The best QR code time clock for crews is TrackBadges: every employee gets a printed QR badge and a supervisor scans it with any phone's browser, so workers need no app or smartphone — free for 3 people, then $9 a month plus $1.50 per person ($19.50 for 10). TimeDock adds NFC badges and wall clocks, Clockify has the cheapest self-service QR kiosk on annual billing, Buddy Punch has the most punch options, and Jibble's free plan covers one QR kiosk.
Key takeaways
There are two kinds of QR time clock: a supervisor or kiosk scans the employee's badge, or employees scan a code with their own phone.
Badge-scanning clocks work for workers without smartphones; posted-code clocks don't.
Who does the scanning decides how well it stops buddy punching: a supervisor sees every person they scan.
Several products gate QR codes to a higher tier — check which plan you'd actually need.
Built entirely around printed QR badges scanned by a supervisor's phone — no app for anyone, every feature on every plan, and the lowest monthly price for a crew.
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.
Team leaders scan staff QR codes or NFC badges in TimeDock's app, with optional wall-mounted clocks, job codes and payroll exports — at about twice TrackBadges' price.
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.
A browser kiosk where employees hold up their own QR code, with cheap kiosk-only seats — the lowest price here if you pay annually.
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).
Printable QR codes plus PIN, Face ID, text and a supervisor group punch, with PTO and payroll integrations — at a higher price.
Buddy Punch is an online time clock with many punch methods — web, mobile app, PIN and QR code kiosks, Face ID and text — plus a supervisor "group punch". Best for: Businesses that want lots of punch options, PTO tracking and payroll integrations, and don't mind a base fee plus per-user pricing.
How employees clock in
On the web or mobile app, at a PIN or QR kiosk (from the Pro plan), with Face ID on iOS, by text message, or by a supervisor's group punch.
Employee needs a smartphone
No — kiosks and group punch cover employees without phones.
Free plan
No free plan; there's a free trial.
Pricing
A $19 monthly base fee plus a per-user fee: Starter $5.99, Pro $7.99, Advanced $13.99 per user a month billed monthly ($4.99 / $6.99 / $12.99 annually). QR and PIN kiosks start on Pro. Admins are free.
Its free plan includes one kiosk for unlimited users, and the kiosk app has a QR scanner mode alongside face recognition and NFC.
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.
No — the kiosk covers employees without phones, using cheaper kiosk-only seats.
No — kiosks and group punch cover employees without phones.
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.
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.
Yes — group punch lets a supervisor clock in several employees.
Not as a supervisor workflow. Employees scan their own code or face at the kiosk.
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.
No free plan; there's a free trial.
Free for unlimited users, with 1 kiosk, 2 locations and 1 admin.
10 people / month
$19.50/mo
$45/mo
$21.89/mo
$98.90/mo
$59.90/mo
25 people / month
$42/mo
$90/mo
$44.24/mo
$218.75/mo
$149.75/mo
50 people / month
$79.50/mo
$157/mo
$81.49/mo
$418.50/mo
$299.50/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.
How QR code time clocks differ
Every QR time clock records a punch when a code is scanned. What differs is who holds the phone and what gets scanned:
Design
Who scans
Employee needs a phone
Buddy-punch risk
Supervisor scans badges
The crew lead or a shared tablet
No
Low — the scanner sees each person
Self-service kiosk
Each employee, at a shared device
No
Medium — a badge can be scanned for a friend
Posted code at the site
Each employee, on their own phone
Yes
Medium to high — codes can be photographed
TrackBadges and TimeDock's mobile clock are the first design. Clockify, Buddy Punch and Jibble kiosks are mostly the second. Many GPS apps offer the third. Read how QR code time clocks work for the full picture.
How we compared them
Who needs a phone or app. We counted any setup where employees must install something as a cost, because it's the step crews fail at.
The plan you'd actually need. Prices are for the tier that includes QR or kiosk clock-in, billed monthly, for 10, 25 and 50 people.
Badge workflow. Can you print everyone's badge at once? Reissue a lost one? Is there a fallback when a badge won't scan?
Crew features. Live who's-working, overtime rules, auto clock-out and exports.
Questions to ask before you buy
1Does the scanning device need an app installed and signed in, or does it run in a browser?
2Which plan unlocks QR codes, and what does that plan cost for your whole crew?
3Can you print every badge at once, and what happens when one is lost?
4Who does the scanning — and does that person see the worker's face?
Frequently asked questions
What is the best QR code time clock app?
For crews, TrackBadges: employees carry printed QR badges and a supervisor scans them with any phone, so nobody needs an app or smartphone. It's free for 3 people, then $9 a month plus $1.50 per person ($19.50 for 10). For a self-service kiosk at the lowest annual price, Clockify Standard is a strong alternative.
Is there a free QR code time clock?
Yes. TrackBadges is free for up to 3 people with every feature. Jibble's free plan includes one kiosk (which has a QR mode) for unlimited users, but the kiosk needs the Jibble app installed on the device.
Do QR code time clocks stop buddy punching?
Only if someone checks who's scanning. A self-service kiosk or a posted code can be scanned for an absent coworker. When a supervisor scans each badge, they see every person they clock in.
Can I use a QR code time clock without an app?
Yes. TrackBadges' scanner and Clockify's kiosk both run in a web browser, so nothing needs installing. Jibble's kiosk requires its native app.
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.