Top 6 time tracking tools compared & reviewed — features, pricing, pros & cons. Find the perfect fit for freelancers, agencies, and remote teams.
We spent 60+ hours testing the top time tracking platforms hands-on. Each tool was evaluated on ease of use, feature depth, integrations, reporting quality, and value for money. Our recommendations are based on real usage — not marketing copy. All pricing was verified as of May 2026.
Whether you're a freelancer billing by the hour, an agency managing dozens of projects, or a remote team needing accountability, this guide will help you pick the right tool in under 10 minutes.
| Tool | Rating | Starting Price | Free Plan | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toggl Track | 4.8/5 | $9/user/mo | Yes | Overall best, freelancers |
| Harvest | 4.7/5 | $12/user/mo | Yes (30-day trial) | Billing & invoicing |
| Hubstaff | 4.6/5 | $7/user/mo | Yes (14-day trial) | Remote teams, GPS tracking |
| Time Doctor | 4.5/5 | $7/user/mo | Yes (14-day trial) | Productivity monitoring |
| Clockify | 4.5/5 | $4/user/mo | Unlimited | Best free time tracker |
| Everhour | 4.4/5 | $6/user/mo | Yes (14-day trial) | PM tool integration |
Toggl Track is the most popular time tracking tool for a reason: it's dead simple to start, powerful enough to scale, and genuinely enjoyable to use. The one-click timer works everywhere — web, desktop, mobile, and browser extension — and the reporting engine is one of the best in the business.
Best For: Freelancers, small-to-mid agencies, and any team that wants a frictionless time tracking experience with powerful reporting.
Harvest combines time tracking with invoicing, expense management, and budget monitoring in one clean package. If your primary goal is turning tracked hours into paid invoices, Harvest is the most streamlined solution available.
Best For: Agencies, consultants, and professional services firms that need time tracking tightly integrated with billing and invoicing.
Hubstaff is built specifically for distributed and field teams. Beyond basic time tracking, it offers GPS location tracking, optional screenshot monitoring, activity levels, and automatic payroll — making it the go-to choice for companies managing remote or field workers.
Best For: Remote teams, field service companies, and businesses that need GPS tracking and workforce accountability.
Time Doctor focuses on detailed productivity analytics. It tracks not just hours but how those hours are spent — which apps are used, which websites are visited, and whether screen time is work-related. It's ideal for companies that need granular visibility into employee productivity.
Best For: Companies with remote employees who need detailed productivity insights, agencies billing clients by the hour, and organizations with compliance requirements.
Clockify made waves by offering unlimited time tracking — unlimited users, unlimited projects, unlimited tracking — completely free. It's built by the same team behind COING, and the free plan is genuinely usable, not a teaser. Paid plans add advanced features for teams that need more.
Best For: Freelancers, students, nonprofits, and small teams who need simple time tracking without budget constraints.
Everhour differentiates itself by embedding time tracking directly inside popular project management tools like Asana, Trello, Monday.com, ClickUp, and Notion. Instead of switching between apps, you track time right where you manage your work — a subtle but powerful advantage.
Best For: Teams that already use Asana, Trello, Monday.com, or ClickUp and want time tracking embedded in their existing workflow.
| Feature | Toggl Track | Harvest | Hubstaff | Time Doctor | Clockify | Everhour |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One-click timer | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Manual time entry | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Billable rates | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Built-in invoicing | N | Y | N | Y | N | Y |
| Expense tracking | N | Y | N | N | N | Y |
| Screenshots | N | N | Y | Y | N | N |
| GPS tracking | N | N | Y | N | N | N |
| App/URL monitoring | N | N | Y | Y | N | N |
| Project budgets | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Payroll integration | N | N | Y | Y | N | N |
| Free plan | Y | N | N | N | Y | N |
| PM tool integration | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
Go with Toggl Track. The free plan covers most freelancers, the one-click timer is effortless, and the reporting makes it easy to generate client-ready summaries.
Go with Harvest. The built-in invoicing, expense tracking, and project budget alerts make it the most streamlined tool for turning work into revenue.
Go with Hubstaff. GPS tracking, geofencing, optional screenshots, and automatic payroll are purpose-built for distributed teams.
Go with Time Doctor. No other tool categorizes work activities in such detail. If you need to understand not just how long people worked but what they actually did, Time Doctor is unmatched.
Go with Clockify. Unlimited users, unlimited projects, unlimited tracking — all free. The paid plans are also the cheapest on this list if you eventually need advanced features.
Go with Everhour. The native integration means you track time without ever leaving your PM tool. Budget tracking and resource planning are bonuses.
Clockify offers the best free time tracking plan with unlimited users, unlimited projects, and unlimited tracking. It's ideal for freelancers and small teams who need basic time logging without cost.
Hubstaff is the best choice for remote teams because it includes GPS tracking, optional screenshot monitoring, activity levels, and automatic payroll — all designed for distributed workforces.
Yes. Everhour is specifically designed for deep integration with tools like Asana, Trello, Monday.com, and ClickUp. Most other tools also offer integrations, but Everhour's are the most seamless.
Time tracking software ranges from free (Clockify) to $20+/user/month for enterprise plans. Most mid-tier plans cost $8-$15/user/month with annual billing.
Yes, time tracking is legal in most jurisdictions when employees are informed. Check local labor laws regarding screenshot monitoring and GPS tracking features. Always disclose monitoring policies clearly.
Time tracking focuses on logging hours worked on tasks and projects. Employee monitoring includes additional features like screenshots, keystroke logging, and web/app usage tracking. Tools like Time Doctor and Hubstaff offer both.
Toggl Track is the best overall choice for freelancers thanks to its one-click timer, simple interface, and generous free plan. Clockify is also excellent as a fully free alternative.
Most modern time tracking apps including Toggl Track, Hubstaff, and Clockify support offline tracking. Timers run locally and sync data when the connection is restored.
We evaluated each time tracking tool across six weighted criteria:
Each tool was tested hands-on for at least one week. Pricing and features were verified as of May 2026.