The best time clock apps for small business in 2026
By the TrackBadges team · Updated · 4 min read
The short answer
For small businesses with a crew, TrackBadges is the simplest: print a QR badge for everyone and clock them in with any phone — free for 3 people, then $9 a month plus $1.50 per person ($19.50 for 10). Homebase suits single-location shops that want scheduling, Connecteam is free for up to 10 users, OnTheClock is a simple self-service clock, and Clockify is cheapest on annual billing.
Key takeaways
Small businesses should weigh setup time and admin effort as heavily as price.
Per-location pricing favors one big location; per-person pricing favors several small sites.
Look for overtime rules, auto clock-out and a payroll export on the plan you'd actually buy.
Try it with your real team before paying — most products have a free plan or trial.
About a minute to set up, nothing for employees to install, and every feature on every plan — free for 3.
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.
Free for one location and up to 10 employees, with scheduling and an optional payroll add-on.
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.
Free for up to 10 users with a time clock, scheduling, chat and forms.
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.
Straightforward per-employee pricing with a group punch kiosk and PTO tracking.
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.
A browser kiosk with cheap kiosk-only seats, plus project tracking for office staff.
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).
The best time clock apps for small business in 2026
TrackBadges
Homebase
Connecteam
OnTheClock
Clockify
Employee needs a smartphone
No. Employees carry a printed badge.
No — the shared tablet takes PINs. Phone clock-in is optional.
Not with the kiosk, which takes a PIN. Otherwise each employee uses the Connecteam app on their own phone.
No — the Group Punch kiosk covers employees without phones.
No — the kiosk covers employees without phones, using cheaper kiosk-only seats.
One supervisor clocks in a crew
Yes — it's how it works. One phone clocks in the whole crew.
Not found in Homebase's plans or help pages.
No. Per Connecteam's help center, admins can't clock someone in directly; they add the time to the timesheet instead.
Not as a supervisor workflow; Group Punch is a shared kiosk where employees punch themselves.
Partly — a manager's Universal PIN can clock people in and out at the kiosk.
Free plan
Free for up to 3 people, with every feature.
Free (Basic) for 1 location and up to 10 employees; timesheets are kept for 90 days.
Free for up to 10 users (Small Business plan), with one time clock.
No free plan; 30-day free trial.
Free for a small team, but the free plan doesn't include the kiosk.
10 people / month
$19.50/mo
Free
Free
$45/mo
$21.89/mo
25 people / month
$42/mo
$30/mo
$35/mo
$105/mo
$44.24/mo
50 people / month
$79.50/mo
$30/mo
$55/mo
$205/mo
$81.49/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.
What matters for a small business
Setup time. If it takes a week to roll out, it'll never get rolled out.
What employees have to do. Every app install, password and update is a support call.
Total monthly cost. Base fees, admin seats, per-location charges and add-ons, not just the per-user price.
Payroll. Overtime rules and a clean export to whatever runs your payroll.
Cost for a small team
Team
TrackBadges
Typical per-user app at $5–$10/user
5 people
$12/mo
$25–$50/mo
10 people
$19.50/mo
$50–$100/mo
25 people
$42/mo
$125–$250/mo
Try before you pay
TrackBadges lets you add your real crew, print a badge and scan it with your phone before you sign up. Most others offer a free plan or a 14- to 30-day trial — use it with your actual team, at your actual site, before you commit.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best time clock for a small business?
For a small crew, TrackBadges: print badges, scan them with any phone, free for 3 people, then $9 a month plus $1.50 per person ($19.50 for 10). For a single shop that also needs scheduling, Homebase's free plan is a good start.
How much does a time clock app cost for a small business?
Typically $3–$12 per user a month, sometimes plus a base fee. TrackBadges is free for 3 people and $19.50 a month for 10. See the time clock cost guide.
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.