Best for
Best for teams that need billable timesheets on their own infrastructure rather than in a subscription cloud.
- Freelancers
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
Time Tracking Comparison
actiTIME vs. Deputy
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for businesses rostering hourly staff across sites, where the hours have to reach payroll rather than an invoice.
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | actiTIME | Deputy |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free for 3 users; paid from $6 / user / month Billed yearly for 1 to 40 users, $5 per user and month for 41 to 200, a fixed cost for unlimited users above 200. The self-hosted edition is a one-time $120 per user. | lower value From $5 / user / month The $5 Lite plan covers basic scheduling, timesheets and time clocking. Core is $6.50 and Pro $9 per user per month. Deputy Payroll adds $8 per user per month plus a $49 monthly base fee, HR $2, Messaging+ $1.95 and Analytics+ $1.50 per user per month. |
| Free trial | Free trial, no credit card required, plus a free version for up to 3 users | Free trial, no credit card required |
| Team size | Not stated | Priced per user, per month |
| Users | Free version up to 3 users | Shift-based teams across more than 15 industries, among them hospitality, healthcare, retail, manufacturing and logistics, construction and engineering, education, security and cleaning |
| API | Yes, a REST API on paid plans; the free version has none | Yes, a developer API alongside prebuilt payroll, point-of-sale, HR and accounting connectors |
| Hosting | Cloud on Amazon servers, or self-hosted on your own Windows or Unix server | Cloud (SaaS), with iOS and Android apps and a shared-device time clock |
| Made in | Canada | Not stated |
| Time tracking | Yes, weekly timesheet, calendar view with start and stop times, iOS and Android apps and a Chrome extension that logs online activity automatically | Time clocking from the iOS and Android apps or a shared device, with biometric time clocking from the Core plan, timesheets with auto-approval from Core and advanced timesheets on Pro, plus shift swaps, find-a-replacement, leave and availability management and labour-law compliance rules |
| Invoicing | Yes, branded PDF invoices from billing rates and recorded time, with leave and overtime costs and a QuickBooks export | No. Deputy's published feature set ends at approved timesheets, which export into payroll and accounting systems such as ADP, Gusto, Paychex, Paycor, Paylocity, Xero and QuickBooks; client invoicing happens in those tools |
| Reporting and controlling | Yes, staff performance, time balances and overtime, estimated versus actual, detailed time-track and cost and billing reports, with charts and real-time widgets; the free version exports CSV only | Basic reporting on Lite; Core adds demand forecasting, labour optimisation and wage and labour budgets; Pro includes the Analytics+ add-on alongside advanced timesheets and location hierarchies |
| Integrations and API | Yes, a REST API on paid plans, plus QuickBooks, Zapier, the Chrome extension and actiPLANS | A developer API plus prebuilt connectors for payroll (ADP, Gusto, Paychex, Paycor, Paylocity, OnPay, Wagepoint, Xero), point of sale (Square, Clover, Lightspeed, Revel, Epos Now), HR (BambooHR, HiBob, Rippling, TriNet, Okta) and accounting (QuickBooks, NetSuite, Xero), with Zapier for anything else |
| AI features | No | stated Yes |
| Deployment | more entries Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based, On-premise | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based |
| Support | Email helpdesk | more entries Chat, 24/7 |
| Onboarding | more entries Documentation and knowledge base, Video tutorials, Live online demos and webinars | Documentation and knowledge base, Guided onboarding |
| Company size | more entries Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise | Small and mid-sized, Enterprise |
| Integrations | QuickBooks, Zapier, actiPLANS, Chrome | more entries ADP, Gusto, Paychex, Paycom, Paycor, Paylocity, OnPay, Wagepoint, Talenox, Xero, QuickBooks, NetSuite, Square, Clover, Lightspeed, Revel, Epos Now, BambooHR, HiBob, Rippling, TriNet, Okta, JobAdder, Box, Dropbox, ServiceM8, Tapcheck, Wagestream, TipHaus, Zapier |
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Adds a column to the table, from the tools in this category.
Row where the values differ The small markers point at the lower number, the longer list or the stated feature. They describe the data, they are not a verdict.
The short version
Key Differences
- Starting price actiTIME Free for 3 users; paid from $6 / user / month Deputy From $5 / user / month
- Free trial actiTIME Free trial, no credit card required, plus a free version for up to 3 users Deputy Free trial, no credit card required
- Deployment actiTIME Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based, On-premise Deputy Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based
- Company size actiTIME Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise Deputy Small and mid-sized, Enterprise
- Hosting actiTIME Cloud on Amazon servers, or self-hosted on your own Windows or Unix server Deputy Cloud (SaaS), with iOS and Android apps and a shared-device time clock
Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.
The trade-offs
Strengths and Limitations
actiTIME
Strengths
- Self-hosted licence as a one-time payment, with the data on your own server
- Billing rates, cost-of-work rates and branded invoices are part of the product
- Free version for up to three users
- Chrome extension logs online activity and imports it into the timesheet
Limitations
- Major upgrades of the self-hosted edition cost 100 percent of the initial price
- The free version has no API and exports only CSV
- The per-user rate only drops above 40 users
Deputy
Strengths
- Biometric time clocking and a shared-device clock cover on-site and shift work
- Deep payroll and point-of-sale connector list, including ADP, Gusto, Paychex, Xero, QuickBooks and Square
- Demand forecasting and auto-scheduling build rosters against wage and labour budgets
- Single sign-on, custom access levels and location hierarchies on the Pro plan
Limitations
- No client invoicing: timesheets are built for payroll rather than for billing work
- Forecasting, auto-scheduling and biometric clocking all require the Core plan or above
- Payroll, HR, Messaging+ and Analytics+ are separately priced add-ons, and Deputy Payroll carries a monthly base fee
- No free tier; Lite is the cheapest paid plan
Plans
Pricing
actiTIME
- Free $0 Up to 3 users, limited functionality, CSV reports, no API.
- actiTIME Online $6 / user / month Billed yearly for 1 to 40 users. $5 per user and month for 41 to 200 users, a fixed cost for unlimited users above 200.
- actiTIME Self-Hosted $120 / user One-time payment, installed on your own server, with direct database access. Minor upgrades are free, major upgrades cost 100 percent of the initial price. A fixed cost for unlimited users is also offered.
Deputy
- Lite $5 Per user per month. Basic scheduling, timesheets and time clocking, labour-law compliance, shift swap and find a replacement, leave and availability management, basic reporting, messaging and news feed, and payroll and HR integrations.
- Core $6.50 Per user per month. Everything in Lite plus advanced scheduling, timesheet auto-approval, biometric time clocking, micro-scheduling, auto-scheduling, demand forecasting, labour optimisation, wage and labour budgets and a customer success manager.
- Pro $9 Per user per month. Everything in Core plus custom access levels, advanced timesheets, location hierarchies, single sign-on, a dedicated customer success manager, a sandbox environment, 24/7 live chat and the Analytics+ and Messaging+ add-ons.
- Add-ons Not stated Deputy Payroll $8 per user per month plus a $49 monthly base fee, HR $2, Messaging+ $1.95 and Analytics+ $1.50 per user per month. HR, Messaging+ and Analytics+ carry 30-day free trials.
What users say
Review Scores · opens after launch
actiTIME
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
Deputy
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
Where this comes from
Where this comes from
actiTIME https://www.actitime.com · no check date recorded yet
Deputy https://www.deputy.com · checked against the official source on 2026-09-12
This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.