100% Free Time Tracking Apps to Track Time Wherever You Are
Andrei Țiț
24 min
July 17, 2024
Do you know how much time you’re wasting daily? Or how much time do you spend working on trivial tasks compared to important ones? As pesky as they might seem, time tracking apps are your best ally in finding out how you spend your time day in and day out.
At the end of this article, you can choose the best time tracking app for your particular case—whether you’re a small business owner or an employee.
There are dozens of time tracking tools available, making it challenging to determine which one is best suited for your specific needs. I’ve hand-picked 14 time tracking apps for this review and compared each tool or time tracking software. Some are better for freelancers and solo work, while others are perfect for teams. We’ll see how industries can make the most of time tracking.
I’ll start with a quick categorization and rundown of the best 14 time tracking apps, followed by an in-depth review with screenshots, top features, and a takeaway about the mobile version.
Read till the end for a few reasons why time-keeping apps benefit project managers and teams.
Best free time tracking apps (grouped)
Time tracking software does not differ much, but they are unique in certain aspects, offer features for a particular group of people, or better serve specific industries. I tried to find similarities between them and grouped them like so:
1. Best for teams needing robust project management
Paymo offers advanced project management features like budgeting, Gantt charts, invoicing, and time tracking. It’s a good fit for teams of up to 20 people that must tightly integrate time tracking with broader project planning and financial management.
Similarly, Harvest and TrackingTime work well for teams needing project management features. Everhour and MyHours are aimed at medium and large companies.
2. Best for freelancers and small teams seeking simplicity
Clockify and Toggl Track provide straightforward time tracking with basic features like manual time entry, reporting, and time rounding. Their simple interfaces make them well-suited for freelancers and small teams that don’t require complex project management capabilities.
3. Best for businesses requiring employee monitoring
TimeCamp, Hubstaff, and DeskTime offer advanced employee monitoring features like screenshots, activity tracking, and productivity scoring. They are a good fit for companies that must closely oversee their workforce’s productivity and efficiency.
4. Best for knowledge workers focused on productivity
Timely and RescueTime use AI to automatically track time and provide detailed insights to help users minimize distractions and optimize their focus. They are well-suited for knowledge workers looking to improve their time management.
5. Best for frontline workers needing scheduling and attendance
Connecteam provides features like geofencing, scheduling, and task management tailored for frontline and deskless workers. It’s a good fit for industries like construction, retail, and healthcare that have a mobile workforce. Homebase caters to workers in the food and hospitality sectors.
Rundown of the best 14 time tracking apps
While some time tracking tools like Clockify and Toggl Track prioritize simplicity with their straightforward interfaces and basic time tracking features, others such as Paymo and TrackingTime offer more comprehensive project management capabilities that seamlessly integrate time tracking.
Tools geared towards employee monitoring and productivity optimization, like TimeCamp, Hubstaff, and DeskTime, provide advanced features such as screenshots, activity tracking, and productivity scoring, making them well-suited for businesses that need to oversee their workforce closely. In contrast, AI-powered tools like Timely and RescueTime focus on automatically tracking time and providing detailed insights to help users improve their efficiency and minimize distractions.
Industry-specific solutions, such as Connecteam for frontline workers and Homebase for hourly employees, cater to the unique needs of certain sectors. The choice ultimately depends on factors like team size, industry, and the desired balance between time tracking, project management, and employee monitoring. Tools like Harvest and Paymo strike a middle ground by offering robust time tracking and invoicing features alongside project management capabilities.
Ultimately, the best time-tracking tool is the one that aligns with the specific needs and priorities of the individual or organization, whether it’s simplicity, advanced features, industry fit, or seamless integration with other productivity tools. Paymo excels at time tracking combined with project management and invoicing and best serves teams of up to 20 people.
Paymo is versatile and can be used in various industries, from creative and marketing to architecture and software development. However, it’s not a great fit for enterprises, businesses in the commercial sector, or the hospitality industry—there are other tools better suited to those needs, including shift scheduling.
Create a free Paymo account and start tracking your work time right away!
best native time tracking app with automatic capabilities
Pricing: Average
90
of 100
Pros
native time tracking, both manual and automatic
dedicated 3-in-1 desktop app, ‘Paymo Track’
Pomodoro timer
timesheet and bulk time entries
idle time detection
seamlessly integrated project management software
Cons
no timesheet lock or approval yet
fewer integrations than competitors
Paymo is an affordable project management software with time tracking at its core. It allows you to manage client work, track time, send invoices, and measure profitability. It’s an ideal solution for small teams of up to 20 people.
The time-tracking core has kept its freshness over time, allowing you to track time in various ways: manually, in bulk for one week, via the web timer—which gets regularly upgraded—or automatically via Paymo Track. You can switch tasks midway and see which ones you’ve tracked for today and the past days.
Time records get registered automatically under a standard timesheet, so you receive all the necessary insights to run a team. Paymo’s native invoicing module allows you to bill clients by turning timesheet data into an invoice with a button. It’s a great alternative to an invoice builder found online (although we’ve tested and reviewed invoice generators if they interest your business).
Check this brief video to see how easy it is to track time manually or automatically in Paymo:
But the cherry on top is Paymo’s Pomodoro timer. It’s an absolute delight that users love.
Paymo Track also automatically registers time spent in every desktop app. The good part? Everything is stored locally on your computer, so you don’t have to worry about privacy.
Your job is to pair them up with their corresponding tasks at the end of the day.
Key features
Web timer + add bulk time function
Idle time detection
Automatic time tracking
Timesheets with multiple views
Customizable time reports
Project and task time budget alerts
Invoicing and expenses module
Free mobile time tracking app
Paymo offers a free mobile time tracking app for smartphones. It allows you to track time at home, at the office, or on the go. Admittedly, the mobile app is not as complex as the web app.
Paymo’s mobile app is designed for individual time tracking, so you’ll only be able to see and sort your tasks. Back to time tracking, you can start the timer and decide whether to keep it in complete focus or leave it in the background.
There’s also the option to add time in bulk if you forgot to hit start. This phone app stands out by allowing you to toggle between tasks according to their due date, priority, and task status so you know which ones to work on first.
Free plan – unlimited tasks, time tracking, and invoices- allows only ten projects and five clients.
Starter—$5.90/user/month if paid annually; it allows individuals to create unlimited invoices, generate project templates, and integrate Paymo with third-party apps.
Small Office plan – $10.90/user/month if paid annually. Besides unlimited tasks, time entries, and invoices, it offers a Meta Kanban board, recurring tasks, and 50GB of storage.
Business plan – Costs $16.90/user/month, charged annually. In addition to the Small Office plan, it offers plenty of features like Gantt charts, resource scheduling, employee leaves, and free onboarding.
TimeCamp has come a long way in tracking your time in its design and features.
The moment you sign in, you’re greeted by a timesheet where you can toggle between a daily and weekly view. Under Daily, type in the task you’re working on, select the project and start the timer. Among the apps for tracking your time, the weekly view expands once you click on a day so that you can add time entries manually more easily.
Like Timely, TimeCamp aims to help you reduce manual time tracking and be more productive. It does so in various ways. The efficiency tab lets you know how much time you spend on each app you use.
You can then set up goals—say, one hour spent on non-productive apps—to implement healthier work habits. But perhaps their most vital feature is the desktop auto tracker, which automatically tracks time on your behalf based on the keywords you specify.
I’ll be honest, though: it seems unintuitive and limited (on Mac, at least). Ten minutes in, I realized I needed to select a task for the agent to do its job. I honestly thought it’d recognize the tabs and apps I was using. I bet other users say the same.
Regarding reporting, there are many ready-available reports for you, including attendance and project budget ones. I like the possibility of emailing these reports to myself regularly, even at specific hourly intervals—say every Monday at 10 am—and viewing the entire history of a time entry. I didn’t notice this for the other time tracking apps I tested and reviewed. It was worth noting.
TimeCamp also comes with a light invoicing module available under the paid plan. Turn your timesheet data into an invoice, add your tax rates to reflect your country or state taxes, and submit them for approval.
Mobile time tracking app
The mobile version follows the same timesheet structure as the web app. Plus an extra start/stop button in the bottom right corner for the timer. I found it a bit hard to change a time entry’s corresponding task, but apart from this, all other parameters are straightforward.
Reports are also a bit more visual than the web app, showing how much time you’ve spent on each project.
Key features
Web timer + bulk time editing
Automatic time tracking
Computer time monitoring
GPS location tracking
Time entry history
Customizable time reports
Attendance tracking
Invoicing module
Pricing (yearly plan)
Free plan available with geofencing and time clock kiosk
Starter plan costs $2.99/user/month for overtime tracking and unlimited tasks.
Premium plan costs $4.99/user/month for billable time and employee monitoring such as website tracking
overtime time management, plus team hours and capacity
time tracking reminders
Cons
lack of flexibility when it comes to time entries
can sometimes be laggy
expensive paid plans
Starting from the premise that you weren’t hired to track time in the first place—that’s true—Timely is on the quest of purging manual time trackers and notes altogether.
This is possible thanks to Memory, a desktop app that automatically tracks all time spent in different work apps and turns it into accurate time records to focus on your work with little to no interruptions.
Memory also comes with a built-in AI that learns your time-tracking habits over time and proposes a tentative timesheet for you to approve. I didn’t arrive at that point during my tests, but I’m impressed by how accurate the time entry logs are on the timeline.
The web app is also great for those who prefer to schedule time on projects in a calendar format. You can, of course, add a new entry manually or via a hidden web timer. Although, in this latter case, you’ll have to start the timer first, then submit it—a bit redundant, if you ask me.
What’s beneficial is that the money value of your logs is displayed next to them daily, weekly, or monthly, depending on the hours’ view chosen.
Tags accompany time entries with two predefined sets: phases and tasks. Categorize them according to your workflow, then filter after the preferred one in a report.
Speaking of reports, Timely offers four ready-available ones to gauge your logged hours across projects, workspaces, users, and unbilled hours, with the possibility of creating your templates.
Project-wise, you can see a breakdown of how much time your team has spent on each tag or individually by themselves. Even compare the logged entries against the planned ones since the software has recently introduced a scheduling feature.
Mobile time tracking app
The minimalist design is also kept at a mobile app level, where you can see your logs in a calendar format for a single day, which you can choose from a weekly ribbon on top of the date picker.
Memory is also embedded in the form of memories (automated time logs), plus there’s also a location tracker in case you’re on the go or want to know where your employees are. Projects are included, too, along with their budget spending and tagged activities.
Key features
Automatic time tracking with a timeline
Time tracking reminders
GPS location tracking
Billable vs. non-billable hours breakdown
Customizable time reports
Customizable tags
Attendance tracking
Project and task time budget alerts
Pricing (yearly)
No free plan available.
The Starter plan costs $9/user/month (max. 20 projects and 5 users) and offers automatic time tracking.
The Premium plan costs $16/user/month (max. 50 users) and integrates with accounting and PM tools
The Unlimited plan costs $22/user/month for unlimited users and projects and includes capacity planning.
timesheet approval and reminders, lockable time entries
attendance and overtime tracking
Cons
GPS tracking and screenshots
inaccurate reporting
slow and unresponsive app
Clockify dubs itself the most popular free time tracking app out there. Is this the case? The statement might be a bit overboard.
Paid features exist—they’re vital time-tracking features if you ask me—while the pricing section on their homepage is hidden. Some users feel that it’s misleading.
However, the tool meets the best out of Toggl Track and Harvest. The time tracker has a ribbon-like design where you can just type in the task you’re working on, hit play, and fill in the details later.
The only difference here is that the project is mandatory, compared to Toggl Track, where it’s not. Time entries get displayed one after another in a list format, but you can also view them in a weekly timesheet similar to Harvest’s to add time in bulk.
The desktop widget comes with the possibility to clock in time or add it afterward, although I don’t understand why you’re allowed to start the timer in the first place if you have to confirm the project right before stopping it. Other than this, I’m impressed by the reminders to track time, which you can activate between a specific time interval and certain days.
There’s also a Pomodoro timer where you can set the duration of your pomodoros and breaks and an auto tracker for tracking active apps for longer than several seconds.
Besides the standard Chrome extension, one is available for Firefox, where editing time entries, adding tags, and changing their billing status is possible. I also like that you can change workspaces. So, switching context when tracking personal vs. work-related tasks is much easier.
Back to the web app, reports are the same as in Toggl Track (Summary/Detailed/Weekly), with an extra category for the Shared ones. I like that you can lock time entries before sharing a report, either publicly or privately.
Mobile time tracking app
The time tracking app is similar to the desktop app, including a projects tab to access the complete list or mark one as default.
I was looking forward to the dashboard showing your time expenditure and billability statistics. But the moment I tapped it, it redirected me to the web app—I guess a few usability improvements are due here.
Key features
Web timer + bulk time editing
Automatic time tracking
Lockable time entries
Time tracking reminders
Customizable time reports
Pomodoro timer
Project and task time budget alerts
On-premise availability
Pricing (yearly)
Free plan available.
The Basic plan costs $3.99/user/month and covers breaks, hiding and importing time, plus task management features
The Standard plan costs $5.49/user/month and includes time off, invoicing, and attendance
The Pro plan costs $7.99/user/month and focuses on scheduling, forecasting, and cost tracking
The Enterprise plan costs $11.99/user/month and adds SSO and audit logs, among others
tasks and time entries can be mixed up due to beta AI
Toggl has rebranded itself as Toggl Track. Despite the change, the time tracking app still keeps its simplicity.
This one is the most straightforward of all the work time tracker apps. Tap the one one-click timer, and that’s it—no need to fill in the client, project, tag, or billing status.
I dare say they’ve polished their design even further by adding the timer mode (for tracking time at the moment) and manual mode (for adding time intervals), which you can toggle between from the top right corner. Some users might like this.
The same goes for time entries viewed in a list or calendar format. Be aware that only the list view allows you to edit time entries in bulk, which feels limited.
Moving on to the desktop app, the tool has a fascinating timeline feature that auto-tracks each activity that takes longer than 10 seconds and then adds it as a time entry.
Toggl Track accommodates both project managers and team members alike in user permissions. This app might assist you well if you’ve just started as a project manager. (Side note: if you want to take the road less traveled to project management without a degree, check out this hands-on guide on becoming a project manager.)
The former can set mandatory fields to keep accurate timesheets and lock them to prevent the team from adjusting their time entries during client invoicing.
The latter can benefit from a built-in Pomodoro timer that will nudge them to take a break after the Pomodoro interval is over – via the versatile Toggl Button, dockable in many apps.
A significant difference is that although reports are diverse, they are not as granular as Paymo’s. Where they stand out, though, is the recency factor. You can schedule reports to show up at regular time intervals in your inbox without signing into Toggl Track.
I’ve also noticed that the app shows you the time spent on a project budget—a premium feature I couldn’t test—so I’ll believe their marketing copy for now.
Mobile time tracking app
Design is consistent at the smartphone level, too. All time entries are grouped under their corresponding day, with the ability to slide over an entry with the finger to continue registering time.
You can even turn existing events from your calendar into actual time entries as long as you provide Toggl Track permission. I also like that they’ve included time reports.
The billable vs. non-billable chart must be super helpful for all who charge by the hour and need a glance over their rentability.
Key features
Web timer + bulk time editing
Idle time detection
Automatic time tracking
Lockable time entries
Time tracking reminders
Customizable time reports
Pomodoro timer
Project and task time budget alerts
Pricing (yearly)
Free plan available for up to 5 users.
The Starter plan costs $9/user/month and highlights tasks, project time estimates, and a calendar integration
The Business plan costs $18/user/month and includes more advanced time-tracking features, like time-tracking audits
The Enterprise plan is available for a custom price.
best for time tracking with simple project delivery
Pricing: Average
82
of 100
Pros
timesheet approval
useful mobile app
time tracking reminders
Cons
granular time tracking is lacking
clunky web timer (stopwatch)
Harvest—one of the veteran time-tracking apps out there—comes in high up in this rundown because it’s more suited as a time-tracking app for employers.
This is partly due to the automatic reminders that nudge team members to clock in certain hours/weeks to a specific date. But also due to the timesheets that can be submitted for approval in case project managers want to review them before setting them in stone.
Leaving this aside, Harvest continues to ace the time-tracking feature. On the web app, you can start the timer under the daily view for a given project and task and then see how your efforts line up on a day-to-day basis.
On the other hand, you can only add time in bulk on a weekly timesheet—quite relieving if you’ve got a good memory and are used to filling it every Friday without hassle.
Like most of its kind, the desktop app is dockable into the computer taskbar, displaying a running timer for the task at hand.
Where it shines, though, are the hotkey actions. With a few key combinations, you can start the timer, hide your timesheet, or view a summary of your daily/weekly/monthly time entries. It also comes with idle time detection, so you can remove the AFK time whenever needed.
Like Toggl Track, a Chrome extension docks the timer into various platforms. There is no need to switch contexts because you’re using different software. Sadly, no Pomodoro feature is available.
Harvest is also a native invoicing software, making it easy to turn billable hours into an invoice and customize it to your liking. There are even retainer invoices, where you can run a monthly retainer with a fixed sum for a single project, instead of regular invoices, where you can add items from multiple projects.
And since tracking time at a project and task level is mandatory, you also get a project overview of the remaining budget and internal costs. After all, you could say Harvest is more of a project time-tracking app.
Mobile time tracking app
The phone time tracking features are up to par with the web app. I can hit the plus button to start the timer and see all my logs for the whole week, even favorite those recurrent time entries.
Invoices and expenses also show up, with the possibility to snap a receipt and attach it to an expense – something useful for those of you who do a lot of client meetings.
The focus of the mobile app is still on individual time tracking, which might not be sufficient, although there is a feature called Team Status that shows you how much time each person has spent on the latest projects.
Key features
Web timer + bulk time editing
Idle time detection
Timesheet approval
Time tracking reminders
Customizable time reports
Invoicing and expense module
Retainer invoices
Project and task time budget alerts
Pricing (yearly)
Free plan available for one individual and two projects.
If you’ve been looking for time-tracking apps for small businesses, you’re bound to stumble upon Hubstaff.
The tool is primarily geared towards monitoring your team’s timesheets and productivity. For one, you can customize random screenshots to be taken several times a day for each user, so you don’t have to ask them what they’re working on. This could be one common concern regarding privacy, but that’s another discussion.
Recording activities go one step further with logs for the time spent on specific apps and URLs in parallel with the web timer. Speaking of it, this is a simple start/stop timer.
If you want to add time in bulk, you’ll have to do it under the timesheets area. However, I find having a mandatory field for the time entry notes weird—perhaps for monitoring purposes?
However, this field is not mandatory once you use the desktop app, which feels like it replicates the web app—at least when it comes to time-tracking. To-dos show up under their related project, while the timesheet gives you a complete picture of your efforts.
It also comes with idle time detection and monitoring features, which are a bit more advanced in that you can compare the percentage of time spent using the keyboard vs. mouse.
Given the huge emphasis on team monitoring, Hubstaff allows you to schedule your workforce in shifts and see the job site where they will work next.
Pair this with the geofencing feature, and you’ve got an accurate map of your team’s itinerary without having to check with them in person. This might be an exciting feature best suited for those who work on-premise.
Hubstaff also includes a light invoicing module to turn time entries into invoices and attach expenses.
This feature is doubled by a built-in payroll, which is handy for making one-time payments to temporary or regular contractors based on the approved timesheets for full-time employees.
Mobile time tracking app
Looking at the mobile app, you’ll need to select a task to start the timer. Only then you’ll be able to add a time entry note as well. The dashboard is pretty useful, offering a total of the time spent for today and the whole week, either for myself or the entire team.
Out of all the apps tested, reports are the densest, with two types available: (1) weekly ones for drilling on the team’s performance and revenue earned and (2) activity-based ones for attendance monitoring.
Key features
Web timer
Random screenshots
GPS location tracking
Attendance monitoring
Timesheet approval
Shift planning
Payroll
Invoicing and expenses module
Pricing (yearly)
A Free plan is available for one user. Paid plans need a minimum of 2 users.
The Starter plan costs $4.99/user/mo and includes time tracking and timesheets plus surveillance via screenshots and app tracking
The Grow plan costs $7.50/mo and adds idle timeout plus Task integrations
The Team plan costs $10/user/mo and includes unlimited screenshots, app & URL tracking, timesheet approvals and time off
The Enterprise plan costs $25/user/mo for the Hubstuff suite
Everhour is an exceptional time-tracking and management tool that simplifies the process of tracking work hours, enhancing productivity, and optimizing project management. This intuitive software is designed with users in mind, offering an effortless and efficient way to monitor and manage time, whether you’re an individual freelancer, a small business owner, or part of a larger team.
One of Everhour’s standout qualities is its ease of use. Per my review and experience with such software, setting up an account and integrating it with agency project management tools like Asana, Trello, and Basecamp is straightforward. For example, the platform’s user interface is clean, intuitive, and easy to navigate, ensuring that both beginners and experienced users from big organizations can get started without any hassle. You’ll find it remarkably simple to log your hours, track tasks, and generate insightful reports.
Everhour excels in precision time tracking. It accurately captures every minute and second, ensuring that your time data is dependable and error-free. This feature is crucial for billing clients accurately, optimizing project timelines, and making informed business decisions. With Everhour, you can trust that your time records are meticulous and reliable.
Everhour offers a comprehensive suite of reporting tools beyond basic time tracking. You can customize reports to gain insight into how time is distributed across projects and tasks. Analyze team productivity, identify bottlenecks, and make data-driven decisions effortlessly. This reporting capability is invaluable for project managers, team leaders, and freelancers seeking to enhance efficiency and performance.
Beyond time tracking, Everhour is a powerful tool for maintaining project budgets and ensuring profitability. You can set hourly rates, establish project budgets, and monitor expenses in real time. By closely monitoring spending and project progress, you can proactively address any deviations, ensuring that your projects remain on track financially.
Mobile time tracking app
Everhour’s mobile app extends its functionality to your smartphone or tablet, allowing you to track time and manage tasks on the go. Whether meeting clients, working remotely, or simply away from your desk, you can seamlessly track your time and stay connected to your projects.
It provides a clean and intuitive interface, ensuring that tracking time and managing tasks on the go is a seamless experience.
Additionally, the mobile app allows you to edit time for past entries, see how your tracked time relates to the estimates, and track your tasks inside Asana, Basecamp, Trello, Jira, GitHub, and more.
One of the app’s standout features is its ability to provide quick, at-a-glance insights into your daily, weekly, and monthly time allocation.
It empowers you to make data-driven decisions about allocating your time, enhancing your overall time management capabilities.
Key Features
manual stopwatch
auto-stop timer
clock in-and-out feature
estimates
time logs
time off and leave management
integrations with popular apps
Pricing (yearly)
A Free plan available for up to 5 users that includes time-tracking.
The Lite plan costs $5/user/mo (ranging 2-10 users) and includes billable rates, costs, invoicing
The Team plan costs $8/user/mo (min. 5 users) and highlights time approval, timeline, time off, and screenshots
best for time tracking with light project management
Pricing: Average
79
of 100
Pros
web stopwatch
time-tracking done at a timesheet level
time analytics and cost tracking
timesheet approval
Cons
slow loading speed
limited mobile app in comparison to the desktop version
it needs more customizable options and enhancements
MyHours is a light task management tool with advanced time tracking. Its features revolve around MyHours’ tabular view – it looks and feels like a timesheet software. So, fans of Excel and spreadsheets will be biased when choosing their time-tracking app.
The app is focused on client billing and cost tracking, two of its strongest features. It’s a feasible project management solution conceived for architectural professionals or construction engineers. There’s detailed reporting if you need to send proof of work to either your client or manager as a PDF or XML—the design could be improved, though, especially the pie charts.
Time analytics is also great if you need to benchmark time estimates and employee capacity. Having said that, most advanced project management software have a resource management or planning module that does it automatically—no need for a PDF report.
Mobile time tracking app
The mobile app is straightforward and easy to use, especially for time tracking and switching between projects and tasks. I have to say that although the MyHours mobile app offers convenience and simplicity for time tracking, there are areas where additional features and improvements could enhance its functionality and flexibility.
Key features
native time tracker
timesheet management + manager’s approval
timesheet assistant ft. ChatGPT
cost tracking
detailed time reporting
Pricing (yearly)
Free plan available with time tracking.
The Pro plan costs $8/user/month and includes invoicing.
RescueTime is a time-tracking app that focuses on user productivity, first and foremost.
You can choose which websites or apps you want to stop using and when to block them. This ensures you don’t slack off on websites that are time drains.
If you’re the type who thrives on productivity methods, then RescueTime has this little delighter called ‘Focus Sessions.’ It reminds you of a guided Pomodoro with a mood tracker, where you set your goals and prepare your environment for a session of deep work. I liked the idea of having a virtual workspace where others are connected, similar to study groups back in college years. This virtual workspace best suits freelancers who have a tendency to procrastinate.
The app gathers data which then converts into productivity insights and post-session reports.
Based on user feedback and reviews, some users have expressed concerns about RescueTime, particularly its mobile functionality, limited features, and occasional bugs and glitches. While RescueTime is praised for its accurate time tracking and insightful reporting, users have noted that the mobile app’s performance is not on par with the desktop version, and the software may encounter occasional technical issues.
Mobile time tracking app
While the mobile app may lack some of the detailed productivity information available in the desktop version, it still offers valuable insights and contributes to a more disciplined approach to time management and productivity.
What I found most helpful was the insightful tracking – invisible productivity and app-usage tracking, providing rich insights into how time is spent on my Android. Then there’s goal setting, where users can set screen time goals and control their phone usage directly from the app, helping them build better habits and beat distractions.
Plus, offline activity logging might be best when on the go without an Internet connection. There’s data sync with the web and desktop versions, although some users complain about accuracy.
Key features
automatic time tracking
timesheets with AI (optional feature)
notifications and distraction alerts
Pomodoro-style focused sessions
website & app blocking
Pricing (yearly)
Free plan (Lite) available with time tracking.
The Premium plan for teams costs $78/user/year.
There’s a 30-day free trial, and requires a credit card to sign up.
Connecteam is a team time clock app that best caters to hospitality, retail, construction, manufacturing, healthcare, services, security, field services, and any other industries needing to manage and supervise their staff. The app also offers task management, scheduling, and payroll connected to time tracking.
Mobile time tracking app
The mobile app is useful to users as it has the necessary features when working in field services, from clocking in and out, requesting days off, managing their work schedule, and submitting forms and reports.
Key features
manual stopwatch to clock in and out
geofencing and GPS location tracking
kiosk station for teams
auto clock-out
timesheet management
Pricing (yearly)
Free plan available for up to 10 users.
The Basic plan costs $29/month for the first 30 users (+$0.5/mo for each additional user)
The Advanced plan costs $49/month for the first 30 users (+$1.5/mo for each additional user)
The Expert plan costs $99/month for the first 30 users (+$3/mo for each additional user)
inaccurate time tracking and discrepancies in time entries
idle time detection can be glitchy
privacy concerns
invasive employee monitoring, URL tracking and screenshots
DeskTime is an employee monitoring app with time tracking. It automatically tracks employees’ URLs and documents and takes random screenshots of their desktops. It also maps apps or websites as “productive” and “unproductive” to calculate user performance metrics, such as effectiveness and productivity. A “Private Time” feature is available, which you can toggle for off-the-clock computer use.
Mobile time tracking app
The mobile app does its job, although it doesn’t look or feel modern. You get your team dashboard at a glance: employees who are working, offline, or absent. By tapping a user, you get data points such as clocking in and out, productive time versus DeskTime, and “Time at work” – that’s how the percentage of productivity and effectiveness are calculated. The mobile app also automatically logs time pockets, which you can then assign manually tasks and projects.
Top features
automatic time tracking
time off and shift scheduling
absence calendar
URL and document tracking
screenshots
Pricing (yearly)
Free plan available for one user only.
The Pro plan costs $6.42/user/month with automatic time tracking, URL & app tracking, web timer, and mobile.
The Premium plan costs $9.17/user/month with screenshots, absence calendar, shift scheduling, and integrations.
The Enterprise plan costs $18.33/user/month for unlimited projects and tasks, and customer support.
TrackingTime is a collaborative and cloud-based time management program that aims to help companies of any size manage their projects, track work time, and measure team productivity and performance. The app is meant as a time tracking solution with some light project management features. Besides reports and timesheets, invoicing is available in-app with the paid plans. If you’re considering free options with advanced invoicing capabilities, opt for project management software with free invoicing.
TrackingTime’s latest updates include automatic time tracking, a new attendance feature, improved timecards, a new desktop app, a redesigned invoicing module, and a timeline view added to make it a more appealing alternative.
Mobile time tracking app
The mobile app has great potential, especially for freelancers who want to track their billable time, tasks, and reports. However, the time tracking needs some improvement, i.e., their mobile stopwatch is glitchy and needs better UX, e.g., users found the stopwatch icon unintuitive.
Top features
automatic time tracking
active timer “Working on!”
automatic data sync with Calendar apps
scheduling repeating events
reports
insights
Pricing (yearly)
Free plan available with time tracking up to 3 users.
The Freelancer plan, limited to one user, costs $8/month and includes task management, Calendar integrations, and invoicing.
The Pro plan, starting at 3 users, costs $5.75/month and includes timecards, time off, and scheduling time entries.
The Business plan, starting at 3 users, costs $10/month and offers enhanced security and support for business operations.
time clocks for tracking time, breaks, and overtime
cloud scheduling
it integrates with payroll apps
team communication
Cons
occasional glitches and bugs
not a project management tool
Homebase is designed for teams working in shifts, flexible hours, or for managers who need to manage people hourly, such as bookings and appointments. Their customers are in hospitality, beauty & wellness, medical & veterinary, caregiving, and field services. It is firstly an employee management software with time-tracking capabilities focused on employee scheduling, time clocks, payroll, HR, so do not expect advanced project management features. The design is modern and responsive, so if you’re looking for an app with a facelift, this is it.
Mobile time tracking app
The mobile app is both a time clock and a shift management app. Users can clock in, manage their schedule, claim open positions, and message teammates. The in-app communication allows users to trade shifts and keep an eye on relevant team info.
Top features
employee scheduling with templates
auto-scheduling for shifts
vacation and time-off requests
real-time scheduling
Pricing (yearly)
Free plan available for 20 users and 1 location.
Essentials costs $20/location/month for unlimited employees and offers advanced scheduling.
The Plus plan costs $48/location/month and includes hiring and time off.
The All-in-one plan costs $80/location/month and offers employee onboarding and labor cost management
Why are time-tracking apps important?
Time tracking is seen as a necessary evil. Yet, we’ve been using clocks for ages—and most recently, time-tracking apps—to shine a light on our habits, progress, and operations in every aspect possible. The lack of time-tracking habits leads to frustration and resource waste.
While these benefits might be obvious for business owners and project managers, it can seem like employees have drawn the shorter stick. In my experience and humble opinion, this is not true. So, I’ll treat them separately for more clarity.
Benefits for business owners & project managers
Get paid fairly. How are you supposed to bill clients when you don’t even clock in your efforts in the first place? Time tracking helps you understand how long your work takes so you don’t sell yourself short. No monitoring means you’re either undercharging or overcharging your services, which can cause you to lose clients in the long run.
Make accurate estimates. Guesstimates can create a lot of frustration. On the one hand, your team might overestimate the time it takes to finish a project. On the other hand, your clients might not be willing to pay for certain hours if you’ve gone over the initial estimations. You’re relying on a record that helps you price your services much closer to reality by tracking your time. This is especially helpful if you’re starting with a few projects under your belt.
Improve profitability. Your primary work unit is the billable hour if you charge by the hour. It doesn’t matter if you’re a creative agency, web development shop, or architecture firm – you’re selling hours against money. Yet you wouldn’t start a project if the costs of completing it exceeded what your client pays you, right? This is an aspect of profitability tracking. Time tracking can give you an accurate picture of your progress and prevent scope creep if you spend too many hours midway through a project. It’s especially geared towards engineering practitioners or field professionals working by the hour.
Benefits for employees
Improve productivity. Tracking work hours can help you identify ‘dead time’ and keep detractors at bay so that you can do deep work without interruptions. If you work for 40 minutes straight, then a colleague interrupts you with a sudden request—do you record 1 hour of work or just 40 minutes? Distractions trick us into thinking we’ve been productive when we were just busy.
Prioritize tasks. With too many tasks on your hands, anxiety and a sense of helplessness can soon creep in. A good time-tracking app should tell you how long tasks take on average. In return, you’ll be in a better position to juggle between tasks if you’re waiting for someone else’s input to move forward and don’t know what to tackle next.
Enforce a healthier work culture. Scheduling an entire team is a stressful process that usually results in over-allocation and burnout on the team’s behalf. Make your project manager’s life easier through time tracking. You’ll know when to go all in and when to give yourself some slack. At the same time, they’ll gain more transparency into your habits, which can spark conversations about improvements or, who knows, even a salary raise.
Benefits for consultants and knowledge workers
Better time management. Time tracking helps create precise project time estimates, maintain budgetary requirements, and stay organized and focused on tasks. It allows the modern consultant to better prioritize, gain more experience, and complete more work in less time.
Accountability in project management. Time tracking promotes accountability among team members, reduces the likelihood of scope creep, and facilitates project completion within set deadlines. It also offers transparency for evaluating job performance and project progress, making project management much easier.
Informed decision-making and efficiency. Consistent time tracking enables consultants to make more informed business decisions, develop accurate estimates, budgets, and deadlines, and identify tasks that may consume significant time. This, in turn, allows for the optimization of work processes and the elimination of inefficiencies.
Criteria for choosing a time-tracking app
Time-tracking software and apps come in different forms and flavors. Most of them include a timer to clock in and out of work in real-time, so you don’t need to remember what you’ve worked on in the morning. Undoubtedly, mistakes will happen, so consider time-recording apps that allow you to:
Edit time entries: Can I correct time entries that I’ve added accidentally or timers that have been left running overnight? Bonus points if you can do this from multiple platforms, not just the web version.
Add time in bulk. Although tracking time as we work is desirable, it’s not always achievable. Can I still add time, even after I forgot to start the timer in the first place? I could log hours after a long meeting or phone call, which can be relieving.
Mobile app. Is adding my time on the road or in a client meeting easy? Mobile time-tracking apps are the way to go when you want to be professional yet discreet simultaneously.
Time reports. Can I drill down on data to make better business decisions? Ideally, you should be able to set up granular reports, round up time entries to specific increments, and read data that’s easy to grasp visually.
Now, in my experience, these would be the main criteria. However, work time tracking apps can serve different purposes and be part of more inclusive, all-in-one apps, like popular project management software. So, depending on your goals, you might want to review and consider those that come with:
Invoicing and expense tracking. Can I turn timesheet data into an invoice and account for my travel, gas, and overall expenses? These are two great additions if you charge by the hour and don’t want to pay extra for another billing software.
Automatic time tracker. Does the work timer app register time automatically on my behalf? Useful if you’re a multitasker or want to focus entirely on your work without the inherent time-tracking hassle.
Pomodoro tracker. Can I track time in increments of 25 minutes, with a 5-minute break in between? Few apps integrate the Pomodoro technique natively; most do it via third-party apps.
Project estimates and alerts. Can I get a heads-up before the project approaches its hourly budget? Agencies and freelancers who run multiple projects in parallel could be keener to this feature than those who only monitor their productivity.
Time is money, so paying for time-tracking features you don’t use or save time would be a bit ironic. Sift through pricing plans; extra features come at higher tiers, so you can pay for them once your business grows.
Note: This rundown included one or two employee time-tracking software programs. Click the link in this note for a dedicated list of software with monitoring features and advanced timesheets.
Andrei Țiț
Author
Andrei Țiț is a product marketer at Ahrefs. He has been involved in product marketing at various SaaS companies for over six years, specializing in content marketing and short-form video. In his free time, he enjoys cooking and traveling.
Alexandra Martin
Editor
Drawing from a background in cognitive linguistics and armed with 10+ years of content writing experience, Alexandra Martin combines her expertise with a newfound interest in productivity and project management. In her spare time, she dabbles in all things creative.