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Buddy Punch vs Homebase

Buddy Punch8.1/10

Homebase6.9/10

Scored in Time & Attendance Software

The short answer

Homebase prices by location, not by user: Essentials is $30 a month per location with unlimited employees, and Basic is free for one location and up to 10 employees. Buddy Punch charges a $19 monthly base plus $4.99 per user on its annual Starter plan.

By LeadChange Research TeamUpdated Based on 11 sources, most recently checked

Buddy Punch

Starting price
$19/mo + $4.99/employee/mo (billed annually)1
Best for
Small businesses with hourly staff across several sites who need GPS and photo punch controls

Choose Buddy Punch if

  • You need offline punches, punch rounding and a time card approval workflow.
  • You want webcam photos, IP locking or a face, PIN or QR kiosk to confirm who punched.
  • Your crews move between job sites and you track time by job.
  • You send hours to ADP, Paylocity, Workday or Rippling.

Buddy Punch plans and pricesBuddy Punch alternatives

Homebase

Starting price
$30/mo2
Best for
Restaurants, retail and service businesses with hourly staff

Choose Homebase if

  • You run one site with up to 10 staff and want the free Basic plan.
  • You have many staff per location: Essentials is $30 a month per location with unlimited employees.
  • You run a restaurant or shop: Homebase connects Square, Toast, Clover and Shopify.
  • You also want hiring, team messaging and tip management in one app.

What Homebase costsHomebase alternatives

LeadChange Score: editorial assessment based on public information.

Scorecard

Buddy Punch wins 2Homebase wins 21 tie

Buddy Punch vs Homebase by dimension
DimensionBuddy PunchHomebase
PricingHomebase Essentials is $30 per location a month, or $24 billed annually, with unlimited employees; Basic is free for one location and 10 employees. Buddy Punch Starter is a $19 base plus $4.99 per user a month billed annually.$19/mo + $4.99/employee/mo (Starter plan, annual)Published
CapabilitiesBuddy Punch documents all 11 items on our time clock checklist, including offline mode, punch rounding and time card approvals. Homebase documents 7, with location-based clock-in, photo capture on tablets and break waivers. Free administrator users, GPS punches and geofencing, Webcam photos on punches, IP address locking, Kiosk punch by PIN, QR code or facial recognition, Offline mode, Break compliance with automatic premium pay, Time card approval workflow, Overtime alerts, Punch rounding111 of 11 core capabilities7 of 11 core capabilities
IntegrationsBuddy Punch lists 20 integrations, most of them payroll. Homebase names point-of-sale systems such as Square, Toast and Clover, plus Gusto, ADP, Paychex and QuickBooks. 20316 documented (vendor says 20)14 documented
SecurityHomebase states SOC 2 Type 2 and offers SSO, two-factor sign-in and role-based access. Buddy Punch offers single sign-on through Google, Apple, Okta or OneLogin. Yes4None verifiedSOC 2
Fit and supportBoth are built for small businesses. Buddy Punch supports by chat and email; Homebase adds live chat and phone on paid plans. Small businesses5Small businessesSmall businesses

Buddy Punch or Homebase: what matters most to you?

We match on verified product facts for this need, never on who pays us.

Key differences

Where Buddy Punch and Homebase differ (5)
AttributeBuddy PunchHomebase
Pricing modelBase fee + per employee1Tiered plans2
Free plan12
Support channelsChat, email124/7 AI chat support and Help Center, Live support by chat and phone (paid plans)2
Founded2013520146
HeadquartersAppleton, Wisconsin, US1San Francisco, California, United States6
Show 7 attributes where they are the same
Where they are the same (7)
AttributeBuddy PunchHomebase
Price transparencyPublished1Published2
Free trial12
Contract termMonthly1Monthly2
Best forSmall businesses5Small businesses7
Mobile appsiOS, Android, ChromeOS82
Single sign-on39
Automatic tax filing810

Analysis by dimension

Pricing. Homebase Essentials is $30 per location a month, or $24 billed annually, with unlimited employees; Basic is free for one location and 10 employees. Buddy Punch Starter is a $19 base plus $4.99 per user a month billed annually.

Capabilities. Buddy Punch documents all 11 items on our time clock checklist, including offline mode, punch rounding and time card approvals. Homebase documents 7, with location-based clock-in, photo capture on tablets and break waivers.

Integrations. Buddy Punch lists 20 integrations, most of them payroll. Homebase names point-of-sale systems such as Square, Toast and Clover, plus Gusto, ADP, Paychex and QuickBooks.

Security. Homebase states SOC 2 Type 2 and offers SSO, two-factor sign-in and role-based access. Buddy Punch offers single sign-on through Google, Apple, Okta or OneLogin.

Fit and support. Both are built for small businesses. Buddy Punch supports by chat and email; Homebase adds live chat and phone on paid plans.

Neither one?

TCP Humanity

TCP Humanity has the highest LeadChange Score in Time & Attendance Software after excluding these two (8.3/10).

From $2.75/employee/mo (up to 250 employees, billed annually)11

TCP Humanity review

Frequently asked questions

Which is cheaper for one location, Buddy Punch or Homebase?

Homebase, once a site has more than a few staff. For 15 employees in one place, Homebase Essentials is $30 a month, or $24 billed annually. Buddy Punch Starter comes to $93.85 a month: the $19 base plus $4.99 each, billed annually.

How much does Homebase charge for payroll?

Homebase payroll is an add-on at $49 a month plus $6 per employee paid. Buddy Punch payroll is also an add-on, at $8 per user plus a $49 monthly base. For 15 employees, that is $139 a month with Homebase and $169 with Buddy Punch, before the time clock plan.

Does Buddy Punch track your location?

Only when staff punch, on plans that use it: Buddy Punch records GPS on punches and can set geofences. Real-time GPS tracking is an add-on at $2 per user a month, included in Advanced. Homebase uses location-based clock-in on its mobile time clock.

What is buddy punching, and how do the two apps stop it?

Buddy punching is when one employee clocks in for another. Buddy Punch checks punches with webcam photos, IP address locking and a kiosk that uses a PIN, a QR code or facial recognition. Homebase captures a photo at clock-in on tablets and point-of-sale devices.

Is Buddy Punch or Homebase more secure?

Homebase states a SOC 2 Type 2 report and encrypts data at rest with AES-256. We have no stored certification for Buddy Punch, which does not mean it has none; both offer single sign-on.

Who are Homebase’s main competitors?

Among the scheduling and time clock apps we review, we also compare Homebase with Connecteam, 7shifts, Sling, When I Work and QuickBooks Time. Against Buddy Punch, Homebase’s case is the flat price per location; Buddy Punch’s is the deeper time clock.

Do Buddy Punch and Homebase offer a free trial?

Yes, both list a free trial. Homebase also lists a free plan.

How this page was made

  • What it is built from

    36 verified facts, each checked against the vendor's own pages or another primary source, most recently on Nov 9, 2026.

  • Method

    Scored and compared with the LeadChange methodology, version 1.5. Read the methodology

  • Independent review

    Not reviewed yet by our independent reviewer. How we review

  • Hands-on testing

    We have not tested either product hands-on: this page uses public information only.

  • Who made it

    The LeadChange Research Team, following a written research process. No named expert has reviewed this page. About us

  • Independence and errors

    Who pays us never changes a score or a rank. If something here is wrong, tell us and we correct it publicly. Request a correction

Buddy Punch or Homebase? Your answer in 3 questions

Your team size, what matters most and your role: see which one fits more of your answers, from verified facts and list prices.

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Buddy Punch vs Homebase

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Sources

The 11 pages this page's facts come from. The date beside each is our last check of the facts taken from it (the oldest, when they differ). The numbers beside the figures above link here.

Quotes from the sources
  1. Buddy Punch buddypunch.com/pricing“Billed Annually (Save up to 18%) Starter Time tracking essentials for small teams and businesses. $4.99/user/mo” “Webcam Photos on Punches Verify identity with punch photos.”
  2. Homebase joinhomebase.com/pricing“Essentials Simplify the process of tracking and managing shifts. $30 / location / month unlimited employees” “Get started for free”
  3. Buddy Punch buddypunch.com/integrations“Connect Buddy Punch to your existing payroll provider, use our API to manage and edit your data at scale, or set up single sign-on.” “Set up single sign-on to enable employees to log into Buddy Punch using their credentials from Google, Apple, Okta, or OneLogin.”
  4. Homebase trust.joinhomebase.com“SOC 2 Type 2”
  5. Buddy Punch buddypunch.com/about-us“Buddy Punch builds easy to use and affordable workforce management software that helps small businesses track time, manage schedules, and run payroll without the headaches.” “2013 Established/Founded OR 10+ Years in Operation”
  6. Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homebase_(software_company)“Homebase was founded in 2014 by John Waldmann and Rushi Patel.” “Homebase is an American workforce management software company headquartered in San Francisco, California.”
  7. Homebase joinhomebase.com“Trusted by 150,000+ small businesses and their teams.”
  8. Buddy Punch buddypunch.com/features“We also have apps for iOS and Android phones/tablets and a ChromeOS app for Chromebooks.” “We’ll pay your employees with direct deposit, create pay stubs, deduct benefit costs, file taxes for you in all 50 U.S. states, and more.”
  9. Homebase joinhomebase.com/security“Two-factor authentication, SSO, password-less login, and RBAC”
  10. Homebase joinhomebase.com/payroll“Automated tax calculation, filing, and payment”
  11. TCP Software tcpsoftware.com/pricing“$2.75 per employee/mo billed annually”

What the LeadChange Score means

A 0–10 editorial assessment built only from verified facts, across six weighted dimensions: capabilities, pricing, integrations, security, fit and support, and data confidence.

Payments, commissions and lead fees are never inputs.