Time Tracking · Researched comparison

Best Time Tracking Software for IT Consultancies

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Key takeaways

  • Clockify Basic at $3.99 per user per month on annual billing is the lowest starting price here, and its free plan covers up to 5 users.
  • Harvest and Toggl Track both start at $9 per user per month on annual billing and pair time tracking with invoicing for client billing.
  • Everhour, at $8.50 per user per month on annual billing, puts its timer inside Asana, Jira and Trello, so consultants log time where the work lives.
  • BigTime starts at $20 per user per month, the highest price here, and suits firms that want time tracking joined to project accounting.
  • Timely Starter at $9 per user per month caps at 5 users and 20 projects, so growing firms should price Premium at $16 instead.

Comparison

How these compare
ToolBest forPrice rangeFree plan
HarvestInvoicing and client billing$9 per user/month (billed annually)Yes
Toggl TrackSimple timer teams adopt fast$9 per user/month (billed annually)Yes
ClockifyLowest starting price$3.99 per user/month (billed annually)Yes
EverhourTime inside Asana, Jira and Trello$8.50 per user/month (billed annually)Yes
HubstaffMonitoring with payroll$4.99 per user/month (billed annually)Free trial (14 days)
Time DoctorProductivity visibility$6.67 per user/month (billed annually)Free trial (14 days)
PaymoProjects, time and invoicing in one place$10.90 per user/monthYes
BigTimeTime tracking with project accounting$20 per user/monthFree trial (14 days)
AvazaFlat plan price for small teams$9.96 per month (billed annually)Yes
TimelyAutomatic time capture$9 per user/month (billed annually)Free trial (14 days)

How we choose

We compared vendor pricing pages, product documentation and feature lists for tools that IT consultancies use to track billable hours, invoice clients and report on margins. Every price in this article comes from the vendor's own pricing page, opened on 2026-11-12. Harvest, Hubstaff and Time Doctor publish prices on pages that did not render figures in a text view, so those figures were checked against the vendors' own comparison pages and recent sources that cite the vendor pages. We reviewed features that matter to consulting work: billable rates, invoicing, timesheet approval, project budgets and integrations with Jira, Asana and QuickBooks. We did not claim hands-on testing, and we did not use review scores or customer counts.

Our full method

The shortlist

★ Best overall

The best time tracking software for IT consultancies

2

Harvest

Best for Invoicing and client billing

Website: https://www.getharvest.com/

Best for: Invoicing and client billing

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: One-click timer with invoicing built in; team reporting shows capacity and utilization

Cons: Usage fees apply to extra invoices, projects, clients and tasks; free plan covers only 1 seat and 2 projects

Harvest pairs a one-click timer with invoicing, so consultants log hours against a client project and turn those hours into an invoice without leaving the tool. Teams starts at $9 per seat per month on annual billing, or $11 month to month, while Enterprise starts at $14 and adds profitability reporting, timesheet approvals, an activity log and single sign-on.

The catch is the usage layer: extra invoices, projects, clients and tasks can carry usage fees on top of the seat price, and no rate is published, so ask for the full picture before signing. The free plan covers one seat and two projects.

3

Toggl Track

Best for Simple timer teams adopt fast

Website: https://toggl.com/

Best for: Simple timer teams adopt fast

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: One-click timer on web, desktop and mobile; clear team reports with billable rates

Cons: Billable rates need the Starter plan; free plan caps at 3 users

Toggl Track is the timer consultants actually remember to start. One click starts it, and entries sync across browser, desktop and mobile apps. Starter costs $9 per user per month on annual billing, or $12 month to month, and adds billable rates, project estimates, rounding and team reports. Premium costs $16 on annual billing and adds labor costs, profitability reports, fixed-fee projects, timesheet approvals and single sign-on.

The company states a clear anti-surveillance position, with no screenshots, keystroke logging or webcam monitoring, which matters when consultants work on client systems. The free plan covers a limited number of users, and the 30-day trial opens the subscription features. Teams that need approvals and profitability reporting should budget for Premium, since the jump from $9 to $16 doubles the per-user cost.

4

Clockify

Best for Lowest starting price

Website: https://clockify.me/

Best for: Lowest starting price

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Free plan covers up to 5 users; cheapest subscription plans in this list

Cons: Invoicing and timesheet approval need Standard at $5.49; free plan reports cover at most 31 days

Clockify is the budget pick. The free plan covers up to 5 users with unlimited time entries, projects, timers and basic reporting. Basic costs $3.99 per seat per month on annual billing, or $4.99 month to month, and adds billable rates, export, shared reports and private projects. Standard costs $5.49 and adds invoicing, timesheet approval, time off and QuickBooks, while Pro costs $7.99 and adds scheduling, expenses and labor cost.

A 15-person team on Basic spends $59.85 per month, against $135 for Harvest Teams or Toggl Track Starter, and the saving grows with every hire. Watch the 5-user free plan cap, in place since April 2026, and the way invoicing, approvals and scheduling sit on higher tiers.

5

Everhour

Best for Time inside Asana, Jira and Trello

Website: https://everhour.com/

Best for: Time inside Asana, Jira and Trello

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Timer lives inside Asana, Jira, ClickUp, Trello and Notion; one plan holds every feature

Cons: Team plan bills a minimum of 5 seats; free plan has no integrations

Everhour does not ask consultants to open another app. The timer lives inside the project tools they already use, including Asana, ClickUp, Trello, Jira and Notion, and time gets logged against real tasks with billable rates, budget alerts and native invoicing. The Team plan costs $8.50 per user per month on annual billing, or $10 month to month, and it holds every feature with no tier juggling. The free plan covers up to 5 users, and a 14-day trial opens the full Team plan.

The 5-seat minimum is the number to plan around: a team of 3 still pays for 5 seats, so the smallest subscription bill is $42.50 per month on annual billing. For teams of 5 or more that already run delivery work in Asana or Jira, Everhour removes the double entry other trackers create.

6

Hubstaff

Best for Monitoring with payroll

Website: https://hubstaff.com/

Best for: Monitoring with payroll

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

Free plan: Free trial (14 days)

Pros: Activity levels, screenshots and GPS tracking; payroll and invoicing in the same tool

Cons: No free plan; Starter caps screenshots at 500 per seat per month and needs at least 2 seats

Hubstaff suits a consultancy that manages contractors and needs proof of work, not just timesheets. Starter costs $4.99 per seat per month on annual billing, or $7 month to month, and adds activity levels, screenshots, app and URL tracking. Grow costs $7.50, Team costs $10, and Enterprise costs $25. Payroll, invoicing and automated timesheets sit in the same system, so a firm can track hours, approve them and pay staff in one place.

Starter, Grow and Team each carry a 2-seat minimum, so a solo consultant still pays for two seats. Screenshots on Starter are capped at 500 per seat per month, and deeper monitoring with unlimited screenshots and timesheet approvals needs Team at $10. There is no free plan, only a 14-day trial.

7

Time Doctor

Best for Productivity visibility

Website: https://www.timedoctor.com/

Best for: Productivity visibility

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

Free plan: Free trial (14 days)

Pros: Screenshots and activity monitoring from the Basic plan; payroll and scheduling on higher plans

Cons: No free plan; web and app usage reporting needs Standard at $11.67

Time Doctor tracks time automatically in the background or under user control, and pairs it with screenshots, activity levels and timeline reports. Basic costs $6.67 per user per month on annual billing, or $8 month to month, and covers time tracking, screenshots and basic reports. Standard costs $11.67 and adds schedules, attendance, time approvals, payroll, web and app usage reporting and 60 integrations. Premium costs $16.70 and adds video screen recording, executive dashboards, single sign-on and client login access.

Screenshots and activity monitoring give managers visibility into remote and hybrid teams, and the trial runs 14 days with full Premium features. Web and app usage reporting starts at Standard, so a firm that wants that report really starts at $11.67 per user per month, not $6.67.

8

Paymo

Best for Projects, time and invoicing in one place

Website: https://www.paymoapp.com/

Best for: Projects, time and invoicing in one place

Starting price: $10.90 per user/month

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Project management, time tracking and invoicing in one tool; free plan covers 1 user

Cons: Introductory price rises to $15.90 after 3 months; Gantt charts and scheduling need Pro at $16.90

Paymo joins project management, time tracking and invoicing in one workspace, which suits small IT consultancies that want a single system for delivery and billing. The free plan covers 1 user with unlimited time tracking and invoices, 1 client, 2 projects and 1 GB of storage. Plus costs $10.90 per user per month and adds task boards, recurring tasks, timesheet reports, project templates, profitability, estimates, expenses, integrations and API access. Pro costs $16.90 and adds Gantt charts, dependencies, scheduling and timesheet approvals.

Budget for the price after the introductory period: Plus rises to $15.90 per user per month after 3 months, and Pro rises to $23.90, so plan on the higher figure for year one. The 15-day trial opens the subscription features, and the free plan lets a solo consultant run client work before spending anything.

9

BigTime

Best for Time tracking with project accounting

Website: https://www.bigtime.net/

Best for: Time tracking with project accounting

Starting price: $20 per user/month

Free plan: Free trial (14 days)

Pros: Time and expense management joined to billing and invoicing; QuickBooks integration on Essentials

Cons: No free plan; $20 starting price is the highest here and higher tiers are not published

BigTime is built for professional services firms, with time tracking next to billing, invoicing, expense management and project accounting. Essentials starts at $20 per user per month and covers time and expense management, project portfolio management, billing and invoicing, automatic reconciliation and QuickBooks integration. Advanced adds multi-currency expenses, custom reporting, project templates and Salesforce and Jira integrations, while Premier adds multi-currency invoicing, custom cost and rate management, project budgeting and multi-level approvals.

The $20 starting price is the highest in this list, and it is also the only figure BigTime publishes, so firms that need Advanced or Premier must ask for a quote before they can budget. For a consultancy that already runs on QuickBooks and bills on time and materials, the join between hours, expenses and invoices can be worth the premium.

10

Avaza

Best for Flat plan price for small teams

Website: https://www.avaza.com/

Best for: Flat plan price for small teams

Starting price: $9.96 per month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Flat monthly price instead of per-seat billing; time, expenses, invoicing and chat in one account

Cons: Startup covers only 2 timesheet users and 20 active projects; extra users cost $7 each

Avaza prices by plan, not by seat. Startup costs $9.96 per month on annual billing and covers 2 timesheet and expense users, 1 admin and finance user, 20 active projects and 50 invoices and bills per month. Basic costs $19.96 with 5 timesheet users and 50 active projects, and Business costs $39.96 with 10 timesheet users and unlimited projects. Extra timesheet, admin and scheduling users cost $7 each per month, and chat users $2 each.

The same account also holds project chat, resource scheduling, quotes, expenses and invoices, so a small firm can run most of its operations from one login. The free plan covers 1 timesheet user, 5 active projects and 10 customers, and every new account starts with a 14-day trial. Count timesheet users carefully, since only they log hours, and the count decides which plan fits.

11

Timely

Best for Automatic time capture

Website: https://timely.com/

Best for: Automatic time capture

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

Free plan: Free trial (14 days)

Pros: Automatic capture of app and website time with AI drafted timesheets; no manual timer to forget

Cons: No free plan; Starter caps at 5 users and 20 projects

Timely records time automatically instead of asking consultants to start a timer. It captures app and website activity, sorts it with AI, and drafts timesheets for review before submitting, which recovers hours that manual timers miss. Starter costs $9 per user per month on annual billing, or $11 month to month, and covers 20 projects and up to 5 users. Premium costs $16 and adds unlimited projects, up to 50 users, integrations with project and accounting tools, budgets and team planning. Unlimited costs $22 and adds capacity management and reporting.

A firm with 6 consultants already needs Premium, so the real starting price for most IT consultancies is $16 per user per month on annual billing, not $9. There is no free plan, and the trial opens the subscription features. For firms that lose billable hours to forgotten timers, the automatic record can pay for the higher tier in recovered revenue.

12

Monthly cost by team size

The table uses each tool's starting price on annual billing, so a firm can see the monthly bill at 5, 15 and 40 seats. Avaza sits outside the table because it charges a flat plan price: Startup is $9.96 per month on annual billing and covers 2 timesheet users, with extra users at $7 each.

Timely Starter caps at 5 users, so the 15-seat and 40-seat figures use Premium at $16. Paymo Plus rises to $15.90 after the first 3 months, which would lift the 15-seat figure to $238.50. Harvest adds usage fees on top of the seat price, so its row is a floor rather than a total.

What to check before you buy

  • Billable rates and invoicing. Confirm that billable rates, client invoices and project budgets sit on the plan you intend to buy, since several tools keep invoicing or approvals on a higher tier.
  • Seat minimums and free plan caps. Everhour bills at least 5 seats, Hubstaff needs at least 2, Clockify free covers up to 5 users, Toggl Track free covers up to 3, and Harvest free covers 1 seat and 2 projects.
  • Integrations with your delivery stack. Check Jira, Asana, ClickUp, GitHub and QuickBooks on the plan you will use, since some vendors keep Jira and Salesforce connectors on Premium tiers.
  • Data export and contract terms. Confirm that reports export to CSV, Excel or PDF, that historical data stays available after cancellation, and that annual billing terms and any usage fees are clear before you sign.
  • Trial length and monitoring rules. Trials run 14 days for most tools here and 30 days for Harvest and Toggl Track. If a tool takes screenshots or records activity, check client contracts and local rules before rolling it out.

FAQ

What is the cheapest time tracking software for an IT consultancy?

Clockify is the cheapest starting point, with Basic at $3.99 per user per month on annual billing and a free plan for up to 5 users. A 15-person team spends $59.85 per month on Basic, against $135 for Harvest Teams or Toggl Track Starter. Invoicing and timesheet approval need Standard at $5.49, so billable firms should price that tier.

Which time tracking tool is best for billing clients by the hour?

Harvest is the strongest fit for hourly client billing, because it pairs a one-click timer with invoicing, billable rates and team reporting, and the Teams plan starts at $9 per seat per month on annual billing. Paymo and BigTime also join time tracking to invoicing, and Toggl Track adds billable rates from Starter. Check whether usage fees apply before you commit.

Do any of these tools offer a free plan?

Yes. Harvest, Toggl Track, Clockify, Everhour, Paymo and Avaza all offer a free plan, with caps from 1 user on Harvest and Paymo to 5 users on Clockify and Everhour. Hubstaff, Time Doctor, BigTime and Timely offer a 14-day trial instead. Free plans usually leave out invoicing, approvals and integrations.

Should an IT consultancy use a tool with screenshots and monitoring?

It depends on your clients and your team. Hubstaff and Time Doctor add screenshots, activity levels and app usage reports, which help managers see remote work. Some client contracts restrict monitoring, and some teams see it as a trust issue. If you choose monitoring, tell the team what is recorded and check each client agreement first.

How much should a 15-person IT consultancy budget per month?

On annual billing, 15 people cost $59.85 per month on Clockify Basic, $74.85 on Hubstaff Starter, $100.05 on Time Doctor Basic, $127.50 on Everhour Team, and $135 on Harvest Teams or Toggl Track Starter. Paymo Plus costs $163.50, Timely Premium costs $240, and BigTime Essentials costs $300. Budget for the tier that holds invoicing and approvals.

Sources we checked

  • https://www.getharvest.com/pricing
  • https://toggl.com/pricing
  • https://clockify.me/pricing
  • https://everhour.com/pricing
  • https://hubstaff.com/pricing
  • https://www.timedoctor.com/pricing
  • https://www.paymoapp.com/pricing/
  • https://www.bigtime.net/pricing/
  • https://www.avaza.com/pricing/
  • https://timely.com/pricing
How we score

Need the method behind these picks?

We publish the criteria and the weights, so you can disagree with them.

The best time tracking software for IT consultancies#1 PICK