Time Clock and Payroll Software Compared
Compare 12 time clock and payroll platforms on combined cost at 10, 25, and 50 employees, plus the built-in versus integration choice.
Time Clock and Payroll Software
12 platforms compared on what the combination actually costs at 10, 25, and 50 employees, why three incompatible pricing models make the sticker price meaningless, and whether built-in beats a good integration
Two products with published prices should be easy to compare. This category is not, and the reason is structural: the vendors use three fundamentally different pricing models, and the number on the pricing page is frequently not the tier that includes what you came for.
A concrete case. Gusto is $49 per month plus $6 per employee, and it does include time tracking, on the Plus tier at $80 plus $12 per employee. At 25 employees that is $199 against $380, and a buyer who compared the advertised figure against a competitor made the comparison on a number that does not apply to them. The same pattern repeats across the category, with time tracking sitting one or two tiers above the headline at several vendors and billed as an add-on at others.
This comparison covers 12 platforms, what the combination actually costs at 10, 25, and 50 employees on the tier that genuinely includes both halves, and the built-in versus integration question that determines whether you are buying one product or two.
What this category actually contains
Products land in this search from two directions, and which direction a vendor came from tells you more about its strengths than any feature list.
| Payroll-first vendors | Clock-first vendors | |
|---|---|---|
| Examples | Gusto, Patriot, Square, QuickBooks | Homebase, When I Work, Deputy, ClockShark, Connecteam |
| Built first for | Calculating pay and filing taxes | Scheduling shifts and capturing hours |
| Time clock quality | Adequate, often on a higher tier | Deep: geofencing, break rules, shift trades |
| Payroll quality | Full-service tax filing included | Sometimes an add-on, sometimes an export |
| Scheduling | Usually absent | Usually a core function |
| Typical weakness | Thin scheduling and shift management | Payroll is a newer or partnered product |
The consequence is that a business with genuinely variable shifts usually ends up wanting a clock-first product, and a business that mainly needs accurate pay and filings usually ends up wanting a payroll-first one. Buying the wrong direction and then paying to upgrade into the missing half is the most expensive path through this category.
Three pricing models that cannot be compared directly
This is the part that determines your total, and almost no comparison in this category addresses it.
| Model | How it charges | Cheap when | Expensive when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per employee or per user | A fee per person, usually plus a base fee | Headcount is low | Headcount grows, on both halves at once |
| Per location | A fee per site, unlimited employees | Many staff at one site | Few staff across many sites |
| Flat rate to a ceiling | One fee up to a user limit | You sit just under the ceiling | You cross the ceiling by one person |
| Per payroll run | A per-employee fee each time you run payroll | Monthly pay cycles | Weekly or biweekly cycles |
Two businesses with 25 employees should reach opposite conclusions from the same table. One restaurant with 25 staff pays a single per-location fee under the Homebase model and is very well served. A cleaning company with 25 staff spread across five sites pays five subscriptions under the same model and should be looking at per-employee pricing instead.
Per-run billing deserves separate attention because it hides in plain sight. A fee described as $6 per employee reads as monthly by default. Where it is charged per payroll run, a biweekly cycle averages about 2.17 runs per month, so the real figure is closer to $13 per employee per month. On a weekly cycle it is higher again.
12 time clock and payroll platforms compared
The table sorts by architecture rather than price, because architecture is what determines whether you are buying one product or two.
| Provider | Starting Point | Pricing Model | Runs Payroll Itself | Built-in Time Clock | Scheduling Included | Trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Homebase | Built-in both | Per location + per employee | Free tier | |||
| Gusto | Payroll-first | Base + per employee | Until 1st run | |||
| Square | Built-in both | Base + per employee | Free trial | |||
| Rippling | Built-in both | Modular per employee | Demo | |||
| QuickBooks | Built-in both | Base + per employee | 30 days | |||
| OnTheClock | Clock-first | Base + per employee | 30 days | |||
| Buddy Punch | Clock-first | Base + per user | 14 days | |||
| Patriot | Payroll-first | Base + per employee | 30 days | |||
| Deputy | Clock-first | Per user + payroll base | Free trial | |||
| When I Work | Clock-first | Per user, time as add-on | Free trial | |||
| ClockShark | Clock-first | Base + per user | 14 days | |||
| Connecteam | Clock-first | Flat to 30 users | Free tier |
Homebase
The strongest fit for a single-location hourly business, and the clearest example of why location count matters more than headcount. Scheduling and time tracking are priced per location with unlimited employees, so a 30-person restaurant pays the same as a 6-person one. There is a genuinely useful free tier covering scheduling and the time clock at one site within an employee limit.
Payroll is a separate add-on at $39 per month plus $6 per employee paid per payroll run, which is the detail that changes the arithmetic. On a biweekly cycle the effective per-employee cost is roughly double what the figure implies.
Square Payroll
The lowest realistic combined cost at small headcounts for anyone already running Square point of sale, because timecards already exist in the system and flow into payroll with no second product. At $35 per month plus $6 per person it is a single line item rather than a stack.
Outside the Square ecosystem the argument weakens considerably: the time clock is tied to the point of sale and the team app, and you are comparing a narrower product against dedicated time clock vendors.
Gusto
The best payroll product on this list and the clearest illustration of the tier trap. Simple at $49 plus $6 does not include time tracking. Plus at $80 plus $12 does, along with project tracking and multi-state payroll, and at 25 employees that is $380 per month against $199.
If payroll quality, onboarding, and benefits administration matter more than scheduling depth, paying for Plus is defensible. If you mainly need a time clock, pairing Simple with a cheap dedicated clock product is usually cheaper and gives you a better clock.
Connecteam
The flat-rate outlier, and the reason it appears high in the cost table. Pricing is a flat monthly fee covering up to 30 users per hub rather than a per-user charge, with a free plan for small teams. For a 25-person crew that is a fraction of what per-user competitors charge for a comparable feature set.
It does not file payroll. Hours export to a payroll provider, so a complete stack means Connecteam plus payroll, which is still frequently the cheapest combination on this page.
QuickBooks Workforce
Time tracking is bundled with the Premium and Elite payroll tiers rather than Core, which is the same tier trap Gusto has. The argument for it is unchanged: if the books are already in QuickBooks Online, payroll and time entries reach the general ledger with no export step and no reconciliation.
OnTheClock
A time clock product with an unusually low base fee, around $5 per month plus roughly $4 per employee, that has added its own payroll service at a separate $40 base plus $6 per employee. That structure makes it one of the cheapest single-vendor routes to both halves at small headcounts.
Buddy Punch
Built around punch verification: geofencing, IP and device locks, QR codes, PIN kiosks, and webcam photos at clock-in. For a business with a genuine buddy-punching problem rather than a theoretical one, that depth is the reason to choose it. Pricing is $4.49 per user plus a $19 base fee at the entry tier, with payroll available as an add-on at $39 base plus $6 per employee.
Deputy
Scheduling and compliance depth aimed at operations with complex labor rules across jurisdictions, which is where it earns its price. Scheduling tiers run per user, and payroll is delivered as its own module with a base fee on top. For a franchise group or a healthcare operation with predictive scheduling obligations, that compliance tooling is the argument.
When I Work
Attractive per-user pricing for multi-location scheduling, starting around $2.50 per user for the entry tier. The critical detail is that time tracking is an add-on above that price rather than included, which lifts the real cost well over the advertised figure for anyone who actually needs a time clock.
It integrates with major payroll providers rather than filing taxes itself, so a complete stack means two vendors.
Patriot Software
The budget route to both halves from a payroll-first vendor. Full Service payroll is $37 per month plus $5 per employee, and time and attendance is a separate add-on at roughly $6 base plus $2 per employee. That combination is among the cheapest complete stacks that includes real tax filing.
ClockShark
Built for field and construction crews, with GPS breadcrumb tracking, job costing, and crew clock-in that suit work happening away from a fixed site. Pricing is a base fee plus per user, and it integrates with payroll rather than filing itself.
Rippling
Time tracking and payroll as native modules on a single employee record, alongside HR and IT provisioning. The architecture is the most ambitious in this group and the automation is real: hiring someone triggers payroll setup, benefits, device provisioning, and access in one action.
The cost is predictability. Modular pricing means the published core figure is not what anyone pays once payroll, time, and any other modules are assembled.
What the combination actually costs
The table below prices complete stacks: a time clock and payroll together, on the tier that genuinely includes both, at three headcounts.
| Combination | Model | 10 employees | 25 employees | 50 employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connecteam plus Patriot | Flat clock, base payroll | $106 | $141 | $186 |
| Homebase Essentials plus payroll | Per location plus per employee | $125 | $155 | $195 |
| Square Payroll | One platform, POS timecards | $95 | $185 | $335 |
| OnTheClock plus payroll | One vendor, two line items | $145 | $205 | $285 |
| Buddy Punch plus payroll | One vendor, two line items | $153 | $221 | $311 |
| Gusto Plus | One platform, time on Plus tier | $200 | $380 | $680 |
| QuickBooks Premium | One platform, time bundled | $188 | $338 | $588 |
| When I Work plus Gusto Simple | Per user clock, base payroll | $174 | $296 | $474 |
| ClockShark plus Gusto Simple | Base plus per user, base payroll | $199 | $334 | $549 |
Three things fall out of this that entry-tier pricing hides.
The spread widens dramatically with headcount. At 10 employees the cheapest and most expensive complete stacks here differ by roughly $105 per month. At 50 they differ by nearly $500. That is pricing model rather than feature depth: flat-rate and per-location products barely move while per-employee models compound on both halves simultaneously.
Bundling into one vendor is not the cheap route. Gusto Plus and QuickBooks Premium are single-platform answers and both sit near the top of the table. The cheapest complete stacks pair a flat-rate or per-location time clock with inexpensive payroll from a different vendor.
Square is the outlier at small headcounts and not at large ones. At 10 employees it is the cheapest full-service option here because timecards and payroll are one product. At 50 the per-employee fee has compounded and it sits mid-table.
Built-in or integrated: how to actually decide
The industry frames this as one platform being obviously better. It is a trade rather than a hierarchy.
| Built-in, one vendor | Integrated, two vendors | |
|---|---|---|
| Hours reach payroll | Inside the system, no export | Through a connector, usually automatically |
| Failure points | One vendor, one support contact | Two vendors, and a connector between them |
| Time clock depth | Often adequate rather than excellent | Usually better, since the vendor specialises |
| Payroll depth | Full-service at payroll-first vendors | Depends entirely on the payroll half |
| Cost | Frequently higher due to tier requirements | Frequently lower with flat-rate or per-location clocks |
| Switching later | Replacing both at once | Replace one half independently |
The strongest practical argument for built-in is not convenience but the reconciliation step. When hours live in the same system as pay, there is no moment where somebody exports a timesheet, eyeballs it, and retypes a total. That moment is where errors enter.
The strongest argument for integration is that clock-first vendors have better clocks. Geofencing, break rule enforcement, shift trading, crew punch, offline capture, and labor forecasting are core products for them and secondary features for payroll companies. If your operational pain is scheduling rather than paying, that difference is worth a connector.
The time clock rules that create payroll exposure
A time clock is a compliance record before it is a convenience, and three federal rules determine whether yours helps or hurts you in a dispute.
| Rule | Standard | Where employers get it wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Rounding | Permitted if neutral over time in both directions | Rounding only down, or always to the employer's benefit |
| Short breaks | Rest breaks under 20 minutes are paid time | Automatically deducting a coffee break |
| Meal periods | Bona fide meals of 30 minutes or more may be unpaid | Auto-deducting a lunch the employee actually worked through |
| Recordkeeping | Payroll records retained for years after the fact | Losing punch history when switching vendors |
| Off-the-clock work | Work suffered or permitted must be paid | Pre-shift setup and post-shift cleanup not captured |
The automatic meal deduction is the most common source of claims. A system configured to deduct 30 minutes every shift regardless of whether the employee took the break produces unpaid working time whenever service ran long, and the employer's own records prove it. If your clock auto-deducts, it needs a mechanism for employees to flag a missed or interrupted break, and someone has to act on the flags.
Several states are stricter than the federal standard, including rules that limit or prohibit rounding and rules requiring premium pay when a meal break is missed. Our guides to time clock rules for hourly employees and time clock rounding cover the federal details.
The state-level picture varies enough that a multi-state employer cannot configure one rounding policy everywhere, and rounding rules by state covers where the differences fall.
Verdict by situation
Routing by the four variables that actually decide it rather than by a single winner.
| If this is you | Start with | Because |
|---|---|---|
| One location, 15 to 40 hourly staff | Homebase | Per-location pricing means headcount does not raise the clock cost |
| Already running Square point of sale | Square Payroll | Timecards already exist; one product, one bill |
| Field crews across job sites | ClockShark plus payroll | GPS breadcrumbs and crew punch, paired with a payroll provider |
| Under 30 staff, want predictable pricing | Connecteam plus payroll | Flat rate to a ceiling instead of per-user compounding |
| Payroll quality matters more than scheduling | Gusto Plus | Best payroll and onboarding, with time tracking included on that tier |
| Books already in QuickBooks Online | QuickBooks Premium | Time bundled at that tier and ledger sync with no export |
| Real buddy-punching problem | Buddy Punch plus payroll | Deepest punch verification toolkit in this group |
| Multiple sites with small teams each | When I Work plus payroll | Per-user beats per-location when sites outnumber staff |
| Predictive scheduling law obligations | Deputy | Strongest multi-jurisdiction scheduling compliance |
| Tightest possible budget with real filing | Patriot plus its time add-on | Cheapest complete stack that still files taxes |
If you are trying to clock in rather than buy software
Worth addressing directly, because searches for clock in software come from two different people and only one of them is buying anything.
If you are an employee looking for where to punch in, no comparison page can help, because the answer depends entirely on which product your employer bought. The system will be one of the platforms above or something else, the link or app will have come from your manager or your onboarding paperwork, and your credentials were issued by your own company. Ask your manager or check the onboarding email rather than searching for the category.
If you are the employer deciding what your staff will use to punch in, everything above applies and the shortlist in the verdict table is the practical starting point.
Before you choose
FirstHR is not a time clock and does not process payroll. Every platform above does something we do not, and if capturing hours and paying people is the problem in front of you, one of them is the answer. Pick from the comparison.
The reason this section exists is that both halves of that stack run on employee data that arrives from somewhere else. A time clock needs to know who works here, in what role, at what rate, at which location. Payroll needs a signed Form W-4, the right filing status, a completed Form I-9, and correct classification. When that data is wrong at the source, the clock records hours against a stale rate and payroll pays the wrong number, and neither system caused the error.
That is the layer we handle: onboarding workflows a new hire completes before their first shift, e-signature on I-9s, W-4s, offer letters, and policy acknowledgments, employee records with a self-service portal, document management, and training with completion tracking. It runs at a flat $98 to $198 per month for 5 to 50 employee US teams regardless of headcount, which is worth noting on a page where the central finding is that per-employee fees compound across two systems at once. It sits alongside whichever time clock and payroll combination you choose rather than replacing either.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between built-in and integrated time clock and payroll?
Built-in means one vendor owns both and hours reach payroll with no export. Integrated means a time clock product pushes approved hours into a separate payroll platform through a connector. Built-in removes a failure point and a reconciliation step; integration usually gives you a better time clock, because clock-first vendors specialise in scheduling and punch controls.
Is it cheaper to buy time clock and payroll from one vendor?
Usually not. The bundled tier is often two tiers above the advertised price, so single-platform answers sit near the top of the combined cost table. A flat-rate or per-location time clock paired with inexpensive payroll from a different vendor is frequently cheaper at every headcount.
How much does time clock and payroll software cost together?
At 10 employees, realistic combined totals run from about $95 per month to roughly $200. At 25 employees the range is about $141 to $380, and at 50 it widens further. The spread comes from pricing model rather than feature depth, since per-employee models compound on both halves of the stack simultaneously.
What pricing models do these products use?
Per employee or per user with a base fee, per location with unlimited employees, flat rate up to a user ceiling, and in one case per payroll run. A business with 25 staff at one site and a business with 25 staff across five sites should reach opposite conclusions from the same table.
Does the time clock have to integrate with payroll?
Not technically, but the alternative is manual entry, which is where errors originate. What matters more than whether an integration exists is how deep it runs: whether it carries calculated overtime, multiple pay rates, paid break time, and time off balances, or only a single hours total.
Can I use a free time clock with paid payroll?
Yes, and for teams under about ten people it is often the right answer. Homebase and Connecteam both offer free tiers covering scheduling and time tracking within limits. The constraints appear as you grow: employee or location caps, missing advanced features, and generally no payroll integration, so hours move by export.
What time clock rules do employers need to follow?
Rounding must be neutral in both directions over time. Rest breaks under 20 minutes are paid working time. Bona fide meal periods of 30 minutes or more where the employee is fully relieved may be unpaid, but auto-deducting a break the employee worked through creates unpaid time your own records will prove. Several states are stricter.
Do I need scheduling as well as a time clock?
Only if shifts vary. A salaried team clocking in for compliance does not need scheduling and should not pay for it. An hourly team with a weekly changing schedule benefits substantially, and that requirement usually points toward a clock-first vendor rather than a payroll-first one.
Which is better for a small business with hourly employees?
Location count usually decides it. One site with many staff favors per-location pricing such as Homebase. Many sites with few staff each favors per-user models. Businesses already on Square point of sale should start there. Teams needing payroll quality more than scheduling depth are better served payroll-first.
What is a payroll clock in system and who uses it?
Employers mean a time clock that feeds payroll, which is what this page compares. Employees usually mean the specific portal their own employer bought, which no comparison can answer. If you are trying to punch in, ask your manager or check your onboarding paperwork rather than searching the category.
How do I switch time clock or payroll providers mid-year?
Payroll is the constrained half: year-to-date wage and tax totals must transfer so a single W-2 covers the calendar year. Switching at a quarter boundary is materially easier than mid-quarter, and January is easiest. The time clock half is simpler, though you should export and retain punch history for recordkeeping.
What happens to accuracy when hours are entered manually?
It degrades predictably: transposition errors, missed overtime on boundary weeks, and stale rates for anyone who changed roles mid-period. Errors tend to run against the employee, because the person retyping works from an approved total rather than recalculating, which eventually produces corrections and wage claims.