Workpuls Teramind ActivTrak Hubstaff DeskTime Time Doctor RescueTime Kickidler Veriato Work Examiner
OVERVIEW
Price $6/user/month $6/user/month $7.20/user/month $7/user/month $7/user/month $9.99/user/month $6/user/month $9.99/user/month $150/licence/year $60/licence (lifetime)
Free trial 7 days 7 days No 14 days 14 days 14 days 30 days 7 days Yes 30 days
Ease of use Very easy Difficult Very easy Easy Easy Very easy Very easy Very easy Very difficult Easy
TRACKING METHODS
Unlimited (tracker working 24/7)
Fixed (defined working hours)
Automatic (when computer is connected to a specified network)
Manual (start/stop)
Project based (track time only on projects)
GENERAL MONITORING FEATURES
Stealth mode
App and website usage
Real-time monitoring
Offline time tracking
Attendance
Activity levels
Keylogger
Geolocation
Remote desktop control
Website/activity blocking
SCREENSHOTS AND RECORDING
Screenshots
Screenshots on demand
Screen recording
PRODUCTIVITY FEATURES
Productivity trends
Websites and apps labeling
Category labeling
Productivity alerts
ADVANCED SECURITY FEATURES
User behavior analytics
Data loss prevention
Advanced file and web monitoring
REPORTING
Productivity reports
Team reports
Timelines
Email reports
Access management
PLATFORMS
Web
Mac desktop app
Windows desktop app
Linux desktop app
Mobile app iOS, Android iOS, Android iOS, Android iOS, Android iOS, Android Android
Browser extension Chrome Chrome Chrome
Other Citrix, VMware Chrome OS
OTHER
Support Phone, email, online Phone, email, online Phone, email, online Email, online Phone, email, online, in-person Online Phone, email, online Email, online, Viber, Whatsapp Phone, email, online, support ticket Phone, email, online
Knowledge base
Video tutorials
Integrations comming soon
API
Deployment cloud, on-premise cloud, on-premise, AWS, Azure cloud cloud cloud cloud cloud on-premise cloud, on-premise on-premise
Kronos Humanity Timeclockplus Tsheets Wheniwork Deputy Replicon Jibble EbilityTimeTracker OnTheClock BeeBole
OVERVIEW
Price(per month)Available upon requestFrom $2 per userAvailable upon requestFrom $6.40 per user+$16Free for up to 75 usersFrom $2.50 per userBasic plan:$30 for 5 users+$5 per additional userFrom $1.50 per employeeFrom $4 per user+$8From $2.20 per user$5.99 per user per month
Free trial30 days14 daysYes14 days14 days14 days30 days30 days,no credit card required
Ease of useDifficultEasyDifficultVery easyEasyEasyDifficultVery easyEasyEasyEasy
FEATURES
Timecard management
Scheduling
Shift Trading
Timesheets
Break time management
Real-time tracking
PTO Management
Payroll
Invoicing
Client billing
GPS tracking
Clock out reminders
Alerts
Manual time
PUNCH-IN METHODS
Web app
Mobile app
Time clock device
Time clock kiosk
Facial recognition
Fingerprint scanning
Geofencing
Group punch-in
REPORTING
Visual reports
Email reports
Time rounding
MANAGEMENT
Permissions
Manager approvals
Add time for others
Integrations
PLATFORMS
Web
Android app
iOS app
Mac desktop app
Windows desktop app
Linux desktop app
OTHER
SupportPhone and onlinePhone and onlinePhone,chat and onlinePhone and chatEmail and onlineChat and phonePhone,email,chat and onlinePhone and onlinePhone,email,chat and onlinePhone and onlineOnline chat and video support in English,French,and Spanish
Knowledge base
Video tutorials
Community forum
API
Workpuls Hubstaff Toggl TimeDoctor Harvest TimeCamp Timely Everhour Tick TMetric
OVERVIEW
Price (per month) $6 per user $5.83 per user $9 per user $9.99 per user $10.80 per user $5.25 per user $99 for 5 users $7 per user $19 for 10 projects $5 per user
Free trial 7 days 14 days 30 days 14 days 30 days Yes 14 days 14 days 30 days 30 days
Ease of use Very easy Difficult Difficult Very easy Easy Very easy Easy Difficult Very easy Difficult
TIME TRACKING METHODS
Manual
Start/stop buttons
Automatic time mapping
IN-DEPTH TASK AND PROJECT ANALYSIS
Screenshots
App and website usage
Activity levels coming soon
Real-time tracking
TASK AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Project adding
Project templates
Project status
Task assignment
Task priorities
Budgeting coming soon
Mark billable/non-billable hours
Payroll calculation
Invoicing
ALERTS
Idle time reminders
Deadline alerts coming soon
Budget alerts coming soon
REPORTING
Client login
Productivity analysis
Email reports coming soon
PLATFORMS
Web
Mac desktop app
Windows desktop app
Linux desktop app coming soon
iOS app Beta
Android app
Browser extension Chrome Chrome, Firefox Chrome Chrome Chrome, Firefox Chrome Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Edge
OTHER
Support Phone and online Email and online Email and online Online Online, email and phone Email, online and support ticket Email and chat Email and chat Email Chat
Knowledge base
Video tutorials
Integrations coming soon
API
On-premise hosting

Time tracking and employee monitoring software are rarely free and open source. If you are considering implementing one in your organization, depending on the size of your team and your requirements you might be able to use one of these open source employee tracking software. However, for larger teams, you’ll probably need to invest a bit.

In this article, we’ll take a deeper look into 15 free and open source employee monitoring software and open source employee time tracking. We’ll try to explain their features and what are some pros and cons of using them. Unfortunately, there are not so many open source monitoring tools out there, so the list consists mostly of free apps.


We did already talk about some of these in our review of the best 26 employee monitoring tools for 2022.

Here's our list of 14 free computer monitoring software options:

  • Homebase
  • ActivTrak
  • RescueTime
  • DeskTime
  • Paymo
  • TMetric
  • TimeCamp
  • Timeneye
  • Monitask
  • Kickidler
  • Veyon
  • Screenshot Monitor
  • SXR Software
  • PC Screen Watcher


Homebase

Homebase review
Source: joinhomebase.com

Homebase is one of the few free time tracking tool solutions that can support unlimited number of employees. It does have some paid packages, but we are here to talk about free and open source computer monitoring and time tracking tools.



With Homebase’s free package, you can track time as much as you want, with an unlimited number of users, projects and reports. Additionally, it has scheduling, payroll and even job posting and hiring features. Which is a pretty good deal for a free tool!


ActivTrak

activtrak review
Source: activtrak.com

ActivTrak, like Homebase, offers a freemium option of their software. However, it is only for up to 3 users, so if you’re a freelancer or have a small team this is a great solution.

Freemium version offers real-time reporting, website blocking, and scheduled monitoring, among other things. However, data exports and screenshots are limited. Additionally, the storage space for logs and screenshots is limited to 3 GB.


RescueTime

rescuetime review
Source: capterra.com/rescuetime

RescueTime offers a free RescueTime Lite version which helps you track the time spent on websites and apps, and set targets. It sends weekly email reports, but the report history is only available for the previous three months.


DeskTime

desktime screenshot
Source: Capterra.com/desktime

DeskTime has a Lite version, however only for one user. With it you can track time, app usage, and it also has a mobile app to help you track your phone activity.


Paymo

paymo time tracking review
Source: Paymo

Paymo is a tool with many options, including time and task tracking, invoicing, reporting and scheduling. It’s free version is ideal solution for freelancers and it includes simple to-do lists, kanban boards, time tracking, desktop and mobile apps tracking, reporting, up to 3 invoices, and  GB of storage.


Some of the more advanced features they have are more suitable for teams, and they include advanced reporting, file sharing, gantt charts, etc.

TMetric

tmetric review
Source: capterra.com/tmetric

TMetric’s free plan is limited to 5 users, it has options for time tracking, web app integration, and reporting. It also includes unlimited number of projects and clients. If you have a team up to 5 people, or you’re freelancing, you can probably get a lot out of an app like TMetric.


Besides a desktop app, the tool also has a web-based application and a browser extension which simplifies the whole process of time tracking.


TimeCamp

timecamp review
Source: timecamp.com

If you need to track time exclusively, and only for yourself - go with TimeCamp. Their free version only does that - tracks time for one user. You can also integrate it with Trello (among other apps), for better task time management.

Timeneye

timeneye review
Source: timeneye.com

Timeneye’s free plan is only for one user. However, it allows an unlimited number of projects and clients, while letting you link one integration and one calendar. Considering you’re a one man band, this is more than enough.


Some of their integrations include Google tools, GitLab, Asana, etc - everything you need to carefully manage your projects.


Monitask

monitask review
Source: youtube.com/monitask, screenshot

Monitask offers a pretty good deal for a freeware time tracking software. It includes tracking up to 3 employees so it’s great for the small teams. It can take up to 6 screenshots per hour, but it also reports on activity, and app usage.


Another useful feature are online timesheets, which you can use to calculate working hours of your workforce more efficiently.


Kickidler

kickidler review

Source: youtube.com/kickidler, screenshot

Kickidler offers many paid options, but most notably it offers a Freemium version of the product which is free forever if you’re only looking to track 6 employees.


This free computer monitoring software doesn't include video recording and playback options, but you can still track keys, work time, and monitor the computers in real-time.


One thing it also lacks it remote control of computers, but most tools don’t even have it in their paid version.

Veyon

veyon review
Source: veyon.io

Veyon is free web monitoring software. It’s main use is for classroom management, but it can easily be used in a work environment as well.


It allows you to take control over paired computers, so you can lock them, reboot, or shut them down. It doesn’t have more traditional features like time tracking, website and app usage, etc. But it does offer almost full remote control, and taking screenshots.


Additionally, you can share your own screen with everyone in a matter of seconds.


Screenshot Monitor

screenshot monitor review
Source: screenshotmonitor.com

Limited to 3 users, the free version of Screenshot Monitor offers time tracking, screenshot monitoring (3 screenshots per hour), and it can store those screenshots for 2 weeks only.


There’s no way to track activity, so if you’re looking for something more than time tracking and screenshots, you can take a look at some other tools which offer more in their free packages.

TrackingTime

trackingtime
Source: trackingtime.co

Simple project tracking software to manage everything in one place. Stay on top of your team's work, keep up with deadlines and ace all your projects. Get accurate timesheets, export them into invoices and reports, and share them with your clients. And create a timeline to plan your projects, displaying milestone tasks and assigning them to your team to promote ownership while keeping track of progress.

Avoid bottlenecks and see how everything falls into place with no extra effort. TrackingTime makes it easy to collaborate with your team.

SXR Software

SXR is a free computer monitoring software which has many different versions. They include versions for startups, processes, internet, activity, for mouse logging. Additionally, it also includes monitoring for files, USBs, screenshots, etc.


It seems interesting, but it’s not really practical to download 10 different apps in order to track 10 different things.

PC Screen Watcher

PC Screen Watcher is advertised as a child control tool, but it isn’t its only use. It can limit app usage based on custom setting, send keyloggers and active windows stats to a set email address.


Furthermore, it can automatically shut down if the computer is idle, and run back once the computer is started. It captures screenshots, and it is very easy to configure the restriction rules on it.

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