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Ryan McNeelyRyan McNeely 

Best way to create Authenticated external site with VF/Apex/LightningDesignSystem

I'm building a custom app for a small business (low budget). They are Consulting business, and they have independent contractors who need to be able to log into an external website and log their hours worked, add expenses, etc. My question is how do I create this external website. Consultants would need to login into their personal space. Is Salesforce Sites still the best way?
In reading, Communities seems to be replacing Sites, but does it allow for authentication, and does it cover my use case?

A little more context...
The company already has SFDC. I'll add objects there and leverage existing standard objects. Also, will need to add custom controllers.
For the front end, I will create VF pages - 4 to be exact: Expenses, Timesheet, etc.