This article provides a detailed and unbiased analysis of prices and costs of different employee monitoring software and attempts to find the best deal on the market.
If you don’t have time (or are too lazy) to read the whole article, here are some highlights:
Click on the title to go directly to pricing options.
There are two basic types of software for analyzing employees' PC activity:
Overall, they are quite similar, and often their functionality even overlaps. However, they do have a number of differences.
Time tracking Softwareis a somewhat more lite program that usually tracks the hours employee has worked at the computer; it has no hidden installation mode; it sometimes takes screenshots of the employee’s desktop, and advanced versions of the software have features that enable you to make payments to the freelancers working for you.
Employee Monitoring Software is a more functional program for analyzing employee activity at the PC. In addition to simply tracking working hours and analyzing productivity, it may include options to display your employees’ screens, record and analyze videos of their monitors, keep track of file transactions, detect work schedule violations, and so on.
If you’re looking to buy employee monitoring software for your company and the question of its cost is quite a big one for you, this article will help you a lot. All the data has been obtained from public sources (websites of the programs’ developers and their partners), yet we encourage you to double-check anything you find doubtful. What’s more, if you happen to find some kind of mistake or inaccuracy, don’t hesitate to e-mail us about it, and we’ll fix it in no time.
The authors of this article are experts with profound knowledge of the employee monitoring software market. Our goal is to make it easier for users to find what they want and not by any means to promote our own software.
All the prices in this article are accurate as of May 2021.
When choosing a product, many customers pay attention solely to the general price tag, ignoring marketing tricks like additional services that may turn out to be not so optional. If you’re planning on using the service for more than a couple of months, you may save yourself some money by choosing a long-term pricing plan with a discount. That’s why we need to tell you about a few important details you should pay attention to during the purchase of the software.
Many retailers offer discounts on long-term licenses as well as on the purchase of licenses for a large number of users. You should keep this in mind when choosing a pricing plan suitable for you. For example, a one-year subscription at a monthly cost per user may be less expensive than the same license for a one-month subscription option. Plus you won’t need to make a monthly payment. Therefore, before you purchase the software of your choosing, estimate the time period you’ll need it for. Some software providers offer an indefinite license period, but in that case there may be a catch in the form of time restrictions regarding technical support or software updates.
Some retailers offer both basic support with response time up to 24 hours and premium (or VIP) support, which includes instant communication with a tech expert that'll solve complicated technical problems but for additional fees. This too is worth considering when choosing the program.
Guidance can also be declared as an optional paid service. There are more than enough free tutorials on most products that can help you master the program. Yet, not everyone has the time and patience to learn the product inside out by themselves, and that’s why the service is also quite popular.
Another feature is Concierge service, which essentially is software installation and customization by (or with the help of) the developer’s representative. Most of the time it’s a paid service.
There are around 50 different employee monitoring software options on the market, and that’s not including countless startups. According to a study by the British company Top10VPN, in 2020 the most demanded (frequently searched) employee monitoring solutions were Hubstaff, Time Doctor, ActivTrak, Teramind, DeskTime, and Kickidler. FlexiSPY, SPYERA, and Crossover are not included in this article, since they are spyware programs not targeted directly at employee monitoring.
The table shows the world's Top 10 developers of employee monitoring software based on search requests in 2020, data from Top10VPN
Kickidler is classic employee monitoring software that has all the necessary functionality to improve staff efficiency. It's incredibly user-friendly and reliable. The program works equally well on all popular Windows, Mac and Linux distributions. Its main features include online screen monitoring, video recording of screens, time tracking, productivity analysis, and violation control. When it comes to additional functionality, the program gives supervisors the opportunity to remotely control their employees’ computers. In 2020, Kickidler’s developers released Autokick, which is a specialized feature that enables remote employees monitoring. It sends employees automatic notifications when workplace violations happen and provides them with the ability to see their own personal statistics on productivity.
Hubstaff is the world's most famous employee monitoring software. Its special feature is the unique tool that helps you work with freelancers. The program tracks the amount of hours worked by an employee based on mouse movements and keystrokes; it also takes screenshots and tracks geolocation. It has tools for budgeting projects, automatic accrual of salaries for hours worked as well as its own developing marketplace for recruiting specialists. Hubstaff can be integrated with numerous third-party services. Currently, Hubstaff's team is working on creating a task manager.
Time Doctor is the second most popular employee monitoring software, which has pretty much the same functionality as Hubstaff, yet a slightly different approach to time tracking. It also requires more employee's participation. For example, the task control function implies that employees themselves will mark which project they are currently working on.
Desktime is employe monitoring software designed to keep track of freelancers' time and monitor their tasks. The program includes such features as time tracking, productivity analysis, project tracking, invoicing (when working with freelancers), and taking automatic screenshots of employees' desktops.
ActivTrak is the type of software for monitoring employees that, in addition to tracking working hours and analyzing productivity, includes monitoring functionality such as violation tracking, taking screenshots, blocking unproductive sites, monitoring removable devices, managing employees remotely, and verifying employees' actions in accordance with the company's security policy.
Teramind is even more information security-focused desktop monitoring software that records videos of user activity, recognizes text in pictures, and detects security risks. Teramind also offers its users DLP functionality that's included in the extended version of the product.
Global employee monitoring software market is characterized by its transparent pricing and flexible rate plans that offer the option to activate or deactivate additional functionality depending on what you need. The scenario of receiving prices upon inquiry is uncommon here. In a highly competitive market, users want to know the price of the product straight away, otherwise they simply won’t bother doing business with you.
A basic rate planusually includes the bare minimum set of features, often with restrictions on the performance.
A standard rate plan contains the essential features of the program, usually with no restrictions.
A “Premium” rate plan is suitable for demanding users and includes such premium features as extended behavior analysis, customization, budgeting, VIP technical support, concierge service, i.e. help in installation, configuration, onboarding, etc.
Prices are listed for 1 license per user for the entire period/per month
| Product | 1 month | 1 year | 3 years | Indefinite | Note |
| Kickidler* | 9.99 | 66 / 5.5 | 132 / 3.67 | 225 | Starting from 1 user |
| Teramind Starter* | - | 120 / 10 | - | - | Starting from at least 5 users |
| Teramind UAM** | - | 249.96 / 20.83 | - | - | Starting from at least 5 users |
| Teramind DLP*** | - | 300 / 25 | - | - | Starting from at least 5 users |
| ActivTrak Advanced* | - | 108 / 9 | - | - | Starting from at least 5 users |
| ActivTrak Premium** | - | 180 / 15 | - | - | Starting from at least 5 users |
| Hubstaff Basic | 7 | - | - | - | Starting from at least 2 users |
| Hubstaff Premium* | 10 | - | - | - | Starting from at least 2 users |
| Hubstaff Enterprise** | 20 | - | - | - | Starting from at least 2 users |
| DeskTime PRO | 7 | 72/6 | - | - | Starting from 1 user |
| DeskTime Premium* | 9 | 96/8 | - | - | Starting from 1 user |
| DeskTime Enterprise** | 14 | 144 / 12 | - | - | Starting from 1 user |
| Time Doctor Basic | 7 | - | - | - | Starting from 1 user |
| Time Doctor Standart* | 10 | - | - | - | Starting from 1 user |
| Time Doctor Premium** | 20 | - | - | - | Starting from 1 user |
Kickidler, notes:
* Prices are converted from rubles to dollars at the exchange rate for May 12, 2021
Teramind, notes:
* Real-time screen recording and viewing, website and app tracking.
** User activity monitoring, auditing, forensics, behavior analysis, policies and rules.
*** Teramind UAM + DLP functionality.
ActivTrak, notes:
* Team engagement and productivity management.
** Optimizing productivity, business processes and performance.
Hubstaff, notes:
* Site and app analytics, GPS tracking, payment for work, billing, unlimited integrations.
** + VIP technical support, help with setup and installation (Concierge account setup), advanced API capabilities.
DeskTime, notes:
* Screenshots, payment for work, integration, offline activity (employees enter data themselves)
** + VIP technical support, help with setup and training (Personalized onboarding), endless data storage, advanced API capabilities.
Time Doctor, notes:
* Site and application analysis, payment for work, 60+ integrations.
** + VIP tech support, help with setup and installation (Concierge account setup), video screen recording.
The most cost-effective solution on the Global market from our Top 10, without any doubt, is Kickidler. Besides the fact that Kickidler's standard plan includes a full set of features, we provide assistance in installation and configuration as well as instruct users how to work with the program, and all that is done free of charge!
However, when choosing a software, we advise you to consider how its functionality can be useful for your company to solve your particular business tasks. Kickidler will be suitable for the organizations that are interested in increasing staff productivity with the help of a tool that can't be tricked.
Kickidler employee monitoring software allows you to view an unlimited number of user screens online, record video history of activity, keep track of working hours, analyze productivity, monitor work schedule violations, and receive notifications/alerts on any abnormalities.
Kickidler Employee Monitoring Software
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