ActivTrak suits small businesses and compact teams that require basic employee monitoring solutions and time tracking, but it can also adapt as your business scales.
On the other hand, CurrentWare brings more robust workforce analytics and security capabilities, making it a better choice for larger companies.
In this article, we’ll analyze both platforms and see how they compare when it comes to key features, use cases, pros, and cons. Additionally, we’ll cover why Teramind could be a better fit.
ActivTrak and CurrentWare Overview
First, let’s go through a quick overview of the two platforms.
ActivTrak
ActivTrak is a popular productivity management and analytics tool that helps companies keep track of their employees’ digital work activity.
ActivTrak’s key features include:
- Time tracking and productivity pattern analysis: These features help you measure how employees spend their time on tasks and applications, providing valuable insights to help optimize performance. ActivTrak also includes idle time tracking, which helps identify periods when employees are inactive.
- Application and website monitoring: ActivTrak shows you which apps and internet websites employees and freelance workers use. Business leaders can then analyze their usage patterns and identify opportunities for employee training. This includes monitoring app usage to ensure operational efficiency.
- Remote employee monitoring solutions: ActivTrak allows you to capture and analyze the activities of remote and transient workers, while addressing privacy concerns.
- Screenshot monitoring and video recording: ActivTrak includes periodic screenshot capturing technology, with optional screenshot settings. But it doesn’t offer video recording features, because of its focus on employee privacy.
Read more: The Top 11 ActivTrak Alternatives.
CurrentWare
CurrentWare is a suite of employee monitoring solutions, data loss prevention, and cybersecurity features.
CurrentWare key features include:
- User activity monitoring: CurrentWare tracks web browsing, mouse usage, and more, providing detailed productivity reports and valuable insights into employee productivity trends. It also provides information on how employees’ time spent affects overall productivity and whether they use any unproductive applications. This includes capturing screenshots of employee desktops to provide a comprehensive view of employee computer activity.
- Insider threat detection: This employee computer monitoring software also helps detect insider threats by monitoring risky behaviors to identify potential security risks.
- Data loss prevention (DLP): DLP security features include blocking portable storage devices and preventing unauthorized file transfers. This makes it an effective solution for complex companies with bigger security vulnerabilities.
- Cloud access security broker: CurrentWare integrates with cloud services to carry out internet use policies and provide visibility into user activity on cloud applications, which is crucial for maintaining industry compliance.
Why Teramind is a Better Alternative to ActivTrak and CurrentWare
While ActivTrak and CurrentWare both offer robust features, Teramind stands out as a superior alternative with its across-the-board monitoring capabilities, advanced analytics, and data loss prevention features. The platform supports both premises option and remote deployments.
- Employee monitoring, productivity pattern tracking, and data loss prevention: Teramind includes keystroke logging, internet website and app monitoring, mobile device tracking, location tracking, and automated email alerts to enforce security internet use policies. You can easily find if workers are using unproductive applications during normal working hours.
- Advanced user behavior analytics and risk scoring: Teramind can find and resolve potential threats by analyzing user activities and assigning risk scores based on suspicious behavior rules. This provides deeper insights into employee activities and helps maintain operational efficiency.
- Robust remote deployment and management capabilities: Teramind allows administrators to monitor and control remote users’ activities, manage acceptable use policies, and ensure compliance with company policies from a centralized console and an active directory.
- Customizable policies and rules for granular control: The software helps business leaders create and carry out customized company policies, providing more granular control over user activities.
- Seamless integration with various third-party applications: You can easily connect numerous third-party applications, including popular project tracking platforms like JIRA and Trello.
| Tool | Summary | Best For |
| ActivTrak | Basic office employee monitoring tools and time tracking | Small businesses and teams |
| CurrentWare | Workforce analytics and cybersecurity | Large enterprises with advanced security risks and needs |
| Teramind | Comprehensive employee monitoring solutions, productivity tracking, and data loss prevention | Organizations of all sizes seeking a feature-rich solution and have more complex security vulnerabilities |
Feature Comparison
How do ActivTrak and CurrentWare compare when it comes to key features? Let’s take a look below:
| Feature | ActivTrak | CurrentWare |
| Time Tracking | ActivTrak offers basic time tracking capabilities, allowing you to monitor how much time employees spend on different applications and sites. | CurrentWare provides detailed time tracking and activity monitoring, enabling you to analyze employee productivity trends and identify areas for improvement. |
| Employee Monitoring | ActivTrak allows you to monitor office employee activities, such as active applications, site visits, and keyboard and mouse activity. | CurrentWare offers comprehensive employee monitoring software, including user behavior analytics, insider risk management, and data loss prevention. |
| Remote Monitoring | Both ActivTrak and CurrentWare support remote employee monitoring tools, allowing you to track the activities of remote workers. | CurrentWare offers advanced remote monitoring capabilities, including a cloud access security broker and secure remote access permission features. |
| Reporting and Analytics | ActivTrak provides basic reporting and analytics on employee productivity and accurate time spent on various tasks. | CurrentWare offers advanced workforce analytics, including detailed report reviews on security vulnerabilities, performance review dashboards, and email alerts. |
Time Tracking
If you’re a small business or run a tight team, ActivTrak is a solid solution. You can use it to track office employee activity and monitor how much time they spend on various tasks.
CurrentWare is more suitable for larger enterprises, delivering automatic time tracking and more advanced activity monitoring capabilities. It’s a good fit for businesses that need comprehensive workforce analytics and detailed insights into software usage.
Employee Monitoring
ActivTrak offers fundamental tracking features, allowing business leaders to monitor which programs individual employees use, the websites they visit, and their keyboard and mouse usage.
CurrentWare provides a more extensive set of tools. Its advanced features include analyzing high-risk user behavior patterns, identifying internal security risks, and safety measures to prevent data breaches.
Remote Monitoring
ActivTrak and CurrentWare both offer remote monitoring capabilities, making sure that businesses can easily monitor what their remote workers and off-site teams are working on.
CurrentWare goes a few steps further with its cloud access security broker. This can be especially helpful for businesses that need employee computer monitoring software to manage bigger remote teams.
Use Cases
Now we know how these platforms compare when it comes to key features – but what about their use cases? Let’s check it out below:
ActivTrak Use Cases
- Small businesses and teams looking for traditional employee monitoring systems and time tracking: ActivTrak provides an easy-to-use solution and all the necessary features for monitoring average employee activity. It’s also useful for keeping a record of employee activities.
- Remote workforce management for small teams: ActivTrak provides real-time insights into employee productivity trends, tracks work patterns, and identifies potential distractions, helping to maintain accountability and optimize remote employee efficiency.
CurrentWare Use Cases
- Large enterprises with advanced workforce analytics and cybersecurity needs: CurrentWare provides detailed user activity monitoring, USB device control, and advanced security threat detection, making it ideal for large enterprises that need to manage extensive employee data collection and mitigate security risks.
- Organizations with strict compliance and data loss prevention requirements: CurrentWare helps organizational units meet strict compliance with company policies and DLP requirements through web filtering, file activity tracking, and data transfer restrictions.
- Companies with a significant remote workforce and strict security requirements: CurrentWare offers perfect tools for managing a remote workforce, including remote user activity tracking, endpoint security, and real-time alerts.
Pros Compared
Here’s how ActivTrak and CurrentWare compared when it comes to pros:
ActivTrak Pros
- Easy to set up and use: ActivTrak has a user-friendly interface and straightforward installation processes, so business owners can quickly implement it on company-provided devices without extensive technical expertise.
- Affordable pricing for small businesses: ActivTrak is one of the more affordable employee monitoring tools on the market, allowing small business owners to get the basic features they need without hefty costs. It also includes a free trial and benefits for annual payment customers.
- Basic employee monitoring tools and time tracking capabilities: Business owners can easily track sales team productivity, monitor application usage, and gain advanced insights into work patterns. Also, the screenshots taken by ActivTrak can serve as valuable evidence during performance reviews.
CurrentWare Pros
- Workforce analytics and cybersecurity features: CurrentWare offers detailed monitoring of user activities, application usage, and internet access. The insights gained can be used to address issues and provide support, which can shorten the time employees spend on unproductive tasks.
- Advanced user behavior analytics and insider threat detection: CurrentWare helps with early detection of insider threats through detailed analysis of user actions and risky behavior.
- Robust remote monitoring and secure remote access capabilities: The software solution provides business owners with powerful remote monitoring features and secure remote access. This helps organizations manage and secure their remote workforce.
Cons Compared
Now, let’s take a look at the cons.
ActivTrak Cons
- Limited advanced features for larger organizations: ActivTrak may not meet the complex needs of larger organizations due to its focus on more basic monitoring and internet management tools.
- Lack of comprehensive security and compliance features: ActivTrak does not offer extensive security and compliance features.
- Limited customization and integration options: ActivTrak offers fewer customization and integration options compared to some other monitoring tools.
CurrentWare Cons
- More expensive than ActivTrak: CurrentWare’s pricing makes it a less cost-effective option for small businesses or those with limited budgets and smaller organizational units.
- Steeper learning curve for setup and configuration: Setting up and configuring CurrentWare is more complex and requires more time and technical expertise.
- May be overkill for small businesses with basic needs: For small businesses that only need basic monitoring and don’t have any bigger security vulnerabilities, CurrentWare may be overkill. But you can use the 14-day free trial before making a decision.
Pricing Comparison
Let’s check out the pricing tiers for these two tools.
ActivTrak Pricing Structures
- Free plan: $0 cost for up to three users (limited user count).
- Essentials: Starts at $10 per user monthly (billed annually).
- Essentials plus: Starts at $15 per user per month (billed annually).
- Professional: Starts at $19 per user per month (billed annually).
CurrentWare Pricing Structures
- AccessPatrol: Starts at $5 per user per month (billed annually).
- BrowseControl: Starts at $5 per user per month (billed annually).
- BrowseReporter: Starts at $5 per user per month (billed annually).
- enPowerManager: Starts at $5 per user per month (billed annually).
- CurrentWare Suite: Get all four modules for $12 per user per month (billed annually).
The average cost comparison shows that CurrentWare is more expensive than ActivTrak. There’s a 14-day free trial for all of the offered pricing structures.
When to Use ActivTrak or CurrentWare
Use ActivTrak when:
- You have a small team or business with traditional employee monitoring systems and time tracking needs: ActivTrak is ideal for small teams or businesses looking to efficiently monitor workforce productivity and track hours spent on tasks without requiring advanced features.
- You require a simple and affordable solution for remote workforce management: ActivTrak provides an easy-to-use, budget-friendly platform with all the necessary features that business owners need for managing remote employees.
Read more: ActivTrak vs. Teramind.
Use CurrentWare when:
- You have a large enterprise and key stakeholders with advanced modern workforce analytics and cybersecurity requirements: CurrentWare is the perfect tool for large enterprises (e.g. 150-200 employees) that need modern workforce productivity analytics and cybersecurity features.
- You need comprehensive user behavior analytics, insider threat detection, and data loss prevention capabilities: CurrentWare offers advanced user behavior analytics, effective insider security threat detection, USB control software, and extensive data loss prevention tools.
- You have a significant remote workforce and strict security requirements for remote access and monitoring: CurrentWare helps business owners effectively monitor a large remote workforce with real-time activity tracking and control over company-provided devices. The platform also supports hybrid workers with flexible deployment options.
Teramind: A Better Alternative to ActivTrak and CurrentWare
Here are just some of the features and capabilities that make Teramind a superior alternative for business owners. You can check the comparisons in the table below:
| Feature | ActivTrak | CurrentWare | Teramind |
| Time Tracking | Basic time tracking capabilities | Detailed time tracking and activity monitoring | Comprehensive time tracking, idle time tracking, and productivity analysis |
| Employee Monitoring | Basic employee monitoring (applications, websites, keyboard/mouse activity) | Comprehensive employee monitoring, suspicious behavior analytics, insider threat detection | Advanced employee monitoring, user behavior analytics, risk scoring |
| Remote Monitoring | Remote employee monitoring | Comprehensive remote monitoring, cloud access security broker, secure remote access | Robust remote deployment and management capabilities |
| Reporting and Analytics | Basic reporting and analytics | Advanced workforce analytics, customizable reports, dashboards, real-time alerts | Customizable reports, dashboards, real-time alerts, and integrations |
| Data Loss Prevention | N/A | Data loss prevention capabilities | Advanced data loss prevention and compliance features |
| User Behavior Analytics | N/A | User behavior analytics and insider threat detection | Advanced user behavior analytics, risk scoring, and anomaly detection |
| Integration | Limited integration options | Integration with third-party applications | Seamless integration with various third-party applications |
| Policy Management | Basic policy management | Advanced policy management and enforcement | Granular policy management and enforcement |
How Teramind Stands Apart
Advanced User Behavior Analytics and Risk Scoring
Teramind allows you to analyze employee behavior and assess risk that help businesses detect insider threats and prevent them before they escalate. By leveraging machine learning to detect unusual patterns, this employee monitoring solution provides instant alerts and directions to security teams.
Comprehensive Data Loss Prevention and Compliance
Teramind is one of the leading platforms in data loss prevention. Its features include high-resolution and compressed screenshots, data masking, and data encryption technologies, allowing companies to protect their data from malicious attacks and suspicious activity while maintaining regulatory compliance.
Seamless Integration and Customization
You can easily integrate Teramind with numerous external software solutions and apps, allowing businesses to improve security on all levels. The platform also provides extensive customization, which means you can adjust the software solution to meet your company’s unique requirements.
Robust Remote Deployment and Management
Teramind makes it a lot simpler for businesses to manage their off-site teams and remote employees. The platform includes secure remote access, remote control over company devices, and centralized rule administration. This also makes employee training and maintaining compliance with company policies much simpler.
Conclusion
With their fundamental real-time monitoring features and modern workforce analytics, there’s no surprise why ActivTrak and CurrentWare have such a great reputation. However, if you’re looking for a comprehensive tool that offers more than just basic employee monitoring features, Teramind might be the perfect fit.
Teramind also includes robust employee behavior analytics, detailed productivity reports, data loss prevention features, and advanced remote team management. Whether you’re looking to improve employee productivity, detect and resolve insider threats quickly, or maintain regulatory compliance, Teramind offers everything you need.
