Time Tracking Tools for Freelancers: Compared by Price and What Each Plan Includes
Disclosure: this page may contain affiliate links and was written with AI assistance and reviewed by the site operator. See our disclosure.
How we compared these. We have not used these tools. This is built from each company's public pricing page, read on 2026-10-06. Prices and limits change, so confirm on the vendor's site. See our methodology and disclosure. We do not currently have affiliate links to these three tools.
Why track time at all
If you bill hourly, tracking is how you get paid. If you bill by project or retainer, it shows whether the price was right. Pair it with our hourly rate calculator to compare your real effective rate with your minimum.
Published pricing (US, checked 2026-10-06)
| Tool | Free plan | Paid plans (per user per month) | What the pages say paid adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toggl Track | Free, limited number of users; time tracking on web, desktop and mobile | Starter $9, Premium $16 | Starter: billable rates, reports. Premium: profitability reports, fixed-fee projects, approvals |
| Clockify | Free for up to 5 users; unlimited tracking | Basic $4.99, Standard $6.99, Pro $9.99 (monthly billing; $3.99, $5.49, $7.99 billed annually) | Standard adds invoicing and recurring invoices. Pro adds expenses, budgets and estimates, labor cost and profit |
| Harvest | Free: 1 seat, 2 projects, unlimited clients; includes time tracking, invoicing and expense tracking | Teams $9 per seat monthly | Teams adds unlimited seats, team reporting, and accounting and payment integrations (such as QuickBooks and Stripe) |
What this means for a solo freelancer
- Just need a timer: Toggl's and Clockify's free plans list time tracking, and Clockify's free plan lists unlimited tracking. Check the free-plan limits before relying on them.
- Want invoicing from tracked time: Harvest's free plan lists invoicing but only 2 projects, so a freelancer with more concurrent projects would hit that. Clockify lists invoicing starting at the Standard plan ($6.99 monthly).
- Want profitability reporting: Toggl lists it on Premium ($16), Clockify on Pro ($9.99 monthly).
- Already use accounting software: your invoicing tool may track time itself, so you may not need a separate one. See how FreshBooks and QuickBooks compare.
How to choose
| If you... | Lean toward |
|---|---|
| Have 1 to 2 active projects and want free | Harvest free (check the 2-project limit) |
| Have many projects and only need tracking | A free tier from Toggl or Clockify (verify limits) |
| Want to turn hours into invoices cheaply | Clockify Standard, per published pricing |
| Care most about profit per project | Toggl Premium or Clockify Pro |
What we could not verify
- Interface quality, speed, mobile app reliability and support are untested by us.
- Free-plan limits beyond the numbers above were not on the pages we read.
- Annual versus monthly prices differ; we show monthly where the page lists it.
Next step
Try a free plan for a month with real work, then compare your tracked hours against what you invoiced. If you discover you undercharge, revisit your rate with the rate guide.