7 Best Toggl Alternative Tools I'm using in 2025 (Free + Paid)

If Toggl Track covers the basics but leaves gaps in billing, approvals, employee monitoring, or shift operations, this list is for you.

We tested leading Toggl alternatives hands-on using a clear point system (time capture, proof/compliance, scheduling/approvals, budgets, billing, automation, integrations, privacy, reporting, pricing, UX, portability).

The picks below reflect what actually reduced admin, sped up weekly close, and helped us ship work with minimal issues.

How We Picked the Apps

1) Who We’re Optimizing For

We scored each tool against three real-world team profiles:

• Professional services (agencies, consulting, legal, accounting)
  
• Freelancers & independent contractors (solo or small teams)
  
• Shift-based hourly teams (retail, hospitality, healthcare, logistics, construction)

Each time tracking tool considered as a Toggl Track alternative was judged three times (once per profile). And the final rank is described below.

2) What We Measured

We used the following 100-point scale with category weights:

• Core time capture (10 pts): timers, mobile/desktop apps, offline, idle time tracking.
• Scheduling/attendance/approvals (10 pts): shift planning, kiosk/clock-in, GPS/geofencing, timesheet approvals.
• Projects, budgets & forecasting (10 pts): billable/non-billable, budget estimates, capacity.
• Billing, invoicing & expenses (10 pts): invoice from time, retainers, PO/fixed-fee, payment + accounting integrations.
• Proof & compliance (10 pts): screenshots, activity logs, app/URL, audit trails.
• Integrations (10 pts): PM tools (Asana/ClickUp/Jira/Trello), accounting (QBO/Xero), payroll (Gusto/QuickBooks/Wise).
• Privacy & control (10 pts): monitoring is optional/transparent, private timelines, and role-based visibility.
• Reporting (10 pts): profitability, team/individual, export quality, API.
• Pricing & scalability (10 pts): free tiers, per-seat cost at 5/25/100 users, feature gates, “limited user” options.
• Adoption & UX (10 pts): embedded timers in PM tools, browser extensions, “one-click” weekly close.

3) How We Tested

We actually used each tool ourselves to test it. We set up fake projects that looked like real work, things like ongoing client work, one-time projects, and employee schedules. Then everyone tracked their time for a full week on both their computer and phone. This let us see how well the timers, reminders, and offline features worked.

We also did a weekly wrap-up test. We submitted our hours, got manager approval, and sent everything to invoicing or payroll (when the tool had that feature). This showed us how much work it took and how many mistakes popped up.

We tried out tricky situations too, like working without internet, switching between devices mid-shift, fixing forgotten timers, and pulling reports for client audits.

Finally, we paid attention to how easily people actually adopted each tool.

4) Why Each Tool Placed Where it Did

Here’s the detailed score chart:

Why You Should Look for Toggl Alternatives

Toggl Track is a good time tracker that respects your privacy. But it might not be the best fit for everyone.

Here's when you should consider something else:

You Need Formal Time Approvals and Payroll

Toggl now has timesheet approvals on its paid plans, which helps. But if you need a more detailed approval process connected to payroll or client billing, maybe with proof like screenshot time tracking or GPS time clock, other tools might work better.

You Want Automatic Time Tracking

Toggl can record what you're doing in the background to help you fill in timesheets later. But it won't create those timesheets for you. If you keep forgetting to start and stop your timer, look for tools that track your time automatically.

You Work Inside Project Management Tools

If your team already uses Asana, ClickUp, Jira, or Trello all day, you might want time tracking built right into those apps. That way, you don't have to jump between different tools.

Your Team Works In The Field

Toggl doesn't track GPS or location. If you manage retail stores, delivery drivers, construction sites, or home healthcare workers, you might need a tool that can automatically clock people in when they arrive at a location.

You Need To Prove What You Worked On

Toggl doesn't take screenshots, track keystrokes, watch you through a webcam, or track your location. So, if clients or auditors need visual proof of your work, you'll need a time tracker with employee monitoring tool.

You Want Billing and Invoicing Built In

Toggl has good reports, but if you need to send invoices, accept payments, manage retainers, and sync with QuickBooks or Xero, an all-in-one tool will save you time.

You have a Shared Clock-In Station

If employees clock in using a shared tablet or kiosk instead of their own phones, look for tools with PIN-based kiosk features.

You Need to Manage Team Workload

If you regularly need to see who's overworked and who has free time, other tools might have better workforce analytics dashboards.

You have More than 5 People and a Tight Budget

Toggl's free plan only works for up to 5 people. If you have a bigger team and can't spend much, look for tools that offer more free seats or cheaper pricing.

Quick Look at the Best Toggl Alternatives

Best Free Toggl Alternative for All-in-One Time Tracking, Shift Scheduling, and Payroll

Apploye (Windows, macOS, Linux, Web, Android, iOS, Chrome Extension)

Why Choose Apploye over Toggl?

I picked Apploye as my top choice because it replaced three separate tools I was using. It handles time tracking, scheduling, and payroll all in one place. Plus, it works great whether your team is working from home or from the office.

Read more:

Time Tracking Benefits

Best Time Tracking Software for Small Business

Better proof for clients, fewer arguments about billing

With Toggl, my team's time entries looked good. But when clients questioned our hours, I had no way to prove what we actually did.

However, Apploye lets you take optional screenshots and track activity. This gives me real evidence of the work we did without changing how we track time.

When a client asks, "What were you doing during these hours?", I can show them screenshots or even a video from that exact time period. Everything appears right next to the timesheet and invoice. This leads to faster payment approvals.

Learn more:

Time Tracker with Screenshots

Best Billable Hours Tracker Software

What Does Apploye Monitor?

Everything in one place

With Toggl, I was juggling multiple tools. Time tracking was in one place, shift scheduling in another, and approvals and payroll somewhere else.

But, Apploye does it all: create schedules, track work hours (on desktop, web, or mobile), approve timesheets, and run payroll based on those approved hours.

My shift managers actually keep the schedules updated now because it's so much easier. For agency work, I also love that client management and invoicing are built right in. We can mark hours as billable or non-billable, create invoices, and attach all the details without exporting spreadsheets.

More complete timesheets

With Apploye, you can see when employees are idle. It also has activity tracking and monitors internet usage & online activity (Apps & URLs tracking). This helped us fill in the gaps in our timesheets and coach team members when something was missing.

If I want a trust-based approach, I just turn off the screenshots and recording; they're completely optional.

See more:

User Activity Monitoring Software

How to Monitor Employee Internet Usage and Online Activities

Pricing that makes sense

Toggl has a good free plan for up to 5 people, but we outgrew that fast. We needed monitoring, scheduling, and invoicing all together. Apploye includes these features in its free plan (up to 10 users).

Apploye Pros

• Most comprehensive features at the lowest price point
• Truly all-in-one solution (reduces software stack complexity)
• Generous free plan for up to 10 users
• Intuitive interface with minimal learning curve
• Excellent customer support with quick response times
• Regular feature updates and improvements
• Strong privacy controls - employees can delete accidental screenshots

Apploye Cons

• The mobile app could be more robust
• Limited integrations

Apploye Pricing

You can start with a free plan for up to 10 users, perfect for trying it out.

When you're ready to upgrade, you'll save money by paying annually (about 36% off). But you can still pay monthly or every three months if that works better for you.

Most teams love the middle plan. It costs just $4.50 per user each month when you pay yearly. You get everything you need: time tracking, screenshots, activity monitoring, reports, and it integrates with other tools.

Best Toggl Alternative for Budget at Scale with Approvals

Clockify (Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Browser Extension)

Clockify has approvals, kiosk clock-ins, scheduling, time-off tracking, invoicing, and optional screenshots. It filled the gaps we had with Toggl Track, and the price stays reasonable even when our team size changes.

If you want a tracker that prioritizes trust with no monitoring, go for Toggl Track.

But if you need optional proof of work, approvals, and shared devices for clocking in, without buying a full workforce management system, Clockify is a great choice.

Some of our clients require visual proof for billed hours. In this case, Toggl Track falls short. They're against surveillance features. That ruled it out for certain projects. Clockify lets me turn screenshots on (with the Pro plan) when it's required by contract, and keep them off for trust-based work.

Also, managers can officially approve timesheets and expenses in Clockify. Once approved, those hours are locked and ready for audits.

Explore more:

Clockify Alternatives

Toggl vs Clockify

My hourly workers clock in from a shared tablet using a PIN through Clockify Kiosk. It's easy and reliable. I don't have to give everyone their own phone. Clockify even has special pricing for "limited users" who only use the kiosk.

I can create schedules, track attendance and overtime, and manage time-off requests, all in Clockify. My shift supervisors don't have to jump between different tools. These features come with the Standard and Pro plans, which keep things simple for us.

Also, for smaller clients, I can pull approved hours straight into invoices and add expenses. It's handy when I don't want to use a full accounting system just to bill for time.

Clockify Pros

• Unlimited free plan
• Extensive integration library
• No learning curve

Clockify Cons

• Most useful features locked behind paid tiers
• No automatic time tracking (even on paid plans)
• Limited employee monitoring capabilities
• Reporting can be slow with large datasets

Best Toggl Alternative for Billing Operations

Harvest (Windows, macOS, Android, iOS)

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I switched to Harvest when I needed better invoicing and budget tracking. If you work with retainers, fixed-price projects, or need proper accounting, Harvest handles stuff that Toggl Track doesn't cover.

Harvest turns your tracked time into invoices automatically. Clients can pay online through Stripe or PayPal, and everything syncs with QuickBooks or Xero. This saved me from endless spreadsheet exports and manual matching.

Remember, Toggl Track has basic invoicing now, but Harvest does more. It creates invoices, gets paid, syncs to accounting tools, all in one place.

Find out more:

Harvest Alternatives

Harvest vs Toggl

We have lots of monthly retainer clients. Harvest lets me collect money upfront, then automatically deduct from it as we bill for time or project work.

I needed a way to review timesheets before billing. Harvest's Timesheet Approvals feature lets managers lock down a week before creating invoices. This means fewer mistakes and a clear paper trail. People can even submit timesheets for approval from their phones.

Also, I can see budget updates in real-time as people log hours. It shows costs versus billing rates, profitability by client or project, and tracks retainer spending month by month. It's the fastest way to check if we were overspending.

Harvest keeps your project estimates and invoices in the same place. When clients ask, "What did we agree on versus what you charged?", I have everything right there.

Additionally, when I connect their Forecast tool, I can compare planned time to actual time and keep an eye on budgets. It's an extra add-on, but my project managers actually use it because it works smoothly.

See details:

Project Time Tracking

Time Tracking for Consultants

Independent Contractor Time Tracking

Harvest Pros

• Best-in-class invoicing and payment collection
• Beautiful, intuitive interface
• Excellent expense tracking
• Strong accounting software integrations
• Reliable and stable platform

Harvest Cons

• Expensive compared to alternatives
• No employee monitoring or productivity features
• Limited free plan (Only 1 seat)
• No attendance or scheduling features

Harvest Pricing

Harvest has three plans. The Free plan works great if you're working solo; you get 1 seat and 2 projects, and it's free forever.

For teams, Pro is where you'll want to start. You get unlimited seats and projects, plus team reports, invoicing, and connections to tools like Stripe, QuickBooks, and Xero. You also get phone support when you need it.

Premium is for companies that need extra controls. Think timesheet approvals, detailed profitability reports, activity logs, and single sign-on (SSO). It's what you'll need if your finance, audit, or IT teams have requirements to meet.

Pricing is per person. If you pay annually, you'll save about 20%. Pro costs around $11-14 per person per month (annual), or $13.75 monthly. Premium is $14 per person per month (annual), or $17.50 monthly.

Best Toggl Alternative for Focused Work with Distraction Blocking

RescueTime (Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS)

Toggl Track is great for tracking your time and billing clients. It shows you what you worked on, but it won't stop you from getting distracted.

However, RescueTime actually blocks distractions for you. It can block websites and apps when you need to focus. Toggl just tracks what you do, and RescueTime helps you change what you do.

RescueTime's best feature is helping you build better habits. It gives you goals, reminders, and focus sessions that keep you on track.

Continue reading:

RescueTime Alternatives

RescueTime Review

RescueTime vs Toggl

Here's what happened: I'd start a Focus Session and block all the distracting stuff—news sites, social media, chat apps. Then I'd commit to 50-90 minutes of focused work. My productivity shot up because I couldn't easily sneak away to check something else.

RescueTime's Focus Zones would also catch me when I started drifting. It would notice and nudge me back into focus mode.

Read the full article:

Workplace Time Wasters

Office Distractions

Pomodoro Tracker

RescueTime Pros

• Completely automatic—zero manual input required
• Excellent productivity analytics and insights
• FocusTime helps eliminate distractions
• Long-term trend tracking
• Integrates with your calendar to categorize meeting times

RescueTime Cons

• Not suitable for project-based or billable time tracking
• Limited team collaboration features
• No invoicing or client management
• Can feel invasive for some users

RescueTime Pricing

RescueTime starts you off with a basic time tracker for free. But the really useful features, like focus sessions, goal tracking, and offline monitoring, cost extra.

The Premium plan runs $12 a month or $78 for the whole year (which saves you 46%). However,  if you get a friend to join, you can both pay just $9 per month with a team plan. So not only do you get an accountability buddy to keep you on track, you also save some money. Just keep in mind you'll need at least two people to get that team discount.

Best Toggl Alternative for Automatic Timesheets with a Private Activity Timeline

Timely (Windows, macOS, Android, iOS)

If you need to track your time accurately (not just report it later), Timely is worth the upgrade. It automatically tracks what you're doing, keeps your data private, and shows you project and team dashboards. I still like Toggl Track because it's simple and has a free plan.

But Timely is the one that actually turned my messy workdays into real, billable timesheets without much effort from me.

Yes, Toggl has some automation features. But I still had to manually start and stop timers, then fix things later. With Timely, the app watches what I'm doing and creates draft timesheets for me. I just review them quickly—it takes minutes instead of hours.

Read more:

Timely Alternatives

Time Tracking Best Practices

Both tools protect your privacy. But Timely makes it super clear that no one else can see your private timeline. They don't take screenshots or use spyware features. This was really helpful when I needed to explain this to contractors who work with legal and finance stuff.

Toggl has good reporting, too. But Timely's Project and People pages let me see "are we over budget?" and "who's working too much?" way faster. I don't have to click around between different screens.

Timely Pros

• Automatic time tracking with AI assistance
• Excellent for estimating vs. actual time analysis
• Privacy-focused (doesn't share individual activity with managers)
• Great for project profitability tracking

Timely Cons

• Expensive compared to alternatives
• No free plan (only a limited trial)
• No employee monitoring or activity tracking
• Limited integration options

Timely Pricing

Timely doesn’t have a free plan; it just gives you a 14-day free trial to test out their automatic time tracking. After that, you pick a plan that fits your team size. Bigger teams get the Unlimited+ plan with extra onboarding support.

If you pay annually, you'll save up to 22% compared to monthly billing. And if you want project management features, you can add those on for just $5 per person.

Basically, the pricing grows with your team. The more people you have, the more options you get.

Best Toggl Alternative for Proof-of-Work + Field GPS/Geofencing

Hubstaff (Windows, macOS, Linux, Web, Android, iOS, Browser Extension)

I picked Hubstaff because I needed three things in one tool: proof that work was done, visibility into what my field team was doing, and better control over payroll.

Like Apploye, Hubstaff tracks time and lets you turn monitoring features on or off for different teams. You can use screenshots, activity tracking, see what apps and websites people use, track GPS location, and even set up virtual boundaries around job sites.

Toggl Track takes the opposite approach; it doesn't do any surveillance. No screenshots, no app monitoring. That's perfect if privacy is your top priority, but it didn't work for me when clients needed proof of work.

Learn more:

Hubstaff Alternatives

Hubstaff vs Time Doctor

Hubstaff vs Toggl

Toggl also doesn't have GPS tracking or geofencing for automatic clock-ins at specific locations. Hubstaff does, which made it way easier to manage shifts for retail, logistics, and construction teams.

Plus, Hubstaff has scheduling, attendance tracking, time clock apps for desktop and mobile, and connects with payroll tools like QuickBooks, Gusto, Wise, and PayPal. Instead of juggling three different tools, I could use just one.

More details:

Field Service Time Tracking

Construction Time Tracking

Remote Worker Time Tracking

Best Field Service Management Software

Hubstaff Pros

• Comprehensive monitoring features
• Strong GPS and location tracking
• Automatic payroll integration
• Works well for construction and field service teams
• Offline time tracking

Hubstaff Cons

• More expensive than Apploye for similar features
• Interface feels dated compared to modern alternatives
• Screenshots are random (not customizable like Apploye)
• Free plan is essentially unusable (1 user only)

Hubstaff Pricing

Hubstaff starts at $7 per person each month. But the basic plan doesn't include the best features, such as advanced reports or integrations. You'll need to upgrade to a pricier plan for that.

You pay for each team member who uses the software, even if they barely open it. The only exception is "Project Viewers"; they're free because they can't track time.

The good news is that you get a 14-day free trial with no credit card required. And if you're not happy, they'll give you your money back within 30 days.

If you pay yearly, you'll save some money. But let's say you add a new teammate halfway through the year. You'll pay a fee for them right away, and they're locked into your annual plan until it renews. So you don’t have much flexibility.

Best Toggl Alternative for Tracking Inside Project Management Tools

Everhour (Windows, macOS, Android, iOS)

I picked Everhour because I wanted time tracking that works right inside our project tools. I also needed an easy way to go from budgets to approvals to invoices, all without adding a bunch of extra apps.

My designers use Asana. My project managers work in ClickUp and Trello. Everhour puts timers and time totals right inside those tools. It automatically syncs all our projects and tasks, so everyone can log their hours without switching apps. That one change fixed our problem with people forgetting to track time.

We set budgets for each project, both hours and costs. Then we watch how quickly we're using them up. When time gets approved, we can turn it into invoices and send them straight to our accounting software (QuickBooks, Xero, or FreshBooks).

Explore further:

Everhour Alternatives

Asana Time Tracking

ClickUp Time Tracking

Trello Time Tracking

Jira Time Tracking

If a project needs extra proof of work, I can turn on screenshots for certain people. Otherwise, we leave that off. We also use Everhour to track expenses and time off, which keeps all our reports in one place.

Everhour Pros

• Seamless integration with major project management tools
• Excellent time estimation and budget features
• Clean, uncluttered interface
• Reasonable pricing
• Good reporting and invoicing

Everhour Cons

• Limited value if you don't use supported PM tools
• No employee monitoring or productivity features
• No attendance or scheduling capabilities
• Fewer features than all-in-one solutions like Apploye

Everhour Pricing

Everhour has two pricing options. You can use the free plan forever if you have five people or fewer and only need basic time tracking.

If you want more features, there's the Team plan at $8.50 per person per month (paid yearly). But you have to pay for at least five people, even if your team is smaller.

Don’t worry, though, those five seats get you integrations with other tools, billing, invoicing, time approval, and even screenshots if you want to keep tabs on what's happening.

Conclusion

Use the summaries to match tools to your pain points:

Apploye for an all-in-one stack, Clockify for approvals and kiosk clock-ins, Harvest for finance-first billing, and Everhour for project management tool integration.

The best tool is the one that gets you from “time tracked” to “invoice/payroll sent” easily.