Best of · Productivity Suites

8 Best Free Time Tracking Tools for Freelancers and Teams

I'd start with Clockify for one person or a small team that needs straightforward project timers. These free time tracking tools cover client work, attendance, and self-hosted timesheets. The picks are based on official documentation, current pricing, and public feedback checked October 8, 2026. Clockify's free plan changed this year, so the shortlist also covers stronger choices for larger teams.

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Quick picks for free time tracking tools #

  • Small project team: Clockify for timers across desktop, phone, and browser.
  • Personal task planning: Toggl Track for timers with calendar connections.
  • Five-person client team: My Hours for projects, tasks, and reports.
  • Attendance and shifts: Jibble for an employee time clock.
  • Unlimited free team seats: TrackingTime for collaborative project tracking.
  • One freelancer with two projects: Harvest for time alongside expenses and invoices.
  • Automatic time collection: TimeCamp for desktop tracking with a free team plan.
  • Self-hosted control: Kimai for teams prepared to run their own application.

Free time tracking plans compared #

ToolBest forPlatformsFree limitsPaid entryProcessing/storageMain strength
ClockifySmall project teamsWeb, Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android5 active users; 31-day report rangesBasic $3.99/seat/month annually or $4.99 monthlyHosted serviceBroad app coverage
Toggl TrackPersonal trackingWeb, desktop, mobileLimited free users; personal reportsStarter $9/user/month annually or $12 monthlyHosted serviceTimers and calendars
My HoursClient projectsWeb/mobile5 active usersBasic $4/user/month annually or $5 monthlyHosted serviceProject-focused reports
JibbleAttendanceWeb, desktop, mobile, kioskUnlimited usersPaid upgrades; see vendor pricingHosted serviceShift clock-in
TrackingTimeTeam project timeWeb, desktop, mobileUnlimited usersFreelancer $10/month; team tiers separateHosted serviceTasks and time together
HarvestSolo invoicingWeb, Mac/iOS apps1 seat, 2 active projectsTeams $9/seat/month annually or $11 monthlyHosted serviceTime plus expenses
TimeCampAutomatic trackingWeb, desktop, mobileUnlimited users/projectsStarter $3.99/user/month annuallyHosted serviceAutomatic tracking options
KimaiOwner-run timesheetsBrowser; self-hosted serverSoftware free; hosting separateCloud paid; pricing in eurosYour server or Kimai CloudOpen-source self-hosting

An unlimited timer doesn't promise unlimited reporting, exports, permissions, or team seats. Compare the job after tracking: sending a client a report, approving a timesheet, or importing data into another system can change which free plan makes sense.

clockify.meDetails

the best starting timer for a small team

Clockify's April 2026 free-plan changes reduced the free workspace to five active users, including the owner. Report ranges are limited to 31 days, CSV and Excel report exports are paid, and PDF exports remain free. Those changes matter more than the familiar promise of unlimited time tracking.

The reason I'd still rank it first for a small team is its straightforward project workflow and broad app coverage. A designer, developer, and project manager can record the same client work from their preferred devices without choosing a different system for each platform. The timer and manual entry cover both planned sessions and work you forgot to start tracking.

The biggest weakness is what happens after the timer stops. Free projects are public inside the workspace, permissions are limited, and paid-only reporting features can become important as clients or team members multiply. In June 2026, a user described rushing to retrieve years of data around the plan change. I'd inspect reporting needs before moving a team's records into any free account.

Basic costs $3.99 per seat/month billed annually or $4.99 billed monthly. Pick it if five seats and its free reports cover your work. Skip it if you need private projects or restricted team permissions on a free plan.

Freemiumtoggl.com/trackDetails

timers that fit a personal planning routine

Toggl Track's free plan includes real-time and manual tracking, focus mode, calendar integrations, tasks, and personal reports. That combination makes it an attractive choice for someone whose day is organized around a calendar and a changing list of work.

I'd choose it for a freelancer deciding how much time goes into writing, client calls, and administration. The timer's job is then to make the next week's plan more realistic, rather than simply accumulate hours. Naming tasks consistently makes the resulting report much easier to read.

The weakness is the gap between a personal timer and a team's reporting system. The current pricing describes free access for a limited number of users. Check the account's allowance before inviting a whole team, and look closely at the reporting features you need after the trial finishes. Our Clockify vs Toggl Track comparison explains reporting friction reported by current users.

Starter is $9 per user/month billed annually or $12 billed monthly. Premium adds more team controls. Those per-user costs can become larger than a solo account suggests once several people need seats.

Pick it if personal timing and calendar connections are the main attraction. Skip it if your first requirement is a free team reporting system with predictable shared access.

Freemiummyhours.comDetails

clear project tracking for five people

My Hours gives its free plan five active users and unlimited projects, tasks, and clients. That is a good shape for a small agency or consultant who wants the records organized by client work from the beginning.

The timer and manual-entry options cover two realities of project work: sometimes you remember to start a session, and sometimes you reconstruct a short call afterward. Timesheet and timeline views let the team review those entries without forcing every task into a live stopwatch routine.

I'd choose it when project structure matters more than employee monitoring. My Hours explicitly positions the product without employee-monitoring features. That can make the conversation easier for a team using hours to estimate projects and explain invoices, rather than to watch screens.

The limitation is the five-person free cap and the features reserved for paid editions. A growing team should check the first paid tier before training everyone around the free account. Basic costs $4 per user/month billed annually or $5 billed monthly; Pro is $8 annually or $9 monthly. The account can continue on Free after its Pro trial.

Pick it if a five-person team needs projects and client reports without a monitoring-focused product. Skip it if attendance verification or a clock-in kiosk is the main task.

Freemiumjibble.ioDetails

a better choice for attendance than client billing

Jibble's free plan supports unlimited users. Its time clock, attendance, timesheets, kiosk, GPS, and facial-recognition features put it in a different category from a freelancer's simple project timer.

I'd choose it for a team that needs to know when shifts began and ended. A shared kiosk can be more appropriate for that job than asking every worker to manage a client-project timer. The feature overview also covers desktop and mobile options.

The weakness is the audience match. If your question is how long an illustration or article took, attendance controls can add more process than you need. Location and face-based features also need a clear workplace policy and an agreed reason for using them. Don't enable them simply because they are available on a free plan.

Jibble says the free plan is ongoing, with paid upgrades for advanced requirements. I'd start by comparing your shift and timesheet needs with the free feature table, then leave optional verification features off unless the workplace actually requires them. A clean clock-in process is easier to explain than a stack of controls added without a purpose.

Pick it if attendance and shifts are the problem. Skip it if you want an uncomplicated solo timer for creative or consulting tasks.

Freemiumtrackingtime.coDetails

free seats for a collaborative project routine

TrackingTime's plan comparison lists unlimited users on Free, with live tracking, manual entries, projects, tasks, clients, reminders, and time notes. That makes it a serious candidate when the team is already larger than a five-seat allowance.

I'd put it on the shortlist for an agency whose projects need both task organization and time records. A note explaining a revision can make an entry more meaningful than a bare duration. It also helps the next person understand why an estimate changed.

The weakness is that broader task and time features can create another place to maintain project information. If your team already uses a separate task system, agree which product owns task names and status. Otherwise, the same project can look finished in one place and active in another.

Freelancer costs $10/month for one user. The Starter and Pro team plans require at least two paid users; the plan comparison lists Starter at $4.50/user/month billed annually or $6 monthly. That minimum deserves attention for someone upgrading a one-person account.

Pick it if you need free seats for a team and want projects beside the timer. Skip it if your main goal is to avoid another task-management workspace.

Freemiumgetharvest.comDetails

a narrow free plan with a freelancer's focus

Harvest Free allows one active person and two active projects. Archived projects don't count toward that project limit. This makes it a credible free choice for a freelancer with a small amount of concurrent work, even though the headline allowance is much narrower than several alternatives.

Its appeal is keeping time, expenses, and invoicing in one product. I'd choose that combination when the administrative work after a project is as important as starting the timer. A solo consultant may care more about a clear billing routine than about team attendance or automatic application monitoring.

The free limitations extend beyond project count: some invoice handling and integrations are restricted. Check the free-plan details before promising a client a particular export or sending workflow. Having invoices in the product doesn't mean every invoice action is free.

Teams costs $9 per seat/month billed annually, or $11 billed monthly. I'd compare that upgrade with the time saved on administration, especially if the free two-project cap is already uncomfortable.

Pick it if one person runs a couple of active client projects and wants billing tools nearby. Skip it if several teammates need free access or your project list is always long.

timecamp.comDetails

an automatic option with a broad free allowance

TimeCamp's free plan includes unlimited users and projects, timesheets, apps, idle-time detection, and automatic time-tracking features. It replaces trial-only tools in this list because an ongoing free tier matters for this search.

I'd consider it for a team that repeatedly forgets to start timers and wants help reconstructing the working day. Automatic collection can reduce missing entries, but it still needs review. An open application doesn't by itself tell you which client should receive the time.

The weakness is the extra setup and interpretation. Choose a project structure, explain what is collected, and review the records before using them for billing. The free plan supports one level of projects, so teams needing a deeper hierarchy should inspect paid features first.

Starter is listed at $3.99/user/month billed annually, with higher tiers for additional needs. I'd begin with the free tracking workflow and decide whether automatic collection actually improves your records before upgrading around features nobody will review.

Pick it if automatic collection addresses a real habit of missing time. Skip it if a manual timer already works and you want the smallest amount of tracking around your day.

Open sourcekimai.orgDetails

the self-hosted choice for a team with an operator

Kimai is free, open-source time-tracking software you can run yourself. Its browser interface gives a team shared timesheets without making a vendor's free-seat allowance the deciding factor.

I'd choose it when the organization has a reason to control the application and someone who already maintains servers. Client, project, and activity structure can support a shared reporting routine. Docker and manual installation routes are documented, so you can pick the deployment process your team understands.

The weakness is operational responsibility. You own updates, backups, database storage, and recovery. A cheap hosted timer can be a better deal when nobody has time for those jobs. The project is active; current Kimai releases and its official site document ongoing development.

Kimai Cloud is paid and includes hosted operation. Its published prices are in euros, so I'd compare the account's actual quote when making a US-dollar budget. Hosting costs are separate from the free self-hosted software.

Pick it if controlling the installation is worth running another application. Skip it if creating an account and leaving server maintenance to a provider is a priority.

How we chose #

We checked official plans and documentation on October 8, 2026, then reviewed public discussions about current free-plan changes. The list includes an ongoing free option for each entry, with project timers first, attendance tools where they fit, and self-hosting as a separate choice.

Decide what happens after the timer stops #

For client work, check reporting and export formats. For shifts, check clock-in and timesheet rules. For a personal routine, focus on whether you'll remember to start, stop, and review the timer.

Plan changes can affect records you've already collected. I'd keep a regular export process and a short definition of each project. Follow the Clockify project-time guide for a documented example, then compare the two leading options in Clockify vs Toggl Track.

FAQ #

Which free time tracker is best for a freelancer?

Clockify and Toggl Track are strong starting points for project timers. Harvest is closer to a billing workflow when one person has no more than two active projects. I'd decide from the report or invoice you need at the end of the month, then choose the timer that can deliver it on the plan you intend to keep.

Is Clockify still free in 2026?

Yes, but its free plan now allows five active users and limits report date ranges to 31 days. PDF report exports remain free, while CSV and Excel report exports require a paid plan. The timer itself still supports unlimited tracking. Check the new plan against your team and reporting process before relying on an older review.

Which tools have unlimited free users?

Jibble, TrackingTime, and TimeCamp advertise unlimited users on their free plans. Their jobs differ: Jibble focuses on attendance, while TrackingTime and TimeCamp cover project work. Unlimited seats don't mean every report, permission, integration, or export is free, so inspect the feature you need after recording the hours as carefully as the timer.

Is automatic time tracking better than a manual timer?

Automatic tracking helps when people forget timers, but the entries still need interpretation. A browser or desktop application can stay open during unrelated work. Manual timers offer clearer intention but can miss sessions. I'd choose the method your team will review consistently and keep project labels stable before using those hours in a client bill.

Can a self-hosted time tracker save money?

It can when your team already has hosting and someone responsible for updates and backups. Kimai's software is free, but operating it still takes work. For a small team without that support, a hosted subscription can cost less than hiring help every time the application needs maintenance or a failed server needs recovery.

Sources #

The linked official plan pages establish current allowances and billing terms. Public feedback about Clockify's 2026 plan change is linked in its section; the comparison covers separate reporting discussions. No hands-on product testing was used for these recommendations.

C
Chris McClureCo-founder & Editor, WebIndexly

Chris McClure is a tech blogger and co-founder of WebIndexly, with a strong interest in SEO, web architecture, user experience and the technologies that shape the modern web. He focuses on making complex technical topics easier to understand and more useful for developers, creators and businesses…

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