OneTracker vs. Hubstaff: Which Time & Productivity Tracker is Right for You?
A Quick Introduction
As businesses shift to remote and hybrid models, the demand for transparent, intelligent time tracking tools has never been higher. Among the top contenders are The One Tracker and Hubstaff, both offering solid solutions for productivity monitoring, but with very different strengths.
Whether you’re a startup founder or a manager in a mid-size company, choosing the right tool can have a big impact on efficiency, accountability and team performance. In this blog, we’ll compare The One Tracker vs Hubstaff across key features to help you decide which fits your workflow best.
Hubstaff
Hubstaff is a well-known productivity and time tracking platform that focuses on remote team management. With features like GPS tracking, online timesheets, payroll, invoicing, and integrations with project management tools, it’s popular among companies managing freelancers, field workers or global teams.
The One Tracker
The One Tracker is a smart time and productivity tracking platform designed for structured businesses that need role-based dashboards, manual time request workflows, screenshot intelligence, attendance tracking and billing oversight. It’s built to support multi-level teams and offers strong administrative controls.
Feature Comparison Between The One Tracker vs Time Doctor
| Feature | The One Tracker | Hubstaff |
|---|---|---|
| Role-Based Access (Admin/Owner/Manager/User) | ✓ Yes | ✗ Limited |
| Time Tracking | ✓ Automatic & manual optionss | ✓ Automatic |
| Screenshot Monitoring | ✓ With active window info | ✓ Configurable |
| Manual Time Requests | ✓ Submit, approve, edit | ✗ Manual entry, no approval workflow |
| GPS & Field Tracking | ✗ Not available | ✓ Yes |
| Attendance Management | ✓ In/out time, exportable reports | ✗ Basic presence tracking |
| Productivity Analysis | ✓ Active, idle, manual time | ✓ App/URL usage, idle time |
| Payroll & Invoicing | ✓ Billing view only | ✓ Full payroll/invoice automation |
| Shift & Department Management | ✓ Yes | ✗ Limited |
| Integration Support | ✗ Not yet | ✓ Yes (Trello, Asana, Jira, etc.) |
1. Role-Based Access & Team Hierarchies
One of The One Tracker’s most powerful features is its structured role system. It offers unique dashboards for:
- Super Admins (multi-company control)
- Company Owners (org-wide visibility)
- Managers (team-focused dashboards
- Users (personal insights only)
This clear separation of duties creates accountability while maintaining data privacy and efficient management. /p>
Hubstaff, while powerful, mainly distinguishes between organization owners and members. It doesn’t offer the same tiered access or customized views per role, making it less scalable for growing teams with multiple layers of management.
2. Manual Time Request Workflow
Both platforms allow manual time tracking, but only The One Tracker offers a full approval workflow.
In The One Tracker:
- Users can request manual time entries for missed work.
- Managers/owners can approve, reject, or edit these requests.
- Approved time updates the user’s productive vs. idle time.
Hubstaff allows manual time entry but lacks the workflow for approvals or audits making it harder to manage accountability.
3. Screenshot Monitoring: Depth vs. Simplicity
Both platforms allow screenshot monitoring to visualize work activity, but The One Tracker adds extra layers of insight:
- Screenshots include active window titles.
- Capture shows mouse/keyboard events and active seconds.
- Activity status is visible during screenshot time.
Hubstaff captures screenshots and allows custom frequency, but it doesn’t show real-time app activity within screenshots.
The One Tracker gives you context behind each image, which is especially useful for verifying productivity during idle concerns.
4. Attendance & Shift Tracking
Time tracking isn’t just about productivity it’s also about presence.
The One Tracker provides:
- In-time / out-time tracking
- Monthly attendance reports
- Exportable Excel files for payroll and HR teams
- Custom shift creation and assignment
Hubstaff shows when users start and stop their timers but doesn’t provide a centralized attendance dashboard or exportable reports.
For HR or admin-focused teams, this could be a limitation.
5. Billing, Invoicing & Payroll
This is where Hubstaff shines. It includes:
- Payroll automation
- Custom invoices.
- Time-based billable rates
- Integration with PayPal, Wise, and more
In comparison, The One Tracker offers a billing overview only company owners can view past bills and payment status but can’t generate or send invoices directly from the platform (yet). For businesses that already use separate accounting systems, this might not be a dealbreaker.
6. Integrations & Extensibility
Hubstaff supports over 30 integrations with tools like Trello, Slack, Asana, Jira, and GitHub. This makes it great for tech teams and project managers who want a tightly connected workflow.
The One Tracker, on the other hand, is currently more self-contained, with limited third-party integration support. However, its internal features (shifts, departments, screenshots, reports) reduce the need for external tools in many cases.
Use Cases: When to Choose What
Choose The One Tracker if:
- You need structured access control for admins, managers, and users.
- Your organization requires detailed attendance tracking and shift setup.
- You want a manual time approval workflow to ensure accurate reporting.
- Your focus is on internal productivity and accountability, not external payroll or GPS.
Choose Hubstaff if:
- You manage remote freelancers or field teams who need GPS tracking.
- You rely on automated payroll, invoices, or billing by the hour.
- You need tool integrations to link time tracking with project management.
- Your team prefers a leaner structure with minimal role separation.
The Conclusion
Both The One Tracker and Hubstaff offer powerful features but your best choice depends on your team structure and business needs.
Hubstaff
Hubstaff is ideal for freelancer-heavy teams, mobile workforces, or service providers who need GPS, billing, and payroll automation.
The One Tracker
The One Tracker excels in organizations with layered teams, needing accurate productivity data, screenshot visibility, attendance control, and structured oversight.
If you’re scaling a team and want smart tracking without micromanagement, The One Tracker offers the clarity and control you’ve been looking for.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Admins can toggle screenshot monitoring on/off.
- No keystroke logging or background audio recording.
- Employees receive transparent notifications when being monitored (configurable by admin).
- Cloud-based access
- Activity & idle time tracking
- Manual time request approvals (for payroll accuracy)
- Submit/approve time requests.
- Adjust idle vs. active hours.
- Sync corrections with payroll.
- Excel/CSV export for payroll processing
- API access for custom integrations (e.g., QuickBooks, ADP)
Note: Native payroll integrations are coming soon!
- Call centers (attendance tracking)
- Healthcare (compliance monitoring)
- Finance (secure productivity tracking)
- Remote-first companies (flexible time logging)
- End-to-end encryption (AES-256)
- GDPR-compliant data storage
- Role-based access control (RBAC)
- Super Admins → Full control
- Managers → Approve team time requests
- Employees → Submit adjustments
- 24/5 live chat
- Email support
- Onboarding demos for enterprise clients
- 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.