There are lots of free online tracking tools that allow you to track time online. You can log your Time Tracker scheduling, Time Tracker time entry, and time tracker invoices with Online Invoices. Online Invoices eliminates the need for buying expensive time tracker software. Get started for free by creating a professional online invoice in just minutes.
There are so many free time tracking tools out there, but not all of them are good enough. To help you find the best free online tracking tools for you, here is a list of the best online time tracking tool for freelancer.
Hubstaff
Alongside the project time tracking feature, there are other key features that come to the fore like issue tracking, reporting, CRM, payment tracking, productivity, and workflow management. Especially for payment tracking, Xero and Stripe integrations can save you time. In the free version, you will be able to track two projects simultaneously.
Hubstaff is another great tool helping track your work efficiently. Although it is known for remote teams or solopreneurs, all sizes of businesses can simply use Hubstaff to track their work time. The features consist of time tracking, timesheets, invoicing, and URL tracking. There is one feature that could be irritant for some of us is that Hubstaff takes several screenshots from your desktop during the day. Luckily, the free version limits the number of screenshots.
You can also start tracking time both manually and automatically through its desktop timer created for macOS and Windows as well. It offers a platform that you can pay them directly without the need to switch to other tools. If you are working with numerous freelancers, this feature may be pretty beneficial for you. Unfortunately, its free version doesn’t integrate with other applications.
Toggl Track
If you need a time tracking app but can’t pay for one, you should use Toggl Track. The time tracking tool has a generous free tier of service that gives you access to all its apps (Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows, web, and browser extensions) and includes all the core functionality you’d expect in a time tracking app.
Toggl Track works so effortlessly primarily because it doesn’t ask much of you when you start timing a task. With many time tracking apps, you have to have a client, project, and task entered into your account before the app will let you track time. If you don’t, you have to set your task aside for the time being and enter them. With Toggl Track, you can track your time right away and worry about the details later.
Additionally, when you use Toggl Track through the Chrome or Firefox browser extension, a Toggl timer button shows up in just about every web app you could imagine, from Google Docs and other Google apps to Help Scout. Because you always see the Toggl Track button while you’re working, you have a continual reminder to track your time.
Toggl Track has some of the most detailed options I’ve seen in a time tracking app. For example, in the Toggl Track Chrome extension, you can automatically start and stop tracking time based on whether the browser is open or not. It also has excellent idle detection, which helps you maintain high accuracy across your records. When the app detects your computer has been idle but a timer is still running, it offers ways to correct the recorded block of time. That way, if you’re interrupted while working and get sucked into a 20-minute conversation, Toggl Track can knock out those 20 minutes from your record. Toggl Track even has a Pomodoro Technique setting, so that you can work for a set amount of time on a project that requires your focus and then take a short break, all with simple stopwatch-like reminders.
For even more flexibility, use Toggl Track’s Zapier integrations to connect Toggl Track with your favorite apps like Google Calendar and Slack.
Toggl Track Pricing: Free for up to five users; $9 per user per month when billed annually for the Starter plan, which includes time rounding, billable rates, saved reports, and more.
If you’re looking for a simple time tracking app without extra bells and whistles, consider Clockify. While the free plan doesn’t offer the same level of functionality as Toggl Track, it does include unlimited tracking, unlimited users, unlimited projects, and unlimited reports—all for free.
Harvest
Among the best time tracking apps overall, Harvest is a top option for teams. It’s a stellar option for solo entrepreneurs, too, but it’s built to handle a collaborative workload in a way that’s clear and easy to understand. If tracking and organizing a team’s time isn’t your strong suit, then Harvest is a great app to help you get the job done.
Everyone on your team can install and use as many instances of Harvest as they like, including the desktop app, mobile app, and browser extension. The apps work offline, allowing you and your teammates to record time on tasks even when you’re not online. As team members run their personal timekeeping clocks, all the information flows into the administrator’s Harvest account, where it’s presented in both summary and detail. Harvest can automatically remind team members to submit their timesheets if you like, and the business owner can always edit, review, and approve team timesheets.
Additionally, Harvest integrates with a long list of apps. Some of the supported apps let you track your working hours directly from them (Asana, Basecamp, Slack, Trello, to name a few) and send the results to Harvest. Others are for invoicing and accounting, in case you choose not to use Harvest’s own invoicing tools. Harvest also has its own employee scheduling app called Harvest Forecast (sold separately) that tightly integrates with the core app.
If you need to connect Harvest to a tool that isn’t supported natively, you can make your own Harvest integrations using Zapier to connect to apps like Google Sheets and Dropbox.
Harvest Pricing: Free for one user and up to two active projects; $12 per user per month for the paid plan.
Everhour
Everhour is a lightweight scheduling app that syncs with productivity apps you may already use. When you connect Everhour to a supported app, such as Asana, all the projects you’ve created in Asana show up as projects in Everhour. As a result, you can get up and running with Everhour faster than other time tracking apps because all your project details automatically get populated in Everhour.
The syncing aspect goes one step further to add a timer button inside the web-based app of your choice, allowing you to start and stop recording time from within the app. For example, in Asana, you’ll see a new button with options to Start Time, Add Time, Edit Time, and Add Estimate. In addition to Asana, Everhour also syncs with Basecamp, Bitbucket, GitHub, Teamwork Projects, Trello, and a few other apps. While having a timer button sync from the app of your choice is an excellent feature, it’s not unique to Everhour.
When used collaboratively, Everhour can track employee availability. For each team member, including yourself, you can enter a maximum number of hours per day or week to work on a particular project. Everhour also has an option to log scheduled time off. You can then look at the team’s schedule, and you’ll see available hours (by day) in green, time off as gray, and sessions that went over time in red.
The web timer doesn’t work offline, making it difficult to track time in certain circumstances. And while Everhour has an included invoicing system, it’s relatively lightweight. If you need invoicing functionality, you’ll want to explore its integration with more robust accounting apps, namely FreshBooks, QuickBooks, and Xero. You can also explore Everhour’s Zapier integrations to connect Everhour with other productivity apps like Google Sheets or Airtable.
Conclusion:
One of the more useful things that some freelancers do is time tracking. This way, they are able to determine how long it takes them to complete certain jobs. From there, they are also able to determine which jobs are worth working on. If you’re looking for one of the best free time tracking apps, these are some options you might want to give a try.