Apploye vs HiveDesk (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Apploye if

• Fits if you manage remote staff and want screenshots with app and URL tracking
• Works for agencies that bill clients and pay contractors from tracked hours

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if you're staying free, with 3 projects, 3 clients, 1 screenshot an hour and one month of history
• Pricey if you pay month by month, at $7 a user against $4.50 on annual billing
• Watch out: screen recording is $4 a user, the stealth app $2, and API access $1 more on Elite
• Skip it if you need Slack, QuickBooks, PayPal or Zapier hooked up today, as they're marked coming soon
• Not for you if you need SSO or account provisioning, which sit on Enterprise with no published price

Pick HiveDesk if

• Fits if you manage remote staff and want screenshots and activity levels
• Works for agencies that invoice from tracked hours

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you use Android, as only an iPhone app is listed
• Tight if you want screenshots on a phone, which work only in the desktop app
• Not for you if you need many integrations, since only Asana is listed
• Watch out: the annual per-user price isn't shown

Apploye

• The free Starter plan stops at 10 users, 3 projects and 3 clients, with 1 screenshot an hour and no integrations or custom reports.
• Screen recording ($4), the stealth app ($2) and, on Elite, API access ($1) are add-ons priced per user a month.
• The integrations page marks Slack, QuickBooks, PayPal and Zapier as coming soon.
• SSO, account provisioning and payment by ACH are limited to the custom-priced Enterprise plan.

HiveDesk

• Screenshots work only in the desktop app on Windows, Mac and Linux, not on the iPhone app.
• The mobile app is listed for iPhone only; no Android app is mentioned on the pricing page.
• The integrations page lists only Asana, with API access requested by contacting the vendor.
• The 20% annual saving is shown on a toggle, but the annual per-user price is not displayed.

Apploye

Timers on desktop, mobile and browser

Time is tracked against projects and tasks from the desktop app, the mobile app or a Chrome extension, with idle time detection, a Pomodoro timer, offline tracking and manual entries on the web.

Screenshots and activity tracking

Captures screenshots, activity levels and the apps and URLs used while the timer runs. Starter takes 1 screenshot an hour, Elite 18 and Power 60, and a live feed shows current screens.

Timesheets and attendance

Daily, weekly, monthly and custom timesheets can be approved or denied before payroll. Clock in and out times build an attendance report, alongside time off and holidays.

Projects, tasks and budgets

Managers create projects, assign tasks and roles, and track time and budget per project. Starter is limited to 3 projects; tasks are unlimited on every plan.

Payroll and client invoices

Pay rates and bill rates are set per member, payroll is calculated from approved hours, and tracked work is invoiced to clients. Billable and non-billable hours are kept apart.

Reports and dashboard

Time and activity reports export as PDF or Excel, and a weekly summary is emailed to admins. Custom reports are included from Elite and are not part of Starter.

HiveDesk

Automatic time tracking

The desktop app tracks time against projects and tasks, with manual entries and notes allowed, break tracking and a web app or Chrome extension as alternatives.

Screenshots and activity levels

Periodic screenshots plus keyboard and mouse activity levels, which the vendor says never record what is typed. Screenshots are not available on mobile.

Schedules, adherence and shrinkage

Shift scheduling with overtime slots, plus reports comparing check-ins against the shift and scheduled hours against hours worked.

Timesheets and approval

Tracked hours roll up into weekly timesheets by project and task that managers can edit, approve and export to PDF or Excel.

Leave and attendance

Leave policies, time-off requests with approval, public holiday lists, attendance tracking and overtime tracking for payroll.

Invoicing and cost tracking

Invoices can be generated from timesheet data with custom tax rates, and hourly cost rates give labor cost per task, project and client.

Apploye

• Starter$0

  Up to 10 users with 3 projects, 3 clients, 1 screenshot an hour and 1 month of timesheet, attendance and payroll history.

• Elite$4.50

  per user / month, billed annually ($6 quarterly, $7 monthly)

  Full time tracking and monitoring with 18 screenshots an hour, app and URL tracking, integrations, custom reports, invoices and payroll.

• Power$8

  per user / month, billed annually ($10.50 quarterly, $12 monthly)

  Everything in Elite plus 60 screenshots an hour, API access and real-time instant screenshots. 40% off for the first 3 months until 19 November 2026.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Adds SSO, account provisioning, a business associate agreement, payment by ACH, higher API limits, guided onboarding and dedicated support.

HiveDesk

• HiveDesk$5

  per user / month, billed monthly

  The only plan: time tracking, activity monitoring, scheduling, attendance, leave, invoicing, projects, clients and reporting. Annual billing is listed at 20% less.

Apploye

• Annual discount

  30% or more off with annual billing

  The pricing FAQ gives a 30%+ discount for paying yearly: Elite is $4.50 per user a month against $7 monthly and Power $8 against $12. Quarterly billing is $6 and $10.50.

• Other savings

  40% off Power for the first 3 months

  Until 19 November 2026 the pricing page takes 40% off Power for the first 3 months: $4.80 per user a month billed annually ($6.30 quarterly, $7.20 monthly), then $8, $10.50 or $12.

HiveDesk

• Annual discount

  20% off with annual billing

  The pricing page has a Monthly or Annual toggle labeled as saving 20%; it does not show the per-user annual figure.