Hubstaff vs SmartSuite Comparison
Compare Hubstaff vs SmartSuite features, pricing, and more.
Last updated: November 2026
Hubstaff
6.3/10
Hubstaff is a time tracking and workforce management platform with activity monitoring, timesheets, scheduling, payroll and agile task boards for remote and field teams.
SmartSuite
7.3/10
SmartSuite is a no-code work management platform that teams use to build project, process and operations solutions with views, automations and AI agents.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 6.3/10 | 7.3/10 |
| Analytics | 6/10 | 7/10 |
| Cost | 8/10 | 6/10 |
| Customization | 5/10 | 9/10 |
| Ease of Use | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Integration | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Scalability | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Security | 5/10 | 9/10 |
| Support | 4/10 | 7/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Cheapest paid plan | $5/user/mo Starter | $20/user/mo Team |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | Contact for pricing | $200/mo Team |
| Features | ||
| App integrations | ||
| Gantt charts | ||
| Kanban boards | ||
| Reporting | ||
| Scheduling | ||
| Task lists | ||
| Task management | ||
| Time tracking | ||
| Timeline view | ||
| Workflow automation | ||
| Client collaboration | Not listed | |
| Collaboration tools | Not listed | |
| Dashboards | Not listed | |
| Databases | Not listed | |
| Docs | Not listed | |
| File sharing | Not listed | |
| Spreadsheet interface | Not listed | |
| Team messaging | Not listed | |
| Whiteboards | Not listed | |
Hubstaff vs SmartSuite cost by team size
| Team size | Hubstaff | SmartSuite |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | FreeFree | Contact for pricing |
| 5 users | Contact for pricing | $100/moTeam |
| 10 users | Contact for pricing | $200/moTeam |
| 25 users | Contact for pricing | $500/moTeam |
| 50 users | Contact for pricing | $1,000/moTeam |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose Hubstaff
- Has a free plan (SmartSuite does not)
- Higher Cost score (8/10 vs 6/10)
- Better fit for startups (7/10 vs 4/10)
Why choose SmartSuite
- Higher Customization score (9/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Security score (9/10 vs 5/10)
Pros & Cons
Hubstaff
Pros
- Annual per-seat prices from 4.99 USD are low compared with most monitoring and time tracking suites.
- Reviewers say starting the timer and setting up the app is simple, and that accurate tracking makes client billing easier.
- Payments through Wise, PayPal, Payoneer and Deel connect tracked hours directly to payroll.
- GPS tracking with geofencing serves field teams that work across job sites.
- Hubstaff Tasks adds kanban boards, sprints, epics and a Gantt-style roadmap that tie into tracked time.
Cons
- Screenshots and activity scoring are seen by many reviewers as invasive and can hurt team trust.
- Idle detection can mark people inactive during meetings, reading or calls.
- Recurring complaints cover surprise annual renewals, add-on charges and refund refusals.
- Support gets poor marks. Starter is reported to be email-only with a target response time of two days or more.
- Integrations are gated by plan: none on Starter and one on Grow.
SmartSuite
Pros
- The same records can be shown as grid, Kanban, Gantt, timeline, calendar, map and dashboard views without duplicating data.
- Its compliance coverage is unusually strong for the category, with ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA and GDPR audits plus a choice of US or EU data residency.
- Read-only users, commenters and form submitters are free, which lowers the cost of involving stakeholders.
- It ships more than 200 templates and an AI solution builder to speed up setup.
- Reviewers describe the support team as responsive.
Cons
- Team, Professional and Enterprise carry 3-, 5- and 25-seat minimums, and there is no free plan.
- The Team plan allows only 5,000 records per solution, and automation runs plus API calls are hard-capped each month.
- SAML SSO and SCIM are available only on Enterprise and Signature plans.
- There is no team chat or whiteboard, and external access is limited to read-only shared views.
- Reviewers say complex workflows and large data imports take real setup effort, and there are no native desktop apps.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
SmartSuite scores higher on our Project Management criteria: 7.3/10 against 6.3/10 for Hubstaff. The largest gap is in Customization: 5/10 for Hubstaff and 9/10 for SmartSuite.
Hubstaff has a free plan; SmartSuite does not list one.
Hubstaff is the better fit for startups: we rate it 7/10 for them, against 4/10 for SmartSuite.
