Check the free plans first
This guide is published by a paid product, so it should start with the case for not paying. Purpose-built time clock software has real free tiers, and for a lot of teams that is the correct answer.
Read on 2026-09-11 from Jibble's own pages: it states that its employee time tracking is free forever for unlimited users, and its QR code attendance page describes employees scanning a personal code to clock in and out as part of that free offering. If a free product with unlimited users covers your requirement, no argument about pricing models beats it.
Written by QR to Sheets, and we are telling you a competitor gives away the headline feature free. That is deliberate: a comparison that only flatters the vendor who wrote it is not worth reading. The reasons to pay us are narrow and specific, and they are set out below rather than hidden.
How the pricing models differ
Per-employee pricing scales with headcount. Ten people cost ten times one person, whether they clock in at ten sites or all walk past the same tablet. It is a fair model for software each person genuinely uses, with a profile, a login and their own timesheet.
Per-device pricing charges for the thing doing the scanning. Thirty people filing past one shared tablet is one device. The same thirty people each scanning on their own phone is thirty devices, which is the expensive shape and worth knowing before you buy.
Some products also carry a flat platform fee on top of the per-user rate. Read on 2026-09-11 from Buddy Punch's own pricing page: its plans are 4.99, 6.99 and 12.99 US dollars per user per month billed annually, each with a 19 US dollar per month base fee, and its own page states there is no free plan after the 14-day trial, with QR code scanning listed in the Pro tier. Read the same day from Clockify's own pricing and help pages: the free plan covers up to 5 users, and its help documentation states that QR code authentication at a kiosk is available on Standard and higher plans, with Standard listed at 5.49 US dollars per seat per month billed annually.
Worked examples
The arithmetic below uses the prices above as published on 2026-09-11. Prices change, so re-check each vendor's own page before deciding anything.
Ten people, one entrance, one shared tablet
- Per-user product with QR at 6.99 USD per user per month plus a 19 USD base fee: 10 x 6.99 + 19 = 88.90 USD per month.
- Per-seat product with QR from 5.49 USD per seat per month: 10 x 5.49 = 54.90 USD per month.
- Free unlimited-user product: 0 USD per month.
- Per-device at 7 USD, one shared tablet: 7 USD per month.
Thirty people who each scan on their own phone
- Per-device at 7 USD, thirty registered phones: 210 USD per month. This is the shape where per-device pricing is the wrong choice, and we would rather you knew that before subscribing.
- The fix is a shared device at the entrance, which brings the same thirty people back to 7 USD per month.
The pattern is simple enough to state in one line: per-device wins when people share a scanning point, and loses when they do not.
| Capability | Typical per-employee time clock | QR to Sheets |
|---|---|---|
| Billing unit | Each employee | Each registered scanning device |
| Cost as headcount grows | Rises with every person added | Unchanged if they share a scanning point |
| Cost as sites grow | Unchanged | Rises with every additional device |
| Worker needs an account | Usually yes, each person has a profile | No account for the person scanning |
| Where the record lives | The vendor's database, with export | A Google Sheet in your own Drive |
| Calculates hours and overtime | Yes, that is the product | No, you write the formulas |
| Approval workflow and locked periods | Yes, typically | No |
| Best fit | Paying staff, payroll, compliance | Presence records in your own spreadsheet |
When per-device is the wrong choice
- Everyone clocks in from their own phone at a different location, so the device count tracks headcount anyway. A per-user product is simpler and probably cheaper.
- You need hours calculated, overtime applied and a timesheet approved. That is a payroll time clock, and no amount of pricing advantage substitutes for it.
- You are paying people from the record in a jurisdiction with real record-keeping duties. Buy the purpose-built system.
- A free unlimited-user product already does what you need. Use it.
When per-device is genuinely better
- A large crew filing past one or two scanning points, where headcount pricing charges you many times over for one queue.
- Staff who rotate constantly, so per-person seats are being added and removed every week and half of them are wasted.
- Volunteers and temporary crew who will not install an app or create an account, and should not be asked to.
- A requirement that the record lives in your own Google Sheet rather than a vendor database, which is the reason most people arrive here.
Note that the last of those is not a pricing argument at all. If data ownership is what you need, compare on that and treat the price as secondary.
Step by step
- 1
Check whether a free plan already covers you
Several time clock products have genuine free tiers, and one advertises unlimited users. If a free purpose-built time clock does what you need, use it. Paying for a scanner instead only makes sense for the specific reasons set out below.
- 2
Count doors and devices, not people
Work out how many places people actually clock in, and how many phones or tablets will do the scanning. That number, not headcount, is what a per-device model bills you for.
- 3
Work out both totals before choosing
Multiply headcount by the per-user price, add any base fee, and compare against the number of scanning devices times the per-device price. The answer flips depending on the shape of your operation, and it is worth five minutes with a calculator.
- 4
Decide who needs to own the data
Per-seat products keep the record in their own database. If the record needs to live in your own spreadsheet, that is a separate question from price and often the deciding one.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free QR time clock?+
Yes. Read on 2026-09-11 from Jibble's own pages, its time tracking is described as free forever for unlimited users and its QR code attendance page presents scanning a personal code to clock in and out as part of that. Clockify's own pricing page lists a free plan for up to 5 users, though its help documentation states QR authentication at a kiosk requires Standard or higher. Check each vendor's current pricing page before relying on any of this.
How does per-device pricing work here?+
A registered device is a phone or tablet that has submitted a scan. The charge is 7 USD per registered device per month with no per-person fee, so a shared tablet serving thirty people is one device. Devices can be cleared from the workspace when a phone is retired.
When is per-device more expensive than per employee?+
When every worker scans on their own phone. Thirty personal phones is thirty registered devices at 7 USD each, which is more than most per-user products would charge for thirty seats. If that is your shape, either move to a shared scanning point or use a per-user product.
Does the cheaper price mean fewer features?+
It means a different product. A time clock calculates hours, applies overtime and break rules, and gives a supervisor an approval workflow. This records timestamped scans into your own Google Sheet and leaves the calculation to you. Compare on which job you need done rather than on price alone.
Do I need a paid plan to try it?+
No. The free plan covers 300 lifetime scans, one scanner link, one Sheet connection and one registered device, which is enough to run a real shift end to end. Clock in and clock out together need two links, so that specific configuration requires Premium.