If time is money and money is time, then you need to start using a time tracking software system. Time tracking software has grown in popularity over the past few years as technology has become more of a distraction. You might be looking for a time tracker to help you be more focused and productive, which is a good start. But with all of the various time tracking software out there, you might need one more specific for your goals. Below is a detailed list of the top 9 time tracking software on the market today.

Top 9 Cheap Time Tracking Software:

  1. Bonsai – Best Cheap Time Tracking Software for Contract Work
  2. Toggl Track – Best Cheap Time Tracking Software for Freelancers
  3. Clockify – Best Cheap Time Tracking Software for Large Companies
  4. Harvest – Best Cheap Time Tracking Software for Invoices
  5. Timely – Best Cheap Time Tracking Software for Reports
  6. Time Doctor – Best Cheap Time Tracking Software for the Basics
  7. RescueTime – Best Cheap Time Tracking Software for Burnout Prevention
  8. Paymo – Best Cheap Time Tracking Software for Project Management
  9. TimeCamp – Best Cheap Time Tracking Software for Multiple Users

1.Bonsai– Best Cheap Time Tracking Software for Contract Work

Best Cheap Time Tracking Software

Pricing: Free trial of seven days. Paid plans begin at $24 per month

Bonsai has been specifically designed for contract work, which is why it is the perfect solution for businesses that work on contracts. You can choose from the endless contract templates to help gain more clients. Once you do, you can use the time tracking tool to track your time on their projects.

Every time you finish a project, Bonsai will create a detailed timesheet and automatically invoice your clients with the billable hours. This will help you get paid on time and stay on top of your payments. Whether you are running an agency or freelancing, this is the ideal solution for any contract work.

It will also improve productivity because once you check where you are spending the most time, you can take steps to boost your productivity. Such insights are essential to ensure your work keeps growing as time passes. So, if you want a time-tracking tool for contract work that will not break the bank, then Bonsai is a fantastic choice.

Key Features:

  • Contract templates
  • Invoice templates
  • Real-time reporting
  • Timesheets
  • Collaborate on projects
  • Task management

Reasons To Buy:

  • You can begin for free with a trial of seven days to see if Bonsai is for you
  • You will not need any other time-tracking solution with Bonsai
  • More than 500,000 businesses trust Bonsai

Reasons To Avoid:

  • The Professional and Enterprise Plans can be a little expensive for some contractors
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2. Toggl Track – Best Cheap Time Tracking Software for Freelancers

PRICING: Free

Toggl Tracks is one of the more popular time tracking software on the market right now because it makes time tracking so easy. Its free plan was specifically designed for freelancers, so that they don’t need to sweat the product management side of their business. It’s an intuitive software that empowers its users to complete specific tasks, so their business can grow and become more profitable.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Unlimited Time Tracking
  • Unlimited Projects, Clients, and Tags
  • Cross-team use and reporting (up to 5 users with free plan)

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Intuitive and simple interface
  • Pomodoro timer
  • Mobile app available

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Does not include scheduling or invoicing

3. Clockify – Best Cheap Time Tracking Software for Large Companies

PRICING: Free

While Clockify is used by freelancers, it’s mainly geared toward larger companies with thousands of users. This is because Clockify has a more complex, extensive list of features that most freelancers don’t need to incorporate into their business. However, because Clockify offers so much with its plans, it does mean that users need to attend trainings to understand the complexities of Clockify.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Easily integrates with third-party apps
  • Add-on specific features
  • API

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Unlimited tracking
  • Unlimited users
  • Unlimited projects

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Difficult to use

4. Harvest – Best Cheap Time Tracking Software for Invoices

PRICING: Free

Where Harvest shines is in its invoicing and billing abilities. Most time tracking apps don’t offer invoicing in their free plans or at all, so that’s where Harvest takes the cake. If that’s your primary objective. However, there are several limitations with the free plan, including the small number of active projects you’re allotted at a time, that you can’t import data, inability to integrate with other apps.

KEY FEATURES:

  • 1 seat in the account
  • 2 active projects
  • Unlimited clients

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Unlimited invoices
  • Simple interface
  • Multiple plans

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Can’t import data

5. Timely – Best Cheap Time Tracking Software for Reports

PRICING: $7/month (Billed annually)

Timely declares that it’s “obsessed with time,” which is why the Timely team believes it can unlock the most productive “you.” One of the ways Timely does this is by automating timesheets for you, by tapping into the AI memory tracker. You can automatically integrate your timesheet to your meetings and with your team once you confirm them.

KEY FEATURES:

  • 5 active projects
  • 1 user
  • Track computer activity

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Automatic reminders
  • AI drafts timesheets
  • Unlimited data

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • No estimate module

6. Time Doctor – Best Cheap Time Tracking Software for the Basics

PRICING: $9.99/month per user

Team Doctor promises they’ll save you $37,000 a year in lost time, are you interested in learning more? Team Doctor is for teams of all sizes, to help curb procrastination through automatic time tracking, alerts, and reporting. With Time Doctor, it only offers this one plan, so you’ll get everything included from keyboard activity to website tracking to schedules. Its main drawbacks are its inability to customize with different plan options and that it’s missing an invoicing module.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Screenshots
  • Automatic time tracking
  • Payroll

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Distraction Alerts
  • Email Notifications
  • Compatible with all devices

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Invoicing module

7. RescueTime – Best Cheap Time Tracking Software for Burnout Prevention

PRICING: $6.50/month (Billed annually)

RescueTime aims to put the trust back in time tracking software by incorporating trust and creativity in its program. RescueTime encourages its users to be productive through the RescueTime Assistant to guide them through projects and accomplish goals each day. Whether you’re managing your own projects or a product manager, RescueTime will help you on-track.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Automatic reports
  • Productivity reports, 3-month data history
  • Unlimited data

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Tracks progress
  • Calendar integration
  • Burnout prevention

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Doesn’t offer timesheet approval system

8. Paymo – Best Cheap Time Tracking Software for Project Management

PRICING: Free (for one user)

Paymo is geared toward freelancers to complete the full lifecycle of a project on time. There are plenty of features that encourage its users to stay on track like reports, time tracking, and a visible task list. Furthermore, Paymo provides its users with time entries and time reports, to help freelancers to track the amount of time they’ve spent on each project. Paymo offers a lot in its free subscription.

KEY FEATURES:

  • 3 active clients
  • 50 tasks
  • 3 invoices

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Unlimited projects
  • Time tracking across all devices
  • Static time reports

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Doesn’t have payroll system

9. TimeCamp – Best Cheap Time Tracking Software for Multiple Users

PRICING: Free

TimeCamp’s free plan is best for users who want to know where they spend their time. Thanks to TimeCamp’s computer time data tracking system, it provides a detailed report about where and how long you spend your time on both productive and unproductive tasks. Whether you’re managing yourself or a team, TeamCamp provides summaries and data, so no one slacks off.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Unlimited users
  • Unlimited projects and tasks
  • Computer time data tracking

REASONS TO BUY:

  • On-screen help
  • Fast
  • Desktop and mobile app

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Poor customer support

Resources

  • https://daily.jibble.io/2020/04/07/the-pros-and-cons-of-toggl/
  • https://support.getharvest.com/hc/en-us/articles/360048685631-Is-there-a-free-version-of-Harvest
  • https://clockify.com
  • https://www.timedoctor.com
  • https://www.rescuetime.com/
  • https://www.paymoapp.com/pricing/
  • https://www.timecamp.com/pricing/