The best Buddy Punch alternative for crews is TrackBadges, a QR badge time clock where a supervisor scans each employee's printed badge with any phone — no app or smartphone for employees, free for 3 people. Other strong options: TimeDock, Clockify, Jibble, OnTheClock, Connecteam, Homebase.
Why people look for a Buddy Punch alternative
The base fee plus $7.99 per user adds up fast for a crew of 25.
You only need badge scanning and timesheets, not every punch method.
You'd rather not pay more for the tier that unlocks QR codes.
The 7 best Buddy Punch alternatives
1
TrackBadges
Our pick for crews
A QR badge time clock for crews: a supervisor scans each employee's printed badge with any phone or tablet, and the owner gets live timesheets with overtime, ready for payroll. Best for: Crews that start the day together — construction, landscaping, cleaning, warehouses, farms and events — especially when not everyone has, or should use, a smartphone.
How employees clock in
A supervisor (or a shared tablet) scans each employee's printed QR badge. Scan once to clock in, again to clock out.
Employee needs a smartphone
No. Employees carry a printed badge.
Free plan
Free for up to 3 people, with every feature.
Pricing
Free for up to 3 people. Pro is $9 a month for your first 3 people, plus $1.50 a month for each person after that.
TimeDock is a New Zealand-based cloud time clock, sold in the US, UK and Australia too, where staff clock in with QR codes or NFC badges — scanned by a team leader's phone running the TimeDock app, or at a wall-mounted TimeDock clock. Best for: Businesses that want NFC cards or fobs, a wall-mounted clock at a fixed site, job and activity codes, offline scanning, or exports into many payroll systems.
How employees clock in
A team leader scans staff QR codes or NFC badges with the TimeDock app on an iPhone or Android phone, switching the app between IN and OUT; employees can also clock themselves in with the app, and a wall-mounted TimeDock clock reads cards and fobs at a fixed spot.
Employee needs a smartphone
No. Staff carry a QR badge, card or fob.
Free plan
No free plan listed on its pricing page.
Pricing
Flexible plan: $5 per active employee a month plus a $16 base fee. Bundled plans start at $23 a month for up to 5 active employees ($45 for 10, $90 for 25, $157 for 50), billed monthly in USD.
Clockify is a time tracker best known for project and billable-hours tracking, with a browser kiosk that supports PINs, QR codes and photo capture on paid plans. Best for: Office and project teams tracking billable hours that also need a simple kiosk for some staff.
How employees clock in
With timers and timesheets in the Clockify apps, or at a browser kiosk on any device: a PIN (Basic), a personal QR code held up to the camera (Standard), with photo capture on Pro. A manager with a Universal PIN can clock others in and out.
Employee needs a smartphone
No — the kiosk covers employees without phones, using cheaper kiosk-only seats.
Free plan
Free for a small team, but the free plan doesn't include the kiosk.
Pricing
Per seat: Basic $4.99, Standard $6.99, Pro $9.99 a month billed monthly ($3.99 / $5.49 / $7.99 annually). Kiosk-only "limited" seats are much cheaper — about $1.49 a month on Standard billed monthly ($1.19 annually).
Jibble is a time and attendance app with a large free plan: employees clock in on the Jibble mobile app, or at a shared device running Jibble's kiosk app with face recognition, NFC, PIN or QR codes. Best for: Teams where everyone has a smartphone, or a single site that can dedicate a phone or tablet to Jibble's kiosk app.
How employees clock in
In the Jibble app on the employee's phone (with GPS and selfies), or at a shared iOS/Android device running the Jibble kiosk app in one mode: face, NFC, PIN, name list or QR scanner.
Employee needs a smartphone
Not if you use the kiosk: employees can clock in at a shared device. Each employee's personal QR code lives in the Jibble app, though; admins download codes one person at a time as PDFs.
Free plan
Free for unlimited users, with 1 kiosk, 2 locations and 1 admin.
Pricing
Jibble no longer publishes prices on its site. Third-party reviews in 2026 list paid tiers from $3.49 to $10.99 per user a month billed monthly ($1.99–$7.99 billed annually). Unlimited kiosks need the Growth tier.
OnTheClock is a simple online time clock for small businesses, with a mobile app, web clock, a shared "group punch" kiosk and an optional fingerprint clock. Best for: Small businesses that want a straightforward employee time clock with PTO tracking and payroll exports.
How employees clock in
In the OnTheClock app or web clock, or at a shared Group Punch kiosk where employees enter their employee number; a fingerprint clock is optional.
Employee needs a smartphone
No — the Group Punch kiosk covers employees without phones.
Free plan
No free plan; 30-day free trial.
Pricing
$5 a month base plus $4 per employee, billed monthly.
Connecteam is an all-in-one app for deskless teams — time clock, scheduling, chat, forms and training — where employees clock in on their own phone or at a shared kiosk with a PIN. Best for: Teams where everyone has a smartphone and you want scheduling, chat and forms in the same app as the time clock.
How employees clock in
In the Connecteam app on the employee's phone (with GPS), at a shared kiosk with a 4-digit PIN and optional selfie, or by tapping NFC tags placed at a site.
Employee needs a smartphone
Not with the kiosk, which takes a PIN. Otherwise each employee uses the Connecteam app on their own phone.
Free plan
Free for up to 10 users (Small Business plan), with one time clock.
Pricing
Free for up to 10 users. Operations Hub Basic is $35 a month billed monthly ($29 annually) for the first 30 users, then $1 per user; Advanced ($59) adds auto clock-out and geofences.
Homebase is a scheduling, time clock and payroll app for hourly teams, priced per location; employees clock in with a PIN on a shared time clock tablet, a computer, a POS, or their own phone. Best for: Single-location shops — restaurants, retail, salons — that want scheduling, hiring and payroll with the time clock.
How employees clock in
With a PIN on the Homebase time clock app on a shared tablet, computer or POS device, or on the employee's own phone (location-based clock-in starts on Essentials).
Employee needs a smartphone
No — the shared tablet takes PINs. Phone clock-in is optional.
Free plan
Free (Basic) for 1 location and up to 10 employees; timesheets are kept for 90 days.
Pricing
Priced per location: Basic is free for 1 location and up to 10 employees. Essentials is $30 a month per location billed monthly ($24 annually); Plus $70; All-in-One $120, the tier with automatic clock-out and overtime alerts.
No — the kiosk covers employees without phones, using cheaper kiosk-only seats.
Not if you use the kiosk: employees can clock in at a shared device. Each employee's personal QR code lives in the Jibble app, though; admins download codes one person at a time as PDFs.
No — the Group Punch kiosk covers employees without phones.
Not with the kiosk, which takes a PIN. Otherwise each employee uses the Connecteam app on their own phone.
No — the shared tablet takes PINs. Phone clock-in is optional.
One supervisor clocks in a crew
Yes — it's how it works. One phone clocks in the whole crew.
Yes — team leaders scan staff badges on arrival and departure with the mobile app.
Partly — a manager's Universal PIN can clock people in and out at the kiosk.
Not as a supervisor workflow. Employees scan their own code or face at the kiosk.
Not as a supervisor workflow; Group Punch is a shared kiosk where employees punch themselves.
No. Per Connecteam's help center, admins can't clock someone in directly; they add the time to the timesheet instead.
Not found in Homebase's plans or help pages.
Free plan
Free for up to 3 people, with every feature.
No free plan listed on its pricing page.
Free for a small team, but the free plan doesn't include the kiosk.
Free for unlimited users, with 1 kiosk, 2 locations and 1 admin.
No free plan; 30-day free trial.
Free for up to 10 users (Small Business plan), with one time clock.
Free (Basic) for 1 location and up to 10 employees; timesheets are kept for 90 days.
10 people / month
$19.50/mo
$45/mo
$21.89/mo
$59.90/mo
$45/mo
Free
Free
25 people / month
$42/mo
$90/mo
$44.24/mo
$149.75/mo
$105/mo
$35/mo
$30/mo
50 people / month
$79.50/mo
$157/mo
$81.49/mo
$299.50/mo
$205/mo
$55/mo
$30/mo
Monthly prices for a crew using each vendor's shared kiosk or supervisor clock-in, at list prices checked in October 2026. Each comparison page shows the exact plan used. Annual billing is cheaper with most vendors.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Buddy Punch alternative?
The best Buddy Punch alternative for crews is TrackBadges, a QR badge time clock where a supervisor scans each employee's printed badge with any phone — no app or smartphone for employees, free for 3 people. Other strong options: TimeDock, Clockify, Jibble, OnTheClock, Connecteam, Homebase.
Is there a free Buddy Punch alternative?
Yes. TrackBadges is free for up to 3 people with every feature. TimeDock: No free plan listed on its pricing page. Clockify: Free for a small team, but the free plan doesn't include the kiosk. Jibble: Free for unlimited users, with 1 kiosk, 2 locations and 1 admin. OnTheClock: No free plan; 30-day free trial. Connecteam: Free for up to 10 users (Small Business plan), with one time clock. Homebase: Free (Basic) for 1 location and up to 10 employees; timesheets are kept for 90 days.
Does Buddy Punch have QR codes?
Yes. Buddy Punch's Pro plan and above let each employee use a QR code that can be printed or put on an ID card, scanned at a kiosk by any device with a camera. Pro is $7.99 per user a month plus a $19 base fee, billed monthly.
What does Buddy Punch cost for 10 employees?
On the Pro plan, which includes QR and PIN kiosks, 10 employees cost $98.90 a month billed monthly ($19 base fee plus 10 × $7.99). TrackBadges costs $19.50 a month for 10 people.
Print a QR badge for everyone and scan them in and out with any phone or tablet. Free for up to 3 people — try it with your real crew before you sign up.