ClockShark Review 2026
ClockShark is a GPS time clock and scheduling app built for construction and field service crews. It does that job well, with job costing and contractor payroll integrations that generic time trackers lack. The base-fee pricing is costly for very small teams, and it is not designed for remote employees who work on a computer.
HiveDesk editorial rating
4.3 / 5
Excellent for job-site crews that need GPS-verified hours and job costing. Marked down for the monthly base fee, PTO being locked to the Pro plan, and mobile app reliability complaints in independent reviews.
What Is ClockShark?
ClockShark is a mobile time tracking and scheduling platform aimed at construction companies, field service businesses and trades contractors. Employees clock in and out from a phone app, the app records GPS location with each punch, and hours are tied to jobs and tasks so labor costs can be reported by project. Managers get a drag and drop schedule, a live map of who is working, and exports to payroll and accounting systems.
The product is web and mobile only. There is no desktop tracking agent for Windows, macOS or Linux, and the company does not advertise screenshots or computer activity monitoring. That is a deliberate scope: ClockShark verifies where people are, not what is on their screen. The vendor also markets a set of features under the name ClockShark Lightning for job briefings and mileage capture; we did not test those and treat them as vendor claims.
This review is based on ClockShark's own pricing and product pages and its Capterra listing, all fetched in September 2026, plus our experience comparing time clocks for shift-based and remote teams. We have no commercial relationship with ClockShark.
ClockShark Pricing in 2026
ClockShark uses a base fee plus per-user model rather than flat per-user pricing. That matters for small teams, because the base fee is the same whether you have three employees or thirty.
| Plan | Price | Billing basis | What it includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | $40 per month base fee plus $9 per active user per month | Monthly subscription; only active users are billed | Time and attendance, GPS tracking, job and task tracking, drag and drop scheduling, draft schedules, manager roles and approvals, Spanish language support, third-party integrations |
| Pro | $60 per month base fee plus $11 per active user per month | Monthly subscription; only active users are billed | Everything in Standard plus paid time off, multi-department and multi-office controls, advanced job costing controls, shift wrap-up and compliance forms |
| Free trial | $0 for 14 days | No credit card required; trial includes all Pro features | Full Pro plan access for evaluation |
Pricing as of September 2026 from the ClockShark pricing page, which lists plan features and the trial terms, with the dollar amounts confirmed against the Capterra pricing listing and a third-party pricing guide updated in August 2026. Annual billing discounts are not advertised on the pricing page. Confirm current figures with ClockShark before buying.
What a team actually pays
Because of the base fee, the per-user cost falls as the team grows. Monthly totals on Standard and Pro:
| Team size | Standard per month | Pro per month | Standard cost per user |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 users | $67 | $93 | $22.33 |
| 10 users | $130 | $170 | $13.00 |
| 25 users | $265 | $335 | $10.60 |
| 50 users | $490 | $610 | $9.80 |
Key Features
Availability is taken from the plan comparison on ClockShark's pricing page. Where a capability is not mentioned on the vendor's pages, the table says so rather than assuming it is absent.
| Feature | Availability |
|---|---|
| Mobile time clock with GPS location stamps | Standard and Pro |
| Geofencing around job sites | Standard and Pro |
| Drag and drop crew scheduling | Standard and Pro |
| Job and task tracking with job costing | Standard; advanced job costing controls on Pro |
| Who is working now map view | Standard and Pro |
| Paid time off tracking | Pro only |
| Shift wrap-up and compliance forms | Pro only |
| Multi-department and multi-office controls | Pro only |
| Payroll and accounting integrations (QuickBooks, Sage 100 Contractor, Xero, ADP, Paychex) | Standard and Pro |
| Screenshots or computer activity monitoring | Not advertised on the pricing or product pages |
| Desktop tracking app for Windows, macOS or Linux | Not advertised; ClockShark is mobile and web based |
What ClockShark Does Well
Built for crews that move between job sites
GPS location is captured with every punch and geofences can be drawn around job sites, so a supervisor can see who is on which site without calling around. Capterra reviewers rate the setup and day-to-day operation highly, with "streamlined setup and operation" the most common positive theme in the review summary.
Job costing is part of the time clock, not an add-on
Hours are tracked against jobs and tasks as they happen, which feeds labor cost reports without a second data entry step. For contractors who bill by the job, this is the core reason to choose ClockShark over a generic time clock.
Scheduling and time tracking live in one app
Drag and drop scheduling is included on both plans, and draft schedules let a manager build next week before publishing. Employees see their shifts in the same app they clock in with.
Payroll and accounting integrations that contractors use
ClockShark names QuickBooks, Sage 100 Contractor, Xero, ADP and Paychex on its site. Sage 100 Contractor in particular is a construction-specific system that few general time trackers connect to.
Strong review scores for support
On the Capterra listing fetched for this review, customer service scores 4.8 out of 5 across 1,911 reviews, the highest of its four sub-ratings.
Where ClockShark Falls Short
The base fee makes small teams expensive per head
A five-person crew on Standard pays $40 plus $45, or $85 per month, which works out to $17 per user. The per-user cost only falls toward $9 as the team grows. Teams of two or three should price this out carefully against flat per-user tools.
PTO tracking requires the Pro plan
Paid time off is listed under Pro only, so a small business on Standard that wants to track vacation balances has to move to the $60 base plus $11 per user tier.
No computer-based monitoring
ClockShark tracks location, not screens. Screenshots, activity levels and application usage are not advertised anywhere on the product or pricing pages. That is the right design for field crews, but it means the product does not fit remote desk-based teams that need to verify work on a computer.
Mobile app quality is the most common complaint
In the Capterra review summary, "limited and inconsistent mobile functionality" and "frequent technical glitches" are the two most cited negatives. Since the mobile app is the primary interface for crews, this matters more here than it would for a desktop tool.
No free plan
There is a 14-day trial but no permanently free tier. Competitors such as Connecteam and Homebase offer free plans for small teams, and Clockify offers free time tracking for unlimited users.
Independent review data: ClockShark holds a 4.7 out of 5 overall rating from 1,911 reviews on Capterra as of September 2026, with sub-ratings of 4.7 for ease of use, 4.6 for features, 4.7 for value and 4.8 for customer service.
Who Should Use ClockShark?
ClockShark is a good fit for:
- Construction and trades contractors with crews on multiple job sites
- Field service businesses that need GPS-verified clock-ins
- Companies that bill or budget labor by job and need job costing
- Teams that already run payroll on QuickBooks, Sage 100 Contractor, ADP or Paychex
- Businesses with 10 or more field employees, where the base fee spreads out
ClockShark may not be enough for:
- Remote and hybrid teams that work on computers and need screenshots or activity monitoring
- Contact centers and BPOs that need schedule adherence and desk-based attendance
- Very small teams of two or three, where the base fee dominates the bill
- Businesses that want PTO tracking without paying for the Pro plan
- Teams that need a Windows, macOS or Linux desktop tracker
ClockShark Alternatives
The right alternative depends on whether your people work at job sites or at desks.
- HiveDesk is the option for desk-based, remote, BPO and contact-center teams. It tracks time automatically on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Chrome, captures screenshots and activity levels, and includes scheduling, attendance, leave management, timesheets and approvals for $5 per user per month with no base fee. It does not do GPS crew tracking, so it is not a substitute for field teams. See how HiveDesk handles time clock use cases.
- Hubstaff combines GPS tracking for field staff with screenshots for desk staff, which makes it the closest single tool for mixed teams. Read our Hubstaff review and the HiveDesk vs Hubstaff comparison.
- Connecteam offers a GPS time clock, scheduling and team communication with a free plan for up to 10 users, which undercuts ClockShark for very small crews. See our Connecteam alternatives page for how it compares.
- Clockify is worth a look if you mainly need free time tracking and can live without job-site geofencing. Read our Clockify review or the Toggl Track review for the other well-known timer.
ClockShark vs HiveDesk
These two products solve different problems. ClockShark verifies where field crews are; HiveDesk verifies what desk-based employees are working on. Here is how they line up.
| Feature | ClockShark | HiveDesk |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | $40 or $60 base plus $9 or $11 per user | $5 per user per month, no base fee |
| Free trial | 14 days, no credit card | 14 days, no credit card |
| GPS time clock and geofencing | Yes | No |
| Screenshots and activity monitoring | Not advertised | Yes |
| Desktop apps (Windows, macOS, Linux) | Not advertised | Yes |
| Employee scheduling | Yes | Yes |
| Attendance tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Paid time off and leave management | Pro plan only | Yes |
| Job and project tracking | Yes, with job costing | Yes, tasks and projects |
| Timesheet approvals | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | QuickBooks, Sage 100 Contractor, Xero, ADP, Paychex | Asana |
| Best for | Construction and field service crews | Remote, BPO and contact-center teams |
14-day free trial · No credit card required · All features included
Frequently Asked Questions
As of September 2026, ClockShark lists two plans on its pricing page. Standard costs $40 per month as a base fee plus $9 per active user per month. Pro costs $60 per month plus $11 per active user per month. Only active users are billed. A team of ten on Standard pays $130 per month; the same team on Pro pays $170.
No. ClockShark offers a 14-day free trial with all Pro features and no credit card required, but there is no permanently free plan listed on its pricing page.
Yes. GPS tracking is included on both plans. Location is recorded with each clock-in and clock-out, geofences can be set around job sites, and a live map shows who is working and where. ClockShark does not advertise screenshots or computer activity monitoring.
It is a good fit for small construction, field service and trades businesses whose employees work at job sites. The monthly base fee means very small teams pay more per user than they would on a flat per-user tool, so a two or three person business should compare the total monthly bill rather than the per-user figure.
Yes. ClockShark names QuickBooks, Sage 100 Contractor, Xero, ADP and Paychex as integrations on its website, and third-party integrations are listed as included on both the Standard and Pro plans.
Yes. Drag and drop scheduling and draft schedules are included on both Standard and Pro. Paid time off tracking, which affects scheduling around leave, is a Pro-only feature.
Pro adds paid time off, multi-department and multi-office controls, advanced job costing controls, and shift wrap-up and compliance forms. Everything else, including GPS tracking, scheduling, job tracking and integrations, is in Standard. Pro costs $20 more per month in base fee and $2 more per user.
For field crews, Connecteam and Homebase both offer GPS time clocks with free plans for small teams. For remote and desk-based teams that need screenshots and activity monitoring rather than GPS, HiveDesk includes time tracking, monitoring, scheduling, attendance and leave management for $5 per user per month with no base fee. See the HiveDesk comparison hub for side-by-side pages.
Related Reading
- All software comparisons and reviews — every review, head-to-head comparison and alternatives page on HiveDesk in one place.
- Best Time Tracking Software for 2026 — how the leading tools compare on price, monitoring, scheduling and workforce management.
- GPS Time Clock Apps — when location tracking matters and when computer-based tracking is the better fit.
- Best Employee Scheduling Software — scheduling tools for shift-based teams.
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