DeskTime Review: Pros, Cons, Features and Pricing Explained
DeskTime is a time tracking software designed to help you monitor team productivity, manage workloads, and gain visibility over project hours. If you’ve struggled with unreliable timesheets or need more detailed insight into where your team’s hours go, DeskTime offers a blend of automated tracking, productivity analytics, and easy reporting.
In this review, I break down DeskTime’s features, best and worst use cases, pros and cons, and pricing to help you decide if it’s the right fit for your project management needs.
DeskTime Evaluation Summary
- From $6.42/user/month (billed annually)
- 14-day free trial + free demo available
Why You Can Trust Us
We’ve been testing and reviewing project management software since 2012. As project managers ourselves, we know how critical and difficult it is to make the right decision when selecting software.
We invest in deep research to help our audience make better software purchasing decisions. We’ve tested more than 2,000 tools for different project management use cases and written over 1,000 comprehensive software reviews. Learn how we stay transparent & our software review methodology.
DeskTime Overview
In my opinion, DeskTime stands out for its clear interface, strong automatic tracking, and affordable plans, especially for teams wanting quick onboarding and simple productivity reporting. When judging integrations and customizability, it’s not as deep as some competitors, but for most project teams, daily activity tracking, absence management, and built-in screenshots deliver real value. I think DeskTime is best if you want a no-fuss, reliable way to track work hours, see productivity trends, and encourage accountability—ideal for distributed or hybrid teams that need more transparency without heavy admin work.
pros
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Automatic tracking of apps, URLs, and document time
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Built-in productivity categorization for each tracked activity
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Quick project time assignment with drag-and-drop timeline
cons
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Limited offline tracking and manual entry options
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Screenshot monitoring may raise privacy concerns for users
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Lacks in-depth project budgeting and forecasting features
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Accelo
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Celoxis
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Wrike
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Our Review Methodology
How We Test & Score Tools
We’ve spent years building, refining, and improving our software testing and scoring system. The rubric is designed to capture the nuances of software selection and what makes a tool effective, focusing on critical aspects of the decision-making process.
Below, you can see exactly how our testing and scoring works across seven criteria. It allows us to provide an unbiased evaluation of the software based on core functionality, standout features, ease of use, onboarding, customer support, integrations, customer reviews, and value for money.
Core Functionality (25% of final scoring)
The starting point of our evaluation is always the core functionality of the tool. Does it have the basic features and functions that a user would expect to see? Are any of those core features locked to higher-tiered pricing plans? At its core, we expect a tool to stand up against the baseline capabilities of its competitors.
Standout Features (25% of final scoring)
Next, we evaluate uncommon standout features that go above and beyond the core functionality typically found in tools of its kind. A high score reflects specialized or unique features that make the product faster, more efficient, or offer additional value to the user.
We also evaluate how easy it is to integrate with other tools typically found in the tech stack to expand the functionality and utility of the software. Tools offering plentiful native integrations, 3rd party connections, and API access to build custom integrations score best.
Ease of Use (10% of final scoring)
We consider how quick and easy it is to execute the tasks defined in the core functionality using the tool. High scoring software is well designed, intuitive to use, offers mobile apps, provides templates, and makes relatively complex tasks seem simple.
Onboarding (10% of final scoring)
We know how important rapid team adoption is for a new platform, so we evaluate how easy it is to learn and use a tool with minimal training. We evaluate how quickly a team member can get set up and start using the tool with no experience. High scoring solutions indicate little or no support is required.
Customer Support (10% of final scoring)
We review how quick and easy it is to get unstuck and find help by phone, live chat, or knowledge base. Tools and companies that provide real-time support score best, while chatbots score worst.
Customer Reviews (10% of final scoring)
Beyond our own testing and evaluation, we consider the net promoter score from current and past customers. We review their likelihood, given the option, to choose the tool again for the core functionality. A high scoring software reflects a high net promoter score from current or past customers.
Value for Money (10% of final scoring)
Lastly, in consideration of all the other criteria, we review the average price of entry level plans against the core features and consider the value of the other evaluation criteria. Software that delivers more, for less, will score higher.
Core Features
Automatic Time Tracking
DeskTime records time spent on applications, websites, and documents in real time. You see exactly where work hours go without manual input.
Productivity Categorization
The platform automatically classifies activities as productive, unproductive, or neutral based on your role. This gives teams a clear, at-a-glance view of focus and distractions.
Project and Task Tracking
Assign tracked time to specific projects or clients using tag and drag-and-drop functionality. This enables accurate billing and client reporting.
Absence and Break Tracking
DeskTime logs vacations, sick leave, and breaks alongside work hours. You get a complete attendance picture in one dashboard.
Screenshot Capture
Enable periodic screenshots to monitor activity and verify work without constant check-ins. This is especially useful for remote teams and client reporting.
Detailed Reporting and Export
Generate daily, weekly, or custom reports on time, productivity, and project allocation. Export data to spreadsheets for payroll, invoicing, or deeper analysis.
Ease of Use
DeskTime is one of the most user-friendly time tracking solutions I’ve tried, thanks to its clean dashboard, fast onboarding, and intuitive timeline controls. Users highlight how easy it is to assign tasks and generate reports without training. I think its drag-and-drop project assignment and automatic tracking make it ideal for teams that want accuracy without complexity or hand-holding.
Integrations
DeskTime integrates with Google Calendar, Outlook Calendar, Asana, Trello, Gitlab, Jira, and Zapier.
DeskTime also offers an API for custom integrations and connections with additional third-party tools.
DeskTime Specs
- 360 Degree Feedback
- API
- Attendance Tracking
- Batch Permissions & Access
- Budgeting
- Calendar Management
- Dashboard
- Data Export
- Data Import
- Data Visualization
- Employee Database
- Employee Engagement
- Employee Onboarding
- External Integrations
- Feedback Management
- Forecasting
- Multi-User
- Notifications
- Project Management
- Scheduling
- Timesheets
- Travel Management
- Vacation & Absence Calendar
