Comparison

ClockShark vs Buddy Punch

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

ClockShark

This app helps field service companies manage their mobile teams' time, schedules, and job progress. It offers features like GPS tracking, digital timesheets, and job costing to streamline operations and improve payroll accuracy.

Highlights
  • Digital time tracking and timesheets
  • GPS location tracking and geofencing
  • Mobile team scheduling and shift management
  • Job costing and payroll integration
  • Photo and document attachments for jobs
  • Time off request management
Read full description

ClockShark is a cloud-based timekeeping and scheduling app used by construction and other field service companies to track time, schedule shifts, see who’s working, and help manage jobs from start to finish. Companies with mobile teams can manage their time, teams, and jobs from anywhere with any device. Hear what customers have to say: “We save so much time and it makes our job much easier.” Stephen M. CEO/Owner, Construction Company (saved 10+ hours/month) “The system integrated perfectly to QuickBooks and it made payroll a breeze.” Adrian P., Owner (saved $1200/month and 10 hours/month) “The crew loves that they can take pictures and insert it into the app to show that their work has been completed.” - Abel C., President, Janitorial Company (saved 25+ hours/month) FEATURES: Easy Time Tracking ● Track your team’s time in one place—no more messy paper timesheets ● Easily switch between jobs and tasks, take a break, or clock in or out ● Clock in and out of a new shift right from the scheduler ● Track time against each job or task for better job costing, payroll, and billing ● Review and approve your team’s time ● Allow a crew leader to track time for everyone on their crew with CrewClock™ ● Turn a tablet or phone into a kiosk so multiple people can track their time using a single device Accurate Timesheets ● Confirm your team’s exact clock in and clock out locations for more accurate timesheets ● Get GPS coordinates every time your team uses the mobile app to clock in, start a new job or task, and clock out ● Remind your crew to clock in and out when they’re near the jobsite with geofencing technology ● Receive notifications when employees clock in or out early, late, miss a shift, go into overtime, or clock in or out outside the geofence See Who’s Working ● See your entire team on the map with Who’s Working Now ● Know when your crew is on the jobsite and how long they were there ● Use the GPSTrak™ feature to confirm your team’s location with a breadcrumb trail you can play back anytime ● When enabled, the GPSTrak feature updates your team’s location every 15 – 20 minutes ● Only see your team’s location when they’re clocked in—not when they’re clocked out or on a break Get the Job Done Fast ● Easily schedule your team for shifts ● Teams can see their schedule at a glance and know exactly what to do each day ● Navigate directly to the jobsite by clicking the job address in the app ● Leave comments, attach photos and other documents, and chat in real time about each job in the app Handle Complex Time Policies ● Set up paid or unpaid time off policies ● Receive and approve time off requests ● Set up overtime rules and apply them to multiple groups or a single person ● Receive overtime alerts Save Time and Money ● Create detailed reports to estimate labor costs more accurately ● Integrate with QuickBooks, ADP, Gusto, Sage, xero, Paychex, MYOB, or any other app you use regularly through our integration with Zapier Respect Your Team’s Privacy ● GPS location tracking doesn’t work when your team is off the clock or on a break ● You’ll only receive GPS location updates when your team is clocked in ● Configure the app to track only the information you want to track Build Trust ● Your customers can see exactly how long the job took ● Your team can easily check their hours against their paycheck ● You can rest easy knowing your team is where they say they are, doing the job they say they’re doing ● Everyone can use the data in ClockShark as a record if there’s ever a question about payroll, invoicing, time, or location Excellent Customer Support ● Call or chat with real people who care about you and your business ● Our customer support team loves helping customers get the most out of their ClockShark subscription ● Contact hello@clockshark.com with any questions or call (800) 828-0689 Note: To use the ClockShark mobile app, you need an active trial or paid subscription. Start a free trial at www.clockshark.com/signup.

About

Buddy Punch

This employee time tracking app allows staff to clock in and out from any internet-connected device. It offers features like GPS tracking, geofencing, and photo punch-ins to ensure accountability. The app automatically calculates hours, overtime, and PTO, and integrates with popular payroll services.

Highlights
  • GPS time clock
  • Geofencing
  • Photo punch-ins
  • Automatic time calculations
  • Employee scheduling
  • PTO tracking
  • Payroll integrations
Features
Read full description

This app is for use with a paid Buddy Punch account. Buddy Punch is an employee time tracking app that's so easy to use that your grandma could do it. With our web and mobile apps, employees can clock in and out from anywhere. Combine that with the power of geofencing, GPS tracking, and photo clock-ins, and you'll always know your employees are where they're supposed to be when they're on the clock. MAIN FEATURES Time Tracking: Employees can clock in and out using any internet-connected device (computer, tablet, or phone). Flexible Punching: Employees don't need unique email addresses to use Buddy Punch. They can clock in/out using usernames and passwords, PINs, QR codes, or even facial recognition. Automatic Calculations: All punch data is compiled into timesheets with regular hours, overtime, and pay automatically calculated for you, making running payroll faster and easier than ever. Employee Scheduling: Create your work schedules in Buddy Punch to take advantage of even more features like attendance tracking, punch limiting, and automatic clock outs. PTO Tracking: Automatically calculate PTO accruals, deduct used PTO from balances, and add taken PTO to timesheets so employees get paid for their paid time off. Job Costing: Set up department codes in Buddy Punch to track the total time spent on specific jobs and projects, then run reports to help with budgeting and invoicing. Payroll Integrations: Send your timesheet data to QuickBooks, Gusto, Paychex, SurePayroll, and more in just a few clicks to make running payroll faster than ever before. ACCOUNTABILITY FEATURES GPS on Punch: Capture employees' locations when they clock in and out, then review those locations on their timesheets to ensure they were on-site when they punched. Geofencing: Create virtual borders around each of your job sites. With geofencing enabled, employees can only clock in and out when they're within the boundaries of a geofence. Real-Time GPS Tracking: Track employees' locations across the entire workday. See where they're located on a map at any given moment, and view breadcrumb trails of everywhere they traveled over the course of a day. Photos on Punch: Require employees to take a picture of themselves when they clock in and out to prevent buddy punching. All photos can be reviewed on employees' time cards. Notifications: Get an alert when an employee clocks in late, misses a shift, is nearing overtime, forgets to clock out — anything that's important for you to stay on top of. CUSTOMER SUPPORT Buddy Punch has one of the highest ratings on the market for the outstanding support we provide to our customers. All of our agents know the product inside and out and are available through live chat or email to get you set up quickly or answer any questions you have.

Screenshots

ClockShark4 screens
Buddy Punch4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Buddy Punch at 4.9 against ClockShark's 2.9. Buddy Punch also leads on review sentiment (60% vs 43%). ClockShark's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.0). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Buddy Punch holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 2.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 269 and 719 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 43% of ClockShark's written reviews are positive against 60% of Buddy Punch's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ClockShark ships an update fortnightly, Buddy Punch monthly. Both last shipped on September 22, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
ClockShark versus Buddy Punch: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterClockSharkBuddy Punch
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.9 (269 ratings)4.9 (719 ratings) — better
Positive reviews43.0% of reviews60.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings269719 — better
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size105 MB106 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperClockShark, LLCBuddy Punch LLC

Customer experience

ClockShark

All ratings269 ratings
Positive42.8%
Neutral9.7%
Negative47.6%
Written reviews79 reviews
Positive43.0%
Neutral10.1%
Negative46.8%

Buddy Punch

All ratings719 ratings
Positive96.9%
Neutral0.8%
Negative2.2%
Written reviews35 reviews
Positive60.0%
Neutral2.9%
Negative37.1%

User reviews

ClockShark

From 269 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use and intuitive interface
  • 🚀 Efficient time tracking across multiple job sites
  • 📍 GPS location verification for job site accuracy
  • 🔄 Seamless QuickBooks integration
  • 📊 Helpful timesheet summaries and reporting

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Invasive location tracking requiring 'Always' permission
  • 🔋 Significant battery drain during work shifts
  • 📡 Excessive GPS pinging consuming data
  • 🐛 Frequent app crashes and sync failures
  • ❌ Incorrect location readings causing employee reprimands

Buddy Punch

From 719 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 User-friendly and easy to use
  • 🚀 Quick and convenient punch in/out process
  • 📍 QR code punch system works well
  • 🔔 Reliable notifications and updates
  • 💼 Good for field-based businesses

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App frequently fails to punch in/out despite confirmation
  • ⏱️ Slow app loading times causing tardiness
  • 🔐 Facial recognition issues with darker skin tones
  • 📱 Portrait-only orientation (no landscape mode)
  • 🔄 Inconsistency between app and website

Bugs and requests

ClockShark

Reported bugs

12 issues
  • Login error messages with no resolution
  • App crashes immediately after opening
  • Hours not saving or disappearing after entry
  • Automatic clock-outs during normal app usage
  • Location pinging continuing after clock-out
Show 7 more
  • Jobs display superimposed over each other
  • Break time editing disabled
  • Failed sync states requiring app reinstall
  • Inconsistent behavior with 'Only While Using' location setting
  • Notifications for nearby job sites when already clocked in
  • GPS location accuracy issues showing employees miles away
  • App won't load after updates

Requested features

10 requests
  • Customizable notification reminder times
  • Ability to edit break times easily
  • Automatic daily clock-in at same time
  • Sick days and vacation day tracking
  • Quick clock in/out via app shortcuts
Show 5 more
  • Batch photo upload functionality
  • App widgets showing schedule
  • Time correction form accessibility within app
  • Option to disable location tracking when clocked out
  • More efficient data entry for repetitive information

Buddy Punch

Reported bugs

7 issues
  • App crashes and shows blank white screen requiring reinstall
  • Keyboard overlay cuts off top half of screen during manual time entry
  • Punch confirmation shows success but punch never registers
  • App fails to punch in/out for lunch breaks
  • Network error messages after successful submission
Show 2 more
  • Difficult signup process
  • No account creation option available

Requested features

8 requests
  • Landscape/horizontal orientation support for iPad
  • Live real-time GPS tracking
  • View PTO balance in app
  • Geofencing for punch in/out
  • Status change without punching in/out
Show 3 more
  • Billing based on active punches rather than inactive employees
  • Better app-to-website synchronization
  • Account creation option in app

In-app purchases

None

ClockShark

No in-app purchases

None

Buddy Punch

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ClockShark free?
ClockShark is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Buddy Punch free?
Buddy Punch is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, ClockShark or Buddy Punch?
Buddy Punch is rated higher. ClockShark averages 2.9 out of 5 from 269 ratings, while Buddy Punch averages 4.9 from 719 ratings.
Do ClockShark or Buddy Punch have ads?
Neither ClockShark nor Buddy Punch shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ClockShark or Buddy Punch?
ClockShark ships an update fortnightly, and Buddy Punch monthly. Most recently, ClockShark was updated on September 22, 2026 and Buddy Punch on September 22, 2026.

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