Time Tracking · Researched comparison

Best Time Tracking Software for PR Agencies

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Key takeaways

  • PR agencies bill by retainer or by the hour, so the winning tool must turn tracked time into a client-ready report or invoice without extra work.
  • Harvest at $9 per seat per month billed annually and Paymo Plus at $10.90 per user per month billed annually cover the full loop from timer to invoice.
  • Clockify and TimeCamp start at $3.99 per user per month billed annually, the lowest entry prices here, and both include a free plan.
  • Free plans cap at 1 to 5 users on most tools, so a PR agency of 10 or more should budget for a billing plan from the start.

Comparison

How these compare
ToolBest forPrice rangeFree plan
HarvestRetainer billing and invoicing$9 per seat/month (billed annually)Yes, 1 seat and 2 projects
Toggl TrackSimple timers and clean reports$9 per user/month (billed annually)Yes, up to 5 users
ClockifyTight budgets and small teams$3.99 per user/month (billed annually)Yes, up to 5 users
PaymoSmall teams that bill clients$10.90 per user/month (billed annually)Yes, 1 user, 1 client, 2 projects
TimeCampLow-cost automatic tracking$3.99 per user/month (billed annually)Yes, unlimited users and projects
EverhourTeams inside Asana, Trello or Jira$8.50 per user/month (billed annually)Yes, up to 5 users
TeamworkClient projects and budgets$9.99 per user/month (billed annually)Yes, up to 5 users and 5 projects
ProductiveAgency profitability and resourcing$9 per user/month (billed annually)Free trial (14 days)

How we choose

We reviewed the vendor pricing pages, feature lists and documentation for each tool on 2026-11-11, and compared starting prices, free plan limits, trial lengths, retainer and invoicing features, and the plan level where approvals, budgets and profitability appear. We compared tools that serve PR agencies specifically: client and campaign reporting, retainer budgets, billable rates, and invoicing that turns approved hours into a client bill. We did not run hands-on tests, and we did not use review scores or star ratings. Prices change, so check the vendor pricing page linked in Sources before you buy.

Our full method

The shortlist

★ Best overall

The best time tracking software for PR agencies

2

Harvest

Best for PR agencies that bill retainers and hours

Website: https://www.getharvest.com

Best for: PR agencies that bill retainers and hours

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 fits the way a PR agency works: hours go to a client and a campaign, a manager reviews the week, and the approved hours become an invoice or a retainer report. 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. Expense tracking is built in, so media costs and travel sit next to the hours they belong to.

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

3

Toggl Track

Best for PR agencies that want a simple timer and clean reports

Website: https://toggl.com

Best for: PR agencies 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 invoicing

Toggl Track keeps time tracking light, which suits PR teams that move between pitching, writing and media calls all day. A teammate starts the timer in one click, picks a client, and the entry lands in a shared report that an account lead can read before a client call. Starter 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 gap is billing. Toggl Track has no built-in invoicing, so hours must be exported to another tool before a client sees a bill. Premium at $16 per user per month billed annually adds profitability reports, labor costs, timesheet approvals and single sign-on. For a PR agency that invoices from a separate system and only needs clean hours, Toggl Track is an easy pick.

4

Clockify

Best for PR agencies on a tight budget

Website: https://clockify.me

Best for: PR agencies 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 detailed time reports

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 PR agency a shared record of client 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. An account manager can see how many hours went to each retainer client this month, and whether a campaign is eating more time than its fee covers.

The limits show up as the agency grows. Invoicing and approvals sit on Standard, while budgets and profitability sit on Pro, so a 20-person agency 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, which leaves more of the retainer fee as margin.

5

Paymo

Best for small PR agencies that bill clients

Website: https://www.paymoapp.com

Best for: small PR agencies that bill clients

Starting price: $10.90 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes, 1 user, 1 client, 2 projects

Pros: projects, time tracking and invoicing in one tool; Gantt charts and scheduling on Pro

Cons: Free and Solo are single-user, so a team must pay Plus at $10.90 per user per month billed annually; Gantt charts, scheduling, workload and timesheet approvals are Pro only at $16.90

Paymo suits a small PR agency that wants one tool for projects, time and invoices instead of three. The Plus plan costs $10.90 per user per month billed annually and covers team time tracking, project templates, invoicing and expenses. A teammate logs hours against a client campaign, a manager approves the week, and Paymo turns the approved time into an invoice without leaving the app.

The single-user limits shape the whole decision. The free plan covers 1 user, 1 client and 2 projects, and Solo at $5.90 per user per month billed annually is also single-user, so any team must pay Plus. Gantt charts, scheduling, workload and timesheet approvals need Pro at $16.90 per user per month billed annually. Paymo is a strong pick for a PR agency of 3 to 15 people, and a weak pick for a larger team that needs capacity planning.

6

TimeCamp

Best for PR agencies that want automatic tracking at a low price

Website: https://www.timecamp.com

Best for: PR agencies 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 PR agency at once, since nobody has to count seats before inviting account teams. 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 PR agency that mainly needs hours logged per client and invoiced, TimeCamp delivers a lot for very little money.

7

Everhour

Best for PR agencies already using Asana, Trello, Jira or ClickUp

Website: https://everhour.com

Best for: PR agencies 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 PR agency 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 campaign 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 PR agency of five or more that already uses one of the supported tools, Everhour is hard to beat.

8

Teamwork

Best for PR agencies running client projects with budgets

Website: https://www.teamwork.com

Best for: PR agencies running client projects with budgets

Starting price: $9.99 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes, up to 5 users and 5 projects

Pros: project templates, budgets and client billing in one place; free plan covers up to 5 users and 5 projects

Cons: Basics has no timesheets, retainers, invoicing or workload planning, those start at Accelerate at $24.99 per user per month billed annually; 3-user minimum on Basics and 5-user minimum on Accelerate

Teamwork is a project platform first and a time tracker second, which suits PR agencies that run client work from a task list. The Basics plan costs $9.99 per user per month billed annually and includes unlimited projects, tasks, milestones and project templates, with a 14-day trial and no credit card required. The free plan covers up to 5 users and 5 projects with 100 MB of storage, which is enough for a small team to test the real workflow.

The catch is that time tracking itself is limited on Basics. Timesheets, retainers, invoicing and workload planning all start at Accelerate at $24.99 per user per month billed annually, with a 5-user minimum, so the real cost for a PR agency that tracks billable time is far above the headline price. Teamwork fits agencies that want project structure first and are willing to pay Accelerate for the full billing loop.

9

Productive

Best for PR agencies that want profitability and resourcing in one place

Website: https://productive.io

Best for: PR agencies that want profitability and resourcing in one place

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

Free plan: Free trial (14 days)

Pros: budgeting, profitability, resource planning and invoicing in one system; clean agency reports

Cons: 3-seat minimum on every plan; billable time approvals, rate cards and revenue forecasting are gated to Professional at $24 per user per month billed annually

Productive is built for agencies that think in budgets and margins, not just hours. The Essential plan costs $9 per user per month billed annually and covers projects, time tracking, budgets and invoicing, with a 14-day trial and no credit card required. An account lead can see whether a retainer client is profitable this month, which campaigns are over budget, and who has capacity for the next pitch, all in one view.

The limits are the seat minimum and the tier gates. Every plan needs at least 3 seats, and billable time approvals, rate cards, HubSpot integration and revenue forecasting are gated to Professional at $24 per user per month billed annually. For a PR agency that already tracks profitability in a spreadsheet and wants that logic inside the time tool, Productive is a strong upgrade from a simple timer.

What to check before you buy

Check how the tool handles retainers first. A PR agency needs budgets that reset each month, warnings when a client passes 80 percent of the retainer, and a report a client can read without a login. Next, check the seat minimum and the free plan cap, since a tool that looks cheap at $3.99 per user can cost far more once every account executive needs a seat. Then check whether approvals sit on the entry tier or a higher one, because unapproved hours cannot be invoiced. Finally, test the export: hours should leave the tool as a CSV or through an API, so a vendor change never traps a year's worth of client records.

FAQ

What is the best time tracking software for PR agencies?

The best pick depends on how your agency bills. Harvest and Paymo suit agencies that invoice from tracked time, Toggl Track suits teams that only need clean hours, and Productive suits agencies that manage profitability per client. Start with the free plan or trial, run it with one account team for two weeks, and keep the tool that produces the clearest client report.

How should a PR agency track time against retainers?

Set each retainer as a project with a monthly hour budget, log every hour against the client and the campaign, and review the total weekly. The tool should warn you when a client passes 80 percent of the retainer, so the account lead can raise the overage before the month ends. Monthly reports should show hours by campaign, so the client sees what the fee bought.

How much should a PR agency budget per user per month?

A small agency can start at $0 to $4 per user per month on a free plan or a low tier such as Clockify or TimeCamp. An agency of 6 to 20 that needs approvals, retainer budgets and invoicing should budget $4 to $11, and an agency that needs profitability reporting and rate cards should budget $11 to $25. Add the cost of add-ons, since some tools charge extra for features that look included.

Can time tracking software create client-ready reports?

Yes, most tools in this list can export a report by client, project or campaign, and several can turn approved hours into an invoice. Check that the report shows the client name, the campaign, the hours and the billable rate, and that it can be exported as a PDF or CSV. A report the client cannot read is no better than no report at all.

Is there a free time tracking tool for PR agencies?

Yes. Clockify offers a free plan for up to 5 users, TimeCamp offers a free plan with unlimited users and projects, and Toggl Track and Everhour offer free plans for up to 5 users. Free plans usually lack approvals, retainer budgets and invoicing, so an agency that bills clients will likely upgrade. Harvest offers a free plan for 1 seat and 2 projects, which suits a solo consultant.

Sources we checked

  • https://www.getharvest.com/pricing
  • https://toggl.com/track/pricing/
  • https://clockify.me/pricing
  • https://www.paymoapp.com/pricing
  • https://www.timecamp.com/pricing/
  • https://everhour.com/pricing
  • https://www.teamwork.com/pricing
  • https://productive.io/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 PR agencies#1 PICK