• What to check before you choose
  • The tools

Time tracking software records the hours you spend on each client and project so you can bill for them. The tools on this page differ in how time gets recorded: a timer you start, entries you type in, or automatic tracking of the apps and sites you work in. They also differ in how tracked time becomes an invoice. If you bill by the hour, check how tracked time turns into invoice lines and how entries are rounded. If you want to see where your working day goes, check what each tool tracks automatically.

Billed publishes this page, and Billed is listed first. The other tools are listed alphabetically and aren't ranked. Each description quotes the tool's own pages, opened on October 30, 2026, and we didn't test the products. Prices aren't listed here; check each tool's pricing page for your country.

What to check before you choose

  • How time gets in: a timer, entries typed in afterward, a weekly timesheet, calendar events or automatic tracking.
  • Where you track: in a browser, on a desktop app or on your phone.
  • Rates and invoices: whether hourly rates attach to projects or tasks, and whether tracked time becomes an invoice in the same tool or has to be exported.
  • Rounding: whether entries can be rounded, and to what increment. The sample below shows why it matters.
  • Reports and exports: by client and project, in a format your client or accountant can open.

The tools

Billed

Billed's time tracking page says: "Log the time you and your team spend on tasks and projects, see it by day and by week, create timesheets, and invoice hourly projects from the time you tracked." It also says: "From the project dashboard you can invoice one task or several at once." On devices, it says: "Billed works in a web browser, so you and your team can log time from a phone, a tablet or a computer." On reports, it says: "Billed's reports include a time tracking report."

Billed's projects page says: "Create hourly rate projects, set hourly rates and track task charges automatically when you log tasks."

Clockify

Clockify's home page says: "Clockify is a time tracker and timesheet app that lets you track work hours across projects." Its features page lists "Start and stop timer as you work, or enter hours manually." It also lists "Automatically track time you spend across apps, websites, and documents." For invoicing, it lists "Bill clients for your work and record payments."

Harvest

Harvest's home page says: "Harvest helps professional teams track time, bill clients, optimize team time, and measure performance with confidence." It lists "Connect your calendar and log time from events." Harvest's features page says: "Use live timers or add entries directly to your day or week view."

On invoicing, the features page says: "Easily create and send accurate invoices using your team’s time and expenses already tracked in Harvest." It also says: "PayPal and Stripe integrations let your clients quickly and conveniently pay invoices online."

RescueTime

RescueTime's home page says: "RescueTime delivers two tools with one powerful app". The two are RescueTime Focus and RescueTime Timesheets. The page says: "RescueTime runs in the background, automatically tracking time spent on apps and websites."

For client work, the same page says: "Add Timesheets to automate project tracking and generate timesheets, reports for clients, and more." It also says: "Timesheets automatically logs your time by project, client, and task, generating accurate timesheets without manual entry." On invoicing, it says: "Filter reports to create invoices for clients." RescueTime's features page covers Focus, including blocking distracting apps and websites.

Toggl

Toggl's home page says: "Toggl brings together time tracking and capacity planning in one platform." It says Toggl Track and Toggl Plan "remain available and supported for existing users".

Toggl's features page says: "Start a timer, log hours after the fact, or fill in a week at a time." On rounding, it says: "Round entries up or down to the nearest interval of your choice (with several increments to choose from)." On forgotten timers, it says: "When the timer is running but the device has gone quiet, Toggl prompts you so stray hours don’t end up on a client’s bill." On rates, it says: "Track every billable hour and set rates at workspace, member, project, or project member level."

Sample: how rounding changes an hourly invoice

The figures here are a sample. A freelancer bills $90.00 an hour and logs three entries for one client: 47 minutes, 1 hour 52 minutes and 38 minutes.

  1. Exact time: 47 + 112 + 38 = 197 minutes. 197 ÷ 60 × $90.00 = $295.50.
  2. Each entry rounded up to 6 minutes (a tenth of an hour): 48 + 114 + 42 = 204 minutes = 3.4 hours. 3.4 × $90.00 = $306.00.
  3. Each entry rounded up to 15 minutes: 60 + 120 + 45 = 225 minutes = 3.75 hours. 3.75 × $90.00 = $337.50.

The same work bills $295.50, $306.00 or $337.50 depending on the rounding rule. Agree on the rule with each client before work starts, and state it in your contract or terms. The guide to hourly invoicing covers how to show hours on an invoice.

Where project management fits

If you need task boards, deadlines or client collaboration as well as time tracking, see project management tools for freelancers and project management tools for small businesses. Those pages cover project features. This page covers how time is recorded and billed.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need time tracking software if I charge flat rates?

Not for billing, because a flat-rate invoice doesn't depend on hours. Tracking time on flat-rate work still shows how long the project took, which you can use when you price the next one. Billed's time tracking page says past entries "give you a record to estimate the next project from."

Do Clockify, RescueTime and Toggl track time automatically?

On their own pages, Clockify lists "Automatically track time you spend across apps, websites, and documents." RescueTime says it "runs in the background, automatically tracking time spent on apps and websites." Toggl says it "records which apps and sites you used (securely and privately) and lays them out on a timeline."

Can I turn tracked time into an invoice in Billed, Clockify or Harvest?

Check each tool's own page. Billed's time tracking page says you can "invoice hourly projects from the time you tracked." Clockify's home page lists "Create invoices from billable time." Harvest's features page says: "Easily create and send accurate invoices using your team’s time and expenses already tracked in Harvest."

Should I round time entries?

Rounding is a billing rule to agree on with each client. In the sample on this page, the same three entries bill $295.50 unrounded, $306.00 rounded up to 6 minutes and $337.50 rounded up to 15 minutes.

Does Billed have a timer?

Billed's mobile app page says: "Start and stop a timer per project from your pocket, then roll those hours straight into an invoice."

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