Lifetime licence. One payment, no renewals — your licence codes are emailed the moment payment clears, and every direct purchase carries a 60-day money-back guarantee.

Alternatives

The best DeskTime alternatives for remote teams in 2026

7 tools, ranked for one job: tracking a remote or offshore team’s time with screenshots, at the lowest long-run cost. Some of them beat AirStaff at other jobs, and we say which.

Buy once from $99 Try the live demo

60-day money-back guarantee on every direct purchase.

The short answer

For a remote team that wants screenshots without a monthly bill, the best DeskTime alternative is AirStaff: $198 once for 15 staff, against $4,952 over three years on DeskTime Premium. Freelancers billing their own hours are better served by Toggl Track.

7: tools ranked, each with one pro and one con
$4,754: saved over three years for 15 staff moving from DeskTime Premium to AirStaff
25 Sep 2026: when every price on this page was checked

Summary

Ranked for remote teams that want screenshots at the lowest long-run cost. Prices are US$ per user per month on annual billing unless stated.
#	Tool	Best for	Price	Screenshots
1	AirStaff	Remote and offshore teams that want screenshots and timesheets without a monthly bill	$99–$396 once	Included on every tier
2	WebWork	Teams that want the lowest monthly price with screenshots and invoicing	From $3.99 per user per month, annual	Included from Pro
3	Hubstaff	Teams that need GPS, invoicing or payroll in the same subscription	From $4.99 per user per month, annual	Included, capped on Starter and Grow
4	Time Doctor	Teams that want payroll, client login or a Linux app	From $6.67 per user per month, annual	Included from Basic
5	Clockify	Small teams that want free timesheets, or invoicing and time off	Free plan; paid from $3.99 per user per month	Pro plan and above
6	Insightful	Larger organisations that want analytics depth and SSO	From $8 per user per month, annual	Paid add-on, $3–$4 per seat
7	Toggl Track	Freelancers and consultants tracking their own billable hours	Free plan; paid from $9 per user per month	None, by design

The 7 alternatives, one by one

1. AirStaff

Best for: Remote and offshore teams that want screenshots and timesheets without a monthly bill
Price: $99 once for 5 staff, $198 for 15, $396 for 50
Screenshots: Included on every tier; detailed low-res, blurred or off
Pro: One payment instead of a per-user subscription, with a 60-day money-back guarantee
Con: No GPS, mobile or Linux agent in version 1; integrations are Slack webhooks and CSV export

2. WebWork

Best for: Teams that want the lowest monthly price with screenshots and invoicing
Price: From $3.99 per user per month, annual
Screenshots: Included from Pro
Pro: Cheapest per-user plan with screenshots, from $3.99
Con: Still a per-user subscription; its lifetime deal is sold out

AirStaff vs WebWork

3. Hubstaff

Best for: Teams that need GPS, invoicing or payroll in the same subscription
Price: From $4.99 per user per month, annual
Screenshots: Included, capped on Starter and Grow
Pro: Broad feature set, including GPS through an add-on and payroll on Team
Con: Screenshots capped at 500 per user per month on Starter

AirStaff vs Hubstaff

4. Time Doctor

Best for: Teams that want payroll, client login or a Linux app
Price: From $6.67 per user per month, annual
Screenshots: Included from Basic
Pro: Linux desktop app and payroll from the Standard plan
Con: Payroll and integrations start at $11.67 per user per month

AirStaff vs Time Doctor

5. Clockify

Best for: Small teams that want free timesheets, or invoicing and time off
Price: Free plan; paid from $3.99 per user per month
Screenshots: Pro plan and above
Pro: Free for up to 5 users; invoicing from $5.49
Con: Screenshots need the $7.99 Pro plan

AirStaff vs Clockify

6. Insightful

Best for: Larger organisations that want analytics depth and SSO
Price: From $8 per user per month, annual
Screenshots: Paid add-on, $3–$4 per seat
Pro: Workforce analytics, integrations and on-premise option
Con: Screenshots cost extra: $3–$4 per seat per month on top of the plan

AirStaff vs Insightful

7. Toggl Track

Best for: Freelancers and consultants tracking their own billable hours
Price: Free plan; paid from $9 per user per month
Screenshots: None, by design
Pro: Billable rates and budgets, with no screenshots or keystroke recording at all
Con: No screenshots or activity data if you need proof of work

How we ranked them

The ranking is for one buyer: a business with remote or offshore staff on Windows or Mac computers that wants tracked time, activity and screenshots, and wants to pay as little as possible over several years. After AirStaff, tools are ordered by two things: first, whether screenshots are included in the plan price, sold only as an add-on, or not offered by design; then, within each group, by the published annual price of the cheapest plan that includes them. A different job gives a different order: field teams should weight GPS, and freelancers should weight billable rates.

AirStaff is ranked first because this is AirStaff’s site and because, for that buyer, one payment costs less than every per-user plan on this list within the first year, at 5, 15 or 50 staff. Among subscriptions, WebWork has the lowest published price with screenshots included, at $3.99 per user per month. Clockify and Toggl Track have a free plan.

What staying on DeskTime costs

DeskTime Premium at $9.17 per user per month against AirStaff. Published annual-billing price × staff × 12 × years, no add-ons, before tax. AirStaff: the smallest tier that covers the team, paid once.
Team size	DeskTime · 1 year	3 years	5 years	AirStaff, once
5 staff	$550	$1,651	$2,751	$99 Tier 1
15 staff	$1,651	$4,952	$8,253	$198 Tier 2
50 staff	$5,502	$16,506	$27,510	$396 Tier 4

When DeskTime is the better choice

We would rather you buy the right tool than ask for a refund. Choose DeskTime over AirStaff if any of these matter to you:

Integrations with Jira, Asana, Outlook, Google Calendar, GitLab, Trello and Zapier on Premium.
Shift scheduling and an absence calendar on Premium.
Document title tracking from the Pro plan.

AirStaff version 1 covers desktop time tracking for remote and offshore office work on Windows and macOS, and it is honest about the edges.

What your staff experience

Staff did not choose the tracker, so what they see matters as much as the price. On AirStaff:

Nothing is recorded until they accept a monitoring notice, and notice periods such as the 14 days required in New South Wales run first.
Keyboard and mouse activity is counted, never captured. There is no keystroke log.
They can see which screenshot mode is on, and screenshots are deleted after 60 days by default.
Their own “My data” view shows the same hours, screenshots and activity their manager sees, with a one-click download.
Nothing is recorded while they are clocked out, and idle time is never counted as paid time.

The detail is on the privacy-first monitoring page.

How to switch from DeskTime

AirStaff has no importer for DeskTime data in version 1, so switching means starting fresh and keeping your history where it is. It takes an afternoon, plus any notice period your staff are owed.

Keep your history
Export the timesheets and reports you need to keep from DeskTime while your subscription is still active.
Buy and invite
Pay once for the tier that covers your team. Your licence code arrives by email; redeem it at signup and invite staff with a role and a team.
Install and consent
Each person installs the Windows or macOS agent and accepts the monitoring notice. Tracking starts once any notice period has run.
Overlap, then cancel
Run both for one pay period and compare the timesheets. Then cancel DeskTime at the end of your billing term — check its terms for notice and refunds.

Sources and how we checked

Prices checked 25 Sep 2026 on each vendor’s own pricing page, in US dollars per user per month on annual billing unless stated. Plans and prices change — check the vendor’s page before you decide.

By Geoff Philcox, founder · Last updated 25 September 2026

DeskTime, WebWork, Hubstaff, Time Doctor, Clockify, Insightful, Toggl Track are trademarks of their owners. AirStaff is not affiliated with or endorsed by any company named on this page. No competitor logos or screenshots are used.

Questions people actually ask

What is the best alternative to DeskTime for a remote team?

For a remote or offshore team on Windows or Mac that wants screenshots, activity and timesheets, AirStaff: one payment of $198 covers 15 staff, against $4,952 over three years on DeskTime Premium at published annual prices. For other jobs the answer changes, and the list above says where each tool wins.

What is the cheapest DeskTime alternative that still takes screenshots?

Over any period longer than a few months, AirStaff, because it is one payment from $99. Among per-user subscriptions on this list, WebWork Pro has the lowest published price with screenshots included, at US$3.99 per user per month on annual billing.

Is there a free alternative to DeskTime for small teams?

Yes, with limits. Clockify: free for up to 5 users, without screenshots. Toggl Track: free for a limited number of users. Free plans on this list do not include screenshots. AirStaff has no free plan, but its live demo needs no signup and every direct purchase has a 60-day money-back guarantee.

Which DeskTime alternative suits freelancers who bill clients by the hour?

A billable-time tracker rather than a monitoring tool. Toggl Track, from US$9 per user per month on annual billing, says it does not take screenshots or record keystrokes, and offers billable rates and budgets. Clockify has a free plan for up to 5 users and invoicing from its Standard plan. AirStaff is built for managing a team, not for tracking your own hours.

Which DeskTime alternatives offer a lifetime licence instead of a subscription?

AirStaff is sold only as a lifetime licence: $99, $198, $297 or $396 once for 5, 15, 30 or 50 staff seats. Every other tool on this list is a per-user subscription at the time of checking. WebWork ran a lifetime deal on AppSumo, but that listing now says it is sold out.

How did you rank these DeskTime alternatives against each other?

For a remote team that wants screenshots at the lowest long-run cost. After AirStaff, which costs less than every plan listed within the first year, tools are grouped by whether screenshots are included in the plan, sold as an add-on, or not offered by design, then ordered by published annual price. AirStaff is also first because this is its site; every card says where the other tools do better.

Which DeskTime plan do I need to get screenshots?

Premium, at US$9.17 per user per month on annual billing, or Enterprise. DeskTime’s Pro plan at US$6.42 does not include screenshots, so the like-for-like comparison with AirStaff uses Premium.

Try the DeskTime alternative that you pay for once.

One payment, no renewals, and a 60-day money-back guarantee on every direct purchase.