Buddy Punch alternatives: 11 time clock tools compared
People look for a Buddy Punch alternative when the per-user rate plus base fee and add-ons outgrow a small team's budget, when they want face checks or free tiers for large headcounts, or when they need scheduling and payroll from one vendor. Some choose a free unlimited-user timer, others a scheduling-first product or an accounting-linked clock.
Short answer: The first three alternatives to Buddy Punch in our time clock software ranking are TimeStation, Time Clock Wizard and Jibble. Challengers take places 1 to 3 here. Big brands follow in the order of our category ranking. Choose TimeStation if a shop of ten or fewer can run on a free tier. All 11 alternatives below are ranked products from Best Time Clock Software in 2026, and each says where it differs from Buddy Punch.
Vendors can pay for more visibility on this website, for example a higher place in a ranking or more room on a page. Commercial relationships can also affect which products we feature and how prominently. Every vendor link is marked the same, whatever the arrangement behind it. How that works.
Pricing: Published per-active-user rates plus monthly base fee; paid add-ons; 14-day trial only
Established in: United States
Built for: US employers replacing paper timecards for hourly staff across locations
Not for: Consultancies and agencies billing tracked hours to client projects
01
Why buyers look past Buddy Punch
01
Base fee, user rate and add-ons stack up
Buddy Punch charges per active user plus a 19 dollar monthly base fee. Billed monthly, Starter is 5.99, Pro 7.99 and Advanced 13.99 dollars a user; billed annually, 4.99, 6.99 and 12.99. Scheduling, advanced reports and data retention are priced add-ons, so the total is rarely the headline figure.
02
Useful controls sit on the higher plans
Webcam photos, QR codes, kiosk PIN, offline mode and basic geofencing start on Pro. Real-time GPS costs 2 dollars a user a month below Advanced, and SSO and manager permissions are Advanced features. A small team that needs only photo checks still pays for the Pro tier.
03
Payroll is a second bill
Payroll adds 8 dollars per user a month plus a 49 dollar monthly base fee on top of the time clock charges. Teams that want one invoice for hours and pay, or that run payroll elsewhere and want a cheaper clock, compare other options.
your books already run in QuickBooks and you want hours to flow straight in
#12
03
What each one does differently
1
TimeStation
Not stated by the vendor · Published
TimeStation, LLC lists five plans by headcount, and the first costs nothing for ten employees and two administrators. All plans carry a 30-day trial, and punches keep working offline before syncing later. Tiers climb with employee count, and past 200 employees the page sends you elsewhere for a price. No parent company is named.
Switch from Buddy Punch if a shop of ten or fewer can run on a free tier.
Time Clock Wizard gives unlimited users a basic tracking plan at zero cost, then monthly plans stepping up by headcount to 50 users and one Enterprise price. Its photo capture at clock-in targets fraud, and QuickBooks Online sync is named. The Pro table shows two unlabelled sets of prices, and ownership is not stated. A 14-day trial applies.
Switch from Buddy Punch if you have many staff and want photos at punch time on a free base.
Jibble, based in the United Kingdom, describes a free-forever plan for unlimited users that already holds face recognition, selfie capture, geofencing, NFC and PIN checks, kiosk and offline mode. Exports go to CSV or XLS, and Slack, Teams, QuickBooks, Xero and Deel are named. Paid tiers carry no price on the page we read, and no trial is mentioned.
Switch from Buddy Punch if you want face checks and a kiosk without paying per head.
Truein concentrates on face recognition, either on a phone app or at a touchless kiosk, adding offline mode, geofencing and face spoofing alerts. Time Capture and Advanced plans are priced per active user in tiers with a base fee billed annually, and Enterprise goes through sales. Trial length is 14 days, SSO is Enterprise only, and no imprint is shown.
Switch from Buddy Punch if face matching at a kiosk matters more than QR or PIN punches.
OnTheClock, run by OnTheClock.com, LLC in Clinton Township, Michigan, charges a per-employee rate plus a monthly base fee, similar to Buddy Punch's structure. Geofenced clock-in, scheduling and PTO come in the base product, payroll costs extra, and a migration fee sits outside its calculator. ADP, Gusto, QuickBooks and Square are named. Trial lasts 30 days.
Switch from Buddy Punch if you want the same base-plus-user model with a longer trial and named payroll links.
TimeClock 365 prices Attendance, Tasks, Field Teams and door-access plans per user and adds modules for HR, expenses and yearly leave accrual. A door entry can count as a clock-in, and phones act as wallet keys, though controllers and readers are bought separately by quote. The demo plan is limited to ten users, and no country or owner is named.
Switch from Buddy Punch if you have a controlled entrance and want door swipes to start the clock.
ezClocker is operated by Enova Technologies, LLC, with Texas governing law in its terms, and covers both employees and independent contractors through a website and mobile app. Its 30-day trial converts to a charge unless cancelled, and fees are waived for an employer with one employee or fewer. Plan prices load through JavaScript, so we could not confirm them.
Switch from Buddy Punch if contractors and employees both need to log hours in the same app.
Homebase bills per location, not per head. A single location with up to ten employees is free, and three paid tiers allow unlimited employees. Payroll, tip handling, task management and background checks are priced extras, and Pioneer Works, Inc. holds the copyright. The page gives no hosting detail, and each added location means another monthly subscription.
Switch from Buddy Punch if your shops are small and few, and scheduling matters as much as punching.
Connecteam sells hubs, and the time clock lives in the Operations hub next to scheduling, forms, checklists and tasks. A free-for-life plan covers up to ten users. Basic holds one time clock and one schedule, Advanced three clocks and ten geofence sites, Expert unlimited geofences with API access. Each tier prices the first 30 users, then adds a per-user fee.
Switch from Buddy Punch if you want forms and checklists alongside the clock, from an Israeli vendor.
Sling began as a scheduling product and is now described as Sling by Toast. The base plan is free for up to 30 users, but mobile time tracking arrives with Premium and kiosk time tracking with Business, both billed per active user. A 15-day trial covers both. The Boston address is the only location the page gives.
Switch from Buddy Punch if rota building is your main task and punching is secondary.
QuickBooks Time belongs to Intuit Inc. and is priced per user plus a monthly base fee, with introductory discounts for three months. Workforce plans add HR workflows, and one includes expert setup. The 30-day trial applies to the base fee only. Mobile tracking, a Time Kiosk, scheduling and more than 50 accounting and payroll integrations are named.
Switch from Buddy Punch if your books already run in QuickBooks and you want hours to flow straight in.
You run ten or fewer staff and want to pay nothing
TimeStation: The first plan is free for ten employees and two administrators, with a 30-day trial on every plan and offline punches.
02
You have many staff and want face checks without per-head fees
Jibble: A free plan for unlimited users lists face recognition, geofencing, kiosk and offline mode; paid tiers are not priced on the page we read.
03
You want photos at punch time on a free unlimited-user plan
Time Clock Wizard: Basic tracking is free for unlimited users, with photo verification at clock-in and QuickBooks Online sync.
04
Your books run in QuickBooks
QuickBooks Time: Priced per user plus a base fee, with more than 50 accounting and payroll integrations and a 30-day trial on the base fee.
05
You run one small shop and rota planning matters
Homebase: One location with up to ten employees is free, and paid tiers are priced per location with unlimited employees.
04
When Buddy Punch is still the right choice
Buddy Punch stays a good choice when anti-buddy-punching controls are the point: photos at each punch, QR codes, kiosk PIN, geofencing and device locks are all on its plans, and administrators are free and unlimited. Break compliance with premium pay, an activity log and 14 days free without a card make it easy to test. If those controls are what you use, a cheaper clock may lack them.
05
What moving off Buddy Punch involves
01
Timecards and history need exporting first
Buddy Punch exports hours to CSV, Excel or PDF, and data retention for six years is an add-on at 24 dollars a user a year. Export timecards, time-off balances and activity logs before cancelling, since an auditor may ask for them later.
02
Punch methods must be re-enrolled
Employees will need new logins, QR codes or kiosk PINs in the new tool, and photo or face enrolment starts again. Run both systems in parallel for one pay period and compare totals before switching payroll.
03
Payroll links and pay rules change
Overtime rules, rounding, auto-deducted breaks and multiple pay periods are configured per vendor. If you use Buddy Punch's payroll, hours-to-pay moves too, so check the destination's payroll integration list first.
06
Questions about replacing Buddy Punch
6 answers
How much does Buddy Punch cost?
Billed annually it lists Starter at 4.99, Pro at 6.99 and Advanced at 12.99 dollars per user per month, each with a 19 dollar monthly base fee. Billed monthly the user rates are 5.99, 7.99 and 13.99. Add-ons and payroll are extra.
Is there a free trial?
The pricing page says 14 days free with no credit card required. Alternatives differ: TimeStation and OnTheClock give 30 days, Sling 15, Truein and Connecteam 14.
Which alternatives are free?
TimeStation is free for ten employees, Connecteam for ten users, Homebase for one location with up to ten employees, Sling for up to 30 users, and Jibble and Time Clock Wizard describe plans for unlimited users. Read each page for current limits.
Which alternatives offer face recognition?
Jibble and Truein both list face recognition, and Truein adds face spoofing alerts and a touchless kiosk. Buddy Punch itself uses webcam photos and Face ID sign-in on the iOS app.
Does Buddy Punch include scheduling?
Scheduling is an add-on at 1 dollar a user a month on Starter, included on Pro and Advanced. Sling and Homebase are built around scheduling, so they may fit better if rotas are the main task.
Can I run payroll with these tools?
Buddy Punch sells payroll at 8 dollars a user plus a 49 dollar base fee. OnTheClock and Homebase also sell payroll as an add-on, while others sync hours to external payroll such as QuickBooks, Xero or Deel.
—
Sources
Checked 9 November 2026
Buddy Punch pricing: Plan rates monthly and annual, 19 dollar base fee, add-on prices, payroll 8 dollars plus 49 base, 14-day trial, feature lists.
TimeStation: Free for ten employees, five plans, 30-day trial, offline punches.
Founder of The Knowledge Engineers and of 2 Steps Ahead, an AI search visibility agency. Editorially responsible for every page on this site; research and drafting are AI-assisted.
Author and fact-checker: Sebastiaan Smits. This page was last reviewed on 9 November 2026; our review process is public.
