Automation Guide

Our Top 10 Time Tracking Tools

Published , Updated 9 mn
Profile picture for Axel Lavergne

Axel Lavergne

Co founder and chief editor

Axel is one of Salesdorado's co-founders. He's also the founder of reviewflowz.com, a review management tool for B2B SaaS companies

A time tracking software is a tool that allows the teams of a company to follow the evolution of the realization of the tasks internally to measure the relative number of hours. The idea is to evaluate the time spent on each task in order to improve your productivity.

If this kind of service was mainly used by contractors or service companies, time tracking software is developing and is used by all structures looking to improve the performance of their agents.

The problem is that there are dozens of time tracking software offers on the market: to help you, we list the essential features as well as our top 10 of 2022.

What is time tracking software?

A time tracking software is a software that helps you manage your time. There are 2 types:

  • Time tracking tools only: the goal is to manage the hours, and to make statistics for the day, the week, the month and the year. In a simple way, you launch a stopwatch on the software at the beginning of a task to measure the completion time, which is then imported on the agent’s timesheet. You can also add hours retroactively, or schedule future hours.
  • More comprehensiveproject management tools: Time management is integrated with a set of more global and sometimes more qualitative data (distances traveled, items produced by category). These tools are particularly useful for construction or transportation companies, who want to track the movements of their employees in the field (geofencing). It works the same way, but the time data is added to dashboards or graphs to give project managers an overview of how time is used.

Pro tip

Make sure you choose the right type of software for your field of activity. If time management is not your only need, don’t hesitate to turn to project management tools.

After estimating total hours and generating statistics, these are verified by your internal project managers or system administrators. They are then entered into invoices, activity reports or payment services.

Pro tip

These tools are multifunctional and facilitate the work of project managers, but also of HR, production management and billing departments!

Key features of time tracking software

Each time tracking solution has its own characteristics that are suitable for structures of different sizes or in different fields. But there are some features that are essential for any good time tracking software.

  • Real-time tracking: All programs include a timer function, to be started at the beginning of a project or task. You can decide to start, stop or pause it.
  • Autonomous time management: You can adjust the data collected by the stopwatch according to your needs. If you forget to turn off the timer, correct the time record by removing the hours not worked. If you forget to start the timer, add a block of time afterwards to account for all the actual work.

Pro tip

For example, if your phone rings and you start a 20-minute call, you may not start a timer, but you can incorporate those hours worked later.

  • Reporting: Not all solutions offer the same level of reporting, but it is of course a key feature of these tools to measure your productivity. The dashboards and reports created give an overview of the time spent per day, week, month or year or per agent or customer.
  • Exporting data: Having an overview of hours worked is not enough. You need to be able to integrate them with other departments that need the time data, including billing software. With time tracking software, you can automatically create invoices from the timesheets, or export the data to PDF, csv or Google Sheets to share with the appropriate people.

Top 10 time tracking software

We present you our top 10 of 2022 best time tracking software.

#1 Toggl Track: The best free time tracking tool

Toggl Track offers some of the best free plans on the market. It is ideal for those who are looking for a user accountability tool above all else. With its inactivity detector features, automatic reminders and a dedicated timer, you’ll improve your performance and efficiency at work.

The plus is the email reminders for your agents who do not regularly track their hours, and the automatic verification of the hours entered in case of error.

In terms of rates:

  • Free: free up to 5 users. You get unlimited projects, exportable reports, stopwatch access and csv import.
  • Starter: $10/month/user. You have access to billing, upfront time estimates for upcoming projects and sub-tasking of your projects.
  • Premium: $20/month/user. Automatic reminders are sent to teams and Jira & Salesforce integrations are available.
  • Company: Pricing upon request. You benefit from a dedicated customer service and extensive customization options.
Discover Toggl Track
Toggl Track offers one of the best free plans on the market: take the opportunity to test the possibilities of the tool!

#2 Monday: Time tracking within a project management leader

Monday is part of our project management tools with essential time tracking features, with quality reporting to follow the evolution within the teams, and a very rich catalog of integrations (Google Calendar, Jira, Trello).

What’s more, you can take advantage of their entire ecosystem to integrate your time tracking into the overall management of your projects: collaboration, communication, task management, planning, etc.

In terms of rates:

  • Free: 2 users maximum, with basic time tracking features.
  • Basic: 8€/month/user and 14-day free trial. Get 5GB of storage and priority customer support.
  • Standard: 10€/month/user. You can generate Gantt charts and have access to the integration catalog.
  • Pro: 16€/month/user. The subdivision into tasks within projects allows you to follow the activity of your teams in more detail.
  • Enterprise: Pricing upon request. Access to premium customer service and advanced reporting features.
Discover Monday
You can test Monday for free for 14 days!

#3 Tracking Time: The visual first

In TrackingTime, time is represented as an event in your calendar: in the form of blocks. Thanks to the day/week/month or shift view, you can choose what is most suitable for your needs.

Its increased customization features and the quality of the visuals offered make it both a powerful time tracking and planning tool. And with Asana, Notion or Airtable integrations, you can integrate its functions into the overall management of your projects.

Tracking Time offers 2 plans:

  • Free: up to 3 users, it allows time and task management.
  • Pro: $5/month/user. You get a calendar view by day/week/month/year, time estimation features and Google Calendar integration.
Discover Tracking Time
Tracking Time is the most visual time tracking software!

#4 Harvest: Ideal for time and budget tracking

Very easy to use, with an intuitive interface, it is ideal for structuring teams that are not familiar with this type of tool. With its developed integration catalog, you can integrate it into your work ecosystem without difficulty.

Harvest offers extensive functionality: timesheets by user and team, billing, expense tracking, project budgeting, reporting, etc. And if you pair it with its twin, Harvest Forecast, you can compare your budget estimates and track the profitability of your projects.

Harvest offers 2 plans:

  • Free: for 1 user and 2 projects. All time management features, integrations, and customer support are available.
  • Pro: $12/month/user. You get the same features, but with an unlimited number of projects and users.
Discover Harvest
Take advantage of a 10% discount with an annual subscription to Harvest!

#5 Tick: The easy-to-adopt time tracking tool

Tick is a time tracking software by project, very intuitive and easy to use. It integrates perfectly with project management tools (as Trello, Asana or Basecamp) to facilitate the management of your projects’ deadlines and budgets.

Among the features we like the most are the definition of recurring projects with automatic duplication, the very advanced reporting (especially on the budget) and the automatic search function that saves time.

In terms of pricing, Tick offers plans based on the number of projects you want to manage:

  • 1 project: This plan is free, with Basecamp integration, advanced reporting features and unlimited users.
  • 10 projects: $19/month/user.
  • 30 projects: $49/month/user. You have access to the automatic planning function for recurring projects.
  • 60 projects: $79/month/user.
  • Unlimited: $149/month/user.
Discover Tick
Discover Tick, one of the most intuitive time tracking software!

#6 TimeTagger: Open source time tracking

TimeTagger is the only open source software in our top list. It is easy to learn and use. Thanks to the stopwatch that is quickly accessible on the interface, you can launch work sequences and trigger an alarm at the end of the allotted time.

The reporting functions are extensive and can be exported in PDF or Excel format for internal use. The other strong point is that it continues to work offline by automatically synchronizing your data.

In terms of rates:

  • Self hosted: This plan is free. It is open source and self hosted.
  • Basic plan: 3€/month. You can backup your data and have access to customer support.
  • Lifetime plan: 144€ in one go. Unlimited access to all features.
Discover TimeTagger
Discover TimeTagger, the only open source time tracking software!

#7 Time Doctor: The ideal for project managers

Time Doctor is a time tracking software particularly suitable for project managers who want a quick and clear overview of their employees’ work.

In addition to tracking tasks performed and time, it allows taking screenshots at random intervals to check user activity. The website monitoring tool allows you to generate activity reports on the time spent on a site or application.

Time Doctor offers a 14-day free trial. After that, you can choose between:

  • Basic: $7/month/user. You get access to time tracking, unlimited screenshots and activity tracking features.
  • Standard: $10/month/user. Plus unlock payroll tracking, daily email notifications, and access to over 60 integrations.
  • Premium: $20/month/user. You get 24-hour VIP customer support and customer login access.
Discover Time Doctor
Take advantage of the free trial offered by Time Doctor. Take advantage of 2 months of free annual subscription!

#8 Clockify: The best value for money

Clockify is a time tracking software with a very generous free version and paid plans at reasonable prices. The interface is easy to use, the navigation is intuitive for everyday users.

The highlight is the advanced reporting features, with filters to get a quick overview of statistics by user/team/customer/day.

In terms of rates:

  • Free: You get the basic time tracking features for an unlimited number of users and projects.
  • Basic: $5/month/user. Access project templates and time audits.
  • Standard: $7/month/user. Billing features and Quickbooks integration are available from this plan.
  • Pro: $10/month/user. Benefit from the GPS tracker, random screenshots and budget estimation features.
  • Enterprise: $15/month/user. Everything included in the previous plans, with SSO as a bonus.
Discover Clockify
Take advantage of Clockify’s free plan to get an idea of the tool’s capabilities!

#9 RescueTime: Focus is everything

RescueTime is a time tracking software dedicated to the autonomous analysis of users about their performance. It works with an installable tracking application that runs in the background to track your desktop activity.

The wizard is accessible from the menu, taskbar and helps you manage your work progress and goals. The real plus is that you can also launch the “focus” tool that blocks access to pre-configured websites to focus on your work for the specified time.

In terms of rates:

  • Lite: This plan is free, with reporting features (3 months of history), weekly email summaries and goal setting and tracking.
  • Premium: $9/month/user. You get notifications when a goal is reached, website blocking to limit distractions and advanced reporting.
Discover RescueTime
Take advantage of the free plan offered by RescueTime!

#10 Gryzzly: Time tracking made in France

The last of our top is the only software made in France. Thanks to its integration with Slack, it allows you to simplify the declaration of your working hours. Users enter their hours directly via the collaborative messaging.

The Slack chatbot allows you to automate the process afterwards to save time, and sends reminder notifications if you forget. It is an ideal software for any type of structure that is looking for a simple and efficient solution.

In terms of rates:

  • Free: for 5 users. You have access to the project assignment functions and the tagging system.
  • Time: 9,99€/month/user. The same features as the previous plan, but for an unlimited number of users.
  • Budget: 15,99€/month/user. Access billing, hourly cost tracking and expense management.
  • Company: Price on demand. You benefit from onboarding and premium customer support.
Discover Gryzzly
Take advantage of Gryzzly’s free plan!

About the author

Profile picture for Axel Lavergne

Axel is one of Salesdorado's co-founders. He's also the founder of reviewflowz.com, a review management tool for B2B SaaS companies