Best Free Time Tracking Apps

Due to stiff competition in the market, many brands strive to offer the best customer experience to maintain and gain more buyers. Time plays a critical role in the overall success of a business setup. The efficiency of a company can be quantified by its turnaround time. Customers will tend to go back and even make referrals of a brand that, on top of its high-quality products, also takes into account the urgency of availability for its goods and services to the customers.

The preceding has set precedence for free time tracking apps or software. A time tracking app is a computer application that shows a record of time spent on each task. The App provides a view of which times of day one is most focused, energetic, and motivated through a working hours time tracking mechanism. Therefore, one can easily plan or allocate tasks following these patterns using an employee time tracking App.

There are several free time tracking apps and premium ones available in the market. Time tracking harvest and Toggl time tracking are examples of apps that offer free and premium plans. By revealing how time is spent, these apps can help you flag where there is time wastage. On many occasions, time wastage results in delayed work output and loss in terms of resources committed for a task.

Not to mention the damaged relationship that may arise between the business and its customers due to occasional delays may soil the reputation of the brand in the long run. Therefore, it is essential to have time tracker software to guard your business against such incidences. However, when it comes to deciding which to choose, there are several factors to consider. Things like functionality, customization, and price are essential to look out for.

You can have a time tracker free of charge, but it fails to address your needs. Since each tool has its set of features that renders it different from the rest, choosing a suitable tool may be challenging. Continue reading below to find out the best free tracking software’s ready simplified for you.

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The 10 Best Free Time Tracking Apps

There are many free time tracking apps available online. Choosing a suitable one can be a daunting task. However, below are the best that are currently available. Continue reading to find out which best suits your needs.

1) Clockify

Clockify is a free and premium time tracking tool for companies and freelancers with time tracking, reporting, project management, and team management capabilities of users without necessarily having to upgrade.

However, besides the features allowed on the free plan, one can take a one-week free trial that offers all the premium features, and it does not require credit card details to access. Pricing for all plans except for the enterprise plan does not take into account the number of users.

It is only on the enterprise plan that you can pay per user. The free plan includes unlimited core functions while the purchased plans allow additional operations such as target setting, reminders, branded reports, etc.

Features:

  • Available in 4 plans i.e., free, plus, premium and enterprise.
  • Starts from $0 for the free plan, $9.99 per month flat rate for plus plan, $29.99 per month flat rate for a premium plan, and $9.99 per month per user on the enterprise plan.
  • Unlimited tracking, users, projects, and reports.
  • Supports email and chat.
  • API.
  • Compatible with Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Chrome, and Firefox extensions.
  • Allows more than 50 pre-built integrations with online software and several PM products such as Asana and Trello.
Pros

  • User-friendly interface
  • Visually appealing UI
  • Intuitive interface
Cons

  • No refunds
  • No idle detection which may result in inaccurate timesheets

2) Harvest

Harvest tracks how each team member spends his time and reports progress on projects. It makes it easier to gauge how well the business is performing. The App also makes it easy to receive online payments by turning billable time into invoices.

Harvest offers only two plans in which the first is free, and the other is payable. However, the free plan can only accommodate a single user, two projects, and perform critical functions, including emailing plus phone support, and an online service center.

Harvest can integrate with many online tools, including these that it does not support natively through Zapier, an online automating tool. Harvest time tracking App offers a 30-day free trial that comes with all its features and does not need a credit card when signing up.

Features:

  • Available in 2 plans i.e., free and pro.
  • Starts from $0 for the free plan and $12 for the Pro plan.
  • Time & expense tracking.
  • Great reporting.
  • Unlimited invoices and estimates.
  • Alerts on the project budget.
  • Timesheet approval.
  • Allows integrations with more than 100 online software and several pm products such as Asana and Trello.
  • Compatible with Mac, iOS, Android.
  • Bank-level security.
  • Phone and email support.
  • Online help center.
Pros

  • Tracks billable time
  • Clients can pay their invoices directly
  • Mobile App gives more convenience and control on the go
  • 30-day free trial
  • Simple and easy to use
  • Integrates with multiple tools
Cons

  • It is however not integrated to sales tax tools
  • Limited options for billing increments
  • Does not notify when the timer remains on
  • It does not support batch assigning of time to various team members

3) Toggl

Toggl offers a great time-tracking feature that includes reminders and the Pomodoro technique setting that allows one to perform a task for a set amount of time with breaks in between. Its chrome extension lets you set the exact time when the App should stop recording time, thereby eliminating the worry of maybe leaving the timer running throughout even when you are not at work. When it detects the computer has been idle for some time, it corrects the recorded time block.

Therefore, you don’t have to worry when conversing while working. Toggl offers free and paid plans. The free plan can, however, only accommodate a maximum of up to 5 users. Although collaboration with other team members is restricted, core functionality features include PDF and CSV export, CSV import, unlimited projects and clients, dashboard, few reports, basic team management features, integrations with various apps, and Chrome extension, etc. Toggl starter plan contains all features found in the free plan, in addition to project time estimates, billable rates, alerts for estimates, tasks, etc.

Besides all the features on the starter plan, the Toggl premium plan offers advanced features that include iCal feed, scheduled reports to email, project dashboard, Tracking labor costs and profitability, reminders, etc. To large or complex corporations, Toggl offers the enterprise plan tailored to meet the company’s demands. The price for the enterprise plan is not fixed and depends on requirements by an organization. It is important to note that all the premium plans are billed annually. If you wish to experience all features for free, there is a 30-day trial period available.

Features:

  • Available in 4 plans i.e., free, starter plan, premium plan, enterprise plan.
  • It starts from $0 for free/basic plan, $9 per user per month for the starter plan, $18 per user per month for a premium plan, and custom pricing for the enterprise plan.
  • Allows integrations with more than 100 online software and several PM products such as Asana and Basecamp.
  • Functions online and offline.
  • Unlimited clients and projects.
  • Bulk edit.
  • Time entries delete.
  • Idle detection.
  • Pomodoro timer.
  • Open-source.
  • Compatible with iOS, Android devices.
Pros

  • Offline mode
  • Aggregated reports
  • Easy to use the timer
  • Interactive, user-friendly interface
  • Generous free tier
Cons

  • Expensive
  • Lack of invoicing and other non-timing related features

4) Everhour

Everhour enables users to monitor expenses incurred on several projects and split billable and non-billable time for various teammates. Like many other time trackers software, Evehour offers free and premium services. The free plan can carry up to 5 members and contains all the below features except for integrations.

Apart from the company plan, which offers two options when it comes to billing either monthly or annually, the rest of the plans are payable annually. The trial period does not require a credit card when signing up.

Features:

  • Available in 3 plans i.e., free, personal/solo plan, and company plan.
  • Starts at $0 for the free plan, $96 per year for the solo plan, $5 per user per month annually ($60 yearly per user), or $7 per user on a month-by-month basis for the company plan.
  • Time tracking.
  • Resource planning.
  • Budgeting.
  • Task management.
  • Reporting.
  • Invoicing.
  • Compatible with iOS, Android devices.
  • Integrates with several third-party apps such as Trello, Asana, QuickBooks, etc.
Pros

  • 14-day trial period
  • Easy to use interface
  • It has a chrome extension
  • Compatible with several apps
  • Freelancers can use solo plan
Cons

  • Not able to work while offline
  • The timer cannot start without listing the project in the system.

5) Timecamp

Timecamp offers a centralized platform to monitor projects’ progress and costs effectively. There are also multiple integrations, detailed reports, manual timesheets, and many more features that help track projects. Besides time tracking, the App manages billable hours, attendance, and invoices by analyzing productivity, getting timesheet approvals, and reviewing time spent on documents.

Professional invoice layouts enable users to process invoices online fast. Timecamp comes with free and premium plans. The free plan is only available for a single user and features functions like unlimited projects and tasks, productivity reports, mobile and desktop support, basic time tracking, etc.

The basic plan has all the features found in the free plan, and billable time & budgeting, integrations, and reports export are also included. On the other hand, the pro plan offers invoicing and timesheet approvals besides having all features found in the basic plan.

Timecamp offers the enterprise plan to large organizations, which is tailored to meet the company’s needs. The price for the enterprise plan is not fixed and depends on requirements by a business. It is important to note that all the premium plans are billed annually or monthly at different rates. If you wish to experience all features for free, there is a 14-day trial period available.

Features:

  • Available in 4 plans i.e., Free/solo, Basic, Pro, and enterprise.
  • Start with $0 for the solo plan, $63 per user annually or $7 per user per month for the basic plan, $90 per user annually or $10 per user per month for the pro plan, and custom pricing for the enterprise plan.
  • Reporting.
  • Unlimited tasks and projects.
  • Compatible with Android and iOS, Mac, Windows.
  • Time tracking.
Pros

  • Enables business estimate costs
  • Compatible with several apps
  • Great time tracking options
Cons

  • Manual start and stop
  • Other functions besides basic time tracking require a bit of tuition
  • Challenging to use mobile App.

6) TMetric

TMetric is cloud-based and comes with an array of deployment options under time tracking such as employee database, overtime calculation, billable and non-billable hours, offline time tracking, automatic time capture, mobile time tracking, multiple billing rates, and many more. The software shows a timeline that enables the users to add breaks and assign tasks or projects to teams, monitor costs, and invoice customers.

However, one cannot send the generated invoice directly from the App to the customer. You can only mark it as posted, then export it and send it through other means. The App offers a free version that can support a team of 5 members and performs core functionality such as to track time, Generate reports, integrations, and unlimited projects plus customers.

The professional plan has billable rates and cost tracking, invoicing, employee activity levels, budgeting for projects, and task management. To sum it all up, the business plan has all the features found in professional plan plus several other advanced features that include apps and sites usage reports, time-sync with Jira, QuickBooks, GitLab and Redmine, employee payrolls, screenshots capturing, paid time off tracking, time tracking permissions and client logins for access to reports.

The plans can either be paid off annually, which comes at a discounted rate or just monthly. All plans include a 30-day trial, which does not require one to disclose their credit card details.

Features:

  • Available in 3 plans i.e., Free, professional, and business.
  • Starts at $0 for the free plan, $48 per annum (i.e., $4 each month) or $5 per month for the professional plan and $72 per annum per user (i.e., $6 each month per user) or $7 per month per user for a business plan.
  • Unlimited projects and clients.
  • Reporting.
  • More than 50 web app integrations.
  • Time tracking.
Pros

  • Compatible with many apps
  • Easy to use
  • Generous free tier
Cons

  • Limited functionality on the free plan

7) RescueTime

RescueTime monitors time spent on various websites, apps, and documents, thereby enabling the user to view their time patterns through the dashboard or by generating a report to the effect. Therefore, one can set goals based on priority, and alarms to notify when one activity has taken more time than initially allotted. A detailed report is a summary of all activities, including productivity scores generated via email every week.

RescueTime offers a free version known as a Lite plan and a paid version or premium plan. Although the Lite plan is limited to weekly email reports, website and software usage tracking, three-month data history, and goal setting. RescueTime Premium, on the other hand, provides richer reports, distraction blocking, alerts, unlimited historical data, and offline tracking.

Features:

  • Available in 2 plans i.e., Lite and premium.
  • Starts at $0 for the Lite plan, $9 per user per month, or $72 per user per annum to get the Premium plan.
  • Set goals.
  • Up to 3 months’ report history.
  • Compatible with several applications.
  • Scheduled weekly email reports.
  • Time tracking on websites and applications.
Pros

  • Allows one to work without distraction
  • Great reports
  • Tracks time in apps and on sites
  • 14-day free trial
Cons

  • The premium plan is expensive.

8) TrackingTime

TrackingTime is a freemium time tracking tool suitable for freelancers and teams. It offers simple task management functions with a real-time tracker that screens working hours while enabling users to organize projects, tasks, and customers.

Supervisors can view the latest work in progress by every team member, including their notifications and comments. There is no need to create timesheets since the software can suffice. There are three plans under the Tracking Time application.

The basic plan, which is free for teams of up to three individuals, includes 3 active projects, 100 tasks, basic reporting, mobile and desktop applications, and standard integrations like Basecamp or Asana. The Pro plan has slightly advanced features such as unlimited users, projects and tasks, advanced reporting, and time management options.

To crown, it all is the Business plan with more advanced features on top of all that are on Pro plan. Such is as team management, high-level security, access control, and technical support. All plans are inclusive of a 14-day trial period with no card required.

Features:

  • Available in 3 plans i.e., Basic, Pro, and Business.
  • Starts at $0 for the basic plan, $4.99 per user per month, or $4.16 each month per user billed annually to get the Pro plan, $9.99 per user per month, or $8.25 each month per user billed annually to receive the Business plan.
  • Timesheet management.
  • Overtime calculation.
  • Billable and non-billable hours.
  • Mobile time tracking.
  • Multiple billing rates.
  • Integrates with Android, iPhone, and iPad, Windows, Mac.
Pros

  • Simple and straightforward to use
  • A free trial period for all plans
  • Works with several applications
Cons

  • Limited features for the basic plan
  • Slightly expensive

9) TopTracker

TopTracker is a free time tracking apps that is ideal for freelancers. Besides the core functionality of tracking time, the platform enables freelancers to invoice their employers and receive payments, with compensation based on the time they tracked through the App.

This solution is, however, free to freelancers who request payment through bank transfer. The application also supports payments made through credit cards and various other channels. TopTracker can accommodate an unlimited number of users and projects.

Features:

  • Available for free.
  • Integrates with Windows.
  • Detailed productivity reports.
  • Screenshots and webcam shots.
  • Time tracking.
  • Team activity monitoring.
  • Track project costs.
  • Create timesheets and activity logs.
Pros

  • Interval time reminders
  • Gives an option to either take screen or camera shots
  • Enhanced security by including permissions levels for collaborators
  • Free
  • Privacy
Cons

  • Can only support hourly rates

10) Hubstaff

Hubstaff is a freemium remote team time tracking application that offers activity scheduling and monitoring, employee time tracking and payroll, client invoices, etc. The GPS tracking allows for businesses with fleet resources or operating with various teams across different locations to function smoothly.

It also provides a report on employee time and attendance, giving insight into pending tasks. The software integrates with PM apps like Asana, Trello, and various payment, accounts, and invoicing apps. plus, job management tools, CRM and service desk, etc.

The free plan is limited to a single user with time tracking and activity monitoring tools. The Basic plan comes with more features, screenshots, payments, customization, and 24/7 support. The premium plan has more advanced features compared to the Basic and Free plans.

The two paid plans come with a 14-day trial period and are either billed monthly or annually. However, it is essential to note that the annual subscription comes with a two-month free period.

Features:

  • Available in 3 plans i.e., free, Basic, and Premium.
  • Starts at $0 for the free plan, $7 per user per month, or $5.83 per user each month billed annually to get the basic plan, $10 per user per month, or $8.33 per user each month billed per annum for the premium plan.
  • GPS tracking.
  • Time tracking.
  • Employee monitoring.
  • Timesheet approvals.
  • Offline tracking.
  • Task management.
  • Integrates with more than 30 applications.
  • Invoicing.
Pros

  • 24/7 support available
  • Downloadable mobile and desktop applications and a chrome browser guarantees accessibility
  • Can work offline and sync later
  • Tracks time across different devices
Cons

  • Expensive
  • Compatible with fewer applications

Benefits of Free Time Tracking Apps

1) It Relays Progress

Besides merely collecting time data, a detailed report showing how far a project has been accomplished provides great insights when calculating overall costs and sharing status reports with the managers or clients.

2) Focuses Priority on Productivity

By automating tasks schedule, an employee can concentrate on productive assignments. Unlike the traditional clocks or timers that may interfere with the flow of work, making staff get physically involved in time tracking, time tracking App works seamlessly according to each team member’s job schedule.

3) Provides Accurate Bills

You don’t need to note down what you do while at work. A time tracker captures all the tasks and develops a correct record entailing all your billable time and enters it into your timesheet.

4) Offers Evaluation on Project Estimates

Time tracking software enables one review of costs across various projects. This information makes it easy to understand any extra cost that may have ballooned the budget.

5) Enables Better Project Management

A time tracker reveals the hours put into each phase of a project. It helps improve predictions and calculate costs as the project progresses. It also gives insights on how to better manage a similar project in the future.

6) Provides Better Insights When Estimating Work Rates

Time tracking software enables one to cumulate data on time and costs over several comparable projects. Therefore, it is possible to establish good profit margins, especially when determining rates for a long term job or when considering discounts for the right customer.

7) Know Your Team Capacity

It is vital to know your staff and the workload they can deliver promptly. free Time tracking apps is useful in this regard, especially when seeking to schedule and distribute team effort across.

8) Captures Invisible Tasks

Many hours can be lost while trying to respond to clients’ calls, emails, or attending project meetings. More often than not, these tasks are not recorded and may cause project delays, resulting in losses. However, a time tracker, when integrated with all the tools used to perform these tasks, can reveal how time is spent on each activity. Thus will make it possible to focus on priority tasks.

9) Helps Improve Efficiency

The time tracking apps show how one loses focus and reduces the pace of work. This data can help one tackle the inadequacies and boost their productivity. For some, just knowing that everything is being monitored and recorded is enough to lock their focus to work.

10) Increases Profits

Knowing where time is not utilized in an organization can easily show you where resources are wasted, which may translate to losses. A time tracker enables you to see expenditure and overall output on projects. The data helps you understand whether you are in it for profits.

Factors to Consider When Choosing A Free Time Tracking Apps

1) Customization

Since most free time tracking apps are centralized entirely on tracking time and time-related activities, some other software also allows you to factor additional sets of information for organizations and teams that may be more inclined on productivity far from time. Such is useful, especially when handling big projects that involve several components and units.

2) Available Plans and Cost

The functionality of software dictates its packages and fees more often than not. Depending on your requirement, consider the essential features that you want in an app.

Remember that pure playtime tracking apps are not as costly compared to time tracking software that can integrate with project management tools such as Asana or Trello. There are several good free time tracking apps that you can consider.

3) Extensions and Integration

Some time tracking software can give access to a broader ecosystem that offers extra tools such as CRM, HR, email marketing, management, etc. These additional features provide solutions when managing a team. Factors like payment, staffing, or invoicing can be centralized together with all the time tracking data.

4) Monitoring Staff

Many time tracking software can take screenshots and even track employees by location using GPS. If your primary goal is to ensure that team members are on duty, consider the time tracking Apps, centrally focused on employee monitoring such as Hubstaff.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Is there a free phone time tracking app?

Most time tracking apps like TMetric, Toggl, Harvest, and Everhour are compatible with both Android and iOS devices.

What is the best free time tracking software?

There are several free time tracking software available such as Toggl, Harvest, etc. To get the best one, go through its features, and consider its suitability to your needs.

Is harvest time tracking free?

Harvest time tracking is a freemium software. It offers free and paid plans. The free plan comes with the basic features and a limited number of users, unlike the premium that provides all advanced features.

Does Google have a time tracker?

Google chrome has Tsheets time tracking software that brings onboard several useful features such as timesheets and some essential time tracking tools.

How can I track my hours worked?

Knowing your worked hours has been made easier by using a time tracking application. There is numerous time tracking software available. Some offer their services free while others at a cost. Examples of commonly used time tracking apps that provide free plans include Toggl, Harvest, Everhour, and TMetric.

Bottom Line

There are numerous free time tracking apps available in the market. The most crucial factor to look out for when making your choice should be its functionality. Remember, it is essential to go for software that helps you manage time well across your tasks or schedules for maximum productivity and profit.

It is advisable always to research extensively and consult if need be so as to get the most suitable time tracking app for your needs.