Project and task management decision
Hubstaff
A competent developer can build a narrow self-hosted time-tracker and basic reports, but matching Hubstaff’s full product (native apps, global payroll integrations, polished scale, and certified compliance) is costly and operationally heavy.
Visit website↗$7/mo
$84/yr
Not verified against a pricing page.
$100one-off80 h to build
$0/mo10 h/mo upkeep
On cash alone, building overtakes the subscription at 2 seats.
Open-source builds that already do this
Every project below is open source and already does this job today. Fork one, self-host it, or take the parts you need - the build prompt further down assumes an empty file, and this is the shortcut past that. Licences differ; check the one on each card before you ship. All Hubstaff alternatives, with the arithmetic →
What a replacement has to do
- A minimal replacement must let users start/stop timers, record time entries against projects/tasks, generate basic timesheets/reports, and store those records for payroll or invoicing.
What it still won’t have
- Native desktop and mobile apps across Windows/macOS/Linux/Android/iOS
- Enterprise-grade global payments / payroll integrations (Wise, PayPal, Deel, etc.)
- 35+ built-in third-party integrations and their ongoing maintenance
- Compliance certifications out of the box (HIPAA, SOC 2)
- Polished UX, scalability, and fraud/unusual-activity detection at Hubstaff scale
What remains hard
- Compliance and regulation
Hubstaff is compliant with HIPAA and SOC 2 standards, with secure storage and role-based access controls to help teams operate securely.
First-year cost
Keep paying
Paying is—cheaper in year one.
On cash alone, building overtakes the subscription at 2 seats.
Money you would actually spend
Time you would spend
—
What you would spend
What we assumed
The verdict above measures whether you could build it. This one is only about money.
Runnable build prompt
Build a minimal self-hosted time-tracking web app using React + TypeScript front-end, Node.js + Express backend, and Postgres. Scope: (1) user accounts and teams, (2) start/stop timer UI tied to projects/tasks, (3) backend API and DB schema for time entries, (4) browser extension (or web background script) to detect idle time and capture active tab/app URLs, (5) generate downloadable timesheets (CSV/PDF) and a simple dashboard of hours per project, (6) optional screenshot capture endpoint that stores images to S3 with role-based access. Out of scope: native desktop/mobile clients, payroll provider integrations, enterprise compliance certifications. Require: authentication, input validation, retries for failed uploads, ACLs for team data, automated tests (unit + one end-to-end), and error monitoring (Sentry). Provide Docker Compose for local dev and deploy instructions for a small cloud VM + managed Postgres + S3.
How we checked
How the score was reached
- Partly verdict base52
- An open-source build was found+5
- 5 cited sources+3
- 3/3 assessment runs agreed+4
- Hard moats found in the evidence-3
- Evidence score61
The base comes from the verdict. Everything under it is a check that either happened or did not, and each one is a fact frozen in this record rather than a judgement made at render time - so the same evidence always produces the same number.
How scoring works →Cited sources · 5
Every page the run actually retrieved.
- official productHubstaff homepage
- official docsHubstaff features
- official pricingHubstaff pricing
- open sourcekimai/kimai
- open sourceActivityWatch/activitywatch
Integrity checks
What held up, and what did not.
