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Facts: desk research from vendor sites · Reviews: members' opinions

Raken vs Workyard

Two field apps that both clock crews in and tie hours to cost codes. Raken is a daily reporting and field management app with time tracking on its Performance plan, AI photo ID at clock-in and an MCP connection for outside AI agents. Workyard is GPS time tracking and workforce management first, with cost-code job costing, accounting and ERP sync, and on its Autopilot plan an AI time assistant and a project time tracking agent. Partly like-for-like: both handle crew time, but Raken leads with daily reports and safety and Workyard with time, payroll and job-cost data. Desk research from vendor sites read Nov 2, 2026; no winner.

DESK RESEARCH FROM VENDOR SITES. Compiled from vendors' public websites (accessed Nov 2, 2026). Vendor claims are not verified by Means & Methods Lab. No scores or rankings.

In short: Raken (Daily reporting & field management; vendor publishes prices) vs Workyard (GPS time tracking, cost codes & field ops; vendor publishes prices). Facts last checked Nov 2, 2026. No winner declared; desk research from vendor sites.

Side by side

Raken vs Workyard: vendor-published facts side by side
Sheet rowRakenWorkyard
CategoryDaily reporting & field managementGPS time tracking, cost codes & field ops
AI role (our label)AI features added to established productAI features added to established product
What it doesField-first web and mobile app for daily progress reports, time and production tracking, materials and equipment, safety, RFIs, submittals, change orders, forms and documents. Daily reports collect notes, photos, videos and voice-to-text entries that sync in real time into a shareable, branded PDF report with the day's weather; the Daily Reports page also lists collaborator reports that give subcontractors free access to file their own dailies, and reports segmented by supervisor, shift or location. The Time Tracking page lists time cards, a mobile time clock and kiosk mode, geofencing and GPS, custom payroll policies, unlimited cost codes and AI photo ID for flagging attempted time fraud. The app also covers resource scheduling, certifications and a labor map, material and equipment tracking, safety and quality checklists, observations, toolbox talks, incidents with OSHA submit, RFIs, digital forms and document storage. The navigation marks Change Orders, Resource Scheduling and API & MCP as new: the Change Orders page describes change orders with cost items linked to RFIs and submittals, a no-login guest mode where respondents approve, partially approve or reject, and a ball-in-court log; the API & MCP page describes a client-facing API and Raken MCP for connecting field data to AI agents such as Claude and ChatGPT. Heavy civil is listed under Who We Serve. Tagged AI features added to an established product on the strength of AI photo ID and the MCP connection; the homepage itself does not lead with AI, and the Daily Reports page no longer lists AI report summaries. App-store ratings and customer quotes are not used.Workforce management for contractors and field teams, with GPS time tracking, cost-code job costing, accounting sync and scheduling. It offers GPS time tracking with time-clock rules and auto clock-in, a time clock kiosk and clock-in verification with facial photos (face detection to ensure only facial photos are submitted), overtime and break compliance with a GPS audit trail, time capture by project and cost code on every time card, time-card sign-offs, live job-cost reporting by employee and cost code, sync of time by job and cost code to accounting/ERP (Sage, NetSuite, ComputerEase and Foundation named on the pricing page), scheduling with notes/checklists/attachments, a live crew map, mileage allocation, field expenses on a company card, mobile forms with an AI-powered form builder/converter (upload a PDF or image; Smart Forms is listed as an add-on), and a developer API with 60+ endpoints and no additional usage fees. The pricing page's Autopilot plan adds "AI Time Keeping": a Time assistant (marked New) that the vendor says finds and fixes a full pay period of timecards automatically, with all changes reviewed and approved by admins before they go to payroll, and a Project Time Tracking Agent that detects work-site visits and allocates time to the right project using your offsite and rule-group settings with no manual clock-ins. Worker and contractor counts and customer quotes are vendor-published material and are not used.
Who it's forContractors' field crews, superintendents, and safety managers.Contractors (trade, restoration, service and GC crews) that need GPS-verified, cost-coded time feeding payroll and job costing.
Pricing (as publicly stated)Per-user subscription in USD, billed annually, minimum 3 users. Basic $23/user/month ($69 a month at the 3-user minimum); Performance $59/user/month ($177 a month at 3 users; adds time tracking, production tracking, safety & quality, RFIs/forms/document storage, insights dashboards and dedicated onboarding). The rendered pricing page shows 5% off at 5 users and 10% off at 10 users; bulk discounts for larger teams through sales.Pricing page: plans start at $6 per user/month billed annually, with monthly billing also available. Plans: Starter, Pro, Autopilot (marked most popular; adds the AI Time Keeping features, time-clock automations, time-card sign-offs, ERP integrations and API access) and Enterprise (contact sales); Smart Forms is an add-on without a listed price. Per-plan prices above the $6 starting figure are not shown in the page text we read.
User reviewsNo reviews yet. Read or writeNo reviews yet. Read or write
Vendor links
Sources

Facts last checked: Nov 2, 2026. Prices change; check the vendor page before relying on them.

Where the vendor descriptions differ

  • What each sells (vendor wording): Raken describes a field-first app for daily progress reports, time and production tracking, safety, RFIs, submittals, change orders and documents. Workyard describes workforce management for contractors and field teams, with GPS time tracking, cost-code job costing, accounting sync and scheduling.
  • Time tracking: Raken's Time Tracking page lists time cards, a mobile time clock and kiosk mode, geofencing and GPS, custom payroll policies and unlimited cost codes. Workyard lists GPS time tracking with time-clock rules and auto clock-in, a kiosk, overtime and break compliance with a GPS audit trail, time by project and cost code on every time card, time-card sign-offs and a live crew map.
  • Clock-in checks: Raken lists AI photo ID for flagging attempted time fraud. Workyard lists clock-in verification with facial photos, using face detection to ensure only facial photos are submitted.
  • AI beyond clock-in (vendor statements): Raken describes Raken MCP for connecting field data to AI agents such as Claude and ChatGPT. Workyard's Autopilot plan lists a Time assistant (marked New) that it says finds and fixes a pay period of timecards, with admins reviewing and approving changes before payroll, and a Project Time Tracking Agent that allocates time to projects from detected work-site visits.
  • Field records and data: Raken lists daily reports with photos, voice-to-text and weather, collaborator and segmented reports, safety and quality checklists, toolbox talks and incidents with OSHA submit. Workyard lists scheduling with notes and checklists, mileage, field expenses on a company card, mobile forms with an AI form builder, sync of time by job and cost code to Sage, NetSuite, ComputerEase and Foundation, and a developer API with 60+ endpoints.
  • Pricing (read Nov 2, 2026): Raken lists Basic at $23 and Performance at $59 per user per month in USD billed annually with a 3-user minimum; time tracking is on Performance. Workyard lists plans from $6 per user per month billed annually (Starter, Pro, Autopilot, Enterprise by quote); per-plan prices above the starting figure were not shown in the page text we read.
  • AI tags: we tag both Raken and Workyard as AI features added to an established product.
  • Not used here: customer quotes, ratings and worker counts (vendor material). Facts for both tools come from vendor websites (desk research).

Paraphrased from the sources listed above. Vendor claims are reported as claims.

What users say

The facts above come from vendor websites. Whether either tool is any good for your work is something only people who use them can say. These are member reviews, all ratings shown, never edited or removed for being negative.

Used either of these? Share your take

Good or bad, an honest review from an estimator, PM or super helps the next team more than another vendor demo. You post under a handle; your email is never shown.

Questions to ask in your review

  • What Workyard's Autopilot plan costs per user
  • Whether either tool's time export maps cleanly to your payroll and ERP
  • How AI-suggested time-card changes are logged for wage-and-hour review
  • What did you use it for, on what kind of work and project size?
  • How long did setup and training take, and who on your team did it?
  • What does it cost you in practice, compared with what the sales call said?

How reviews work: review guidelines and methodology. All reviews: reviews hub.

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