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Productivity · head to head

Habitica vs Hubstaff

Habitica logo

Habitica

Productivity

Open source task manager that runs your habits, dailies and to-dos as a role-playing game

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Hubstaff logo

Hubstaff

Productivity

Time tracking and team management for remote teams

From
$5.99/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Habitica has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Habitica nothing verifies a completed task, so the entire reward economy runs on self-report, and the first time you tick a Daily you did not do, the health and gold mechanics stop meaning anything and the app becomes a checklist with a cartoon on it.; Hubstaff no pricing amounts published on pricing page; specific dollar amounts for plans not disclosed
  • They diverge on capability: Habitica covers Three task types, Hubstaff covers Time tracking with timer.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Habitica and Hubstaff actually diverge.

Attributes where Habitica and Hubstaff differ
AttributeHabiticaHubstaff
Starting priceFree$5.99/month
Pricing modelfreemiumsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, IOS, AndroidWeb, IOS, Android, MacOS, Windows
Founded20132012

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Productivity).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Habitica

  • Three task types
  • Health and damage
  • Parties and quests
  • Classes and skills
  • Pets and mounts
  • Challenges
  • Custom rewards
  • Group plans

Only in Hubstaff

  • Time tracking with timer
  • Activity monitoring
  • GPS location tracking
  • Screenshots
  • Reports and analytics
  • Invoicing
  • Team management
  • Mobile apps

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Habitica

  • You have abandoned every plain to-do list and need an external consequence for skipping a routine.not Hubstaff
  • A small group of friends or a study group wants mutual accountability without a project tracker.not Hubstaff
  • Building daily habits such as medication, exercise or practice, where the streak matters more than any deadline.not Hubstaff
  • You want a task tool you can export from and in principle self-host, rather than one that holds your data.not Hubstaff

Hubstaff

  • Productivitynot Habitica
  • Collaborationnot Habitica
  • Task managementnot Habitica
  • Organizationnot Habitica

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Habitica

  • Nothing verifies a completed task, so the entire reward economy runs on self-report, and the first time you tick a Daily you did not do, the health and gold mechanics stop meaning anything and the app becomes a checklist with a cartoon on it.
  • Missed Dailies cost health whether you were ill, travelling or on holiday, so returning after a week away can mean death, a lost level and stripped gear, which is the point at which many users abandon the account rather than rebuild it.
  • The task features are thin next to conventional managers, with no subtask dependencies, no file attachments, no nested projects and limited recurrence rules, so anything more structured than a flat list has to be kept somewhere else.
  • Development is carried by a small core team with volunteer contributors, so mobile releases, sync fixes and platform updates arrive slowly and reported bugs can sit on the community boards for a long time.
  • There is no organisational layer at all, meaning no admin console, no single sign-on and no way to provision or remove members, so a company cannot adopt it centrally even where individual employees rely on it.

Hubstaff

  • No pricing amounts published on pricing page; specific dollar amounts for plans not disclosed
  • Per-seat pricing structure means users charged per team member regardless of active tracking use
  • Billing model includes prorated charges on annual plans but full rates for new monthly users, creating potential cost complications

Pricing, plan by plan

Habitica

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Basic habit and task tracking
    • Character creation
    • Community features
  • Membership$4.99/month
    • Premium items and gear
    • Extra experience
    • Pet and mount system

Hubstaff

$5.99/month
  • FreeFree
    • Basic time tracking
    • Limited to 1 user
    • Basic reports
  • Starter$5.99/month
    • Time tracking
    • Team management
    • Reports
  • Pro$9.99/month
    • Everything in Starter
    • GPS tracking
    • Activity monitoring

Which should you pick?

Choose Habitica if

  • You need three task types.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android.
  • You also want health and damage.
Habitica review

Choose Hubstaff if

  • You need time tracking with timer.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android, MacOS, Windows.
  • You also want activity monitoring.
Hubstaff review

Questions people ask

Is Habitica or Hubstaff better?
Neither clearly leads. Habitica starts at Free and Hubstaff at $5.99/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Habitica or Hubstaff?
Habitica has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Habitica and $5.99/month for Hubstaff.
Does Habitica or Hubstaff run on more platforms?
Habitica runs on Web, IOS, Android. Hubstaff runs on Web, IOS, Android, MacOS, Windows.
Can I use Habitica for free?
Yes. Habitica has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Hubstaff starts at $5.99/month.
What is Habitica best used for?
Habitica is most often used for you have abandoned every plain to-do list and need an external consequence for skipping a routine., a small group of friends or a study group wants mutual accountability without a project tracker., building daily habits such as medication, exercise or practice, where the streak matters more than any deadline., you want a task tool you can export from and in principle self-host, rather than one that holds your data.. Of those, you have abandoned every plain to-do list and need an external consequence for skipping a routine. and a small group of friends or a study group wants mutual accountability without a project tracker. are not what Hubstaff is typically brought in for.
What can Habitica do that Hubstaff cannot?
Habitica covers Three task types, Health and damage, Parties and quests, Classes and skills. Hubstaff covers Time tracking with timer, Activity monitoring, GPS location tracking, Screenshots.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Habitica: Is Habitica actually free?

Yes. Every task feature is free with no time limit. The subscription buys gems, monthly mystery items and higher drop rates, so not paying never costs you access to your own lists.

Hubstaff: How much does Hubstaff cost?

Specific pricing amounts are not published on the pricing page. Hubstaff offers monthly and annual billing options with a per-seat pricing structure, a 30-day money-back guarantee on paid plans, and a 14-day free trial with no credit card required.

Source
Habitica: Can I get my data out?

Yes. Habitica exports your user data as JSON and your task history as CSV, and the code is open source, so the data is genuinely portable even though nothing else will import the game state.

Hubstaff: Is there a free trial for Hubstaff?

Hubstaff offers a free 14-day trial with no credit card required, plus a 30-day money-back guarantee on paid plans excluding the free trial period.

Source
Habitica: Does it work offline?

Badly. The mobile apps queue some actions, but scoring, drops and party activity need a connection, and long offline stretches tend to produce sync conflicts.

Hubstaff: How does Hubstaff billing work when adding team members mid-cycle?

For annual plans, Hubstaff prorates charges when adding seats mid-cycle. For monthly plans, full rates apply for new users with no prorating offered.

Source
Habitica: Can a team at work use it?

There are paid group plans for parties, but no admin console, no single sign-on and no company billing, so it suits a group of willing colleagues rather than a managed rollout.

Hubstaff: Can Hubstaff plans be canceled anytime?

Plans can be canceled anytime by contacting support or archiving the associated organization. Users removed from monthly plans do not receive prorated refunds.

Source
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