Blink vs InStaff
Blink
joinblink.comInStaff
instaff.orgSide by side
| Figure | Blink | InStaff |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $4.50/mo | $0.20/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 3 | 10 |
| Spec score · Intranet Software | 8.6 (#7) | 8.2 (#14) |
| Audience | Blink says its platform serves frontline and headquarters employees and lists industries including healthcare, retail, manufacturing, transit, and logistics. | InStaff describes itself as built for growing businesses and identifies payroll, HR, and operations teams among its users. |
| Founded | 2015 | 2014 |
| Headquarters | Boston, Massachusetts, United States | Mississauga, Ontario, Canada |
| Integrations | Native integrations include ServiceNow, Salesforce, Zoom, and Microsoft 365; Zapier can connect Blink to over 1,000 other apps. | InStaff supports structured exports, imports, and custom integrations; its time-tracking page names Sage, QuickBooks, ADP, and Microsoft Dynamics and offers a native Sage 300 integration. |
| Product | Blink describes itself as an employee experience app that connects employees with workplace tools. | InStaff is a configurable employee portal for time tracking, paystubs, employee documents, announcements, directories, and related employee operations. |
| Security | Blink says data is encrypted at rest with AES-256 and in transit over HTTPS using TLS. | Every portal includes MFA, 256-bit SSL-encrypted portals, user role management, and regular product and security updates. |
| Support | Blink advertises customer support 24/7, 365 days a year, and priority support on Pro. | Every portal includes customer support from 9 AM to 5 PM ET. |
Plans
InStaff
- Announcements & SurveysFree
- Employee Records Hub$0.20 a month
- Paystubs & Tax Forms$0.48, paid once
- Time Off Management$1 a month
- Expense Management$3 a month
- Time Tracking$5 a month
- Certifications & Licenses$20 a month
- Portal — up to 100 employees$40 a month
- Portal — 101–500 employees$80 a month
- Portal — 501+ employees$100 a month
In their own words
Blink
Blink is an employee experience app that brings workplace communications and tools together for frontline and headquarters employees. It includes secure one-to-one and group chats, company news feeds, recognition, surveys, stories, and communities. AI help can create or improve feed posts. A knowledge hub, single sign-on, digital forms, and employee journeys are among its workplace tools. Native integrations include ServiceNow, Salesforce, Zoom, and Microsoft 365; Zapier can connect Blink with over 1,000 other apps. An organization administrator must configure integrations before users can access them. Blink says data is encrypted at rest with AES-256 and in transit over HTTPS using TLS, and states that it is ISO 27001 certified. The app is listed for Android, iOS, macOS, web, and Windows. Pricing starts at $3.75/user/mo (annual), and a 14-day free trial is available; there is no free plan. Core is $4.50 per user per month and Pro is $6.00 per user per month. Blink lists healthcare, retail, manufacturing, transit, and logistics among the industries it serves.
InStaff
InStaff is a configurable employee portal for time tracking, time-off requests, paystubs, documents, announcements, directories, and related employee operations. Time tracking includes digital timesheets, mobile clock-in, shared terminal mode, face or QR verification, and geofencing. Employees can request time off from any device, with configurable approval workflows, balances, and tracking rules. The portal stores policies, forms, contracts, and employee documents, with electronic signatures. Uploaded PDF paystubs are sorted and delivered to employee accounts, with a default retention period of seven years. Approved time can be exported as CSV or PDF or retrieved through the API. The service supports structured imports and exports, custom integrations, and a native Sage 300 integration. Every portal includes MFA, encrypted portals, role management, and regular product and security updates. InStaff is web-based, was founded in 2014, and is headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. A 14-day trial is available and there is no free plan. Portal pricing starts at $40.00 per month for up to 100 employees; separate listed modules include time tracking at $5.00 per user / month and time-off management at $1.00 per user / month.