Among other things, these tools can help you see which projects are taking longer than they should, give you a better idea of what you should be charging for your time, and make sure you’re making the most out of every minute. They’re particularly useful if you’re a freelancer, run your own business, or manage other people. But whatever your job description, you should be able to get some real benefits from using a time-tracking app like the ones we’ve featured below. Manual tracking is as simple as selecting what you’re doing and punching the clock at the beginning and the end of it. You can split your work up into different projects and clients, and organize it by tagging different time slots as meetings or unplanned work, for example. Everything is neatly laid out in a fluid interface, and you’ll have access to a host of different reports to see exactly where your time is going. Projects can be subdivided into tasks and there’s the option to add custom tags to each stretch of time if you need to categorize them further. What you don’t get with Timenotes (that other tools have) is the ability to automatically recognize which websites and programs you’re using. But if you’re concerned with your online privacy, you might prefer to keep it that way. Toggl is available for free on the web, Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. Access premium features for $10 a month. One of the best features in Clockify is the way you can customize its reports and timesheets to show exactly the information you want to see, whether that’s a week-by-week calendar breakdown or a more straightforward list view. If you use the app to charge for your time, you can attach receipts and invoices to projects as well. Timenotes is available on the web, Android, and iOS. Prices start at $19 a year after a 30-day free trial. One of RescueTime’s most useful features is the Focus Session option—it’ll actually block distracting websites and apps for you for a predefined period of time, so you can get on with whatever you need to be doing. It will also let you set a daily goal for uninterrupted work sessions and encourage you to hit it with regular reminders. Clockify is available for free on the web, Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. You can access extra features from $5 a month. Despite all of the functionality that you get in TrackingTime—covering project management, client billing, and work logging—it never feels cluttered or difficult to use. There’s also plenty of customization in terms of what you can track, with custom fields in each project that you can label as needed by work type, session location, or whatever you want. RescueTime is available for free on the web, Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. You can access extra features for $12 a month. That includes the option to track the specific programs and websites you’re using throughout the day, which comes in handy if you want a super-detailed breakdown of what you’ve been doing while sitting at your computer. Any logging that isn’t done in real time can always be added again later, and there are plenty of different time reports to pick from as well. TrackingTime is available for free on the web, Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. Support for more users starts at $7 a month. The attention to detail on this app extends to when you need to get paid. Harvest is one of the best tools here at working out how much you’re owed for the different tasks you’ve done—you’ll get reports on what you should invoice each client every month and invoicing is built right in. When it comes to integrations with other software, Harvest plays nicely with apps such as Slack, Asana, Trello, Outlook, and Google Calendar. TimeCamp is available for free on the web, Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. You can access extra features from $7 a month. Harvest is available for free on the web, Android, and iOS. You can track more projects for $12 a month.
