Buddy Punch vs ZenHR

Connecteam

Clockify

Jibble

An all-in-one employee app that's both powerful, affordable and easy to use, especially for the mobile workforce.

Clockify is a time tracking app that helps teams track work hours across projects. Managers can measure employee productivity, track the progress of every project and do all necessary reporting and administration work in one place.

The 100% free time tracking and attendance software for deskless teams, helping prevent buddy punching and time theft with GPS tracking, facial recognition, and automated timesheets.

It's easy-to-use, and free forever for unlimited users.

Human Resources Manager

Their customer support is second to NONE - always super responsive and knowledgeable while providing BEYOND this world stellar customer service.  

Buddy Punch offers flexible time clock tracking—whether using Face ID, QR Code, PIN, or geofenced mobile clock-in, employees can punch in/out wherever they are, and you’ll have precise time-stamp records at your fingertips.

401(k) Tracking

Absence Management

Access Controls/Permissions

Accounting Integration

Activity Dashboard

Activity Tracking

Alerts/Notifications

Approval Process Control

Attendance Management

Attendance Tracking

Audit Trail

Availability Management

Billable & Non-Billable Hours

Biometric Recognition

Break Management

Calendar Management

Clock In/Out

Communication Management

Compliance Management

Customizable Reports

Dashboard

Data Import/Export

Direct Deposit

Drag & Drop

Employee Database

Employee Management

Employee Onboarding

Employee Portal

Employee Profiles

Employee Scheduling

Employee Time Tracking

For Cloud

Geofencing

Labor Cost Calculator

Labor Cost Reporting

Labor Forecasting

Leave Tracking

Location Tracking

Lockout Periods

Messaging

Mobile Access

Mobile Alerts

Mobile App

Multi-Language

Multi-Location

Multiple Billing Rates

Multi-State

Online Time Clock

Online Time Tracking

Overtime Calculation

Payroll Integration

Payroll Management

Payroll Reporting

Project Time Tracking

Punch card

Real-Time Data

Real-Time Notifications

Real-Time Reporting

Real-Time Updates

Reimbursement Management

Reminders

Reporting/Analytics

Reporting & Statistics

Role-Based Permissions

Schedule Distribution

Self Service Portal

Shift Management

Shift Scheduling

Shift Swapping

Sick Leave Tracking

Tax Calculation

Tax Compliance

Team Calendars

Third-Party Integrations

Time & Attendance

Time Off Management

Time Off Requests

Timesheet Management

Time Tracking

Vacation/Leave Tracking

W-2 Preparation

Wage Garnishment

Reviews for Buddy Punch come from a wide variety of industries, including Hospital & Health Care (9% of reviewers), Construction (8%), and Health, Wellness and Fitness (5%). The most frequent use case for Buddy Punch cited by reviewers is time clock (75% of reviewers).

Users and use cases

Most users consider Buddy Punch affordable and cost-effective, especially for small businesses, and they appreciate its competitive pricing. Reviewers indicate that the robust features and transparent pricing add value, though some users say per-user costs feel high.

Value for money

Buddy Punch is a time clock tool offering key features such as online time clock, clock in/out, timesheet management, employee time tracking, mobile access, and payroll management, among others.

Proprietary

Buddy Punch

Web-based

iPhone

Linux

iPad

Android

Windows

Chromebook

QuickBooks Time

ADP Workforce Now

When I Work

Time Tracker

OnTheClock

BambooHR

Homebase

Deputy

ClockShark

Starter

Enterprise 

Occasional technical glitches

Occasional mobile app glitches and syncing delays can also be frustrating, especially for staff in the field.

College Director

There were times where it was buggy and screens would get stuck so that you had to reopen the map and follow a specific procedure to avoid the issue from occurring again.

44% of reviewers feel negative about Buddy Punch’s bugs and issues. Some users report experiencing app glitches, syncing delays, and occasional crashes, particularly on mobile devices. Reviewers indicate that these technical problems can lead to frustration, especially when trying to clock in or out or when using the app in the field. They mention that differences between the web and mobile versions, as well as slow loading times or system lags, sometimes disrupt their workflow. Users feel these issues require extra steps or troubleshooting, which can be inconvenient during daily operations.

Highly user-friendly experience

Receptionist

It is a simple system which makes it very user friendly for my needs.

99% of reviewers feel positive about Buddy Punch’s user interface. Reviewers consistently describe the software as intuitive, simple, and easy to navigate for both administrators and employees. They appreciate that the interface minimizes confusion and makes onboarding straightforward, even for those less tech-savvy. Some users say the clear layout and straightforward design allow them to complete tasks quickly without needing extensive training. They indicate that the user-friendly experience contributes to overall satisfaction and helps teams adopt the system with minimal resistance or errors.

Comprehensive time tracking tools

99% of reviewers feel positive about Buddy Punch’s employee time tracking. Reviewers appreciate that it enables accurate tracking of hours, attendance, and breaks, making payroll and compliance easier. Some users find the mobile app and GPS tracking especially helpful for remote teams or businesses with multiple worksites. They indicate that the system reduces administrative workload, helps control overtime, and allows employees to manage their own time efficiently. Many users say it streamlines workforce management, improves productivity, and offers reliable access to time records from anywhere, which is valuable for both managers and employees.

Supervisor

The platform provided structure and consistency, which helped reduce timekeeping errors and improved accountability across the team.

I also liked the reporting tools, which allowed supervisors to quickly review hours worked, overtime, and patterns of attendance.

counselor

HR is now in control of our time and approves all final time stamps including being able to turn on and off geo fence and GPS tracking and changing our times

Practice Manager

It does everything our small business needs - easy scheduling, tracks earned time off, and clocking in and out is easy for our employees to use.

Manager

High cost...because the cost of Buddy Punch increased through the years, we eliminated the scheduling feature and reduced our number of employees to keep the cost more affordable.

What I appreciated most about Buddy Punch was its user-friendly interface and overall reliability in tracking staff time and attendance.

Summer School Tutor

Buddy Punch made tracking time this summer through punching in and out daily super easy — I was able to easily clock in from anywhere (my PC or my phone

I also appreciated the mobile app and GPS/photo features, which add accountability without making the process feel complicated.

steward

It simplifies employee time tracking with features like seamless clock-in/out, easy scheduling, and quick payroll integration.

Project Manager

The mobile app functionality allows employees to clock in and out, request shift changes, and view their schedules from anywhere, which is particularly useful for remote or field-based teams.

Literally, i have to pause and customized my printing pages 5 to 6 times, so I don't print a staff time sheets on a back of another staff's one page timesheet.

This sometimes caused frustration for staff who needed to clock in quickly, particularly during shift changes or emergency situations.

The dashboard is clean and intuitive, which saves time when reviewing hours or preparing payroll.

My only issue with Buddy Punch is that it does not communicate hours with Quickbooks Online very well.

Bookkeeping

Missing tax accounts and never figured out or notified us for months- that payments were being withheld- but we had no account set up for withholding- to deposit tax payments in.

case manager

I enjoy buddy punch due to how easily you can access your profile and see the hours you worked and keep track of your hours  is also easy

Owner

Hours are tracked automatically, employee schedules are easy to manage, and the software organizes all the data in a way that’s clear and accurate.

General Manager

Reliability, Scheduling, Security, Time saving, employee Management and also bugs free which is no issues.

This streamlined payroll preparation and reduced the need for manual corrections.

Driver

My paystubs and tax information is not available on the app so I must navigate to a website which is not as user friendly for mobile.

Administrative Assistant

Sometimes it doesn't fully log me out and I have to go in a change my log out time which can be frustrating especially if I don't remember my exact time of leaving work as my schedule is flexible.

Something that needs to be improved , at least in my personal experience, it's that it frequently throws an error message and does not allow to punch in or do anything (just logging in and out) until an administrator fixes it.

Administrator

Hard to find anything so far, but my only comment is reporting customization capabilities it limited.

Logistic Manager

I used to have to keep track of all of my contract employees with time being written on paper.

I felt like I had to alot of the set up work for BuddyPunch- when we were paying for them to handle payroll- which includes the taxes involved.

Housing Specialist

Medical aid

The flexibility to edit punch times helps in correcting any errors and maintaining precise records.

Front Desk Chiropractic Assistant

I don’t like that it is not possible to delete punches. If I mistakenly mess up my punches to the point where the only way to fix it is to erase and restart, I can’t do that by myself.

Warehouse Manager

I would highly recommend Buddy Punch for any manager or business owner looking to simplify scheduling, running payroll and keeping track of employees.

CSR - Subject Matter EXpert

I love how we can edit our time in or out punches.

Additionally, the mobile app is incredibly convenient, allowing employees to track time and request time off from anywhere.

Data Steward

During my 2 years of work i was using buddy punch to clock in and out of my job and get paid for my working hours , it's very accurate and fast

Kitchen aid

I appreciate the ability to clock in and out in a timely manner.

Operations Associate

This is so effective when it comes to time tracking and managing a schedule so far, this is the best tool when it comes to this kind of task.

I am positive that my employer is happy that scheduling is made easier using your program.

Library Aide

My app at previous job had to have am, or pm added and constantly having glitch issues.

Office Manager

At my present company, we've found the paid time off feature to be especially helpful. And, biggest plus for me is that the Buddy Punch team has been very easy to work with and most accommodating.

We are very satisfied with Buddy Punch and I can unequivocally endorse Buddy Punch for accuracy, ease of use, and helpful people.

Bookkeeper

You can locate where an employee has punched in or out.

Property management

I like that it provided me with accurate confirmation of my punch ins and outs for the company to pay me

One staff may have one side of the time sheet because of less punches than another staff has two pages.

That has happened to me several times in 3 months that I have been using it, without changing PC nor moving to a different work space which is why it might happen sometimes, but it was not my case.

That it does not integrate with my payroll system and I have to manually transcribe/input

I no longer have to keep track of their timesheet with paper.

Even if you forget to punch in or out you are able to edit your time and fix it.

Buddy Punch makes payroll & time tracking easy, accurate, and stress-free—highly recommend!

Operations

As a user, Buddy Punch is a user friendly tool for time tracking and attendance management.

Buddy Punch vs ZenHR Comparison (2026)

Buddy Punch

ZenHR

Overview

Video & Screenshots

Pricing

User reviews

Key features

Integrations

Alternatives