Between switching tasks, juggling clients, and trying to remember exactly how long that “quick” email reply took, trying to keep an accurate record of your work hours as a consultant can be a serious pain.

Guesswork? That’s not a solid strategy. Especially when you need to track billable hours for your invoices. Instead, you need a robust time tracking app to do the legwork for you.

This guide lists 10 time tracking apps that might be a good fit for your consultancy. We’ll look at some essential features, pricing, and real-life reviews to help you select the right tracking and billing software for consultants.

What is the best time tracking app for consultants?

Here’s our pick of the best time tracker tools consultants can use to track time:

1. Toggl Track: Best for consultants requiring an easy-to-use and powerful time tracker for tracking time, billing accurately, and increasing profitability. 
2. Hubstaff: Best for employee monitoring and productivity management in remote teams that don’t mind surveillance features. 
3. Clockify: Best for consulting firms that need a timesheet app with invoicing features. 
4. Timecamp: Best for consulting agencies looking for a time and billing app with employee surveillance features. 
5. My Hours: Best for consulting firms that need an easy-to-use project time tracking app and billing tool. 
6. Timely: Best for consulting teams who require an AI-powered automatic time tracking tool
7. Time Analytics: Best for consulting teams that want to track time, productivity, and billable hours for multiple clients and projects. 
8. Harvest: Best for consulting teams that want a simple approach to tracking billable time, invoicing clients accurately, and receiving payments.
9. DeskTime: Best for consultants requiring an automatic time tracker that focuses on employee surveillance features.
10. Apploye: Best for consultancy agencies requiring an affordable time tracking and timesheet app to understand how employees spend work hours. 

1. Toggl Track

Price: Free plan available for up to five users.

Toggl Track is a GDPR-compliant time tracking software for consultants with time tracking, billing, and reporting features. These features include online and offline one-click timer, idle time detection, time audit, billable rates, and time rounding. 

If you’ve ever struggled to persuade your consultants to adopt a time tracking tool, you’ll love Toggl Track. With its intuitive interface and seamless tracking between desktop and mobile apps, you’ll quickly reach 100% adoption and start improving productivity across your entire organization.

✅ What we like	❓What’s missing
Toggl Track is a powerful time tracking tool and an equally powerful profitability tool. With Toggl Track, consultants can calculate billable hours, monitor labor costs, analyze project and employee profitability, and forecast future revenue.	Creepy surveillance features aren’t part of Toggl Track and never will be.

Here’s how one PR consultant describes our platform: “I work as an external consultant in different projects and it allows me to perfectly track the time I spend on each task. It’s simple and easy to use.”

Similarly, another user says, “The reporting makes it easy to see where I am with each client’s hours for the current month. And also easy to see the client’s total hours for the previous month, for invoicing.”

Top features

• Billable time tracking: Record every minute, bill clients accurately, and get paid what you worked for.
• Flexible billable rates: Set flexible billing rates for the entire workspace or at the project, team member, or task level.
• Summary, Detailed, and Weekly Reports: Choose the data you want to see and analyze time usage. 
• Multi-platform time tracking: Track work hours across web, mobile, and desktop apps online and offline. 
• Saved reports: Generate a live-updating permalink for particular reports and share this link with your clients so they can monitor your progress in real-time.
• Team member audits: Quickly see which team members forgot to log their time, logged too much, or too little. 

Tool integrations

Integrations include Toggl Plan, Google Calendar, Jira, and other 100+ popular apps. 

Pricing

Plan	Cost	Best for
Free	$0	Personal use
Starter	$9 per user per month	Teams with basic time tracking needs
Premium	$18 per user per month	Teams who need online and offline functionality for tracking time and profitability
Enterprise	Custom pricing	Enterprise teams

2. Hubstaff

Price: Free plan available.

Hubstaff is a time tracking, employee monitoring, and productivity management app for consultants. It empowers consultants to keep track of their work through accurate multi-platform time tracking and actionable productivity data. 

✅ What we like	❓What’s missing
Hubstaff simplifies payroll with features like timesheet approvals and payroll reports. While it doesn’t offer everything you need under one roof, it does offer powerful integrations with payroll solutions like PayPal, Wise, Gusto, and different types of project management software, too. It also has workforce management features, including time off management, attendance tracking, and payments.	Trust is missing from this platform. Instead, Hubstaff offers employee surveillance features that some find intrusive and counterproductive. It tracks app and URL activity, takes random screenshots, and registers activity levels.

For example, one SEO consultant describes, “I love that this software integrates seamlessly with Asana and allows me to track my time from anywhere. It’s been a great help to me as an SEO consultant, helping me be mindful of how I spend time on growing/maintaining my business.”

Surveillance is a concern, too, though. Here’s how one person describes this ‘feature’: “I feel some element of surveillance when the program takes screenshots of my screen. I need to work a certain number of hours, and sometimes, knowing that I can complete a project faster than planned, I have to simulate cursor activity. I don’t particularly appreciate being watched.”

Top features

• Multi-platform timer app: Consultants can track time on the go using multiple devices like laptops, mobile phones, and tablets. 
• Client invoicing: Create client invoices from your tracked time in minutes.
• Expense tracking: Upload receipts, organize expenses, and link them to projects for accurate invoicing. 
• Detailed timesheets: See total hours tracked, manual time entries, activity rates, and more to understand productivity and simplify payroll. 

Tool integrations

Integrations include Asana, Slack, and Quickbooks. 

Pricing

Plan	Cost	Best for
Free	$0	For individual use
Starter	$4.99 per user/month	Small teams who need a basic time-tracking solution
Grow	$7.50 per user/month	Teams who need more complex time-tracking and time-management features
Team	$10 per user/month	Teams with advanced time-tracking needs
Enterprise	Contact Hubstaff for prices, starting at $25 per user/month	Enterprise companies

3. Clockify

Price: Free plan available.

Clockify is a comprehensive timesheet and time tracking app that helps consultants track their work hours and productivity and simplify invoicing. 

✅ What we like	❓What’s missing
There’s a lot you can do with Clockify’s invoicing features. For example, you can create invoices directly from tracked time, include billable expenses, set custom currencies, and send them to your clients directly from Clockify. Pretty handy, eh?	Unfortunately, Clockify is another platform that prioritizes employee monitoring features over trust and autonomy. These encourage micromanagement and impact employee privacy and productivity.

As a bonus, this user describes how they enjoy the platform’s set-it-and-forget functionality. “I can track everything so well and create tags for specific types of work within a particular client project. It’s efficient and saves me so much time in the end. The timer is so handy, I don’t even have to remember when I started something.” You can also track time for on-site employees by using clock-in and clock-out kiosks. 

However, some also report issues with user-friendliness, as described here: “The interface can feel a bit confusing at first, especially for new users. The mobile app sometimes doesn’t sync right away, which can be frustrating when switching between devices. With a few tweaks it can be much better for user experience.”

Top features

• Billable and non-billable time tracking: Track time accurately in the office or on the go and make sure you get paid for every working minute. 
• GPS tracking and screenshots: Clocify tracks your team’s location and takes random screenshots when the timer is on. 
• Time reports: Analyze how your team spends work hours with summary, weekly, or detailed reports. 
• Time off management: Standard, Pro, and Enterprise plan users can track and manage time off for better scheduling and resource planning. 

Tool integrations

Integrations include Trello, Google Calendar, and Quickbooks. 

Pricing

Plan	Cost	Best for
Starter	$3.99 per user/month	Solo users with basic time-tracking needs
Grow	$5.49 per user/month	Small teams with more complex time-tracking needs
Team	$7.99 per user/month	Teams who need a robust project and time tracking tool
Enterprise	$11.99 per user/month	Teams with complex client projects that require advanced time-tracking features

4. TimeCamp

Price: Free plan available.

TimeCamp is a time tracking, attendance, and billing software that consultants can use to simplify their billing and invoicing process and track project and team profitability. Plus, it connects with other tools you’re probably already using, so it fits right into your workflow.

✅ What we like	❓What’s missing
TimeCamp offers many time tracking features for consultants in its free plan, like multi-platform tracking, 80+ tool integrations, and idle time tracking.	Yet again, TimeCamp is another tool that doesn’t believe in empowering employees with trust. Instead, the platform includes employee surveillance features like GPS location tracking, activity levels, and screenshots, so TimeCamp can feel like an intrusive app.

Despite this user describing the surveillance features as “micromanaging in a sense,” here’s how one small business consultant finds TimeCamp valuable in their work: “As a consultant, I work on multiple mandates simultaneously. I needed a tool to help me capture my time spent on various projects directly from iCalendar on my Macs. Using Keywords in my Calendar time entries, the time gets associated automatically to the proper project. Generating invoices at the end of the month for my various mandates becomes kids-play. And to top it all off it syncs those invoices with Quickbooks which saves me time.”

Top features

• Multi-platform time tracking: Track time through TimeCamp’s web, desktop, and mobile apps.
• Billable rates: Set specific billable rates for different projects or clients.
• Time rounding: Round up your time entries to the nearest specified increment for easier invoicing and payroll. 
• Data security: Secure your data with Single Sign-On Login and Two-Factor Authentication features.

Tool integrations

Integrations include Xero, Google Calendar, and ClickUp. 

Pricing

Plan	Cost	Best for
Free	$0	Individual users with minimal time tracking needs
Starter	$2.99 per user/month	Teams with more complex time-tracking needs
Premium	$4.99 per user/month	Large teams that need advanced time-tracking features
Ultimate	$7.99 per user/month	Multiple teams
Enterprise	$11.99 per user/month	Enterprise teams

5. My Hours

Price: Free plan available for up to five users.

MyHours prides itself on being an easy-to-use project time tracker app with powerful billing and reporting features. It lets you log the time you spend on different tasks and break it down by projects or clients, so you always know where your effort is going.

✅ What we like	❓What’s missing
My Hours provides a clear view of the time spent on billable projects with comprehensive reports. The Dashboard shows an overview of your billable hours and time tracked, and the detailed report provides an in-depth analysis of time billing data.	With only two pricing plans, some users find they don’t have enough features, while others have too many. For example, My Hours doesn’t have a time-rounding feature that simplifies invoicing and payroll. It also doesn’t have custom reporting or timesheet approval features.

The Dashboard feature seems to be particularly valuable to small business consultancy founders like Michael O., who says, “We love the ability to manage project budgets directly against time spent on them so that the whole team is clear if we are running ahead or behind.”

But for some consultants, the breadth of features may be overkill, as one person describes, “As a solo consultant, I don’t need the additional features such as billing and breaking out by team member.”

Top features

• Customized billing: Add hourly rates by project, task, or team member, set monthly retainers, and create budgets for every project.
• Expense tracking: Set expense categories, add receipts, and generate expense reports.  
• Custom reports: Customize your reports to show the needed information, export them in PDF or XLS, and share them with clients. 
• Timesheets and invoicing: My Hours creates weekly timesheets automatically from your tracked hours. It also generates invoices directly from your time tracked. 

Tool integrations

Integrations include Zapier and PowerBI. 

Pricing

Plan	Cost	Best for
Free	$0	Solo users with basic time-tracking needs
Pro	$8 per month	Consulting firms with more complex time-tracking needs

6. Timely

Price: Starts at $9/month.

Timely is a private and secure AI-powered time tracker that helps consultancies track billable time and increase profitability. It’s a good shout if you prefer the idea of a timer running in the background so you don’t need to stop and start the clock.

✅ What we like	❓What’s missing
Timely automates time tracking by capturing everything you work on. Using AI, it then creates timesheets for you that you can approve in just one click.	You can’t create invoices in Timely. But can manage your invoices through Timely’s QuickBooks Online invoicing integration.

Here’s why one small business user finds Timely to be convenient, “Timely makes time tracking extremely easy and accurate. Since it’s tracking every activity you do during work and groups these activities with machine learning, I don’t need to manually start and stop timers to measure how long I worked on a particular project. It gives teams and clients more transparency when it comes to invoicing and project reviews. I also like the Planning feature, which helps me set the hours and project I want to work on the following days.”

Crucially, Timely is also on the same page as Toggl Track when it comes to anti-surveillance. The platform is committed to providing users with the privacy to capture their own “memories” and then do what they want with them, whether that’s downloading them, sharing them, or keeping them under locks.

Top features

• Automatic time tracking: Timely automatically captures every second of your work in the background. 
• AI timesheets: Timely uses artificial intelligence to draft your timesheets based on the time it tracked. 
• Billable rates: Set hourly rates for each project or team member and keep your invoices accurate. 
• Multiple currencies: Timely lets you add different currencies for your international projects.

Tool integrations

Integrations include Google Calendar, Microsoft Excel, and Quickbooks. 

Pricing

Plan	Cost	Best for
Starter	$9 per user/ month	Freelancers and small teams
Premium	$16 per user/ month	Midsize teams
Unlimited	$22 per user/ month	Midsize and large teams
Unlimited+	Contact for more pricing	Large teams

7. Time Analytics

Price: Starts at $4.99/month.

Time Analytics is a time tracking app that consultants can use to track and manage their time across multiple projects and clients and analyze their efficiency. Think of it as a no-fuss way to stay on top of your time and boost productivity.

✅ What we like	❓What’s missing
With Time Analytics, you can manually track time by task, project, or client by using a timer or clocking in time. You can also set hours as billable and add labor and billing rates for your consulting team.	You can’t track time via browser extension with Time Analytics which might lead to inaccurate time tracking data. Additionally, some users experience challenges with loading and exporting data.

This small business user gives an overview of how adding billing rates for consulting works, “It prepares data for the invoice, based on hard facts and time utilization so you could control all tasks and services suitable for billing and review which activities are billable/unbillable.”

Top features

• Auto-generated invoices: Time Analytics automatically generates invoices based on your tracked time data. 
• Daily and weekly timesheets: Keep track of employee work hours, manage workloads, and analyze productivity. 
• Revenue, cost, and profit reports: Get key data on revenue generated, costs incurred, and overall profit margins.
• Mobile app (Android and iOS): Track time and manage tasks on the go from Android and iOS platforms. 

Tool integrations

Integrations include Microsoft Excel and Google Chrome.

Pricing

Plan	Cost	Best for
Starter	$4.99 per user per month	Teams who want to track time and employee productivity
Optimum	$6.99 per user per month	Teams who want to streamline time tracking, increase profitability, and transparency

8. Harvest

Price: Free plan available.

Harvest is a consultant time and billing tool that tracks billable hours online and offline. But it’s not just about tracking — Harvest also lets you create invoices right from the time you’ve logged and even tracks expenses.

✅ What we like	❓What’s missing
Harvest lets consultants do many things without leaving the app: track time and expenses, create invoices, generate client reports, and collect payments. This end-to-end workflow simplifies and accelerates client billing and payment processing.	Harvest is a simple tool that doesn’t embrace some of the advanced functionality you’ll find in other tools. For example, you can’t create custom reports and dashboards in Harvest, which one user considers a downside, saying, “It would be nice if they offered more robust reports.”

Here’s how one Harvest user reviews the platform, “It works very well and is very intuitive. It facilitates time tracking for users who need to work on sending invoices to clients and track multiple projects, from multiple devices, complementing several applications.”

Top features

• Billable and non-billable time tracking: Track your paid and non-paid time and share billable reports with clients for transparency. 
• Expense tracking: Track project and task expenses, add receipts, and add them to client invoices. 
• Online payments: Harvest’s Stripe and PayPal integrations mean clients can pay you easier, faster, and safer. 
• Invoicing: Create invoices based on your tracked time in just a few clicks.
• Project and team reporting: Visualize project progress, track internal costs, and see how your team spends time with Harvest’s detailed reports. 

Tool integrations

Integrations include Stripe, Google Calendar, and PayPal. 

Pricing

Plan	Cost	Best
Free	$0	Solo users
Pro	$11 per user per month	Small teams
Premium	$14 per user per month	Teams with advanced reporting and administrative needs

9. DeskTime

Price: The Lite plan is free.

DeskTime is a multi-platform automatic time tracking app for consultants with employee monitoring features. DeskTime tracks URLs and app usage and takes random screenshots. So, if you’re managing a team, you’ll definitely gain insights into everyone’s workday to help with planning and balancing workloads. Or you may just think this functionality is too invasive — you decide!

✅ What we like	❓What’s missing
Solo consultants who aren’t being spied on by a team leader will likely love the level of insights that DeskTime delivers.	We’ll say it again. Tools equipped with employee monitoring features like URL tracking and screenshots aren’t bringing any positive functionality to the table. Instead, they’re artificially inserting toxicity into their company cultures — and that’s a loss in our book.

For example, this user describes, “The level of configuration that DeskTime allows is perfect for me. I can see how I use my time, how productive I am and the number of hours I dedicate to each thing. It helps me keep track of how I am doing and to set limits.”

However, the surveillance features are pretty…invasive. One employer describes, “We use it in our office to check the time on which every individual arrives, and the time they spent productively in the office.”

Another enjoys it for similar reasons, “As project lead, I can measure the productivity of my employees with its in-depth application usage details, such as which sites they have visited in browser and other applications.” Yikes — scary much?

Top features

• Automatic time tracking: DeskTime can automatically track your work hours in the background without manual input. 
• Offline time tracking: Track time when you’re not connected to the internet, and DeskTime syncs it once you’re online again. 
• Employee surveillance: DeskTime can track URLs and apps and take random screenshots as proof of work. 
• Multiple platform time tracking: With DeskTime, you can track time from your browser, iOS, and Android devices. 

Tool integrations

Integrations include Outlook Calendar, Google Calendar, and Asana. 

Pricing

Plan	Cost	Best for
Lite	$0	Solo users
Pro	$6.42 per user/month	Teams who need a basic time-tracking app
Premium	$9.17 per user/month	Teams with more complex time-tracking and project-scheduling needs
Enterprise	Custom	Enterprise teams with over 200 users

10. Apploye

Price: Starts at $2.50/month.

Apploye is an affordable time tracking and timesheet app that helps consultants improve their billing and productivity.

✅ What we like	❓What’s missing
Apploye has five types of timesheet views showing a real-time view of employees’ tracked time to help you understand their work habits. You can view daily, weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly timesheets or select a custom date range you want to check.	By now, you’ll know where we stand on tracking employee activity. And yep, Apploye is another tool that doesn’t empower companies with trust.

Although there are other tools with entirely free plans, Apploye still offers a reasonably affordable price which many consultants will be happy to pay for.

In fact, one user doesn’t even feel the need to sync the platform with other tools, as they explain here: “The most remarkable thing about Apploye is it has many features with a very minimum monthly subscription fee. Apart from time tracking, it also provides a Task Management feature that helps organizations monitor employees’ productivity. I don’t need to use any other project management tool like Trello or Asana when Apploye came with all the features in one single step.”

Consider the level of surveillance when choosing the best software for your needs, though. Here are some thoughts from Peter P., a small business founder, on why he doesn’t need the employee tracking feature: “There needs to be a level of trust between employer and employee, since no one (even the superstars) works at 100% focus during all working hours. Everyone needs a mini break to surf the web or do something not work related, so if a screenshot captures that, it caused friction.”

Top features

• Daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, and custom timesheets: Choose how you want to see each team member’s time data.
• Random screenshots: Apploye takes screenshots every ten minutes for proof of work. 
• Apps and URL usage: See the total time and percentages of the apps and URLs your team uses. 
• Invoicing: You can quickly generate client invoices based on your tracked work hours. 

Tool integrations

Integrations include Asana, Trello, and ClickUp.

Pricing

Plan	Cost	Best for
Standard	$2.50 per user/month	Consultants who need basic time tracking, invoicing, and budgeting features
Elite	$3.50 per user/month	Remote teams who need screenshot monitoring, URL tracking, and app usage tracking

A quick comparison of the best consultant time tracking apps

Tool	G2 Rating	Best for	Cheapest Paid Plan
Toggl Track	4.6	Accurate time tracking, powerful reporting, and profitability analysis	From $9/user/month
Hubstaff	4.5	Monitoring remote employees	From $4.99/user/month
Clockify	4.5	Simple and powerful invoicing	From $5.49/user/month
TimeCamp	4.7	Billing, invoicing, and profitability tracking	From $2.99/user/month
My Hours	4.6	Easy-to-use invoicing and reporting	From $8/user/month
Timely	4.8	Automatic and non-invasive time tracking	From $9/user/month
Time Analytics	4.9	Monitoring employee activity and productivity	From $4.99 per user/month
Harvest	4.3	Invoicing and payments	From $11/user/month
DeskTime	4.5	Automatic time tracking and employee monitoring	From $6.42/user/month
Apploye	4.5	Billing and employee productivity	From $2.50/user/month

How do I choose the best consultant time tracking software?

When choosing consultant time tracking software, you should look at your specific needs. Do you need just time tracking, or do you also need a project profitability tool? How about invoicing and payroll? 

Here are some general things to consider when choosing your time tracking software:

• Ease of use: Your consultant time tracking software should have a user-friendly interface. You should be able to easily log hours, view reports, and manage tasks. If it’s too complicated, it can waste more time than it saves. 
• Features: The best consultant time tracking apps accurately track time online, offline, and on multiple devices. Other relevant features include billable and non-billable hours tracking, productivity analysis, expense tracking, and detailed reporting. 
• GDPR compliance: Depending on your industry, you might need to ensure your employee time tracking methods comply with legal standards. 

Try Toggl Track for consultants

Time tracking for consultants is now a non-negotiable. The data speaks for itself: accurate time tracking drives better billing practices, optimizes project management, and ensures you’re not leaving money on the table. Whether you’re managing a packed client roster or chasing tight deadlines, the right tool can be the difference between chaos and control.

The must-haves? Billable time tracking, profitability reports, cross-platform access, and rock-solid data security. And while free plans can be a decent starting point, premium versions unlock the real power with advanced features designed to save you time and maximize profits.

Still wondering where to start? Toggl Track is one of the best time tracking tools for consultants. It’s simple yet robust, giving you all the insights you need to stay on top of your game. If you’re serious about scaling your consulting business and making every second count, Toggl Track is the obvious pick.

Tired of crummy time management leading to lost revenue and inaccurate invoicing? A time tracking app is the game-changer you need for these tasks.

There are loads of free time tracking apps for Android on the market, each helping you log work hours, manage a timesheet, and even uncover ways to boost your team’s productivity.

With so many options available, the difference between ‘good’ and ‘great’ often comes down to small details, such as a slick user interface or the provider’s stance on employee monitoring.

To make sense of it all, we’ve reviewed nine of the best free time tracking apps for Android, summarizing their key functionalities, pricing structures, and pros and cons.

Our promise to you? In about five minutes, whether you’re a freelancer, small business owner, or team manager, you’ll be ready to master time management from the palm of your hand!

Best time tracking apps for Android at a glance

Short on time? Here’s how the nine best time tracking Android apps stack up. 👇

• Toggl Track: Awesome for absolutely anyone who needs slick time tracking, invoicing, and data-based decision-making.
• Timely: Great for those on bigger budgets looking to streamline their productivity with AI-based insights.
• Hubstaff: Best for larger teams looking for workforce tracking, monitoring, and location services.
• Harvest: Clean and simple time tracking for small teams or freelancers.
• Clockify: Those looking for free time tracking on the move.
• RescueTime: Those looking for individual insights into their time management habits and daily screen time.
• TimeLog: Time tracking with a clean, mobile-only offering.
• TimeCamp: Those who need strong web-based features from a light mobile app.
• QuickBooks Workforce: Those already using QuickBooks who want integrated time tracking.

Why you need a time tracking app for Android

If you’re still on the fence as to whether you need an Android-based time tracking tool, here are just some of the benefits on offer:

• Automatic time tracking on the go helps you create accurate and professional client invoices
• Simple time logging helps team members align on work and stay in sync on big projects
• User-friendly mobile apps help teams clock in and clock out with ease, boosting employee engagement and team management
• Customizable insights into your time identify inefficiencies and boost productivity
• Detailed reports uncover ways to work smarter as an individual and as a team
• Timekeeping that syncs into other project management tools helps you accurately track project progress, important tasks, and deadlines

What makes a great time tracking tool?

Not all tracking features are born equal. To help you understand what matters, here’s our view on the critical features you should look for in an excellent time tracking app.

• Whether Android or iOS, all mobile apps need an intuitive, user-friendly interface to ensure it’s easy for everyone to log their time.
• Good time tracking apps should offer multiple ways to track your valuable time, whether it’s a simple time clock, Pomodoro timer, or manual time entry.
• Add flexibility to your time entries with an app that supports list and calendar views.
• You’ll rarely be tracking time against one customer account, so prioritize the ability to manage different clients, projects, and tasks.
• Look for reporting functionality that splits billable hours and non-billable hours to accurately charge for your work time.
• Android-based time trackers are often part of a more powerful web or desktop app. If so, look for real-time sync with a Chrome web app, Windows, Linux, or MAC-based platform.
• A good time tracking app should integrate with the tools you already use, whether that’s project management software, invoicing tools, or task management platforms.
• Those with small teams may also need broader employee time tracking capabilities, such as GPS tracking, clock-in/clock-out, or even customizable workflow notifications.
• Check your app has offline capabilities to track your time wherever you are!

The 9 best free time tracking apps for Android

It’s time to get down to business with our run-down of the nine best free time tracking apps for Android.

Android time tracking app	Who is this Android time tracking app best for?
Toggl Track	Toggl Track is best for anyone who needs slick time tracking, invoicing, and data-based decision-making.
Timely	Timely is best for those on bigger budgets looking to streamline their productivity with AI-based insights.
Hubstaff	Hubstaff is best for larger teams looking for workforce tracking, monitoring, and location services.
Harvest	Harvest is best used as a clean and simple time tracking solution for small teams or freelancers.
Clockify	Clockify is best for those looking for free, very simple time tracking on the move.
RescueTime	RescueTime is best for those looking for individual insights into their time management habits and daily screen time.
TimeLog	TimeLog is best for time tracking at its simplest with a clean, mobile-only offering.
TimeCamp	TimeCamp is best for those who need strong web-based features but a light, simple mobile app.
QuickBooks Workforce	QuickBooks Workforce is best if you’re already using QuickBooks and want integrated time tracking.

1. Toggl Track

Toggl Track prides itself on being super easy to use and highly accurate, enabling you to make data-backed business decisions. The mobile app is no different, with automatic time entries, reporting, widgets, project views, and more!

⚖️ Pros and cons

Android users enjoy:

• Its clean and easy-to-use interface makes it simple to log accurate timesheets
• Quick time entries via the app widget kickstarting tracking in just two clicks
• List and calendar views of time entries
• Real-time syncing with Toggl Track’s web app

Users struggle with:

• Lack of GPS tracking functionality for mobile workers
• Free plan only available for up to five users

💰 Pricing

Alongside a free plan for up to five users, Toggl Track offers three additional tiers:

• Starter: From $9 per user/month for billable and non-billable rates and automated project templates
• Premium: From $18 per user/month, Premium gives you powerful integrations and timesheet approvals
• Enterprise: If you need a tailored solution for your large or complex organization, Toggl Track also offers custom pricing for unlimited users.

🏆 Review scores

Here’s how Toggl Track scores on G2, Capterra, and Google Play:

• G2: 4.6/5 from 1,570 reviews
• Capterra: 4.7/5 from 2,363 reviews
• Google Play: 4.5/5 from 20,343 reviews

2. Timely

Timely unlocks business value with automated time and activity tracking. While Timely’s web-based app is all about automatic time tracking, the app is more manual, requiring you to switch between clients, projects, and tasks.

⚖️ Pros and cons

Android users enjoy:

• Quick and easy time tracking that syncs into Timely’s AI-powered “Memories”
• App location services allowing you to track GPS locations and automatically add them to tasks

Users struggle with:

• No offline mode limits what you can track on the go
• Occasional syncing issues between the mobile app and the AI “Memories”

💰 Pricing

Timely offers a free trial but no free plan. Instead, it has three tiers to get started on Android:

• Starter: From $9 per user/month for time tracking, AI assistance, and in-app support
• Premium: From $16 per user/month for broader team management, budgeting, and costs
• Unlimited: From $22 per user/month for access to all the Premium features, with additional time types, currencies, and integrations

🏆 Review scores

Here’s how Timely scores on G2, Capterra, and Google Play:

• G2: 4.8/5 from 419 reviews
• Capterra: 4.7/5 from 215 reviews
• Google Play: 3.5/5 from 181 reviews

3. Hubstaff

With a strong focus on time tracking and GPS location tracking, Hubstaff is a great option for mobile teams looking for easy-to-use, accurate timesheet and workforce management.

⚖️ Pros and cons

Android users enjoy:

• Individualized reporting templates that make it easy for managers to break down their employee’s time
• Map integrations for visualizing employee productivity on the move

Users struggle with:

• Screenshot monitoring eroding employees’ trust as it feels like surveillance
• Lackluster mileage tracking compared to competitors in the workforce management space

💰 Pricing

Hubstaff’s app has a free plan for one seat in one workspace. After that, you’ll need:

• Starter: From $7 per user/month for more detailed tracking and reporting
• Grow: From $9 per user/month for tasks, one integration, and expense management
• Team: From $12 per user/month for additional insights and unlimited screenshots
• Unlimited: For $25 per user/month for advanced features such as SSO and payment integration

🏆 Review scores

Here’s how Hubstaff scores on G2, Capterra, and Google Play:

• G2: 4.4/5 from 1,042 reviews
• Capterra: 4.6/5 from 1,490 reviews
• Google Play: 3.1/5 from 880 reviews

4. Harvest

Harvest includes an Android app that partners with the web app to provide insights on the go. The time tracking platform also offers the ability to track tasks against your choice of clients and projects.

⚖️ Pros and cons

Android users enjoy:

• A simple app that’s easy to use from day one
• The ability to log expenses on the go and link them to clients, projects, or tasks

Users struggle with:

• Invoicing is just “view-only,” meaning you need the web app to build anything new
• Lack of GPS features or much mobile customization

💰 Pricing

Harvest has a simple two-tier price structure:

• Harvest: Free account for up to one seat and two projects
• Harvest Pro: From $10.80 per user/month for access to all features.

🏆 Review scores

Here’s how Harvest scores on G2, Capterra, and Google Play:

• G2: 4.3/5 from 806 reviews
• Capterra: 4.6/5 from 597 reviews
• Google Play: 4.5/5 from 3,115 reviews

5. Clockify

Simplicity is the name of the game when it comes to Clockify, offering free forever time tracking in a clean package. The free Android app includes basic functionality to start tracking your time within minutes.

⚖️ Pros and cons

Android users enjoy:

• Fast onboarding via a simple UI
• Lists, calendars, and timesheets offering multiple options to record time on the go

Users struggle with:

• Creating new timesheets and expenses requires switching to the web app
• Only very limited reports being available in the Android app

💰 Pricing

Alongside Clockify’s famous free offering, there are tiers for:

• Basic: From $3.99 per user/month, teams get time tracking plus basic administration
• Standard: From $5.49 per user/month for additional billing and expense management
• Pro: From $7.99 per user/month for wider profit and productivity features
• Enterprise: From $11.99 per user/month for all the Pro features alongside unlimited projects

🏆 Review scores

Here’s how Clockify scores on G2, Capterra, and Google Play:

• G2: 4.5/5 from 170 reviews
• Capterra: 4.7/5 from 4912 reviews
• Google Play: 3.8/5 from 2102 reviews

6. RescueTime

RescueTime helps its users win valuable time back. Unlike competitors with a focus on invoicing and billing, RescueTime helps users be more productive by tracking and limiting screen time or setting “focus time” goals.

⚖️ Pros and cons

Android users enjoy:

• Its productivity focus, with detailed insights into time management habits
• A strong stance on surveillance, with many additional privacy features

Users struggle with:

• No invoice or billing features
• The user interface being a little dated compared to competitors.

💰 Pricing

RescueTime offers an ‘unpaid’ version of its Android app and then:

• Individual users: From $6.50 per user/mo for additional features such as insight reports
• Teams: For $9 per user/mo for real-time projects, time sheeting, and integrations with the likes of Asana (minimum 2 users)

🏆 Review scores

Here’s how RescueTime scores on G2, Capterra, and Google Play:

• G2: 4.1/5 from 90 reviews
• Capterra: 4.6/5 from 139 reviews
• Google Play: 3.5/5 from 3,223 reviews.

7. TimeLog

TimeLog is a fully mobile app-based platform that combines productivity, time, and goal tracking into a simple and easy-to-use user interface. It’s designed to help you stay at your best, boost your productivity, and break your work down into tasks and categories.

⚖️ Pros and cons

Android users enjoy:

• Mood trackers and productivity streaks
• Simple UI makes it quick and easy to start using.

Users struggle with:

• No invoice or billing features
• No web-based counterpart for tracking desktop-based activity.

💰 Pricing

TimeLog is free, with one paid tier:

• TimeLogPlus: Advanced insights, Pomodoro timer, and unlimited tracking from as little as $1.99 per month or $21.99 for life.

🏆 Review scores

Here’s how TimeLog scores on G2, Capterra, and Google Play:

• G2: TimeLog isn’t found on G2.
• Capterra: TimeLog isn’t found on Capterra.
• Google Play: 4.6/5 from 1800 reviews.

8. TimeCamp

TimeCamp wants you to make your time go further. Its focus on time tracking, attendance, and profitability analysis, gives a holistic view of your time management performance, most of which starts on the app.

⚖️ Pros and cons

Android users enjoy:

• Insights into your billable and non-billable workflows
• Logging time against multiple projects, clients, tasks, and categories.

Users struggle with:

• The mobile app’s basic user interface
• A lack of GPS features or any mobile customization

💰 Pricing

Alongside its free plan, TimeCamp also offers:

• Starter: From $2.99 per user/mo for invoices and Excel exports
• Premium: From $4.99 per user/mo to unlock an integration to the likes of Trello
• Ultimate: From $7.99 per user/mo for timesheet approvals, screenshots, and pivot tables
• Enterprise: For $11.99 per user/mo for all the Ultimate features plus dedicated onboarding

🏆 Review scores

Here’s how TimeCamp scores on G2, Capterra, and Google Play:

• G2: 4.7/5 from 318 reviews
• Capterra: 4.7/5 from 598 reviews
• Google Play: 3.5/5 from 674 reviews

9. QuickBooks Workforce

Known for being an invoicing powerhouse, QuickBooks is pretty handy when it comes to time tracking. Its “Workforce” app comes with handy timesheets, project management, and GPS tracking functionalities.

⚖️ Pros and cons

Android users enjoy:

• The QuickBooks UI, which is similar to the accounting software
• Crew functionality brings together team timesheets to create a holistic picture.

Users struggle with:

• Lack of functionality for desk-based workers
• Lack of native integrations means users have to use third-party platforms like Zapier

💰 Pricing

QuickBooks’ mobile app is free for 30 days, then you need one of the following:

• Premium: From $6 per user/mo gives you the app with GPS, payroll integration, and time sheeting
• Elite: From $8 per user/mo for GPS mileage tracking, workflows, and project management integration

🏆 Review scores

Here’s how QuickBooks scores on G2, Capterra, and Google Play:

• G2: 4.5/5 from 1,430 reviews (time management only)
• Capterra: 4.7/5 from 6,842 reviews (time management only)
• Google Play: 4.5/5 from 37,902 reviews

Track time your way with Toggl Track

If you’re tired of wasted productivity and inaccurate invoices, a time tracking app for your Android device can help you get on top of things. With so many time tracking apps out there, it’s going to come down to the small margins, such as a slick UI or a niche feature like GPS tracking.

We’ve looked at nine of the best apps, with a range of options, whether you’re a freelancer, a small business, or part of a large enterprise-level team. But if you’re looking for a good all-rounder that’s easy to use, highly accurate, and customer-friendly, we think you should check out Toggl Track. 

Need time tracking that’s a walk in the park? Sign up to Toggl Track for free — no credit card required.

Timely and Toggl have a lot in common when it comes to time tracking. They both value employee privacy, keep track of billed and unbilled hours, allow users to bulk edit time entries, and are available on iOS, Android, and desktop.

But look past their privacy policies and multi-platform support, and you’ll notice a difference in how they track time and assist businesses in developing customer relationships.

Timely is an automated time tracker. It uses AI to recognize your work patterns and suggest time logs. You only need to accept them when you are done for the day. It’s a nice choice for anyone who has trouble consistently tracking their work time and wants to make the process seamless. However, it’s not the best option for larger teams that are using their tracked time data to optimize workflows.

On the other hand, Toggl Track is a time management software that values its automated time tracking toolset as much as its manual options. 

It’s a great choice for freelancers, teams, and large businesses that want a classic time tracking app with in-depth analytics and intuitive productivity insights. It offers an Autotracker that allows users to automate the time tracking process and a Manual Timer for employees who prefer the classic method.

To help you better understand the difference between Timely vs Toggl Track, we will take a closer look at how they stack up in the following areas: 

• Time Tracking 
• Project and Team Management 
• Analytics, Reporting, and Insights
• Billing and Invoicing 
• Pricing 

The comparison summary below also touches on AI, automation, integrations, and user experience. Our goal is to give you a solid picture of each tool’s strengths so you can pick the right one for your needs. 

Comparison Summary: Timely vs Toggl Track

What is Timely?

“AI-powered time tracking software.”👩‍💻

Timely is an AI-powered time tracking app founded in 2013 by Mathias Mikkelsen. 

It offers an unconventional time tracking approach that projects a world where users can make “Memories” of every software and website they visit during the day. Then, they can drag and drop these memories into assigned tasks or projects to create a timesheet whenever convenient.

The idea is to help users learn patterns in their time tracking activities and, after the first day or so, start making suggestions for categorizing activities as projects. Some other notable features include its One-click invoicing tool, Billable rate, Unbilled reports, Customizable dashboards, and task management add-on. 

Timely is a powerful tool for freelancers, small business owners, and busy teams who need a stack of AI-powered tools to track and categorize computer-based work. 

What is Toggl Track?

“Time tracking software for any workflow.” 📈

Toggl is management software created in 2006 by Alari Aho and Krister Haav to help people effortlessly track time, manage projects, and coordinate team members. Later, two more products were added to the lineup: Toggl Plan and Toggl Hire, while the initial app was renamed to Toggl Track. 

Toggl Track embodies a philosophy of time tracking for self-reflection and career growth while providing users with insights to increase profitability without micromanaging or monitoring employees. So, most of its features are geared towards helping users track time for better work, not overwork. 

Toggl allows you to log time automatically and manually, filter weekly stats and team summaries, generate detailed reports, create client-ready invoices, and extract more insight from tracked time.

Overall, Toggl Track serves large and small agencies and freelancers needing an insightful, stopwatch-like tracker to keep tabs on on-screen and off-screen activities effortlessly. 

Time Tracking: Timely vs Toggl Track

In a nutshell, Both tools support manual and automatic time tracking, but Toggl Track has an edge with its stopwatch-like tracker and the productivity insight it provides.

Toggl offers manual and automatic tracking, while Timely is fully automated.

Toggl Track is a super intuitive tool for tracking billable and non-billable hours. There are five ways to track time on Toggl:

• The Timer Mode on the web, mobile, and desktop app, which lets you track time with a start/stop button. 
• The Timeline feature, which allows you to record every website and program you view on your computer for over 10 seconds. 
• The Outlook and Google Calendar import option for creating or starting time entries based on calendar events. 
• The Browser Extension for Chrome and Firefox to track time in your favorite web tools wherever you are on the web.
• And there’s also a Manual Mode so you can manually add/edit time entries.

Overview of Toggl Manual Mode 

Timely, on the other hand, offers automatic time tracking without the stop/start twist. You have to download its Memory App to monitor web and app usage, then manually drag and drop “memories” to log entries in your timesheet.

Timely’s timesheet 

And while Timely doesn’t have a stopwatch-like timer or support manual time input from calendar events like Toggl does, Timely users can log extra entries in their timesheet with the Planned and Logged time feature or the Timestamps option. 

Timely’s Planned and Logged time feature 

On the views front, Toggl offers more views than Timely. Toggl’s web app has a weekly and daily view option, each offering a filtered summary report of your activities within the specified timeframe. Then, a List-View to help duplicate and bulk edit time entries. 

Toggl time entry views 

Toggl also supports extra visualizations on its desktop and mobile apps, such as Calendar View and a Pomodoro Timer.  

But with Timely, users can only switch between a daily, weekly, or monthly view. However, Timely’s filtering options are more robust. Users can filter and bulk edit logged time based on solo activities, company-wide projects, billable and non-billable hours, locked time, and more. 

Timely has a built-in AI feature to help categorize where work belongs and automatically assign it to projects and clients.

Timely’s automatic time tracking software is big on automating the time tracking process and eliminating guesswork. 

It offers various AI tools that automatically sort your tracked memories into time entries and generate actual time estimates based on historical data, project complexity, and your team’s capabilities.

Timely’s AI tool dashboard 

Toggl Track doesn’t have an AI stack as robust or proactive as Timely’s. However, its Desktop App offers an Autotracker that can help you set time tracking rules with various triggers, automatically reducing the time tracking done by hand. 

Toggl allows users to create random time entries, gain an overview of each project’s forecast, and natively plan Pomodoros for the day ahead.

Unlike Timely, which requires that every hour logged must be linked to a project, Toggl allows you to create time entries for non-project activities too. This means you can use Toggl as a stopwatch for everyday tasks.

Toggl’s time tracking feature also edges Timely’s in terms of project forecast. For example, in the heat of a project, admins and busy managers can easily get a bird’s eye view of tracked time plus estimates of billable hours using the Go To Project feature. 

Toggl’s project forecast option

Plus, Toggl’s Desktop app natively supports Pomodoro time tracking, ensuring users don’t feel burned even on a heavy workday. 

Toggl Track’s Pomodoro Timer

Timely also supports Pomodoro tracking in a fun way. But it doesn’t offer the same flexibility as Toggl. 

Project and Team Management: Timely vs Toggl Track

In a nutshell, Timely’s project and team management features are sustainable for admins who need quick progress indicators, while Toggl is for managers who want to keep an eye on project profitability in real time.

Toggl Track provides detailed insights into the profitability of each project, while Timely keeps track of user’s work patterns. 

Toggl Track’s Projects feature gives admins and team members all the data they need to make profitable decisions. 

It offers a comprehensive overview of each project’s timeframe and billable status. You can filter projects based on members, clients, templates, and more. 

And unlike on Timely, Toggl’s Projects grants users access to a trendline graph of billable hours.

Toggl’s Trendline view 

Timely, on the other hand, prioritizes users’ work patterns. So, instead of insights on profitability, the project dashboard highlights planned and logged hours, empowering users to oversee every aspect of their work.

Overview of Timely’s project status 

Both Toggl Track and Timely offer great team management but Toggl Track gives a more complete overview of each employee.

Timely’s People Dashboard offers a company view showcasing team members’ tracked and logged time so admins can edit timesheets and track assigned tasks. 

Timely’s People Dashboard

Managers can also create a custom graph of logged hours for different projects and filter through the list using criteria such as missing hours and overtime.

There’s also a nifty notification feature in its team hub that admins can use to notify the whole group to track work hours.

Alternatively, team management on Toggl Track happens in its Organization hub. 

The Organization hub provides crystal-clear insights into what your employees do with their time so you can see who is overworked, and who can take on more work. 

Within the hub, you will find a Member’s page highlighting each employee’s worked hours and billable rate, so you can:

• edit and set time entries, 
• group employees into workspaces,
• and manage subscriptions. 

Toggl’s Organization hub is also where admins assign workspace permissions for each user and edit access rights. 

Toggl Track’s team access management

Both tools require additional subscriptions for task management, but you will enjoy setting up workspaces on Toggl more because of its CSV import capabilities. 

The task management feature on Timely comes as an add-on product that requires a $5/user/mo subscription. 

Meanwhile, with Toggl task management happens on the Toggl Plan, which comes with availability/time off, capacity, and workload planning features. You can integrate Toggl Plan into your workspace for $9/user/mo. 

Overview of Toggl Plan

When setting up workspaces—migrating your users, projects, and team data from one tool to another—Toggl Track edges with its one-click CSV import feature. 

Timely doesn’t support CSV import but can connect with several tools, including Toggl Track. 

Analytics, Reporting, and Insights: Timely vs Toggl Track

In a nutshell, Timely provides snapshots and live reports to keep clients updated, but Toggl Tracks wins the round with its customizability and Insight hub that helps spot data trends and time sinks.

Timely and Toggl Track provides a detailed dashboard on full workspace reports, monthly projects, and billable hours.

When it comes to reports, Timely and Toggl Track have a lot in common. 

Both tools support team-wide expense tracking, provide monthly overviews and daily summaries of work patterns, and insights on billable and non-billable hours. Busy admins also enjoy detailed, full workspace reports with lots of filters to see who recorded more or less time. 

Toggl’s detailed Reports dashboard 

So, from data trends to earnings-per-member to budget to milestone setting, both tools’ reporting toolsets show everything you need to understand how your team works. And they both allow users to export all reports as PDF, CSV, or Excel files.

Toggl Track has a dedicated data and profitability insight dashboard, while Timely offers live and snapshot reports. 

Having solid reports is one thing; knowing how those reports can lead to profit is another. And this is where Toggl shines. Toggl offers a dedicated Insights hub and a Projects dashboard that show you real-time data on: 

• project profitability, 
• employee profitability, 
• data trends and estimates,
• trends vs real data comparisons,
• and a comparative analysis of how projects and team members perform. 

The Insights hub also allows admins to round up members’ logged time from the last minute tracked to the last 4 hours, giving them an accurate overview of how team members spent their time. You also get a budget overview of each team member’s earnings, labor costs, and balance. 

Toggl Track Insights hub

Timely, on the other hand, doesn’t offer something similar to the Toggl Track’s Insights. However, two unique reporting features caught our attention: Live and Snapshot reports. 

Overview of Timely’s Live and Snapshot reports 

The Live reports provide admins with a live report link they can give to clients who want to check in on progress whenever they want. While the Snapshot reports provide a shareable link with a static record of your report you can send to clients for a one-time overview.

Both tools allow admins to create custom reports, but Timely’s color coding is a bit pale compared to Toggl Track.

Timely and Toggl Track are great tools for creating custom report dashboards and charts that display insights tailored to your team’s needs. 

Toggl’s Analytics hub provides customizable widgets admins can use to monitor the overall progress of their teams, projects, and resources. The hub comprises a combination of charts you can edit to style and dashboards you can create using those charts. 

Toggl’s Chart library 

Timely’s reporting feature, on the other hand, isn’t as robust as Toggl’s in terms of customization. It only allows users to create custom dashboards by adding tables or doughnut charts based on criteria like hours, people, projects, and such. 

Timely’s custom chart builder 

Overall, Toggl’s custom reports stand out due to the unique mix of colors they support. They paint a more vivid picture of your team’s analytics than Timely. Plus, Toggl’s appealing visuals have a renowned track record of helping Togglers effortlessly build trust with clients. 

Billing and Invoicing: Timely vs Toggl Track

In a nutshell, Timely prioritizes one-click invoices. Toggl Track offers more native integration options with QuickBooks, Xero, FreshBooks, and Zoho Books. Plus in terms of invoice customization capabilities, Toggl Track is miles ahead.

Both tools allow admins to set project budgets, export timesheets, and track payrolls in real time, but in different ways.

Toggl Track offers a Billable Rates feature that allows admins to apply granular rates to time entry durations, giving them an estimable summary of:

• workspace cost,
• workspace member cost,
• project cost,
• and project member cost.

Overview of Toggl’s Billable Rates hub

By managing billable rates this way, admins can assess overall profitability and always be a step ahead in budgeting and payroll tracking. 

Timely also offers a Billable Rates feature, but it’s not for ASSESSING profitability. 

Instead, it’s focused on helping admins reflect the diversity of each team member’s skillsets in their timesheets so they can easily MAXIMIZE profitability.

Timely natively integrates with QuickBooks and automatically generates one-click invoices, while Toggl integrates with QuickBooks, Xero, FreshBooks, and Zoho Books and offers more customization options.

Creating an invoice on Timely requires little to no effort. Admins don’t need to struggle with complex formulas because Timely automatically calculates totals. 

Timely’s invoice preview

Timely integrates with QuickBooks, guaranteeing no more duplicate entries or the hassle of manually updating your financial records.

Timely’s integrations 

Plus, all generated invoices are automatically synced with QuickBooks online, meaning once the payment is marked as received, the invoice status gets reflected on QuickBooks.

Compared to Timely, Toggl Track offers more native integrations with QuickBooks, Xero, FreshBooks, and Zoho Books accounting software. But its invoice generation toolset isn’t effortless and requires manual input. 

And while admins can create invoices from Toggl’s Summary Reports, they cannot automatically send them via the Toggl Track app — they are only downloadable as PDFs.

However, when it comes to invoice customization options, Toggl Track beats Timely. It gives users more flexibility to edit:

• the invoice date,
• the description (based on your data grouping settings),
• the quantity (based on your tracked hours),
• additional taxes,
• and the total billable amount.

Toggl Track’s Invoice portal 

Pricing: Timely vs Toggl Track

In a nutshell, Toggl Track has an entirely free plan, a more extended trial period than Timely, and cheaper paid plans.

Both tools use per-user pricing models, offer free trials, and require additional subscriptions for task management. 

Toggl Track and Timely have a lot in common in terms of pricing. 

For one, they both use per-user subscription models. So, if you have five people on your team, you must pay the monthly or yearly subscription applicable to all five users. 

Secondly, they both offer free trials. The only difference is that Toggl Track gives you 30 free days, while Timely’s free trial is limited to 14 days. 

Finally, both tools require additional subscriptions for task management. 

The task management feature on Timely comes as an add-on product with a $5 per person subscription tag, while on Toggl, task management happens on Toggl Plan for $9 per user. 

Toggl Track offers a free plan for up to 5 team members and its paid plans support as many users and projects as needed. Plus, it offers a 10% discount on yearly plans. 

Toggl has a free version you can use to automate the time tracking process and keep tabs on client work. By signing up with Toggl, you and five team members can enjoy free lifetime access to unlimited time tracking. 

Moving to paid plans, Toggl offers four pricing packages. 

The Starter plan is priced at $10/mo, and it arms freelancers and small teams with all the features they need to track time without a lot of overhead. 

The Premium plan costs $20 per month and offers all the tools SMEs and growing businesses need to keep their teams aligned and agile. 

And if you need a solution for a company with multiple large departments, Toggl Track’s Enterprise plan has you covered. However, you‘ll have to contact support for a custom plan. 

Timely’s Starter plan supports a maximum of 5 users and 50 projects, and you can save up to 22% on its yearly plan. 

Timely’s pricing plans are just as comprehensive as Toggl’s but are limited in usage. 

The Starter plan ($11/mo), comparable to Toggl’s freelancer and small teams plan, is quite pricey for small teams. Apart from the extra $1 cost, it doesn’t support more than five users or over 50 projects.

The Premium plan, an efficient choice for small teams needing robust automation features and less admin work, is priced at $20/user/mo. It supports unlimited projects but is limited to a maximum of 50 users. 

And Timely’s Unlimited plan, priced at $28, is a good choice for large teams and enterprise usage, but it can get pricey on a monthly subscription. However, you can get a 22% discount from its yearly plan. 

Timely vs Toggl: Pros and Cons

Final Verdict: Timely vs Toggl Track

In a nutshell, Toggl Track is best for decision-makers who need detailed insights and analytics to spot inefficiencies. At the same time, Timely is best for managers who want to learn about members’ work patterns.

Both tools don’t support employee monitoring, allow admins to lock time entries, and synchronize across multiple devices—making them great solutions for remote teams. 

However, at its core, Toggl Track is better suited for teams that need simple time tracking and powerful analytics to improve profitability. At the same time, Timely is an excellent choice for teams that need AI tools to see who’s at capacity and who’s over-scheduled.

It completely depends on your needs, but based on your research and testing, we recommend you to…

Use Timely if:

• You want a fully automated tracker. 
• You want to create one-click invoices without the manual hassle.
• You want AI suggestions on categorizing projects and monitoring work patterns.

Click here to get started with Timely!

Use Toggl Track if:

• You want a stopwatch-like tracker to keep tabs on on-screen and off-screen activities effortlessly.
• You want detailed insight into what’s driving profitability and what isn’t. 
• You need powerful analytics to help you improve team productivity. 

Click here to get started with Toggl Track!

Note: Need more research for the best time tracking tool for diverse use cases? We also compared Clockify vs Toggl Track, Harvest vs Toggl, and several employee time tracking software. 

Timeular is a productivity tool that teams and individuals use to track and manage their time. 

While for some Timeular works, for others, it can lack certain features, customizability and third-party integrations.  

We compared many time tracking tools and found the top Timeular alternatives that might fit you well. 

In this article, you’ll learn about key features, pros and cons, and pricing for each tool.

The 10 best alternatives to Timeular for different teams and use cases

1. Toggl Track: Best for accurate time tracking and powerful reporting
2. Clockify: Best all-in-one Timeular alternative
3. Harvest: Best for billing and invoicing
4. Hubstaff: Best for monitoring employee activity 
5. Timely: Best for AI-powered time tracking
6. RescueTime: Best for automated time tracking
7. Quickbooks Time: Best for billing and payroll
8. Time Doctor: Best for productivity analysis 
9. DeskTime: Best all-in-one productivity tracker
10. Everhour: Best for time management

Let’s explore each one of these tools in detail.

1. Toggl Track

Price: Starts at $10/month

Toggl Track is a powerful time tracker that teams use to track time online and offline on multiple platforms and generate insightful time analytics data.

What we like

• Toggl Track’s Analytics feature lets you create and tailor charts and dashboards to show data in any way you need. 

Create customized charts and dashboard reports with detailed time tracking data to better understand team productivity, project efficiency, and business profitability. 

You can use Toggl Track’s existing templates (Summary Table, Summary Bar Chart, Summary Projects Donut Chart, Detailed Table, Weekly Pivot Table) to generate your data faster. 

What’s missing

• Toggl Track doesn’t take employee screenshots or monitor app and website activity. 

Best for

Toggl Track is best for digital agencies that want to track time online and offline across multiple platforms and create insightful time and cost reports. 

Top features

• Billable and non-billable time tracking: Track paid and non-paid work hours for accurate client billing. 
• Private, automated time tracking: Toggl Track’s desktop apps run in the background to record work activities during a work day. However, these activites are stored locally and are 100 private to you. These are shared with your team only when you copy them as time entries.
• Calendar view: See your daily or weekly tracked time in Calendar view, and add or edit time entries.
• Summary, detailed, and weekly reports: Get a general view of tracked time, an in-depth look at individual time entries, or a weekly overview of tracked time. 
• Analytics: Create custom charts and dashboards to display the productivity and project dynamics insights.
• Time audits: Part of the Premium and Enterprise plans, the Time audits feature lets you quickly spot and repair incorrect time entries. 
• Estimated vs actual comparison: Track work progress and budgets by comparing estimates against actual time spent on tasks and activities.
• Built-in timesheet reports and approvals: Create detailed time logs or summary timesheet reports to report time or process payroll.

Tool integrations

Integrations include Toggl Plan, Google Calendar, and Asana. Toggl Track integrates with over 100+ to-do apps, documentation, communication, and project management tools.

Pricing

Toggl Track offers four pricing plans:

Plan	Cost	Best for
Free	$0	Solo users who need a time tracker with an intuitive interface
Starter	$10 per user per month	Teams with basic time tracking needs
Premium	$20 per user per month	Teams who need online and offline functionality for tracking time and profitability
Enterprise	Custom pricing	Enterprise teams

Visit the pricing page for more information.

Top Tip: All Toggl Track plans have a free, 30-day trial of Toggl Track Premium.

2. Clockify

Price: Starts at $4.99/month

Clockify is an all-in-one time management app that tracks time on multiple platforms and monitors employee activity with screenshots and GPS location tracking. 

What we like

• Clockify has robust reporting capabilities. It lets you generate detailed time reports, compare estimated vs tracked time, get expense reports, and see daily hours, breaks, and time off reports.

What’s missing

• Tracking time with Clockify can be intrusive due to its employee surveillance features. 

Best for

Clockify is best for teams looking for an all-in-one time and productivity tracker. 

Top features

• Mobile, desktop, and browser extension time tracking: Track time on multiple devices and record every working minute. 
• Idle detection: Clockify detects idle time and sends notifications to remove inactive time from your time entries. 
• Reports: Create weekly, summary, detailed, expense, assignments, or attendance reports to understand time and productivity habits. 
• Screenshots and GPS location tracking: Clockify takes screenshots and records your location when the clock is on. 
• Offline mode: Track time offline on the desktop or mobile app, and Clockify automatically syncs your time entries once you’re back online. 

Tool integrations

Integrations include Jira, Notion, and Excel. 

Pricing

Clockify offers four pricing options:

Plan	Cost	Best for
Basic	$4.99 per user per month	Solo users with basic time-tracking needs
Standard	$6.99 per user per month	Small teams with more complex time-tracking needs
Pro	$9.99 per user per month	Teams who need a robust project and time tracking tool
Enterprise	$14.99 per user per month	Teams with complex client projects that require advanced time tracking and expense-tracking features

Visit the pricing page for more information.

3. Harvest

Price: Starts at $12/month

Harvest is a time tracker with powerful features for tracking billable hours, invoicing clients, and streamlining payments. 

What we like

• Harvest tracks your paid work hours, turns them into ready-to-share invoices, and lets you collect client payments without leaving the app. 

What’s missing

• You can’t monitor employee activity or track time spent on tasks with Harvest. 

Best for

Harvest is best for individuals and teams who need a time tracking app to track billable hours and speed up invoicing and client payments. 

Top features

• Billable time tracking: Track billable work hours and bill clients accurately. 
• Automated reminders: Build time tracking habits with automated reminders.
• Locked time and expenses: Lock time entries and expenses once invoiced or approved. 
• Invoices and payments: Harvest generates invoices from your time entries and lets you collect client payments through Stripe and PayPal integrations. 
• Detailed time and expense reports: Gain insights into how your team spends work hours and track project expenses. 

Tool integrations

Integrations include Xero, Google Calendar, and Trello. 

Pricing

Harvest offers two pricing options:

Plan	Cost	Best for
Free	$0	Freelancers who need to track their time for client billing
Pro	$12 per user per month	Teams and startups who need to understand where their time goes and monitor profitability

Visit the pricing page for more information.

4. Hubstaff

Price: Starts at $7/month

Hubstaff is an employee monitoring, workforce management, and productivity app that tracks billable and non-billable tasks, activity levels, and locations for remote teams. 

What we like

• Hubstaff lets you set hourly rates, track billable hours on desktop, mobile, and browser extensions, and send clients invoices automatically. 

What’s missing

• Hubstaff’s surveillance features include screenshots and activity tracking, which can lead to privacy concerns and lower employee morale.

Best for

Hubstaff is best for teams who want to track and monitor employee activity with surveillance features.

Top features

• Offline time tracking: You can track time without an internet connection, and Hubstaff automatically syncs your tracked data once you’re online. 
• Timesheet approvals: Employees can submit their timesheets for approval for accurate payroll. 
• Activity levels: Hubstaff calculates activity levels using keyboard and mouse strokes to show team productivity. 
• Productivity and project performance insights: Hubstaff generates reports with individual activity levels, total time tracked, project budgets, and more. 

Tool integrations

Integrations include Asana, Slack, and Payoneer.

Pricing

Hubstaff offers five pricing options:

Plan	Cost	Best for
Free	$0	For individual use
Starter	$7 per user per month	Small teams who need a basic time-tracking solution
Grow	$9 per user per month	Teams who need more complex time-tracking and time management features
Team	$12 per user per month	Teams with advanced time-tracking needs
Enterprise	Contact Hubstaff for prices, starting at $25 per user per month	Enterprise companies

Visit the pricing page for more information.

5. Timely

Price: Starts at $11/month

Timely is an automatic time clock that uses AI to track time accurately, optimize time management, and ensure transparent client billing. 

What we like

• Timely’s AI-powered automation means you can track time without manual input. Timely does everything automatically for you, categorizes task and project time entries, and generates detailed time reports. 

What’s missing

• The mobile app has functionality issues, according to some users. 

Best for

Timely is best for teams looking for an automated time tracking app that tracks billable time and provides productivity insights.  

Top features

• AI timesheets: Timely creates automated timesheets based on tracked time. 
• Live reports: The report data you share with clients updates upon refresh so they can check project progress whenever they want. 
• Snapshot reports: Easily share fixed-time report data with clients in just one click.
• Automatic reminders: Get automated reminders to clock-in time or send your team notifications to log their hours. 

Tool integrations

Integrations include ClickUp, Google Docs, and Microsoft Teams. 

Pricing

Timely offers four pricing plans:

Plan	Cost	Best for
Starter	$11 per user per month	Freelancers and small teams
Premium	$20 per user per month	Midsize teams
Unlimited	$28 per user per month	Midsize and large teams
Unlimited+	Contact for more pricing	Large teams

Visit the pricing page for more information.

6. RescueTime

Price: Start at $12/month

RescueTime is an automated time tracker that helps teams and individuals record work hours, improve productivity, and manage time better. 

What we like

• RescueTime boosts productivity by blocking distractions, providing productivity scores, and letting you create dedicated time blocks for important tasks. 

You can also create Focus Work goals to keep high-priority work on track and meet your deadlines. 

What’s missing

• RescueTime has very few third-party integrations and doesn’t have employee monitoring features. 

Best for

RescueTime is best for teams and freelancers who need an automated time tracker that helps them manage their time more efficiently. 

Top features

• Automated time tracking: You can fully automate your time tracking process with RescueTime. The app records all your desktop activities without manual input. 
• Multi-platform time tracking: RescueTime works on Android, iOS, and desktop apps. 
• Distraction blocking: RescueTime blocks websites and apps that distract you during work hours or focus sessions. 
• Productivity report: See when you were very productive or very distracted to understand your work patterns and productivity gaps. 

Tool integrations

Integrations include Slack, Google Calendar, and Office 365.

Pricing

RescueTime offers two pricing options: 

Plan	Cost	Best for
RescueTime Lite	$0	Real-time tracking and reporting functionality
RescueTime	$12 per month	Calendar integration for employee scheduling and reports with spreadsheet export

Visit the pricing page for more information.

7. Quickbooks Time

Price: Starts at $20/month

QuickBooks Time is time tracking and shift-scheduling software that simplifies payroll and billing. 

What we like

• You can accurately track time and schedule teams on the go with QuickBooks Time’s mobile app. Its GPS tracking feature helps manage remote and mobile teams and ensure accurate payroll. 

What’s missing

• QuickBooks Time has limited third-party integrations, no free plan, and doesn’t let you track time via browser extensions. 

Best for

QuickBooks Time is best for remote and mobile teams who want to track work hours for streamlined payroll. 

Top features

• Billing rates: Set up custom rates for clients that QuickBooks Time automatically adds to your invoices. 
• Mobile time tracking: Compatible with iOS and Android, the QuickBooks Time mobile app tracks time on the go. 
• Time and cost reports: Get insights into how your team spends time, see team member job costs, payroll hours, and more. 
• Invoice and payments: Create invoices from time entries, collect client payments, or send reminders. 

Tool integrations

Integrations include QuickBooks Online, Gusto, and ADP. 

Pricing

QuickBooks Time offers two pricing options:

Plan	Cost	Best for
Premium	$20 per month	Teams with basic time tracking needs who also want payroll reports and invoicing features
Elite	$40 per month	Teams who need timesheet signatures and geofencing

Visit the pricing page for more information.

8. Time Doctor

Price: Starts at $7/month 

Time Doctor is a Timeular alternative with employee monitoring features like silent tracking, screenshots, and video screen recording. 

What we like

• Time Doctor helps teams improve productivity with accurate time tracking, distraction alerts, and productivity reports. You can get daily productivity percentages to understand your productivity and where to improve. 

What’s missing

• Time Doctor’s silent app and screenshot feature can encourage distrust and micromanagement. 

Best for

Time Doctor is best for teams and individuals looking to track, analyze, and improve their productivity and time management. 

Top features

• Automated time tracking: Time Doctor can automatically record all computer activity without manual input. 
• Silent tracking: Time Doctor’s silent app runs automatically in the background and tracks activity as long as the computer is on. Users can’t interact with it as it doesn’t have a user interface. 
• Inactivity and distraction alerts: Get notifications whenever Time Doctor detects idle time or if you spend too much time on social media. 
• Multiple reports: Stay current with how tasks and projects progress, your team’s daily work habits, or how much time they log in. 
• Productivity analytics: Time Doctor creates reports with productive and non-productive activities to help you spot areas for improvement. 

Tool integrations

Integrations include Monday.com, PayPal, and Gusto. 

Pricing

Time Doctor offers three pricing options:

Plan	Cost	Best for
Basic	$7 per user per month	Individual users with minimal time tracking needs
Standard	$10 per user per month	Teams with more complex time-tracking needs
Premium	$20 per user per month	Large teams who need advanced time-tracking features

Visit the pricing page for more information.

9. DeskTime

Price: Starts at $7/month

DeskTime is an all-in-one productivity tracker that monitors employee activity with screenshots and website and app tracking. 

What we like

• DeskTime’s private time feature lets employees handle personal tasks during work hours without being monitored. 

What’s missing

• DeskTime’s timer doesn’t work offline, so you need to manually add offline working hours. 

Best for

DeskTime is best for teams tracking and monitoring employee activity and productivity.

Top features

• Automatic and manual time tracking: DeskTime can track time automatically in the background, or you can add time entries manually. 
• URL and app tracking: DeskTime records websites and apps your team uses for in-depth activity tracking. 
• Mobile app: Track time on the go with DeskTime’s mobile app, available on iOS and Android devices. 
• Productivity calculation: Categorize websites and apps as productive, unproductive, or neutral. DeskTime automatically calculates productivity percentages, so you can evaluate your team’s performance. 

Tool integrations

Integrations include Google Calendar, Jira, and Zapier. 

Pricing

DeskTime offers four pricing plans:

Plan	Cost	Best for
DeskTime Lite	$0	Solo users who need automatic time and app tracking
Pro	$7 per user per month	Teams who need to track time automatically and manually and calculate productivity.
Premium	$10 per user per month	Teams with more complex time-tracking and project scheduling needs
Enterprise	$20 per user per month	Enterprise teams

Visit the pricing page for more information.

10. Everhour

Price: Starts at $10/month

Everhour is a time tracking tool with features for improving time management and tracking billable time and project progress. It also comes with basic project and task management features.

What we like

• Everhour helps team leads organize work and plan better with team scheduling, availability and attendance tracking, and time off management features. 

Its resource planner offers visibility into team capacity for accurate and realistic scheduling. 

What’s missing

• Everhour has no calendar integrations, making it harder to track billable time spent in work events. 

Best for

Everhour is best for freelancers and teams who want to track their billable work hours and manage their time better. 

Top features

• Billable and non-billable hours: Track paid and non-paid time for accurate billing. 
• Auto stop timer: Everhour stops automatically at the end of the workday. 
• Reminders: Get notifications when timers are running too long or to remind you to track time.
• Custom time reports: Choose what you need to see in your reports by using filters and adding specific conditions. 

Tool integrations

Integrations include Asana, Basecamp, and Notion. 

Pricing

Everhour offers two pricing plans:

Plan	Cost	Best for
Free	$0	Solo users who need an intuitive and user-friendly time tracker
Team	$10 per user per month	Teams who need time tracking, task management, and project scheduling features

Visit the pricing page for more information. 

Why do people consider alternatives to Timeular?

Here are some reasons why people search for Timeular alternatives:

• Missing features: You can’t track time via browser extension in Timeular, which is a downside because a lot of users like the convenience of time tracking in their web browser.
  Timeular also doesn’t generate invoices from tracked time or cost reports. This is a critical drawback for individuals and teams that want to streamline invoicing and analyze profitability. 
• Limited integrations: Timeular only integrates with Toggl, Jira, Harvest, iCalendar, Outlook, and Google Calendar. You can also integrate apps via Zapier, which comes with extra cost. Also, these integrations are available only on the Personal Pro or Team subscriptions.
• Clunky mobile app: Some users complain about Timeular’s mobile app, which can be slow and hard to navigate.
• Issues with the physical device: Timeular has an eight-sided physical tracker that teams can use to track time. But, according to some users, the Timeular tracker has connectivity issues and can lead to inaccurate time tracking. 

Best Timeular alternatives: A quick comparison

Here’s a quick overview of our best Timeular alternatives:

Tool	G2 Rating	Best for	Price
Toggl Track	4.6	Accurate time tracking, powerful reporting, and profitability analysis	From $10/user/month
Clockify	4.5	All-in-one productivity tracker	From $4.99/user/month
Harvest	4.3	Streamlined billing and invoicing	From $12/user/month
Hubstaff	4.3	Monitoring remote employees	From $7/user/month
Timely	4.8	Automatic and non-invasive time tracking	From $11/user/month
RescueTime	4.1	Automatic time tracking and productivity	From $12/user/month
QuickBooks Time	4.5	Time tracking and billing	From $20/month
Time Doctor	4.4	Performance and employee monitoring	From $7/user/month
DeskTime	4.6	Automatic time tracking and employee monitoring	From $7/user/month
Everhour	4.7	Time management	From $10/user/month

Timeular FAQs

Some commonly asked questions about Timeular are:

What is Timeular used for?

Timeular helps individuals and teams track, analyze, and organize work hours. The main use cases for Timeular are task and project time tracking, time reporting, and budget tracking. 

Do you need a subscription to use Timeular?

Yes, you need to pay for a subscription to use Timeular. Timeular has three paid plans with different features, which you can try for free for 30 days. 

Is Timeular suitable for freelancers?

Timeular is suitable for freelancers, especially with the Personal Pro pricing plan. This plan lets freelancers accurately track time spent on client projects for transparent billing. It also generates time reports that freelancers can use to analyze work patterns and productivity. 

Looking for the right Timeular alternative?

If you already know what your Timeular alternative should look like but can’t decide yet, giving Toggl Track a try might help. 

Sign up for a free Toggl Track account to see the tool in action and discover how it helps teams:

• Accurately track billable and non-billable work hours
• Generate detailed time and profitability reports
• Track time and project progress on multiple platforms

Related articles

• Best Time Tracking Software for Small Businesses
• 11 Best Employee Time Tracking Software & Apps
• How to Get Your Team to Track Time

RescueTime is an automatic time-tracking and focused-work tool that tracks and analyzes how you spend time.

It blocks distractions, provides insights into digital habits, and helps freelancers and teams identify and minimize unproductive time.

However, RescueTime does not work for everyone. Some people look for alternatives because they need more or different features to help them manage their time better. 

We looked at the key features, pros and cons, and pricing of the best time tracking apps and created this list of ten top RescueTime alternatives. 

In this article, you’ll be able to compare each of these tools in depth. 

10 of the best alternatives to RescueTime

Here’s our list of best RescueTime alternatives with the main use case for each tool:

1. Toggl Track: Best for accurate time tracking and detailed time reporting
2. Time Doctor: Best for tracking employee activity
3. Harvest: Best for time billing
4. Hubstaff: Best for monitoring remote teams
5. TimeCamp: Best for productivity analysis
6. Timely: Best for AI-powered time tracking
7. Clockify: Best all-in-one productivity tracker
8. ManicTime: Best for automatic time tracking
9. DeskTime: Best for moderate activity surveillance
10. Everhour: Best all-in-one time management tool

Now, let’s dive in.

1. Toggl Track

Price: Starts at $10/month

Toggl Track is GDPR-compliant time tracking software that tracks time on multiple devices and helps you understand where your time goes and how to be more efficient. 

Toggl Track is intuitive and easy to use by anyone, regardless of their technical background. 

What we like

• With Toggl Track, you can track how much time you spend on each task or project, which helps keep focus and improve productivity. 

Toggl Track also provides fully customizable charts and dashboards with detailed time insights on team productivity and project efficiency. 

What’s missing

• Toggl Track doesn’t block distracting websites or apps. 

Best for

Toggl Track is best for creative teams that want to track time accurately, gain detailed insights into how they spend work hours, and manage their time more efficiently.  

Top features

• Time billing: Organize client projects and tasks, track time spent on them, and bill clients accurately based on the billable hours tracked.
• Project tracking: Keep an eye on your project’s progress with estimated vs. actual time spent, budget forecasting, and billable vs. non-billable hours reports.
• Mobile time tracking: Toggl Track’s mobile app is available for Android and iOS devices. It’s easy to use and syncs with the web and desktop versions for seamless time tracking.
• Calendar view: See daily or weekly time entries on a calendar in Toggl Track’s web app. 
• Time tracking reminders: Send automated notifications to team members who haven’t tracked enough time.
• Timesheet reports: Generates summary, detailed, or weekly timesheet reports for reporting time or processing payroll. 
• Analytics: Create custom charts and dashboards and get real-time insights into the progress of your teams, projects, and resources. 

Tool integrations

Integrations include Toggl Plan, Outlook Email & Calendar, and Jira. Toggl Track also integrates with over 100+ to-do apps, documentation, communication, and project management tools.

Pricing

Toggl Track offers four pricing plans:

Plan	Cost	Best for
Free	$0	Solo users who need a time tracker with an intuitive interface
Starter	$10 per user per month	Teams with basic time tracking needs
Premium	$20 per user per month	Teams who need online and offline functionality for tracking time and profitability
Enterprise	Custom pricing	Enterprise teams

Visit the pricing page for more information.

Top Tip: All Toggl Track plans have a free, 30-day trial of Toggl Track Premium.

2. Time Doctor

Price: Starts at $7/month 

Time Doctor is an employee time and productivity tracker that monitors activity, minimizes distractions, and improves time management. 

What we like

• With Time Doctor, you can track and view time spent on tasks, projects, and clients. The tool sends distraction alerts and idle time reminders to keep you focused and productive. 

Time Doctor also tracks online and offline time on desktop, mobile, and tablet devices to ensure accurate time records. 

What’s missing

• Time Doctor’s detailed monitoring features, like screenshots and silent tracking, can raise employee privacy concerns and impact trust. 

Best for

Time Doctor is best for remote teams who want to track employee activity in detail and improve productivity and performance. 

Top features

• Automated time tracking: Track time automatically without manual input on multiple devices. 
• Offline tracking: Time Doctor tracks every working minute, even without an internet connection. 
• Interactive and silent app: While users can control the interactive time tracking app, the silent app can’t be paused, and it tracks all activity when the computer is on.
• Productivity insights: Get activity summary reports, see hours tracked, and timeline reports to analyze team productivity. 

Tool integrations

Integrations include Asana, FreshBooks, and Slack.

Pricing

Time Doctor offers three pricing options:

Plan	Cost	Best for
Basic	$7 per user per month	Individual users with minimal time tracking needs
Standard	$10 per user per month	Teams with more complex time-tracking needs
Premium	$20 per user per month	Large teams who need advanced time-tracking features

Visit the pricing page for more information.

3. Harvest

Price: Starts at $12/month

Harvest is a time tracker that improves your entire billing workflow. It tracks billable hours, turns tracked time into invoices, and collects client payments. 

What we like

• Harvest turns your billable time tracked and expenses into accurate invoices. Through its integrations with Stripe and PayPal, Harvest lets you accept client payments online. 

What’s missing

• Harvest doesn’t track time automatically, and it doesn’t have custom reports. 

Best for

Harvest is best for teams who need to track billable hours, streamline invoicing and expense tracking, and speed up client payments. 

Top features

• Browser, desktop, and mobile time tracking: Track time on multiple platforms and keep time records accurate. 
• Billable and non-billable tasks: Add and track billable and non-billable work activities. 
• Time and cost reports: See how your team spends work hours, visualize project progress, and track internal costs. 
• Invoicing and client payments: Harvest lets you create invoices from timesheets, invoice clients for expenses, and collect payments online. 

Tool integrations

Integrations include Google Calendar, PayPal, and QuickBooks.

Pricing

Harvest offers two pricing options:

Plan	Cost	Best for
Free	$0	Freelancers who need to track their time for client billing
Pro	$12 per user per month	Teams and startups who need to understand where their time goes and monitor profitability

Visit the pricing page for more information.

4. Hubstaff

Price: Starts at $7/month

Hubstaff is a time tracking, workforce management, and employee monitoring app that tracks time, activity, GPS locations, work breaks, and attendance. 

What we like

• With Hubstaff, you can manage time off, track attendance and overtime, and schedule employee work. These workforce management features and Hubstaff’s payment capabilities simplify and speed up payroll. 

What’s missing

• With surveillance features like employee screenshots and app tracking, Hubstaff can potentially create team mistrust and anxiety. 

Best for

Hubstaff is best for freelancers or remote teams who want to track time accurately and monitor work hours with surveillance features. 

Top features

• Multi-platform time tracking: Track time for specific clients, projects, or tasks via mobile apps, tablets, or browser extensions. 
• Automated timesheets: The tool automatically turns your time entries into accurate timesheets. 
• Employee surveillance: Monitor employee activity with screenshots every ten minutes and track app and website activity for proof of work.
• Idle time detection: Hubstaff knows when you go idle and sends you idle time notifications.

Tool integrations

Integrations include Asana, GitHub, and Wrike. 

Pricing

Hubstaff offers five pricing options:

Plan	Cost	Best for
Free	$0	For individual use
Starter	$7 per user per month	Small businesses who need a basic time-tracking solution
Grow	$9 per user per month	Teams who need more complex time-tracking and time management features
Team	$12 per user per month	Teams with advanced time-tracking needs
Enterprise	Contact Hubstaff for prices, starting at $25 per user per month	Enterprise companies

Visit the pricing page for more information.

5. TimeCamp

Price: Starts at $3.99/month

TimeCamp is a time and productivity tracking tool that facilitates accurate time tracking, monitors employee productivity, and provides detailed time usage insights. 

What we like

• TimeCamp has strong time tracking capabilities. It can track time online and offline on mobile, desktop, or via browser extensions. It also detects idle time, generates weekly timesheets, tracks attendance and overtime, and creates insightful time reports. 

What’s missing

• TimeCamp takes screenshots of employees’ computers. It may capture sensitive personal information like private messages or personal details, which may feel intrusive to some team members.

Best for

TimeCamp is best for teams who want to track and manage their time efficiently and monitor employee activity to improve productivity. 

Top features

• Keyword-based time tracking: TimeCamp automatically records time based on predefined keywords in documents or apps. 
• Task timer: TimeCamp has a start-stop timer for individual tasks, so you know exactly how much each task takes. 
• Project import: Automatically import all your work from your project management tool into TimeCamp. 
• Employee monitoring: Take employee screenshots and track app and URL activity to gain insights into productivity and potential inefficiencies. 

Tool integrations

Integrations include Google Docs, Microsoft Teams, and Google Calendar.

Pricing

TimeCamp offers five pricing options: 

Plan	Cost	Best for
Free	$0	Individual users with minimal time tracking needs
Starter	$3.99 per user per month	Teams with more complex time-tracking needs
Premium	$6.99 per user per month	Large teams that need advanced time-tracking features
Ultimate	$10.99 per user per month	Multiple teams
Enterprise	Contact TimeCamp	Enterprise teams

Visit the pricing page for more information

6. Timely

Price: Starts at $11/month

Timely is a time tracking app that uses AI to track time and generate timesheets and in-depth time tracking reports. 

What we like

• Timely automatically and non-intrusively tracks time and generates accurate daily timesheets. Employees can control which tracked time data they want to share and which remains private. 

What’s missing

• Timely doesn’t have a free plan or invoicing features. 

Best for

RescueTime is best for teams who need an AI-powered time tracking app to streamline their time tracking and reduce manual input. 

Top features

• Memory tracker: Timely’s Memory app tracks everything you work on and remembers how long each activity takes. 
• Billable time tracking: Track paid hours and bill clients accurately. 
• AI timesheets: Timely uses AI to create timesheets based on tracked time automatically. 
• Reporting: Timely generates many reports like snapshot, high-level, or live reports with insightful time analytics data. 

Tool integrations

Integrations include Google Calendar, Slack, and Google Docs.

Pricing

Timely offers four paid plans:

Plan	Cost	Best for
Starter	$11 per user per month	Freelancers and small teams
Premium	$20 per user per month	Midsize teams
Unlimited	$28 per user per month	Midsize and large teams
Unlimited+	Contact for more pricing	Large teams

Visit the pricing page for more information.

7. Clockify

Price: Starts at $4.99/month

Clockify is an all-in-one time and productivity tracking app that tracks employee activity and generates detailed time insights.

What we like

• As a comprehensive tool, Clockify does many things. It has multi-platform time tracking, timesheet and time off management, scheduling, and expense tracking features. 

What’s missing

• Clockify takes random screenshots from the desktop app every five minutes when the timer is on. This feature can make employees feel uncomfortable and anxious. 

Best for

Clockify is best for teams looking for an all-in-one time tracking and productivity app with employee monitoring features. 

Top features

• Mobile time tracking: In addition to tracking time via browser extensions, Clockify also tracks time on mobile devices.
• Timesheet approvals: Managers can review, approve, or reject employee timesheets from Clockify.
• Kiosk: Employees can clock in and out from a shared device at physical locations.
• Calendar view: See tracked daily tasks at a glance in a calendar view and identify work habits.  
• Surveillance features: Clockify monitors activity and productivity with GPS tracking and screenshots. 

Tool integrations

Integrations include Asana, Todoist, and Google Calendar. 

Pricing

Clockify offers five pricing options:

Plan	Cost	Best for
Free forever	$0	Solo users who need a basic time tracking tool
Basic	$4.99 per user per month	Solo users who need time audits and historical rates
Standard	$6.99 per user per month	Small teams with more complex time-tracking needs
Pro	$9.99 per user per month	Teams who need to optimize productivity with GPS tracking and screenshots
Enterprise	$14.99 per user per month	Teams with complex client projects that require advanced time-tracking and expense tracking features

Visit the pricing page for more information.

8. ManicTime

Price: Starts at $9/month

ManicTime is an automatic time tracking and time management tool that tracks computer activity and provides detailed time and productivity reports. 

What we like

• ManicTime’s on-premise installation lets you install the app directly on your own servers, which gives you more control over data privacy and security.

What’s missing

• Since ManicTime automatically tracks all computer activity, it can capture sensitive or personal information. This can feel intrusive and make some users uncomfortable.

Best for

ManicTime is best for teams and freelancers who want to track time automatically and get insightful reports from tracked time data. 

Top features

• Automatic time tracking: ManicTime automatically records the time spent on apps, websites, and documents without any manual input. 
• Offline tracking: ManicTime operates locally on your computer, which means it works without an internet connection.
• Screenshots: The tool takes screenshots of all apps you use once every 60 seconds. You can customize ManicTime to only take screenshots of specific apps and restrict others. 
• On-premise installation: You can install this software on your local servers for increased security. 
• Detailed reports: Get daily overviews of employee activity, see overtime reports, or gather productivity insights. 

Tool integrations

Integrations include Jira, GitHub, and Zapier. 

Pricing

ManicTime has two main types of plans. It has a one-time purchase license that costs $67 for a single user and Cloud subscriptions with monthly or yearly payment options. The licensing is per user, with the option to install and run the software on multiple computers. 

ManicTime offers two Cloud subscription pricing plans:

Plan	Cost	Best for
Standard	$9 per user per month	Teams who need time tracking without screenshots
Ultimate	$11 per user per month	Teams who need to track time with random screenshots

Visit the pricing page for more information.

9. DeskTime

Price: Starts at $7/month

DeskTime is a time tracking app that tracks time automatically or lets you manually add time entries and has surveillance features like screenshots and activity tracking. 

What we like

• DeskTime’s private time feature lets employees stop the timer when they check personal emails or social media.

What’s missing

• DeskTime is an online time tracker, which means you can’t use its timer while offline. This limits its time tracking capabilities. 

Best for

DeskTime is best for teams who want an online time tracking app that takes employee screenshots and tracks app and website activity. 

Top features

• Web timer: Track time via browser extensions without installing the DeskTime app on your computer. 
• Mobile time tracking: Available on iOS and Android devices, DeskTime’s mobile app tracks time on the go. 
• Calendar time: Record time spent on non-billable tasks like meetings with DeskTime’s calendar integrations. 
• Offline time: When employees add offline time requests, you can approve or decline them. 

Tool integrations

Integrations include Trello, Basecamp, and Outlook Calendar. 

Pricing

DeskTime offers four pricing plans:

Plan	Cost	Best for
DeskTime Lite	$0	Solo users who need automatic time and app tracking
Pro	$7 per user per month	Teams who need to track time automatically and manually and calculate productivity.
Premium	$10 per user per month	Teams with more complex time-tracking and project scheduling needs
Enterprise	$20 per user per month	Enterprise teams

Visit the pricing page for more information.

10. Everhour

Price: Starts at $10/month

Everhour is an all-in-one time tracking and time management software that helps teams track time accurately and manage their time more efficiently. 

What we like

• Everhour’s task estimate feature lets users add and edit task time estimates directly within their project management software.

Estimating task durations can help allocate resources more efficiently, monitor progress accurately, and manage time better. 

What’s missing

• Everhour has no task timer, so you can’t automatically track time spent on specific tasks. You can only add task time entries manually. Also, Everhour’s free version doesn’t have any billing features. 

Best for

Everhour is best for teams that want an all-in-one time tracker that helps them keep track of and manage their time better. 

Top features

• Timer and manual entry: Track time with Everhour’s one-click time or add time entries manually. 
• Auto-stop timer: Everhour automatically stops your timer at the end of the day based on your work hours. 
• Time log: See the history of time entries within a task or project or made by individual team members. 
• Live dashboard: See at a glance what everyone is working on in real-time. 

Tool integrations

Integrations include ClickUp, Jira, and Slack.

Pricing

Everhour offers two pricing plans:

Plan	Cost	Best for
Free	$0	Solo users who need an intuitive and user-friendly time tracker
Team	$10 per user per month	Teams who need time and project tracking, task management, and project scheduling features

Visit the pricing page for more information. 

Why do people consider alternatives to RescueTime?

Let’s look at some of the reasons why people consider RescueTime alternatives:

• Lacks key features: RescueTime doesn’t have shift scheduling, billing, or invoicing features. It also doesn’t track project progress or billable hours. 
• Mobile app issues: Some users say RescueTime doesn’t work well on mobile. Its mobile app often crashes and doesn’t have as many features as the desktop app. 
• Limited integrations: RescueTime only integrates with Slack, Google Calendar, Outlook, and Office 365. It also provides integrations through Zapier, but that comes with extra costs. 
• Data privacy concerns: For some people, RescueTime’s automatic time tracking feature might seem intrusive and raise data privacy and security concerns.

Best RescueTime alternatives: A quick comparison

Here’s a quick overview of our RescueTime alternatives:

Tool	G2 Rating	Best for	Price
Toggl Track	4.6	Accurate time tracking, powerful reporting, and profitability analysis	From $10/user/month
Time Doctor	4.4	Performance and employee monitoring	From $7/user/month
Harvest	4.3	Invoicing and payments	From $12/user/month
Hubstaff	4.3	Monitoring remote employees	From $7/user/month
TimeCamp	4.7	Activity and productivity tracking	From $3.99/user/month
Timely	4.8	Automatic and non-invasive time tracking	From $11/user/month
Clockify	4.5	Simple and powerful invoicing	From $4.99/user/month
ManicTime	4.3	Automatic time tracking with screenshots	From $9/user/month
DeskTime	4.6	Automatic time tracking and employee monitoring	From $7/user/month
Everhour	4.7	Task and time management	From $10/user/month

RescueTime FAQs

Here are the most commonly asked questions about RescueTime.

What is RescueTime used for?

RescueTime is an automatic time tracker that helps teams and individuals improve productivity and manage time more efficiently. 

How does RescueTime track time?

RescueTime automatically logs the time spent on apps or websites without requiring manual input. RescueTime also lets users manually add or edit time entries. 

Can RescueTime block apps?

Yes, RescueTime has a feature to block distracting websites and apps. Users can customize the list of blocked sites and schedule focus sessions for high-priority tasks. 

Looking for the right RescueTime alternative?

By now, you probably know a couple of  RescueTime alternatives you like.

Sign up for a free trial to try them out.

You can start with Toggl Track by signing up for a free Toggl Track account. 

You’ll also get to try a 30-day trial with full access to Toggl Track features that help you:

• Track time accurately and non-intrusively 
• Get detailed time reports to improve productivity
• Organize tasks, projects, and clients and manage time better

Related articles

• Best Employee Time Tracking Software & Apps
• Best Time Management Tools
• How to Track Time In a Spreadsheet

More than half of all hourly workers say schedule flexibility is the top thing they enjoy about their current role. That’s a huge driver of employee engagement. And yet, fair and flexible scheduling is also one of the hardest points for businesses to get right.

When everything clicks, workforce scheduling can make your team more productive, reach your overarching business goals, and increase employee satisfaction.

But get it wrong, and you’ll hit problems like overstaffing shift schedules, scheduling conflicts between teammates, and employee burnout.

We know which we’d prefer! That’s why we’ve put this guide together to outline how to follow the right approach to scheduling.

TL;DR — Key Takeaways

• Workforce scheduling is the process of planning and assigning employee shifts so you have the right people working at the right times. A well-designed schedule helps businesses meet staffing needs, reduce labor costs, improve employee satisfaction, and avoid issues like understaffing, overstaffing, and scheduling conflicts.
• You could do workforce scheduling manually, but why bother? Digital workforce planning is more convenient, allowing you to automate tasks, remove manual errors, and share updates in real-time.
• Workforce scheduling software is equipped with different features, such as templates, shift bidding, and audit trails, which you might need based on your industry and individual preferences.
• There are several practical ways to improve your workforce scheduling, including frequent team communications, historical data, and making flexibility a priority.

Checklist: Do you need workforce scheduling?

Workforce scheduling is a staple of some business models, but is it right for your business?

Let’s say you run a coffee shop at its busiest from 7-11 am. With workforce scheduling, you can assign more baristas in the morning and fewer in the afternoon. You also avoid anyone working more than 40 hours per week or accidentally scheduling employees on their days off.

Not in the coffee shop trade? Here are some tell-tale signs that workforce scheduling would work for you specifically.

• You have shift coverage problems, with too many or too few people working at the same time (overstaffing and understaffing)
• You struggle with last-minute shift changes and finding replacements when someone can’t work
• Employees complain that their schedules are unfair, constantly changing, or don’t match their availability
• You have high labor costs because you regularly fork out for overtime, or overschedule people who sit around with nothing to do
• You miss business opportunities because customers wait too long or simply leave because you don’t have enough staff
• You have problems tracking hours, and can’t tell who worked when and how much
• You do a lot of manual scheduling, creating them in sheets and on paper, making small mistakes that lead to major crises
• You constantly worry about breaking the law and violating labor laws like required breaks, maximum work hours, or fair shift practices

If you face one or more of these challenges, your business can benefit from workforce scheduling.

Top benefits of workforce scheduling software

If you’ve previously created work schedules in Google Docs or on paper, you’ll know it can get old, fast. Of course, these rudimentary tools may suit your scheduling needs for a while, but you’ll quickly encounter problems like missed shifts and communication breakdowns between teammates if you depend on them for too long.

The alternative is to use a dedicated scheduling solution, which helps by:

• Automating a huge portion of the work: The tool assigns shifts based on availability, so you don’t have to manually adjust shifts in spreadsheets.
• Removing errors: You’ll see fewer double bookings, missed shifts, and legal violations.
• Providing better coverage: Smart employee scheduling software helps you match staffing levels so you can adjust to slow and busy periods.
• Satisfying your employees: Your team can set their availability and see all of their updates in real time. Talk about convenient.
• Improving compliance: Many scheduling tools adhere to labor laws, union rules, or company policies by default, so you don’t need to double-check everything.
• Providing real-time updates: Last-minute schedule changes show up in real time in your schedule management software, so when someone calls in sick or you change the schedule, everyone can see it immediately.
• Offering data and reporting tools: You can see data on labor costs, overtime, and staffing patterns, helping you make better decisions for future schedules.

If you’re doing fine as is, hats off to you. But if any of the features above resonate, it might be worth looking into dedicated software for workforce scheduling.

Workforce scheduling features to look out for (based on your top pain points)

The right scheduling tool can make a world of difference, but not every business needs the same set of features. The best way to choose software is to match its functionality to your specific challenges. Below, we’ve outlined common scheduling pain points and the features that can solve them.

⌛ Pain point 1: If you’re wasting too much time building schedules manually

• Auto-scheduling: Suggests or builds schedules based on rules you set (like availability and shift needs).
• Drag-and-drop editor: Lets you quickly adjust shifts without retyping everything.
• Templates: Allows you to save and reuse schedules for busy periods, weekends, etc.

⛔ Pain point 2: If employees are unavailable or unhappy with their shifts

• Employee self-service: Allows workers to set their availability, request time off, and swap shifts online and on their own.
• Mobile app access: Staff can view schedules from the palm of their hand.
• Fair scheduling rules: Ensures even distribution of preferred shifts and hours.

🌧️ Pain point 3: If you have shift coverage problems (too few or too many people)

• Demand forecasting: Predicts how many workers you’ll need based on sales, foot traffic, or past patterns.
• Shift bidding: Employees can claim open shifts, helping fill gaps faster.
• Qualification tagging: Schedules the best people for certain roles (e.g., only certified workers for specialized tasks).

🚨 Pain point 4: If you’re struggling with labor laws and compliance

• Overtime alerts: Warns you before assigning shifts that would cause costly overtime.
• Break and rest compliance: Automatically schedules required breaks and rest periods.
• Audit trails: Keeps a record of all schedule changes for legal or HR reviews.

🫨 Pain point 5: If last-minute changes create chaos

• Real-time notifications: Instantly alerts staff to schedule changes via text, email, or app.
• Shift swapping: This lets employees trade shifts (with or without manager approval.)
• Find replacement feature: Suggests available workers when someone calls out.

📄 Pain point 6: If you lack decent reporting and planning

• Labor cost tracking: Shows how much each shift or schedule costs you.
• Attendance tracking: Monitors who shows up late, leaves early, or misses shifts.
• Performance insights: Some tools can even show patterns like absenteeism or your most productive employees.

How to improve your workforce scheduling process

Improving your workforce scheduling depends on your industry, team structure, and how much flexibility your business demands.

A healthcare clinic might prioritize certifications and legal compliance, while a retail store needs agility to match unpredictable customer traffic.

No matter your setup, these best practices can help you create smarter, more efficient schedules that work for both your business and your team. Here are some general rules on how to improve the way you manage workforce scheduling.

Communicate clearly with your team

While better scheduling benefits the business, employees may see it as an extra hassle — unless you show them how it works in their favor. When people can share their preferences and availability, they’re more likely to get their preferred shifts and avoid conflicts.

Make it easy to gather this data. Try:

• A quick weekly survey
• A Slack poll at the end of the week
• A show of hands during team meetings

You’ll end up with the data you need and show your team that their input matters. Both enable you to plan ahead with confidence.

Use historical data to optimize schedules

Remember when you had 10 employees working a ghost town shift, followed by a solo employee struggling during peak hours? Neither of these needs to happen again. Once you commit to workforce planning, your historical data shapes what you do next time. Here’s how different industries do it:

• Retail teams align staffing with sales data, adding more coverage during seasonal rushes or after major promotions.
• Restaurants track reservations to schedule more servers during busy dining hours — and scale back when it’s quiet.
• Healthcare offices use appointment volume and no-show trends to balance staff across the week.

Build flexibility into your schedules

85% of workers across 35 countries consider work-life balance the most important factor when evaluating current or future jobs, outranking pay and job stability. Offering flexible schedule options plays a huge role in driving employee satisfaction and making you a more desirable employer. Try the following to become more flexible:

• Staggered shifts: Instead of having everyone start at the same time, employees can arrive and leave in waves to cover peak periods more smoothly.
• Overlapping hours: Scheduling slight overlaps between shifts ensures enough coverage during busy transitions without overstaffing.
• Remote work options: For roles that don’t require a physical presence, offering remote shifts or hybrid models can widen your talent pool and keep employees happier.

Flexibility won’t negatively affect your productivity. If anything, an increase in flexibility results in higher output, on top of improved employee engagement.

Prepare for unexpected changes

The best plan in the world won’t work if you’re hit with any last-minute absences or emergencies. Here are some strategies to prepare for the unexpected.

• Maintain an on-call system with employees willing to be on standby during the week. Keep them motivated by offering extra pay or time off.
• Cross-train employees so that an employee can replace someone else in a different role in a pinch. For example, a front desk agent in a hotel could assist with basic concierge services or serve tables during busy periods.
• Build relationships with freelance or temp workers who can step in and save the day when emergencies pop up.

Avoid overloading your team

If you overschedule shifts for certain team members, you risk leading them toward burnout and lower job satisfaction, even if they’re usually thrilled to do their jobs.

Prioritize employee preferences

Your top priority? Assign your employees the shifts they need to achieve a better work-life balance. The only way to do this is to have all the information in one place to account for time-off requests, personal commitments, preferred working hours, and other details.

Automate repetitive scheduling tasks

While you may need to adjust your scheduling to accommodate seasonal changes occasionally, the bulk of your scheduling efforts will remain the same throughout the month or year.

Workforce scheduling tools automate recurring shifts or assign schedules to your team members by default based on their availability.

You’ll spend even less time on scheduling while achieving even more efficiency. But don’t rest on your laurels because scheduling and capacity planning is not a set-it-and-forget-it type of activity, as Eli Rubel, owner of Profit Labs, warns:

“Most agency owners create a forecast once and never revisit it — that’s a huge mistake. You should be treating these as living, breathing documents.”

Comply with labor laws

Failing to comply with labor laws can result in fines, lawsuits, and reputational damage. Depending on your industry, you may have strict rules around how, when, and how much employees can work, and it’s your responsibility to stay on top of the latest red tape. Watch out for:

• Rest periods and breaks: Employees require legally mandated breaks during shifts and enough time off between shifts to rest properly.
• Age restrictions: Younger workers (typically under 18) are limited with the types of work they can perform and how many hours they can work, especially during school periods.
• Overtime tracking: Employers are required to accurately measure time spent on overtime work.

Review and refine schedules regularly

Make sure to periodically check in on your schedules so you can spot problems early, such as frequent understaffing during peak times, high overtime costs, or recurring employee dissatisfaction.

There are a few practical ways to review your workforce scheduling time and time again, such as:

• Reviewing key metrics, such as absentee rates, overtime hours, and shift coverage issues, to find patterns
• Setting up feedback loops, such as short employee surveys
• Acting on insights reported by employees that come up often, e.g., notice times that are too short
• Testing and tweaking small changes, such as adjusting shift lengths or adding extra coverage during certain hours

Toggl tips for better workforce management

Workforce scheduling is an ongoing effort that requires thinking ahead, protecting your team’s energy, and using the right data to drive smarter decisions. Here are some of our best tips for managing any workforce.

Track time to understand capacity and prevent burnout

As Eli Rubel emphasized in his conversation with Toggl, time tracking is a tool for visibility.

“Time tracking isn’t about micromanaging — it’s about making profitable business decisions. If you’re overworked, we can see that in the data and adjust. If you’re underworked, we catch it before it’s too late.”

Tracking employee hours measures actual workload capacity, prevents silent burnout, and engages in more accurate labor forecasting. Knowing your team’s actual utilization rates lets you adjust schedules before problems arise rather than after.

Build flexibility into your scheduling strategy

Sticking to rigid shift patterns leaves you vulnerable to no-shows, sick days, or shifting business demands.

But you can build a more resilient schedule that adapts without breaking by offering staggered start times, overlapping shifts, and part-time remote options where possible. Flexibility also supports employee morale, which directly impacts retention and service quality.

Review and adjust your schedule regularly

Scheduling should be treated as a living system, not a set-it-and-forget-it task. Take time each month or quarter to review staffing data, absentee rates, overtime costs, and employee feedback.

Eli Rubel suggests updating forecasts continuously based on real-time market shifts and fine-tuning your schedules to reflect changing team needs, customer demand patterns, and business goals.

“This is why I started Profit Labs. Agency owners need real-time data to make the right decisions. Our dashboards bring together financials, CRM data, and time tracking to show exactly where the business stands.

With Toggl Track, you can make data-backed decisions based on employee availability, past performance, and other details.

Achieve operational efficiency with Toggl Track

No matter which industry you’re in, you can’t take workforce scheduling for granted. At the very least, you can do it manually until upgrading to a full-blown scheduling system makes sense.

Take a good look at your existing scheduling practices to see if there’s room for improvement in your operations or employee satisfaction. If so, it might be better to skip the baby steps and use a dedicated tool for the job, such as Toggl Track.

With Toggl Track by your side, you can create detailed, robust time tracking reports and make data-driven decisions on who works when.

Improve your operational efficiency today by signing up for Toggl Track for free or speak to sales for teams of 20+ users.

Before 2019, time tracking was mostly about knowing who worked on what and for how long. Helpful? Definitely. Required by law? Not always.

Then, a Spanish trade union challenged Deutsche Bank in court for not recording work hours properly. The case escalated to the European Court of Justice, and the ruling was crystal clear: EU employers must track daily working hours using a system that’s reliable, objective, and easy to access.

This legal requirement ties back to the European Union’s Working Time Directive — legislation that’s been around since the ’90s to ensure employees get proper rest and paid leave and aren’t clocking 70-hour weeks without anyone noticing.

Today, we break down what the EU Working Time Directive means for EU employers and how you can prepare for and comply with this legislation. We’ll show you which laws apply in which country and how to comply, step by step.

TL;DR — Key Takeaways

• The EU Working Time Directive limits working hours and enforces rest periods to protect employee health and safety. It includes rules like a 48-hour average workweek, 11 consecutive hours of daily rest, and mandatory breaks after six hours of work.
• Each EU country applies the directive differently, so employers must follow local laws. For example, Spain requires companies to store time records for four years, while Greece uses a real-time Digital Work Card linked to a government platform.
• A compliant time tracking system supports local rules, employee access, and GDPR standards. Look for tools with customizable settings, strong data encryption, and clear audit trails that align with EU data protection laws.
• Internal audits and regular reporting catch issues early and prepare for inspections. Monthly reviews and automated reports highlight missing entries, overtime risks, and break compliance gaps.
• Time tracking laws also apply outside the EU, and global teams must adapt by country. For example, the US, Canada, and Australia have different record-keeping lengths and overtime definitions, so international companies need flexible tracking tools.

The EU Working Time Directive explained

The EU Working Time Directive was introduced in 1993 as Directive 93/104/EC and later updated in 2003 under Directive 2003/88/EC. Its primary aim is to protect workers’ health and safety by regulating working hours and ensuring adequate rest periods.

Key provisions of the directive include:

• Maximum average working week: 48 hours, including overtime, averaged over a reference period of up to four months.
• Daily rest period: At least 11 consecutive hours in a 24-hour period.
• Weekly rest period: A minimum of 24 uninterrupted hours per seven-day period in addition to the daily rest.
• Rest breaks: A break during working hours for workers on duty for more than six hours.
• Paid annual leave: At least four weeks per year.
• Night shifts: Night workers must not exceed eight hours of work in any 24 hours, on average, for roles involving special hazards or heavy physical or mental strain.

These standards promote work-life balance and support employee well-being.

Following this ruling, countries like Spain and Greece have taken specific steps:

• 🇪🇸 Spain: Implemented Royal Decree-Law 8/2019, mandating daily recording of working hours for all employees. Employers must keep these records for four years, making them available to employees, unions, and labor inspectors.
• 🇬🇷 Greece: Introduced the Digital Work Card system under Law 4808/2021, requiring real-time recording of working hours, integrated with the ERGANI II information system. This system improves transparency and ensures compliance with labor regulations.

How does the EU time tracking law apply to different countries?

Ever since the EU Working Time Directive was implemented, various countries within the EU have begun incorporating it into their labor laws or adapting it to suit their specific use cases. Here’s a glance at some EU countries with their legal requirements and fines for non-compliance.

Country	Implementation Highlights
Spain	Mandatory daily time tracking since May 12, 2019 (Royal Decree-Law 8/2019). Employers must record start/end times and breaks. Records kept for 4 years. Proposals to reduce workweek to 37.5 hours by end of 2025 pending approval.
Greece	Digital Work Card system under Law 4808/2021. Real-time recording integrated with ERGANI II. Implementation expanding by sector. Non-compliance leads to fines.
Germany	Working Hours Act (Arbeitszeitgesetz) requires tracking start and end times. Legislation being updated post-2019 ECJ ruling. Flexibility allowed via collective agreements.
France	35-hour standard workweek, max 48 hours with overtime. Employers must maintain working hour records. Details may vary by collective agreements.
Netherlands	Working Hours Act (Arbeidstijdenwet) mandates tracking of actual hours and overtime. 48-hour weekly average over 16 weeks. Special rules for night workers and minors.

How to comply with the European Working Time Directive

It’s a no-brainer. You want to give your employees the work-life balance they deserve while complying with the law. But how? Here are some practical ways to abide by the legislation.

Understand your country’s specific requirements

The EWTD is merely a set of guidelines, and each member country is responsible for putting them into practice through national legislation.

For example, Spain requires all companies to maintain daily time-tracking records for employees, including start and end times, as well as breaks. Employers must keep these records for four years and make them available to workers, unions, and labor inspectors on request.

On the other hand, Germany is currently updating its laws to comply with the 2019 ECJ ruling. While the existing Working Hours Act already requires time tracking in many cases, newer proposals are moving toward mandatory recording of start and end times for all employees. There is still some flexibility under their current agreements.

Implement compliant time tracking systems

There are countless time tracking solutions out there, and you should choose one that works with the EWTD and your country’s laws. Look for tools with the following features:

• The ability to keep accurate records of workdays, rest periods, and overtime.
• Break and rest period logging to comply with your country’s minimum standards.
• Compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) if you handle employee data in the EU (even if your company HQ is based outside of it). This includes data encryption, secure access controls, and clear data retention policies.
• Customizable rules by country. In addition to the standard features, such as timesheets, the tool should be easy to customize based on local laws.
• Employee self-access. This allows every team member to review the number of hours worked and supports audits or disputes if they arise.

Educate your workforce about compliance

Even the best system falls short if employees don’t understand how to use it or why it’s important in the first place. Training your team is just as important as implementing employee time tracking. Try:

• Offering clear training sessions to your entire team. Explain the legal obligations and highlight that the system is there to protect their rights and not intrude on their privacy.
• Communicating why you’re tracking time. Aside from complying with the law, highlight that the practice is there for fairness, transparency, and legal protection.
• Addressing the issue of micromanagement head-on. Explain that time tracking is there to improve working conditions and comply with the law, not monitor every second of someone’s day.
• Selling the benefits of timekeeping to your team. Beyond employee productivity gains, explain that individual employees require proper rest periods, and their rights at work must be protected by law.

Establish internal audits and reporting procedures

Don’t wait for an audit announcement to get your records in order. Conducting regular internal audits keeps you compliant and prepared. Here’s how:

• Review time tracking on a monthly basis, looking for missed entries, unapproved overtime hours, or patterns suggesting that some employees are not getting the required rest.
• Set up automated reports to easily spot errors. Tools such as Toggl Track come with built-in reports for total hours, break compliance, and overtime trends. Review them regularly and watch out for risky patterns.
• Prepare for an audit in advance. Create a folder or dashboard that contains all the necessary documents, including a summary of logged hours per employee, system access logs (which verify that each employee has reviewed their records), notes on exceptions or corrections, and any other relevant information.

How to implement mandatory time tracking in your workplace

Now we’ve covered the basics, let’s get our hands dirty and start implementing mandatory time tracking in your organization.

Evaluate your current time tracking practices

Many businesses don’t actively track their time. Others do, but their practices are outdated. Here’s a simple process to check how you keep track of employees:

• Look at how time is being tracked today. Are employees logging start and end times, breaks, and overtime? Is it manual, automated, or a mix of both?
• Check your setup against national and EU laws. For example, does your system support real-time logging like in Greece? Are records stored for long enough, as required in Spain?
• Identify gaps and risks. Look for areas where time entries are missing or inconsistent, breaks and rest periods aren’t tracked, and employees can’t access their logs.
• Talk to your team. They may have insights on what’s working and what’s not. Ask them how easy it is to track time and if they feel confident using the system.

Choose the right time tracking tool

Your time tracking app of choice should meet the following criteria:

• Compliance with relevant EU laws (and the ability to customize the way you track your time to suit your needs)
• A user-friendly interface to increase adoption
• Accessibility for remote, hybrid, and mobile teams
• Detailed reporting with the level of granularity that meets your requirements
• GDPR compliance and data security
• Compliance-focused features such as break tracking, daily logs of start and end times, overtime tracking and approval workflows, data retention settings, and more

Create an implementation plan

Plan your implementation ahead of time to comply and make it easy for your team to adjust. Your plan will depend on your previous experience with time tracking, but it should roughly look like this:

• Set a clear timeline with milestones. For example, when to select the tool, when to start onboarding, and when to go live. Allow some buffer time for training, feedback, and on-the-go adjustments.
• Involve key stakeholders early. Legal, HR, IT, and department team leads are a great start. They can identify compliance needs and support your technical setup while also communicating the value of time tracking and its relationship to compliance.
• Run a pilot phase before going live. A structured rollout provides space to identify technical issues, gather feedback, and refine processes before implementing them company-wide.
• Prepare documentation and support materials. At this stage, you’re in a strong position to create internal guides or walkthroughs explaining how to use the system and why it’s important.
• Communicate clearly and often. Let your team know what’s changing, why it matters, and how it benefits them. Address concerns about privacy, micromanagement, or extra admin work upfront.

Train your employees

With your tools and systems in place, your employees need to learn how and when to track their hours of work. Here’s a great starting point for team training.

• Keep it simple and hands-on. Offer live demos or recorded walkthroughs showing how to log hours, track breaks, and access team time data. Use real-world examples from their day-to-day work so the training feels relevant and useful.
• Be transparent about the why. Clearly explain that time tracking is not about micromanagement. It’s about complying with legal standards, protecting employees from overwork, and improving visibility into workloads and project needs.
• Frame it as a win for them, not you. Help your team see the benefits, such as accurate overtime pay (e.g., for night work), proof of workload in case of audits, improved planning, and support for flexible work arrangements.
• Address concerns early on. Let employees voice any worries about being monitored. Reassure them that the goal is compliance and fairness, not tracking productivity minute by minute with surveillance.
• Provide ongoing support. Offer a helpdesk contact or internal resource where employees can go for assistance. Check in after the rollout to answer questions and make adjustments if needed.

Monitor and optimize the system

The work doesn’t stop once you’ve set everything up. To keep everyone tracking their time diligently, monitor progress and continually optimize your practices. To do so:

• Schedule regular system reviews. Check for missing entries, inconsistent logs, or unused features.
• Use feedback to improve adoption. Ask employees what’s working and what’s frustrating. A quick survey or informal check-in can uncover confusing interfaces, slow mobile apps, or uncertainty about break tracking.
• Make improvements based on data. If you see that certain teams consistently miss break logs or over-report hours, it may signal a need for extra training or a process tweak. Staying responsive shows your team that time tracking is a shared effort, not a top-down mandate.

Integrate time tracking with existing workflows

You shouldn’t track time in isolation from other processes in your business. Integrate your time tracking tool with the rest of your tech stack to increase data accuracy, streamline workflows, make it easy to pay people based on timesheets, and more.

• Connect with HR and payroll tools. Choose a time tracking platform that syncs with your HRIS or payroll software. This reduces errors and makes it easier to manage things like overtime pay, leave balances, and absences automatically.
• Automate wherever possible, using reminders to clock in/out, break notifications, and direct report generation can save time for both employees and managers. This keeps the system running smoothly without adding administrative overhead.
• Embed tracking into daily routines and encourage teams to log time at natural points during the day, like starting a shift or wrapping up a project. The less disruptive it feels, the more consistent your data will be.

Foster a productive and compliant workplace culture

If you don’t frame it the right way, mandatory time tracking feels like a chore. It’s up to you as the employer to introduce time tracking as something that helps everyone win instead of allowing you to micromanage.

• Emphasize fairness and transparency. Time tracking ensures everyone is treated equally, whether it’s receiving overtime pay, taking proper breaks, or avoiding excessive workloads.
• Lead by example. When managers log their time and follow the same rules, it sends a strong message that compliance isn’t just for junior staff. It’s part of how the whole company operates.
• Align tracking with your values. If your company promotes work-life balance or flexible scheduling, show how time tracking protects those commitments.

Other mandatory time tracking laws

EU member states are just some of the many countries worldwide that have laws on time tracking. If you’re in the EU but operating globally, it’s important to stay on top of time tracking legislation in other countries, too, for example:

• In the United States, under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers must track actual hours worked for non-exempt employees to determine overtime eligibility. The law doesn’t mandate a specific tracking method, but records must be accurate and retained for at least two years. Breaks and rest periods are governed by state law, not federal law.
• In Canada, federal and provincial laws require employers to track hours worked and keep records of overtime, breaks, and rest periods. For example, Ontario’s Employment Standards Act mandates keeping these records for at least three years. Penalties apply for failing to maintain accurate logs.
• In Australia, employers must record hours worked, start and end times, and break durations, especially for award-covered or non-salaried workers. Records must be kept for seven years and made available to the Fair Work Ombudsman upon request.
• In Japan, the Labor Standards Act requires tracking all working hours, especially to monitor for overwork. Employers may face serious consequences if employees exceed legal working hour limits or if logs are falsified.

Track working hours (and so much more) with Toggl Track

If you’re in the European Union and want to comply with the time tracking laws in your country, adopting a reliable time tracking platform such as Toggl Track is the kickstart you need.

Toggl Track does the heavy lifting and creates detailed time logs to stay compliant. The interface is simple and easy to use, so you won’t struggle to gain buy-in from your team.

Your data is safe with Toggl Track since we’re GDPR-friendly and ISO 27001-certified, and powerful reporting features make audits a breeze. As the cherry on top, Toggl Track also integrates with your favorite project management, invoicing, sales, productivity, and other tools.

Our time tracking system scales with your needs, giving you the features you need for your specific country and use case.

But most importantly, Toggl Track isn’t just about compliance. It’s a tool to make your team more productive and transparent about how and when they work.

Talk to our sales team today to learn how Toggl Track can support your team.

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”

This insight from Roman philosopher Seneca still rings true today, especially in business. While many businesses focus on short-term wins, the most successful look further into the future. The proof? Companies that prep for the future are 33% more profitable than those that don’t.

To produce these benefits, scenario planning is a powerful strategy that predicts potential outcomes, anticipates challenges, and keeps you ahead of the competition, no matter what the future throws at you.

This article discusses this strategic initiative in more detail, including real-life examples, and a clear step-by-step process you can follow to look into the crystal ball of your business.

TL;DR — Key Takeaways

• Scenario planning is a proactive strategy businesses use to explore and prepare for different possible futures.
• Scenario planning is more important than ever due to technological advancements, climate changes, economic downturns, and other factors.
• A good scenario planning process includes six key steps: identifying driving forces, defining critical uncertainties, developing different scenarios, analyzing their implications, creating action plans, and, lastly, monitoring and updating the scenarios.
• Common scenario planning mistakes? Avoid planning too far ahead, adding too many variables, planning only for the best- and worst-case scenarios, and not assigning ownership for the main scenario tasks.

What does scenario planning actually mean?

Scenario planning is a strategic methodology that businesses use to prepare for multiple future events. Instead of asking, “What will happen?” it asks, “What could happen, and how will we respond?”

The approach has its roots in military strategy, but futurist Peter Schwartz, a former Shell executive, is credited with introducing scenario planning to the business world in the 1980s. As global resources came under pressure, he recognized the need for companies to challenge their assumptions and build strategies that withstand uncertainty.

“Scenarios are the most powerful vehicles I know for challenging our ‘mental models’ about the world and lifting the blinders that limit our creativity and resourcefulness.” — Peter Schwartz, The Art of the Long View

At its core, scenario planning helps you:

• Identify driving forces
• Determine critical uncertainties
• Create multiple scenarios
• Test strategies
• Plan responses

Scenario planning example

Imagine you have a CRM tool for your real estate business, and want to use scenario planning to understand what would happen if a new competitor disrupts the market. The different scenarios would include:

• Best-case scenario: You quickly identify the competitive threat, adjust your pricing, and double down on brand loyalty and customer service to retain market share.
• Worst-case scenario: The competitor’s innovation shakes up the market and pulls customers away. In response, you invest in product upgrades, launch new features, and shift focus to niche segments with little presence, carving out a new competitive edge.
• Moderate scenario: The competitor gains traction, but your company differentiates through product quality and brand trust. You roll out targeted marketing campaigns and loyalty programs to reinforce your value and keep customers engaged.

Why scenario planning is becoming increasingly important for business success

Scenario planning gives your business a structured way to navigate uncertainty. It helps leadership plan, prioritize long-term strategy, and make faster, more confident decisions. All of these benefits are vital in 2025.

💹 Economic conditions shift overnight

The market is more uncertain than ever, no matter where you are and what you do. In April 2025, the United States imposed tariffs on imported goods, driving up costs, increasing inflation, and potentially unemployment rates, among many other things.

Companies that map out economic scenarios in advance are in a stronger position to adapt. Whether that means adjusting pricing, restructuring costs, or pausing expansion, the planning is already in place.

🦾 AI is changing how work gets done

Artifical intelligence is already reshaping entire industries. Leaders like Bill Gates claim artificial intelligence will replace a variety of roles, from teachers to doctors, within the next 10 years.

This kind of disruption isn’t something you can wait to address. Scenario planning helps teams think through how emerging technologies could affect talent needs or customer expectations (and what to do next).

🌪️ Climate risks are now business risks

In 2024, average global temperatures exceeded the 1.5°C threshold identified in the Paris Agreement as a critical limit. Since then, extreme weather events such as severe droughts, deadly floods, and powerful cyclones have become more frequent and severe.

Climate-related disruptions must be accounted for in any serious business plan, including how they impact your supply chain or energy consumption. When you forecast future scenarios based on environmental risk, your teams have a framework to stay operational and responsive.

Equally, when big opportunities arise, scenario planning lets you foresee possible outcomes so you know which route to take.

When scenario planning works: Shell and the 1973 oil crisis

In 1973, a global oil crisis forced companies to cut production and raise oil prices. While many struggled, Royal Dutch/Shell was prepared. Since the late 1950s, Shell had been gathering historical data and exploring long-term possibilities through “long-range studies.”

By 1965, these had evolved into structured scenario planning exercises, each simulation forecasting different possible futures for the oil industry. One possible scenario predicted a major supply disruption. Acting on that, Shell switched to producing light fuels, helping them become one of the few companies that made it through the oil crisis.

When scenario is missing: Kodak’s decline

Kodak dominated the global camera and film market for much of the 20th century, but its downfall began long before digital photography took over. In 1975, Kodak’s engineer created the first digital camera. Instead of exploring what the innovation could mean to the company and the broader industry, leadership decision-makers shelved the idea.

Meanwhile, competitors like Canon, Sony, and Fuji leaned into the digital shift throughout the 1990s. By the time Kodak entered the digital market in the early 2000s, the company was already behind. It filed for bankruptcy in 2012.

Toggl’s step-by-step scenario planning process

Toggl has been around since 2006, and we’ve weathered a few storms. As a remote company in an age when remote work wasn’t yet popular, scenario planning has been key to how we’ve grown and built resilience across multiple product lines and markets.

Here are some of the practical ways we use scenario planning.

Step 1: Identify driving forces

Good scenario development requires looking into internal and external factors that could impact your operations.

External factors

Use a PESTLE analysis to organize the external forces that could shape your future:

• Political factors:
  Consider how changes in government policy, trade regulations, or tax laws could affect operations.
  Example: A new regulation on carbon emissions may impact logistics and supply chain strategies.
• Economic factors:
  Evaluate market conditions like inflation, interest rates, and employment levels.
  Example: An economic downturn could reduce consumer spending, forcing you to adjust pricing or inventory.
• Social factors:
  Look at evolving demographics, values, and consumer behavior.
  Example: A growing preference for sustainable products may push you to change suppliers or product design to become more environmentally friendly.
• Technological factors:
  Assess how innovations or automation could disrupt current processes or create new opportunities.
  Example: The rise of generative AI may change how companies approach customer support or content creation.
• Legal factors:
  Keep track of changes in laws that could impose restrictions or open new markets.
  Example: New data privacy laws such as GDPR might require updates to CRM systems or marketing consent policies.
• Environmental factors:
  Consider factors like climate change, resource availability, and environmental regulations.
  Example: A drought affecting crop supply might disrupt a company’s food manufacturing pipeline.

Internal factors

Internal factors reflect your organization’s current capacity, limitations, and readiness to respond to change. They’re equally important as external factors when assessing the potential future of your business outcomes.

• Team capacity and skills:
  Understanding your workforce is essential for assessing how well your business can respond to future challenges.
  Example: If your scenario involves adopting new technology, but your staff lacks technical expertise, you must plan for hiring or training.
• Operational efficiency:
  How smoothly your internal systems can determine whether you can handle disruption or growth.
  Example: A company with outdated manual processes may struggle to pivot quickly in a crisis or expansion scenario.
• Technology and infrastructure:
  Your existing tech stack can either support rapid adaptation or become a barrier to change.
  Example: A business running on legacy systems may face delays in rolling out new services or meeting compliance needs.
• Financial health
  You need a clear picture of your financial position to assess risk and prepare realistic responses.
  Example: A financially healthy company might pursue growth in a high-risk scenario, while another may need to focus its financial planning efforts on cost-cutting and survival.
• Company culture and adaptability:
  The mindset and morale of your team will significantly impact how quickly and effectively your organization responds to change.
  Example: A rigid, top-down culture may resist strategic pivots, while an adaptive culture thrives on testing and iteration.
• Leadership and decision-making structure:
  Scenario planning requires timely and informed decisions, so it’s critical to understand how decisions are made and who makes them.
  Example: Companies with decentralized decision-making might be more agile in complex scenarios, while centralized ones may act more consistently but more slowly.
• Brand reputation and customer loyalty:
  Your public perception can influence what you can get away with during uncertainty.
  Example: A strong brand might retain customers even through major changes, while a lesser-known one may struggle.
• Innovation pipeline:
  Your ability to generate and implement new ideas determines how well you can seize opportunities or mitigate risks.
  Example: If a scenario suggests a market shift, a business with a healthy R&D function can pivot faster.

Step 2: Define critical uncertainties

Critical uncertainties are events or shifts that are both high-impact and highly unpredictable, such as sudden major changes in regulations or large fluctuations in demand. These variables dramatically alter your business’s future, but you can’t control or forecast them with precision.

Here’s what critical uncertainty looks like in different industries:

• Retail: Shifts in consumer spending due to inflation or economic downturns
• SaaS and tech: Introduction of new data privacy or AI regulations
• Manufacturing: Disruptions in global supply chains due to geopolitical events
• Finance: Unpredictable changes in interest rates or monetary policy
• Healthcare: Regulatory changes affecting insurance coverage or service models
• Energy: Government incentives or penalties related to green energy
• Education: Uncertainty around funding models or enrollment trends

Step 3: Develop scenarios

Based on your findings, develop plausible scenarios — fully structured stories telling you what could happen based on different outcomes. When doing a scenario analysis, most businesses focus on three possibilities:

• Best-case scenario: Everything goes in your favor. The market conditions are ideal, risks are minimal, and growth accelerates.
• Worst-case scenario: Key uncertainties break against you. Disruptions happen, resources dry up, and tough decisions are required.
• Moderate scenario: A realistic middle ground where some challenges emerge, but they’re manageable with the right adjustments.

Example of a startup preparing for Series A funding

Imagine you’re leading a growing SaaS company gearing up for a Series A funding round. The outcome of that round is your critical uncertainty; after some careful brainstorming, you’ve mapped out three possible scenarios:

• Best case: The funding round exceeds expectations. The team expands rapidly, enters new markets, and fast-tracks product development.
• Worst case: The funding is delayed or falls through. The company pauses new initiatives, cuts nonessential expenses, and pivots toward bootstrapped growth or alternative funding sources.
• Moderate case: Funding is secured but below your desired target. Growth continues at a steady pace with more conservative hiring and rollouts.

Each scenario outlines what might happen and what the business will do if it does.

The former CEO of Intel, Bob Swan, said: “Scenario planning is not just about preparing for potential downsides; it is about equipping organizations to act on strategic opportunities and mitigate risks to the long-term strategy and vision.”

Planning tools like Toggl Track can operationalize your scenarios by showing how your team spends time and effort across each scenario. You can:

• Set up separate projects for each scenario (e.g., “Scenario A: Aggressive Growth,” “Scenario B: Lean Plan”)
• Track time spent on related planning, resource modeling, or research tasks
• Use tags to categorize activities by team, focus area, or priority level
• Analyze reports to compare how much effort is going into preparing for each path in a given time frame

Step 4: Analyze implications

Next, you’ll learn how each possible scenario impacts your organization’s goals, resources, and day-to-day operations. This lets you move from hypothetical business planning to real-world consequences. Here’s what to assess:

• Strategic management goals: Would your company’s objectives and goals need to shift? Are timelines for product launches, revenue targets, or market entry still realistic?
• Resources: How would each scenario impact your available budget, tech infrastructure, or partnerships?
• Team operations: Would staffing levels need to change? Are some teams under- or over-resourced in specific scenarios?

Example of a SaaS startup facing different funding scenarios

Best-case scenario (oversubscribed investment round)

• Goals: Accelerate hiring and product roadmap
• Resources: Increase marketing and R&D budgets
• Team: Build out sales, customer success, and development teams at a fast pace

Moderate scenario (partial funding)

• Goals: Maintain steady growth with new targets
• Resources: Prioritize spending on core features and key hires rather than investing in new ventures
• Team: Maintain lean operations with careful hiring

Worst-case scenario (no funding)

• Goals: Shift from growth to survival and a focus on retention and sustainability
• Resources: Freeze budgets, look for alternative funding or partnerships
• Team: Pause hiring, potentially reduce headcount, and redistribute existing roles

Step 5: Create action plans

The penultimate step of the process is to develop a clear action plan for each possible outcome. The plan should describe what to do and precisely when to take action, with the help of triggers, actions, and owners:

• Triggers: What signals that a scenario is unfolding?
• Actions: What happens when it does?
• Owners: Who is responsible for what?

Example of a SaaS startup translating scenarios into action

Best-case (oversubscribed round)

• Actions: Begin hiring for main roles, expand marketing efforts, and accelerate product roadmap
• Triggers: Signed term sheet above $5M; board approval for hiring plan
• Tasks: Post five new roles, allocate $50K for user acquisition, initiate MVP for premium features

Moderate-case (partial funding)

• Actions: Prioritize critical hires, trim marketing spend, focus on improving the core product
• Triggers: Signed term sheet under $3M; revenue growth below 10% QoQ
• Tasks: Freeze all nonessential roles, reallocate retention campaign budgets, and delay the beta launch

Worst-case (no funding)

• Actions: Pause hiring, cut operational costs, explore revenue-based financing
• Triggers: 90 days with no investor commitments; burn rate exceeds runway projections
• Tasks: Notify vendors of spending reduction, shift focus to upselling current customers, and explore grant programs

Step 6: Monitor and update

With your action plans set in place, don’t wait for the future to unfold. Circumstances change, and real-world developments can turn something unlikely into a matter requiring urgent attention.

As the CEO of JLL recently said, “I talk to people who say this is the worst time ever, and my next meeting could be with somebody who says this is the best time ever. We will see some of our best deals ever over the next 12 to 24 months.”

Example of a SaaS startup tracking and updating its strategy

For our tech startup preparing for different Series A outcomes, this would involve:

• Watching for key signals: Review investor responses, burn rate trends, and revenue performance weekly
• Adjusting action plans: If investor interest stalls or a trigger threshold is hit (e.g., runway drops below six months), the team should pivot to the worst-case playbook
• Updating scenarios: If a new opportunity arises (like a potential acquisition or government grant) that could open up an entirely new path, the company can add or revise scenarios accordingly

Toggl products can help here, too.

• Toggl Track’s reporting features monitor the time and resources dedicated to each scenario or task. These spot underinvested areas and confirm your team is executing on the right plan.
• Tags and custom fields track which scenario a task belongs to and generate reports to compare how priorities shift over time.
• With Toggl Focus, teams can block out time specifically for strategic reviews, planning updates, or course corrections, so scenario adjustment becomes part of the regular workflow rather than an afterthought.

Common mistakes leaders make with strategic planning

Figuring out different scenarios for the future of your business is incredibly valuable, but only when you avoid some common curveballs:

Planning too far ahead

Long-term thinking is at the heart of scenario planning, but pushing too far into the future can be a trap. As Oliver Baxter of Herman Miller’s Insight Group puts it:

“Sometimes when we’re discussing futurology or scenario planning, we can get too caught up thinking ‘What’s the next big thing? What’s coming down the line?’ In history, sometimes we jump too far ahead and miss some of the little things along the way.”

He points to a famous example: in 1969, humans landed on the moon. But it took another two years for someone to put wheels on luggage — an everyday problem hiding in plain sight. The lesson? Not every leap forward needs to be dramatic. Small, incremental improvements can reshape the business landscape just as much as moonshots.

The solution: Balance big-picture thinking with grounded, near-term planning. Build scenarios around the next 6–24 months, then revisit and revise frequently. If you’re always planning for the far future, you may miss what’s already happening in front of you.

Overloading scenarios with too many variables

Millions of factors and variables could impact any given scenario, and you’d struggle to predict some of them. After all, who would have believed a global pandemic was on the menu in 2020?

Adding too many variables can make scenarios overly complex and difficult to interpret or act upon. Teams may drown in the details and fail to focus on the most important strategic insights.

The solution: Keep scenarios focused on a few key drivers of change. This is typically a handful of variables like market demand, technology disruption, or regulatory shifts. For example, instead of trying to model 10 different economic indicators, prioritize the top ones that have the biggest potential impact on your business.

Planning only for worst-case or best-case scenarios

Focusing only on the extremes can seem attractive, but it misses the possible scenarios that happen in the middle.

The solution: Include several plausible scenarios, including moderate or mixed outcomes. Scenario planning is most powerful when it helps teams navigate uncertainty, not just survive disasters or chase ideal conditions for growth.

As the former CEO of Cisco said, “We’re going to go into an economic slowdown… So companies have to prepare for a bumpy landing, do scenario planning, and be prepared to act with agility,” which means that every company should prepare for multiple scenarios at any point in time.

Neglecting to assign clear ownership for scenario tasks

The difference between proper scenario planning work and a scenario planning exercise is assigning stakeholders. Even well-designed plans can fail if no one is accountable for executing or monitoring the response when a scenario starts to play out.

The solution: Assign roles and responsibilities for every scenario outcome. Clarify who will monitor indicators, trigger action plans, and communicate changes. Tie these responsibilities into your regular workflows.

For example, you can use Toggl Track’s team features to assign specific scenario tasks to individuals (e.g., “If supply chain delays increase by 15%, Alex monitors and triggers vendor switch protocol”). Add descriptions and comments in task timers so everyone stays aligned and accountable.

How Toggl enhances scenario planning

Toggl Track is an excellent piece of software to help your scenario planning efforts, especially if your data is scattered across different tools and platforms.

With Toggl Track, you can…

• Use time tracking for tasks related to scenario planning to find out how efficient your teams are
• Create reports that show how productive individuals and teams are and which resources they spent across different plans
• Create collaboration dashboards displaying what everyone does at any given point in time

Toggl Focus then comes in to finish the job. You can use this tool to make critical decisions and minimize distractions. With the scenario action plans ready, Toggl Focus lets you execute them properly by prioritizing what matters.

Focus on what matters

Scenario planning helps you prepare for uncertainty instead of winging it. It’s a structured process that readies you for anything in your country, industry, or business environment.

Get started today by analyzing your driving forces and setting a strong foundation for your scenario planning efforts.

Toggl Track delivers key insights about how you spend time in your business. Talk to our sales team today to find out how our time reporting features can help you and how they fit into the rest of the Toggl tool stack.

Take a look at any large company strategy, and we guarantee it’ll include a mention of these two things:

☝️ Increasing sales and driving growth

✌️ Managing costs and optimizing efficiency

Bringing in more money and reducing expenses are the two core building blocks of driving profitability. No arguments so far. But with external pressures such as inflation, rising operating expenses, and increased competition for new customers, achieving a healthy bottom line and improving a company’s profitability has never been harder.

If you’re a business owner, executive, finance professional, or Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) looking for new and innovative ways to boost profits, this is the article for you. After we’ve analyzed why achieving profitability is so challenging in 2025, we’ll explore ways to redefine your profit strategy and improve your chances of business success.

TL;DR — Key Takeaways

• In a high-inflationary economy, prices are rising fast, making it harder to drive profitability.
• With the average company’s net margin already squeezed to just 8.54%, reducing your prices isn’t a sustainable way to boost your profit levels.
• The best CROs manage costs by optimizing capital allocation, eliminating resource inefficiency, and implementing automation and data analytics while creating additional customer value through upselling, cross-selling, and bundling products.
• For most businesses, labor costs are the highest balance sheet numbers, so why not use Toggl Track to maximize your team’s productivity?
• Built on accurate time recording data, Toggl Track Insights unlocks crucial data that improves productivity, reduces waste, and drives better allocation of project resources.

Profitability in a challenging economy

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, price increases have put immense pressure on businesses large and small. During this time, yearly inflation has ranged between 4% and 8%, labor costs continue to increase by around 4.5% per quarter, and some businesses have reported a 40% increase in supply costs.

Higher prices drive higher business costs, making it increasingly tough to maintain profitability. But for most shareholders, investors, or senior executives, the data doesn’t matter — they’re still pushing their teams to achieve strong profit margins.

Focusing on new and innovative profitability strategies is essential to achieving your business goals. Whether finding ways to cut costs or implementing new tactics to accelerate growth, the best companies hit those profit numbers despite tough market conditions.

What are good profit margins these days?

In a world of rapid price rises, businesses have to be realistic about their profit margins. The profitability of your business was previously based on squeezing your margin, but unfortunately, there’s no more fat left to squeeze, so raising prices will only make you less competitive.

A ‘healthy’ profit margin looks different from business to business, often driven by your industry. Let’s take a look at some average 2025 net profit margin data from the NYU Stern Business School:

• Advertising — 3%
• Computer Services — 4%
• Farming/Agriculture — 5%
• Hospitality — 11%
• Information Services — 6%
• Software — 20%
• Utilities — 15%

Compare this with an average net profit margin of 8.54% across all industries, and you’ll get a sense of what a ‘good’ profit margin looks like for you.

As the cost of goods continues to rise, we predict the average profit margin will squeeze further, impacting financial performance. This will create an increased drive for operational efficiency and growth in new markets.

Other key metrics for measuring financial success

Profit margins are important, sure, but they’re not the only key metric influencing profitability. Some other metrics to assess the health of your business finances include:

• Cash flow: Businesses with a healthy cash flow prove they’re generating revenue and have demand for products and services. If cash flow is low, you might need to focus on driving sales before focusing on profit optimization.
• Operating expense ratio: OER compares your expenses relative to revenue. Most businesses aim for a 60-80% OER, so if you’re above this, consider becoming leaner and reducing costs. If you’re below or within this range, you’re doing a great job of managing resources effectively to drive profitability.
• Operating/gross profit: Businesses with a good gross profit have a strong customer base and ongoing demand. If gross profit is high while net profit is low, this may signal excessive operational costs or suboptimal pricing, especially if taxes or VAT are distorting the bottom line.

Remember, while profitability is a financial metric, non-financial metrics also pinpoint issues that may influence your profitability. Let’s look at some examples:

• Customer loyalty: Metrics such as customer retention rate, repeat purchase rate, and customer lifetime value (CLV) provide insight into your existing customers’ stickiness, allowing you to project better cash flow and revenue.
• Customer satisfaction: Similarly, metrics such as Net Promoter Score (NPS) deliver insights into how your customers feel about you and your products. If sentiment is low, you’re walking on uncertain foundations that could undermine profitability.
• Staff turnover: The average cost of hiring rose to $4,700 in 2023, up 14% from 2019. Staff turnover is a big indicator of operational expense, so the lower your turnover, the less you’ll have to shell out on recruitment fees.

Challenges to increasing profitability

Even with the right metrics, best customers, and high gross profit margins, increasing profitability is no easy task. This is because the global economic market is still so uncertain, with positive forecasts for growth (3.3% in 2025), offset by lingering inflation rates of 4.2%.

Let’s explore the leading profitability obstacles every business is facing in 2025 and why overcoming them requires intentional, out-of-the-box strategies.

Rising operational costs

As we’ve already seen, rising prices are putting pressure on operational costs, and that’s only set to continue into 2025. Increases in supply chain, raw materials, and recruitment costs aside, as inflation rises, employees demand higher salaries to maintain their quality of life.

Keeping rising costs under control requires creative solutions, with many businesses completing cost audits to identify costs that can be stripped out of their operations. Alongside this, businesses are also looking at ways to reallocate resources, develop partnerships, and outsource to reduce costs further.

Increasing market competition and pricing pressures

Rising prices lead to greater competition for new customers, with everyone fighting harder than ever to increase their market share. While cost is a big driver, companies are looking at other schemes such as referrals, partnerships, and cross-selling to maximize their customer value rather than spending big on new acquisitions.

Inefficient resource allocation

The old saying ‘work smarter, not harder’ has never been truer for modern businesses as they look for ways to do more with their limited resources. Mismanaged resources, such as time, money, or labor, lead to operating cost inefficiency. You’ll need to address each of them to stay profitable.

Many businesses are working to overcome common pitfalls such as overstaffing, unnecessary governance, and manual processes to optimize the resources they need to deliver their business operations.

Talent retention and labor costs

As mentioned, hiring and onboarding costs drain company finances, and recruitment costs only increase in line with inflation.

Investing in employee engagement, fair compensation, and continual professional development for staff is far more cost-effective than costly re-recruitment and onboarding, reducing expenses and driving increased profitability.

5 strategies for increasing gross profit

While profitability is difficult to achieve, it’s not impossible in 2025. Often, it’s about stripping things back to basics to uncover opportunities to reduce costs or drive additional revenue while being disciplined about the spending choices made across your businesses. Here are some practical tips to improve your bottom line.

1. Optimize capital allocation

A clear strategy for when, where, and why you spend money is fundamental to driving profitability. While all businesses must evolve, not every project or initiative is essential, meaning sometimes it’s better to say no.

Get around this by establishing a robust process around business cases, investment appraisals, and benefits tracking for new projects. Every project should drive a clear benefit (ideally financial!) that nudges the business toward a high-profit position.

For initiatives already underway, project managers and sponsors must be disciplined with their project cost management, sticking to their forecasts to ensure a positive ROI.

2. Leverage data for better decision-making

We’ve never had more data at our fingertips, so if you want to drive profitability, you must learn to use it. Data analytics can identify patterns, root out inefficiencies, and uncover new product opportunities — which are all essential for driving growth.

For example, you can use data analytics tools over the top of your financial statements to identify patterns of costs throughout the year or by department, uncovering the root cause of unnecessary spending.

Given labor costs are often an organization’s largest expense, tools like Toggl Track provide real insight into what your team is working on and how to improve their productivity.

Once your team uses timesheets, our newly revamped Reports tab is where you can go to dive deeper into your labor costs, identifying trends and opportunities to improve productivity.

Here’s a brief look at how we do it:

3. Streamline operations and reduce inefficiencies

Rooting out business inefficiency is another way to stifle costs and optimize resources. Reviewing operational processes using Lean Six Sigma, Systems Thinking, or Value Stream Mapping is a great way to do this — each highlighting bottlenecks, unnecessary touchpoints, and opportunities for automation and simplification.

Alongside this, optimizing team structures by reviewing spans of control, hierarchical or matrix structures, or implementing a renewed RACI chart boosts efficiencies and drives productivity.

How does this look in practice? If you completed a Lean Six Sigma assessment of a customer service process and identified some process steps that could be automated by your CRM system, you could reduce headcount (and cost) within the department.

4. Invest in employee training and engagement

Employee development is beneficial for morale and a great way to improve productivity. This sort of development is especially important in startups and small businesses, where teams often have to wear many hats without the right training to do those roles properly.

Upskilling also boosts satisfaction and reduces turnover, which, as we’ve seen, is a great way to avoid costly recruitment fees.

5. Enhance customer value through pricing and bundling

Businesses are always looking for new and innovative ways to increase revenue with pricing strategies that grow the value per customer.

A lot of this is underpinned by good market research, introducing new products through upselling and cross-selling, or merging existing products into larger bundles.

Common bundle models include BOGOF, buy-more-pay-less, or locking popular products into a ‘bundle-only’ sales model. Strike the right balance to ensure the bundle is perceived as a ‘better price’ by the customer and deliver that all-important increase in profitability.

The evolving role of technology in profitability management

Technology and data play a big role in driving profitability. Whether optimizing costs or finding ways to boost sales and revenue, several great tools on the market help CROs (and their colleagues) boost profitability.

Let’s explore some key ways technology helps teams boost profit and productivity.

⚡ Automation

Automation reduces repetitive, admin-heavy actions that are a time-suck for your employees. Most modern software tools include elements of automation, so this should be standard across all of your business functions. Examples include:

• Websites that take customer inquiries and automatically populate your CRM
• Sales tools that automatically engage with prospects based on their actions
• ERP systems that convert orders into dispatched deliveries
• Accounting systems that automate invoice generation and inventory tracking
• Customer service tools that answer frequently asked questions without human support

New to automation? It’s usually best to start small with automation so your business processes work as expected. From there, you can scale up to maximize the effectiveness and ROI of your technology investment.

📈 Financial forecasting and analysis

Many finance and budget management tools include complex algorithms to plan and predict the world ahead of you. Specifically, many budget tools automatically populate your strategic plan by combining previous spending data and future external market trends.

With the rise of artificial intelligence, these tools are becoming increasingly sophisticated. They predict risk events and issues before they occur and offer recommendations on how to optimize costs.

⏱️ Time and resource management

Time tracking and resource management tools keep a watchful eye over workforce efficiency, identifying resourcing bottlenecks and opportunities for optimization.

We frequently see this with our customers at Toggl Track, where accurate time data helps teams drive actionable insights that uncover inefficiencies, redistribute workloads effectively, and enable them to make more informed financial decisions.

Want to learn more? Here’s how Talk Shop Media used our Toggl Track profitability report to improve the agency’s productivity.

🦿 Digital optimization

When it comes to driving digital efficiency, there is a whole host of tools focused on improving your website conversion. Whether A/B testing, click rate optimization, website heatmaps, or live chat support, tools that optimize your digital experience are worth their weight in gold.

Simple adjustments to your website can skyrocket your revenue and make big strides in your profitability with minimal effort.

Focus on what matters

In a world where costs are rising and competition is increasingly fierce, driving profitability is challenging for even the most talented CROs.

While many businesses focus on simply cutting costs, you must also find ways to improve project profitability, maximize customer value, and deploy resources more effectively.

Accurate time tracking is the key to profitability, enabling you to lift the lid on inefficiencies, resource optimization, and billing rates to improve your bottom line.

Why not sign up for a free Toggl Track account to test our timesheet, analytics, and profitability insight features? Better yet, if you’re a team of 20+, you can schedule a demo with our team to get personalized advice on how to meet your profitability objectives.

Time tracking is only as good as the insights it gives you.

Whether you’re tracking profitability, productivity, revenue, or team workload, reporting in Toggl Track delivers instant, actionable insights — without the complexity. You can easily zoom in on the details or step back for high-level overviews. With highly customizable filters and flexible report views, you get deep analysis of your time and revenue data — all while keeping everything intuitive and easy to navigate.

Let’s see what you can do in each of the Reports tabs.

Summary Report

👉 Get a quick high-level overview

Instantly access key productivity and profitability metrics, including total tracked hours, billable vs. non-billable work, total billable hour value, and performance trends.

Example of the Summary Report

Detailed Report

👉 Get a comprehensive view of all Time Entries

The Detailed Report provides a full view of time entries. Using Filters, you can conduct a comprehensive time entry audit, verify billable hours, and prepare accurate invoices.

Here’s how to make the most of it:

• Identify missing data in time entries by using the “is empty” condition in Filters.
• Exclude non-billable activities by applying “Does not contain” or “is not” filters — perfect for omitting meetings or internal admin time.
• Review related time entries together with the “Starts with” condition.
• Detect anomalies by filtering out time entries shorter than 1 minute or longer than 8 hours using the Duration filter.

Workload Report

👉 Timesheet view to evaluate your resources

Workload reports help you understand how time is distributed across your team, projects, and clients.

• Visualize workload by time or revenue: Assess team workload based on tracked time or revenue generated.
• Break down workload by Member or User group, Project, Client, Task or Tags. See where resources are allocated and optimize distribution.
• Revenue-based workload analysis: Identify high-revenue contributors and balance workload for improved profitability.

Profitability Report

👉 Get multi-level profitability analysis

We’ve made significant improvements to how you can analyze profitability. Analyze profitability, revenue, and labor costs — breaking it down by Members, User Groups, Projects, Clients, Tasks, or Tags for a more detailed view.

This way, you are now more equipped to improve pricing, staffing, and project budgeting decisions.

My Reports

👉 Build custom reports to fit your stakeholders’ specific needs

Here you’ll find all your saved and custom reports.

• Customize reports to display only the most relevant data.
• Visualize your data with a range of options to present insights clearly.
• Share reports from Toggl Track directly with your team and stakeholders.

A custom report: End-of-month financials, featuring client data

We get it. Choosing the right project management tool for the type of work you’re doing and the teams doing it can be massively overwhelming. What features do you need? Is the platform easy to navigate? Does it integrate with the rest of your tech stack? And, of course, how much does it cost?

There’s a lot to consider, and you don’t want to melt your brain trying to figure it all out. That’s why we’ve compiled this list of the 40+ top project management software tools to plan, track, and deliver great projects (updated for 2026!)

For each tool, we’ve covered their:

• Key features.
• Ideal use cases.
• Benefits and drawbacks.
• Price points and free plans (if available).

This is all backed by real customer reviews, as well as our experience, so you have everything you need to make the right decision. We’ve also recommended the right tool for the right team — whether you’re a budget-constrained startup or a heavy-hitting enterprise.

Let’s get going!

What to look for in the perfect project management tool

Before we jump into the tools themselves, it’s important to consider what makes a great project management tool. While you’ll have your own requirements, here are the common areas we recommend you think about when making your decision:

• Project & Task Planning: The backbone of any project management tool is how you plan your project and break it down into manageable tasks. You can do this in many ways (e.g., lists, Kanban boards, and Gantt charts), so make sure your chosen tool supports the task management format you like.
  
• Resource, Capacity, and Budget Management: All projects need resources and cash to make them happen, so make sure your tool can support you in that. For resourcing and capacity planning, focus on tools that give you clarity on who’s doing what (and when), with budget features that enable you to best manage your money as the project progresses.
  
• Time Tracking: The foundation of any great project is doing things at the right time, and that’s where time tracking is essential for a well-run project. Look for tools that have strong time tracking features, with the ability to turn timesheets into invoices if you bill by-the-hour.
  
• Reporting & Dashboards: Status reports are a big part of project management, and the best tools take the admin away when keeping stakeholders updated. Check that your tool aligns with the reporting you’ll need to do as a PM.
  
• Methodologies: While many tools are adaptable, make sure your tool fits your chosen project methodology/framework. If you’re working heavily agile, you might need a tool that’s sprint-based, whereas waterfall teams might prefer a Gantt-style interface.
  
• Integrations: Your project management tool won’t operate in isolation, so think about other systems it may need to integrate with. This could be an HR tool (e.g., Workday), finance tool (e.g. Xero), or collaboration tool (e.g. Slack).

The best project management tools for teams, freelancers, agencies & more (30+ options)

Now that you know what makes up a great project management tool, it’s time to get started! Use our handy filter below to find the tools that are best for your team’s needs 👇👇👇

Todoist

Hive

From $5 per user/mo (Free plan available)

Hive is a simple and versatile powerful project management tool that connects teams on projects without complexity. With options for Kanban, Gantt, list, and calendar views, it gives flexibility at a project level, while offering a comprehensive portfolio-level overview.

Features

• Create and manage tasks with Kanban, Gantt, list, and calendar views
• Quickly switch between personal and team views
• Monitor performance against business goals
• Use Buzz AI and templates to streamline everyday tasks

Is Hive right for you?

Hive is great for small teams that want an easy, yet flexible tool for managing projects. But it may lack the deeper functionality of solutions like Wrike and Asana for more complex projects.

Pricing

Hive’s free plan is great for up to 10 users. For additional features or multiple projects, prices start at $3 per user/mo, ranging up to $6 per user/mo for the “Teams” plan.

Reviews

• “Hive features a mostly intuitive UI across browsers and desktop/mobile devices with its Hive App. The service makes tracking project status and related notes effortless, while offering customizable status fields and columns.” – Steven, Broadcast Engineer
  
• “I’d like to be able to customize my board more. Sometimes the app takes a while to update. It lacks some management-related features, and I can’t insert multimedia content into cards.” – Marco, Marketing Specialist

Airtable

From $20 per user/mo (Free plan available)

Airtable is a spreadsheet-style productivity and automation tool that doubles up well as a flexible project management companion. With features for task and team management, it sets a strong foundation, using its flexible app engine to automate team workflows, report on progress, and manage resources.

Features

• Task management and tracking at project and program level
• Simplify resource management to quickly know who’s working on what
• Automate processes with project templates and workflows
• Build intuitive dashboards to quickly report on the metrics that matter to you

Is Airtable right for you?

Airtable is great for project teams that are used to spreadsheets and repeat similar projects time and time again. But if you want more advanced and dedicated project management features, other solutions on this list will likely be easier to start with.

Pricing

Airtable has a free plan for individuals and small teams of up to five. Plans start from $20 per user/mo, adding Gantt charts, more storage, and integrations.

Reviews

• “Airtable allows you to create workflows and organize data the way you want for your project. This is truly an all-in-one platform with so many features that I haven’t even scratched the surface after months of usage.” – Marc, Video Editor
  
• “The interface functions still need some work, making them more available and functional on the mobile app. There have also been situations where I can’t quite get the data I need due to Airtable’s limitations.” – Verified User, Non-Profits

5 Project management software types for specific needs and use cases

As you can see, there’s tons of solutions that fall under the “project management software” category. Here’s a slighty different breakdown by different criteria that can also make your search easier.

1. Best free project management tools

Many project management platforms offer free plans, typically with some limitations on features, users, or projects. For freelancers and early-stage startups, these plans often provide just enough to get started. Upgrading to entry-level paid options, often available for under $10 per user/mo, can unlock valuable extras that significantly enhance productivity and collaboration.

Another route? How about open-source project management software, which comes with no subscription fee, although you do have to take care of hosting yourself. This is unlikely to be practical unless you’re an IT professional.

Examples from this guide include Toggl Focus, Trello, and Asana.

We have compiled a separate list of the best free project management tools, which may suit your needs if you’re on a limited budget.

2. Best marketing project management tools

Marketing campaigns need precise planning and execution to succeed. Similarly to web design projects, you often need to collaborate with external partners and vendors, too.

Whether you’re an agency or an internal marketing team, you’ll need a project management tool to plan, track, and manage your marketing campaign as well as collaborate with internal and external teams.

Examples from this guide include Toggl Focus, Adobe Workfront, and Basecamp.

We have compiled a list of the best marketing project management tools – check it out.

3. Best Kanban project management tools

Kaban-based project management makes it really easy to visualize the work on your shared to-do list, keeping everyone in the loop on what’s happening now and what’s to come. In addition, Agile software development teams use board-based project management to manage sprints and product backlogs.

Examples from this guide include Toggl Focus, Trello, Kanban Tool, and monday.com.

Kanban tools come with a simple, visual board that shows your project’s progress. Take a look at the best Kanban project management tools.

4. Freelance project management tools

Freelancers need light-weight project management. Often freelancers work alone, so they rarely need collaboration features.

But they still need to plan their work and vacation time. In addition, freelancers also use project management software to communicate project progress to clients.

Examples from this guide include Toggl Focus, Trello, and nTask.

Take a look at the best freelance project management tools available today.

Manage your projects with Toggl Focus

There’s no one best project management software. The choice depends on the features you need, your budget, and your project methodology. Whatever you choose, you want to make sure that your team actually enjoys using the software.

Use the tools and filters at the top of this article to shortlist the tools that fit your workflow. Most of these project management tools come with a free plan, just like Toggl Focus, so why not give us a try for free? We promise you won’t regret it!

Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about project management software

To finish off, here are some of the top FAQs we see and hear when people come to ask to find their next project management software tool.

What is project management software?

Think of it as your project team’s ecosystem. It’s a centralized place for you to plan, track, and deliver your projects from start to finish, using features such as planning, task management, and time tracking. Instead of hunting through messy email threads or outdated spreadsheets, it gives everyone a single source of truth for what’s happening and when.

What does project management software do?

Put simply, it organizes the “who, what, and when” of your projects. It gives you and your team a central place to break down big goals into manageable task assignments, set deadlines, track time, costs, and capacity, and report your progress. 

For that bill-by-the-hour, some project management tools also generate invoices, manage team holiday, and tracks quotes and proposals.

What are the benefits of using project management software?

The biggest win is moving from chaos to clarity, by bringing everything together into one place. It improves team collaboration, ensures factors like resourcing, capacity, and costs are managed, and keeps stakeholders in the loop without constant status meetings. By centralizing everything, you reduce “work about work” and give your team more space to actually focus on delivery.

What features should I look for in project management software?

Look out for project planning and task management features, time tracking, resource and capacity planning, integrations, and reporting. 

You’ll likely have your own specific requirements too (e.g. invoicing, quotes), so make sure you have a clear view of what you need before diving into your search.

What is the best project management software?

There’s no “one size fits all” answer—it depends on your requirements. The “best” tool is simply the one your team actually enjoys using every day. For creative and marketing teams, visual and intuitive tools like Toggl Focus often win out over overly complex, enterprise systems.

Which project management software is best for small teams?

Small teams usually thrive on simplicity and speed. You want a tool with a shallow learning curve so you can get up and running in minutes, not weeks. Tools like Toggl Focus are fantastic for keeping things lightweight and simple (while still being powerful), with others like Trello great for those who want simple Kanban boards.

Which project management software is best for large teams or enterprises?

For the big players, it’s all about scale, security, and portfolio management. Tools like Planview, Kantata, Sciforma are built to handle hundreds of projects at once, offering advanced resource leveling and deep “big picture” reporting that larger organizations need to stay aligned.

What is the easiest project management software to use?

If you want to avoid getting a headache, look for tools with a drag-and-drop interface and a clean UI. Toggl Focus and Basecamp are specifically designed to be simple and easy-to-use, meaning your team can spend more time doing the work and less time learning how the tool works.

What is the difference between project management software and task management software?

Task management is about the detail of individual tasks and checking off individual to-dos (like a digital grocery list). Project management is for the entire ecosystems, supporting not just tasks, but the things they’re associated with, like timelines, team capacity, resourcing, budgets, time tracking, finances and organizational goals. 

How much does project management software cost?

Most tools use a “per user, per month” model. You’ll find great free plans for solo users or tiny teams, while mid-tier plans usually range from $5 to $15 per user. When you’re venturing into enterprise-level features, you’ll usually need a bespoke quote. But, for most teams, there’s a sweet spot that won’t break the bank.

How do I choose the right project management software for my team?

Start by getting clear on your current pain points. For example, are you missing deadlines, or is the team burnt out?

Then, once you’ve shortlisted tools you like, we’d recommend getting your team involved in the trial process. After all, if they find a tool clunky or boring, they won’t use it. 

Once you’ve found a tool you all like, we’d recommend starting your rollout small (maybe with one team or just on one project). From there, test and learn as you roll it out to more and more teams.