Time Tracking · Researched comparison

Best Time Tracking Software

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Key takeaways

  • Time tracking software falls into three groups: simple timers, automatic trackers that record apps and websites, and full project tools with time tracking built in.
  • Starting prices run from $3.99 to $10 per user per month billed annually for the self-serve tools, while Replicon publishes no price and sells by quote only.
  • TimeCamp and Clockify start at $3.99 per user per month billed annually, and both offer a free plan, while DeskTime and actiTIME add automatic tracking and desktop apps at $6 to $6.42 per user per month.
  • The cheapest tier rarely covers billable rates, approvals, and screenshots, and QuickBooks Time adds a $20 monthly base fee on top of $10 per user per month.

Comparison

How these compare
ToolBest forPrice rangeFree plan
TimeCampAutomatic tracking$3.99 per user/monthYes
PaymoSolo users and small teams$5.90 per monthYes
DeskTimeProductivity tracking$6.42 per user/monthNo
actiTIMESimple team tracking$6 per user/monthYes
QuickBooks TimeQuickBooks users$20 base plus $10 per user/monthNo
Zoho ProjectsProjects with time tracking$4 per user/monthYes
RepliconEnterprise time trackingquote onlyNo
ClockifyLow cost team tracking$3.99 per seat/monthYes

How we choose

We compared tools that teams use to record working hours, from simple timers to automatic trackers and full project platforms with time tracking built in. Each price in this article comes from the vendor pricing page as read on 11 November 2026, and the Sources section lists the exact page where each figure came from. Where a vendor page did not render prices in a text fetch, we corroborated the figures with recent sources that cite the vendor pricing page directly, and where a vendor publishes no price at all we listed the tool as quote only rather than guessing. We did not claim hands-on testing. We compared vendor pricing pages, plan comparison tables, feature lists, and documentation, and we recorded one real limit for every tool so the comparison shows what each product cannot do, not only what it can.

Our full method

The shortlist

★ Best overall

The best time tracking software

Time tracking software answers a simple question: where did the hours go. Some tools answer it with a manual timer, others record apps and websites automatically, and a few tie hours to projects, clients, and invoices. The right pick depends on whether the team bills by the hour, manages projects, or only needs a record of the working day. The eight tools below were compared on tracking, reporting, and price, with current figures from each vendor pricing page as read on 11 November 2026.

2

TimeCamp

Best for Teams that want automatic time tracking with a generous free plan

Website: https://www.timecamp.com

Best for: Teams that want automatic time tracking with a generous free plan

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Free forever plan with unlimited users and unlimited projects; automatic tracking of apps and websites

Cons: Billable time only starts on Premium, and timesheet approvals and screenshots need Ultimate at $9.99 per user per month

TimeCamp is the most generous free option in this list. The free plan covers unlimited users and unlimited projects at no cost, and the Starter plan costs $3.99 per user per month billed annually, with Premium at $6.99 and Ultimate at $9.99. Automatic time tracking records the apps and websites used during the day, and the reports show where the hours went without manual entry. A team can start on the free plan and learn its real time habits before it spends anything.

The limits sit on billing. Billable time only starts on Premium, and billable rates, labor costs, timesheet approvals, and screenshots are locked to Ultimate at $9.99 per user per month billed annually. Apps and websites tracking also needs Premium, and geofencing plus the Time Clock Kiosk are Enterprise only. The AI Time Tracker is billed separately by token use, estimated at about $6 per user per month. A team that bills clients by the hour should price Premium or Ultimate, not Starter.

3

Paymo

Best for Solo users and small teams that want tasks, time, and invoicing together

Website: https://www.paymoapp.com

Best for: Solo users and small teams that want tasks, time, and invoicing together

Starting price: $5.90 per month (Solo, 1 user; rises to $9.90 after 3 months)

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Free forever plan for 1 user, 1 client, and 2 projects; tasks, time, and invoicing in one place

Cons: The Free and Solo plans are both limited to a single user, so a team starts paying on Plus at $10.90 per user per month

Paymo covers tasks, time tracking, expenses, and invoicing in one place, which suits a solo user or a small team that wants one login for the whole workflow. The free plan costs nothing for one user, one client, and two projects, and the Solo plan costs $5.90 per month for the first three months, then $9.90 per month, for a single user. The Plus plan costs $10.90 per user per month at the introductory rate, rising to $15.90, and Pro costs $16.90 rising to $23.90. A 15-day free trial lets a team test the priced plans.

The limit is team size. The Free and Solo plans are both limited to a single user, so a team starts paying on Plus at $10.90 per user per month, and Gantt charts, task dependencies, employee scheduling, timesheet approvals, and leave management only arrive on Pro at $16.90. A solo freelancer will find the Solo price fair, but a team of three should price Plus and multiply by three, because the Solo headline does not apply to teams.

4

DeskTime

Best for Teams that want productivity tracking with screenshots and app usage

Website: https://desktime.com

Best for: Teams that want productivity tracking with screenshots and app usage

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

Free plan: No

Pros: Automatic tracking with productivity labels and screenshots; clear team reports

Cons: No free plan, only a 14-day trial, and screenshots, integrations, and API access need the Premium plan at $9.17 per user per month

DeskTime is built for teams that want to see how the working day is spent, not only how many hours were logged. The Pro plan costs $6.42 per user per month billed annually, and Premium costs $9.17, with monthly billing at $7 and $10. Automatic tracking records apps and websites, productivity labels sort them into productive and unproductive time, and the reports show team patterns at a glance. A 14-day free trial lets a team test the product before committing.

The limits are the missing free plan and the tier split. There is no free plan, only the 14-day trial, and screenshots, integrations and API access plus shift scheduling are locked to Premium at $9.17 per user per month. There is no built-in invoicing, all prices exclude VAT, and Enterprise is only offered to organisations of 200 or more users. A team that wants screenshots and integrations should price Premium, and a team outside the European Union should check whether VAT changes the final bill.

5

actiTIME

Best for Teams that want one simple plan with every feature included

Website: https://www.actitime.com

Best for: Teams that want one simple plan with every feature included

Starting price: $6 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Free for up to 3 users; one priced plan that includes every feature, with no tier split

Cons: No native desktop app, so automatic tracking of desktop apps and websites is limited to a browser extension

actiTIME is the simplest product to buy in this list. The free plan covers up to three users, and the single priced plan costs $6 per user per month billed annually for one to 40 users, falling to $5 for 41 to 200 users, with a flat $1,250 per month from 200 users and a self-hosted option at $120 per user one time. Every feature ships in the one plan, so there is no tier split to study and no feature that appears only after an upgrade. A 30-day trial lets a team test the full product.

The limit is automatic tracking. There is no native desktop app, so actiTIME cannot track which desktop applications or websites staff use outside the browser, and automatic tracking is limited to a browser extension. Billing rates also attach to types of work rather than to individual people or roles. A team that wants automatic desktop tracking should look at DeskTime or TimeCamp instead, while a team that logs time manually will find actiTIME refreshingly simple.

6

QuickBooks Time

Best for Teams that already run QuickBooks Online and need mobile time tracking

Website: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/time-tracking/

Best for: Teams that already run QuickBooks Online and need mobile time tracking

Starting price: $20 per month base fee plus $10 per user/month

Free plan: No

Pros: Strong mobile time tracking with GPS and scheduling; 30-day free trial with no credit card required

Cons: A $20 or $40 monthly base fee sits on top of the per-user fee, and a separate QuickBooks Online subscription is required

QuickBooks Time, formerly TSheets, is the time tracking add-on for QuickBooks Online. The Premium plan costs $20 per month as a base fee plus $10 per user per month, and the Elite plan costs $40 per month base plus $12 per user per month, with monthly billing and no annual discount. Mobile clock-in, GPS tracking, and scheduling suit field teams and shift workers, and the hours flow into QuickBooks for payroll and invoicing. A 30-day free trial needs no credit card.

The cost stacks. The meter starts before anyone clocks in: a $20 or $40 monthly base fee sits on top of the per-user fee, and a separate QuickBooks Online subscription from about $38 per month is required to use it at all. Geofencing, mileage tracking, and project tracking need the Elite tier. A team that already pays for QuickBooks Online should add the base fee, the per-user fee, and the accounting subscription together before it compares QuickBooks Time with a standalone tracker.

7

Zoho Projects

Best for Teams that want project management with time tracking built in

Website: https://www.zoho.com/projects/

Best for: Teams that want project management with time tracking built in

Starting price: $4 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Free for up to 5 users and 3 projects; time tracking from the Premium plan at $4 per user per month

Cons: The free plan has no time tracking at all, and Premium caps at 50 users

Zoho Projects is a project tool first, with time tracking built in from the Premium plan. The free plan covers up to five users and three projects, and the Premium plan costs $4 per user per month billed annually, with Enterprise at $9 and Ultimate at $14. Tasks, milestones, Gantt charts, and timesheets sit in one place, so a team can plan a project and track the hours against it without a second tool. The price is low for what it covers.

The limits are the free tier and the user cap. The free plan has no time tracking at all, so time tracking only starts on Premium, and Premium caps at 50 users. Portfolio dashboards, single sign-on, custom roles, and the critical path need Enterprise at $9 per user per month, and client users cost extra. A team with fewer than 50 users that wants projects and time in one place will find Premium good value, but a larger team should price Enterprise.

8

Replicon

Best for Large firms that need enterprise time tracking with compliance controls

Website: https://www.replicon.com

Best for: Large firms that need enterprise time tracking with compliance controls

Starting price: quote only

Free plan: No

Pros: Deep enterprise features including time off, attendance, and project time tracking in one platform

Cons: No published price, no free trial, and no way to sign up without talking to sales

Replicon, now part of Deltek, is built for large firms that need time tracking with compliance controls, time off, and attendance in one platform. The product covers project time tracking, time off, and workforce management, with editions that third-party listings put at TimeOff Plus $6, TimeOff Enterprise $8, TimeAttend Plus $12, and Workforce Management $19 per user per month. The depth suits a firm with complex rules for overtime, leave, and billing.

The barrier is that nothing is self-serve. The vendor publishes no prices, offers no free trial, and provides no way to sign up without talking to sales. Because the vendor itself publishes no price, this article lists Replicon as quote only, and a small team cannot try it or budget for it without a sales process. A firm should ask for a written quote that names the edition and the per-user rate, because the third-party figures above are only a guide.

9

Clockify

Best for Teams that want the lowest priced time tracker with a free plan

Website: https://clockify.me

Best for: Teams that want the lowest priced time tracker with a free plan

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Free plan for up to 5 users; lowest starting price in this comparison alongside TimeCamp

Cons: Scheduling, forecasting, and expenses need the Pro plan at $7.99 per seat per month

Clockify is the cheapest way to start tracking time as a team. The free plan covers up to five users, and the Basic plan costs $3.99 per seat per month billed annually, with Standard at $5.49, Pro at $7.99, and Enterprise at $11.99. The timer is simple, projects and clients are easy to organize, and the reports cover the basics. For a team that only needs to record hours, the free plan can last a long time without any payment at all.

The limits appear when a team wants more than a timer. The free plan caps at five users, and scheduling, forecasting, activity monitoring, and expenses need the Pro plan at $7.99 per seat per month billed annually. A team that only tracks time can stay free or on Basic, but a team that wants to plan capacity and track expenses should price Pro, which is still one of the cheapest options at that level in this comparison.

What to check before you buy

Start with how your team works, not the feature list. Count how many people will log time, whether they work on desktop or mobile, and whether you bill clients by the hour. A manual timer suits a team that logs time at the end of the day, while automatic tracking suits a team that wants a record without extra admin. Check the free plan limits too: several tools cap the free plan at three or five users, and billable rates and approvals often sit on a higher tier. Finally, confirm whether a base fee, an accounting subscription, or a seat minimum applies on top of the per-user price.

FAQ

What is the best time tracking software for a small team?

Clockify and TimeCamp suit a small team best, because both start at $3.99 per user per month billed annually and offer a free plan. TimeCamp adds automatic tracking of apps and websites, while Clockify keeps the timer simple. A team that wants projects and time in one place should look at Zoho Projects Premium at $4 per user per month.

How much does time tracking software cost?

Starting prices in this comparison run from $3.99 to $10 per user per month billed annually for the self-serve tools, so a ten-person team would spend $39.90 to $100 per month at the starting rates. The real cost is usually higher, because billable rates, approvals, and screenshots often sit on a higher tier, and QuickBooks Time adds a $20 monthly base fee.

Is there a free time tracking tool?

Yes. TimeCamp offers a free forever plan with unlimited users and unlimited projects, Clockify is free for up to five users, actiTIME is free for up to three users, and Zoho Projects is free for up to five users and three projects, though its free plan has no time tracking. DeskTime, QuickBooks Time, and Replicon have no free plan, only a trial or a sales conversation.

Does automatic time tracking replace a manual timer?

Automatic tracking records apps and websites without input, which gives a fuller record of the day, but it cannot tell which client a task belongs to without manual tagging. TimeCamp and DeskTime both offer automatic tracking, while Clockify and actiTIME rely on manual timers. Most teams use a mix: automatic tracking for the record, and manual entries for client work.

What should a team check before buying time tracking software?

Count how many people will log time and whether they work on desktop or mobile, because some tools have no desktop app. Confirm which tier holds billable rates, approvals, and screenshots, check the free plan limits, and ask whether a base fee or an accounting subscription applies on top of the per-user price.

Sources we checked

  • https://www.timecamp.com/pricing/
  • https://paymoapp.com/pricing/
  • https://desktime.com/pricing
  • https://www.actitime.com/pricing
  • https://quickbooks.intuit.com/time-tracking/pricing/
  • https://www.zoho.com/projects/pricing/
  • https://www.replicon.com
  • https://clockify.me/pricing
How we score

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The best time tracking software#1 PICK