Best Time Tracking Software: 12 Tools Reviewed (2026)
Time tracking software records hours against something: a client, a project, a task, a shift, or simply the day. That one sentence hides four different products. A freelancer billing clients needs a timer and an invoice. An agency needs budgets, approvals and profitability. An hourly workforce needs a time clock, GPS and a payroll export. A remote employer wants proof of work. The twelve tools below cover all four, and the first mistake buyers make is comparing a time clock to a billing tool on features.
I reviewed each by who it is built for, how entries get made (timers, automatic capture, or automatic capture with proof of work for the employer), what the pricing published in October 2026 actually costs with minimums and base fees, and where it falls short. The first three are starting points for the three most common buyers; the rest follow alphabetically. There are no vendor links and nothing paid for its place.
Shortlist three for your situation
Five questions and the chooser applies the fit rules from the cards below.
Tools that cannot do what you chose (invoicing, proof of work, a QuickBooks link) drop out of the top three.
The 12 tools worth knowing
Three starting points, then nine alphabetically. Positions, not scores.
Toggl Track for tracking people will keep doing, Clockify for the most features for the least money, Harvest for a business that bills clients.
Toggl Track
The tracker people keep using
See the detail
Clockify
Free for five, cheapest paid ladder
See the detail
Harvest
Time to invoice to payment in one flow
See the detailThe rest, alphabetically:
- DeskTime: cheapest automatic tracker with scheduling.
- Everhour: tracking inside the tools you already use.
- Hubstaff: time, proof and payment in one.
- Jibble: free for unlimited users with GPS and a kiosk.
- QuickBooks Time: the time clock that feeds QuickBooks.
- TimeCamp: free for unlimited users, then a cheap ladder.
- Time Champ: automatic attendance and time from $3.90.
- Time Doctor: remote tracking with payroll and balance reports.
- Timely: automatic, private capture with AI timesheets.
Comparison at a glance
Pricing per user per month on annual billing as published in October 2026. Free plans differ enormously: check the users column in each card.
| Tool | Positioned for | Pricing checked October 2026 | Where it falls short |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toggl Track | Individuals and teams that want tracking people will actually do | Free for very small teams; Starter $9 and Premium $16 per user per month billed annually ($12 and $24 monthly); Enterprise by quote | Approvals and costs need Premium; no invoicing or payroll |
| Clockify | Teams that want the most for the least | Free for up to 5 users; Basic $3.99, Standard $5.49, Pro $7.99, Enterprise $11.99 per seat per month billed annually ($4.99, $6.99, $9.99, $14.99 monthly) | Modules spread across tiers; dense interface |
| Harvest | Businesses that bill clients for time | Free for one seat and two projects; Teams $9 and Enterprise $14 per seat per month billed annually ($11 and $17.50 monthly); Enterprise Plus by quote; 30-day trial | Approvals and profitability at $14; usage-based billing |
 DeskTime | Automatic tracking on a budget | Free Lite for one user; Pro $6.42 and Premium $9.17 per user per month billed annually ($7 and $10 monthly); Enterprise by quote | Screenshots only on Premium |
 Everhour | Teams living in Asana, Jira or ClickUp | Free for up to 5 users without integrations; Team $8.50 per seat per month billed annually ($10 monthly) with a 5-seat minimum; Custom from 50 seats; 14-day trial | 5-seat minimum; needs an integration |
 Hubstaff | Distributed and field teams paid by the hour | Starter $4.99, Grow $7.50, Team $10, Enterprise $25 per seat per month billed annually ($7, $9, $12 monthly); 2-seat minimum | Activity scores; 2-seat minimum |
 Jibble | Attendance for hourly teams at no cost | Free with unlimited users including GPS and timesheets; Premium from about $4.49 and Ultimate from about $7.99 per user per month on annual billing, with Enterprise by quote; the vendor does not publish a fixed table, so confirm the quote | Paid pricing not published |
 QuickBooks Time | Hourly crews running QuickBooks payroll | Premium $20 base plus $10 per user per month; Elite $40 base plus $12 per user per month; introductory base fees of $10 and $20 for three months; sold with QuickBooks Online | Base fee plus per user; tied to QuickBooks |
 TimeCamp | Teams that want attendance and billing cheaply | Free with unlimited users; Starter $3.99, Premium $6.99, Ultimate $9.99 per user per month billed annually ($5.49, $9.99, $13.99 monthly); Enterprise by quote from 50 users with self-hosting | Approvals and screenshots at $9.99 |
 Time Champ | Attendance plus productivity at the lowest price | Starter $3.90, Professional $6.90, Enterprise $13.90 per user per month billed annually; project management, HR and other modules as add-ons | Short history below Enterprise |
 Time Doctor | Remote and outsourced teams | Basic $6.70, Standard $11.70, Premium $16.70 per user per month billed annually ($8, $14, $20 monthly); Enterprise by quote | Real price is $11.70 |
 Timely | People who hate timesheets and value privacy | Starter $9 (up to 5 users, 20 projects), Premium $16 (up to 50 users), Unlimited $22 per user per month billed annually ($11, $20, $28 monthly); Enterprise by quote; Tasks add-on from $5 | Most expensive; user caps |
The tools in detail
Toggl Track
The tracker people keep usingWhat it is
Toggl Track is the time tracker most people picture: a timer, a list of projects and clients, and reports that total the hours. It adds a desktop timeline that records which applications were open (visible only to the user), a Pomodoro timer, calendar integration, billable rates, project budgets and, on Premium, timesheet approvals, labour cost and profitability reports and SSO. It runs on every platform and has a long-standing refusal to add screenshots or activity scoring, which the company treats as a principle. The free plan covers very small teams.
Why it is on this list
Toggl Track leads because time tracking fails when people stop doing it, and Toggl is the tool they keep doing. One click to start, a timeline that fills in the gaps privately, and reports that answer the billing question are enough for most individuals and small teams. It refuses to be a monitoring tool, which is why staff accept it. The cost is that approvals, labour cost and profitability sit on the $16 plan and there is no invoicing or payroll at all.
Where it is strong
- The simplest tracker to adopt; people actually use it
- No screenshots or activity scoring, by principle
- Every platform plus a private desktop timeline
- Approvals, labour cost and profitability on Premium
Where it falls short
- Approvals and labour cost need Premium at $16
- No invoicing, payroll or GPS
- The free plan has become smaller over time
Clockify
Free for five, cheapest paid ladderWhat it is
Clockify is the broadest free time tracker and the cheapest paid one. The free plan covers five users with unlimited projects, timers, timesheets, an auto tracker and reports; the paid plans add, in order, admin tools and a kiosk, then time off, invoicing, approvals and attendance with overtime, then scheduling, GPS, expenses, budgets and activity monitoring, then SSO and audit logging. It runs on web, desktop and mobile with a shared-device kiosk, and it is part of the CAKE.com bundle with Pumble and Plaky.
Why it is on this list
Clockify is second for value: five users free with a real feature set, then a ladder from $3.99 that adds time off, invoicing, approvals, attendance, scheduling and GPS at prices below everyone else's. A team that wants one tool to grow into pays less here than anywhere, at the cost of a denser interface and features scattered across tiers.
Where it is strong
- Free for five users with real features
- The cheapest paid ladder here, from $3.99
- Kiosk, time off, invoicing, approvals, scheduling and GPS as you climb
- Part of a bundle with chat and project tools
Where it falls short
- Approvals and time off start at Standard; GPS and scheduling at Pro
- Interface is dense once every module is on
- Support is slower on the lower tiers
Harvest
Time to invoice to payment in one flowWhat it is
Harvest is the time tracker for businesses that bill clients. Time and expenses are tracked against clients and projects, turned into invoices with online payment through Stripe or PayPal, and synced to QuickBooks or Xero. Reports cover budgets, billable versus non-billable time and, on Enterprise, profitability; approvals and SSO are also Enterprise. It integrates with Asana, Trello, Basecamp and the other project tools, and its billing can scale with usage (invoices, projects, clients) rather than seats alone. The free plan is one seat and two projects.
Why it is on this list
Harvest is third because for a business that bills clients the time record is the invoice, and Harvest is the tool that takes time and expenses to an invoice, to an online payment and into the accounts without re-keying. Agencies, consultancies and firms choose it over cheaper trackers for that reason and accept the $14 Enterprise plan for approvals and profitability.
Where it is strong
- Time to invoice to payment in one flow
- Expenses, budgets and profitability reporting
- Deep integrations with project and accounting tools
- A 30-day trial and a free single-seat plan
Where it falls short
- Approvals and profitability need Enterprise at $14
- Usage-based billing can grow with invoices and projects
- No automatic tracking, GPS or attendance
DeskTime
Cheapest automatic tracker with schedulingWhat it is
DeskTime is an automatic tracker that records applications and URLs, classifies them by productivity per role, and adds project tracking, an absence calendar, shift scheduling and a private time switch; screenshots are a Premium feature. It is one of the cheapest tools here, runs on Windows, Mac, Linux and mobile, and has a free single-user plan.
Why it is on this list
DeskTime is on the list as the cheapest automatic tracker that also schedules shifts and tracks absence, with a private time switch that makes automatic tracking acceptable. Small teams that want to stop filling in timesheets choose it.
Where it is strong
- Automatic tracking with a private time switch
- Shift scheduling and absence calendar
- Low price and a free single-user plan
- Linux and mobile apps
Where it falls short
- Screenshots only on Premium
- Productivity scoring needs tuning
- No invoicing or approvals
Everhour
Tracking inside the tools you already useWhat it is
Everhour tracks time from inside the tools a team already uses: it adds timers, estimates and budgets directly into Asana, Jira, ClickUp, monday.com, Trello, GitHub, Notion, Basecamp and others through a browser extension, so nobody opens a separate app. Reports, invoicing, time off, scheduling and SSO sit in Everhour itself. The paid plan has a five-seat minimum; the free plan allows five users but no integrations, which removes the point.
Why it is on this list
Everhour is here for teams that already plan work in Asana, Jira, ClickUp or monday.com and want time, estimates and budgets to live there too. It is the only tool on this list that disappears into the project tool, and the five-seat minimum is its only real barrier.
Where it is strong
- Tracking inside Asana, Jira, ClickUp and the rest; no separate app
- Budgets and estimates where the work is planned
- Invoicing, time off and scheduling included
- SSO on the standard paid plan
Where it falls short
- Five-seat minimum on the paid plan
- Useless without one of its integrations
- No desktop automatic tracking or GPS
Hubstaff
Time, proof and payment in oneWhat it is
Hubstaff is a time tracker for distributed and field teams that also does monitoring: timers and automatic tracking against projects, optional screenshots and activity levels, GPS and job sites, and timesheets that flow into payroll, invoicing and client reports. It runs on every desktop and mobile platform including Linux and Chromebook, and has the largest review base of any tool here. It is as much a proof-of-work tool as a time tracker.
Why it is on this list
Hubstaff is on the list for teams paid by the hour across locations, where the time record needs proof attached and a payroll run at the end. It is a monitoring tool as much as a tracker, and that is the choice you make in picking it.
Where it is strong
- Time, proof of work, GPS and payment in one product
- Every platform including Linux and Chromebook
- Largest review base in the category
- Cheap entry plan
Where it falls short
- Activity scores reward input
- Two-seat minimum
- Monitoring is the point, which not every team wants
Jibble
Free for unlimited users with GPS and a kioskWhat it is
Jibble is the free attendance tracker: unlimited users on the free plan with timesheets, GPS, projects, overtime rules and integrations, and a kiosk with facial recognition for shared devices. Paid plans add geofencing, live location, advanced permissions and payroll exports. It clocks in from mobile, web, kiosk, Slack or Microsoft Teams. The company does not publish a fixed price table for the paid tiers, so the figures here are indicative.
Why it is on this list
Jibble earns its place with a free plan that is genuinely free for unlimited users, with GPS, timesheets, overtime rules and a facial recognition kiosk. For a shop, a site or a clinic that needs attendance and nothing else, it costs nothing. The paid tiers lack a published price table.
Where it is strong
- Genuinely free for unlimited users, including GPS and timesheets
- Facial recognition kiosk for shared devices
- Clock in from Slack or Teams
- Overtime rules and approvals
Where it falls short
- Paid pricing is not published as a fixed table
- Reporting and project tracking are lighter than the project tools
- Facial recognition raises Illinois and Texas biometric law obligations
QuickBooks Time
The time clock that feeds QuickBooksWhat it is
QuickBooks Time, formerly TSheets, is the time clock for hourly workforces that run payroll in QuickBooks. Employees clock in from the mobile app, a kiosk or the web; GPS records where; managers approve timesheets and schedules; and the hours flow into QuickBooks payroll. Elite adds geofencing, mileage tracking, project budgets and timesheet signatures. Pricing is a monthly base fee plus a per-user charge, and it is sold alongside QuickBooks Online.
Why it is on this list
QuickBooks Time is here for the hourly crew whose payroll already runs in QuickBooks: clock-in from phone or kiosk, GPS and geofencing, schedules, approvals, and hours that arrive in payroll without export. The base fee makes it expensive below ten users.
Where it is strong
- The natural time clock for QuickBooks payroll
- GPS, geofencing, kiosk and scheduling for hourly crews
- Mileage and project budgets on Elite
- Timesheet signatures for compliance
Where it falls short
- Base fee plus per-user pricing is expensive for small teams
- Tied to QuickBooks Online
- Not a project time tracker for knowledge work
TimeCamp
Free for unlimited users, then a cheap ladderWhat it is
TimeCamp is a time tracker with an unusually generous free plan (unlimited users, basic timesheets) and a ladder that adds attendance and invoicing, then billable rates, budgets and application tracking, then approvals, screenshots and remote-work detection. It has a kiosk for shared devices, geofencing at the top tier, an AI tracker that suggests entries from activity, and a self-hosted option for enterprises. It runs on web, desktop and mobile.
Why it is on this list
TimeCamp is on the list because its free plan covers unlimited users and its paid ladder adds attendance, invoicing, budgets and app tracking at prices only Clockify beats, with a kiosk, geofencing and self-hosting for larger teams.
Where it is strong
- Free with unlimited users
- Attendance, invoicing and budgets at low prices
- Kiosk, geofencing and self-hosting available
- AI tracker suggests entries from activity
Where it falls short
- Approvals and screenshots need Ultimate at $9.99
- Geofencing only on Enterprise
- Reporting is weaker than Harvest's for billing
Time Champ
Automatic attendance and time from $3.90What it is
Time Champ tracks attendance and time automatically from a desktop agent, classifies application and website use by productivity, produces timesheets with offline tracking and time zone support, and adds shifts, screenshots and manager hierarchies on Professional and live views and alerts on Enterprise. Project management and HR modules are add-ons. It runs on Windows, Mac and Linux with GPS on mobile, and is the lowest-priced full plan here.
Why it is on this list
Time Champ is here for the employer who needs attendance and hours recorded automatically, with offline tracking and time zones, and wants productivity data from the same agent, at $3.90 a seat. It is the lowest-priced full plan on the page, with the trade-offs the card lists.
Where it is strong
- Attendance and time tracking from $3.90 a seat
- Offline tracking and time zone support
- Configurable screenshots and silent or visible modes
- Linux and mobile GPS
Where it falls short
- Short detailed history below Enterprise
- Project management and HR are add-ons
- Smaller review base than the leaders
Time Doctor
Remote tracking with payroll and balance reportsWhat it is
Time Doctor is a time tracker for remote and outsourced teams with monitoring attached: time against projects and tasks, optional screenshots, web and app usage, attendance, breaks and idle time, payroll and 60-plus integrations on Standard, and work-life balance reporting that flags late hours. It runs on Windows, Mac, Linux, Chromebook and Android.
Why it is on this list
Time Doctor is on the list for remote and outsourced teams, where its attendance, payroll, integrations and work-life balance reports are the standard kit. The plan with those features is Standard at $11.70, which is its real price.
Where it is strong
- Built for remote and outsourced teams
- Work-life balance and Office versus Remote reports
- Payroll and 60-plus integrations
- Chromebook and Android agents
Where it falls short
- Payroll and integrations start at $11.70
- Screenshots and activity draw objections
- Interface shows its age
Timely
Automatic, private capture with AI timesheetsWhat it is
Timely is the automatic time tracker built around privacy: its Memory app records what you worked on throughout the day, keeps that record visible only to you, and uses AI to draft a timesheet you approve before anyone else sees it. Projects, budgets, capacity and overtime monitoring sit on top. It has no screenshots and no activity scoring by design, is priced higher than the manual trackers, and caps users on the lower plans.
Why it is on this list
Timely closes the list for people who will never fill in a timesheet and teams that will not accept screenshots: the Memory app records the day privately, AI drafts the timesheet, the person approves it. It is the most expensive tracker here and caps users on the lower plans.
Where it is strong
- Automatic capture that stays private until the user approves it
- AI-drafted timesheets that cut entry time
- Capacity and overtime monitoring
- No screenshots or activity scores
Where it falls short
- The most expensive tracker here per seat
- User caps on Starter (5) and Premium (50)
- No approvals, invoicing or GPS
Four kinds of time tracking tool
Project and billing trackers (Toggl Track, Harvest, Everhour, Timely, My Hours and the like) record time against clients and projects for invoicing, budgets and profitability. Time clocks (QuickBooks Time, Jibble, and Clockify and TimeCamp in their attendance modes) record shifts, breaks and overtime for payroll, with GPS and kiosks. Automatic trackers (Timely, DeskTime, Toggl's timeline, TimeCamp's AI tracker, Time Champ) record what was worked on without a timer, privately or for the employer. Trackers with monitoring (Hubstaff, Time Doctor, and the upper tiers of Clockify, TimeCamp and Time Champ) add screenshots and activity as proof of work. Decide which you are buying first. The manual versus automatic guide covers the second and third kinds in depth, and the monitoring software review covers the fourth.
Why time tracking fails, and what to buy against
Time tracking fails in one way: people stop doing it. The record decays into Friday reconstructions, the data becomes fiction, and the tool is blamed. The timesheet memes page is a catalogue of exactly this. Three product qualities fight it. Friction: a timer that starts in one click, a browser extension inside the project tool, or automatic capture that needs only approval. Benefit to the person tracking: their own reports, their own invoice, their own private timeline, rather than data that flows only upward. And trust: no screenshots or activity scores unless the relationship genuinely requires proof of work, in which case say so and pay for it. The tools that score best on adoption (Toggl, Timely, Everhour) are the ones built around those three; the rollout guide covers the introduction.
Hours records and the law
For non-exempt employees the time record is a legal document. The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to keep accurate records of hours worked each day and week, overtime is owed by workweek regardless of pay period, and rounding is allowed only where it is neutral over time, which the time card calculator page explains. Several states add meal and rest break records, and Illinois and Texas regulate the facial recognition some kiosks use. A tool that lets employees edit their own entries needs an audit trail; a tool that auto-deducts breaks needs to be checked against state rules. The hours worked guide and the overtime calculator cover the arithmetic.
How these tools were evaluated
I evaluated each tool against the same checklist: what it captures and how configurable that is, which platforms it runs on, how it treats the employee (visible or silent agent, access to their own data, screenshot blurring and private time), what the published pricing is and what the minimum commitment really costs, how long data is kept, where it can be deployed, and what the vendor's own documentation and verified user reviews say about reliability and support. Pricing was taken from each vendor's pricing page in October 2026; where a vendor publishes no price, the page says so rather than guessing. Free plans and trials were used where they exist. I did not run a formal benchmark, and the page does not claim one.
Disclosure. I have done work for Time Champ. It appears here because it belongs in this category, it is held to the same criteria as every other product, its drawbacks are listed like everyone else's, and it bought no placement. There are no affiliate or vendor links on this page.
Key takeaways
- Decide which kind of tracker you are buying: billing, time clock, automatic, or tracker with monitoring. Features only compare within a kind.
- Toggl Track for adoption, Clockify for value, Harvest for client billing; Jibble and TimeCamp are free for unlimited users; Time Champ is the cheapest full plan.
- Entry prices in October 2026 run from free to $9 per user; minimums, base fees and the plan with approvals move the real cost.
- Time tracking fails when people stop doing it; buy for friction, benefit to the tracker and trust.
- For hourly staff the record is a legal document: accurate daily hours, overtime by workweek, neutral rounding.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best time tracking software?
Toggl Track for individuals and teams who need tracking they will keep doing; Clockify for the most features at the lowest price, free for five users; Harvest for businesses that bill clients and want time to flow into invoices. Hourly workforces should look at QuickBooks Time or Jibble; remote employers at Hubstaff or Time Doctor; teams in Asana or Jira at Everhour; people who hate timesheets at Timely. The chooser on this page applies those rules.
Is there good free time tracking software?
Yes. Jibble and TimeCamp are free for unlimited users (attendance and basic timesheets); Clockify is free for five users with timers, timesheets, an auto tracker and reports; Toggl Track is free for very small teams; Harvest is free for one seat and two projects; DeskTime is free for one user. The free tiers lack approvals, invoicing or integrations, which is where the paid plans start.
How much does time tracking software cost?
Published prices in October 2026 run from $3.90 to $9 per user per month on annual billing for entry plans (Time Champ $3.90, Clockify and TimeCamp $3.99, Jibble about $4.49, Hubstaff $4.99, DeskTime $6.42, Time Doctor $6.70, Everhour $8.50, Toggl, Harvest and Timely $9). QuickBooks Time adds a $20 or $40 monthly base fee. The plans with approvals, invoicing or payroll typically cost $9 to $17.
What is the difference between time tracking and employee monitoring software?
Time tracking records hours against projects, clients or shifts, usually entered by the person or captured automatically for their own use. Employee monitoring records what was done on the device, with screenshots, activity levels or application logs, for the employer. Hubstaff, Time Doctor and the upper tiers of Clockify, TimeCamp and Time Champ do both; Toggl, Harvest, Everhour and Timely deliberately do not monitor.
What is automatic time tracking?
Software that records what you worked on, which applications, documents, websites or meetings, without a timer, and either drafts a timesheet for you to approve (Timely, Toggl's timeline, TimeCamp's AI tracker) or classifies the time by productivity for the employer (DeskTime, Time Champ). The first kind is private to the user; the second is a form of monitoring and needs notice.
Which time tracking software integrates with QuickBooks?
QuickBooks Time is built for it and is sold with QuickBooks Online. Clockify (Standard plan), Harvest, TimeCamp and Hubstaff sync time or invoices to QuickBooks. Everhour and Toggl connect through integrations. Check whether the sync covers payroll items or only invoices, because the two are different.
Do I need timesheet approvals?
If someone other than the person tracking depends on the record, usually: payroll, client billing or a manager sign-off. Approvals are on Toggl Premium, Harvest Enterprise, Clockify Standard, TimeCamp Ultimate, Everhour Team, QuickBooks Time, Jibble, Hubstaff and Time Doctor. Solo users and trust-based teams can skip them.