Compare · Buddy Punch
A Buddy Punch alternative for crews that move between jobsites
If you want a time clock with scheduling, PTO accruals and a built-in payroll service in one subscription, Buddy Punch fits. If your crews change jobsites during the day and you want hours recorded without a punch on a phone or kiosk, consider ZeroBadge. Each worker wears a company badge; power on starts the shift, and approved hours go to your existing payroll provider.
Last updated Competitor facts verified By ZeroBadge
ZeroBadge makes one of the products compared on this page.
What Buddy Punch does well
Buddy Punch is a full time-and-attendance product, and it goes one step further than most: it runs payroll. Its site says you can automate payroll entirely with its built-in payroll service, which calculates, files and deposits payroll taxes and handles direct deposit, W-2s and 1099s.
- Many ways to punch. Web, iOS and Android apps, and a tablet kiosk with a 4-digit PIN or a QR code per employee. Group punch and offline mode are listed too.
- Punch controls. Photo verification with a selfie, IP address locks, device locks, geofences that block outside punches, and GPS spoofing prevention on Android.
- GPS while clocked in. Real-time location on a map and a GPS activity report of routes travelled, or a basic mode that logs only at clock-in and clock-out.
- Job codes. Called department codes; workers can switch jobs mid-shift, and a geofence can tie a site to a code.
- Scheduling and PTO. Recurring shifts, published schedules, accrual rules and time-off requests in the app.
- Overtime alerts. An alert when an employee is nearing overtime.
How Buddy Punch captures time
Buddy Punch captures a punch on a device and then checks whether that punch is allowed. The checks are the product's strength, and several of them assume a fixed workplace: an IP lock allows punches only from a specific network such as the office Wi-Fi, and a device lock allows them only from a specific device such as a work computer.
On a jobsite those two locks rarely apply, because there is no company network and no company computer at a new pour or a TI buildout. The controls that do travel are the geofence and the selfie, and both run on the worker's phone. A worker without a smartphone punches at a kiosk, which sits at one site.
What Buddy Punch's listed prices come to for a 25-person crew
Buddy Punch publishes its prices, so the arithmetic is easy to check. This uses the annual-billing rates on its pricing page as of 2026-10-29.
25 workers on the Pro plan, billed annually
- Pro plan, per user per month
- $6.99
- 25 users × $6.99
- $174.75
- Base fee per month
- $19.00
- Time tracking subtotal
- $193.75 a month
- Payroll add-on: 25 × $8 + $49 base
- $249.00 a month
- Time tracking plus payroll
- $442.75 a month
Prices change; check Buddy Punch's pricing page. Monthly billing is $1 more per user on each plan. Phones or a kiosk tablet are extra and not included.
ZeroBadge is quote-based, priced on badges, office users and term, and it does not run payroll. If you already have a payroll provider you like, the fair comparison is the time-tracking subtotal, not the bundle.
Where ZeroBadge differs
ZeroBadge does not police a punch, because there is no punch. The badge records the shift from power on to power off and places each report at a jobsite. The office reviews exceptions rather than blocked-punch alerts.
- Built for a crew that moves. A morning at one jobsite, a supply house run and an afternoon at another stay inside one shift, split into on site, transit and other time.
- No company network or computer needed on site. The badge has its own cellular connection and nothing is installed at the jobsite.
- Honest about confidence. Each reading stores whether it came from GPS, Wi-Fi positioning or cellular continuity, and cellular is marked low confidence.
- Payroll stays where it is. A manager approves the week and approved hours are sent to your payroll provider, or exported as CSV, Excel or PDF.
Buddy Punch and ZeroBadge side by side
| Question | Buddy Punch | ZeroBadge |
|---|---|---|
| How time starts | A punch on web, phone or kiosk | Powering on an assigned badge |
| Stopping a bad punch | Selfie, IP lock, device lock, geofence, spoofing block | No punch to block; exceptions listed for review |
| Location during the shift | Real-time GPS and route report from the phone, or clock-in and out only | A report about every 5 minutes with method and confidence |
| Jobs within a shift | Worker switches department codes; geofence can set the code | Site changes recorded automatically inside one shift |
| Scheduling and PTO | Included | Workers can record time off in the optional portal; no schedule builder |
| Pricing | Starter $4.99, Pro $6.99, Advanced $12.99 per user a month billed annually, plus $19 base | Quote-based |
| Payroll | Runs payroll as an add-on, or reports and integrations for outside providers | Integrates with payroll providers; CSV, Excel or PDF export. Does not run payroll |
When Buddy Punch is the better choice
Frequently asked questions
If Buddy Punch runs our payroll now, what happens to payroll if we switch time tracking?
Can we keep Buddy Punch for the office and use badges in the field?
How do PTO balances carry over?
How does ZeroBadge handle overtime?
Is there a free trial of ZeroBadge?
Sources
- 1.Buddy Punch home page: built-in payroll service, punch methods, GPS, geofencing, scheduling, PTO · Buddy Punch
- 2.Buddy Punch features: kiosk PIN and QR, photo verification, IP and device locks, GPS reports, department codes, payroll · Buddy Punch
- 3.Buddy Punch pricing: Starter, Pro, Advanced, base fee, payroll add-on · Buddy Punch
Buddy Punch is a trademark of its owner. ZeroBadge is not affiliated with Buddy Punch.
Keep reading
- SolutionMulti-jobsite time trackingSite transfers, transit and supply runs inside one shift record.
- SolutionPayroll integrationApproved hours sent to your payroll provider automatically. Nobody re-keys a timecard.
- SolutionPrevent buddy punchingAssigned devices and exception reviews instead of shared punch clocks.
- GuideBuddy punching in constructionHow it happens on jobsites and what each control actually stops.
- CompareTime tracking methods comparedPaper, apps, kiosks, site clocks, dial-in and badges on the same terms.
