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Best Time Tracking Software

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Time tracking is an area of business where the right software can make all the difference. With so many people, functions, and tasks to stay on top of, time tracking software is a valuable investment. We dove deep into this product category, assessing the available options to find that Time Doctor is the most comprehensive time tracking software on the market. It’s affordable, compatible across all operating systems, and versatile enough to work for just about every type of business.

The Best Time Tracking Software for Most

Time Doctor Logo

Time Doctor

Best for Most

Looking for a comprehensive time tracking tool without the big-business price tag? Time Doctor ncludes automated screenshots, detailed usage reports, client-based time tracking, and more. It's compatible with every operating system and starts at $7 per month, making it accessible for even the smallest of businesses.

Whether you’re a team of one or a team of 100+, Time Doctor is a comprehensive time tracking solution that comes with an affordable price tag. It’s incredibly easy to use, comes with detailed reporting options, improves accountability, and helps boost productivity across your entire business.

It’s compatible with every major operating system, making it a great choice regardless of the devices you and your team use. The best part? It’s one of the most affordable options on our list, with plans starting at just $7 per user per month.

The 6 Best Time Tracking Software Options to Consider:

  1. Time Doctor – Best time tracking software for most
  2. Timely – Best for automatic time tracking
  3. Timesheets – Most affordable time tracking tool
  4. Tick – Best project management time tracking software
  5. Harvest – Best for small to midsize businesses
  6. Toggl – Best free time tracking tool

When It Makes Sense to Invest Into Time Tracking Software

Time tracking software lets you measure one of the most important non-renewable resources: time. When you can measure it, you can improve it and ensure your team always uses it well. Whether you rely on accurate time tracking data for hourly employees or want to know where it all goes, the right tools don’t get in the way and ensure you always have eyes on your most important resource.

Knowing how you and your employees spend your day opens the doors to optimizing how you work. With the right software, you can prioritize the most important tasks to ensure the most critical projects keep moving forward.

Understanding where your time goes and how long tasks take to complete is also crucial in ensuring your projects are always profitable. Need to raise your rates? You no longer have to guess how much—you know exactly how long tasks take to complete and how much those hours cost.

So, it’s about more than just measuring and tracking time. It’s about enhanced visibility into your entire business.

The bottom line: businesses of all shapes and sizes have something to gain by investing in time tracking software. From freelancers to enterprise teams, it’s time to take control of how you spend your time.

#1 – Time Doctor — The Best Time Tracking Software for Most

Time Doctor Logo

Time Doctor

Best for Most

Looking for a comprehensive time tracking tool without the big-business price tag? Time Doctor ncludes automated screenshots, detailed usage reports, client-based time tracking, and more. It's compatible with every operating system and starts at $7 per month, making it accessible for even the smallest of businesses.

If you’re looking for comprehensive time tracking software that’s doesn’t get in your way, Time Doctor is our top pick.

At its core, it tracks time for your entire team. Admins and owners can then break it down to gain insight into where that time goes. You can distill it down to time spent for each client, project, employee, or task, offering a granular look at your most valuable resource.

You can even share time tracking information with clients so they know exactly how much time goes into the work you produce.

With fully white-labeled dashboards, clients and customers can see where your time goes and see screenshots of different tasks as they move to completion.

However, one of Time Doctor’s standout features is the ability to generate screenshots of your employee’s computers.

You can set them to trigger at any schedule you’d like, giving you a first-person view of what your team’s doing at any given time. Doing so can help identify distractions and limit them to ensure everyone’s as productive as possible.

Not only that but these screenshots can also be embedded in your white-labeled dashboards to give clients peace of mind and reassurance.

When you’re ready to see a daily or weekly breakdown, you can create usage reports in just a few clicks, allowing you to monitor which websites and apps your employees use the most.

Another standout feature is the ability to track breaks to ensure your team gets enough time away from work to stay energized and refreshed throughout the day.

Regardless of how your team works, you can track attendance and ensure everyone starts on time as well.

The software comes with a wide range of other features, including:

  • Windows, Linux, Mac, Android, iOS, and Chrome support
  • Various project management integrations
  • Enterprise-grade security and compliance
  • Custom user roles and permission settings
  • 24/7 sales reps and customer service
  • Open API access for a fully custom solution
  • Pop-up alerts and notifications

According to their website, people who use Time Doctor save an average of $37,000 a year in lost time. Plus, with more than 83,000 businesses using the software, you’re in good company.

The software also integrates with a ton of other business tools you’re probably already using, like Google Apps, Trello, Slack, Todoist, Asana, Salesforce, and Basecamp.

Pricing starts at $7 per user per month. However, this plan only includes time and activity tracking plus tasks and projects. So, it’s probably not enough for most users.

The Standard plan starts at $10 per user per month and includes more features like app and URL tracking, payroll, and integrations. You can also opt for the Premium plan at $20 per user per month for access to all of Time Doctor’s features.

Sign up for a free trial to see if it’s right for you and your team today!

#2 – Timely — The Best for Automatic Time Tracking

Timely Logo

Timely

Best for Automatic Time Tracking

Get everything you need to capture down-to-the-minute time tracking accuracy without the hassle of manual timers or other untimely distractions. Includes in-depth scheduling and project management features. Plans start at just $8 per user per month, with unlimited access to everything at $20 per user per month.

Timely is another great time tracking app. However, it’s unique because you can set it up to automatically capture time spent in various apps and on various activities with a wide range of built-in integrations.

This completely eliminates the need for manual time tracking and endless notes about when someone started and stopped a specific activity.

From document editing or creation and time spent in meetings to emails, GPS location tracking, and phone calls, you get down-to-the-minute accuracy without the distraction of hitting a button to start tracking time.

As a result, you and your team have more time to focus on more strategic tasks and efforts that’ll move your business forward.

With Timely, you can also turn the data you gather into automatic timesheets with AI-powered reporting and analytical capabilities, thus eliminating one more thing you have to do every day.

It learns how you group and log work over time, and all you need to do is review and approve the automatic draft to push it out.

It includes real-time dashboards and synchronized scheduling tools to keep everyone in the loop, all the time. From there, you can easily get a bird’s-eye view of missing hours, overtime hours, and weekly capacity across your entire team.

However, Timely goes beyond basic time tracking with a comprehensive set of project management features, including:

  • A project activity feed
  • Task breakdowns with flexible task assignments
  • Workload breakdown per employee
  • Powerful bulk task editing

Pricing starts at just $8 per user per month for up to 50 projects and three teams. However, you can unlock unlimited projects and unlimited teams for $14 per user per month.

There’s also an unlimited plan that comes with complete access to every Timely feature with no limits or caps, starting at $20 per user per month.

Sign up for a 14-day free trial to see if it’s right for your team today!

#3 – Timesheets – The Most Affordable Time Tracking Software

Timesheets Logo

Timesheets

Most Affordable Option

What it lacks in interface, it more than makes up for in its pricing as well as great features, including payroll, shift tracking, PTO accruals, mileage tracking, and GPS tracking. There's a generous free plan with paid plans starting at just $4.50 per user, making it the cheapest option on our list.

Timesheets is a solid option for time tracking software as it contains many of the features mentioned in the others on our list while offering great pricing. 

How good is the pricing? For teams, it starts out at $4.50 a user. If you’re a nonprofit, it comes to $3.60 a user. 

For freelancers, it’s completely free.

That’s not to mention its robust set of features that include time tracking for payroll, shift tracking, and GPS time tracking so you always know where and when your team is working.

Timesheets also tracks time off and helps you manage PTO accrual by hours worked. Your employees can also enter a time off request so all managers have to do is approve or deny. 

They also have a very nice expense and mileage tracking tool. This allows your employees to measure and record their own expenses from their phones or computers. Perfect for expense tracking during business trips. 

Like the other time tracking software on this list, Timesheets also comes with a wide variety of integrations:

In terms of downsides, Timesheet’s interface has a lot to be desired. It’s not as flashy or colorful as the other choices on this list. That might get in the way of your overall user experience. 

If you can get past the older-looking interface, though, you’ll find a solid time tracking app with robust features that’s sure to help your business.

#4 – Tick – The Best Time Tracking Software for Projects

Tick

Tick

Best for Projects

Tick is a highly intuitive time tracking app with plenty of great integrations to make it a must have for project-based businesses. Rather than paying per user, you pay per project, making it a cost-effective choice for projects with 15 or more users tracking time. P,us, your first project is free!

Used by 60,000+ businesses, Tick is a highly reliable app that really shines when it comes to the way it prices itself.

While many businesses might be turned off by how time tracking software is priced per user, Tick prices itself per project. That means for one project you can have unlimited users on it tracking their time.

This can be incredibly lucrative for any large team looking to track their time but don’t want to deal with the exorbitant price of signing on their team members. 

The interface itself is easy-to-use and very straightforward. You’ll be able to track your work, make notes on what you did, and edit it if needed.

You’ll also gain access to its simple but handy reporting feature. This details all the time tracked by your team so you can see what they were working on, and how long and when they were working on it. 

The Quickbooks integration is very nice for freelancers and independent contractors to bill clients too. 

Another very nice feature is the budgeting tool. It allows you to make sure that projects are within the budget. Great if you’re a client or if you’re completing work for a client. 

As far as downsides, Tick doesn’t have too many. However, it might lack some features that you’re looking for that other time track apps have like timesheet tracking or PTO requests. 

Overall, it’s a solid time tracking software that’s sure to help your organization.

#5 – Harvest — The Best Time Tracking Software for Small- to Mid-sized Businesses

Harvest Logo

Harvest

For Small to Midsize Businesses

As a small or midsize team, you need collaboration and time tracking tools that make working together easier than ever. While the rest of the options on our list help with this, Harvest is tailor-made for businesses like yours with tons of integrations, automations, and a generous free plan.

Harvest is another great all-in-one time tracking app — and it’s the one we recommend for small to midsize teams. 

In fact, it’s tailor-made for project collaboration. At a glance, you’ll be able to take a look at your entire teams’ time input for the week, as well as the total hours they’ve collectively put in.

You’ll also be able to see exactly what they’re working on, when they’re working, and how long they’re working. This is great to see who’s working too much, and who needs help putting in a bit more energy into a project. 

The time tracking system also comes with easy integration into a variety of different websites, browsers, and apps such as Asana, Slack, Basecamp, Quickbooks, and Trello. This allows you to automatically track where and when your teams’ focus is going. 

Harvest is used by 50,000+ businesses too, so you know you’re in good hands. 

Pricing for the app starts free — though that’s only for a single user and just two projects.

The pro plan is incredibly lucrative at $12 a month for unlimited people and projects. You can try that plan out for free in a 30-day trial too. 

#6 – Toggl — The Best Free Time Tracking Software

Toggl Logo

Toggl

Best Free Time Tracking Software

If you don't need any of the fancy bells and whistles, you shouldn't have to pay for them. Toggl offers an amazing free plan that's easy to use yet still powerful enough to work for both billable and nonbillable hours. You can even integrate it with tools you use everyday to simplify your processes.

Toggl is the time tracking software for folks who like it simple.

What it lacks in features that you might see in some other software on this list, it makes up for in simplicity and ease-of-use. With the click of a button, you’ll be able to begin tracking new time entries or continuing a previous task. 

Toggl also comes with a basic dashboard containing all of your billable and nonbillable hours for the day and week. It’s reporting feature allows you to filter your time data and metrics for the week, and it’s available to be exported into Excel, CVS, or PDF. 

It also has incredibly easy integration with 100+ apps. That means you can include Toggl inside of another online app and track time without switching between pages. 

Along with a solid time tracking tool, Toggle also includes easy calendar integration as well as manual time entries for if you need to add things on the fly. 

There are a few minor drawbacks though. Like we said up top, Toggl is a simple app. That means it lacks certain features you might find in other time tracking apps like website blocking or more comprehensive time tracking reports. That means if you manage a large team, you might want to look elsewhere.

However, Toggl comes free with a basic plan. So if you want to dip your toes to check it out at no cost to you, you can do so. To get access to more features, though, you’ll want to upgrade to one of their paid plans that start at $9 a month. 

How to Choose the Best Time Tracking Software

When you’re looking for the best time tracking software for you and your employees, there are several factors to think about.

The Size of Your Business

How many user seats do you need? If you’re a freelancer or solopreneur, this won’t matter since you’re the only user.

But if you’re looking for time tracking software to use across your entire business, you need to pay attention to user limits and per-user pricing. Some tools are best suited for larger businesses while others are great for solopreneurs.

So, make sure to consider the size of your business and the number of users you have before making any decisions.

Additional Features and Functionality

Aside from tracking time, what other tools does the software have? Will it allow you to track time spent on certain websites and apps? Can you manually go in and change the time?

Or maybe you need to track the amount of time you and your employees spend driving every month.

Regardless of what you need, make sure the software you go with does everything you need it to. Some are extremely basic while others offer various tools and integrations designed to help make your life easier.

So, they’re not all created equal.

Reporting and Analytics

Without good reporting, your time tracking efforts won’t amount to much.

That’s why you want to make sure the time tracking app you have does a good job of giving you the metrics you need on a daily, weekly, monthly, and annual basis.

That way you can easily look into employee productivity and how much time is spent on various activities.

Interface and Ease of Use

Is the software easy to use? Will you get sick of looking at it after a week, month, or year? This one is important.

After all, you’ll be using it every day. You’ll want to find a time tracking system that’s intuitive and easy to learn. Plus, consider how you plan to use it—on a desktop or mobile device.

If you’re always on the go, be sure to choose an option with a robust mobile app so you’re not tied to your desktop or laptop.

Time Doctor Logo

Time Doctor

Best for Most

Looking for a comprehensive time tracking tool without the big-business price tag? Time Doctor ncludes automated screenshots, detailed usage reports, client-based time tracking, and more. It's compatible with every operating system and starts at $7 per month, making it accessible for even the smallest of businesses.

Summary

Time tracking software helps your business stay within budget and keeps your employees on track with goals. It can also help you identify areas where you can prioritize and optimize work. 

If you’re looking for the best one, we highly recommend Time Doctor. Its robust features along with competitive pricing can’t be beat. However, any of the other ones on this list might suit your needs just as well.  


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