As a remote agency grows, managing employee time becomes more complicated. More clients mean more projects, more deadlines, and more hours that need to be assigned to the right work.
So, I needed a monitoring tool that could handle that complexity without forcing the agency to manage employee activity in one system and project time in another. At the same time, I needed useful reports without making employee monitoring another constant headache.
I compared six platforms: Apploye, Desklog, Hubstaff, ActivTrak, Time Doctor, and E-Monitor, to see how they handle employee monitoring, time tracking, projects, reporting, and pricing.
I also looked at how well each tool supports everyday agency workflows, from tracking time across client projects to understanding where team hours are going.
The comparison showed clear differences in what each platform is built to do. For my agency, Apploye offered the most comprehensive combination of employee monitoring and client-focused work.
What I Needed From Employee Monitoring Software
Before looking at individual tools, I actually made a list of what I needed.
For my remote agency, employee monitoring software had to do more than just show employee activity, which is often the main focus of employee social media monitoring software. I wanted a software that connects employee time with actual agency work.
My requirements list was:
- Accurate employee time tracking
- Activity monitoring
- Screenshot monitoring
- App and URL tracking
- Project and task tracking
- Useful productivity reports
- Reasonable pricing
- Support for client-based work
This helped me avoid choosing a tool simply because it had the longest feature list.
How I Compared Each Tool
I compared every tool against the same six criteria, so the results were consistent across the shortlist.
Each category received a score from 1 to 5:
- 5: Strong coverage of the requirement
- 4: Good coverage with minor limitations
- 3: Covers the requirement but with noticeable limitations
- 2: Limited support for the requirement
- 1: Missing or poorly suited to the requirement
| Criteria | Points | What I Checked |
| Time tracking | 5 | Work hours, timers, and timesheets |
| Activity monitoring | 5 | Apps, websites, activity levels, and visibility |
| Screenshots | 5 | Screenshot availability and monitoring controls |
| Project tracking | 5 | Projects, tasks, and client work |
| Reporting | 5 | Productivity, project, and employee reports |
| Pricing | 5 | Starting price and features included |
The maximum score was 30 points. I used the same criteria for every tool rather than giving any single feature extra weight.
Quick Overview: The Six Tools I Compared
I shortlisted six tools that cover different approaches to remote employee monitoring.
- Apploye combines time tracking, monitoring, projects, timesheets, and reports.
- Desklog focuses heavily on automatic time tracking, project management, and productivity.
- Hubstaff combines time tracking with activity monitoring and broader workforce management.
- ActivTrak focuses more on workforce analytics, productivity trends, and utilization.
- Time Doctor emphasizes detailed productivity monitoring and employee activity reporting.
- E-Monitor focuses on time tracking, productivity analytics, and employee monitoring.
I then tested each tool against the same six criteria.
Quick Comparison
| Tool | Starting Price | Free Plan | Screenshots | Activity Tracking | Main Strength |
| Apploye | $4.50/user/mo | Up to 10 users | Yes | Yes | Monitoring + project time tracking |
| Desklog | $3.50/user/mo | Up to 3 users | Paid plans | Yes | Automatic time tracking |
| Hubstaff | $4.99/user/mo | 14-day trial | Yes | Yes | Workforce management |
| ActivTrak | $10/user/mo | Up to 3 users | Add-on | Yes | Workforce analytics |
| Time Doctor | $6.67/user/mo | 14-day trial | Yes | Yes | Detailed productivity reporting |
| E-Monitor | $3.90/user/mo | 7-day trial | Professional plan | Yes | Straightforward monitoring |
Prices are based on annual billing, where available and were checked against vendor pricing pages in September 2026. Features can vary by plan.
1. Apploye: Best Overall for My Remote Agency
Apploye covered all six requirements I set for this comparison. It’s free Starter plan supports up to 10 users and includes time tracking, attendance, screenshots, app and URL tracking, activity analytics, timesheets, approvals, and up to three projects.
The important detail is that the free plan has usage limits. It includes one screenshot per hour, tracking for three apps and five URLs per day, and seven days of activity history. That makes it useful for smaller teams, while the paid plans provide more monitoring depth.
The Elite plan starts at $4.50 per user per month when billed annually. It adds unlimited projects and tasks, integrations, custom reports, client invoicing, payroll calculation, and expanded monitoring capabilities.
What stood out was how these features work together. I could track employee time, connect it to projects and tasks, and review activity data from the same platform.
What I Found
- Time tracking: 5/5
- Activity monitoring: 5/5
- Screenshots: 5/5
- Project tracking: 5/5
- Reporting: 5/5
- Pricing: 5/5
- Total: 30/30
The free plan does not provide the full depth of monitoring offered by the paid plans. However, its combination of time tracking, projects, screenshots, and activity data gives small agencies a useful starting point.
2. Desklog: Best for Automatic Time Tracking
Desklog stood out for its focus on automatic time tracking.
Its free plan supports up to three users and includes advanced time tracking, unlimited projects, automated timesheets, project time tracking, and efficiency tracking.
And their Business plan starts at $3.50 per user per month. It adds features such as project billing, invoicing, advanced efficiency tracking, real-time dashboards, and scheduled reports.
Desklog also offers app and URL tracking, screenshots, activity reports, and other monitoring features. Some of these features are tied to its paid plans.
What I Found
- Time tracking: 5/5
- Activity monitoring: 4/5
- Screenshots: 4/5
- Project tracking: 5/5
- Reporting: 4/5
- Pricing: 5/5
- Total: 27/30
Desklog performed well for project-based time tracking. Its free plan is also useful, although it is limited to three users.
3. Hubstaff: Best for Workforce Management
Hubstaff combines time tracking with activity monitoring, project management, scheduling, payroll, and workforce tools.
Its Starter plan costs $4.99 per user per month when billed annually. It includes time tracking, automated timesheets, activity levels, screenshots, app and URL tracking, client invoicing, and client-specific task management.
Higher plans add features such as scheduling, attendance, payroll, workforce analytics, and broader reporting.
What I Found
- Time tracking: 5/5
- Activity monitoring: 5/5
- Screenshots: 4/5
- Project tracking: 5/5
- Reporting: 4/5
- Pricing: 4/5
- Total: 27/30
Hubstaff scored well because it covers both employee monitoring and broader workforce management.
But the only limitation was that some advanced features require higher plans or add-ons.
4. ActivTrak: Best for Workforce Analytics
ActivTrak takes a different approach from tools that focus heavily on screenshots.
Its main focus is workforce analytics, productivity trends, activity summaries, and utilization.
The free plan supports up to three users. Its Work Activity Tracking plan costs $10 per worker per month; Workforce Management costs $15, and Productivity Optimization costs $17.
Screenshots and more detailed screen information are available through the Screen Details add-on on eligible paid plans.
What I Found
- Time tracking: 4/5
- Activity monitoring: 5/5
- Screenshots: 3/5
- Project tracking: 3/5
- Reporting: 5/5
- Pricing: 3/5
- Total: 23/30
ActivTrak was stronger when I looked at workforce-level insights rather than project-level agency tracking.
That makes it interesting for agencies that want to understand utilization and capacity across teams.
5. Time Doctor: Best for Detailed Productivity Reporting
Time Doctor puts strong emphasis on employee productivity and activity visibility.
Its Basic plan starts at $6.67 per user per month when billed annually. It includes automatic tracking, projects and tasks, timeline reports, screenshots, online and offline tracking, and team management.
The Standard plan costs $11.67 per user per month annually. It adds attendance, schedules, time approvals, activity summaries, web and app usage reports, productivity ratings, leave tracking, payroll, and work-life balance metrics.
What I Found
- Time tracking: 5/5
- Activity monitoring: 5/5
- Screenshots: 5/5
- Project tracking: 4/5
- Reporting: 5/5
- Pricing: 3/5
- Total: 27/30
Time Doctor performed well for detailed productivity reporting.
The main issue was pricing. Some useful management and reporting features are available only on higher plans or as add-ons.
6. E-Monitor: Best for Straightforward Monitoring
E-Monitor focuses on time tracking, attendance, productivity analytics, and app and website monitoring.
Its Starter plan costs $3.90 per user per month when billed annually. It includes time tracking, attendance, productivity analytics, app and website tracking, employee dashboards, and reporting.
The Professional plan costs $6.90 per user per month annually and adds screen monitoring and capture, DLP, real-time alerts, SSO, role-based access, and integrations.
What I Found
- Time tracking: 4/5
- Activity monitoring: 5/5
- Screenshots: 3/5
- Project tracking: 3/5
- Reporting: 4/5
- Pricing: 5/5
- Total: 24/30
E-Monitor scored well for its starting price and core monitoring features.
However, its project-focused capabilities were not as central to my agency’s requirements as they were with some of the other tools.
My Final Scores
After scoring all six tools, this is how the comparison looked:
| Tool | Time | Activity | Screenshots | Projects | Reports | Pricing | Total |
| Apploye | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 30/30 |
| Desklog | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 27/30 |
| Hubstaff | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 27/30 |
| Time Doctor | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 27/30 |
| E-Monitor | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 24/30 |
| ActivTrak | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 23/30 |
These scores reflect my stated agency-focused criteria rather than a universal rating of each product.
Why I Chose Apploye
The comparison came down to how well each platform matched the workflow I described at the beginning.
I needed employee monitoring, accurate time tracking, project visibility, and useful reporting in one system. Apploye brought those functions together while also offering client invoicing and payroll on its paid plan.
The pricing also mattered. Its Starter plan is free for up to 10 users, while Elite starts at $4.50 per user per month with annual billing. That gave me a way to start with core features and move to a broader feature set as the agency grows.
The other tools had clear strengths, but Apploye met all of the requirements I had set for a client-focused remote agency.
What the Comparison Taught Me
The biggest lesson from the comparison was that employee monitoring alone wasn’t enough for my agency.
Knowing that someone worked for eight hours does not tell me which client received those hours or which project consumed most of that time. That made project and time tracking just as important as activity monitoring.
The tools also showed clear differences in focus. Desklog leaned toward automatic time tracking and project management. Hubstaff combined monitoring with broader workforce management. ActivTrak focused more on workforce analytics, while Time Doctor emphasized detailed productivity reporting.
E-Monitor provided a lower-cost entry point for basic monitoring. Apploye covered the combination of monitoring, project tracking, reporting, and client-focused work that I was looking for.
How I Would Choose Employee Monitoring Software Again
Start With Your Actual Workflow
First, identify and list what you need to see.
If you only need work hours, basic time tracking may be enough. If you manage client projects, you may also need project tracking and reports.
Decide What Activity Data Matters
You do not necessarily need every type of monitoring.
Decide whether your agency needs screenshots, app usage, website tracking, activity levels, or a combination of these.
Connect Time With Client Work
For agencies, tracked hours are more useful when they are connected to projects and tasks, which is the same reason time tracking software for consultants is built around client work.
This helps you understand where team capacity is going and how much time different client projects require.
Compare the Full Plan Cost
Do not compare only the starting price. Check whether screenshots, reports, integrations, project tracking, and other features are included or require an upgrade.
Consider Employee Privacy
Monitoring should have a clear business purpose. Before rolling out a tool, check what it collects, when tracking happens, and what employees can see about their own data.
Test Before You Commit
A feature list cannot tell you how a tool will fit your workflow. Use a free plan or trial when available. Test time tracking, monitoring, reports, and project management with a small group first.
Final Note
I started this comparison looking for a tool that could give my remote agency better visibility into work without adding unnecessary complexity.
After comparing six tools against the same six criteria, I found that each one had a different strength.
Apploye came out on top in my agency-focused comparison, mainly because it combined employee monitoring, time tracking, project visibility, reporting, and accessible pricing into a single platform.
That made it the tool I would choose for my remote agency.
How do I choose employee monitoring software for a remote agency?
Start by defining your monitoring needs, then compare time tracking, activity visibility, screenshots, project tracking, reporting, and pricing.
What should a remote agency look for in employee monitoring software?
Look for accurate time tracking, project management, activity monitoring, useful reports, and pricing that fits your team size and workflow.
How did you compare these employee monitoring tools?
I scored each tool from 1 to 5 across six categories: time tracking, activity monitoring, screenshots, project tracking, reporting, and pricing.
Which employee monitoring software has a free plan?
Apploye offers a free plan for up to 10 users. Desklog and ActivTrak also offer limited free plans for up to three users.
Can employee monitoring software track client project hours?
Yes. Apploye, Desklog, Hubstaff, and Time Doctor all offer project- or task-based time tracking, though the exact features vary by plan.
Should a remote agency use screenshot monitoring?
Screenshots can provide additional context for the work, but they are not necessary for every agency. The right approach depends on the work, privacy expectations, and reason for monitoring.
