We may earn money when you click on links to our partners. Advertiser Disclosure

Our time tracking software picks for 2024

By: RAECHEL CONOVER | Fact Checked By: JAMIE OSTROE | Updated: April 15, 2024

Managing employees means ensuring they actually work the time you pay them for, but tracking it manually is tedious and prone to error. Upgrading your time-tracking process with time-tracking software gives you a complete view of who is working where and when. It can even create schedules and project overtime expenses. To help you choose the right time-tracking solution for your company, we’ve narrowed it down to our top picks below. Take a look.


Our Top Picks

  1. ClickTime – Best for Mid-Sized to Enterprise Businesses
  2. Monitask – Best Time Tracking Software for Remote Teams
  3. Homebase – Best Free Time Tracking Software
  4. TimeTrakGo – Best Time Tracking Software for Small Businesses
  5. Toggl Track – Best Time Tracking Software for Freelancers
  6. ExakTime – Best Time Tracking Software for Construction
  7. Deputy – Best Time Tracking Software for Nonprofits

Time Tracking Software Reviews

We identified 51 popular time-tracking software vendors and narrowed them down to our top five picks based on features offered, pricing transparency, customer support, and brand reputation. The companies we reviewed are well-known in the industry and specialize in serving businesses of various sizes and industries. Check out our methodology section for details on how we made our selections.

clicktime logo

ClickTime – Best for Mid-Sized to Enterprise Businesses

ClickTime provides a suite of time management solutions catering to businesses of all sizes, encompassing time tracking, resource management, and beyond. Its plans are clear-cut and cost-effective, enabling effective time and resource management while facilitating planning, tracking, analysis, and optimization of work processes.

Pros
  • Affordable, transparent pricing
  • Highly customizable
  • Rich feature set for mid to enterprise-size businesses
Cons
  • Steep learning curve
  • Initial plan is very basic

Get Started Visit ClickTime’s website

ClickTime features

  • Clock-in methods: mobile app for time tracking from anywhere.
  • Editing and adding time: option to manually enter time.
  • Reporting: multiple types of customizable reports and visual summaries.
  • Scheduling tools: time off management included in higher level plans.
  • Integrations numerous integrations and open API.

What markets does ClickTime serve?

While ClickTime is designed for businesses of any size, it stands out as an ideal solution for mid-sized and enterprise businesses. The lower-level plan – up to 25 users, is very basic. The sweet spot is in its plans for companies of 200 employees or more, where many valuable features are included, like customizations, time off management, resources management, and advanced customer service.

Read our full ClickTime Review.

monitask logo

Monitask – Best Time Tracking Software for Remote Teams

Monitask offers a comprehensive time-tracking solution with computer and employee monitoring capabilities, enabling businesses to manage productivity and resource allocation effectively. Features such as screenshots and activity tracking help identify where paid time is spent and promote efficient task management, ensuring transparency and awareness among employees. Monitask’s robust functionality facilitates informed decision-making and fosters a culture of accountability within the organization.

Pros
  • Easy-to-use UI
  • Affordable and feature-rich
  • Increases productivity
Cons
  • Customer support is limited
  • Limited integrations in lower plans

Get Started Visit Monitask’s website

Monitask features

  • Multiple clock-in methods: a mobile app for clocking in.
  • Editing and adding time: manual time entry available.
  • Reporting: multiple reporting and analytics are available.
  • Scheduling tools: break management, holiday hours, and scheduling tools.
  • Integrations one integration on the lower level, unlimited and API on higher plans.

What markets does Monitask serve?

Monitask is a good fit for businesses that manage many remote workers. It enables them to monitor employees even when they aren’t in the office to determine their work habits, productivity, and task and project delegation needs.

Read our full Monitask Review.

homebase logo

Homebase – Best Free Time Tracking Software

At Homebase, you get both time tracking and scheduling in all plan levels, even the free Basic plan. This best free time tracking software plan provides businesses with weekly scheduling, multiple ways to clock in, a place to manage and store time sheets, basic support, and employee management. Three paid plans get you progressively more levels of support, payroll integration, reporting, and more. These plans are billed per location and allow unlimited employees, unlike others on our list that bill per employee.

Pros
  • Robust free plan for small businesses
  • Unlimited employees on paid plans
  • Time tracking and scheduling included in all plans
Cons
  • Limited customer service on the free plan
  • Reporting in the highest-priced plan only

Get Started Visit Homebase’s website

Homebase features

  • Clock-in methods: clock in using tablets, computers, and point-of-sale (POS) devices.
  • Editing and adding time: assign managers and permissions to adjust and manage time tracking.
  • Scheduling tools: scheduling is included with all plans.
  • Integrations payroll integrations are included in the paid plans.

What markets does Homebase serve?

Homebase serves various industries and companies of all sizes, but it is the best deal for small businesses. Businesses with only one location and less than 20 employees can use the free plan, which includes everything you need to manage hourly work in an organized and streamlined way.

Read our full Homebase Review.

timetrakgo logo

TimeTrakGo – Best Time Tracking Software for Small Businesses

TimeTrakGo is a super simple online time clock and scheduling software. The online time tracker offers easy-to-understand features that allow scheduling and time tracking to work together to help small businesses save money in overtime costs. Unlike other comparable services we reviewed, time tracking is the main focus for TimeTrackGo. With a very user-friendly interface and visual puzzle-piece timecards, you can quickly pinpoint missed or late shifts, edit them as needed, and project overtime hours before they occur.

Pros
  • Dedicated time clock software
  • The “Projected Hours” feature saves money
  • User-friendly interface
Cons
  • No invoicing or billing features
  • Limited integrations
Start Free Trial

TimeTrakGo features

  • Clock-in methods: set up a mobile time clock kiosk, use a pin keypad, facial recognition, or use the mobile app.
  • Editing time: easy to edit and manually add time if employees mess up.
  • Reporting: “Projected Hours” feature blends clocked hours with future schedules to alert you to upcoming overtime hours, giving you time to adjust and avoid overtime.
  • Scheduling tools: yes, scheduling is included with TimeTrackGo.

What markets does TimeTrakGo serve?

Due to its simplicity and the fact that TimeTrakGo only provides time tracking and scheduling, it is more geared towards small businesses and freelancers that don’t need to schedule on a large scale or keep track of multiple location schedules.

Read our full TimeTrakGo Review.

toggl track logo

Toggl Track – Best Time Tracking Software for Freelancers

Toggl Track is an excellent tool for small businesses and freelancers. As one of the best free time tracking software for freelancers, Toggl Track has a lot to offer on its free plan, including unlimited time tracking, projects, clients, and tags, as well as extensive exportable reporting. Multiple ways to track time and three paid levels offer progressively more features, such as improved customer service, higher integrations, and higher reporting levels.

Pros
  • Unlimited time, projects, and clients
  • Robust free version
  • Over 100 integrations
Cons
  • Free version is limited to teams of five or less
  • No scheduling feature

Toggl Track features

  • Clock-in methods: web, app, desktop, or mobile stopwatch.
  • Editing and adding time: even the most basic level works as a stopwatch that can easily be adjusted.
  • Reporting: reporting delivers time insights into project times, billable hours, team members’ productivity, and more.
  • Integrations over 100 integrations.

What markets does Toggl Track serve?

Toggl Track is designed to help freelancers, small businesses, and large enterprise teams keep track of various projects, billable hours, and clients. We especially like it for freelancers, solopreneurs, and small but mighty teams with less than five members. The robust, best free time tracking app for freelancers saves you money and provides more than enough tools to accurately manage your projects, bill your clients, and plan for your future projects and time.

exaktime logo

ExakTime – Best Time Tracking Software for Construction

Say goodbye to paper timecards that are messy and illegible. ExakTime connects your office with its field workers, cleans up your time-tracking process, provides multiple options to clock employees in and out, and lets you track labor efficiently and accurately daily. With Geofencing and Photo ID Capture, you will always know that your workers are on location and clocking in and out accurately.

Pros
  • Geofencing
  • Photo ID Capture
  • Over 100 payroll integrations
Cons
  • Monthly base fee makes it pricey
  • Limited knowledge base

ExakTime features

  • Clock-in methods: use a mobile app, onsite timeclock, or let crew leaders clock workers in and out.
  • Editing and adding time: give managers permission to edit employee timecards.
  • Reporting: calculates the prevailing wage for compliance with certain jobs.
  • Scheduling tools: scheduling is available in higher-paid plans.
  • Integrations syncs with over 100 payroll software services.

What markets does ExakTime serve?

ExakTime is explicitly designed with construction companies, contract workers, and field workers in mind. With Geofencing and Photo ID Capture, you can rest easy knowing your time tracking is accurate. The time tracking software for employees also tracks meals and breaks and requires employees to sign off on overtime to ensure it is correct.

deputy logo

Deputy – Best Time Tracking Software for Nonprofits

Deputy offers several plan options – you can choose to use the Scheduling only plan, Time and Attendance only plan, or combine the two in the Premium plan. There is also an Enterprise plan for companies needing custom configurations. For this review, we focused on the Time and Attendance plan, which provides unlimited timesheets, PTO and leave management, payroll integration, and more to streamline your time-tracking process and keep it easy for employees and managers. Deputy offers special pricing with the same great features for nonprofit organizations.

Pros
  • PTO and leave management
  • Special pricing for nonprofits
  • Tools for compliance with labor laws
Cons
  • Only 60-day chat support
  • Reporting available in higher-paid plans only

Deputy features

  • Clock-in methods: clock in from any device and set up an iPad as a time clock kiosk with location capture.
  • Editing and adding time: yes, managers can adjust timesheets if needed.
  • Reporting: the timesheet feature calculates employee wages to comply with contract and labor laws.
  • Scheduling tools: scheduling is available a la carte or in the higher premium plan.
  • Integrations single click payroll integration.

What markets does Deputy serve?

Deputy is the best time tracking software for nonprofits because it offers special pricing for charitable organizations, not-for-profits, and community programs. With features to keep organizations compliant with labor laws, employee contracts, and federal contracts, Deputy is great for industries like healthcare, retail, and hospitality as well – many of which are often nonprofits.

Read our full Deputy Review.

Compare the best time tracking software side-by-side

Software Name Why we picked It Starting price for cheapest plan Highlights
ClickTime Best for Mid-Sized to Enterprise Businesses $12 per user per month Highly customizable with rich feature set
Monitask Best for Remote Teams $4.99 per employee per month Affordable and feature-rich
Homebase Best Free Time Tracking Software Free Free plan for one location and up to 20 users
TimeTrakGo Best for Small Businesses $2.40 per month per user “Projected Hours” feature integrates time tracking with scheduling to help plan overtime expenses
Toggl Track Best for Freelancers Free Unlimited time tracking for projects and clients
ExakTime Best for Construction $50 monthly fee + $8 per employee per month Geofencing and Photo ID Capture allow accurate time tracking on job sites
Deputy Best for Nonprofits $3.50 per employee per month Features to ensure compliance with labor laws and special pricing for nonprofits

What is time tracking software?

Time tracking software is a tool employers and employees use to track and manage the time they spend on jobs, specific tasks, and projects. Businesses of all sizes, from freelancers and entrepreneurs to small and mid-size companies, to large enterprise businesses, use and benefit from time-tracking software.

Time tracking software often includes tools like geofencing, time clocks, and multiple ways for employees to clock in on the job. Scheduling capabilities, invoicing, billing, and reporting features are also usually included, allowing you to see how you and your employees use your time.

How does time tracking software work?

First and foremost time tracking software tracks time. It provides a place and means for employees to clock into their shift or monitor time spent on a project or task for billing purposes.

Other notable features to look for in time tracking software include

  • Multiple ways for employees to clock in
  • The ability to edit or adjust clocked hours
  • Reporting on calculated time and work usage
  • Additional tools like scheduling and geofencing
  • Integrations with third-party software like payroll and scheduling

Why should I use time-tracking software?

Small businesses, freelancers, and entrepreneurs use time tracking software to juggle multiple clients and projects. They use reporting to translate their hours worked into billing and invoicing. They can also see and adjust how they use their time to be more productive. Software like Toggl Track and TimeTrakGo work well for small businesses and freelancers.

Large businesses with multiple locations should consider ExakTime and Deputy. Services like these work well for companies with multiple locations and many employee shifts. Tools like geofencing ensure employees are on-site and working their scheduled hours. They can also use this software to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), track meal and break times, and schedule employees while remaining within contractual hours.

What are the benefits of using time tracking software?

There are many benefits to using a simple time tracker. Beyond simply tracking time, the best time tracking software can:

  1. Positively impact productivity. You can troubleshoot and help your team work more efficiently by highlighting time-consuming tasks.
  2. Prevent scheduling and compliance errors. Time tracking software for in-office and remote employees allows you to see when they are and aren’t taking breaks and arrange your schedule to comply with labor laws.
  3. Decrease time theft. Using tools like geofencing and photo ID, you can track employee time in real time and location.
  4. Streamline scheduling, billing, invoicing, and payroll. Utilize reports to analyze your time in different ways by task, client, project, location, and even employee to make all your processes work better.
  5. Provide data for key decisions. Provide data-driven solutions that help key decision makers project schedules, wages, and scope.

How much does time tracking software cost?

Our time-tracking software comparison revealed that most services are pretty open about pricing. Paying annually is cheaper than monthly payments at Homebase, Toggle Track, and TimeTrakGo. Some, like ExakTime, charge a base fee, and all except Homebase charge a per-user/employee per-month fee. This fee ranges between $2 and $9 per user per month. Homebase charges differently and charges by location instead of by the user. Both Toggl Track and Homebase offer basic free plans.

TimeTrakGo ExakTime Deputy
Starting at $2.40 per user per month Starting at $8 per user per month Starting at $3.50 per user per month
Base Fee: $0 Base Fee: $50 Base Fee:$0

Time tracking software FAQ

Is time tracking effective?

Yes, there are many helpful time tracking solutions on the market today. The best employee time tracking software will align with your company’s needs. For example, if you need a time tracking software with scheduling included, Homebase and TimeTrakGo both have scheduling tools. Another consideration is you will need software that integrates with your current systems. Toggl Track and ExakTime both integrate with over 100 popular business programs.

What is the best way to keep track of hours worked?

The best way to keep track of hours worked is by using an employee time tracking tool like the ones on our list. To find the best one for you, make a list of what you absolutely need that software to do for you and then find one that checks each box.

How we chose the best time tracking software

We curated a list of 50 companies on the market for this time tracking software comparison. We narrowed down the list to 18 with significant online search volume to narrow our focus. From there, we chose five vendors that stood out for the features they offered, markets they serve, brand reputation, and more.

We collect information from vendors and verify it through:

  • Interviews
  • Video and live demos
  • Vendor and parent company websites

We scored companies on a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent) across the following criteria, each worth 25% of our total score:

  • Variety of features: We looked for vendors that offered multiple clock-in methods, the ability to manually edit or adjust time entries, reporting, if scheduling tools were included, and integrations with popular business payroll software. A company scores higher when they offer all these features, as it means a more streamlined time tracking experience and better use of time and wages.
  • Pricing transparency: We not only compare actual pricing and plans for each vendor but judge companies on whether or not this information is readily available online – or if you have to jump through a bunch of hoops to get it. Companies with transparent pricing and free trials get a better score.
  • Onboarding and support: We look for companies that offer multiple types of ongoing customer support and whether one-on-one onboarding is included or only available as an add-on service.
  • Brand reputation: We gathered data about customer reviews and ratings published on trustworthy third-party review sites to understand each vendor’s reputation with its customers.