OneTracker vs. DeskTime: A Better Way to Track Productivity & Time?

A Quick Introduction

In today’s digital-first workplace, time is money and how your team spends it can make all the difference in productivity, billing, and overall performance. To stay competitive, many companies are turning to time tracking tools that offer transparency, accountability, and insights into team behavior.

Two such platforms, The One Tracker and DeskTime are strong contenders in this space. While both serve the core function of tracking time and productivity, they cater to very different business needs. If you’re stuck deciding between the two, this detailed comparison will help you make the right call.

DeskTime

DeskTime is a popular automatic time-tracking tool focused on measuring employee productivity. It’s known for its ease of use, app categorization (productive, unproductive, neutral), and real-time tracking features. Ideal for freelancers, small businesses, or companies looking for straightforward productivity tracking.

The One Tracker

The One Tracker is more than just a time tracker, it’s a smart workforce management platform. Designed for businesses with layered teams, The One Tracker provides role-based dashboards, detailed user activity logs, screenshot capture, manual time request workflows, billing features, and comprehensive attendance tracking.

Feature Comparison Between The One Tracker vs DeskTime

FeatureThe One TrackerDeskTime
Role-Based Access (Admin/Owner/Manager/User) ✓
Yes 		✗
No
Automated Time Tracking ✓
Yes 		✓
Yes
Screenshot Monitoring ✓
Detailed with activity logs 		✓
Optional
Manual Time Requests ✓
Submit, approve, edit 		✗
Not available
Productivity Categorization ✓
Active/Idle/Manual time 		✓
Productive/Unproductive apps
Attendance Tracking ✗
In-time/out-time, month view, exportable 		✓
With working hours
Billing & Invoicing ✓
Monthly/Quarterly bills view 		✗
Not available
Shift & Department Management ✓
Add/Edit/Delete 		✗
Not supported
Offline Time Tracking ✓
Manual time entries 		✓
Offline time popup
Integration Support ✗
Currently limited 		✓
API + integrations (Slack, Trello, etc.)

Key Strengths of The One Tracker

1. Multi-Level Role Access

One of The One Tracker’s biggest differentiators is its granular access control. It supports four distinct user roles:

  • Super Admin (platform-wide control)
  • Company Owner (organization-level management)
  • DManager (team-level control)
  • User (individual dashboard)

Each role gets access to features that are relevant and appropriate, making it ideal for scaling organizations with different departments, teams, and responsibilities.

In contrast, DeskTime primarily operates on a one-level admin structure, which can be limiting for growing companies.

2. Manual Time Requests with Workflow

Life happens. Meetings, calls, or tasks can go untracked by software. That’s why The One Tracker allows users to submit manual time requests, which can be reviewed and approved by managers or owners.

  • Approved time is added to productive hours.
  • Idle time is adjusted accordingly.
  • Records are saved for auditing.

DeskTime lacks this flexibility. If the tracker misses activity, that time is lost, potentially affecting reporting accuracy.

3. Attendance + Productivity in One View

While both tools offer productivity tracking, The One Tracker adds real value with attendance management:

  • Track in-time and out-time for each employee.
  • Export monthly attendance reports in Excel.
  • Spot late logins, absences, or irregular patterns.

DeskTime shows login times and breaks but doesn’t support full attendance reports or exports.

4. Company-Centric Admin Tools

For companies managing multiple teams, The One Tracker offers:

  • Department and shift management
  • Screenshot control (enable/disable per company)
  • Trial settings (free users, pilot project durations)
  • Billing visibility (monthly or quarterly invoices)

DeskTime lacks built-in features for organizational billing or administrative workflows, focusing more on usage-based pricing and app categorization.

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Where DeskTime Has an Edge

Though The One Tracker is more comprehensive, DeskTime still holds a few aces:

  • Third-Party Integrations: DeskTime offers integrations with popular tools like Trello, Asana, and Slack, making it easier to fit into existing workflows.
  • Offline Time Popups: Users can explain their offline time when returning to the system, which helps in logging untracked activity (though not as flexible as manual time requests).
  • Simple Interface: For freelancers or small teams, DeskTime’s UI is clean, lightweight, and intuitive.

Ideal Use Cases

Choose The One Tracker if:

  • You have a hierarchical team structure (admins, owners, managers, users).
  • You need both time tracking and attendance features.
  • You want to manage multiple departments, shifts, and billing workflows.
  • Your employees occasionally need to manually log missed work hours.

Choose DeskTime if:

  • You’re a freelancer or small business with simple tracking needs.
  • You value app productivity categorization and want real-time data.
  • You already use productivity tools like Trello or Slack and want integrations.

The Conclusion

DeskTime is an excellent choice if you need a lightweight, plug-and-play productivity tracker. It gets the job done for teams that want app usage breakdowns and easy time tracking with minimal setup.

But if you’re looking for a scalable, structured, and robust tracking solution, The One Tracker clearly takes the lead. With its multi-role support, screenshot intelligence, manual time workflows, and company-level features, it’s built for businesses that need more than just basic monitoring.

Frequently Asked Questions

The One Tracker is a workforce productivity and time-tracking software designed for businesses to monitor employee activity, manage attendance, and optimize productivity through features like screenshot monitoring, manual time adjustments, and multi-tier admin controls.

  • Admins can toggle screenshot monitoring on/off.
  • No keystroke logging or background audio recording.
  • Employees receive transparent notifications when being monitored (configurable by admin).

Yes! The One Tracker supports remote, hybrid, and in-office teams with:
  • Cloud-based access
  • Activity & idle time tracking
  • Manual time request approvals (for payroll accuracy)

If an employee forgets to log time, admins can:
  • Submit/approve time requests.
  • Adjust idle vs. active hours.
  • Sync corrections with payroll.

Currently, we support:
  • Excel/CSV export for payroll processing
  • API access for custom integrations (e.g., QuickBooks, ADP)

Note: Native payroll integrations are coming soon!

Ideal for:
  • Call centers (attendance tracking)
  • Healthcare (compliance monitoring)
  • Finance (secure productivity tracking)
  • Remote-first companies (flexible time logging)

We use:
  • End-to-end encryption (AES-256)
  • GDPR-compliant data storage
  • Role-based access control (RBAC)

Yes! Hierarchical permissions allow:
  • Super Admins → Full control
  • Managers → Approve team time requests
  • Employees → Submit adjustments

Yes! Hierarchical permissions allow:
  • 24/5 live chat
  • Email support
  • Onboarding demos for enterprise clients

The system flags inactivity when:
  • No keyboard/mouse input is detected for 5+ mins (customizable).
  • Manual overrides let employees tag idle time as "active" (e.g., during meetings).
  • Admins receive idle vs. productive time reports.