For freelancers, the best time tracker is the one that turns hours into an invoice with the least friction. Harvest wins if you want tracking and invoicing (plus online payments) in one tool. Toggl is the fastest, most pleasant pure timer with proper billable rates. Clockify is the value pick with a genuinely free core. TimeCamp blends automatic tracking with built-in billing, and Everhour is ideal if you already work inside Asana, Trello or ClickUp. Timely and Timeular automate capture so you stop forgetting to log, while Hubstaff and DeskTime add proof-of-work features when a client asks for them.
Nine time trackers ranked for freelancers who live and die by billable hours and clean invoices.
Freelance time tracking is not the same problem as team time tracking. You are not managing headcount or approving other people's timesheets, you are protecting your margin and getting paid for every hour you actually work. The tool that fits a 200-person agency is usually overkill (and overpriced) for a solo operator who just needs accurate billable hours and a clean invoice at month end.
This guide ranks nine time trackers specifically for freelancers who bill by the hour or by project. We weighted three things: how quickly you can capture time without breaking flow, whether billable rates and client reporting are handled well, and how painlessly hours turn into an invoice you can send. Harvest and Toggl lead because they nail the tracking-to-billing loop, but the right pick depends on whether you want native invoicing, automatic capture, or a free plan that does not nag you.
Top Picks
Picked by editorial review, informed by G2 and Capterra review volume and rating and by media mentions, the signals behind our category rankings. How we rate
Time tracking with real invoicing and online payments baked in, built for people who bill clients.
Starting price
From $11 /mo
4.4 (844 reviews)
Best for
Freelancers who want tracking and invoicing in one tool
The fastest, most pleasant one-click timer, with billable rates and reports freelancers actually use.
Starting price
From $9 /mo
3.8 (1,675 reviews)
Best for
Freelancers who want the best pure timer and bill or export elsewhere
A genuinely free tracking core with billable rates and optional invoicing, hard to beat on value.
Starting price
From $3.99 /mo
4.7 (9,468 reviews)
Best for
Budget-conscious freelancers who want a free, no-nag tracker
| Tool | Starting price | Rating | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harvest | From $11/mo | 4.4 844 reviews | Freelancers who want tracking and invoicing in one tool |
| Toggl | From $9/mo | 3.8 1,675 reviews | Freelancers who want the best pure timer and bill or export elsewhere |
| Clockify | From $3.99/mo | 4.7 9,468 reviews | Budget-conscious freelancers who want a free, no-nag tracker |
| TimeCamp | From $5.49/mo | n/a | Freelancers who want automatic tracking plus invoicing without paying much |
| Everhour | From $8.5/mo | 4.7 612 reviews | Freelancers who work inside a project management tool all day |
| Timely | From $11/mo | 4.6 779 reviews | Freelancers who forget to start timers and want AI to reconstruct the day |
| Timeular | From $5/mo | 4.6 784 reviews | Freelancers building a consistent tracking habit |
| Hubstaff | From $10/mo | 4.4 3,920 reviews | Freelancers whose clients want proof of work, or who bill subcontractors |
| DeskTime | From $7/mo | 4.5 1,881 reviews | Solo operators who also want productivity insight, not just billing |
Harvest
Time tracking with real invoicing and online payments baked in, built for people who bill clients.
- 4.3 on G2 (835 reviews)
- 4.8 on SourceForge (6 reviews)
- 4.0 on Trustpilot (3 reviews)
- Starting price
- From $11/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- 4.4 (844 reviews)
Best for: Freelancers who want tracking and invoicing in one tool
- Pro: Native invoicing plus online payments (Stripe and PayPal) built on top of time tracking
- Pro: Clean, simple interface that is fast to learn
- Pro: Expense tracking with receipt capture for reimbursable costs
- Con: Free plan is limited to a single seat and a small number of projects
- Con: Fewer advanced automation and workflow features than a full PM suite
It's best for small to medium-sized businesses needing robust time tracking and invoicing without breaking the bank.
Watch out
Free tier limited to 1 seat, 2 projects.
Toggl
The fastest, most pleasant one-click timer, with billable rates and reports freelancers actually use.
- 4.5 on G2 (1,646 reviews)
- 2.3 on SourceForge (29 reviews)
- Starting price
- From $9/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- 3.8 (1,675 reviews)
Best for: Freelancers who want the best pure timer and bill or export elsewhere
- Pro: One-click timer across web, desktop, mobile and browser extensions
- Pro: Billable rates and detailed, client-ready reports
- Pro: Generous free tier that covers solo tracking well
- Con: Invoicing is not native; you rely on integrations or exports
- Con: Billable rates and richer reporting sit on paid tiers
Toggl's pricing is fair, offering a generous Free tier for basic needs.
- Starting price
- From $3.99/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- 4.7 (9,468 reviews)
Best for: Budget-conscious freelancers who want a free, no-nag tracker
- Pro: Genuinely free core with unlimited projects for solo tracking
- Pro: Billable rates and invoicing available as you grow
- Pro: Apps on every platform, including desktop and mobile
- Con: Invoicing and several pro features require a paid upgrade
- Con: Interface is functional rather than polished
Clockify's pricing is very fair, especially with its generous free tier offering unlimited users and core tracking features.
Watch out
Monthly billing is ~25% more expensive
- Starting price
- From $5.49/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
Best for: Freelancers who want automatic tracking plus invoicing without paying much
- Pro: Automatic time tracking alongside manual timers
- Pro: Billing rates and invoicing built in
- Pro: Generous free plan for solo use
- Con: Parts of the interface feel dated
- Con: Automatic tracking accuracy varies and needs review
The pricing structure is fair for businesses that heavily rely on detailed time tracking, project profitability analysis, and advanced reporting, particularly for larger teams.
Everhour
Time tracking, budgets and invoicing that live inside Asana, Trello, ClickUp and Jira.
- 4.7 on Capterra (432 reviews)
- 4.7 on G2 (179 reviews)
- 4.0 on SourceForge (1 reviews)
- Starting price
- From $8.5/mo
- Free plan
- No
- Rating
- 4.7 (612 reviews)
Best for: Freelancers who work inside a project management tool all day
- Pro: Deep native tracking inside Asana, Trello, ClickUp, Jira and more
- Pro: Budgets and billable rates to protect fixed-fee scope
- Pro: Invoicing included so hours convert to bills
- Con: Standalone timer is weaker than the integrated experience
- Con: Much less useful if you do not use a supported PM tool
Everhour's pricing is quite fair, especially with a generous Free tier for up to 5 users.
Timely
Automatic activity capture and AI-drafted entries for freelancers who forget to hit start.
- 4.8 on G2 (493 reviews)
- 4.7 on Capterra (219 reviews)
- 4.3 on SourceForge (67 reviews)
- Starting price
- From $11/mo
- Free plan
- No
- Rating
- 4.6 (779 reviews)
Best for: Freelancers who forget to start timers and want AI to reconstruct the day
- Pro: Automatic activity capture so you rarely miss billable time
- Pro: AI drafts time entries from your captured activity
- Pro: Billable rates and clean, client-facing reports
- Con: Automatic entries need a review before you bill them
- Con: Priced higher than simple manual trackers
Timely's pricing is fair, offering a clear progression of features.
- Starting price
- From $5/mo
- Free plan
- No
- Rating
- 4.6 (784 reviews)
Best for: Freelancers building a consistent tracking habit
- Pro: Optional physical tracker plus automatic app tracking builds the habit
- Pro: Billable rates and easy exports
- Pro: Privacy-friendly, with your data kept under your control
- Con: The hardware tracker is an added, optional cost
- Con: Smaller integration set than the bigger players
The lack of project tracking in the base tiers pushes you to more expensive add-ons.
Watch out
Project time tracking requires a separate higher-priced plan
- Starting price
- From $10/mo
- Free plan
- No
- Rating
- 4.4 (3,920 reviews)
Best for: Freelancers whose clients want proof of work, or who bill subcontractors
- Pro: Screenshots, activity levels and optional GPS give clients proof of work
- Pro: Time tracking plus invoicing and payments
- Pro: Payroll and pay rates useful if you manage subcontractors
- Con: Monitoring features feel heavy for a solo freelancer
- Con: Screenshots can feel invasive and need clear client consent
Hubstaff's pricing is fair, offering a generous Free tier for single users.
DeskTime
Automatic tracking with productivity scoring and invoicing, leaning toward monitoring.
- 4.5 on SourceForge (955 reviews)
- 4.5 on Capterra (526 reviews)
- 4.5 on G2 (400 reviews)
- Starting price
- From $7/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- 4.5 (1,881 reviews)
Best for: Solo operators who also want productivity insight, not just billing
- Pro: Automatic time tracking with productivity scoring
- Pro: Invoicing and project cost tracking included
- Pro: Pomodoro and shift features to structure the day
- Con: Built around employee monitoring rather than solo billing
- Con: Productivity scoring is opinionated and can mislead
DeskTime's pricing is quite fair, offering a generous free Lite tier for single users.
What It Is
Freelancer time tracking software records the hours you spend on client work, tags them to a project and a billable rate, and turns that data into reports and invoices. The best tools for solo operators combine a low-friction timer (one click, or automatic capture in the background) with per-client billable rates, budget alerts so you do not blow past a fixed-fee scope, and either native invoicing or a clean export to your invoicing app. Tools like Harvest and TimeCamp handle billing in-house, while Toggl and Clockify focus on the tracking and feed an invoicing tool downstream.
Why It Matters
Unbilled time is lost income, and most of it leaks in five-minute chunks you never wrote down. A freelancer who reconstructs hours from memory at the end of the month almost always under-bills. Accurate tracking also gives you two things beyond the invoice: leverage in scope conversations (you can show a client exactly where the hours went) and data to reprice work that is quietly unprofitable. On fixed-fee projects, real time data tells you your effective hourly rate, which is the number that actually decides whether freelancing pays. A tool like Everhour or Harvest with budget tracking turns that into a live warning instead of a post-mortem.
Key Features to Look For
One-click or automatic time capture so logging hours does not interrupt your work
Per-client and per-project billable rates, plus a separate cost rate if you use subcontractors
Budgets and alerts to protect margin on fixed-fee and retainer work
Native invoicing or a clean export to your invoicing and accounting tools
Client-ready reports that show exactly where the hours went
Apps on desktop, mobile and browser so tracking follows you across devices
Mistakes to Avoid
- ×
Choosing a team-monitoring suite (screenshots, activity scores) when you are a solo freelancer and only need billable hours and an invoice
- ×
Reconstructing hours from memory at the end of the month, which almost always under-bills; track in real time or use automatic capture
- ×
Ignoring billable versus non-billable time, so admin, revisions and client calls silently eat your margin
- ×
Paying for invoicing you already have; if you invoice from accounting software, a pure tracker plus export can be cheaper than an all-in-one
- ×
Forgetting to set a budget on fixed-fee work, so you only learn you lost money after the project ends
Expert Tips
- →
Set billable rates per client, not one global rate, so higher-value clients bill correctly and your reports reflect real revenue
- →
Track non-billable time too (admin, sales, revisions); knowing your billable ratio is how you price the next contract
- →
On fixed-fee projects, watch your effective hourly rate (fee divided by tracked hours), not just total hours
- →
- →
Round and describe entries the way clients expect before invoicing; vague line items cause disputes and slow payment
The Bottom Line
If you want tracking and invoicing in one place, start with Harvest: it turns tracked hours into a branded invoice with online payment in a couple of clicks. If you would rather keep the best timer and invoice elsewhere, Toggl is the most pleasant tracker with proper billable rates, and Clockify does the same on a genuinely free core. Pick TimeCamp or Timely when you want automatic capture, Everhour when you live inside a project management tool, and Hubstaff or DeskTime only when a client specifically wants proof of work.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best time tracking app for freelancers who invoice clients?
Harvest is the strongest all-in-one because it builds invoicing and online payments directly on top of time tracking, so tracked hours become a client invoice without exporting anything. TimeCamp and Clockify also include invoicing. If you already invoice from accounting software, Toggl plus a clean export can be simpler.
Is there a genuinely free time tracker for freelancers?
Clockify offers the most generous free core, with unlimited projects and tracking for a single user, and TimeCamp and Toggl also have free tiers that cover solo tracking. Invoicing, billable-rate reporting and some automation usually sit on paid plans, so confirm the specific feature you need is included before you rely on the free version.
How do I track billable versus non-billable hours?
Most of these tools let you mark a project or task as billable and attach a rate, then report billable and non-billable time separately. Toggl, Harvest and Everhour all do this cleanly. Tracking your non-billable time (admin, sales, revisions) matters as much as the billable side, because your billable ratio is what tells you whether your rate actually covers your week.
Should freelancers use automatic time tracking?
Automatic tracking helps if you routinely forget to start a timer. Timely captures your app and document activity and drafts entries for you, Timeular pairs an app with a physical tracker to build the habit, and TimeCamp and DeskTime track in the background. The trade-off is that automatic entries need a quick review before you bill them, since not every captured minute is client work.
Do I need employee-monitoring features like screenshots?
As a solo freelancer, usually not. Screenshots, activity levels and productivity scores in tools like Hubstaff and DeskTime are built for managing a team. The one case where they help is when a client explicitly wants proof of work before paying, where Hubstaff activity logs can back up your invoice. Otherwise a simpler tracker keeps your workflow lighter.
Cite this page: Toolradar, "Best Time Tracking for Freelancers", updated September 2026, https://toolradar.com/guides/best-time-tracking-for-freelancers
Sources
Prices and plan details on this page come from each vendor's own pricing page, re-checked by the Toolradar pricing tracker:
- Harvest pricing, checked
- Toggl pricing, checked
- Clockify pricing, checked
- TimeCamp pricing, checked
- Everhour pricing, checked
- Timely pricing, checked
- Timeular pricing, checked
- Hubstaff pricing, checked
- DeskTime pricing, checked
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