Per-user monthly pricing grows with headcount and continues for as long as you use the tool. Add the cost over three years and compare it with a one-time licence. Clockgauge is free for one host and one employee, $199 once for up to 20 people and $279 once for up to 100, with optional yearly updates after the first year.
What the problem looks like
You began with three people on a monthly plan. Now there are twelve and the bill is four times higher, plus an upgrade to the tier that includes reports. Each hire adds a line to the invoice, and each year the price rises a little. You rarely look at it because it is small each month, but across a year or three it is a meaningful sum.
You also cannot stop paying without losing access to the history of your own team's time.
Why it happens
Subscriptions are efficient for the vendor: predictable income, easy upgrades. Per-user pricing aligns cost with team size, which seems fair until the team doubles. The service also runs on the vendor's servers, so ongoing fees pay for ongoing hosting, as well as development.
For a small team with simple needs, that hosting is something you may not need.
How to compare fairly
- List the monthly price per user and the number of users you expect each year.
- Add any tier upgrades you need for reports, integrations or support.
- Multiply across three years.
- Include the effort of moving if you leave.
- Compare with a one-time licence and any optional update fee over the same period.
See one-time versus subscription time tracking and track remote team hours without monthly fees.
Where Clockgauge fits
Clockgauge is free for one host and one employee. For a team, the licence is $199 once for up to 20 people or $279 once for up to 100, with the first year of updates included. After that, updates are optional at $20 or $100 a year. The data lives on your Host computer, so there is no hosting bill and no per-user monthly fee.
See pricing and self-hosted time tracking explained.
What you give up
A hosted tracker is managed for you: no computer to keep running, easy access from anywhere and integrations with other cloud tools. Clockgauge needs a Host computer on, and you look after its backups. If you value a vendor-run service with many integrations, a subscription tracker may suit you better.
Questions people ask
What happens if I do not renew updates?
The app keeps working at the version you have.
Is there a per-user fee?
No. Plans are priced by team size, once.
Can I try it first?
Yes. The free plan covers one host and one employee.
Try Clockgauge
Clockgauge is an employee and freelancer time tracker that runs on your own computer: timers, consented random screenshots, activity levels, clients, projects and tasks, budgets, payroll balances and reports, paid once instead of per user per month..