Best Employee Time Tracking Software for Small Business

Hubstaff combines a timer with activity monitoring, screenshots, and GPS, which suits teams with remote and field staff in one account. Office staff log time on desktop, field staff clock in on mobile with GPS, and managers see activity levels, app use, and timesheets in one dashboard. Payroll and invoicing run from the same hours, so a team can pay staff and bill clients from one record.

There is no free plan, only a 14 day trial. Starter costs $4.99 per seat per month billed annually and covers time tracking, limited screenshots, and activity levels, with a 2 seat minimum. Grow costs $7.50 per seat per month billed annually and adds project budgets and expenses. Team costs $10 per seat per month billed annually and adds payroll, scheduling, and unlimited screenshots. Add ons for insights, tasks, and locations cost extra per seat, so check the pricing page for the full total.

Price: $4.99 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Free trial (14 days)

Website: hubstaff.com

Time Doctor tracks time with screenshots, activity levels, and app and website use, which gives a manager a clear record of how remote work hours were spent. Team members start a timer or let automatic tracking run, and managers see projects, tasks, and idle time in one dashboard. Attendance, schedules, and leave tracking sit on the same record, so payroll has a single source for hours.

There is no free plan, only a 14 day trial that opens all features. Basic costs $6.67 per user per month billed annually and covers time tracking, screenshots, and projects. Standard costs $11.67 per user per month billed annually and adds payroll, attendance, and more than 60 integrations. Premium costs $16.70 per user per month billed annually and adds video screen recording and AI benchmarks. Time Doctor suits a remote team whose manager needs proof of work, not just a total of hours.

Price: $6.67 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Free trial (14 days)

Website: timedoctor.com

Harvest links tracked hours to invoices in one place. A team member starts a timer against a project, Harvest totals the hours at the client rate, and the invoice goes out from the same record. That short path from hours to invoice is the reason small firms that bill by the hour keep using it, because there is no export and reentry step between tracking and billing.

The free plan covers 1 seat and 2 projects, which suits a solo freelancer testing the flow. Teams costs $9 per seat per month billed annually and adds team reporting, invoicing, and accounting integrations. Enterprise costs $14 per seat per month billed annually and adds profitability reporting, timesheet approvals, and single sign on. Harvest also charges usage fees for active projects, clients, tasks, and invoicing beyond base allowances, so check the pricing page for the full cost before budgeting.

Price: $9 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Website: getharvest.com

Toggl Track keeps time tracking close to one click. Start the timer, add a short description, pick a project, and the entry is logged. The timer runs on web, desktop, mobile, and browser extension, so a freelancer can start work on a laptop and stop it on a phone without losing the entry. Reports show time by client, project, and week, which makes invoicing faster at month end.

The free plan covers 3 users on new accounts, which suits a freelancer plus two regular collaborators, while older workspaces keep 5 seats. Starter costs $9 per user per month billed annually and adds billable rates, project templates, and scheduled reports. Premium costs $16 per user per month billed annually and adds approvals, labor costs, and profitability. A freelancer who bills by the hour will want Starter for billable rates, but the free plan covers the core timer and reporting well enough to start.

Price: $9 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Website: toggl.com

TimeCamp records time in two ways, with a manual timer and with automatic capture that watches app and website use and turns it into timesheet entries. A freelancer can let the automatic tracker fill in the gaps on a busy day, then review and assign the entries to projects before the week ends. The desktop and mobile apps cover the main platforms, and GPS tracking suits teams that work away from a desk.

The free plan covers unlimited users and unlimited projects, which is the widest free offer in this list. Starter costs $3.99 per user per month billed annually and adds invoicing, attendance, and time off. Premium costs $6.99 per user per month billed annually and adds billable time, budgets, and app tracking. Ultimate costs $9.99 per user per month billed annually and adds approvals and labor costs. Automatic tracking on the free plan makes TimeCamp a strong first choice for freelancers who forget to start a timer.

Price: $3.99 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Website: timecamp.com

DeskTime runs in the background and records app and website use automatically, so a team member does not need to start or stop a timer. The tracker labels each app as productive, unproductive, or neutral, and reports show how the workday was spent by person, project, and app. Screenshots and idle time detection add a record for managers who need to see activity, not just totals.

DeskTime has a 14 day trial and no free plan. Pro costs $6.42 per user per month billed annually and covers automatic tracking, app reports, and screenshots. Premium costs $9.17 per user per month billed annually and adds scheduling, invoicing, and project costing. A team that wants automatic capture without manual timers will find DeskTime easy to adopt, but a team that only needs a simple timer can spend less elsewhere.

Price: $6.42 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Free trial (14 days)

Website: desktime.com

Paymo combines task management, time tracking, and invoicing in one workspace, so a small team can plan a project, log hours against its tasks, and invoice the client without moving data between tools. Timesheets, kanban boards, and task lists sit beside the timer, and project templates help a team repeat a familiar setup for each new client.

The free plan covers 1 user with unlimited time tracking, which suits a solo freelancer. Starter costs $5.90 per user per month billed annually and adds invoicing, unlimited projects, and unlimited clients. Small Office costs $10.90 per user per month billed annually and adds Gantt charts, project profitability, and estimates. Business costs $16.90 per user per month billed annually and adds scheduling, leave management, and priority support. Paymo suits a small business that wants project work and billing in one place.

Price: $5.90 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Website: paymoapp.com