Time & Workforce
The Best Time & Attendance Software of 2026
Time and attendance software, from a simple time clock app to a full pay-rule engine, ranked from verified product data. Compare punch methods, buddy-punching controls, overtime rules and payroll sync instead of vendor claims. Every score traces back to a capability or price we checked on the vendor's own pages.
- products compared
- 18
- with a published score
- 11
- per employee per month
- $2–$13
- last updated
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LeadChange may earn a fee when you request pricing through our site or follow a sponsored link. Rankings never depend on whether a vendor pays us.
Our top picks
- Best overall
TCP Humanity
by TimeClock Plus, LLC (TCP Software)
Highest LeadChange Score here (8.3/10), with 9 of 11 core time and attendance capabilities verified.
From $2.75/employee/mo
- Best for small businesses
Highest score among products that list small businesses as a target segment, with pricing and fit weighted more.
From $19/mo + $4.99/employee/mo (Starter plan)
- Best for enterprises
Highest score among products that list enterprises as a target segment, with security and integrations weighted more.
From $5/user/mo
LeadChange Score: editorial assessment based on public information.
Time & Attendance Software ranked by LeadChange Score
Ranked by LeadChange Score from verified facts; products with too few verified facts are not scored yet and come last. Prices are list prices as published by each vendor.
Filter by verified facts
TCP Humanity
Best for Public-sector, education and healthcare employers needing scheduling plus time tracking
TCP Software offers TimeClock Plus for time and attendance and Humanity Schedule for scheduling, with public Humanity Schedule pricing from $2.75 per employee per month billed annually. SSO, compliance rules and labor budgeting start on the Professional plan.
- Pricing model
- Per employee
- SOC 2 Type II
- Yes
Buddy Punch
Best for Small businesses with hourly staff across several sites who need GPS and photo punch controls
Buddy Punch fits small businesses with hourly staff across job sites, stores or patients’ homes that want punch controls (GPS, geofences, photos, kiosks) and published prices. Plans run from a $19 monthly base plus $4.99 per user billed annually, and payroll is an add-on that files taxes in all 50 states.
- Pricing model
- Base fee + per employee
Deputy
Best for Shift-based teams in hospitality, retail and healthcare
Deputy suits shift-based businesses, from single locations to franchises and enterprises, that want scheduling, time clocking and labor-law compliance at published per-user prices: Lite starts at $5 per user a month on annual billing.
- Pricing model
- Per user
- SOC 2 Type II
- Yes
Connecteam
Best for Shift-based and field teams that clock in by GPS, geofence, NFC tag or kiosk
Connecteam fits shift-based and deskless teams that want a GPS time clock, scheduling, team chat and basic HR in one mobile app. Teams of up to 10 users get every hub free, and paid hubs start at $29 a month for the first 30 users on yearly billing.
- Pricing model
- Base fee + per employee
- SOC 2 Type II
- Yes
Sling
Best for Shift-based teams in restaurants, retail, hospitality and caregiving
Sling fits shift-based teams in restaurants, retail, hospitality and care that want scheduling and messaging free for up to 30 users, and time tracking and labor cost tools for a low per-user price: Premium is $2.00 and Business $4.00 per user a month, 15% less billed annually.
- Pricing model
- Per user
Homebase
Best for Restaurants, retail and service businesses with hourly staff
Homebase suits small businesses with hourly teams, such as restaurants, retail and services, that want scheduling, a time clock, team chat and optional payroll in one app. Basic is free for one location and up to 10 employees; Essentials, Plus and All-in-One cost $30, $70 and $120 per location a month.
- Pricing model
- Tiered plans
- SOC 2 Type II
- Yes
QuickBooks Payroll
Best for QuickBooks Online users who want payroll in the same Intuit account
QuickBooks Payroll suits small and midsize businesses that keep their books in QuickBooks Online and want payroll and tax filing in the same place.
- Pricing model
- Base fee + per employee
- SOC 2 Type II
- Yes
ClockShark
Best for Construction and trade crews that track hours by job, task and site with GPS
ClockShark fits construction, trade and field service companies that need GPS-verified hours tracked by job and a simple crew schedule. Standard costs $42 a month plus $9.50 per user and Pro $63 plus $11.50 per user.
- Pricing model
- Base fee + per employee
Show all 18 products
- Workforce.com5.9/10 · Medium confidenceWorkforce.com pricing
- Paycor4.2/10 · Medium confidencePaycor pricing
- Netchex3.1/10 · Medium confidenceWhat Netchex costs
- ADP Workforce NowNot scored yet (14 of 25 facts verified)ADP Workforce Now pricing
- PaycomNot scored yet (14 of 25 facts verified)Paycom pricing
- When I WorkNot scored yet (14 of 25 facts verified)From $2.50/user/moWhen I Work pricing
- 7shiftsNot scored yet (12 of 25 facts verified)7shifts plans and prices
- QuickBooks TimeNot scored yet (12 of 25 facts verified)From $20/mo + $10/employee/mo (Time Premium plan)What QuickBooks Time costs
- ZoomShiftNot scored yet (11 of 25 facts verified)From $2/user/moZoomShift plans and prices
- SurePayrollNot scored yet (10 of 25 facts verified)What SurePayroll costs
LeadChange Score: editorial assessment based on public information.
Find your fit
By industry
By company size
By price
Compare the top 8 side by side
| Product | Score | Starting price per employee | Starting base fee | Pricing model | Free trial | Open API | SOC 2 Type II | Mobile apps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.3 | $2.75/employee/mo | Not verified | Per employee | iOS, Android | |||
 | 8.1 | $4.99/employee/mo | $19/mo | Base fee + per employee | Not verified | iOS, Android, ChromeOS | ||
 | 8.0 | $5/user/mo | Not verified | Per user | iOS, Android | |||
 | 7.5 | Not verified | Not verified | Base fee + per employee | iOS (Connecteam), Android (Connecteam), Kiosk app for shared tablets | |||
 | 7.0 | $2/user/mo | $0/mo | Per user | Not verified | iOS, Android | ||
| 6.9 | Not verified | Not verified | Tiered plans | Not verified | |||
 | 6.9 | $13/employee/mo | $88/mo | Base fee + per employee | iOS (QuickBooks Workforce), Android (QuickBooks Workforce) | |||
 | 6.0 | $9.50/employee/mo | $42/mo | Base fee + per employee | Not verified | Not verified | ClockShark iOS app, ClockShark Android app, ClockShark Kiosk app |
Pricing at a glance
Monthly list cost from each vendor’s published base and per-employee prices, before discounts.
10 employees
$20–$218/mo
Median $50/mo
Published list prices of 9 products at 10 employees
50 employees
$100–$738/mo
Median $250/mo
Published list prices of 9 products at 50 employees
200 employees
$400–$2,688/mo
Median $1,000/mo
Published list prices of 9 products at 200 employees
How the 5 pricing models work
- Per user per month
- A monthly fee for each person who clocks in, with no base fee. Deputy, Sling, When I Work and ZoomShift publish prices this way, so the bill grows in step with your team.
- Base fee + per employee6 of 18 products
- A monthly platform fee plus a fee per employee, as Buddy Punch, ClockShark and QuickBooks Time publish. The base fee weighs most on small teams.
- Tiered plans2 of 18 products
- Plans that unlock features such as geofencing, job costing or overtime alerts at higher tiers. Match the tier to the rules you actually need.
- Hardware plus subscription
- Wall clocks or kiosks bought or leased on top of the software. Ask about support and replacement before you buy.
- Custom quote5 of 18 products
- Larger suites such as ADP Workforce Now, Paycom and Paycor quote time tracking with their payroll and HR modules.
How to choose time & attendance software
6 criteria · Requirements by company size · 6 red flags
Time data feeds pay, so rule accuracy and the payroll connection matter most. Choose for how well the system encodes your pay rules and how little re-keying remains.
Test with a real week of punches that includes a missed punch, a manager edit and an overtime case, then compare results to your payroll register.
Overtime and workweek rules
Federal overtime is owed above 40 hours in a fixed workweek, and hours cannot be averaged across weeks. State and local rules may add daily overtime or other premiums.
Rounding and grace period settings
Federal rules accept rounding to the nearest 5 minutes, tenth or quarter hour only if it does not, over time, underpay employees for time actually worked. Early clock-ins are a related setting: voluntary early arrival with no work need not be paid, but any work must be.
Break and meal rules
Under federal rules, rest breaks of 20 minutes or less are usually paid, while bona fide meal periods of 30 minutes or more generally are not. Federal law does not require breaks, but many states do and add premiums.
Punch methods and buddy-punching controls
Buddy punching (one employee clocking in for another) and off-site clock-ins distort hours and cost. Photo capture, geofencing and biometrics each stop a different kind of misuse.
Geofencing versus GPS tracking
Geofencing checks location only at the moment of a punch, while continuous GPS tracking follows employees during the shift. They differ in privacy impact and battery use.
Edit trail and approvals
Records must be complete and accurate, and open to inspection. An edit log protects you in a wage dispute.
Requirements by company size
Small businesses
- Mobile and web punching at a low per-user price
- Overtime calculation and timecard approval
- Direct payroll export or integration
Watch out for
- Minimum user counts or monthly base fees
- Features such as geofencing or job costing gated behind higher tiers
- Clocks or hardware sold separately
Mid-sized companies
- Configurable rules by location, group and union
- Manager approval workflows and exception alerts
- Native connections to payroll and scheduling
Watch out for
- Rule changes that require vendor professional services
- Per-module licensing that raises cost as needs grow
- Weak reporting on labor cost by department
Enterprises
- Complex pay rule engines across jurisdictions and agreements
- Hardware options, device management and high availability
- Audit and compliance reporting for each legal entity
Watch out for
- Long implementations tied to rule design
- Hardware refresh and support contracts
- Customizations that block upgrades
Red flags
- Rounding cannot be configured or audited.
- Manager edits are not logged by user and reason.
- The vendor cannot explain how the product handles a missed meal period in your state.
- Biometric collection is offered without consent workflows or retention controls.
- Payroll integration is described as available but requires a manual file upload each cycle.
- Geofencing is promised, but the app only reminds staff to clock in and does not block or flag punches outside the zone.
Popular comparisons
Popular alternatives
Integrations for time & attendance software
Apps with documented integrations across the products ranked on this page.
Most integrated apps
- QuickBooks Online
- Gusto
- Paychex
- Square
- Lightspeed
- Zapier
- ADP Workforce Now
- Toast
Related subcategories
- Employee Scheduling Software
Shift schedules, availability, swaps and coverage for hourly teams.
14 products ranked
- Workforce Management Software
Suites that plan, schedule, track and pay hourly and frontline labor.
16 products ranked
- Payroll Software
Software that calculates pay, withholds and files payroll taxes and pays employees.
22 products ranked
- HCM Software
All-in-one suites that run HR, payroll, talent and workforce data on one platform.
14 products ranked
- HRIS Software
Systems of record for employee data, self-service, time off and HR workflows.
25 products ranked
- Applicant Tracking Systems
Job posting, candidate pipelines, interviews and offers in one hiring system.
15 products ranked
- PTO & Leave Management
Time-off requests, accruals, approvals and leave balances.
4 products ranked
- Project Time Tracking & Timesheets
Track billable hours by client and project, approve timesheets and invoice from time.
Learn
From the leadership library
- Minimum Wage by State
Employers pay the higher of the state and federal rates, and many states raise theirs every year.
Glossary
Frequently asked questions
What is time and attendance software?
Time and attendance software records employee work hours, applies pay rules such as overtime and rounding, and sends approved time to payroll. Employees punch in through clocks, mobile apps or computers. It replaces paper timesheets with a searchable record of hours worked.
What is the best time clock app for employees?
The best time clock app is the one that matches how your staff work: mobile punching with geofencing for crews, a kiosk with photo capture for a shared site, or web punching for office staff. Our ranking scores each product from capabilities and prices we verified on vendor pages, so filter by team size and check which punch methods each one documents.
Do I have to keep time records for employees?
Yes for covered employers. Federal rules require preserving time cards and wage computation records for two years, and payroll records for three. Records must be open to Department of Labor inspection. No particular form is required, but they must be complete and accurate.
Can I round employee time punches?
Federal rules allow rounding to the nearest five minutes, one-tenth of an hour or quarter hour, as long as it does not result over time in failure to pay employees for all the time they worked. Check state rules and test rounded versus actual time regularly.
Are employee breaks paid?
Under federal law, short breaks of about 5 to 20 minutes are paid work time, while meal periods of 30 minutes or more are generally unpaid. Federal law does not require breaks, but state laws may. Configure break rules in your software to match your state.
What is the difference between time tracking and time and attendance?
Time tracking records hours, often for projects or billing. Time and attendance also applies pay rules, approvals and attendance policies so hours can feed payroll accurately. If you pay hourly employees, you usually need the second, with rules for overtime, breaks and rounding.
Is time and attendance software worth it?
It is worth it when manual timesheets cause pay errors, overtime disputes or payroll re-keying. It is harder to justify for a few salaried employees with no overtime. Estimate the hours spent correcting time data today and compare that to the software cost.
What is buddy punching and how do time clocks prevent it?
Buddy punching is when one employee clocks in or out for another. Time clock apps reduce it with a photo taken at each punch, PIN or biometric checks on a kiosk, and geofencing that limits punches to the work site. Ask the vendor whether a failed check blocks the punch or only flags it for a manager.
Do I need employee consent for a biometric time clock?
In some states, yes. Illinois law requires an employer to tell employees in writing that biometric data is collected, why and for how long, and to get a written release before collecting it. Other states have their own rules, so check the law where you operate and ask the vendor how consent and deletion work.
Do I have to pay employees who clock in early?
Not if they arrive early by choice and do no work, according to federal rules on time clocks. If they start working, that time must be paid, even if no one asked them to work. Many time clock apps let you block early clock-ins or flag them for review.
What is the best time & attendance software?
TCP Humanity has the highest LeadChange Score of the 18 products in our ranking, 8.3 out of 10, ahead of Buddy Punch (8.1) and Deputy (8.0). TCP Humanity's score rests on 19 of 25 checks verified from public sources. 7 more products are listed without a score until enough of their data is public.
Which time & attendance platforms in our ranking integrate with Gusto?
Gusto, listed by 7 of the 18 time & attendance platforms in our ranking: 7shifts, Buddy Punch, ClockShark, Connecteam, Deputy, and 2 more.
How we research
Ranked by the LeadChange Score, computed only from verified facts: capability coverage (30%), pricing and value (20%), integrations and API (15%), security (15%), fit and support (10%) and data confidence (10%), times a category fit. Products with too few verified facts are not scored yet and come last. Payment never changes a score or a position.
Facts, not impressions · Missing data is never assumed · Independent of revenue
Facts, not impressions
Every input is a fact verified against vendors’ official documentation, with the date we last checked it.
Missing data is never assumed
Unverified items are left out of the score and lower its coverage; below 60% coverage a product is not scored yet.
Independent of revenue
Rankings never depend on whether a vendor pays us.
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