Best Time Tracking Software for Distributed Teams

Website: https://toggl.com

Best for: distributed teams that want a simple timer and clean reports

Starting price: $9 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes, up to 5 users

Pros: one-click timer across desktop, web and mobile; more than 100 integrations with project tools

Cons: profitability reports and timesheet approvals need Premium at $16 per user per month billed annually; no built-in screenshots or activity monitoring

Toggl Track keeps time tracking close to invisible, which matters when a team spans six time zones and nobody shares an office clock. A teammate starts the timer in one click, picks a project, and the entry lands in a shared report that a manager can read the next morning. The Starter plan costs $9 per user per month billed annually and adds billable rates, project time estimates and scheduled reports on top of the free plan, which covers up to 5 users.

The trade-off is depth. Toggl Track does not watch screens or record app usage, so managers who want proof of activity will need another tool. Premium at $16 per user per month billed annually adds profitability reports, labor costs, timesheet approvals and single sign-on. For a distributed team that trusts its people and bills by the hour, the simple timer plus honest reporting is often enough, and the 30-day trial of Premium gives a full month to test the higher tier before committing.

Website: https://clockify.me

Best for: distributed teams on a tight budget

Starting price: $3.99 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes, up to 5 users

Pros: low entry price with a free plan for up to 5 users; calendar view and kiosk mode included

Cons: invoicing, timesheet approvals and time off start at Standard at $5.49 per user per month billed annually; project budgets, profitability, GPS and screenshots start at Pro at $7.99

Clockify is the cheapest way to give a distributed team a shared source of truth for hours. The free plan covers up to 5 users, and Basic at $3.99 per user per month billed annually adds project templates, time off policies and the ability to hide pages from regular users. A manager in one country can approve a timesheet filed by a contractor in another without a single spreadsheet, and the calendar view shows who logged what on any given day.

The limits show up as a team grows. Invoicing and approvals sit on Standard, while budgets and profitability sit on Pro, so a 20-person team that bills clients will likely land on Pro at $7.99 per user per month billed annually. Even then, the total stays below most rivals. Clockify suits distributed teams that want a low monthly bill and are willing to accept a plainer interface in exchange for it.

Website: https://www.getharvest.com

Best for: distributed teams that bill clients by the hour

Starting price: $9 per seat/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes, 1 seat and 2 projects

Pros: simple timers plus invoicing from tracked time; expense tracking built in

Cons: profitability reporting, timesheet approvals, activity log and single sign-on need Enterprise at $14 per seat per month billed annually; Flex usage fees apply for invoices, projects, clients and tasks

Harvest pairs a timer with an invoice, which is exactly the loop a distributed agency or consultancy runs every week. Teammates log hours against clients and tasks, a manager reviews the week, and Harvest turns the approved hours into an invoice with expenses attached. The Teams plan costs $9 per seat per month billed annually and includes unlimited projects, clients and invoices, plus integrations with tools such as Asana, Slack and QuickBooks.

The free plan covers only 1 seat and 2 projects, so it works for a solo freelancer and not much beyond that. Enterprise at $14 per seat per month billed annually adds approvals, profitability reporting and single sign-on, which larger distributed teams will want. Harvest also charges Flex usage fees on top of the seat price for invoices, projects, clients and tasks, so check the pricing page for the current fee schedule before budgeting.

Website: https://hubstaff.com

Best for: distributed teams that need activity evidence

Starting price: $4.99 per seat/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes, 1 user only

Pros: screenshots, activity levels and app and URL tracking; GPS and geofencing for field staff

Cons: 2-seat minimum on Starter, Grow and Team; Insights, Tasks and Locations cost extra as add-ons; Starter caps screenshots and app and URL tracking at 500 per seat per month

Hubstaff is built for managers who need to see what remote work looks like, not just how long it took. The desktop app records activity levels, takes screenshots and logs which apps and websites were open, then rolls it into reports by person, project and client. Starter costs $4.99 per seat per month billed annually and includes time tracking, screenshots, activity levels, and limited app and URL tracking, plus payments through PayPal and Wise.

The monitoring features are the point, and they are also the risk. A team should agree in writing what gets recorded and why, because screenshots of a home office feel very different from a shared office floor. Starter caps screenshots and app and URL tracking at 500 per seat per month, and the Insights, Tasks and Locations features cost extra as add-ons. The free plan covers a single user, so any real team will pay from day one.

Website: https://www.timedoctor.com

Best for: distributed teams that need productivity monitoring

Starting price: $6.67 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Free trial (14 days)

Pros: automatic tracking with screenshots and activity timelines; more than 60 integrations plus payroll with PayPal, Payoneer and Wise

Cons: no free plan, only a 14-day trial; monitoring-first design needs clear team agreement before rollout; add-ons on Basic and Standard can push cost above Premium

Time Doctor watches work as it happens and turns it into a timeline a manager can read. The Basic plan costs $6.67 per user per month billed annually and includes automatic tracking, screenshots, projects and tasks, offline tracking and a timeline report. Standard at $11.67 adds schedules, attendance, time approvals, web and app usage reporting, leave tracking and payroll, while Premium at $16.70 adds video screen recording, AI benchmarks and executive dashboards.

The breadth is real, and so is the cost of the add-ons. Features such as Benchmarks AI, Software Cost Insights and video screen recording can be bought separately on lower plans, and buying two of them can cost more than simply moving to Premium. There is no free plan, only a 14-day trial with access to all Premium features and no credit card required. Time Doctor fits distributed teams that want detailed productivity evidence and are willing to have an open conversation with staff about monitoring first.

Website: https://desktime.com

Best for: distributed teams that want automatic tracking

Starting price: $6.42 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Free trial (14 days)

Pros: automatic time tracking with productivity calculations; absence calendar and shift scheduling on Premium

Cons: no free plan, only a 14-day trial; screenshots and integrations need Premium at $9.17 per user per month billed annually; prices shown excluding VAT

DeskTime runs quietly in the background and sorts the day into productive time, unproductive time and idle time without anyone pressing a button. The Pro plan costs $6.42 per user per month billed annually and includes automatic tracking, document title tracking, productivity calculations and calendar integrations with Google Calendar and Outlook. Premium at $9.17 adds screenshots, integrations and an API, plus shift scheduling and an absence calendar.

The automatic approach suits distributed teams where people switch between many small tasks and would forget a manual timer. The catch is that screenshots and integrations sit on Premium, so a team that wants proof of work or a connection to Jira or Asana will pay the higher tier. There is no free plan, only a 14-day trial, and the prices on the vendor page exclude VAT, so teams in the EU should add tax to the headline figure when they budget.

Website: https://timely.com

Best for: distributed teams that forget to start timers

Starting price: $9 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Free trial (14 days)

Pros: automatic AI-drafted timesheets from app and calendar activity; clean team capacity views

Cons: no free plan; Starter is capped at 5 users and 20 projects; task-level timers cost an extra $5 per user per month

Timely solves the most common time tracking failure: people forgetting to start the timer. Its Memory feature records app and calendar activity and drafts a timesheet from it, so a teammate reviews and confirms the day instead of reconstructing it from memory. Starter costs $9 per user per month billed annually and includes automatic time tracking, the AI-drafted timesheet and team capacity views, with a 14-day trial and no credit card required.

The Starter limits are tight. Five users and 20 projects cover a small distributed team and no more, and task-level timers cost an extra $5 per user per month. Premium at $16 per user per month billed annually removes the caps and adds project budgets and profitability. Timely is a strong pick for a small distributed team that values accurate hours over detailed monitoring.

Website: https://www.timecamp.com

Best for: distributed teams that want automatic tracking at a low price

Starting price: $3.99 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes, unlimited users and projects

Pros: free plan covers unlimited users and projects; automatic tracking with invoicing

Cons: billable rates, labor costs and timesheet approvals need Ultimate at $9.99 per user per month billed annually; Premium allows only 1 integration

TimeCamp has the most generous free plan on this list: unlimited users and unlimited projects, with no user cap at all. That makes it the easiest tool to try with a whole distributed team at once, since nobody has to count seats before inviting colleagues. Starter costs $3.99 per user per month billed annually and adds automatic time tracking, invoicing and basic reporting, with a 14-day trial and no credit card required.

The free plan is generous, but the higher features are gated firmly. Billable rates, labor costs and timesheet approvals need Ultimate at $9.99 per user per month billed annually, and the Premium tier allows only 1 integration. For a distributed team that mainly needs hours logged and invoiced, TimeCamp delivers a lot for very little money.

Website: https://everhour.com

Best for: distributed teams already using Asana, Trello, Jira or ClickUp

Starting price: $8.50 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes, up to 5 users

Pros: time tracking inside Asana, Trello, Jira and ClickUp; budgets and invoicing included

Cons: Team has a 5-seat minimum, so the smallest billing account is $42.50 per month billed annually; free plan has no project-management integrations

Everhour is the right choice when a distributed team already lives inside a project tool and does not want a second home for time. It adds timers, estimates, budgets and invoices directly inside Asana, Trello, Jira, ClickUp, Basecamp and Monday, so hours are logged where the work already sits. The Team plan costs $8.50 per user per month billed annually and includes budgets, invoicing, approvals and reporting, with a 14-day trial and no credit card required.

The catch is the seat minimum. Team requires at least 5 seats, so the smallest billing account costs $42.50 per month billed annually even if only three people track time. The free plan covers up to 5 users but has no project-management integrations, which removes the main reason to pick Everhour in the first place. For a distributed team of five or more that already uses one of the supported tools, Everhour is hard to beat, and for smaller teams the minimum makes it a poor fit.