Bottom Line Up Front
- 🏆 Best Overall: Toggl Track nails the balance of simplicity and power. One-click timers, beautiful reports, and fair pricing.
- 💰 Best Free Option: Clockify offers unlimited users and projects on the free tier—unheard of in this space.
- 📊 Best for Agencies: Harvest combines time tracking with invoicing and expense tracking in one elegant package.
If you bill by the hour, time tracking isn't optional—it's how you get paid. Even if you don't, knowing where your team's hours go is the difference between profitable projects and money pits.
But most time tracking tools are either too simple (just a timer with no reporting) or too complex (enterprise bloat that requires training). We tested the top contenders to find the sweet spot: tools that are easy to use daily, give you actionable insights, and integrate with your existing workflow.
Detailed Reviews of the Top Time Tracking Software
Toggl Track
Toggl Track is the Goldilocks of time tracking: not too simple, not too complex, just right. The one-click timer makes tracking effortless, and the reports are surprisingly powerful without being overwhelming. Desktop, mobile, and browser extension all work flawlessly.
✅ The Good
- Fastest timer interface in the business
- Pomodoro timer built-in for productivity
- Beautiful visual reports and dashboards
- Browser extension works across 80+ tools
- Idle detection prevents time leakage
- Offline mode syncs when reconnected
❌ The Not-So-Good
- No built-in invoicing (use Toggl Plan separately)
- Advanced reporting locked behind paid tier
- Can get pricey for larger teams (10+)
- No GPS tracking for field teams
No credit card required
Clockify
Clockify's business model is almost too good to be true: unlimited users, unlimited projects, and unlimited tracking on the free tier forever. It's nearly identical to Toggl Track in features but optimized for teams that need cost-effective scaling.
✅ The Good
- Truly unlimited free tier (not a trial)
- Timesheet approval workflows
- Kiosk mode for shared workstations
- Calendar view for visual planning
- Invoicing available on paid tiers
- Strong integration ecosystem
❌ The Not-So-Good
- Interface feels slightly less polished than Toggl
- Free tier has limited reporting
- Mobile app can be buggy
- Customer support slower on free plan
Harvest
Harvest is purpose-built for agencies and consultancies. It's the only tool that seamlessly combines time tracking, expense tracking, and invoicing. If you bill clients based on tracked hours, Harvest eliminates the need for 3 separate tools.
✅ The Good
- Native invoicing from tracked time
- Expense tracking with receipt capture
- Budget alerts keep projects profitable
- Team capacity planning tools
- Stripe/PayPal integration for payments
- Excellent Slack and Asana integrations
❌ The Not-So-Good
- More expensive than pure time trackers
- Learning curve for full feature set
- Reporting can feel overwhelming at first
- Free tier limited to 1 user (not viable)
Time Doctor
Time Doctor is designed for remote teams that need accountability. It goes beyond simple time tracking with screenshots, activity monitoring, and distraction alerts. Great for managing distributed contractors, but the monitoring features may feel invasive for some teams.
✅ The Good
- Screenshots and activity tracking
- Distraction alerts (social media, etc.)
- Payroll integration with tracked hours
- Client login for transparency
- Strong for remote/offshore teams
❌ The Not-So-Good
- Monitoring features can hurt trust
- Interface feels outdated
- More expensive than alternatives
- Privacy concerns for some users
Hubstaff
Hubstaff combines time tracking with project management, invoicing, and even GPS tracking for field teams. It's a Swiss Army knife that works particularly well for construction, delivery, and field service businesses.
✅ The Good
- GPS tracking for mobile workers
- Geofencing and location-based tracking
- Automatic payroll from tracked hours
- Screenshot monitoring (optional)
- Robust project budgeting tools
❌ The Not-So-Good
- Can feel like overkill for office teams
- Free tier very limited (1 user only)
- Reporting UI is cluttered
- Mobile app drains battery
RescueTime
RescueTime takes a different approach: fully automatic tracking. Instead of manually starting timers, it runs in the background and categorizes everything you do. Perfect for individual productivity insights, but less ideal for client billing.
✅ The Good
- 100% automatic—no timers to start
- Productivity scoring and insights
- Focus sessions block distracting sites
- Great for personal productivity analysis
- Weekly email reports
❌ The Not-So-Good
- Not designed for client billing
- Limited team features
- Can't assign time to specific projects easily
- Privacy concerns (tracks everything)
Head-to-Head Comparison
| Feature | Toggl Track | Clockify | Harvest | Hubstaff |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best For | Most Teams | Budget-Conscious | Agencies | Field Teams |
| Free Tier | Up to 5 users | Unlimited | 1 user only | 1 user only |
| Starting Price | $10/user/mo | $3.99/user/mo | $12/user/mo | $7/user/mo |
| Invoicing | ❌ No | Paid tier only | ✓ Built-in | Paid tier only |
| GPS Tracking | ❌ No | ❌ No | ❌ No | ✓ Yes |
| Mobile App | Excellent | Good | Excellent | Good |
| Ease of Use | Easiest | Easy | Moderate | Moderate |
How to Choose the Right Time Tracking Software
1. Start with Your Use Case
- Billing clients? You need invoicing (Harvest) or easy export to accounting tools.
- Managing remote teams? Consider monitoring features (Time Doctor, Hubstaff).
- Field/mobile workers? GPS tracking is essential (Hubstaff).
- Just need basic tracking? Toggl Track or Clockify will be plenty.
2. Consider Your Team Size
If you're under 5 people, free tiers (Toggl, Clockify) work great. For larger teams, per-user pricing adds up fast—Clockify's $3.99/user is hard to beat for budget-conscious teams.
3. Integration Matters
Check if your time tracker integrates with your existing stack. Most tools play nice with Asana, Trello, Slack, and QuickBooks, but verify your must-haves before committing.
4. Test the Mobile Experience
If your team works on the go, download the mobile app during your trial. A clunky mobile experience kills adoption fast.
5. Think About Privacy and Trust
Screenshot monitoring and activity tracking can boost accountability, but they can also destroy trust if implemented poorly. Be transparent with your team about what you're tracking and why.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I really need time tracking software? Can't I just use a spreadsheet?
You can, but you'll hate it. Manually logging hours is tedious and error-prone. Even free tools like Clockify save hours per week and give you insights a spreadsheet can't (e.g., "You spent 12 hours on a project budgeted for 8").
Will my team actually use it?
Adoption is the #1 challenge. The key is making it as frictionless as possible: browser extensions, mobile apps, and integrations with tools they already use. Toggl Track and Clockify have the smoothest onboarding we've tested.
What about screenshot monitoring—is that creepy?
Depends on your team culture. For remote contractors you don't know well, it can provide peace of mind. For trusted employees, it can feel invasive. Use it sparingly and communicate clearly why you're using it.
Can I track billable vs. non-billable hours?
Yes! Every tool on this list supports billable/non-billable tagging. Harvest goes a step further and lets you set hourly rates per person or project, then generates invoices automatically.
How do I switch from my current tool?
Most tools let you import CSV data from competitors. Expect a day or two of setup to recreate projects and configure integrations. The switch is easier than you think—we've done it multiple times while testing.
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