/ (checked 2026-10-20)

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Cite as: whats-best.ai, "Hubstaff — Time Tracking & Attendance", AI panel analysis, as of 2026-10-21. https://whats-best.ai/software/time-tracking/hubstaff

Corrections: https://whats-best.ai/correct/968?target=page