The Best Employee Monitoring Software for 2023

Employee monitoring software enables supervisors to keep tabs on employee activity, including web content they access, files they download and upload, and external devices they plug into company hardware. Employee monitoring software can be used for local or remote employees and many offer versions that can be used to track independent contractor activity when they’re working on company projects. More than just an employee productivity tracker, most platforms also serve as a security tool, helping to protect a business’s sensitive data and network integrity.

• With remote work increasingly the norm rather than the exception, keeping tabs on employee productivity and efficiency is more difficult – yet more important – than ever.
• A number of companies now offer packages that monitor everything from keystrokes to external drive access, generating live and prescheduled reports.
• While these packages might seem broadly similar on paper, there are marked differences in day-to-day use, with some better suited to specific tasks than others.
• This guide is for business owners, directors and HR managers who want to learn the differences between the best employee monitoring software tools.

Employee monitoring software gives small business owners and managers invaluable insights into how employees spend their time at work. The best employee monitoring software can track web browsing and application use, block content and applications, capture screenshots of user activity, and provide insightful reports.

To help you find the best solution for your business, we’ve reviewed the best software applications on the market in 2023. In doing so, we considered affordability, ease of use and the features that help you monitor employee activity, productivity and cybersecurity.

Pricing for employee monitoring solutions varies according to the features you need and how many employees you have. For example, a startup that needs basic features and has one or two employees may be able to use a free option, whereas businesses that need top-shelf features may pay up to $150 per user per year. On average, however, you can expect to pay between $60 to $80 per user per year. 

Pricing is usually calculated on a per-user basis and billed either monthly or annually. This includes the software, updates and tech support. Some vendors charge a one-time licensing fee and then bill separately for annual software updates and support plans. 

When you’re comparing pricing, here are four factors you need to look for to ensure the bill isn’t an unwelcome surprise:

• User minimums: Some companies allow you to buy just one or two licenses, but some require a minimum of five or 10.
• Add-on features: If you want specific advanced features, such as geolocation, you may have to pay extra for them.
• Extra fees: Additional fees aren’t common, but it’s important to look for them before you sign up so you know exactly which fees you’re agreeing to. Check for setup fees – which may be hundreds of dollars – and IP renewal fees.
• Contract requirement: Many employee monitoring software providers offer month-to-month plans, and some offer a discount if you pay annually. As with any service, check if you have to sign a contract. If that’s the case, ask for a copy of the contract and review it, paying particular attention to the term length and the cancellation procedure. 

Employee monitoring software may incorporate many features, and the ones you need depend on how you want to monitor your employees.

Consider your reasons for wanting to install this software. Do you want to make sure employees aren’t surfing the internet and scrolling through Facebook when they’re on the clock? Do you worry about confidential information or trade secrets being leaked? Are you looking for a way to monitor cybersecurity risks? You also need to decide if you’ll be actively using this software or if you need notifications when it detects prohibited activity and other policy violations.

• Content blocking: There are obviously some types of websites your employees shouldn’t visit during working hours, or even at all when they’re using work-issued computers. The content blocking feature allows you to block those types of websites and individual URLs. Some software allows you to set time limits for certain sites and designate times when blocks are lifted, such as if you allow your employees to visit social media or shopping sites during their lunch breaks. Others allow you to set access permissions by individual or user group.

• App and website tracking: This feature shows you which applications your employees use – such as Microsoft Word or Excel – and the URLs of the websites they visit. It also records how much time they spend on each app, site or program.
• Keylogging: With this feature, you can see every keystroke your employees make in emails, instant messages, Word documents or online.
• Screenshots, video or live feed of monitors: Want to see what your employees are working on? Most employee monitoring solutions take random screenshots of employee monitors (and many support multiple screens). Some record video of monitored activity, and a few even offer a live view.
• Artificial intelligence (AI): Many of the best employee monitoring software employ AI tools to automate some core functions of the system. AI can be used to assign productivity or quality assurance scores to employees based on how well they are performing in their roles, as well as flag cybersecurity threats like malicious software or potential theft of a company’s sensitive data. When using AI for employee monitoring, it’s important to make sure the tools are in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, as well as understand how they conform to existing company policies. You may consider informing employees about the use of these AI tools for employee monitoring and how the company intends to use the data they capture.

• USB and print monitoring: If you’re worried about data leaks, these are must-have features. You’ll receive an alert if the software detects a thumb drive or portable hard drive being inserted into a company computer. Print monitoring means the software tracks the files that have been printed from each computer.
• Productivity tracking: There are various ways to track employee productivity. For instance, some software tracks productivity by detecting keyboard and mouse activity. Others require employees to track their work time against tasks or client projects.
• Mobile apps: If you travel or have employees working across multiple time zones, it’s convenient for the software to have a mobile app for alerts and anytime access. Some apps are platform-specific, however, so make sure the software is compatible with your phone if this feature is important to you.

Employee monitoring software offers several potential benefits to your business.

Employee Engagement and Attendance

Software monitoring features like website tracking, content filtering and screen capturing can provide insights about the content your employees are engaging with, including which websites and applications they spend most of their time on. Are they staying engaged with work-related websites, or are they getting distracted watching YouTube videos? You might even notice an employee is spending their day filling out job applications. With employee monitoring software, you can see (and block) the websites your employees use and discover any performance or engagement issues. 

Employee Productivity

Software monitoring features like keystroke logging, mouse activity tracking and webcam recording can show you how active your employees are on their work computers. Is their device idle for long periods, or are they actively engaging in work activity throughout the day? Although employee activity monitoring features vary by platform, it can be useful to have some idea of which employees are working at any given moment.

Company Security

Software monitoring can help with security and legal disputes as well. If you’ve recorded and archived employee behavior, it could help you back up a claim if an employee files a complaint against the company or a co-worker. Managing website permissions and monitoring USB usage and print jobs can help you prevent leaks of confidential data. Employees will be restricted from viewing malicious websites or behaving maliciously themselves. 

Your choice of employee monitoring software will depend on various factors. We outline some of the key areas to consider below.

Devices

If your company uses PCs exclusively, you can choose any of the 10 packages we’ve reviewed. However, if your employees routinely work on mobile devices, it’s crucial to ensure your chosen platform offers both iOS and Android compatibility. Similarly, if employees often use USB sticks, check whether portable devices can be monitored and scanned. Some platforms are unable to monitor peripherals like printers and data keys.

Additional Services

In an attempt to differentiate their packages, some software providers have incorporated extra services, such as onboarding and offboarding tools, payroll and performance management, and COVID-19 vaccination tracking. This might be superfluous, but if you don’t already have software providing these services, it may be worth considering a package like BambooHR, which brings different HR tools under one roof. [We recently reviewed the best time and attendance software of 2023.]

Support and Assistance

While some of the best employee monitoring software providers offer a variety of ways to get in touch, others provide web support only. Some offer customer support 24/7, but others don’t. In fairness, this is rarely a sector where after-hours or overnight support is pivotal for maintaining productivity, but ensure you’re happy with the variety of support on offer – and when it’s accessible – before signing up.

Usability

Given the wealth of metrics tracked by the best employee monitoring software packages, it’s important to ensure that you’re not overwhelmed by the scope and scale of a particular platform. If Insightful’s second-by-second raw data generation or Veriato’s disengagement analytics are too granular, you might feel more comfortable with Hubstaff’s basic monitoring or InterGuard’s choice of six types of report views on its dashboard.

Cost

It would take a very detailed spreadsheet to outline all the plan options and costs associated with signing up for employee monitoring software. However, key areas to consider include how many employees are covered, whether you’re signing up for a month-to-month arrangement or an annual contract, if there is a free trial available, and whether you have to upgrade to a more expensive package to unlock certain features. The freemium model is commonly used, with the likes of ActivTrak offering free plans for a couple of users. Work Examiner offers decreasing fees per user, which will particularly appeal to businesses with 25 to 100 employees.

Employee monitoring software has become popular technology over recent years, and we expect the number of organizations using it to increase in the coming years. With a permanent switch to remote and hybrid work, many employers will rely on monitoring software to track employee activity from various locations. Instead of tracking the specific hours each employee works, we anticipate more employers focusing on employee productivity. Monitoring features specifically geared toward productivity will be in high demand. For example, some software lets you label specific websites, apps, and activities as productive and unproductive.

In addition to tracking employee activity and ensuring each worker completes their projects, we expect employers to rely on monitoring software to track employee mental health and wellbeing. For example, through features that monitor if an employee is working too many hours, employee monitoring software can identify which employees are at risk of experiencing burnout. This type of workforce data allows you to address an employee or reallocate resources before it becomes a problem.

Although working outside the office is a popular trend, it poses several threats to employers in terms of security. We expect to see advances in monitoring tools that aid in cybersecurity protection for businesses. For example, content filtering and blocking, network monitoring, screenshotting, and cybersecurity alerts can help maintain employee safety and company security.