HiveDesk review (2026): is it worth $5 a month per user?
Time tracking with screenshots and scheduling for remote teams
Black Friday: is there a HiveDesk sale?
HiveDesk report card
Fair · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 13, 2026
Best for remote teams that want screenshots and activity tracking
HiveDesk is $5 per user a month for time tracking, screenshots, scheduling, leave and invoicing on one plan. Screenshots work only in the desktop app, and the listing shows Asana as its only integration.
Who HiveDesk is for
- Fits if you manage remote staff and want screenshots and activity levels
- Works for agencies that invoice from tracked hours
Who HiveDesk is not for
- 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
Why HiveDesk gets a 2.4
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- CValue for money$5 per user a month billed monthly, with 20% off annually. The category's cheaper quarter starts at $4.50, so it sits just above.
- CFree plan and trialA 14-day free trial with no card required.
- BFeaturesAutomatic tracking, screenshots and activity levels, schedules and adherence, timesheets, leave, invoicing and cost tracking.
- CEase of useNo store rating on record. There's a desktop app and team set up.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb, Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone and a browser extension. No Android app and only Asana is listed, with API access on request.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from HiveDesk's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
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<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/hivedesk#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/hivedesk.svg" alt="HiveDesk: 2.4 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where HiveDesk stands among time tracking apps
HiveDesk's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 41 of the 98 other time tracking apps we grade, and level with 24.
It stands best on features (B, above 65 of 98) and worst on ease of use (C, above 3).
Its paid plans start at $5 a month for each person, against a middle price of $6.99 for the category: 24 of the 80 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. 8 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 99 time tracking apps we grade, cut by the letter each got. HiveDesk’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 16 of 98, level with 51
- CFree plan and trialAbove 15 of 98, level with 58
- BFeaturesAbove 65 of 98, level with 33
- CEase of useAbove 3 of 98, level with 75
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 26 of 98, level with 45
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 87 time tracking apps. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Keep HiveDesk, or make your own?
Keep it
The plain part of HiveDesk you could make: time tracking, time off, invoicing and reports. What surrounds it you could not. The 6 things listed below take a company, not a weekend.
It costs $60 a year.
What you could make
- Time tracking, time off, invoicing and reports: an app builder makes these well.
What you could not
- Capture tools hooked into the operating system.
- A rota the whole staff sees on their phones, with swaps and alerts.
- Apps for macOS, Windows, Linux and iOS that stay in step with each other.
- It is priced for each person, which means accounts and billing for a team.
- It plugs into other products, Asana among them, and has an API.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. HiveDesk’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is HiveDesk?
HiveDesk is a time tracking and workforce management tool aimed at contact centers, agencies and remote teams. A desktop app records hours with screenshots and keyboard and mouse activity levels, and timesheets, shift schedules, leave and invoicing sit in the same account. It sells one plan with every feature included.
Worth knowing
- 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.
Key features
- 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.
HiveDesk pricing
As of Nov 13, 2026, HiveDesk is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $5 per user / month.
- Starts at
- $5 per user / month
- Free plan
- None
- Free trial
- 14-day free trial, no credit card required
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| HiveDesk | $5per 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. |
Read from hivedesk.com on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with HiveDesk before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- Annual discount20% 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.
Stated on hivedesk.com
Works with
HiveDesk alternatives
- HiveDesk vs Hubstaff
Free trial · from $4.99/mo
- HiveDesk vs Time Doctor
Free trial · from $6.67/mo
- HiveDesk vs DeskTime
Free trial · from $6.42/mo
- HiveDesk vs Clockify
Free plan · from $3.99/mo
- HiveDesk vs Apploye
Free plan · from $4.50/mo
Common questions
Does HiveDesk have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. HiveDesk is listed for Web, Windows, macOS, Linux and iOS.
Is HiveDesk open source?
HiveDesk is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 13, 2026.
Does HiveDesk have an API?
Yes. HiveDesk offers a public API, according to its own site.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026.