Log hours by project or client for billing, payroll, and seeing where the time goes.
Time-tracking tools differ most in where the timer lives and what happens to the data afterward. Dedicated trackers emphasize fast capture, timesheets, reporting, and capacity, while project platforms connect time directly to tasks, budgets, or client work. For agencies, billable hours and project budgets may matter more than personal productivity. For internal teams, approvals and workload reporting can be the priority.
By SEM Solutions Editorial Team. Researched from vendor documentation, not hands-on testing. Ordered by Overall Score. Checked October 7, 2026. How we research
Built-in task timing
#1 of 7 in Time Tracking
ClickUp includes time tracking as part of its broader task and project workspace. Consider it when the goal is to avoid maintaining a separate tracking product and time data needs to remain closely tied to task execution. Teams can keep recorded time beside assignments while using the same system for Docs, dashboards, automations, and project views.
Billable project time
#4 of 7 in Time Tracking
Harvest ties timers and timesheets to project budgets, expenses, invoices, team capacity, and profitability reporting. Integrations with Asana, Jira, GitHub, Slack, QuickBooks Online, Xero, and Google Calendar let tracked time feed into a broader client-work workflow. Its focus is especially relevant when hours need to support both project oversight and billing.
For flexible time capture
#5 of 7 in Time Tracking
Toggl Track supports manual timers, timesheets, automated time tracking, calendar-based views, approvals, and reporting. Its integrations with tools such as Asana, Jira, GitHub, and Google Calendar help users record time without replacing their existing project system; capacity planning and profitability reporting extend the data beyond individual timesheets into team and project analysis.
For agency project delivery
#6 of 7 in Time Tracking
Teamwork combines project management with time tracking, so hours can be recorded against the same client tasks used to plan and deliver work. That makes tracked time part of project oversight instead of a separate record. For service teams, the connection between assignments, logged hours, and client projects can simplify monitoring how delivery effort is being used.
Embedded project tracking
#7 of 7 in Time Tracking
Everhour places time tracking inside supported work systems including Asana, Jira, ClickUp, Trello, monday.com, and Notion. Along with timers, it adds project budgets, reports, resource planning, expenses, and invoicing; the embedded approach reduces context switching for teams that already manage assignments elsewhere and want time records attached closely to that existing workflow.
Ranked by Overall Score: our Editor Rating and Market Signal, 50/50. Market Signal uses Ahrefs and Semrush data through September 2026, pulled October 6 to 12, 2026. How we score
Work management app combining tasks, Docs, Chat and whiteboards, with separately sold AI.
Best for: Marketing and cross-functional teams that want tasks, documents, chat and reporting in one workspace with many ways to view the same work.
Team time tracker with timesheets, auto tracking and kiosk.
Best for: Teams that want flexible time capture across desktop, mobile, browser and shared attendance workflows.
Enterprise work management platform for projects, requests and proofing.
Best for: Enterprise and cross-functional teams that need configurable workflows, request intake, proofing, resource planning, and portfolio reporting.
Time tracking and invoicing platform with project budgets, expenses, reports, and payments.
Best for: Consultancies and client-service teams that bill for time and need project-budget and invoicing workflows.
Cross-device time tracking with automated timelines, profitability reports, and capacity planning.
Best for: Professional-services teams that need easy time capture plus project profitability and capacity visibility.
Client-work management platform for projects, resources and time tracking.
Best for: Agencies and professional-services teams that need project delivery tied to billable time, resource planning, budgets, and client profitability.
Time tracking embedded inside project tools with budgeting, invoicing, expenses, and resource planning.
Best for: Project teams that want time tracking to appear directly inside the task-management tools they already use.
A timer records duration as work happens, while a timesheet organizes time entries for a day, week, project, or person. Many products support both, letting users run timers during tasks and later review or submit the resulting entries in a timesheet.
Integration matters when managers need to compare planned work with actual effort or when hours must be assigned to specific tasks, clients, or projects. Keeping those records connected reduces duplicate entry and gives project reports more useful context.
Agencies often need client and project separation, billable versus non-billable time, project budgets, approvals, and reporting that can support invoicing or profitability analysis. The exact mix depends on whether invoicing happens inside the tracker or in a separate accounting system.
Yes, ClickUp, Clockify, Wrike, Harvest, Toggl Track, Teamwork and Everhour all offer a free plan. Free tiers usually come with usage limits, so check whether they cover your volume before relying on them long-term.
Among the tools listed here whose main product is in this category and whose pricing we've verified, Clockify has the lowest listed starting price: $4.99 per seat/mo. Starting price isn't the whole picture, so check what's included at that tier before deciding.