Time tracking software for freelancers

12 time tracking apps for freelancers compared on free plans, invoicing, automatic tracking and proof of work, plus Toggl, Clockify and Harvest alternatives.

12 tools compared no affiliate links

Time tracking tools compared
Tool Best for Pricing What sets it apart
Toggl Track (opens in a new tab) One-click timer with browser extensions and reports, built to add as little friction as possible. A timer you will actually remember to start Free plan Browser extension starts a timer inside other web apps
Clockify (opens in a new tab) Time tracker and timesheet app whose free tier has no cap on users, projects or tracked hours. Free tracking without a usage ceiling Free plan Timesheet and calendar views alongside the timer
Harvest (opens in a new tab) Time tracking that turns tracked hours directly into client invoices and online payment links. Tracking hours and billing them from one place Free trial Converts approved time entries into an invoice
TimeCamp (opens in a new tab) Tracks app and website use in the background, then lets you assign that activity to projects and bill it. Recovering hours you forgot to log Free plan Automatic capture of desktop and browser activity
Everhour (opens in a new tab) Time tracking that lives inside the project tool you already use, rather than in its own tab. Tracking from inside Asana, Trello, ClickUp or Jira Free trial Timer buttons injected into third-party project tools
Timely (opens in a new tab) Records everything you work on in the background and drafts your timesheet from that record. Never starting a timer again Free trial Automatic activity capture across apps and documents
Memtime (opens in a new tab) Offline desktop app that records which programs and documents you used, minute by minute. Automatic tracking without sending data to a server Free trial Runs fully offline, no cloud account required
RescueTime (opens in a new tab) Measures where your attention goes during the day and scores it, rather than billing it. Finding out where the hours actually go Free plan Automatic categorisation of sites and apps
Hubstaff (opens in a new tab) Time tracking with screenshots and activity levels, used when a client wants evidence of hours worked. Clients who require verified proof of hours Free trial Optional screenshots and activity rate per interval
Paymo (opens in a new tab) Project management, time tracking and invoicing in one app rather than three. Running projects and billing them in one tool Free plan Tasks, kanban boards and Gantt charts
My Hours (opens in a new tab) Project time tracking with client rates, aimed at people who bill by the hour. Per-client hourly rates without extra setup Free plan Different billable rates per client, project and task
EARLY (opens in a new tab) Formerly Timeular. An eight-sided physical tracker you flip to switch tasks, paired with a tracking app. People who forget software timers exist Free trial Physical die assigns a task to each face

Outbound links are not affiliate links and no tool paid to be listed. Plans change often, so check the current pricing page before you commit.

Time tracking

Picking by what you need

If you bill by the hour, the tracker you pick decides how much of your work turns into money. Some apps are a plain timer you start and stop. Some watch what you are doing and write the timesheet for you. Some carry the hours straight into an invoice. Filter the twelve below by what you actually need.

Free time tracking apps for freelancers

Five of these have a free tier that works on its own rather than a trial that expires. Clockify is the most generous, with no cap on users, projects or tracked hours. Toggl Track covers solo tracking and reporting, TimeCamp puts automatic capture on its free tier, and My Hours gives you per-client rates without paying. Filter the list by Free plan to see them together.

Time tracking with invoicing built in

Tracked hours are not paid hours. Harvest, Paymo, Everhour, TimeCamp and My Hours turn a timesheet into an invoice with no copy-paste step in between. Check one thing before you commit: they issue the invoice in your own name, so you need a registered company in the country you bill from. If you do not have one, that is exactly where you get stuck, and it is the gap Ruul fills by letting you invoice without a company and acting as the legal counterparty when you send the invoice.

Automatic time tracking

Timely and Memtime record what you worked on and draft the timesheet from that record, so there is no timer to forget. TimeCamp does the same in the background and lets you assign the captured activity to billable projects, while RescueTime measures attention rather than billing it. The trade-off is privacy: Memtime stays offline on your own machine, the others sync to a server.

Time tracking for consultants

Consulting usually means several clients at different rates, and a client who wants to see what the hours went into. Harvest and Everhour handle project budgets and client-readable reports. My Hours sets a different rate per client, project and task. Paymo adds a client-facing project view on top.

Clockify alternatives

People leave Clockify for one of two reasons: they want tracking to happen automatically, or they want invoicing in the same tool. TimeCamp covers both and keeps a free tier. My Hours covers the invoicing side with per-client rates. If the free tier was the reason you were there in the first place, Toggl Track is the closest swap.

Harvest alternatives

Harvest is strong at turning hours into invoices and is priced per seat. Everhour does the same job from inside Asana, Trello or Jira. Paymo wraps project management around it. My Hours and TimeCamp keep the billing flow but start from a free tier.

Toggl Track alternatives

Toggl Track is the default recommendation, so the alternatives each win on a single axis. Clockify for an unlimited free tier. Timely or Memtime for automatic capture. Harvest or Everhour for invoicing in the same app. Timeular if the real problem is remembering to start a timer at all.

How to choose

  1. Step 1

    Decide whether you will actually press start

    Manual timers are cheaper and simpler, and useless if you forget them. If you have already abandoned one timer, buy an automatic tracker instead of trying harder.

  2. Step 2

    Check where the hours go next

    A tracker that exports a CSV you retype into an invoice costs you the time it saved. Either pick one with invoicing, or pick one that exports cleanly into the tool you already bill with.

  3. Step 3

    Match rates to how you sell

    If you charge different rates per client or per task, confirm the tool supports that before you commit. Several only handle one rate per project.

  4. Step 4

    Read the free plan limits, not the free plan headline

    Free usually caps something: users, projects, report history or exports. The cap that matters is the one you will hit in month three.

  5. Step 5

    Keep the records you will need at tax time

    Tracked hours are evidence of the work behind an invoice. Whatever you pick, make sure you can export a full history, and keep it with your invoices and receipts so the year-end is a download rather than a reconstruction.

Tracked hours still have to turn into money

No setup cost · No monthly fees