If you bill by the hour, time tracking is how you get paid. If you bill by the project, time tracking is how you know if you're profitable. Either way, you need a time tracker — and you don't need to pay for one.
Here are the 10 best free time tracking tools in 2026, tested across real freelance projects and small team workflows.
1Toggl Track
Toggl Track is the most popular time tracker for a reason: it's fast, polished, and gets out of your way. One-click timers, clean reports, and apps for every platform. The interface is so smooth that starting a timer feels effortless.
Solo freelancers and small teams (under 5) who want the most polished time tracking experience. People who value simplicity and speed.
2Clockify
Clockify's killer feature is simple: unlimited everything on the free plan. Unlimited users, unlimited projects, unlimited tracking. No other free time tracker matches this generosity. The interface isn't as polished as Toggl, but the functionality is comprehensive.
Teams of any size that need free time tracking. Agencies and businesses that can't justify per-user pricing for basic time tracking.
3Harvest
Harvest combines time tracking with invoicing and expense tracking. It's been around since 2006 and is one of the most trusted tools in the freelance space. The free plan is limited but sufficient for solo operators.
Freelancers with 1–2 active projects who want integrated time tracking and invoicing in one tool.
4Timely
Timely uses AI to automatically track everything you do on your computer and suggests time entries based on your activity. No manual timers needed — it watches your apps, documents, and websites, then creates a private timeline you organize into time entries.
People who consistently forget to start manual timers. Knowledge workers who switch between many apps and documents throughout the day.
5Kimai
Kimai is a free, open-source time tracker you can self-host. Full control over your data, no user limits, and a surprisingly polished web interface. If you have basic server skills, Kimai is the most powerful free option available.
Developers, agencies, and tech-savvy teams who want full control and zero recurring costs. Privacy-first users who want data on their own servers.
6Traggo
Traggo is a minimalist, self-hosted time tracker built with Go. It uses time spans and tags instead of projects and tasks, giving you a flexible system that adapts to how you actually work rather than forcing a rigid structure.
Developers and minimalists who want the simplest possible self-hosted time tracker. People who prefer tags over rigid project hierarchies.
7Tmetric
Tmetric is a solid time tracker with a generous free plan that includes features many competitors lock behind paywalls: project budgets, client billing rates, and team activity monitoring.
Small teams that need activity monitoring alongside time tracking. Businesses that want employee productivity insights.
8Everhour (Lite)
Everhour integrates directly into project management tools like Asana, Trello, ClickUp, and Monday.com. You track time right inside the tools you already use — no switching between apps.
Teams already using Asana, Trello, or ClickUp who want time tracking embedded directly in their PM workflow.
9TimeCamp
TimeCamp offers automatic time tracking based on keywords and application usage, plus a simple manual timer. The free plan is surprisingly generous for solo users.
Solo freelancers who want automatic tracking without paying for Timely. People who want to understand where their time actually goes.
10Wakapi
Wakapi is a self-hosted coding time tracker compatible with WakaTime. It automatically tracks time spent in your code editor by language, project, and file. If you're a developer, this is the most accurate time tracker for coding work.
Developers who want automatic, accurate coding time data without manual tracking. Teams that want coding activity insights.
Quick Comparison
| Tool | Free Users | Projects | Auto-Track | Invoicing | Mobile App |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toggl Track | 5 | Unlimited | No | No | Yes |
| Clockify | Unlimited | Unlimited | No | No | Yes |
| Harvest | 1 | 2 | No | Yes | Yes |
| Timely | 1 | Limited | Yes (AI) | No | Yes |
| Kimai | Unlimited | Unlimited | No | Yes | Community |
| Traggo | Unlimited | Tags | No | No | No |
| Tmetric | 5 | Unlimited | Partial | No | Yes |
| Everhour | 5 | Via PM tool | No | No | Yes |
| TimeCamp | 1 | Unlimited | Yes | No | Yes |
| Wakapi | Unlimited | Automatic | Yes (code) | No | No |
Which Should You Choose?
For solo freelancers: Toggl Track. The best interface, fast timers, and enough features on the free plan for one person.
For teams on a budget: Clockify. Unlimited users on the free plan is unmatched.
For time tracking + invoicing: Track your time in Toggl or Clockify, then create professional invoices with ToolKit.dev's free invoice generator. This combo gives you best-in-class for both, at $0.
For developers: Wakapi (automatic coding tracking) plus a manual tracker for non-coding work.
For privacy-first: Kimai (self-hosted, open source, full control).
The Side Hustle Finance Kit
Time tracking shows where your hours go. The Finance Kit shows where your money goes — with expense trackers, tax calculators, and pricing worksheets.
Get the Kit — $11Frequently Asked Questions
Clockify for unlimited users, Toggl Track for the best interface. For solo freelancers, Toggl is slightly better. For teams, Clockify's unlimited free plan wins.
Yes. It reveals your effective hourly rate. A $3,000 project that takes 60 hours means you earned $50/hour. Without tracking, you're guessing — and usually overestimating.
Export time reports from your tracker and attach them to invoices. For easy invoicing, use ToolKit.dev's Invoice Generator to create professional PDF invoices with your tracked hours and rates.
Automatic captures more but needs cleanup. Manual is cleaner but requires discipline. Best approach: manual timers as your primary method, with automatic tracking as a backup to catch forgotten entries.
Run Your Freelance Business Like a Pro
Time tracking is just one piece. The Freelancer Business Kit gives you the complete system:
- Proposal and contract templates
- Client onboarding checklists
- Invoice templates and payment scripts
- Project management frameworks
- Pricing calculators and rate guides