The short version
Choose OnTheClock if your team is on US payroll and you want one vendor to track the hours and file the taxes. Its payroll add-on handles federal and state filing, direct deposit, and year-end forms. That is a genuine amount of work to take off your desk, and ClockBase does not do it.
Choose ClockBase if you are paying contractors or staff overseas — virtual assistants in the Philippines, a designer in Poland, a developer in Argentina. US payroll software treats that as an edge case. In ClockBase the rate you agreed, the currency the person is paid in, and the account you fund from are three separate fields by design, and the payout goes out as one international batch.
Side by side
| ClockBase | OnTheClock | |
|---|---|---|
| Time tracking price | $5 per employee / month. Free for one person. No base fee. | $4 per employee / month plus a $5 monthly base fee. |
| Payroll preparation | Included on the $8 plan: gross pay, paystubs, and payout batches. No separate base fee. | Add-on at $6 per paid employee / month, plus a $40 monthly base fee and a $250 one-time implementation fee. |
| Tax filing | None. ClockBase prepares pay; it does not file with any tax authority. | Files US federal and state payroll taxes, and issues W-2s and 1099s. |
| Paying overseas staff | Agreed rate, payout currency, and funding account are three separate settings. International batch payouts through Wise. | Built around US direct deposit and US tax compliance. |
| Monitoring | No screenshots, keystroke logging, URL tracking, or location tracking. | No screenshots. Offers GPS and geofencing, and fingerprint punch with a reader. |
| Getting started | Setup call — we configure departments, pay periods, and your team with you. | Self-serve signup with a 30-day free trial. |
OnTheClock figures are from their published pricing page as at 4 August 2026. Confirm current pricing with the vendor before you decide.
What five people actually costs
Take a small agency with five remote assistants. On OnTheClock's time tracking plan that is five seats at $4 plus the $5 base fee, so $25 a month. On the ClockBase Team plan it is five seats at $5, so $25 a month as well. For hours alone, there is nothing in it.
The gap opens when payroll enters. ClockBase Enterprise is $40 a monthfor those five people, and payout preparation, paystubs, and batch payouts are included. Adding OnTheClock's payroll module to the same five people is $30 in seats plus the $40 base fee — $95 a month, plus $250 once to implement. And that payroll module is filing US taxes, which is not what an agency paying assistants in Manila needs.
So the real question is not price. It is whether the payroll you need is US tax filing or international payout preparation. Buy the one that matches.
Neither one watches your screen
This is worth saying plainly, because a lot of the category does. Neither ClockBase nor OnTheClock takes screenshots, logs keystrokes, or records which websites your team visits.
They differ at the edges. OnTheClock adds GPS and geofencing, which suits crews who clock in on a job site, and fingerprint punching with a hardware reader for shared time clocks. ClockBase has neither — no location data, no biometrics. What it records instead is what the person did: the department, the task, and the note they wrote themselves. If you need to prove a technician was on site, that is an argument for OnTheClock.
Where ClockBase is the wrong choice
- You need payroll taxes filed. ClockBase does not file with any tax authority and does not issue W-2s or 1099s.
- You need automatic statutory deductions outside British Columbia. The automatic Canadian deduction path currently covers BC for the 2026 tax year only. Everywhere else, gross pay is prepared and deductions are handled by you or your accountant.
- You clock in from job sites. There is no GPS, geofencing, kiosk, or fingerprint punch.
- You want to sign up and start in five minutes. ClockBase is early, and we set every workspace up on a call rather than handing you an empty account. That is deliberate for now, but it is slower than a free trial button.
Common questions
- Does ClockBase file payroll taxes like OnTheClock's payroll add-on?
- No. ClockBase prepares payroll — hours, exceptions, gross pay, paystubs, and international payout batches — but it does not file taxes with any government or issue W-2s. OnTheClock's payroll add-on does file US federal and state taxes. If you employ people in the US on payroll, that is a real difference and you should weigh it carefully.
- Which is cheaper?
- For plain time tracking, OnTheClock is usually cheaper: $4 per employee per month plus a $5 monthly base fee, against $5 per employee on the ClockBase Team plan. ClockBase costs less once you need international payout preparation, because OnTheClock's payroll add-on carries a $40 monthly base fee and a one-time $250 implementation fee on top of its per-employee price.
- Can OnTheClock pay a virtual assistant in the Philippines?
- OnTheClock's payroll is built around US tax filing and US direct deposit. ClockBase is built the other way round: the rate you agree, the currency your assistant is paid in, and the account you fund from are three separate settings, and payouts go out as one international batch through Wise.
- Do either of them take screenshots?
- Neither takes screenshots by default. OnTheClock offers GPS and geofencing for field staff, and fingerprint punching with a hardware reader. ClockBase has no location tracking, no screen capture, and no biometric punch at all.
- Can I move my existing time records across?
- Historical time data is not imported automatically today. The practical approach is to close out your current period in your existing tool and start the next one in ClockBase, keeping the old export as your record. We will go through this with you on the setup call.