Best Attendance Software for Remote and Hybrid Teams (2026)

A closer look at the leading attendance tools for distributed teams, showing how each platform handles hours, availability, accountability, and daily operations.

By late 2025, most roles were remote or hybrid, with 28% fully remote and 44% mixing home and office. In the U.S. alone, 22.8% worked remotely part-time, turning workforce tracking into a day-to-day operational issue rather than a simple HR function.

This caused many organizations to adopt digital attendance and time-tracking software, with 96% of companies relying on these tools to manage distributed work. Some even utilized them to ensure payroll accuracy and maintain compliance.

With attendance now part of daily operations, this guide focuses on the best tools in 2026. It focuses on the systems that fit Jira-, Asana-, and Notion-driven teams while keeping remote attendance reliable in the background. 

Our top picks

Here’s a quick look at the tools that consistently perform well for distributed teams, each solving the attendance challenge in a different way:

• TMetric – A solid fit for agencies and software teams that want one system to handle attendance, project time, and billing without jumping between tools.
• Toggl Track – A good option for async teams that just need a clean, easy way to log time without layers of admin.
• Hubstaff – Often chosen by hybrid or field teams that rely on GPS checks or need clear visibility when work happens on-site.
• Harvest – Works well for consulting and client-service teams that tie their time directly to billable tasks and fast invoicing.
• ActivTrak – A better fit for organizations that want activity insights and passive visibility rather than traditional clock-ins.

Each tool approaches the problem from a different angle, and the differences become clearer in the breakdowns that follow.

Comparison table

Tool	Lowest paid plan (per user/month)*	Free plan limitations	Ratings (G2 / Capterra)	Agency Fit Score	SoftDev Fit Score
TMetric	From $5/user/month (approx., annual discounts available)	Free for up to 2 users with core time tracking and basic reports	~4.6 / 4.5	4.8/5	4.7/5
Toggl Track	$9/user/month (Starter)	Free for up to 5 users, limited to core time tracking	~4.6 / 4.7	4/5	3.5/5
Hubstaff	Around $7/user/month (Starter)	No true forever-free plan for teams; time-limited trial	~4.5 / 4.6	4/5	4/5
Harvest	$11/user/month (Pro)	Free for 1 seat and 2 projects	~4.3 / 4.6	4.5/5	3.5/5
ActivTrak	From $10/user/month (Essentials)	Free for up to 3 users with limited analytics	~4.5 / 4.6	3.5/5	3.5/5

Pricing is approximate, based on published public pricing, and may vary by billing cycle and region.

The numbers don't lie

Across mainstream tools, entry-level paid plans for remote-ready time and attendance software usually fall between $5 and $8 per user per month. If you average them out, you land close to $6.20/user/month.

Patterns worth noting:

Tools built for agencies, especially those that handle billing and detailed project workflows, like TMetric or Harvest, usually fall toward the higher end of the price range. That’s mostly because they replace several tools, not just a basic timer.

Platforms that lean into analytics or monitoring, such as ActivTrak, also start a bit higher, but the additional visibility they provide can outweigh the per-seat cost.

When comparing pricing, focus on whether the cost aligns with the level of tracking, compliance, and integration your team actually needs.

1. TMetric

Best for:  Agencies & software teams

Price:

• Free for up to 2 users.
• Paid plans from roughly $5/user/month for Professional and $7/user/month for Business.

Available on: Web, browser extensions, desktop apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, and mobile apps for iOS and Android.

Why TMetric

TMetric is one of the few tools that bring time tracking, remote employee attendance, and time off into one product. You get one system for:

• Working hours and overtime.
• Breaks and absences.
• Holidays and vacation balances.

For agencies and software teams, this is powerful. A developer can start work from a desktop app, jump across tasks in Jira or Trello, log breaks, and request time off, all with the same account. Managers see real-time timesheet data plus attendance metrics—who worked when, on what, and for which client.

This is where TMetric stands out as a remote attendance system. Attendance is not an isolated record. It’s directly tied to tasks, projects, and billable work. That makes it ideal for time and attendance for remote employees who split their time between clients, internal work, and support.

TMetric also supports a practical clock-in clock-out system style of work. The desktop app can start tracking when the day begins and stop when the day ends. Mobile apps cover work from home as well as occasional site visits or travel days. It fits both flexible schedules and more classic shift patterns.

Overall, if you want an all-rounder that combines attendance, productivity time tracking, and billing in a way that feels natural to digital teams, TMetric is the clear #1.

Key features

Here are the capabilities that you may find:

• Integrated attendance & time tracking: Connects presence, absences, and late starts directly to real project work for accurate operational visibility.
• Time-off management: Centralizes leave types, balances, and approvals in one clear, accessible view.
• Multi-platform apps: Supports consistent attendance tracking across desktop, web, mobile, and browser extensions for remote and hybrid teams.
• Project & billing workflows: Separates billable and non-billable time while keeping budgets and invoicing aligned with delivery.
• Rich reporting: Provides reliable daily and weekly reports for payroll accuracy, audit readiness, and client billing.

Integrations

TMetric connects with more than 50 apps, including Jira, Asana, Trello, Notion, GitHub, GitLab, and QuickBooks. Timers can be started directly from the tools your team works in every day, while TMetric gathers the time data in one place.

Pros

• True “one pane of glass” for remote attendance solutions, time off, and billing.
• Strong fit for agencies and software teams that bill by the hour or run retainer work.
• Detailed reporting that makes audits, payroll, and client reviews easier.
• Well-rounded support for both office-based and remote-first setups.

Cons

• No biometric or photo-based clock-in; you rely on device identity and user accounts.
• Shift scheduling isn’t as deep as dedicated workforce management tools.
• Best suited to knowledge work; not designed for highly regulated factory-floor environments.

Ratings & user quote

• Agency fit score: 4.8/5
• SoftDev fit score: 4.7/5
• Price to value: 4.5/5
• G2 rating: 4.6 
• Capterra rating: 4.5

“Overall, I've enjoyed using TMetric; it far outperforms any other system I've used in the past, and I'll definitely be sticking with it for the long haul.” (Capterra)

2. Toggl Track 

Best for: Lightweight attendance for async teams

Price:

• Free for up to 5 users.
• Paid plans from $9/user/month (Starter, monthly billing).

Available on: Web, desktop apps for macOS and Windows, mobile apps for iOS and Android, plus browser extensions.

Why Toggl Track

Toggl Track is built for simplicity. It excels in async environments where people choose their own hours, and you mainly need reliable hours and project breakdowns—not heavy scheduling or strict policy enforcement.

Team members start and stop timers from whichever device they prefer. The result is a clean, centralized view of where time goes: per client, per project, and per task. For many “remote-first” teams, this is enough to cover day-to-day remote employee attendance, especially when combined with a clear policy on expected weekly hours.

Toggl Track isn’t trying to be a full HR system. It’s a fast, low-friction way to answer, “Who worked what hours, on what, and when?”

Key features

• Simple timers and manual entry for different tasks and projects.
• Automatic tracking options for apps and websites, if you enable them.
• Powerful reports and dashboards for team utilization and project performance.
• Client and project management features for basic budgeting and billing.

Integrations

Toggl Track connects to many popular tools: Asana, Trello, Jira, Notion, GitHub, and more. If your team already manages work in these tools, Toggl Track adds light attendance and time tracking on top without disrupting workflows.

Pros

• Very quick to roll out and easy for people to adopt.
• Generous free plan that works well for smaller teams.
• Great fit for async, high-trust environments and creative teams.

Cons

• No shift or PTO features, attendance comes from logged time.
• No GPS or geofencing, so not ideal for field-based roles.
• If you need tight policy enforcement around attendance, you’ll need extra tooling.

Ratings & user quote

• Agency fit score: 4/5
• SoftDev fit score: 3.5/5
• Price to value: 4/5
• G2 rating: 4.6 
• Capterra rating: 4.7

“Mainly positive. I've used it to track time as both a full-time employee and a contractor. I've never had a major issue.” (Capterra)

3. Hubstaff 

Best for: Hybrid teams with GPS & field work.

Price:

• Paid plans usually start around $7/user/month (Starter, annual).
• Free trial available; long-term free plans for teams are limited.

Available on: Web, desktop apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, mobile apps for iOS and Android, and browser extensions.

Why Hubstaff

Hubstaff is built for teams that do more than sit behind a laptop. It’s a strong choice when people:

• Work from home part of the week.
• Spend days on client sites, warehouses, or job locations.
• Need clear records of where and when work happened.

Hubstaff combines time tracking with GPS time tracking, geofencing, scheduling, and online timesheet management. If someone enters a geofenced job site, Hubstaff can start tracking automatically. If they leave, it stops. That gives you very clear remote attendance tracking for hybrid and on-site work.

For agencies with a field component, implementation teams, or service providers who need to prove on-site presence, Hubstaff covers the gaps that most simple trackers can’t.

Key features

• GPS and geofencing for accurate location-based attendance.
• Shift scheduling and attendance alerts for late, missed, or incomplete shifts.
• Online timesheets and payroll based on tracked time and pay rates.
• Optional activity data and screenshots for proof-of-work, when appropriate.

Integrations

Hubstaff integrates with tools like Asana, Trello, Jira, QuickBooks, and others. You can keep your project management where it is and use Hubstaff as the dedicated layer for remote attendance solutions, location tracking, and scheduling.

Pros

• Excellent fit for hybrid teams that split time between remote and on-site work.
• Strong capabilities for shift-based remote attendance system setups.
• Combined time, location, and scheduling data in one product.

Cons

• Monitoring features can feel heavy if you don’t need them.
• Costs can add up as you scale and unlock higher tiers.
• Reporting is stronger on operations than on deep financial analytics.

Ratings & user quote

• Agency fit score: 4/5
• SoftDev fit score: 4/5
• Price to value: 4/5
• G2 rating: 4.5 
• Capterra rating: 4.6

“I used it for a couple of projects; it has its pros and its cons, but all my hours were tracked properly, and I didn’t have any issues with the software” (Capterra)

4. Harvest 

Best for: Remote consulting & client-facing teams

Price:

• Free plan for 1 user and 2 projects.
• Paid plans from $11/user/month (Pro) and $14/user/month (Premium).

Available on: Web, desktop apps for macOS and Windows, mobile apps for iOS and Android, plus browser extensions.

Why Harvest

Harvest is built for teams whose “attendance” is really about billable time. It fits agencies, consultancies, and professional services that need to turn work hours into invoices with minimal friction.

Employees track time against clients and projects. Harvest then takes that data and powers budget tracking, invoice generation, and revenue reports. For many teams, this is a practical way to manage remote employee attendance while staying close to the financial impact of that time.

If your main concern is “Are we logging hours correctly and invoicing accurately?” Harvest is a very strong option.

Key features

• Simple time capture with timers and manual entry across devices.
• Invoices and online payments based on tracked hours and expenses.
• Budget and project tracking to monitor retainers and fixed-fee work.
• Strong reporting on billable utilization and project performance.

Integrations

Harvest connects with Asana, Trello, Basecamp, Jira, Slack, QuickBooks, Xero, and more. It fits neatly into existing project stacks and gives finance and operations teams a shared view of hours and revenue.

Pros

• Designed specifically for client service and consulting models.
• Attendance and work hours flow directly into billing and revenue.
• User-friendly apps; easy for non-technical staff to adopt.

Cons

• Less useful for strict shift or policy-based attendance.
• No GPS or advanced scheduling; not ideal for field-heavy teams.
• Pricing sits above some budget tools at scale.

Scores

• Agency fit score: 4.5/5
• SoftDev fit score: 3.5/5
• Price to value: 4/5
• G2 rating: 4.3
• Capterra rating: 4.6

“Harvest has benefitted our business since inception. I tested all the tools, and this is the one we use and recommend to everyone we know with an SMB.” (Capterra)

5. ActivTrak

Best for: Passive, analytics-first attendance.

Price:

• Free for up to 3 users with limited analytics.
• Paid plans from around $10/user/month (Essentials, annual).

Available on: Agents for Windows and macOS, with support for browser-based or ChromeOS scenarios in some plans.

Why ActivTrak

ActivTrak is different from the classic timer-based tools. It’s an analytics and monitoring platform first. It passively measures app usage, websites, and active vs idle time to show how work really happens.

For managers of large remote or hybrid organizations, this reveals:

• Schedule adherence.
• Focus vs meeting time.
• Early signs of burnout or under-utilization.

It gives you a passive view of remote employee attendance based on actual activity, without asking people to clock in manually. That makes it a good fit for organizations that need a high-level view of workforce behavior, not just hours.

Key features

• Automatic activity capture with minimal interaction from employees.
• Productivity and behavior analytics with dashboards and trends.
• Policy and schedule adherence views that highlight risks early.

Integrations

ActivTrak integrates with tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and BI platforms. Data can also be exported for deeper analysis. It’s often used alongside a separate time tracker, especially in larger enterprises.

Pros

• Passive data collection reduces reliance on manual check-ins.
• Excellent for spotting productivity trends and workload issues.
• Helps leadership see whether policies for flexible work are actually working.

Cons

• Not a traditional clock-in in clock-out system; you may still need another tool for billing or legal attendance.
• Monitoring may feel intrusive if communication and policies aren’t clear.
• Limited mobile support compared to full-time trackers.

Scores

• Agency fit score: 3.5/5
• SoftDev fit score: 3.5/5
• Price to value: 3.5/5
• G2 rating: 4.3
• Capterra rating: 4.6

“Our experience with ActivTrak has been positive. It meets our needs to measure productivity of our teams in the office and working remotely.” (Capterra).

Other remote & hybrid attendance tracking options

If the top five tools don’t align perfectly with your operating model, the following platforms are credible alternatives, each with a clear use-case focus:

• Clockify: A cost-effective time tracking and attendance tool with kiosk mode and basic scheduling, often used by teams that want a free first entry point into structured attendance.
• Connecteam: Built for frontline and deskless teams, with strong GPS-based mobile attendance tracking and shift management.
• Deel: Best suited for globally distributed teams that need attendance aligned with international payroll, compliance, and contractor management.
• Rippling: An all-in-one HR, IT, and payroll system with integrated time and attendance, designed for companies scaling across functions and regions.
• When I Work: A shift-first scheduling and clock-in/out platform mainly used by hourly, retail, hospitality, and frontline teams.
• ClickUp: A project management system with built-in time tracking, suitable for teams that want lightweight attendance inside their core work hub.
• Time Doctor: A monitoring-heavy time tracking platform widely used by BPOs and outsourcing providers that require proof-of-work and behavioral visibility.

How to Pick the Right Attendance Software for Remote & Hybrid Teams

Start with what matters most: accuracy and accountability.

Before exploring advanced features, get clear on the essentials every distributed team requires—reliable attendance tracking and precise time recording. Any tool that struggles with these basics will create gaps in visibility as your workforce spreads across locations.

Choose platforms that streamline collaboration and oversight.

Look for software that connects effortlessly with your HR systems, payroll tools, communication apps, and project platforms. Automatic syncing reduces manual work and keeps attendance data consistent across your entire workflow.

Test each tool in a real work environment.

Before you commit, run a full attendance cycle during the free trial: track shifts, approve timesheets, export records to payroll, and check the reporting. If the tool feels slow or rigid during this test, it won’t improve when your team grows or operates across multiple time zones.

Follow these steps, and you’ll choose an attendance platform that strengthens clarity, reduces admin time, and supports smooth operations for remote and hybrid teams in 2026.

The Takeaway

Remote and hybrid work have now settled in as the default for many teams, and the old ways of tracking who worked when simply don’t hold up anymore. That’s where purpose-built tools matter.

TMetric rises to the top because it gives agencies and software teams one place to manage attendance, time off, timesheets, and billing—without stitching together multiple systems. Toggl Track and Harvest are reliable options for teams that mainly need clean time data and invoicing. Hubstaff and ActivTrak step in when location tracking or deeper analytics are part of the job.

Taken together, these tools offer a solid range of remote attendance solutions for different cultures, industries, and risk profiles. However, the right platform, however, depends on how your team actually works.